Hybrid beings have been a part of the artistic imagination since art was first made on cave walls and rock faces. Yet their visual makeup and symbolic meanings have changed over time from deities, demons, and oddities of nature to unconscious states of being and the socially and culturally marginalized. This dissertation will examine a history of hybrid beings and the work of Australian artist Patricia Piccinini. Her silicone sculptures, photographs, installations, and videos are hyperrealistic representations of composite beings that appear to have blended rather than fragmented characteristics of human and animal, which sets them apart from their historic precedents. Piccinini suggests that her hybrids are products of genetic engineering, ostensibly created to serve human beings as comforters, nurturers, protectors, and surrogates for humans and endangered species alike. I argue that Piccinini's hybrids shed light on the hubris and commercialism inherent in bioscientific advances, yet they also reveal a kind of societal ambivalence regarding the posthuman era. Her works suggest utopian aspirations for the future while mourning the loss of humanity as it has been known. Examining Piccinini's art through the lens of liminality and the body, I will contextualize her hybrids within cultural and art historical models from ancient Egypt and Greece through the Victorian eras. In particular, I will establish common ground with Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818), which served as an early inspiration for Piccinini's images and conceptual aims. I will also highlight hybrid imagery in Dada and Surrealism and feminist art to reveal the similarities and differences in their approaches and intent. Piccinini's works operate within Donna J. Haraway's notion of the cyborg; therefore, I will also analyze her art within that theoretical model. In addition, I will compare and contrast Piccinini's art to early hyprerrealist sculptors and contemporary artists working in this manner. Piccinini's hybrids establish that both humans and animals are social constructs, and that society has a responsibility for the life forms it creates. Ultimately, this project demonstrates that Piccinini's hybrids are not cautionary tales of a dystopian future but representations of the biotechnological sublime.

Icky Boy is a work of fiction, particularly a collection of short stories. Every story is set in a semi-fictional region of Southern Maine, most of them in the fictional town of Mousam. The collection begins with “Icky Boy,” the story of a shy, insecure young man who falls in love with a woman, Peg, he meets at the grocery store. Their relationship is complicated by the arrival of an unorthodox motivational speaker and by a freak accident that critically affects Peg. The second story, “Cardiac Fridays”, is about a retired professional wrestler, “Big” John Childs who tries to find excitement and purpose in his life (by helping out at a clinic that induces heart attacks in people looking for thrills) after retiring from his job and becoming estranged from his wife and son. “Bone Breaker” tells the story of a debt collector who is experiencing a mid-life crisis. In the process of pursuing a debtor he begins to have a change of heart and reevaluate his life. “Gravy Work” follows a young couple, Cheryl and Thurman, who experience relationship difficulties as a result of their different ambitions. They attempt to reconcile their personalities while also trying to move to a different city and coping with Thurman’s addiction to a new TV program. “Donor” is about half brothers, Arthur and Kevin, who don’t get along (due to Kevin’s rage disorder) and who haven’t found their niche in high school. The two boys begin contacting their respective sperm donors for insights into their past and their future potential. “Win-Win” is about a man’s return to his hometown to help bury an ex lover’s dead ex boyfriend. In his attempt to reconcile with his ex, the narrator reveals himself to be more conflicted and insecure than he previously thought. “Particular Human” is about two men who get a flat tire while driving and so stop at a late night fast food shop managed by a unique and uniquely sad individual. “Chassis” follows the tribulations of a small family as they cope with the matriarch’s failing health.

