The thesis analyzes the illustrations and author books of Daisy Mrázková directed mainly to the children readers. The thesis puts this part of her artistic work in the context of her work as a whole as well as in the Czechoslovak artistic milieu from sixties till eighties. Detailed attention is paid to Daisy Mrázková's inspiration, her childhood and education, family life and relationship with her friends, especially those from the artistic group UB 12, and their influence on her work. The work also focuses on the influence of English children literature specifically due to the artist's family origin. Her illustrations and author books are compared to the books of the contemporary Czechoslovak fellow artists as well as her teachers and schoolmates. A significant part of the thesis describes and analyzes synesthesia, both in the artist own work as well as in the work of the Czech and foreign artists.

The influence of new media on theatrical practice over the past fifty years has spurred a movement towards theatrical forms which are increasingly organized around the sensory elements of performance. This change is most noticeable in the visual approaches to theatre, and it has produced what I have labeled a theatre of visuality. This thesis argues that the tendencies for visualization found in visual media have extensively marked the performance strategies of contemporary theatre practice, resulting in a shift away from the logocentric dramatic text and towards theatre performance organized around the visual. Looking at four contemporary productions of Georg Buchner’s Woyzeck –Thomas Ostermeier’s Woyzeck (2005), Vesturport’s Woyzeck (2005), Robert Wilson’s Woyzeck (2000), and Josef Nadj’s Woyzeck ou l’Ébauche du Vertige (1994)– this thesis produces a preliminary typology of four distinct visualities/theatrical forms which make up the theatre of visuality: hyperrealism, synesthesia, superficiality, and visual narration. This thesis contributes to the conceptualization and understanding of postdramatic theatre by linking the theatre’s rejection of the text to the increased centrality of the visual in performance, and by tracing these shifts to the influence of visual media.

La synesthésie est une condition neurocognitive bénigne où les sujets porteurs de cette différence expérimentent des associations sensorielles de manière automatique, involontaire et idiosyncratique. Chez eux, les informations issues d’une modalité sensorielle telle que la vue, entraînent simultanément l’expression des modalités d’autres sens, tel que l’odorat. Cette particularité serait présente chez environ 4 % de la population mondiale (Hubbard, 2007). Il existe des dizaines de formes répertoriées (Day, 2011) et la teneur de leur expression varie d’un individu à l’autre (Simner, 2013). La synesthésie tactile-olfactive est présente chez 0,3 % des synesthètes (Day, 2011). Elle entraîne des perceptions olfactives selon les textures et autres sensations tactiles. La synesthésie a plusieurs impacts sur le quotidien des synesthètes, car elle affecte notamment leur façon de percevoir et de ressentir leur environnement. Puisqu’il s’agit d’une forme de développement neurocognitif alternatif (Ward, 2019), il peut être considéré comme un type de neurodiversité à part entière. Les expériences synesthésiques sont difficilement exprimables par le langage, ce qui peut provoquer un sentiment d’exclusion (Nielsen et al., 2013). Une des façons de favoriser l’inclusion est l’empathie (Masten, Morelli et Eisenberg, 2011), qui peut être suscitée grâce à des œuvres et des expositions artistiques qui impliquent l’engagement physique des spectateurs (Raboisson, 2014). Nous avons donc tenté de créer une expérience artistique permettant aux participants d’expérimenter avec leur corps les effets de la synesthésie tactile-olfactive. Cependant, il n’existait pas de média capable de réaliser la médiation de ce phénomène sensoriel. Nous nous sommes donc attelées à la conception et à la réalisation d’un tel artefact. En appliquant la méthodologie de la recherche-création, et en particulier les principes du mouvement DIY du « faire », nous avons créé un prototype de machine simulant les effets de la synesthésie tactile-olfactive. Toutefois, cette entreprise de création d’un dispositif de médiation technologique s’est révélée ardue et notre création finale ne ressemble pas exactement au prototype que nous espérions produire. Nous sommes allées aussi loin que nos compétences techniques nous le permettaient pour livrer un objet qui nécessiterait des améliorations futures. Le présent mémoire présente le cadre conceptuel et théorique ainsi que le processus de création dudit artefact. Grâce aux enseignements tirés de l’analyse de notre pratique, nous concluons qu’il existe plusieurs enjeux sociaux et techniques dans la pratique du « faire » en tant que méthode de création d’artefacts technologiques. Nous discutons finalement le rôle qu’un tel projet de recherche-création peut jouer dans la sensibilisation du public vis-à-vis des phénomènes neurocognitifs que sont la synesthésie et la neurodiversité. / Synesthesia is a benign neurological condition in which subjects experience an automatic, involuntary and idiosyncratic cross-activation of the senses. For them, the information from one sensory modality (e.g. sight) triggers a response from another sensory modality (e.g. smell). This condition is estimated to be present in at least 4% of the population (Hubbard, 2007). Dozens of forms of synesthesia exist, and their expression varies from one individual to the next (Simner, 2013). Smell-touch synesthesia affects around 0.3% of the synesthete population (Day, 2011). It induces olfactory perceptions according to textures and other tactile sensations. Synesthesia impacts the day-to-day lives of synesthetes, as it affects the way they perceive and feel their environment. Since it is a form of divergent neurocognitive development (Ward, 2019), it can be considered a form of neurodiversity. Like any form of neurodiversity, its manifestations are difficult to express with language. This can lead to feelings of exclusion (Day, 2005; Nielsen et al., 2013). One way to promote inclusion is through empathy (Masten, Morelli, & Eisenberg, 2011), which can be facilitated through physically engaging artworks and exhibitions (Raboisson, 2014). Our goal was to create an artistic experience that allows participants to physically experience the reality of touch-smell synesthesia. However, as there was no media able to mediate this sensory phenomenon, we tried to understand how to design and build one. By applying a research-creation methodology, and in particular the principles of the DIY “maker movement,” we intended to create a prototype capable of simulating the effects of touch-smell synesthesia. However, this process of creating a device for the technological mediation of the senses proved to be a difficult one, and our final prototype is not exactly what we hoped to produce. We went as far as our technical skills allowed us to and we delivered an object that would require some future improvements. This present Master’s thesis presents the conceptual and theoretical frameworks as well as the process of creating this artefact. Based on the lessons learned from our practice analysis, we conclude that there are several social and technical issues that need to be addressed in the “maker” practice as a method for creating technological artifacts. Finally, we discuss the role that such a research-creation project can play in raising public awareness of synesthesia and neurodiversity.

