Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2005. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.P.A.S.)--University of Southern California, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 60-61). Also available on the Internet.

No description available.

No description available.

The transformation of matter and the reflection of light are at the heart of filmmaking and moving image practice, exemplified by Stan Brakhage’s assertion that “matter is still light. Light held in a bind.” Catoptrics is the use of optical devices, mirrors, crystals and lenses in the processes of focussing and directing light. Alchemy has a two thousand year history, commonly misunderstood as a form erroneous proto-chemistry in which people sought the Philosopher’s Stone to transmute base metals into gold. Alchemical catoptrics is the place where the disciplines of alchemy and catoptrics meet, encompassing an enquiry into the fundamental properties of matter and the possibilities for its transformation, bound up in range of pre-scientific belief systems and philosophies of light, matter and cosmogenesis. In conventional media histories, the historical antecedents of moving image practice are usually explored through the evolution of visual media technologies. Such an approach only deals with the superficial tools of moving image practice, binding itself up in the machinery of spectacle, while remaining silent on the deeper questions of humankind’s imaginative relationship with luminous matter. The practice of alchemical catoptrics was an experimental exploration of this relationship; between light, the phenomenal world, the deep structure of substance, imagination, belief and meaning. The current study offers a fresh historical perspective on what it means to experiment with the substance of light in a transformative, luminous, meaning-making capacity. It uncovers a language of transformation that speaks to the author's own practice, while offering new insights into the experimental methodologies, motives and practices of other moving image artists. The research discusses the 13th century light philosophy of Robert Grosseteste and its referencing by Stan Brakhage and Hollis Frampton, leading into an exploration of the methodologies of historical alchemical catoptrics, citing original document translations prepared for the purpose of the thesis. Using the examples of Man Ray (1890–1976) and Patrick Bokanowski (1943-present), the research then shows how alchemical catoptrical thinking can inform our interpretation of the practices of these two moving image artists. The thesis concludes with an examination of the alchemical-catoptrical ideas and methods used for the production of two of my recent film works: Speculum (2011-2014) and Catoptrica (2011-2013).

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:22:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2013-10-15Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T18:49:19Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 moura_i_me_ia.pdf: 12266897 bytes, checksum: 8f0cf7f50cfaf34176b18623a9bffed8 (MD5) / Cette recherche a comme point de départ le besoin de comprendre certains éléments d’actualité en rapport avec les concepts de frontière, lieu, identité, langue, émigration et immigration qui jouent un rôle fondamental sur le plan social, politique, économique, culturel et qui, dans les dernières années, ont aussi été appropriés par le milieu artistique, se glissant dans les débats sur la littérature, le cinéma et les arts visuels. L’objectif du travail vise à comprendre l’importance de l’inclusion de ces concepts dans les débats et les pratiques artistiques contemporaines en ayant recours à une perspective qui part du particulier vers le général fondée sur une expérience autobiographique de déterritorialisation identifiée dans les travaux de cette chercheuse. Cette recherche présente une réflexion sur les concepts énoncés, soutenue par la perspective de théoriciens et artistes dont le travail théorique et pratique se centre sur les questions de l’identité de l’étranger, de l’espace-frontière, du métissage culturel e/ou sur les transformations du concept de culture, une réflexion soulignée par ma propre voyage expérience d’artiste étrangère. / A presente pesquisa parte da necessidade de compreender determinados factores da actualidade relacionados com os conceitos de fronteira, lugar, identidade, língua, emigração e imigração que desempenham um papel fulcral na esfera social, política, económica, cultural e que, nos últimos anos, têm vindo a ser debatidos e explorados no meio artístico, como a literatura, o cinema e as artes visuais. O objectivo é compreender a importância e a inclusão destes conceitos nos debates e nas práticas da arte contemporânea através de uma perspectiva que parte do particular para o geral e que assenta numa experiência autobiográfica de desterritorialização identificada na produção de obras desta pesquisadora. Esta investigação apresenta uma reflexão sobre estes conceitos, fundamentada na perspectiva de teóricos e artistas que se têm debruçado sobre a questão da identidade do estrangeiro, do espaço-fronteira, do indivíduo como mestiço ou sobre as transformações em torno da designação de cultura, reflexão pontuada pela minha experiência de viagem como artista-estrangeira. / The present research work arises from a need to understand certain present-day factors that are related to the concepts of border, place, identity, language, emigration and immigration, all concepts that have a central role on the social, political, economic, and cultural spheres, and which, lately, have been more and more debated and explored in the artistic world, through literature, cinema, and visual arts. The purpose here is to understand the importance of the concepts, as well as their inclusion in the art debates and art practices of contemporary art, through a perspective that moves from the particular to the generic, and which is based on an autobiographic experience of deterritorialization identified in the production of works of this researcher.. This research present a reflection about the concepts, based on the perspectives of theoretics and artists who have focused on the subject of the foreigner’s identity, the subject of the border-space, the individual as halfbreed, mestizo, or about the transformations around the designation of culture, a reflection that is punctuated by my own trip experience as foreign-artist.