Två olika ljudläggningar, en hyperrealistisk och en minimalistisk, skapades till ett videoklipp av en spindel i ett datorspel för att undersöka och jämföra upplevelsen av dessa olika ljuddesignskoncept i relation till varandra. Frågan som besvarats lyder;“Hur upplevs minimalistisk kontra hyperrealistisk ljuddesign i kontext av skräckmedia?”. Arbetet har inspirerats av spindlars verkliga läten samt filmer och datorspel som innehåller jättelika spindlar eller insekter, vilket har kombineras med författarnas uppfattning och definitioner av minimalistisk och hyperrealistisk ljuddesign. Ljud har spelats in och signalbehandlats för att ljudlägga videoklippen. Denna artefakt testades med hjälp av åtta deltagare som fick se de två olika versionerna av videoklippen och sedan svara på relaterade frågor i en enkät. Den hyperrealistiska ljudläggningen var den föredragna av majoriteten av deltagare på grund av att den upplevdes mer obehaglig och för att den minimalistiska ljudläggningen uppfattades som ofullständig. Dock föredrog vissa deltagare den minimalistiska ljudläggningen då ljuden upplevdes tydligare och därmed mer obehagliga. / <p>Det finns övrigt digitalt material (t.ex. film-, bild- eller ljudfiler) eller modeller/artefakter tillhörande examensarbetet som ska skickas till arkivet.</p>

Ce mémoire s'attarde à la notion d'hyperréalisme en littérature contemporaine et à son incarnation spécifique dans trois romans de Suzanne Jacob : L'Obéissance (1991), Rouge mère et fils (2001) et Fugueuses (2005). Le recours à la théorie et à l'histoire de la peinture est essentiel puisque l'hyperréalisme est d'abord endossé par l'art pictural. De plus, la peinture, la photographie, le cinéma, la musique, la télévision, la sculpture, l'architecture et la littérature sont autant de médiations fortement présentes dans le roman hyperréaliste. Cette présence multiple des médias est essentielle au caractère hyperréaliste d'une œuvre ; la tentative d'intégrer le réel passe par un détour représentationnel. Les manifestations stylistiques et narratives de l'hyperréalisme sont associées à l'intégration de formes empruntées à d'autres arts ou médias comme la fugue et le fait divers. Les effets de l'hyperréalisme sur la narration se manifestent également par un éclatement des focalisations, en témoignent la fragmentation narrative ainsi que l'importance accordée au détail. Enfin, l'hyperréalisme joue sur une tension constante entre continuité et rupture. Les conséquences sont à envisager dans une sorte d'appréhension du réel, tant par le personnage que par le roman, qui doivent composer avec une multiplicité de représentations. / This Master's thesis studies the concept of hyperrealism in the context of contemporary literature. It focuses more specifically on the ways it is expressed in three novels written by Suzanne Jacob : L'Obéissance (1991), Rouge mère et fils (2001) and Fugueuses (2005). An overview of the history and theoretical aspects of pictural art is essential to understand hyperrealism for the latter is intertwined with this art form. When taking a closer look at the hyperrealistic novel, one will notice the abundance of media references (i.e. pictural art, photography, cinema, music, television, sculpture, architecture and literature). This occurrence of multiple medias and the depiction of the real through mediated representations are essential components of hyperrealistic works. Style and narrative are intimately related to these medias and art forms. The Hyperrealist novel hence will feature complex and particular narrative structures characterized by juxtaposed focalizations, narrative fragments and importance given to fine detail. Finally, the hyperrealist novel employs continuity and fragmentation. It features characters and author composing with these complex representations wich will eventually lead them to demonstrate skepticism and doubt when apprehending the real.

