Believing that ideas about evolution and genetics are playing an increasing role in popular conceptions of who we are and what it means to be human, I sought ways to express this through my art. In particular I tried to articulate these notions through figurative sculpture. As the role of figurative sculpture in expressing current ideas about being human has declined in the West, I saw this as a challenge. It was the intent of my Masters program to reposition the sculpted body back within contemporary western cultural contexts. For an understanding of those contexts I relied heavily on my own culturally embedded experience and observations. I took as background my readings of evolutionary inspired literature and linked it with my interpretations of the genetic mythologies so prevalent in recent movies. The result was an image of contemporary humans as multifaceted, yet subservient to their genes. These genes appear to be easily manipulated and the product of technological intervention as much as, if not more than, inherited characteristics. As part of developing a sculptural form able to manifest this, I investigated some non-western traditions. I used field trips and residencies to research Buddhist and Hindu sculptures of the body and developed an interest in the spatial and conceptual relationships between those bodies. Through making figurative work in the studio, I came to realise the figures' inadequacy in expressing temporal relationships. As temporal change is a fundamental element of evolution and genetics, I needed to explore this element. The result was a number of series; groups of works that create their own context of relationships. Not all these groups use sculptures of the body but they evoke the notion of bodies, naturally or technologically hybridised, mutating, transforming, evolving and related to each other generationaly through time.

From Introduction: The 'forensic aesthetic' presents the viewer with traces and debris - the residue that haunts sites of transgression, violence and death. In his book Scene of the Crime, art critic and curator Ralph Rugoff (1997:62) defines the forensic aesthetic as follows: "Inextricably linked to an unseen history, this type of art embodies a fractured relationship to time. Like a piece of evidence, its present appearance is haunted by an indeterminate past, which we confront in the alienated form of fossilized and fragmented remnants." Through its play on seemingly insignificant detail&, clues and traces, the forensic aesthetic suggests that meaning is dispersed, fragmentary and uncertain. According to Rugoff (1997:17), the forensic aesthetic "aims to engage the viewer in a process of mental reconstruction". It compels the viewer to adopt a 'forensic gaze' : to sift through broken narratives and fragments of information, reading the artwork as one might read a sample of evidence. Rugoff (1997:62) argues that: "[S]uch art insists that 'content is something that can't be seen' ... it requires that the viewer arrive at an interpretation by examining traces and marks and reading them as clues. In addition, it is marked by a strong sense of aftermath. ... Taken as a whole, this art puts us in a position akin to that of [the] forensic anthropologist or scientist, forcing us to speculatively piece together histories that remain largely invisible to the eye." One might argue that some of the earliest known examples of the forensic aesthetic in art presented themselves in the Renaissance period in the form of the pseudo-forensic anatomical drawings of Leonardo da Vinci. In his Studies of the Hand (fig. 1), for example, Da Vinci methodically represents the underlying structures of the human hand in a series of drawings that are scattered intermittently across the page. The remainder of the page is covered with hand-written notations. In this work, the artist approaches the human body with a scientific, almost forensic, gaze. Here the body is presented in fragments, rather than as a whole. According to Rugoff (1997:86&88), the forensic aesthetic addresses the body "not as a coherent whole but as a site of prior actions ... as a dispersed territory of clues and traces". When read in terms of the mode of the forensic aesthetic, Da Vinci's Studies of the Hand may be said to look at the human body as forensic object. In this way, this work may be said to speak of the manner in which the forensic gaze operates in the context of the artwork. Throughout the following essay, I discuss the various ways in which the forensic aesthetic manifests itself in art. I have necessarily been selective in the artworks that I have chosen for discussion, as this topic is very broad indeed. In Chapter One, I explore the tradition of the forensic aesthetic in art by