This thesis undertakes the Deleuzian experiment of a conceptual site development of contemporary choreography through analysis of the works of Antonia Baehr, Juan Dominguez, Xavier Le Roy and Eszter Salamon. It examines the way these works transform choreography qualitatively by elaborating singular methods which couple the issue of movement with the creation of aesthetic regimes. As opposed to a representational outline of choreography’s ontology, my thesis investigates the participatory potential of choreography by focussing on the singular relational assemblages that each choreography creates with the audience. These singular relational assemblages defy practical philosophy insofar as they require a methodology which can account for their dynamic complexity without reducing them either to pre-established categories or to a static analysis. On the basis of Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari’s transcendental empiricism, my thesis responds to this challenge by establishing contamination and articulation as methodological concepts for an open ended inventory of what choreography can do. Contamination, on the other hand, accounts for the qualitative transformations that concern bodies in their power to assemble and to be assembled. Articulation, on the other hand, names the qualitative transformations of sense that a choreography conveys through its differential composition. Both concepts are inseparably interwoven and specified in the aesthetic regimes of the Retenu and the Dé-lire. While the Retenu scrutinizes the way movements generate a continuous transformation of body images (cinematic retenu) and sensations (cine-emotional retenu), the Dé-lire explores the choreography of temporal relations. Showing how these singular assemblages and their implicit methods critically redistribute the sensible of choreography at the turn of the twenty-first century, the four concepts of my thesis form the argument in itself. This argument highlights the ethical impact of qualitative experimental research, specifies the prolific capacities of choreography and forces practical philosophy to rethink their relation.

The essay accompanied the submission of 5 books and seven articles for the degree of PhD by publication. It explains that the common thread that links the various publications is research into prints and drawings.

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the ‘instrumental territorialisation’ (a concept based on Foucauldian and Deleuzian premises) of the Western Balkans, and the manner in which the emergence of territory is enmeshed within wider political, cultural and artistic dynamics. Understanding how these processes are involved in the field of culture - more precisely visual art - presents the leading challenge of this study. One of my central arguments is that the ‘creation of a territory’ can be understood through the lens of artistic terms and practices. I use the notions of territorialisation, panopticon and heterotopia to explore the functioning of visual art in the Western Balkans, while interrogating the different ways in which territorial arrangements have been implicated in the rise of new cultural policies and practices. The study relies on visual methods and interviews to explore the establishment of a new region, through this process of instrumental territorialisation, which has resulted in a specific political and cultural arrangement. The research proceeds to a demonstration of the way in which the cultural changes and artistic practices in the Western Balkans, in all their different aspects, are associated with a plethora of political narratives, discourses, arrangements and regulations.

This thesis examines the role of the Gothic double as articulated within the contemporary graphic novel. Discussing representations, interpretations and subversions of the Gothic double, the analysis will apply a synthesised theoretical framework of the psychoanalytical double and literary double to five key works from three canonical creators: Neil Gaiman, Frank Miller and Alan Moore. The discussion will be divided into three sections in order to focus on three recurring motifs in the image-text hybrid of the contemporary graphic novel. Firstly, a discussion of superheroes, SF and the Gothic double aims to explore how works such as The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and Batman: The Dark Knight Returns combine innovative approaches to the superhero with direct reference to SF and the motif of the Gothic double. Section two offers a reading of how Neil Gaiman’s A Game of You subtly explores complex issues of gender and sexuality in relation to the Gothic double. Section three discusses the urban Gothic, exploring the dualistic presentation of the city in both From Hell and Sin City alongside an interpretation of how each text approaches the issue of prostitution. Throughout, the discussion will approach these graphic novels as literary works and will focus on the analysis of narrative elements including structure, characterisation and, of course, genre.

This thesis examines the ways in which the unique creativity brought to late Victorian applied art by the Della Robbia Pottery was a consequence of Harold Rathbone’s extended engagement with quattrocento ceramics. This was not only with the sculpture collections in the South Kensington Museum but through his experiences as he travelled in Italy. In the first sustained examination of the development of the Della Robbia Pottery within the wider histories of the Arts and Crafts Movement, the thesis makes an original contribution in three ways. Using new sources of primary documentation, I discuss the artistic response to Italianate style by Rathbone and his mentors Ford Madox Brown and William Holman Hunt, and consider how this influenced the development of the Pottery. Rathbone’s own engagement with Italy not only led to his response to the work of the quattrocento sculptor Luca della Robbia but also to the archaic sgraffito styles of Lombardia in Northern Italy. Thirdly, the thesis identifies how the Della Robbia Pottery established a commercial presence in Regent Street and beyond, demonstrating how it became, for a short time, an outstanding expression of Italianate style within the British Arts and Crafts Movement.