This practice-led Ph.D. is comprised of a body of work (hybrid films) and its contextual analysis. Together they constitute a method that aims to understand and re-interpret the dialogical relationship between live action and animation filmmaking. The research argues that from its beginning the art of moving images has presented a struggle between opposed tendencies such as imprint and construction , machine eye and artist s hand , dissection of time and condensation of time that are found between the unstable duality of live action and animation. While mainstream cinema has focused most of its efforts on taming the collisions that occur within the integration of live action and animation, it has also relied on the interface s instability to animate its being. As the interface becomes more invisible in the digital age, this research reconsiders the interaction between live action and animation in moving-image production and the construction of meaning in filmmaking as it incorporates the digital into its languages. In contextualising the double and fluctuating nature of co-presence in live action and animation, my question is How could the integration of the opposing attributes of live action and animation interrupt perceptual realism and produce a sense of estrangement in a meaningful way? Firstly this involves identifying the constantly mobile tension between live action and animation. Secondly integration is informed by ideas of estrangement and derealisation , and methods of interrupting perceptual coherence within the screened world to reveal insights into the world of social relations. Two underlying themes are addressed: (1) the uncanniness of co-presence, and (2) the expression of subjectivity through this co-presence. Interrogating the constructedness of the hybridised figure as it appears on screen by exposing its inherent conflicts, and exploring the aesthetics of estrangement and the expression of subjectivity in hybrid films led to an inquiry about cinematic time and movement. This revealed another dimension to the difference and interrelationship between live action and animation. Being both the source and outcome of these themes as expressed in the written thesis, the practical component of this project consists of three hybrid films: Nothing to Do with Weather (3 50 ), Animating Animator the Animated (2 47 ), and Flying Tunes (8 27 ). Theoretical findings are identified through the analysis of works by other artists and discussion of their concepts, and my own practice contributes to knowledge by inspiring, assessing and demonstrating my ideas on hybridity. My three practices are, to some extent, an allegory about the alienation a Far-East Asian filmmaker may feel in a world seemingly dominated by Western paradigms. The films chart my Far-Eastern Asian independent filmmaker s research as a journey towards an adaptation of the aesthetics and methods of contemporary filmmaking originating in Western culture and philosophy. As a piece of research, the transformation of the researcher through practice may be considered of significance in the formation of theory.

<p>Denna uppsats presenterar en historisk exposé kring den visuella och tekniska utvecklingen av stridsvagnsanimationer. Detta med fokus på perception och kognition utifrån definitionerna abstraktion, realism och hyperrealism. Uppsatsen ämnar förklara i bild, text och rörlig media hur utvecklingen sett ut och hur långt den har nått. För att åstadkomma detta har en analysmatris tagits fram, ur vilken valda beståndsdelar i spelen Battlezone, Battle Tank och Battlefield 1942 dissekeras. För att ytterligare påvisa kontrasten i utvecklingskurvan, har jag haft Craft Animations och deras verktyg till min hjälp. Verktyget och resultaten detta genererar, analyseras med hjälp av samma analysmatris som för spelen.</p><p>Resultatet visar en tydlig kontrast i utvecklingen, där Craft Animations verktyg representerar vad vi idag kan kalla för hyperrealism.</p>

Ce mémoire s'attarde à la notion d'hyperréalisme en littérature contemporaine et à son incarnation spécifique dans trois romans de Suzanne Jacob : L'Obéissance (1991), Rouge mère et fils (2001) et Fugueuses (2005). Le recours à la théorie et à l'histoire de la peinture est essentiel puisque l'hyperréalisme est d'abord endossé par l'art pictural. De plus, la peinture, la photographie, le cinéma, la musique, la télévision, la sculpture, l'architecture et la littérature sont autant de médiations fortement présentes dans le roman hyperréaliste. Cette présence multiple des médias est essentielle au caractère hyperréaliste d'une œuvre ; la tentative d'intégrer le réel passe par un détour représentationnel. Les manifestations stylistiques et narratives de l'hyperréalisme sont associées à l'intégration de formes empruntées à d'autres arts ou médias comme la fugue et le fait divers. Les effets de l'hyperréalisme sur la narration se manifestent également par un éclatement des focalisations, en témoignent la fragmentation narrative ainsi que l'importance accordée au détail. Enfin, l'hyperréalisme joue sur une tension constante entre continuité et rupture. Les conséquences sont à envisager dans une sorte d'appréhension du réel, tant par le personnage que par le roman, qui doivent composer avec une multiplicité de représentations. / This Master's thesis studies the concept of hyperrealism in the context of contemporary literature. It focuses more specifically on the ways it is expressed in three novels written by Suzanne Jacob : L'Obéissance (1991), Rouge mère et fils (2001) and Fugueuses (2005). An overview of the history and theoretical aspects of pictural art is essential to understand hyperrealism for the latter is intertwined with this art form. When taking a closer look at the hyperrealistic novel, one will notice the abundance of media references (i.e. pictural art, photography, cinema, music, television, sculpture, architecture and literature). This occurrence of multiple medias and the depiction of the real through mediated representations are essential components of hyperrealistic works. Style and narrative are intimately related to these medias and art forms. The Hyperrealist novel hence will feature complex and particular narrative structures characterized by juxtaposed focalizations, narrative fragments and importance given to fine detail. Finally, the hyperrealist novel employs continuity and fragmentation. It features characters and author composing with these complex representations wich will eventually lead them to demonstrate skepticism and doubt when apprehending the real.

