The decorative and the textual have a complex and uneasy entanglement within the history and practice of modernist art. Sometimes celebrated as critical modernist strategies, sometimes denigrated or repressed as the opposite of Art, the decorative and the textual were understood as "foreign" forms that variously endangered, or, in turn, invigorated the power of art. My creative practice, which includes installation, painting, photography, text and an exhibition catalogue, exploits and explores this decorative and textual instability within modernist art practice. In my work, (visual) codes conventionally associated with the fields of writing and pattern, are re-examined and problematised by placing them within the context of visual art. When writing and pattern become the subject of painting there is an intriguing oscillation, complication and dialogue between the spaces and codes of reading and seeing, writing and pattern, the decorative and the abstract. The thesis also explores the decorative and textual instability within modernism by analysing some key contradictory moments in aesthetic thought and arts practice. In the writings of Clement Greenberg, a "decorative" painting is deemed the highest achievement of modernist abstract painting but to arrive at this goal, the decorative must be used against itself. In Frank Stella's early abstract paintings, decorative patterns structure the work, and yet the artist and his commentators only see the work as a kind of pure, abstract painting. In Lawrence Weiner's statement-sculptures, the terse, laconic text, that nominates materials and processes, is thought to be a "direct" form of art information that would remain unchanged even in reproduction. But as Weiner's work is reproduced in journals and magazines, this "direct" form of art is complicated through a variety of reproductive forms - documentary photographs, transcription errors and differences in the visual format and typography of the text. In these key moments of contradiction, concepts such as the decorative and the textual, that have often been regarded as peripheral to visual art, will be shown to have central significance in analysing its specific qualities.

S’khothane: Representation in, and influence on, contemporary visual arts practices For several years now, S’khothane youth culture has been viewed as a social ill. This view started after it received massive broadcast and print media coverage during the course of 2012. Crews claiming adherence to S’khothane were interviewed by investigative journalism programmes on two of South Africa’s most watched television channels, eTV and SABC1. While some townships1 in Gauteng claim to have been the birthplace of S’khothane, this subculture appears to be based on various other subcultures that preceded it. Cultures such as Swenkas (Umswenko), Sapeurs (La Sape) and Pantsula influenced various aspects of the S’khothane culture, from dance and poses, to dress style and performances. References made to S’khothane in studies by Mkhwanazi (2011) and Jones (2013a) as well as mass media coverage on programmes such as 3rd Degree (2015) and Cutting Edge, have generally been negative. Jones (2013a:210) describes S’khothane as a disruptive manifestation of consumption, which involves publicly destroying expensive designer clothes, shoes and accessories to show that these symbols of wealth are meaningless and easily replaceable. This study explores the representation of S’khothane in selected contemporary visual artworks and assesses any influence it might have on these artworks. The study also investigates public perceptions about the S’khothane youth culture and evaluates these against realities documented during data collection to determine whether the perceptions were premised on misconceptions. A group of participants was randomly selected from S’khothane events that took place in Fountains Valley (Pretoria), Soshanguve, Tembisa and other S’khothane gatherings held in places such as recreational parks and taverns. The participants were interviewed to gain insight into their perspective of the S’khothane culture, to establish the culture’s origin, its practises and elements. S’khothane is widely integrated and visually appropriated in the visual language of selected contemporary South African art practices. To this end, this research extends into a focused analysis of selected artworks in order to demonstrate how S’khothane influences selected contemporary visual arts practice in Gauteng. Through this approach, it becomes clear that these modes of representation