The purpose of this study is to examine the loss of Korean cultural heritage during the Japanese colonial and military occupation between 1910 and 1945, and the possibilities for its return and restitution. To examine the historical background and the reasons for Japan’s particular interest in Korean cultural objects during the 20th century, the thesis first outlines the earlier Japanese plunder of Korean cultural heritage during the Imjin War (1592-1598). The Japanese colonial occupation of Korea began in 1910; however, the removal of Korean cultural property to Japan began earlier, in around 1905, when Japan had secured its political and military power after victories in the Sino-Japanese (1894- 1895) and Russo-Japanese (1904-1905) Wars. Therefore, this thesis considers Japan’s institutionalised ‘investigations’ of Korean cultural heritage and assets from the late 19th century until 1945. These activities were associated with the removal of Korean cultural property including artefacts, works of art, treasures, books, libraries and archives to Japan and also with cases of destruction of Korean cultural heritage. The thesis then introduces Korea’s claims for the return of cultural property after its restoration of independence in 1945. The process whereby the Government of the Republic of Korea and the Government of Japan re-established their diplomatic relations in 1965 is highlighted. Following the Agreement attached to the 1965 Treaty between Korea and Japan, Japan returned some Korean cultural objects, but not enough to match the original request from Korea. The thesis also discusses whether the 1910 Treaty of Annexation of Korea was legally valid or not. This argument is important, because Japan maintains that its annexation of Korea was done legally, and that consequently the removal of Korean cultural property during its occupation of Korea was lawful. In order to test this question, this research first examines the lawfulness of the preceding 1905 Agreement, which deprived Korea’s diplomatic rights, given that the 1910 Treaty was a consecutive convention that depended on the 1905 Agreement. Case studies are presented that offer examples of the return of Korean cultural objects from Japan between 1965 and the present time. This study uses a methodology of re-examining and re-testing each historical event that has a high significance for this subject. Importantly, the author has researched relevant archival and historical resources that support the study and have not been examined in other previous research. Theoretical principles in cultural heritage are also reviewed in the course of this study. As the discovery of Korean cultural objects in Japanese museums, libraries, universities, and private collections continues and even increases, the conclusion of this thesis emphasises the necessity for further research into concrete resolutions.

Volume 1. Portfolio of Compositions: 1. Two Pianos, 2. String Quartet, 3. Chamber Orchestra, 4. Two Pianos and Percussion, 5. Clarinet and String Quartet, 6. Flute and Violin, 7. Two Violins, Two Violas, Two Cellos Volume 2. Portfolio Commentary The commentary outlines some of the compositional processes I have developed, looks at the influences that have shaped the music and attempts to place the portfolio in some sort of context.

The present thesis aims to explore creativity as representation, action and cultural participation in the context of a traditional folk art. It develops a cultural psychological approach to the phenomenon, one that considers creativity situated between creators, creations, audiences, and a complex background of norms and beliefs. A tetradic framework is thus formulated trying to capture the dynamic between self and other, “new” and “old” in creative production and in particular their inter-relation through processes of integration, externalisation, internalisation and social interaction. This model guided the research design, starting from the three main questions of the thesis: how people attribute creative value to the craft, what makes the activity of decoration creative and how children’s engagement with this practice develops during ontogenesis. The folk art chosen for this study is Easter egg decoration in two socio-cultural milieus in Romania, the urban setting of Bucharest and the village of Ciocăneşti. This craft was selected for its rich symbolism and polyphony of practices that situate it at the intersection between folklore, religion, art and a growing market. In this context, the first research included in the thesis investigates patterns of creativity evaluation in the case of ethnographers, priests, art teachers and folk artists and highlights their relation to the practices and beliefs particular for each of these groups. The second study uses a pragmatist-inspired model to analyse creative action in the case of decorators from the urban and rural setting and outlines the general stages and micro-genetic aspects of creativity specific for both contexts. Finally, the last piece of research considers creativity development in the two settings above as shaped by different practices of socialisation and enculturation. In the end, reflections are offered on the general conception of egg decoration as mastery in ways that bring to the fore the interdependence between tradition and creativity and suggest the existence of habitual forms of creative expression.

I. Process: In this essay, the first chapter deals with my concentration on process in music composition, which holds as much importance to my practice as a composer as does the attention given to finished pieces. I include formative experiences with the music of Claude Debussy, Béla Bartók, John Cage and Franco Donatoni. In the second chapter, I explore my own process of composing by looking into each of the ten individual pieces from my PhD Portfolio of Compositions. II. Portfolio of Compositions: 1. Elegy for Fir Tree for eight strings (2004) 2. Coyote Nocturne for flute, violin and piano (2006) 3. The Indian Fort Theatre for string quartet (2006) 4. Three Moths for flute, piano and bass clarinet (2006) 5. Catalyst of Filament for celesta, harp and harmonium (2006) 6. Twister Season for vibraphone, marimba, two pianos, cello and double bass (2006) 7. Six Journeys for bass clarinet and piano (2006/2007) 8. horrifictionalexander graham belladonna for flute, guitar and bass clarinet (2007) 9. Stalking the Unseeable Animal for flute, clarinet, piano and string quartet (2007) 10. The Lightning Bug Hour for flute, vibraphone and piano (2008)

In the global marketplace of the twenty-first century a proliferation of festivals, or festivalisation, has produced an increasingly pressurised and politicized environment for international arts festivals. Through a case study of the Edinburgh International Festival the thesis explores what strategies the Festival is adopting to maintain its lead position in this increasingly competitive international landscape. It examines recent cultural policy development in Scotland and the UK exploring how creative industry theory promotes the argument for ‘investment’ in cultural festivals as economic drivers and city or region profile boosters. Edinburgh’s cultural policy is to brand itself the Festival City and it has supported the establishment of a number of competing festivals in the city. The case study investigates how the Edinburgh International Festival is managing a range of new initiatives at a time of rapid political change in Scotland. These include: exploiting changing technology to assist marketing and audience development; establishing partnerships and collaborations with a growing range of non-cultural public and private bodies, and cultural diplomacy – the development of international initiatives on behalf of the Scottish and UK Governments. The case study also explores a unique model of co-opetition which has developed between the Edinburgh International Festival and rival festivals, producing new strategic cultural organizations. The thesis establishes how current cultural policies in Scotland and the UK require international arts festivals to engage in non-cultural roles in order to create profile and advantage for themselves and their stakeholders in addition to fulfilling their cultural remit and in an environment of dwindling public and private sector support. In conclusion, it considers the opportunities and risks for arts organizations of an instrumental approach to cultural policy.