This thesis involves the study of four woodcuts from the twentieth century German Expressionist movement. The study of these woodcuts inspires and informs the translation of these artworks from two-dimensional works on paper to three-dimensional computer generated models. The goal of this thesis is to produce work that is derivative of the chosen woodcuts rather than create replicas of these artworks. The work undertaken utilizes Maya, a 3D software, and Mental Ray, a production quality rendering software. The final results are presented through stills, image sequences, and prints. The methods used to attain the goal of this thesis can provide a framework for artists who would like to achieve a similar woodcut look in their digital three-dimensional work.

This thesis involves the study of four woodcuts from the twentieth century German Expressionist movement. The study of these woodcuts inspires and informs the translation of these artworks from two-dimensional works on paper to three-dimensional computer generated models. The goal of this thesis is to produce work that is derivative of the chosen woodcuts rather than create replicas of these artworks. The work undertaken utilizes Maya, a 3D software, and Mental Ray, a production quality rendering software. The final results are presented through stills, image sequences, and prints. The methods used to attain the goal of this thesis can provide a framework for artists who would like to achieve a similar woodcut look in their digital three-dimensional work.

This project explores the basic tenets of abstract expressionism and is considered in relation to the idea of the sublime, limitlessness and the formless. In this research I am interested in investigating the progression from two-dimensional non-representational painting, through experimentation with light mediating materials to projection of the painting via the medium of film. Light is used to intensify the image with a view to expand the viewer’s awareness and understanding of the sublime. The research seeks to find ways that allow the viewer to explore the feeling of uncertainty and the sensation of wonderment. Through an ephemeral spaciousness that has no boundaries, the spectator is encouraged through contemplation to transform their experiences of the finite in order to approach the infinite and the sublime.

In this dissertation, I examine discourses on disability and the body in three German Expressionist dramas written directly after WWI both for the discursive work they do in this context and for their relevance today: Ernst Toller’s Die Wandlung: Das Ringen eines Menschen (1918) and Der deutsche Hinkemann (1923) as well as Karl August Wittfogel’s Der Krüppel (1920). I analyze how these plays draw on ideas about disability in post-WWI Germany in the midst of a broad-ranging critique of the violence inherent in nationalistic, militaristic, economic, and rehabilitationist discourses. The analysis contributes to the current discussion on how to dismantle what are referred to in disability studies as “disabling discourses,” that is, those discourses that lend support to discrimination against bodies marked as disabled. I contend that the use of representation to subvert bodily norms and resist “the medical model of disability” did not begin only after the emergence of the disability rights movement. I demonstrate how these three Expressionist plays indeed resist disabling discourses in ways that were both feasible and intelligible in their context. I argue that not only was the discourse on disability in this time and place multiple, but also that the primary texts use of a variety of (literary) strategies to resist normative paradigms that privilege able-bodied, aesthetically-pleasing, and economically-productive bodies. The analysis shows how these representations pose a challenge the medical mode of understanding the body, critically engage the social stigma that often accompanies the presence of disability, and offer alternative ways of reading and valuing the body. I argue that literary representations of disability can serve to de-naturalize ideas about ability and other ideals of embodiment, and that even the hyperbolic bodies one encounters in these Expressionist dramas can help readers to better understand processes of disablement. This project will also demonstrate that literary representations of disability are of importance for disabled and non-disabled persons alike because they reveal and critically engage various techniques that are used to categorize and assign value to all bodies in a society in which ideals of ability, beauty, and utility are used to assess the value of life.

This project explores the basic tenets of abstract expressionism and is considered in relation to the idea of the sublime, limitlessness and the formless. In this research I am interested in investigating the progression from two-dimensional non-representational painting, through experimentation with light mediating materials to projection of the painting via the medium of film. Light is used to intensify the image with a view to expand the viewer’s awareness and understanding of the sublime. The research seeks to find ways that allow the viewer to explore the feeling of uncertainty and the sensation of wonderment. Through an ephemeral spaciousness that has no boundaries, the spectator is encouraged through contemplation to transform their experiences of the finite in order to approach the infinite and the sublime.

Master of Arts / Department of Modern Languages / Benjamin Torrico / This thesis analyses the play Nosferatu by the contemporary Spanish author Francisco Nieva, and more specifically focuses on its genesis in silent film, primarily German Expressionist. First we take a look at the genre and style of the work itself, followed by a history of the vampire in literature and film. After a brief summary of the play, we begin to focus on the films, first discussing how Nieva came into contact with them in France through the cinémathèques. What follows is a detailed study of the films, with summaries, analysis of themes, and finally a comparison to Nosferatu, looking at the elements of the play that each film directly influenced.

