The origin of this thesis can be traced back to a deceptively simple question that struck me when reading Hegel for the first time: What, if anything, can be made of human freedom when we live in a world that has a profound impact on who we are and what we do? Unhappy with the way existentialist reactions to Hegel characterized freedom as our ability to step out of our world and determine our identity through our own decisions and will, but nevertheless inspired by Heidegger’s depiction of human agents as always already in the world, this thesis answers the aforementioned question by turning the existentialist conception of freedom on its head: that is, instead of characterizing freedom as detached decisionism, I argue that freedom is a function of our ability to recognize and respond to the disparate demands our world places upon us. Specifically, and unlike Heidegger’s existentialist interpreters, I read Heidegger’s account of authenticity as a case of engaged-agency in which we clarify the possibilities others make available and then act accordingly. There is, however, a certain limitation to this interpretation of human agency: namely, that treating freedom as an active response to the wants and needs of others binds the agent to possibilities present in her current situation and therefore fails to capture the kind of freedom we associate with cultural transformation or artistic creativity. Hence, this thesis addresses a second set of questions: What conditions make historical change possible? And how is it that artists are able to alter the world? In response to the first query, I turn to Heidegger’s claim that we are in truth and in untruth as well as his discussion of Gelassenheit to argue that the play between the possibilities present in a particular culture and those that are excluded by it along with a release from our present activities create the conditions for cultural transformation. In reply to the second question, I examine Heidegger’s account of the happening of truth and show how thinkers and artists are able to reveal the possibilities concealed in their culture through the creative use of language. Finally, I contend that the freedom associated with cultural transformation and artistic creativity is also a form of responsibility insofar as the success of a given transformation depends on others recognizing that transformation as valuable and thus worthy of their support.

One question raised when creating, evaluating and appraising art work is 'How do we know what we know?' This exegesis attempts to answer this by establishing the important role intuitive knowledge plays in decision making in general, and within the author's own art practice specifically. The study reviews some of the literature on intuition from philosophical and psychological perspective in order to validate intuitive knowledge and intuitive decision making within contemporary art practice. However, just because intuition may drive the process, it does not mean that the product of intuitive practice is necessarily good or has any value. Consequently, the importance of aesthetics, and the values of integrity, honesty and truth are explored from a philosophical perspective. These are discussed in relation to the art practice of other artists from this century as well as that of the writer. Having constructed a philosophical framework to work within and be guided by, the final part of this study documents the development of the practical work and how this framework influences the art practice and the outcomes of that practice. It is hoped that the results of the study will reassert the validity and relevance of this form of art practice and philosophy within contemporary art practice. / Master of Arts (Hons) (Visual Art)

Réfléchir les images pour réfléchir le monde. Entre unité, éclats et nuances, Kumonekotabi est un travail de recherche fonctionnant à la fois sur des images et des écritures qui sont comme autant d’espaces où une figure photographique entretient une relation à la fois simple et pourtant liée avec le Japon. Construites sur des modalités comme le plié, l’encadré, le sériel, les images construisent une logique bricolée mais également performative qui expose le corps capté dans sa relation avec le Japon, ses rêves et ses ancrages. Le travail d’écriture est une analyse de ces mêmes images, mettant en évidence les histoires mais aussi les forces et les intertextes qui habitent leurs territoires.Ainsi, à la fois théoricienne, poète et plasticienne, Kumonekotabi est une thèse éventail, entremêlant expériences visuelles et écrites avec la culture japonaise. C’est une ouverture et une fermeture, une interface de créativité, un espace entre lenteur et vitesse, la maturation et la fulgurance. Un phénomène qui avec ces emmêlements nous donne finalement les outils pour comprendre la pertinence de cet archipel éphémère créé par les images et leur simultanéité.En cela, Kumonekotabi est un travail qui envisage avec des images et leurs interprétations une certaine idée de la limite et de l’écart, du contact et de la distance. Un travail d’ambiance pris dans ce dialogue entre l’art de la relation, la relation comme œuvre d’art pour aboutir à cette idée que réfléchir les images permet de comprendre une certaine partie de notre monde et vice-versa. / Think about the pictures to think about the world. Between unity, slivers and nuances, Kumonekotabi is a research work balanced between visual shapes and articulated theory, both working like spaces where the idea of a photographic figure is having a simple and yet established relationship with Japan.Based on visual specificities like folds, frames, series, the pictures are building an homemade logic but also a performative one that display the captured body in its relationship with Japan, its dreams and anchors. The writing part then is an analysis of those very pictures, putting together the stories but also the strenghts and the interexts living in their territories.Thus, at the same time theoritical, poetic and artistic, Kumonekotabi is a dissertation to be considered like a fan, intertwining visual and literary experiences with the Japanese culture. It’s an opening, a creative interface, a space between slowness and speed, maturation and outbreaks. A phenomenon that, with its intricacy, gives us tools to understand the relevance of this archipelago created by the pictures and their simultaneity.In short, Kumonekotabi is a dissertation to contemplate with pictures and their interpretations a certain idea of limits and contrasts, contacts and distances. An atmospheric work placed in this dialog between the art of relation, relationship as a work of art in order to get to this idea that thinking about pictures allows to understand a certain part of our world, and vice-versa.