Ce mémoire aborde la manière dont ma synesthésie agit comme une source d’inspiration lors de la composition d’oeuvres dans le cadre de ma maîtrise. Une première partie est d’abord consacré à expliquer la définition de la synesthésie, à retracer l’historique de son utilisation en musique et à faire état de la recherche actuelle à son sujet. Une seconde partie présente ensuite quatre principales oeuvres que j’ai composées durant ma maîtrise : Blizzard sylvestre, háptô, Multillusions et Stellogonie. Chacune de ces pièces est réalisée en explorant un angle différent de la synesthésie et leurs contexte de création, forme, matériaux thématiques et organisations des hauteurs et rythmiques sont analysés en fonction de cette recherche. D’autres pièces ayant été composées dans un cadre extra-académique ou d’un séminaire sont aussi brièvement présentées afin d’avoir un point de vue global de ma démarche artistique. / This paper addresses how my synesthesia acts as a source of inspiration when composing musical works as part of my master. A first part is dedicated to defining synesthesia and retracing the history of its application in music and to reviewing the current state of the research on the matter. Then, a second part presents four main works that I composed during my master. Each one of them is realized with a different angle to the synesthesia and their context of creation, formal structure, thematic material and pitch and rhythm organizations are analyzed according to this research. Other pieces composed for an extra-academic purpose or in a seminar are also presented briefly to give a global point of view of my artistic approach.

The collection of sonnets Rings of a Thundering Tree (2000), by R.K. Belcher, is rich in metaphorical imagery; lending itself particularly well to textual analyses of imagined sensory perceptions. Although perspectives on or theories about metaphor can be deployed in such analyses, an imagined sense of sensory perception in itself theoretically frames the study of this poetic imagery. In this regard, the titles of the sonnets within this collection and their themes, as well as the title of the collection and the theme of ”South African decay” (with which this title is linked), are explored with an emphasis on imagined sensory experiences. / English Studies / M.A. (English)

The thesis aims at complex assessment of absolute pitch both theoretically and practically. It describes the functioning of ear and main issues related to processing of sound and tone height. In addition, it clarifies related terms stemming from musical psychology. Especially, it endeavours to identify causes of absolute pitch and factors which form it. The thesis surveys several phenomena connected with absolute pitch, for example with synesthesia, and with other aspects such as occurrence of absolute pitch among population. More practical part of research consists in a questionaire used for verification of hypotheses related to absolute pitch. The thesis uses not only the Czech but especially English written literature which has not yet been used in such a scope in the Czech musical research.