Orientador: Rosangela da Silva Leote / Banca: José Paiani Spaniol / Banca: Maria de Fátima Lambert / Resumo: A presente pesquisa parte da necessidade de compreender determinados factores da actualidade relacionados com os conceitos de fronteira, lugar, identidade, língua, emigração e imigração que desempenham um papel fulcral na esfera social, política, económica, cultural e que, nos últimos anos, têm vindo a ser debatidos e explorados no meio artístico, como a literatura, o cinema e as artes visuais. O objectivo é compreender a importância e a inclusão destes conceitos nos debates e nas práticas da arte contemporânea através de uma perspectiva que parte do particular para o geral e que assenta numa experiência autobiográfica de desterritorialização identificada na produção de obras desta pesquisadora. Esta investigação apresenta uma reflexão sobre estes conceitos, fundamentada na perspectiva de teóricos e artistas que se têm debruçado sobre a questão da identidade do estrangeiro, do espaço-fronteira, do indivíduo como mestiço ou sobre as transformações em torno da designação de cultura, reflexão pontuada pela minha experiência de viagem como artista-estrangeira. / Abstract: The present research work arises from a need to understand certain present-day factors that are related to the concepts of border, place, identity, language, emigration and immigration, all concepts that have a central role on the social, political, economic, and cultural spheres, and which, lately, have been more and more debated and explored in the artistic world, through literature, cinema, and visual arts. The purpose here is to understand the importance of the concepts, as well as their inclusion in the art debates and art practices of contemporary art, through a perspective that moves from the particular to the generic, and which is based on an autobiographic experience of deterritorialization identified in the production of works of this researcher.. This research present a reflection about the concepts, based on the perspectives of theoretics and artists who have focused on the subject of the foreigner's identity, the subject of the border-space, the individual as halfbreed, mestizo, or about the transformations around the designation of culture, a reflection that is punctuated by my own trip experience as foreign-artist. / Résumé: Cette recherche a comme point de départ le besoin de comprendre certains éléments d'actualité en rapport avec les concepts de frontière, lieu, identité, langue, émigration et immigration qui jouent un rôle fondamental sur le plan social, politique, économique, culturel et qui, dans les dernières années, ont aussi été appropriés par le milieu artistique, se glissant dans les débats sur la littérature, le cinéma et les arts visuels. L'objectif du travail vise à comprendre l'importance de l'inclusion de ces concepts dans les débats et les pratiques artistiques contemporaines en ayant recours à une perspective qui part du particulier vers le général fondée sur une expérience autobiographique de déterritorialisation identifiée dans les travaux de cette chercheuse. Cette recherche présente une réflexion sur les concepts énoncés, soutenue par la perspective de théoriciens et artistes dont le travail théorique et pratique se centre sur les questions de l'identité de l'étranger, de l'espace-frontière, du métissage culturel e/ou sur les transformations du concept de culture, une réflexion soulignée par ma propre voyage expérience d'artiste étrangère. / Mestre

Dissertation submitted in partial compliance with the requirements for the Master's Degree in Technology: Fine Art (Painting), Technikon Natal / The financial assistance of the Centre for Science Development (HSRC, South Africa) towards this research is hereby acknowledged. Opinions expressed and conclusions arrived at, are those of the author and are not necessarily to be attributed to the Centre for Science Development. / M

M.Tech. / This research investigates how private, urban gardens in Johannesburg can be regarded as self representations under the ambit of visual culture. Based on the premise that private, urban gardens represent sites where subjective and cultural realms intersect, I employ discourse analysis based on a qualitative, interpretative paradigm to formulate a frame useful to an investigation of gardens. The frame is applied to two private, urban gardens in Johannesburg created by Jean Patchitt and Karel Nel. They are drawn from a single socio-economic class in order to reveal differences in the culturally constructed identities of the gardeners. I use the frame to examine artworks by artist and gardener Nel and artworks comprising my practical research, where gardens form the subject matter, to a similar end. Utilising a phenomenological approach, I argue that since gardens and artworks rely on sensory-perceptual experiences, an aesthetic that negotiates differences in value and pleasure informed by culture plays a determining role. By exploring the link between gardens and artworks as part of a larger signifying practice, my research contributes to the discourse of visual culture in general and to a South African context in particular.