Thesis (M.F.A.)--York University, 2000. Graduate Programme in Visual Arts. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 27-28). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pMQ67762.

Thesis (MA--Art and Design) -- Auckland University of Technology, 2002. / Also held in print (x, 33 leaves, col. ill., 30 cm.) in Wellesley Theses Collection. (T 701.15 HEI)

Our everyday lives can be complex and fast paced. Places, people, sounds and memories all make lasting impressions. "Identity" is the title and basis for my creative project. My identity has been created though a series of memories or impressions. Songs, stories, the media, location and other people have had a great impact on my personal development.I have taken all these influences into account while creating my thesis works. I questioned myself in different ways. "Whom do I relate to? What songs describe me? Through these question, I found icons and images that formed my personal identity. The difference between what is and what appears to be.Is identity created or do we create identity? The question may seem philosophical, but I do not consider myself a philosopher. My series "Identity", documents my investigation of self, a deconstruction of society that has and has not formed my artistic identity. / Department of Art

Thesis (M.A.)--Carleton University, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 132-142). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--UCLA, 2009. / Vita. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 136-144).

Black woman as a symbol. Black woman as the dark side, as a shadow. Black woman as extinction, destruction, death. Black woman as a manifestation of the archetype.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: While every Botswana national can claim to be a citizen legally within the framework of the modern nation-state, some (minority groups in the main) are perceived by others (among the majority Tswana groups especially), as less authentic nationals or citizens. There is a hierarchy of citizenship fostered by political, economic, social and cultural inequalities, such that it makes some individuals and groups much more able to claim and articulate their rights than others. Ethnic identities seem stronger than ‘national identities’ as they work at the very macro level and on an immediate and daily basis. Thus the multicultural and linguistic diversity of Taung compels us to view every group as heterogeneously unique and important in its own ways, since students become marginalised as a result of individual circumstances, by being members of historically oppressed social groups. The main aim of this study was to explore visual art as a learning platform to negotiate social and cultural meanings and inform understandings of self. A qualitative approach towards the study was considered the most suitable way for conducting the research. An interpretive analysis was used to gain insight into how students made sense of their experiences and the significance of art as a platform to negotiate stigmas and stereotypes in class and school. Using the case study drawn from Taung Junior Secondary School comprising of twelve students from different ethnic groups, two major themes of difference and discrimination were identified. The sub-theme discussed under difference includes sub themes race, ethnicity and nationality, and language; while stereotyping and stigma, feelings of discomfort and feeling outcast, and Othering and marginalisation were discussed under the theme discrimination. My study revealed that art can be an especially effective catalyst for developing a critical awareness of issues of race, immigration, difference, and privilege. Art practices can become a platform for the negotiation and construction of meaning and lobby for removing the historic inequalities and injustices created by a stratified society. For this reason, it is important to understand culture and cultural diversity because culture provides beliefs, values, and the patterns that give meaning and structure to life. It enables individuals within the multiple social groups of which they are a part to function effectively in their social and cultural environments, which are constantly changing. Groups try to maintain social hierarchies and individuals maintain their position within such hierarchies by excluding others, to deny difference and try and enforce homogeneity and reproduce current social relations. As such if forces such as, differences in race, culture, gender, language, and religion are well understood, the students will engage in the process of identifying ways to manage them to shape their own educational practices. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Terwyl elke Botswana burger wetlik aanspraak kan maak op burgerskap binne die raamwerk van die moderne volkstaat, word sommige (hoofsaaklik minderheidsgroepe) deur ander (veral Tswana groepe) as minder egte burgers beskou. Daar bestaan ‘n hierargie van burgerskap wat deur politieke, ekonomiese, sosiale en kulturele ongelykhede bevorder word; tot die mate dat sommige individue en groepe meer geredelik hulle regte kan verwoord as ander. Etniese identiteite blyk sterker te wees as ‘nasionale identiteite’ omdat dat dit op makrovlak funksioneer sowel as op ‘n onmiddellike en daaglikse basis. Gevolglik dring die multikulturele en linguistiese diversiteit van Taung ons om elke groep as heterogeen uniek en belangrik op sy eie manier te beskou, aangesien studente gemarginaliseerd raak weens individuele omstandighede, deurdat hulle lede van geskiedkundigonderdrukte sosiale groepe is. Die hoofdoel van hierdie studie was om ondersoek in te stel na die visuele kunste as ‘n leerplatform om oor sosiale en kulturele betekenisse te onderhandel en selfbeskouings toe te lig. Daar is besluit dat ‘n kwalitatiewe benadering tot die studie die mees geskikte manier is om die navorsing uit te voer. ‘n Verklarende analise is gevolg om insig te verkry ten opsigte van hoe studente sin maak uit hulle ervarings en die betekenisvolheid van kuns as ‘n platform om oor stigmas en stereotipes in die klas en skool te onderhandel. Deur van Taung Junior Sekondêre Skool, met twaalf studente van verskillende etniese groepe, as gevallestudie gebruik te maak, is twee hooftemas, nl verskil en diskriminasie, geidentifiseer. Die subtemas wat onder verskil bespreek word, sluit ras, etnisiteit en burgerskap en taal in; terwyl stereotipering en stigma, gevoelens van ongemak en verwerping en ‘Othering’ en marginalisering onder die tema diskriminasie bespreek word. My studie het getoon dat kuns ‘n besonder effektiewe katalisator is vir die ontwikkeling van ‘n kritiese bewustheid ten opsigte van kwessies soos ras, immigrasie, verskil en voorreg. Kunspraktyke kan ‘n platform word vir die onderhandeling en konstruksie van betekenis en selfs druk uitoefen ten opsigte van die opheffing van historiese ongelykhede en ongeregtighede wat deur ‘n gestratifiseerde samelewing geskep is. Dit is vir hierdie rede belangrik om kultuur en kulturele diversiteit te verstaan omdat kultuur die oortuigings, waardes en die patrone voorsien wat betekenis en struktuur aan die lewe gee. Dit gee vir individue binne die verskeie sosiale groepe waarvan hulle deel vorm, die vermoë om effektief in hul sosiale en kulturele omgewings, wat deurlopend verander, te funksioneer. Groepe poog om sosiale hierargië te handhaaf en individue handhaaf op hulle beurt hul posisie binne hierdie hierargië deur ander uit te sluit, verskille te ontken en homogeniteit af te dwing en huidige sosiale verhoudings te herproduseer. Indien daar ‘n goeie begrip is van magte, soos verskille in ras, kultuur, geslag, taal en godsdiens, sal studente betrokke raak by die proses om maniere te identifiseer om dit te bestuur en sodoende hule eie opvoedkundige praktyke te vorm.

Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Technology: Fine Art, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2015. / This dissertation sets out to investigate cultural dislocation in the work of Leora Farber (1964), Viviane Sassen (1972), George Alamidis (1954) and my art practice. The paper begins by highlighting the importance of this study and defines terminology for the purpose of this research. In addition an explanation of the research methodology used is provided. The study is contextualised through a discussion of writings by Stuart Hall (1997), Edward Said (1987), Heidi Armbruster (2010), Chloe Sells (2011), Katheryn Woodward (1997), Michel Foucault (1967), Leora Farber (2012) and Lorin Friesen (2013). An analysis of the selected artists’ work reveals an investigation of cultural dislocation within diverse cultural contexts. Farber investigates her position as a second generation Jewish woman in post- colonial, post-Apartheid South Africa through the use of three protagonists. She does this in an attempt to create a lasting Jewish / South African hybrid identity. She explores not only her Jewish heritage and its connotations, but also the changing notions of white identity in post 1994 South Africa. Sassen, in her photographic depiction of obscured African subjects, challenges the viewer’s perceptions of Africa and positions herself as being ‘in-between’ Africa and the Netherlands, where she “will always be the stranger … and will never be part of the culture” (Sassen in Jaeger 2010). Alamidis’ work explores cultural dislocation in the context of migration, eloquently expressed through the use of the identity cards of 1950s Greek immigrants as visual metaphors for the loss of identity. I explore cultural dislocation through the history of three female protagonists (my grandmother, mother and myself) and their migration between the Netherlands and Southern Africa. The protagonists’ cultural narratives provide an historical context for a discussion of my art practice in the form of an exhibition titled Discovering Home. The conclusion outlines the research findings and identifies possible areas of future research. The main research finding reveals that the formation of a new subject identity, post migration, is dependent on a specific (historical) time and (geographical and psychological) space. An area of possible future research, in the context of cultural dislocation, is the use of Foucault’s (1967) theory of heterotopias to explore the idea of the ‘third space’ functioning as a personal heterotopia. / M

M. Tech. / My research examines how artworks referring to cattle convey symbolic meaning about cultural identity in South Africa, thus contributing to the research niche area of the University of Johannesburg (Visually Embodying Identity in a Post Colonial Environment). I track shifts in traditional ethnic and cultural boundaries which shaped South Africa, by comparing selected examples of historic and contemporary art and artefacts which embody cultural values. This provides a reading of the dynamic process of changing identities in South Africa with emphasis on the process of creolisation being particularly identifiable in the work of chosen artists Peter Mthombeni and Joachim Schönfeldt. In my practical research I attempt to reflect different South African identities, from colonialist, essentialised identities to the newer identities of a post-apartheid, democratic, 21st century multicultural society. My practical research which focuses on dynamic shifts in identity results in an installation of a ‘herd’ of ceramic cattle heads in an outdoor public area, namely the entrance to the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture at the University of Johannesburg.

Research on aesthetic perception of dance has been recently generating considerable interest within the field of Psychology of Aesthetics. There are, however, a number of methodological and conceptual gaps in our knowledge such as the application of the method of production, as well as understanding the role of motion smoothness, synchronous movement, and cultural factors in aesthetic perception. The present basic research addresses those gaps through five psychological experiments. In study 1, participants generated static sequences of images according their preference. Smooth continuation of meaningful objects was preferred when considering implied motion. In study 2, participants sorted images into moving sequences that they would like to see. Participants liked movements with smooth motion. In study 3, participants rated different schematic video animations depicting two dancers. Participants preferred smooth movements preformed in synchrony. In study 4, participants rated video animations depicting different types of motion performed by human body or abstract shapes. Participants preferred smooth synchrony. In study 5, British and Japanese participants watched synchronous and asynchronous actual dance video clips, rated the videos according their aesthetic judgement and answered questionnaires about motivations and individualism/collectivism. British participants preferred asynchronous dance while Japanese participants preferred synchronous dance. Studies 1 and 2 applied the method of production for the first time to study aesthetic preference for human movement, studies 1 to 4 support the neurocognitive model of aesthetic appreciation in the performing arts. Study 5 supports our cultural hypothesis: British participants preferred asynchrony (in line with analytical perceptual style, Western focus on individual movements), whereas Japanese participants preferred synchrony (holistic style, Eastern focus on group movement). Convergence between the neurocognitive model and the cultural hypothesis is discussed. The present research opens new lines of research in perception of human movement and performing arts: the method of production, motion smoothness, synchrony, and cross-cultural aesthetics.