The relationship between Symbolism and Surrealism is well known yet scarcely documented in detail. This thesis aims to address this oversight by exploring the connections between these two movements, specifically through investigating their shared motif of the androgyne. The androgyne embodies the professed aim of each of these groups: the transcendence of the physical in favour of the ephemeral for the Symbolists, and the unification of opposites for the Surrealists. Equally, both movements have an interest in the occult, and the androgyne is a key image within the occult tradition symbolising spiritual unity, dovetailing with the Symbolists’ and the Surrealists’ goals. The androgyne will be analysed firstly within the context of alchemy, surveying the way in which it is portrayed in primary sources, and how this has changed in Symbolist and Surrealist art. It will also be analysed in the contexts of psychoanalysis and gender identity, observing how male and female artists portray the androgyne differently and why. The aim of this thesis is therefore two-fold: firstly, a comparative study of the iconography employed by these connected movements, to original alchemical sources, and also between the male and female artists of these movements. Secondly, it aims to create a more secure basis for the notion of alchemical influence on Symbolism and Surrealism.

The francophone bande dessinée came of age in the late twentieth century, earning the title of “Ninth Art” and becoming increasingly accepted as a focus of critical discussion and academic analysis. However, despite this impressive evolution, the representation of women in the bande dessinée remains vastly understudied. This thesis thus aims to provide a first step in the analysis of female characters as a distinct phenomenon within the Ninth Art. It considers the evolution of female depiction throughout the twentieth-century medium and beyond, and provides close studies of specific female characters, the results of which are synthesised to present comparative conclusions relating to women in the bande dessinée as a whole. The historical and formal specificity of the medium is studied in relation to female representation to determine what may (or may not be) particular to the depiction of women in the bande dessinée. As a medium that is overwhelmingly male-dominated in terms of creation as well as representation, the differing relations to BD production between genders, both historically and socially, are represented within this thesis in a division of chapters examining female representation by men and by women artists. The first and second chapters consider respectively the depiction of female primary and secondary figures created by men in the medium, studying specific character examples and reflecting on the varying ways of looking at women drawn into different roles. The third and final chapter analyses the representation of women figures by women artists, focusing on how the specificity of the medium may contribute to female depiction outside of dominant modes of production and representation. Proposed next steps for continuing research on the representation of women in the bande dessinée form the conclusion to this work.

The Berlin photographer Marta Astfalck-Vietz was active in the Weimar Republic, between 1924 and 1936. Her work was re-discovered in 1989 by the curator Janos Frecot, who staged a solo exhibition of her work in the Berlinische Galerie in 1991, and her archive, comprising just over 400 prints, is now held there. Since this show, the work of Marta Astfalck-Vietz has rarely been exhibited. In both German and Anglo-American scholarship it has received sporadic attention; the only text devoted to her work is still the catalogue to Frecot’s 1991 show. This thesis presents her photography to an Anglo-American audience, not as a compensatory exercise in retrieving a forgotten woman artist, but as a contribution to the existing body of literature on women in the Weimar era. Like other female artists of the period, Marta Astfalck-Vietz negotiated between her private experiences of life in the Republic and representations of its social and political tensions, which were circulated in novels, in films, on the stage, and in magazines. Her photographs address the issues of sex gender and race that preoccupy historians of Weimar Germany, confirming, confounding, and expanding our knowledge of the era.