[pt] Essa dissertação procurou refletir a deficiência sensorial no universo dos jogos eletrônicos, balizando-se nos conceitos da fenomenologia, sinestesia, interface, virtualidade do corpo e comunicação procurando contextualizá-los com exemplos, citando reportagens, estudos acadêmicos, bem como algumas possibilidades advindas da tecnologia de substituição sensorial eletrotátil. Trabalhou-se o conceito de game sinestésico, tipo de jogo eletrônico que permite ao jogador perceber os elementos virtuais, sejam eles visuais, auditivos, táteis, gustativos ou olfativos, por meio de um canal sensorial não tradicional. Essa ocorrência insere-se no âmbito da sinestesia constitutiva, que compreende a integração dos mecanismos cerebrais e cognitivos, onde o indivíduo pode realmente enxergar cores ao escutar um determinado som, pode sentir um sabor ao encostar numa determinada superfície. Vale ressaltar a natureza filosófica de tal tecnologia, ou seja, abrange o maior número possível de pessoas, sejam deficientes sensoriais (em todos seus níveis) ou pessoas que não possuem nenhuma deficiência sensorial significativa. O desdobramento do estudo resultou no desenvolvimento de uma classificação perceptiva para os jogos eletrônicos. / [en] This dissertation sought to reflect the sensory disability in the world of video games, it marks on the concepts of phenomenology, synesthesia, interface, virtual communication and the body looking for contextualizing them with examples, citing media reports, academic studies, as well as some possibilities that come from technology electrotactile sensory substitution. Worked up the concept of kinesthetic game, kind of electronic game that allows players to realize the virtual elements, be they visual, auditory, tactile, taste or smell, through a sensory channel non-traditional. This occurrence is within the scope of the constitutive synesthesia, which includes the integration of brain and cognitive mechanisms, where the individual can actually see colors when listening to a particular sound, you can feel a taste for touching a surface. It is worth mentioning the philosophical nature of such technology, in other words, covering the largest possible number of people with disabilities are sensory (all levels) or people who have no significant sensory impairment. The unfolding of the study resulted in the development of a perceptual classification for games.

The collection of sonnets Rings of a Thundering Tree (2000), by R.K. Belcher, is rich in metaphorical imagery; lending itself particularly well to textual analyses of imagined sensory perceptions. Although perspectives on or theories about metaphor can be deployed in such analyses, an imagined sense of sensory perception in itself theoretically frames the study of this poetic imagery. In this regard, the titles of the sonnets within this collection and their themes, as well as the title of the collection and the theme of ”South African decay” (with which this title is linked), are explored with an emphasis on imagined sensory experiences. / English Studies / M.A. (English)

Alone in a Crowd: Charles Baudelaire and 20th-Century and Contemporary Art The dissertation called Alone in a Crowd explores the influence of the poet Charles Baudelaire's personality and work on 20th-century and contemporary art. Due to the field of study, the main focus is on the visual arts, but literature, music, philosophy, and film are also included to a large extent. This dissertation is divided into four substantive chapters. The first chapter, The Inner Message, introduces the poet's life, his family and acquaintances, as well as Baudelaire's poetry collection The Flowers of Evil. Themes of evil, ugliness, fear, death, and even a relationship to their mother, father and women are common for 20th-century and contemporary artists. This chapter presents Félicien Rops, James Ensor, Edvard Munch, Hans Bellmer, Francis Bacon, Joel-Peter Witkin, Kurt Cobain, members of the Young British Artists group, Lars von Trier, and others. The second chapter pursues the correspondence theory. The character of the Swedish philosopher Emanuel Swedenborg and his successor, William Blake, is followed by Baudelaire's understanding of sensual and spiritual correspondences, as his principles are adopted by modern artists in a distinct manner. The third chapter called "On the Edge of Society" covers the curse...

The thesis aims at complex assessment of absolute pitch both theoretically and practically. It describes the functioning of ear and main issues related to processing of sound and tone height. In addition, it clarifies related terms stemming from musical psychology. Especially, it endeavours to identify causes of absolute pitch and factors which form it. The thesis surveys several phenomena connected with absolute pitch, for example with synesthesia, and with other aspects such as occurrence of absolute pitch among population. It uses not only the Czech but especially English written literature which has not yet been used in such a scope in the Czech musical research.