A direct historical approach is used in this thesis to document the lost wax casting technique as currently practiced by indigenous metallurgists in northeastern Thailand. The smiths observed at Ban Pba Ao, Ubon Ratchathani Province are the last practicing members of a bronze working tradition that has been in continuous operation at the village for two centuries. An account of the processes used to create bronze bells is provided. Of particular significance is the fact that the yard in which casting activities are performed did not receive clean up operations following the bells production. As a result, hearths, bowl furnaces, crucibles and fragments of clay moulds are left scattered about the yard. These materials accumulating in one location would eventually create a mound of cultural debris. The discarded materials from the lost wax casting process as practiced at Ban Pba Ao provide considerable insight into what might be found in the stratigraphy of Peninsular Southeast Asian prehistoric sites that were involved in the production of bronze objects. The study concludes that attention needs to be paid to the stratigraphic sequences from which bronze artifacts are extracted, rather than relying on the artifacts to determine the type of process used in their manufacture.

A direct historical approach is used in this thesis to document the lost wax casting technique as currently practiced by indigenous metallurgists in northeastern Thailand. The smiths observed at Ban Pba Ao, Ubon Ratchathani Province are the last practicing members of a bronze working tradition that has been in continuous operation at the village for two centuries. An account of the processes used to create bronze bells is provided. Of particular significance is the fact that the yard in which casting activities are performed did not receive clean up operations following the bells production. As a result, hearths, bowl furnaces, crucibles and fragments of clay moulds are left scattered about the yard. These materials accumulating in one location would eventually create a mound of cultural debris. The discarded materials from the lost wax casting process as practiced at Ban Pba Ao provide considerable insight into what might be found in the stratigraphy of Peninsular Southeast Asian prehistoric sites that were involved in the production of bronze objects. The study concludes that attention needs to be paid to the stratigraphic sequences from which bronze artifacts are extracted, rather than relying on the artifacts to determine the type of process used in their manufacture.

My research considers one way in which contemporary sculptural art practice might reinterpret sculpture and painting, primarily from Catholicism as represented in Italian and Spanish Renaissance and Baroque art. The themes that are explored include: faith and doubt, divinity and human nature, miracles and materials. How can sculptural practice delve into the nature of faith and doubt through materials and processes, interpretative strategies, and a consideration of contexts? Can any sense of faith or belief in the unphysical be evoked in audiences through this practice-led research? The research employs inductive means and methodologies that are fundamentally practice-led and iterative. Rather than starting with a problem-based enquiry, a careful analysis of existing artworks, primarily by the painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio and the sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini, was undertaken. This study has led to the production of creative work that in turn has initiated further questions and more sculptural objects. The production of sculptural artefacts creates a snowballing effect that is a self-reflective, investigative cycle. This method draws upon the sculptural process itself and takes into account external and contextual considerations. My studio-based investigations have given rise to the sculptural work. These case studies reinforce an understanding that methods that are primarily based on the assessment of haptic means relating to touch, sight and other sensory perceptions can contribute to knowledge in meaningful and unique ways. The iterative process used in this research has thematic and metaphoric parallels to the ways in which Catholic stories are retold, interpreted, and examined – narratives that have themselves been continuously readapted to suit changing contexts and intended audiences. Such narratives have been disseminated throughout the history of Christianity, and continue to be circulated in modern-day Christianity. In our post-enlightenment world, the core theme of incredulity, as imagined through art, is explored. To this end, and to make wider connections with this enquiry, philosophical writings regarding ideas of truth and subjectivity, particularly the work of Søren Kierkegaard, are investigated. The historical sculpture and painting referenced and utilised as source material are themselves reinterpretations of pre-existing narratives and stories. This research strives to explore and expose the correlative relationship that exists between understandings of past and present day contexts and employs an examination of both historical and contemporary art works and practitioners. Rather than perceiving this research project primarily in the context of other contemporary art practices, the main focus is on how European artists from the early 17th century wrestled with imagining and imaging these stories and, in that context, how the same narratives might be reinterpreted today. A selection of contemporary artists has been used throughout the research in order to help situate this work within a contemporary cultural context. The primary output from the research is a selection of three sculptural groupings, referred to as case studies, presented in chronological order, taken from the larger body of sculptural artefacts created over the course of the entire research project. The three selected case studies encapsulate the key findings and principle discoveries. The case studies are supplemented by photographs of installed site-specific work, as well as the contextual and critical analysis contained in this thesis.