Jakob van Hoddis, Georg Trakl together with Else Lasker-Schüler belong to the leading representatives of early expressionist poetry. This thesis deals with translation analysis of their selected poems into the Czech language. The first part of the thesis describes the birth, evolution and essential ideas of expressionism, but also significant centres of literary course of events of that period and reception of expressionism in Bohemia and Moravia. The issue of artistic translation is further outlined with focus on the question of equivalence. The second part of the thesis includes analysis of selected poems, which are ordered according to the author and date of issue. One chapter is devoted to each poet, it briefly introduces his life to help point out aspects which have influenced his production, followed by analysis of poems that document the circumstances of their creation and comparisons of their translations. Key words: expressionist poetry, translation analysis, Jakob van Hoddis, Georg Trakl, Else Lasker-Schüler

Master of Visual Arts / The title Normal What refers to a group of paintings that emerged from my Masters of Visual Arts 2004/05 studio project. Individual paintings are chronological self portrait reflecting upon my own experiences and those in the wider community who at some point in their lives have had to endure the struggles, and negative stigma that is so often attached to those who have become marginalised and detached from mainstream society. People found in this category include the disabled, homeless, unemployed, and those with addiction problems. Each painting bears a close connection with techniques associated with abstract expressionist painting. This radiates through the vast expanse of drips, stains and explosions which appear to suffocate the paintings delicate monochrome surface. Strong references to Kristeva’s theory on Abjection arrive through the aggressive and violent outbursts of paint that evoke an atmosphere of symbolic horror, personal dysfunction and social oppression. This emerges out of the shadows and private spaces of the painting’s domestic interior. Deep emotional, psychological, sociological sensitivities are raised throughout my studio practice. Combined with a series of unresolved tensions, and questions surrounding normality run deep a consequence of society’s push for normality are being felt most acutely by those effected by this form of sociology. The ideas raised through my studio project had a profound influence on the research being conducted for the dissertation. Kristeva’s theory on Abjection, along side the practices of Eva Hesse, Barnett Newman, Agnes Martin emerged from a group of highly emotional abstract paintings. This strengthened the connection between the studio project and the dissertation. Aimed at deepening a personal understanding an commitment to researching the subject of normality and how it could be successfully articulated through a visual narrative.

Master of Visual Arts / The title Normal What refers to a group of paintings that emerged from my Masters of Visual Arts 2004/05 studio project. Individual paintings are chronological self portrait reflecting upon my own experiences and those in the wider community who at some point in their lives have had to endure the struggles, and negative stigma that is so often attached to those who have become marginalised and detached from mainstream society. People found in this category include the disabled, homeless, unemployed, and those with addiction problems. Each painting bears a close connection with techniques associated with abstract expressionist painting. This radiates through the vast expanse of drips, stains and explosions which appear to suffocate the paintings delicate monochrome surface. Strong references to Kristeva’s theory on Abjection arrive through the aggressive and violent outbursts of paint that evoke an atmosphere of symbolic horror, personal dysfunction and social oppression. This emerges out of the shadows and private spaces of the painting’s domestic interior. Deep emotional, psychological, sociological sensitivities are raised throughout my studio practice. Combined with a series of unresolved tensions, and questions surrounding normality run deep a consequence of society’s push for normality are being felt most acutely by those effected by this form of sociology. The ideas raised through my studio project had a profound influence on the research being conducted for the dissertation. Kristeva’s theory on Abjection, along side the practices of Eva Hesse, Barnett Newman, Agnes Martin emerged from a group of highly emotional abstract paintings. This strengthened the connection between the studio project and the dissertation. Aimed at deepening a personal understanding an commitment to researching the subject of normality and how it could be successfully articulated through a visual narrative.

Since its entry into the literary field in the late eighteenth century, the vampire has seen many permutations, ranging from the truly monstrous to the present-day seductive stranger. The creature’s mutability stems from its liminal placement, hovering as it does between life and death. In exploring the figure of the vampire within the Germanic tradition, two works separated not only by medium, but also by nearly a century of time, emerged as the focus of this thesis: Ludwig Tieck’s Romantic Kunstmärchen “Der Runenberg” and Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau’s Expressionist film Nosferatu: Eine Symphonie des Grauens. Superficially, this link appears tenuous, but in analyzing Tieck’s fairy tale and Murnau’s neo-Romantic film several thematic connections emerge. Both works contain a complex and fluid depiction of gender, a narrative of infection, and a vampire that is an embodiment and corruption of nature. Using a syntagmatic approach, this thesis explores the similarities between the two works, as well as the differences, with a focus on the element of vampiric nature and the representations of gender. / Graduate