My thesis exhibition, ‘A PART OF THE WHOLE,’ explores self-portraiture by assembling paintings of close-up images of my skin from underappreciated body parts. I paint the textures of my hands and feet as evidence of artistic labor striving for the continuation of artistic creativity. The thesis exhibition includes conventional paintings assembled paintings, installations, and items from the studio. The easels serve two purposes: presenting the paintings and functioning as metaphorical backbone supporting skin paintings. Lastly, a cast of my own face serves as a death mask that functions as an authentic seal of artistic authorship for my thesis exhibition.

Att dagdrömma är ett fenomen som ofta ansetts distraherande då det kan ses som orelaterat till en primär uppgift. Under senare år har dock dess fördelar och användningsområden börjat uppmärksammas mer. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka konstnärligt kreativa människors upplevelser av dagdrömmande i relation till deras skapandeprocess. Intervjuer genomfördes med sex konstnärligt kreativa individer som uppfyllde särskilda krav för kreativitet. Intervjumaterialet analyserades sedan genom en form av tematisk analys. Analysen resulterade i fem teman: Hjärnan får paus, Dagdrömmandets hinder, Sammanflätade ämnen, Idéers ursprung och Metakognition. Resultaten visade att deltagarna upplevde att det fanns flera typer av idéer och att dessa uppstod på olika sätt. Dagdrömmar upplevdes främst som något positivt och användbart för idéuppkomst under skapandeprocessen. Även i de fall då dagdrömmar inte genererade idéer sågs de positiva då de ändå ansågs kunna fylla vissa syften för dem. / To daydream is a phenomenon that often has been considered as distracting as it can be seen as unrelated to a primary task. However, during recent years it’s advantages and areas of use have begun to receive more attention. The aim of this study was to examine artistically creative people’s experiences of daydreaming in relation to their process of creating. Interviews were conducted with six artistically creative individuals who met specific criteria for creativity. The interview material was then analyzed by a form of thematic analysis. The analysis resulted in five themes: A break for the mind, Obstacles for daydreaming, Intertwined subjects, Origins of ideas and Metacognition. In summary the results showed that the participants experienced that there were several types of ideas and that they emerged in different ways. Daydreaming was mainly experienced as something positive and useful for idea generation during the process of creating. Even in cases where daydreams did not generate ideas, they were viewed positively as they were still considered to be able to fulfill purposes for the participants.

