Craftsmanship in contemporary art production is the main area of focus for this visual arts based research. An exploration into the artistic production processes of selected contemporary artists’ work, reveals a tendency of physical non-involvement on the part of the artist, who takes up the role of art director. The research enquiry attempts to provide an answer as to whether credit should be given to the craftsman as well as to the artist in this artist/craftsman relationship. The use of a practice-led research strategy allows the researcher’s art-making practice to become an integral part of the cycles of research, as the development of the researcher’s practical understanding, techniques and execution are crucial in the practical component, but also conceptually as a stance in opposition to the selected artists’ lack of practical involvement. The researcher has identified and analysed the following five factors that have contributed to this current state of art production in contemporary art: Kitsch as an influence on the subject matter and content of art, Marcel Duchamp and his idea of the ‘readymade’ and issues of authorship, Andy Warhol and his ideas on art and business, the Conceptual Art movement and, the act and product of craft being perceived as being inferior to the fine arts In addition, an exploration of the production processes involved in the creation of the artworks of Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst, Maurizio Cattelan and Takashi Murakami highlights the craftspeople, fabricators and foundries that are responsible for these artists’ highly crafted aesthetics. As practice is crucial in developing a new understanding and meaning in visual-arts based research, the practical component describes the researcher’s core practical themes as being the following:the creation of naturalistic figurative small-scale sculptures in resin and bronze, placing the characters explored in the theoretical component as the subject matter.The advantages and disadvantages of the collaborative experience with Sculpture Casting Services (fine art foundry) and eNtsa (a Technology Innovation agency), especially the implementation of 3D technologies in both experiences; and the technical development and understanding in order to improve the researcher’s artistic practice Collaboration is an important underlying theme throughout this research undertaking. It is crucial in the production of most contemporary art, and assists in identifying the artist’s role within the production of his/her work. Finally, it relates to the researcher’s collaborative experience expanded upon in the practical component and its benefits as a production method. In concluding, the researcher finds that craftspeople do receive credit for the work they do in the form of money, business and marketing. They provide a service that a great number of artists generously support. Foundries and fabricators also place a mark on the work they do, much like the artist’s signature, as a symbol of pride and recognition. It is ultimately the artist’s technical abilities, workload and artist identity or brand that will determine the extent to which he or she will contribute to the collaboration, whether that be a simple idea, a sketch, a maquette or a large-scale sculpture ready for installation. However, in a rapidly advancing technological society, it is the idea of the artist as craftsman, both thinker and maker, that demands more respect.

M.A. (Art History) / The sculpture of the mature artist Edoardo Villa is characterised by sequences of apparently contrasting phases. Analysis reveals that formal ideas from earlier periods are freely combined in new variations. Formal ideas unfold and are brought to fruition in a continuous development. Form, however, can never be analysed without considering its meaning. Previous writers on the sculpture of Edoardo Villa have, at various stages, identified most of its typical formal characteristics and indicated the meanings of specific phases. This thesis sets out to study, systematically and chronologically, Villa's whole oeuvre up to 1979. The evolution of his formal language, and the concomitant shifts of emphasis in meaning can be traced. Accordingly the sculptures seem to fall roughly into eleven groups. The first chapter examines Villa's formative years in a classical Italian Humanist context, albeit in the Fascist period, and then his early years in South Africa (c. 1935-1957). From 1947 rapid changes occurred, both in form and meaning. ·A simplification of organic or geometric shapes gave way to abstract sculptures, made possible in part by adopting the technique of welding metal instead of modelling. Changes in meaning ~ere inevitable: in Italy commissions called for heroes and angels; during the war years traditional themes sought to convey the sentiments of a war-torn generation. The female archetype followed, to be replaced by universal forms of human or animal torsos. Conventional meanings disappeared from the abstract structures, which are intuitive images of his new ambience. The second chapter examines· the years 1958 to 1970 during which Villa mastered metal in the creation of primarily vertical structures. However, modelling recurred at intervals, and a reciprocal influence between the two media took . place. For a time Villa's abstract works illustrate what van Peursen calls the functional nature of 20th century culture. Then Villa returns to figurative themes, creating archetypes in an expression of the mythological aspect of human consciousness, and showing similarities with African tribal art. Subsequently he arrived at images of an ontological nature, with less emphasis on the interrelationship of objects and a greater emphasis on the individual. By 1968 the linear, vertical and often frontal compositions were superseded by more massive horizontal and asymmetrical groups. The sculptures of the seventies are examined in the third chapter. Sign-like emblems of human groups were created with pipes. Bright colour became integral to Villa's formal language in non-figurative constructions. Vertical compositions were more open, and less symmetrical. Groups suggesting human figures reaffirmed Villa's main preoccupation. He seemed increasingly to express the moods of his time: massive, ebullient forms in a materially confident society; tensions of balanced line in a society under the stress of evolution. Forms opened up further, textures became rougher, colours more earthy. By the end of the decade figuration was emphasized; the symbol returned. In the cyclic flow of Edoardo Villa's development, -he balanced the formal constraints of apparently contradictory qualities: organic and geometric, open and closed, vertical and horizontal, mass and movement. At various intervals Villa embodied signs, images, and symbols, expressing the functional stage of 20th century human consciousness, which encompasses both the mythological and ontological phases of its historic development.

M.A. (Art History) / Please refer to full text to view abstract