This dissertation investigates the effects of Revolutionary (1797) and Napoleonic (1806-14) rule on the artistic patrimony of the city of Venice. Its aim is to explore just how far-reaching the spoliation of Venetian buildings was during the short lived Provisional Municipality, as well as in the wake of the suppressions and closures of parish churches, convents, monasteries, and confraternities during the eight years that Venice was part of the Italian Kingdom. Dealing with a vast amount of hitherto unpublished evidence, the dissertation sheds light on the motivations for, and the logistics of, the appropriation, transfer, and disposal of artworks and liturgical furnishings. It investigates the various government bodies involved, and their hierarchies and responsibilities, while a number of case studies detail how the suppressions themselves were carried out, and how the buildings and their contents were treated and affected in their aftermath. The two distinct periods in the history of Venice saw great differences in approaches to artistic patrimony: in 1797, a limited number of artworks had been allocated to France in a peace treaty, while, later on, the sheer quantities of objects made it close to impossible to achieve a systematic method. Using archival materials such as official correspondence, and inventories and valuations drawn up by government delegates, alongside published eighteenth- and nineteenth-century guidebooks of Venice, the thesis provides a detailed account of the effects of Revolutionary and Napoleonic rule on the city’s artistic heritage. In order to do so, it is divided into four chapters. The first two are more general in scope, the first tracing the events of 1797, and the activity of the Committee of Public Instruction and Commission Temporaire des Arts during this time, the second exploring the Demanio administration of state property, and the roles of delegates Pietro Edwards and Giuseppe Baldassini, as well as private sales and auctions, and the removal and transportation of objects from suppressed institutions. Case studies of two diocesan churches, Santa Marina and San Nicolò di Castello, and two monastic foundations, Santa Maria dei Frari and Santa Maria dei Servi, as well as eight scuole grandi follow. Venetian buildings and their patrimony have not yet been studied as much in detail for the period in question as this dissertation endeavours to do. These microcosmic studies will contribute greatly to the understanding of the effects of Revolutionary and Napoleonic France on the artistic patrimony of Europe.

Šioje disertacijoje gilinasi į Šventojo Sosto Europos metapolitiką bei kritiškai įvertinama Lietuvos Europos politika. Disertacijoje siūloma viena iš galimų Lietuvos buvimo Europoje strateginių vizijų – Lietuvos Europos metapolitika. Pagrindinis šios disertacijos tikslas yra atsakyti į klausimą „kokia galėtų būti Lietuvos Europos metapolitika?“. Siekiant atsakyti į šį pagrindinį klausimą darbo pirmoje ir antroje dalyje atitinkamai bandoma atsakyti į du klausimus: kokia yra Šventojo Sosto Europos metapolitika? Kokiu mastu Lietuvos Europos metapolitika galėtų atitikti Šventojo Sosto metapolitikos principus? Disertacijoje pastebima, kad dabartinė technokratinė Europos Sąjunga praranda savo krikščionišką tapatumą, tampa iš esmės kristofobinė, praranda gebėjima strategiškai, metapolitiškai vertinti ir projektuoti tiek Europos Sąjungos vidaus, tiek išorinį veikimą. Dabartinės Europos negebėjimas metapolitinę realybę „atstovauti“, ją suprasti, perteikti, susieti su kasdienine politika verčia Europą „nulipti nuo scenos“. Darbe pažymima, kad silpnėjanti Europos Sąjungos metapolitinė dimensija atveria duris reliatyvizmui bei negatyviai laisvei, kuri ilgainiui gali sukelti grėsmę Lietuvos identitetui ir valstybingumui Europos Sąjungos rėmuose, kadangi negatyvi laisvė neturi jokios pozityvios žmogaus ir visuomenės vizijos. Savo ruožtu, metapolitinė dimensija suteikia Lietuvai pozityvią metapolitinę darbotvarkę, kuri gali sustiprinti Lietuvą, įtvirtinti jos taką regione bei Europos... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The main objective of this doctoral dissertation is to analyze the European metapolitics of the Catholic Church and to evaluate critically European policy of Lithuania. Lithuania’s European metapolitics is being proposed in this thesis as one of the possible visions of European politics of Lithuania. The main question posed in the work is what could be Lithuania’s European metapolitics like? In order to answer the aforementioned question, the two main tasks are exercised: the European metapolitics of the Holy See (analysed in the first part of the thesis) and to what extent the the European metapolitics of Lithuania could comply with the principles of the European metapolitics?(explored in the second part of the work). It’s being concluded in this thesis that modern technocratic European Union is losing its Christian identity and becoming Christophobic, losing its ability to project internal or external policies at strategic or metapolitical level. The inability of current European Union to “represent” metapolitical reality, to understand and link it to everyday politics is pushing Europe to the margins of global politics. It is underlined that the weakening of metapolitical dimension is opening the way for relativism and negative freedom inside the European Union that in the longer run can threaten Lithuanian identity and statehood inside the EU, because negative freedom has no positive vision of human person or society. On the other hand, metapolitical dimension gives... [to full text]