embody no explicit moral judgement as one might find in investigative journalism programmes. There is a subtlety in the way S’khothane is represented by selected artists. In the Jamalaun Nxedlana artworks discussed, there is an element of realism depicted in the absence of manipulation through the documentation. On the other hand, Kudzanai Chiurai’s form of representation involves manipulation because he produced his visual artworks in a studio where he used props and had the ability to control the composition of the artwork. Nontsikelelo Veleko made a representation of various S’khothane elements including colourful clothes and accessories such as sunglasses. The study also investigates how S’khothane lifestyles, dance, poses, clothing and performances are trends shaped influenced by other subcultural historic groups such as Swenkas (Umswenko), Sapeurs (La Sape) and Pantsula; giving them fad status, whether it be morally correct or not. / Art History, Visual Arts and Musicology / M.A. (Visual Arts)

<p>Cilj istraživanja je konstrukcija profesionalnog<br />identiteta vizuelnih umetnica koje stvaraju u<br />Vojvodini krajem 20. i početkom 21. veka,<br />analiza njihovog umetničkog rada i života,<br />ukazivanje na mogućnosti njihovog povoljnijeg<br />položaja.<br />Hipoteza 1: Nedovoljna je valorizacija<br />vizuelnih umetnica Vojvodine, naročito onih<br />koje se bave novim tehnologijama.<br />Hipoteza 2: Nevidljiv je njihov doprinos<br />značaju za razvoj aktuelne umetničke prakse i u<br />sistemu visokog obrazovanja.<br />Hipoteza 3: Značaj umetničkog rada ovih<br />vizuelnih umetnica ne prepoznaju masovni<br />mediji, &scaron;to jo&scaron; vi&scaron;e doprinosi njihovoj<br />nevidljivosti u javnosti.<br />U istraživanju su primenjene analize:<br />svedočenja (intervjui) umetnica; analize<br />tekstova o umetnicama, analize umetničkih<br />radova umetnica.<br />Osnovni korpus istraživanja čine razgovori<br />autorke sa umetnicama, ukupno 12 umetnica<br />vezane za Vojvodinu, tekstovi o njima i njihovi<br />umetnički radovi.<br />Rezultati istraživanja su pokazali da je<br />umetnicama profesionalni identitet<br />najistaknutiji, ostalim pristupaju kao<br />promenljivim kategorijama; da pridaju važnost<br />preno&scaron;enju znanja i formiranju novih kadrova,<br />te uvođenju ženskog identiteta u umetnost;<br />ističu da im nedostaje finansijska sigurnost u<br />profesiji, te da re&scaron;enje vide u udruživanju i<br />izgradnji mreže saradnica (međugeneracijskih,<br />umetničkih, interdisciplinarnih, lokalnih,<br />regionalnih i internacionalnih).<br />Zaključujem da je istraživanje ukazalo da su<br />umetnice koje se bave novim medijima u<br />Vojvodini delimično valorizovane. O njima je<br />pisan veći broj tekstova, ali su oni rasutu po<br />različitim izvorima, na mnogim jezicima i<br />mestima (lokalno, regionalno, internacionalno).</p><p>Politika institucija kulture im nije posvetila<br />dovoljno pažnje kada su u pitanju monografske<br />publikacije i retrospektivne izložbe, otkupi<br />umetničkih radova i sl. Njihov doprinos nije<br />dovoljno vidljiv u sistemu visokog obrazovanja,<br />a značaj njihovog umetničkog rada ne<br />prepoznaju dovoljno mas-mediji.<br />Istraživanjem su prvi put umetnice koje se bave<br />novim medijima u Vojvodini krajem 20. i<br />početkom 21. veka okupljene u jednu celinu.<br />Izneti podaci o njihovoj generacijskoj,<br />medijskoj, umetničkoj i drugoj povezanosti<br />predstavljaju samo početak budućih istraživanja<br />u okviru istorije i teorije umetnosti. Za njih je<br />izgrađivanje profesionalnog identiteta kao<br />bogatstva različitosti najvažnije, ali je on<br />uklopljen u mnogostruke ženske mreže i<br />povezanosti jer je to jedan od načina njegovog<br />razvoja i opstanka.<br />Ukupni podaci o različitim aspektima identiteta<br />umetnica novih medija mogu doprineti op&scaron;toj<br />diskusiji o prirodi identiteta.<br />Preporuka je da se uspostavi sistem čuvanja ne<br />samo radova, već arhiviranja dokumentacije o<br />umetnicama novih medija budući da su podaci<br />rasuti po različitim izvorima i privatnim<br />kolekcijama, slabo dostupni javnosti; da se u<br />galerijama i muzejima koji nemaju posebno<br />izdvojena sredstva za mlade umetnike/ce, za<br />produkciju umetničkih radova i sl. uvede slična<br />praksa; takođe nedovoljno kritičara i kritičarki<br />koji prate nove medije predstavlja problem koji<br />treba re&scaron;avati.