En 1966, le Black Power Movement, qui influence de nombreux mouvements sociaux de libération, signale un changement de paradigme dans l’activisme aux États-Unis désigné par la terminologie de « politiques de l’identité ». Si, en affirmant la nécessité d’une analyse politique des discriminations, celles-ci en appellent à de profonds changements dans la société, elles imprègnent aussi les arts visuels et génèrent des mutations importantes quant à la définition de l’art et au rôle de l’artiste aux États-Unis. En s’emparant des politiques de l’identité, les artistes incorporent leurs engagements dans leurs pratiques, créent des formes d’expression originales et remettent en cause la validité du canon. Par une étude de cas sur la Californie entre 1966 et 1990, combinée à une approche chronologique et comparative, ce travail de recherche explore les rencontres entre les arts visuels et les politiques de l’identité, et plus largement la relation entre art et politique dans un contexte culturel moins exploré que la scène artistique de New York, afin d’analyser en quoi elles s’avèrent essentielles pour saisir les pratiques artistiques postérieures et les discours sur les identités. Cette thèse en histoire de l’art, pour laquelle les études culturelles et les théories féministes ont constitué des apports fondamentaux, propose ainsi d’établir des convergences artistiques autour de thématiques liées à des problématiques centrales des politiques de l’identité et, dans le même temps, à souligner de nouvelles approches dans le domaine de l’art, de la politique et de la théorie / In 1966, the Black Power Movement, which influenced numerous other social liberation movements, signaled a paradigm shift in American activism designated by the term “identity politics.” By affirming the necessity for a political analysis of discrimination, identity politics called for profound changes in society, which also influenced the visual arts, resulting in important changes regarding the definition of art and the role of the artist in American society. By drawing on this new politics of identity, these artists incorporated activism into practice, creating original forms of expression and challenging the validity of the canon. This research project explores the encounters between visual arts and identity politics, as well as the broader relationship between art and politics, through a chronological and comparative case study of California from 1966 to 1990—a cultural context much less studied than the New York scene—in order to determine its importance for later artistic practices and discourses on identity. This thesis in Art History, to which cultural studies and feminism have made fundamental contributions, therefore proposes to establish artistic convergences around themes linked to the central premises of identity politics while at the same time highlighting new approaches in the fields of art, politics and theory

The dissertation focuses on the phenomenon of a new presence of references to traditional folk culture in contemporary Czech and Slovak art. Emphasis is placed on the period from the year 2000 to the present. The core of the work consists of chapters devoted to artists who in this period significantly thematized various aspects of traditional folk culture, either as a partial element of specific projects or in the form of continuous interest in the field. The essence of this part is to show the breadth and heterogeneity of the examined manifestations across the media spectrum. The main purpose of the work is to analyze and place the researched phenomena in a relevant context within the theory and history of art. The reason is their different nature from thematically similar manifestations in the 19th and 20th centuries. In addition, when compared with current trends abroad, a number of connections are shown, such as links to environmental issues, criticism of the state of society and, above all, to new issues related to personal and collective identification. Therefore, I base the analysis of these phenomena on a hybrid interdisciplinary basis using theoretical approaches to identity in the social sciences and humanities. I do so in the introductory theoretical chapters, but the main focus is on the final analytical synthesis. To a large extent, it also builds on data obtained from interviews with artists, the transcripts of which the reader will find in the appendix. Finally, the documentation of curatorial projects and exhibitions realized as a practical part of the dissertation project is attached.

This dissertation investigates the correlation between semiotic theory and the way that gendered subjectivity is represented in contemporary South African art. The phenomenon of signification is central to the semiotic theories of the Bulgarian semiotician and psychoanalyst Julia Kristeva. Semiotics can be described as the science of the sign that considers the way in which artists express their personal experience in art making. In this investigation I refer mainly to women's artworks, although the concept of gendered subjectivity in the work of male artists is also discussed. This particular research investigates the symbolic relations of culture in gender terms, that explores the apparent contradictions of subjectivity inherent in capitalist patriarchal society. / Art History, Visual Arts & Music / M.A. (Visual Arts)

In view of the scarcity of Indian women in the South African art field, this study investigates how issues of race, class and gender can affect the decision to become and sustain a career as a professional artist. By exploring the historical background of the Indian community and their patriarchal mind set it becomes clear that women's roles in this community have always been prescribed by tradition and cultural values, despite western influence. Moreover the legacy of apartheid created a situation in which black artists, especially women. have not always benefitted in terms of career opportunities. The research is based on case studies of five Indian women who have received due recognition as artists: Lalitha Jawahirilal, Usha Seejarim, Sharlene Khan, Simmi Dullay and Reshma Chhiba. These artists' lives, careers and artistic output are closely studied, documented and critically interpreted using key concepts such as orientalism, black feminism and post colonialism. / Art History, Visual Arts & Musicology / M.A. (Art History)

In view of the scarcity of Indian women in the South African art field, this study investigates how issues of race, class and gender can affect the decision to become and sustain a career as a professional artist. By exploring the historical background of the Indian community and their patriarchal mind set it becomes clear that women's roles in this community have always been prescribed by tradition and cultural values, despite western influence. Moreover the legacy of apartheid created a situation in which black artists, especially women. have not always benefitted in terms of career opportunities. The research is based on case studies of five Indian women who have received due recognition as artists: Lalitha Jawahirilal, Usha Seejarim, Sharlene Khan, Simmi Dullay and Reshma Chhiba. These artists' lives, careers and artistic output are closely studied, documented and critically interpreted using key concepts such as orientalism, black feminism and post colonialism. / Art History, Visual Arts and Musicology / M.A. (Art History)

This dissertation investigates the correlation between semiotic theory and the way that gendered subjectivity is represented in contemporary South African art. The phenomenon of signification is central to the semiotic theories of the Bulgarian semiotician and psychoanalyst Julia Kristeva. Semiotics can be described as the science of the sign that considers the way in which artists express their personal experience in art making. In this investigation I refer mainly to women's artworks, although the concept of gendered subjectivity in the work of male artists is also discussed. This particular research investigates the symbolic relations of culture in gender terms, that explores the apparent contradictions of subjectivity inherent in capitalist patriarchal society. / Art History, Visual Arts and Music / M.A. (Visual Arts)

An overview of global statistics on violence, country to country and worldwide, indicates that men are the main perpetrators of violence in our societies. Furthermore, the behavioural traits of risk-taking and self-harm are also associated with men. It is my contention that the formative processes involved in gender identity are at the root of these dysfunctions. In an attempt to present a positive alternative, I focus on a group I name the X- Men: white South African Generation X males. Drawing on Judith Butler‟s theory of performativity and its allowance for agency and resistance, I argue that they are not necessarily trapped by how their gender identities were formed through Apartheid‟s gendered institutions. These included schools, sport and the military. I posit that within the institution of art, self-aware artists may present visual representations of resistance and transformation. Acknowledging art as signifying text, the X-Men situate signs differently in an effort to accomplish a social and intersubjective raising-of-awareness. Additionally, this new identity and its associated positive performance have the potential to undermine certain stereotypical perceptions harboured by the broader society as a result of problematic behaviour associated with men. / Art History, Visual Arts and Musicology / M.V.A.