way of a select number of artworks. This chapter focuses on investigating the way in which these works, whether consciously or unconsciously, speak of associations between violence and representation through the mode of the forensic aesthetic. The contents of Chapter Two concentrate on the work of South African artist Kathryn Smith. Smith's work may be said to possess a forensic quality, in that it references forensic practices and techniques. Her work has not been the topic of a lengthy monograph, but it has been considered in various exhibition catalogues, reviews and articles. For example, an essay by Colin Richards entitled 'Dead Certainties' (2004) investigates the forensic quality of Smith's imagery in terms of its play on notions of the trace. Similarly, an article by Maureen de Jager, entitled 'Evidence and Artifice' (2004), examines the manner in which Smith's work transgresses the boundaries between 'forensics and fantasy'. In her book, Through the Looking Glass (2004), Brenda Schmahmann addresses Smith's Still Life series (figs. 9, 10, 11) in relation to the issue of self-representation, exploring the relationship between the 'self' and the body as 'other'. Lastly, a review by James Sey, which was published in Art/South Africa (2004), considers Smith's work in terms of its aesthetic appeal, which serves as a framing device for the uncomfortable subject matter that informs the bulk of her imagery. My reading of Kathryn Smith's work departs from and expands on the available literature in that it focuses on the manner in which her images comment self-critically on the act of representation. I have chosen to focus on Smith's work in particular, as it uses the mode of the forensic aesthetic to speak of the field of artistic practice - a motif that runs throughout my own body of work as well. Moreover, Smith's work, like my own work, may be said to engage with the forensic aesthetic in a South African context. In Chapter Two, I compare a number of Smith's works to the artworks discussed in Chapter One, and examine the manner in which they speak of the links between art and crime. Chapter Three concentrates on outlining the ways in which my own work reads off the conventions of forensic investigation. In this chapter I discuss the manner in which my work, by way of a forensic approach, draws parallels between the medium of photography and the mechanisms of trauma. I focus on works that have been included in my Master's exhibition, Vigil (2005). The following essay is a study in representations of violence in art. In the course of this essay, I contextualize the forensic aesthetic as a mode of representation, as well as address the manner in which the forensic aesthetic seems to allow for, even facilitate, self-conscious reflection on the practices of representation itself.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-12-10T14:23:05Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2015-08-31. Added 1 bitstream(s) on 2015-12-10T14:29:20Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 000853378.pdf: 16952600 bytes, checksum: d9621ac3eb7d60891c9b604d7be9b12c (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Esta pesquisa surge da reflexão sobre uma experiência pessoal em fotografia baseada no uso de duas câmeras fotográficas diferentes. As características destes aparatos, impressas na imagem, gerou um questionamento o qual serviu de motivação ao aprofundamento no tema do dispositivo fotográfico e da poética da imagem. A pesquisa se desenvolve pela via teórico-prática, sendo que é neste contexto que ocorre a criação do trabalho fotográfico Fonte. As questões referentes ao dispositivo fotográfico, analisadas sob a perspectiva de Vilém Flusser e Gilbert Simondon, servem como fio condutor para uma reflexão do processo criativo, onde se evidenciam elementos como a poética, a relação corporal entre fotógrafo e câmera e a construção de narrativas / This research arises from a reflection on a personal photography experience based on using two different cameras. The characteristics of these devices, printed on image, generated a questioning which served as motivation to deepen the theme of the photographic device and poetic of image. The research develops through theoretical and practical way, and it is in this context that takes place the creation of the photographic work Fonte. The issues related to the photographic device, analyzed from the perspective of Vilém Flusser and Gilbert Simondon, serve as a guide to reflect the creative process, to make evident elements like poetic, body relationship between photographer and camera and the construction of narratives