Syftet med denna uppsats var att undersöka personlighet och dess eventuella kausala samband med konstnärlig kreativitet. Femfaktormodellen användes för att undersöka personlighetsdragen öppenhet, extroversion och neuroticism. Begreppet kreativitet beskrivs genom tidigare forskning och konstnärlig kreativitet utgör grunden för studien. En kortare pilotstudie genomfördes för att testa förståelsen av mätinstrumentet för kreativitet, som tidigare översatts från engelska till svenska. I undersökningen ingick 89 respondenter som besvarade en online-enkät utlagd i facebookgruppen “studenter vid högskolan i Skövde”. Resultatet visade att personlighetsdraget öppenhet predicerar konstnärlig kreativitet. Resultaten för personlighetsdragen extroversion och neuroticism visade inte på någon predicering av konstnärlig kreativitet. Dock visade resultatet att facetten sällskaplighet för personlighetsdraget extroversion predicerar den konstnärligt kreativa domänen dans, medan personlighetsdraget neuroticism och facetten depression predicerar den konstnärligt kreativa domänen kreativt skrivande. Därigenom kunde följande slutsats dras: ett flertal av studiens respondenter uttrycker sig på ett konstnärligt kreativt sätt och vilken typ av konstnärligt kreativt uttryckssätt som individen föredrar beror på individens personlighet. / The purpose of this study was to investigate personality and it’s potential causality with artistic creativity. The five-factor model was used to investigate the personality traits openness, extraversion and neuroticism. Creativity is described by earlier research and artistic creativity creates the basic of this study. A short pilot-study was performed to evaluate the understanding of the instrument for creativity, that had been translated earlier from english to swedish. The sample used consisted of 89 respondents, who participated in an online-survey posted at a facebook-group named “studenter vid högskolan i Skövde”. The results showed that the personality trait openness predicts artistic creativity. The results of the personality traits extraversion and neuroticism did not show any predictability of artistic creativity. However, the results showed that the facet gregariousness from the personality trait extraversion predicts the artistic creative domain of dance, while the personality trait neuroticism and the facet depression predicts the artistic creative domain creative writing. Thereby the following conclusion could be made: several respondents of this study are expressing themselves in an artistic creative way and what kind of artistic creative expressions they use is defined by the personality of the person.

The ʻaudiovisual objectʼ is a fusion of sound object and visual object to create an identifiable perceptual phenomenon, which can be treated as a ʻbuilding blockʼ in the creation of audiovisual work based primarily on electroacoustic composition practice and techniques. This thesis explores how the audiovisual object can be defined and identified in existing works, and offers an examination of how it can be used as a compositional tool. The historical development of the form and the effect of the performance venue on audience immersion is also explored. The audiovisual object concept builds upon theories of electroacoustic composition and film sound design. The audiovisual object is defined in relation to existing concepts of the sound object and visual object, while synaesthesia and cross-modal perception are examined to show how the relationship between sound and vision in the audiovisual object can be strengthened. Electroacoustic composition and animation both developed through technological advances, either the manipulation of recorded sounds, or the manipulation of drawn/photographed objects. The key stages in development of techniques and theories in both disciplines are examined and compared against each other, highlighting correlations and contrasts. The physical space where the audiovisual composition is performed also has a bearing on how the work is perceived and received. Current standard performance spaces include acousmatic concert systems, which emphasize the audio aspect over the visual, and the cinema, which focuses on the visual. Spaces which afford a much higher level of envelopment in the work include hemispheric projection, while individual experience through virtual reality systems could become a key platform. The key elements of the audiovisual object, interaction between objects and their successful use in audiovisual compositions are also investigated in a series of case studies. Specific audiovisual works are examined to highlight techniques to create successful audiovisual objects and interactions. As this research degree is in creative practice, a portfolio of 4 composed works is also included, with production notes explaining the inspiration behind and symbolism within each work, along with the practical techniques employed in their creation. The basis for each work is a short electroacoustic composition which has then been developed with abstract 3D CGI animation into an audiovisual composition, demonstrating the development of my own practice as well as exploring the concept of the audiovisual object. The concept of the audiovisual object draws together existing theories concerning the sound object, visual perception, and phenomenology. The concept, the associated investigation of how audiovisual compositions have evolved over time, and the analysis and critique of case studies based on this central concept contribute both theory and creative practice principles to this form of artistic creativity. This thesis forms a basis for approaching the creative process both as a creator and critic, and opens up a research pathway for further investigation.