This thesis studies the changes in the nature of critical writing on contemporary art, in the context of the British art world across a period from 1968 to around 1976. It examines the major shifts in the relationship between the artistic production of the period and the forms of writing that addressed it, through those publications that sought to articulate a public discourse on art in a period where divergent accounts regarding the criteria of artistic value, and the terms of critical discourse, came increasingly into conflict. This thesis takes as its main subject a number of publication venues for art-critical writing of the time, and their responses to the rapidly changing scene of artistic production. It examines the forms of writing that attended emerging artistic practice and the theoretical and critical assumptions on which that writing depended, highlighting those moments where critical discourse was provoked to reflect self-consciously of the relation between discourse and artistic practice. By tracing the repercussions of the cultural and political revolts of the late 1960s, it examines how the orthodoxies of art criticism came to be challenged, in the first instance, by the growing influence of radical artistic practices which incorporated a discursive function, and by leftist social critiques of art. It explores how, in the first half of the 1970s, radical and political artistic practice was promoted by a number of young critics, and sanctioned by its presentation in public art venues. Examining the history of magazines such as Studio International and a number of smaller specialist and non-specialist magazines such as the feminist Spare Rib and the left-wing independent press, it attends to how debates over the cultural and social agency of art began to draw on continental theoretical influences that put into greater question the role of subjective experience and the nature of the human subject. It examines how this shift in the relation between practice and discourse manifested itself in the editorial and critical attitudes of publications both from within the field of artistic culture, and from a wider context of publications embedded in the radical political and social currents of the early 1970s. It gives particular attention to the careers of a number of prominent critics, while situating the later reaction against alternative artistic practices in the context of the politically conservative turn of the end of the decade.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Brown University, 2008. / Vita. Advisor : Kay Dian Kriz. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 658-698).

Torre Abbey was a rural Premonstratensian monastery in south-east Devon. Although in many ways atypical of its order, not least in the quality and quantity of its surviving source material, Torre provides an excellent case study of how a medium-sized medieval monastery interacted with the world around it, and how the abbey itself was affected by that interaction. Divided into three broad sections, this thesis first examines the role of local landowners and others as patrons of the house in the most obvious sense, that of the bestowal of lands or other assets upon the house. Torre was relatively successful in this regard, and an examination of the architectural and archaeological record indicates a continuation of that relationship after the thirteenth century. The second section notes areas of conflict with the laity. Disputes could and did arise over both temporal and spiritual affairs, as well as through the involvement of a number of lay figures in the administration and patronage of the house. In both respects, notable incidents in the mid-fourteenth century highlight the complexities of the canons’ relationships with the secular world. These are further explored in an analysis of the abbey’s role during the Hundred Years’ War and the Wars of the Roses, two conflicts which greatly affected the locality, but required vastly differing approaches by the canons. Finally, the effect of society on the canons themselves is considered. It is possible to recover some picture of their origins, both social and geographic, as well as some idea of the size of the community in the fifteenth century, and discuss the repercussions for an understanding of monastic recruitment. Finally, the dynamic of the community over the entire history of the abbey is considered in terms of the scattered source material, utilising both architectural and documentary evidence.

En tant que savant et haut-fonctionnaire Ruan Yuan est une figure éminente de la fin de la dynastie Qing (1644-1911). Sa collection, principalement composée d’objets antiques, bronzes rituels, briques et tuiles, est modelée d’après les traditions de l’épigraphie chinoise ou jinshi xue. La première partie de la thèse est consacrée à l’analyse de la collection. Sa typologie et sa formation sont le reflet de l’approche scientifique des objets antiques adoptée par Ruan Yuan. Ses méthodes, qui reposent sur les développements récents de la phonologie, sont liées à l’essor de l’école des « vérifications et des preuves », ou kaozheng xue. Parallèlement, les objets de collection, en particulier les pierres, sont considérés comme des objets de délectation qui peuvent être transformés en encriers ou en écrans qui reflètent l’imagination de Ruan Yuan. La seconde partie de la thèse décrit comment les pratiques de collectionneur de Ruan Yuan s’inscrivent dans un processus de transmission des vestiges culturels. Les méthodes de compilation des textes ont été adaptées par Ruan Yuan afin de publier les inscriptions antiques des provinces où il exerçait en tant que fonctionnaire. Son utilisation des techniques de conservation, comme le montage des peintures, et des techniques de reproduction, comme l’estampage ou la gravure, ont permis de préserver les originaux et de diffuser leur image. Au-delà de la transmission de sa propre collection, principalement conçue comme un héritage familial, la création de bibliothèques dans les temples célèbres, qui dépassent les limites de la propriété privée, est une étape importante vers la définition moderne du patrimoine culturel en Chine. / As a scholar and an official, Ruan Yuan is a prominent figure of the late Qing dynasty (1644-1911). His collection of artifact, which focuses mainly on antiques like ritual bronzes, bricks and tiles, is shaped by the traditions of Chinese epigraphy or jinshi xue. The first part of the dissertation is devoted to the analysis of the collection. Its typology and formation reflect the scientific approach of antiques adopted by Ruan Yuan. His methods, which rely on the recent developments in phonology, are related to the rise of the evidential research school or kaozheng xue in XVIIIth century China. Besides this scientific approach, collected artifacts, especially stones, are also considered as objects of delectation which can be transformed into inkstones or screens which reflect the imagination of their owner. The second part of the dissertation describes how Ruan Yuan’s collecting practices are part of a larger process of conservation and transmission of cultural relics. The methods of collation of texts used to realize encyclopedia have been adapted by Ruan Yuan to publish the ancient inscriptions on metal and stone from the provinces where he served as an official. His use of conservation techniques, like the mounting of paintings, and of reproduction techniques, like the rubbing or carving of steles, allowed to preserve originals and to spread their images among scholars. Beyond the transmission of his own collection, mainly conceived as a family legacy, the creation of libraries in famous temples, which exceeded the boundaries of private property, is an important step toward the assertion of a modern definition of cultural heritage in China.