The main objective of this doctoral dissertation is to analyze the European metapolitics of the Catholic Church and to evaluate critically European policy of Lithuania. Lithuania’s European metapolitics is being proposed in this thesis as one of the possible visions of European politics of Lithuania. The main question posed in the work is what could be Lithuania’s European metapolitics like? In order to answer the aforementioned question, the two main tasks are exercised: the European metapolitics of the Holy See (analysed in the first part of the thesis) and to what extent the European metapolitics of Lithuania could comply with the principles of the European metapolitic ?(explored in the second part of the work). It’s being concluded in this thesis that modern technocratic European Union is losing its Christian identity and becoming Christophobic, losing its ability to project internal or external policies at strategic or metapolitical level. The inability of current European Union to “represent” metapolitical reality, to understand and link it to everyday politics is pushing Europe to the margins of global politics. It is underlined that the weakening of metapolitical dimension is opening the way for relativism and negative freedom inside the European Union that in the longer run can threaten Lithuanian identity and statehood inside the EU, because negative freedom has no positive vision of human person or society. On the other hand, metapolitical dimension gives... [to full text] / Šioje disertacijoje gilinasi į Šventojo Sosto Europos metapolitiką bei kritiškai įvertinama Lietuvos Europos politika. Disertacijoje siūloma viena iš galimų Lietuvos buvimo Europoje strateginių vizijų – Lietuvos Europos metapolitika. Pagrindinis šios disertacijos tikslas yra atsakyti į klausimą „kokia galėtų būti Lietuvos Europos metapolitika?“. Siekiant atsakyti į šį pagrindinį klausimą darbo pirmoje ir antroje dalyje atitinkamai bandoma atsakyti į du klausimus: kokia yra Šventojo Sosto Europos metapolitika? Kokiu mastu Lietuvos Europos metapolitika galėtų atitikti Šventojo Sosto metapolitikos principus? Disertacijoje pastebima, kad dabartinė technokratinė Europos Sąjunga praranda savo krikščionišką tapatumą, tampa iš esmės kristofobinė, praranda gebėjima strategiškai, metapolitiškai vertinti ir projektuoti tiek Europos Sąjungos vidaus, tiek išorinį veikimą. Dabartinės Europos negebėjimas metapolitinę realybę „atstovauti“, ją suprasti, perteikti, susieti su kasdienine politika verčia Europą „nulipti nuo scenos“. Darbe pažymima, kad silpnėjanti Europos Sąjungos metapolitinė dimensija atveria duris reliatyvizmui bei negatyviai laisvei, kuri ilgainiui gali sukelti grėsmę Lietuvos identitetui ir valstybingumui Europos Sąjungos rėmuose, kadangi negatyvi laisvė neturi jokios pozityvios žmogaus ir visuomenės vizijos. Savo ruožtu, metapolitinė dimensija suteikia Lietuvai pozityvią metapolitinę darbotvarkę, kuri gali sustiprinti Lietuvą, įtvirtinti jos taką regione bei Europos... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]

This thesis develops an approach to analysing sound-to-picture and audio-visual semiosis in non-fiction film.