The thesis on the use of digital graphic techniques in the medium of painting consists of the theoretical and practical chapter. The theoretical chapter contains an overview of the new media problematics. It deals with the origin and evolution of post-internet art. The thesis is completed with basic topics of art trend, technique and display possibilities. The world's most famous artists and exhibitions are mentioned in the text. It also deals with hyperrealism and its common features with the post-Internet. As part of the practical chapter, there are three graphic designs created in Adobe Photoshop digital graphics software. Two of those designs were afterwards hyper realistically re-created with oil paints on canvas. The thesis contains pictorial material documenting the whole process of realization.

Botaniska bilder har varit en viktig del inom medicin och vetenskap sedan antiken och de har fortfarande en etablerad plats i vårt samhälle i form av floror, faunor och annat utbildningsmaterial. Den stora förändringen som skett är övergången från teckningar till fotografier och i denna uppsats tittar jag närmare på hur samtida botaniska bilder är uppbyggda och jämför teckningar och illustrationer ur perspektivet visuell kommunikation. Jag använder en kvalitativ innehållsanalys kodad med nyckelord hämtade från bland annat kognitionsteori och representationsteori. Resultatet tyder på att valet av medieform är mindre avgörande ur ett visuellt kommunikativt perspektiv och att medieformerna delar samma styrkor och svagheter. / Botanical images have been an important part of medicine and science since ancient times and they still have an established place in our society in the form of flora, fauna and other educational materials. The big change that has taken place is the transition from drawings to photographs and in this essay I take a closer look at how contemporary botanical images are structured and compare drawings and illustrations from the perspective of visual communication. I use a qualitative content analysis coded with keywords taken from, among other things, cognitive theory and representation theory. The results indicate that the choice of media form is less decisive from a visual communicative perspective and that the media forms share the same strengths and weaknesses.