Made available in DSpace on 2015-12-10T14:24:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2015-08-31. Added 1 bitstream(s) on 2015-12-10T14:30:38Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 000853009.pdf: 85764603 bytes, checksum: defa6687684bd8e63b3bcc325361ca7b (MD5) / O corpo humano no Ocidente é, sem dúvida alguma, desde as primeiras manifestações expressivas da humanidade, o tema mais recorrente na história das representações, inclusive no campo privilegiado das artes visuais, no lapso que vai da Grécia no século VI a.C. até a Arte Contemporânea, período abordado de modo sincrônico no presente estudo. Nosso objetivo principal foi a analise das relações que se estabelecem entre o corpo da obra (sempre tomada como representação) e o corpo do observador no momento da fruição estética. Essa relação, inerente ao fenômeno artístico, altera-se a cada contexto em função de uma complexa rede de significações, as quais não se restringem às especificidades das linguagens expressivas. Por isso, foi determinante considerar o fato de que o espaço entre o corpo da obra e o corpo do observador - assim como o espaço que separa o leitor (observador) e o presente texto (obra) nesse momento - também é preenchido virtualmente por suas experiências pessoais e pelas diversas representações que se fazem do corpo no complexo cenário sociocultural. Em outras palavras, além das representações específicas ao campo das artes visuais, foi necessário considerar e abordar algumas das múltiplas dimensões da cultura expressas nas representação sociais, políticas, religiosas, jurídicas, médicas, científicas e sexuais do corpo. Essa decisão se deve ao fato de considerarmos que entre o observador e qualquer obra há um espaço virtual povoado por suas experiências pessoais e pelas demais representações produzidas no universo da cultura. O corpo através de seus sentidos, a obra em sua autonomia e esse espaço carregado de significações deslizantes formam uma orgânica e complexa rede, como se estivéssemos no centro de uma cidade onde interações locais podem levar a uma ordem global mais complexa / Since the first expressive demonstrations of humanity, the human body is certainly the most recurrent subject in the history of representations in the West, from the 6th century B.C in Greece to Contemporary Art, period approached of synchronous mode in this study. Our main objective was to analyze the relations established between the body of the work (always taken as a representation) and the body of the observer at the time of the aesthetic fruition. This relationship inherent to the artistic phenomenon, changes in each context, depending of a complex network of meanings, which are not restricted to the specificities of expressive languages. Therefore, it was important to consider the fact that the space between the body of the work and the body of the observer - as well as the space that separate the reader (observer) and this text (work) at the moment - is also virtually filled by their personal experiences and the several representations, which make the body in the complex sociocultural setting. In other words, more than specific representations of visual arts field, it was necessary to consider and to approach some of the multiple dimensions of culture, expressed in social, political, religious, legal, medical, scientific and sexual representation of the body. This decision is due to our consideration that there is a virtual space inhabited by their personal experiences and by other representations produced in the cultural universe between the observer and any work. The body through its feelings, the work on its autonomy and the space, full of sliding meaning, form an organic and complex network, as if we were the center of a city where local interactions can lead to a more complex global order

Orientador: Milton Terumitsu Sogabe / Banca: Antonio José Saggese / Banca: Cecília Almeida Salles / Resumo: Esta pesquisa surge da reflexão sobre uma experiência pessoal em fotografia baseada no uso de duas câmeras fotográficas diferentes. As características destes aparatos, impressas na imagem, gerou um questionamento o qual serviu de motivação ao aprofundamento no tema do dispositivo fotográfico e da poética da imagem. A pesquisa se desenvolve pela via teórico-prática, sendo que é neste contexto que ocorre a criação do trabalho fotográfico "Fonte". As questões referentes ao dispositivo fotográfico, analisadas sob a perspectiva de Vilém Flusser e Gilbert Simondon, servem como fio condutor para uma reflexão do processo criativo, onde se evidenciam elementos como a poética, a relação corporal entre fotógrafo e câmera e a construção de narrativas / Abstract: This research arises from a reflection on a personal photography experience based on using two different cameras. The characteristics of these devices, printed on image, generated a questioning which served as motivation to deepen the theme of the photographic device and poetic of image. The research develops through theoretical and practical way, and it is in this context that takes place the creation of the photographic work "Fonte". The issues related to the photographic device, analyzed from the perspective of Vilém Flusser and Gilbert Simondon, serve as a guide to reflect the creative process, to make evident elements like poetic, body relationship between photographer and camera and the construction of narratives / Mestre