This thesis deals with questions concerning the sedentary settlement in central Norrland: its origins, function and development. This type of settlement appears at the start of our calendar. The material comprises an almost fully excavated farmstead from the Early Iron Age (1-600 A.D.), situated on Genesmon in the parish of Själevad, northern Ångermanland. Particular stress has been put on the description of the individual structures and on questions concerning the construction and room-division of the houses. The farm's resource utilization, handicrafts and development are also analysed and discussed.The basic material for the thesis has been obtained through archaeological excavations. To a limited degree a comparative method has been used with regard to the form and content of the farm settlement. In addition data has been extracted from the presence, distribution and species of carbonized seeds, which were collected from post-holes, hearths and other features in and around the nine house foundations found hitherto.Contrary to the views of previous research, the results show that even northern Ångermanland obtained sedentary settlement at about the same time as Hälsingland and Medelpad. With regard to the origin of this settlement a critical examination is made of previous research, which has largely been in agreement that it was a result of colonization from the Mälar Valley. Some circumstances are presented which can be interpreted rather as internal development under influence. The settlement on the excavated site at Gene consists of a farmstead, with a three-aisled long-house and smaller three-aisled houses nearby with special functions. The number of small houses increases with time. Only a few remnants of dividing walls have been encountered. Room analyses show that the long-house was probably divided into six rooms or sections, each with its own function. The general layout and this room-division corresponds well with other contemporary houses in, for example, S.W. Norway and on Jutland. There are however tendencies towards regional differences. During the Migration Period both iron-forging and bronze-casting have taken place on the farm. These handicrafts were probably not carried out by professional smiths. The remains of bronze working show that relief brooches, keys, rings and pins were cast. A preliminary going-through of the literature also shows that bronze-casting was considerably more common on the Migration Period farms in Norden than one generally assumed. The farm on Genesmon is suggested to have been relocated during the 6th or 7th century A.D. Since a similar restructuring or movement of settlement can be noted over large parts of Norden during this period, the explanations for the relocation of the Gene farm must be sought in changes in a long-established inter-regional structure. / digitalisering@umu

This thesis overviews my experience during graduate school making tangible,object oriented sculpture. I have been working formally to compose space in a way that develops a narrative between parts. The work is also a bridge between the fields of painting and sculpture, in terms of drawing with form and both painted and local, material color. My palette has mostly consisted of bronze casting, steel fabrication, fiberglass and epoxy resin, paint, the found object, woodworking, and mold making. This work is also conceptually based in showing the hand worked qualities of the materials, the transfer of meaning through casting, and my emotional relationship with the various parts of the sculptures. The three major themes of the work are: divine love and the complex of the apocalypse, the complexities and psychology concerning the relationship between a man and a woman, and the intrigue, potential energy, and beauty of the systems mankind hasinvented to harness the atom. The major artistic influences for this body of work have been: Jasper Johns, Marcel Duchamp, Constantine Brancusi, Alberto Giacommetti, Reg Butler, Henry Moore, Lynn Chadwick, Kenneth Armitage, Jeff Koons, Terry Winters, William DeKooning, Richard Diebenkorn, David Smith and Charles Long. I retain a strongrelationship with the movements of Dada, Surrealism, Futurism, and Assemblage, and amalso currently involved in solidifying the Manifesto of Raubeaux with a small group ofesteemed colleagues.