Avsikten med denna studie har varit att studera problematiken som har uppstått i och med det växande fenomenet finansiella influensers och dess koppling till marknadsmanipulation. Med en explosiv ökning inom aktiehandeln på dagens finansmarknader är det många beslut som inte längre kan definieras med enbart klassisk finansiell teori. Det växande och mer irrationella fenomenet finansiella influensers ses som en potentiell källa till denna utveckling. Med hjälp av ett postmodernt ramverk ämnar studien undersöka och analysera effekten detta fenomen har på investeringsbeslut samt undersöka hur Marknadsmissbrukslagen påverkar dessa influensers. Detta då marknadsmanipulation i tidigare studier visat sig kunna ha en koppling till finansiella influensers ageranden. Studien tillämpar ett kvalitativt tillvägagångssätt med postmodern inriktning, i syfte att studera en av flera möjliga beskrivningar av verkligheten. För bästa möjliga resultat använder studien en triangulering av data vilket innebär dels en tematisk innehålls-analys utav nio semistrukturerade intervjuer där åtta av respondenterna utgörs av finansengagerade småsparare och där den nionde är yrkesmässig expert på området, dels en kvalitativ innehållsanalys av en dokumentstudie för att inkorporera förståelse kring studiens problematik som den tas upp i andra samhällsdiskurser. Studien visar hur människor uppfattar att finansiella influensers har stor påverkan på dagens finansiella beslut och att detta fenomen har stor potential att orsaka marknadsmanipulation genom uppmaningar till följarna. Resultaten visar på att en postmodern syn på fenomenet kan öka förståelsen för dess existens, detta genom att inte endast irrationell eller rationell teori lyckas självständigt beskriva företeelsen. En viss samexistens av teorierna anses därmed behövas och svaren visar också på en potentiell koppling till rationaliteten bakom att göra till synes irrationella finansbeslut i dagens marknader. Ett tecken på hur finans är hyperrealistiskt, d.v.s. ett fenomen som givits en ny kontext skiljd från dess ursprungliga mening. Hyperrealism medför också att finans kan ses som postmodernt. Den reglering som är ämnad att kontrollera dessa marknadsmanipulationer, dvs. Marknadsmissbrukslagen, visar sig lida av otydlighet och potentiell godtycklighet. Studien visar på hur denna uppfattning från flera marknadsaktörer grundar sig i övertygelser om potentiellt subjektiva domar baserade på kriterier som inte lätt förstås av vare sig småsparare eller av större marknadsaktörer. Regleringens otydlighet markerar dess frånkoppling från lagens logiska grund och förståelsen för Marknadsmissbrukslagen kan öka genom att se på den som en godtycklig spelregel. Denna aspekt målar också upp en bild utav hyperrealism utifrån att regleringen praktiskt kan tänkas agera som en spelregel för finansmarknaden men i dagens samhälle används som lag. Studien visar därmed ett ytterligare bevis för hur finans uppfattas som postmodernt. / The purpose of this study has been to examine the problems that have arisen as a result of the growing phenomenon that is financial influencers and its’ connection to market manipulation. With a rapid increase of stock trading in today’s financial markets, there are many decisions in themselves that can no longer be defined solely by classic financial theory. The growing and more irrational phenomenon of financial influencers is seen as one potential source of this development. Using a postmodern framework, the study intends to investigate and analyze the effects this phenomenon has on investment decisions and also examine how the Swedish Market Abuse Act (Marknadsmissbrukslagen) affect these influencers. This is done because market manipulation has shown to have a potential connection to the actions of financial influencers. The study applies a qualitative approach with a postmodern focus, in order to examine one of several possible descriptions of reality. To attain the best results possible this study implemented triangulation of data, which included a themed content analysis based on nine semi structured interviews where eight respondents were ordinary investors and the nineth respondent were a professional in this particular work field. The study also constitutes a qualitative content analysis of a document study in order to incorporate a deeper understanding for the study’s problematization as it is mentioned in the social discourse. The study shows how people perceive that financial influencers have a great affect on today’s financial decisions and that this phenomenon has substantial potential to cause market manipulation through urgings to followers. The results show that a postmodern view of the phenomenon can increase the understanding of its existence, this is done through showing that neither rational nor irrational finance theories can on their own fully explain the phenomenon. A certain coexistence of these theories is thus considered necessary. The study also shows a potential connection to the rationality behind making seemingly irrational financial decisions in today’s markets. A sign showing how finance is hyper-realistic, i.e., a phenomenon that given a new context separated from its original meaning. Hyperrealism also means that finance can be seen as postmodern. The regulation that intends to control these market manipulations, i.e. The Swedish Market Abuse Act, turns out to suffer from ambiguity and potential arbitrariness. The study shows how this perception by several market participants is planted on beliefs about potentially subjective judgements based on criteria that are not easily understood by ordinary investors nor larger market participants. The ambiguity of the regulation points out its disconnection from the logical foundation of law and the understanding of the Swedish Market Abuse Act therefore might increase by interpreting this law as an arbitrary game rule. This specific aspect also paints a hyperrealistic picture, as the regulation is practically understood as a game rule in financial markets, but in today’s markets it functions as a law. Thus, our study presents further evidence how finance is perceived as postmodern.