<br />Iz svega izloženog pokazali smo da je reč o<br />umetničkim izrazima i umetničkim praksama<br />koje osvajaju prostor i otuda je prvi važan<br />rezultat analize u ovom radu to &scaron;to su na<br />jednom mestu pokazane različite prakse i to<br />tako da se sučeljavaju ocene o njihovom radu sa<br />svedočenjem samih umetnica o sopstvenim<br />radovima i dilemama.</p><p>&nbsp;</p> / <p>The aim of the research is the construction of<br />the professional identity of female visual artists<br />who are creating in Vojvodina in the late 20th</p><p>and early 21st century, an analysis of their<br />artistic work and life, pointing to the<br />possibilities of their favorable position.<br />Hypothesis 1: Valorization of female visual<br />artists of Vojvodina is insufficient, especially<br />those dealing with new technologies.<br />Hypothesis 2: Their contribution for the<br />development of current art practice and in the<br />higher education system is invisible.<br />Hypothesis 3: The importance of the artistic<br />work of these female visual artists is not<br />recognized by the mass media, which further<br />contributes to their invisibility in the public.<br />The research involved these analyzes: female<br />artists testimonies (interviews); analysis of texts<br />about female artists, analyzes of art works by<br />female artists.<br />The main research corpus is the interviews of<br />the author with female artists, a total of 12<br />female artists related to Vojvodina, texts about<br />them and their art works.<br />The results of the research have shown that for<br />the female artists the professional identity is the<br />most prominent identity, to other identities they<br />approach as to variable categories; they give<br />importance to the transfer of knowledge, to the<br />formation of new personnel and to the<br />introduction of women&#39;s identity in art;<br />emphasize that they lack financial confidence in<br />the profession and that they see the solution in<br />the merging and building of a network of<br />collaborators (intergenerational, artistic,<br />interdisciplinary, local, regional and<br />international).<br />I conclude that the research indicated that<br />female artists dealing with new media in<br />Vojvodina are partially valorized. A number of<br />texts are written about them, but they are spread<br />across different sources, in many languages and<br />places (locally, regionally, internationally). The<br />politics of the cultural institutions did not give</p><p>them enough attention when it comes to<br />monographic publications and retrospective<br />exhibitions, the purchase of art works, etc. Their<br />contribution is not sufficiently visible in the<br />higher education system and the importance of<br />their artistic work is not sufficiently recognized<br />by mass media.<br />This research is the first time that female artists<br />who are engaged in new media art in Vojvodina<br />in the late 20th and early 21st century have been<br />integrated into one whole. The presented data<br />on their generational, media, artistic and other<br />connections are only the beginning of future<br />research within the history and theory of art.<br />For them, building the professional identity as<br />the wealth of diversity is the most important,<br />but it is integrated into multiple women&#39;s<br />networks and connections because it is one of<br />the ways of its development and survival.<br />The overall data on different aspects of the<br />identity of female new media artists can<br />contribute to a general discussion of the nature<br />of identity.<br />It is recommended to establish a system for<br />storing not only works, but also archiving<br />documentation about female new media artists,<br />since the data that is scattered across different<br />sources and private collections is not readily<br />available to the public; that in galleries and<br />museums that do not have special funds<br />allocated for young artists/female artists, for the<br />production of works of art, etc., introduce<br />similar practices; also insufficient critics and<br />female critics who follow new media art is a<br />problem that needs to be addressed.<br />From all of the exhibited we have shown that it<br />is about artistic expressions and artistic<br />practices that conquer space and hence the first<br />important result of the analysis in this paper is<br />that different practices have been shown in one<br />place, so that the evaluation of their work is<br />confronted with the testimony of the female</p><p>artists themselves about their own works and<br />dilemmas.</p><p>&nbsp;</p>