This study focuses on the relation of three Japanese artists to Fluxus: Takehisa Kosugi, Mieko Shiomi, and Yasunao Tone. In the early 1960s, these three were part of a free improvisational music group in Tokyo called ‘Group Ongaku’ (Music Group). In Group Ongaku, partly through concerns with l’objet sonore, they moved from focussing on sound only, to a concern with performing action as music. From 1961 onwards, they came into contact with Fluxus ‘leader’ George Maciunas via the experimental composers Toshi Ichiyanagi and Nam Jun Paik, and artist Yoko Ono. Kosugi, Shiomi, and Tone all participated in Fluxus activities in New York. Although their contributions have been mentioned in Fluxus publications, the relation between their early work in Group Ongaku and their later work in Fluxus has not been discussed thoroughly. This study aims to show why their work appealed to Maciunas, and bore similarities to the work of other Fluxus artists, resulting in a mutual appreciation. I wish to demonstrate that this was not just a simple matter of the Japanese artists having been influenced by Fluxus or John Cage, but that the beginnings of their experimentation and the development of their work was rooted in their own context in Japan. A view of Fluxus as an international group where specific, local concerns were also relevant to the artists that participated in it will be supported. Shared influences between some members of Fluxus, and Group Ongaku, such as Dada, Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism and ethnomusicology ensured concerns with action, chance, the unconscious and re-evaluation of familiar environments and objects. This, for Group Ongaku, was set against the social and political tension of 1960s Tokyo, where World War II was still fresh in the memory of many citizens. Millions of protesters were taking to the streets fearing another war if America were allowed to continue with military bases in Japan, and the superficial happiness of middle-class workers wishing to make a good standard of living from the economic boom was being critiqued by artists. Close readings of each individual’s work bearing relevance to Fluxus are presented in the final part. This will be the first study to present chapter-length, in-depth readings of Group Ongaku members’ work together in the context of Fluxus. As close readings of the work of these three artists are scarce, this will contribute to the understanding of them. Japanese artists in Fluxus are numerous, yet under-studied as individuals in Fluxus contexts, and it is hoped that this study will add to Fluxus studies another perspective on the relation between Fluxus and Japan. Additionally, this will provide the first PhD-length study in English or Japanese on Group Ongaku’s relationship to Fluxus.

This thesis addresses the striking proliferation of Moses imagery in sixteenth-century Venice by considering the images as a distinctive category. Although the narratives of Moses can be found elsewhere in Italy, the Venetian treatment of these subjects is distinguished by their number and their placement not in private chapels but in locations available to a broad audience. Additionally, a contrast can be made between the central Italian examples, which display variations on a political theme originally established by St. Thomas Aquinas, and the peculiar Venetian approach to the prophet, influenced by the city’s Byzantine roots and its constitution. In tracing the development of this imagery in the sixteenth century, initial consideration must be given to the roots of its stylistic interpretation in the Veneto where paintings for chapels of the Sacrament exhibit the group-oriented compositions that characterize the works throughout the period. In this context, the pioneering work of Jacopo Tintoretto forms the principal focus of this thesis, arguing that he was the first to introduce Moses imagery into Venice on a monumental scale. In his works for the main chapel of the Church of the Madonna dell’Orto and the ceiling of the Scuola Grande di San Rocco, the image of Moses takes on heightened theological significance in the general religious context of the Counter Reformation and in particular Venetian contexts of parish and confraternity. The interplay of such monumental painting and printed book illustration is also considered. It is the influence of Tintoretto’s approach to Moses on later artists that forms in part the foundation for the proliferation of the subjects in the later years of the sixteenth and the early years of the seventeenth century.

This interdisciplinary study of devotional literature, drama and the visual arts examines the representation of Mary and her mother, Saint Anne, as wives in England between 1200 and 1540, and women's responses to these images. The thesis addresses a lacuna in modem Marian and Anne scholarship which has, hitherto, paid little attention to the fact of both saints' representation as wives in this period, and reclaims the meaning, function and reception of these forgotten images. The thesis commences with a synopsis of Marian and Anne devotion up until the central Middle Ages in order that English awareness of Mary and Anne as wives might be contextualised. Chapter Two presents evidence of this awareness; a chronological catalogue of medieval English representations of Mary and Anne as wives, in a variety of media. Chapter Three presents an historical account of the social context of medieval marriage; it examines the legal, social and canonical definition of marriage and demonstrates how this instruction reached the laity for whom it was intended. Chapter Four articulates how the representations of Mary and Anne as wives fitted into both contemporary marital discourse and its social practice. Chapter Five returns to the representations and interrogates their meaning and function, using medieval ars memorativa as the critical tool with which to do so, and demonstrates how real women responded to these images. The thesis concludes that Mary and Anne's wifely status was invoked by some theologians, canon lawyers and clerics to serve as an aide memoire and marital exemplar : of the Church's ideal wedding ceremony and of desired wifely behaviour(s) but that women's responses to these representations were less and other than that which their producers might have intended : generally they were met with silence.