O corpo no cinema está associado a uma ausência. A imagem apresenta um ser humano filmado em outro espaço, outro tempo. O contraste evidente é com o teatro, a dança e a performance, artes nas quais o espectador geralmente está diante de um corpo físico. Surge, então, um questionamento: seria possível, e em que termos, falar de uma materialidade da figura humana cinematográfica? A tese esboça uma resposta ao investigar os modos de presença do corpo, com ênfase em sua forma plástica, seu desejo e sua dimensão coletiva. O debate tem como eixo filmes de Philippe Grandrieux, Tsai Ming-liang, João Pedro Rodrigues, Claire Denis e Pedro Costa. A obra destes realizadores é discutida em cotejo com um heterogêneo repertório iconográfico, sobretudo fílmico e pictórico. A hipótese defendida é a de que a gênese, o significado e a pregnância da figura humana são dependentes de um tipo de circularidade manifesta na imagem cinematográfica, seja por sua natureza plástica, seja pela rede de interação entre corpos, seres inanimados e espaços. / The body in cinema refers to an absence. The image presents a human being filmed in another time, another place. The difference is remarkable in the face of theater, dance and performance, arts in which the spectator is usually in the presence of a physical body. The question that arises is: how it would be possible to speak of a materiality of the cinematographic human figure? In order to answer this question, the thesis investigates modes of body\'s presence, highlighting its plastic shape, desires and collective dimension. The debate is made from films of Philippe Grandrieux, Tsai Ming-liang, João Pedro Rodrigues, Claire Denis and Pedro Costa. The work of these directors is discussed in comparison with an iconographic repertory, especially film and pictorial. The hypothesis defended is that the genesis, meaning and impregnation of the human figure are dependent on a kind of circularity manifest in the cinematographic image by the plasticity or by the interaction between bodies, inanimate beings and spaces.

Orientador: Sara Pereira Lopes / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Artes / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-20T01:08:52Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Barros_MariadeFatimaEstelita_D.pdf: 2401916 bytes, checksum: 4b1e38a77667c06c4f3fd0c11fd573d7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012 / Resumo: Este trabalho busca refletir sobre a questão da percepção corporal na formação do cantor e na construção da expressividade na prática do canto. Apoia-se na ideia de que cada corpo carrega sua história e que o canto se faz na materialidade da voz moldada pelos movimentos desse corpo. Procurando resgatar a conexão entre corpo e emoção/pensamento/sentimento, num processo de ampliação da sensibilidade, da motilidade, da escuta do corpo, são associadas práticas em Educação Somática, em particular a Técnica Klauss Vianna, como possível metodologia para "dar um corpo" ao cantor. Busca-se ainda refletir sobre como essa associação pode contribuir para o desenvolvimento de aspectos específicos do trabalho do cantor, como a melhora da técnica, a saúde vocal e o desenvolvimento das capacidades expressivas adotando uma abordagem somática para o trabalho do cantor / Abstract: The objective of this work is to discuss the body awareness in the singer development and the expressivity building in singing. It is based on the idea that each body has its own history and that the act of singing is constructed in the voice materiality shaped by the movements of the body. Some practices in Somatic Education are combined, especially Klauss Vianna Technic, as a methodology to "give a body" to the singer. It aims to rescue the connection between the body and the emotion/thoughts/feelings, in a process that broads the sensibility, the motility and the "body hearing". Additionally, this thesis intends to discuss how this combination of some practices in Somatic Education can contribute to the development of specific aspects of the singer work, such as the improvement of the technic, vocal health and development of expressive capabilities / Doutorado / Artes Cenicas / Doutor em Artes