This thesis works to establish a literary theory and cultural studies as a theoretical lens with which we can view harmful emerging pop culture phenomena like the so-called alt right. The premise is supposed in three parts, with the first being a simple introduction to the Pepe character and how he is grounded in literary studies through a comparison of Sherlock Holmes and his early fandom. The second part is a survey of the legacy of Jim Crow and I present the evidence that Pepe is very much Crow’s spiritual successor in their shared preoccupation with white anxiety. The third is a discussion of language in which I bridge the use of memes as language with how that language effectively communicates. Ultimately, Pepe the Frog is able to tap into the pop culture collective through a democratizing of language facilitated by digital spaces on the internet, and his proliferation is made readily viral by the racist language he speaks through ala Jim Crow era anxieties.

Présent dès les premiers siècles du Moyen Âge et ce, jusqu'au XVIIe siècle au moins, le portrait de dévot (ou portrait dévotionnel) connaît à la fin du Moyen Âge un succès sans précédent et ce, particulièrement dans la peinture des anciens Pays-Bas. Alors qu'il était jusque-là essentiellement réservé aux princes et aux souverains, il connaît désormais une diffusion large. Nobles, bourgeois et membres du clergé désirent laisser une trace de leur piété et de leur passage sur terre. Par leur présence dans limage, ils expriment leur dévotion, demandent la protection d'un saint et s'efforcent d'assurer leur salut dans l'au-delà. Ainsi s'expliquent la multiplication et la diversification des peintures religieuses comportant un ou plusieurs portraits de personnes agenouillées les mains jointes. D'un point de vue culturel, l'intérêt de cette production picturale réside dans le fait que la représentation des dévots, qui lisaient et appliquaient les préceptes de la littérature dévotionnelle et mystique, peut être perçue comme une « mise en image » des pratiques religieuses et de lexpérience spirituelle telle quelles étaient vécues à l'époque. Composée de deux parties, la thèse envisage de manière systématique et exhaustive les modes de représentation du portrait dévotionnel dans la peinture religieuse des anciens Pays- Bas entre 1400 et 1550 et leurs significations dans le contexte religieux de l'époque. Ce corpus duvres forme un ensemble vaste et hétérogène, auquel il serait vain de vouloir appliquer une clé interprétative unique. Cest pourquoi, dans un premier temps, nous avons ouvert le champ de nos investigations de la manière la plus large possible, afin doffrir une vue densemble complète des modalités dintégration des portraits dans la composition religieuse. Ensuite, le second temps de notre travail a requis une mise au point serrée sur une problématique précise. Il sest alors agi détudier les dimensions spirituelles de ces tableaux. Préalablement à ces démarches analytiques et interprétatives, un catalogue des peintures religieuses comportant des portraits de dévots a été établi. Il comprend 663 entrées. Les peintures religieuses comportant des portraits dévotionnels sont des images particulières, mêlant éléments sacrés et profanes. De ce fait, elles appellent une étude rendant justice à leur double nature.Nous avons ainsi développé une méthode danalyse de ces images qui tient compte de leurs aspects tant iconographiques que formels. Le corpus des oeuvres a ainsi été classé selon une typologie qui prend en compte la localisation des portraits dans la structure matérielle de loeuvre (sur lavers ou le revers des volets, sur le même panneau que la scène religieuse ou dans des diptyques), le type de scène religieuse devant laquelle les portraits apparaissent (scène narrative ou scène hiératique) et la présence ou non de saints patrons qui présentent les dévots. Basée sur cette typologie, la première partie de la thèse consiste en un panorama complet des différentes modalités dintégration des portraits dans la composition religieuse. Elle se compose de cinq chapitres. Létude typologique du corpus a non seulement permis de mettre en évidence la variété des formules dintégration des dévots dans la composition, mais aussi la répartition déséquilibrée des oeuvres au sein des catégories danalyse. Dans la seconde partie de la thèse (composée de trois chapitres), notre approche du portrait dévotionnel a consisté à déterminer comment les tableaux pouvaient être utilisés comme support et comme « mises en image » du processus spirituel des personnes représentées en prière. Pour ce faire, nous avons mis à profit les acquis des étapes préalables de mon travail et nous les avons enrichis en confrontant les images avec la littérature dévotionnelle et mystique contemporaine. Comme la thèse le montre, les implications spirituelles du portrait dévotionnel sont vastes : le tableau se présente comme un intermédiaire entre le dévot et les saints à qui il adresse ses prières. De la sorte, limage matérialise, annonce voire idéalise la rencontre entre le fidèle et le Christ, entre le monde visible de lici-bas et le monde invisible de lau-delà. Non seulement elle rend présents aux yeux du spectateur léternel et linvisible, mais elle permet également au dévot dentrer physiquement dans limage, de manière à montrer picturalement la perfection spirituelle quil atteint.

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Le mythe de Médée, reçu par la première modernité comme un paradigme complet depuis la Conquête de la Toison d’or jusqu’à son retour sur le trône de Colchide, compose un prisme à multiples facettes : « Médée-tueenfant » (La Péruse), le personnage légué par la tragédie attique et devenu archétype d’une violence contrenature, y croise Médée magicienne, qui bouleverse le lignage et la ligne du temps, mais aussi la princesse orientale éprise d’un héros civilisateur. Pétrie par la culture chrétienne et admise au répertoire des arts officiels, cette figure ambivalente se rend perméable aux recherches esthétiques et aux débats éthiques des Temps modernes, en vue de l’expression de l’horreur, de l’allégorisation de la gloire, comme dans la représentation des passions.Or, la fondation de l’Ordre de chevalerie de la Toison d’or au duché de Bourgogne, en 1430, jusqu’à la fin de la Guerre de succession d’Espagne où se redessine la carte des puissances européennes, fait de la fable un miroir fictionnel privilégié des jeux de pouvoir entre les grandes dynasties européennes, en tant qu’instrument du discours programmatique du Prince. Dans le paysage culturel d’influences communes que forment les Cités-États de l’Italie et le royaume de France, cette étude montre, par la réunion de l’iconographie de Médée, l’analyse de saprésence dans les imprimés et de ses réécritures à la scène d’après l’antique, comment les échanges entre les arts visuels et les arts du texte oeuvrent à l’établissement d’un motif héroïque paradoxal. Ou comment Médée « devient Médée », renouvelant le serment que lui avait fait jurer Sénèque : « Fiam ». / The exceptional scope provided by the myth of Medea, which spans from the Conquest of the Golden Fleece to her return to the throne of Colchis, was received in its entirety by the Early Modern Arts and offers a multi-faced prism : Medea “tue-enfant” (La Péruse), the character left by the Ancient ancient Greek tragedy that became an archetypal figure of monstrous violence, crosses the path of the oriental lover of a civilizing hero, and also the enchantress who scatters lineages and timelines. Sculpted by the Christian culture and allowed into the official artistic repertory, this ambivalent figure absorbs the aesthetics and ethical debates of modernity. Indeed, Her Medea’s myth can be used for the expression of horror, allegories of glory, as well as expression of the passions.In addition, from the establishment of the Order of the Golden Fleece, by the Duke of Burgundy in 1430, to the end of the War of the Spanish Succession (which redefined the entire map of major European powers), Medea’s myth becomes one of the most efficient fictional mirrors of the political disputes between the most influential families of Europe, as an instrument of the publication of the Prince programme. Into the landscape of the cultural influences shared by the States of Early Italy and the French Kingdom, this study intends to show, by analysingthe spread of iconography of Medea, her presence in printed material and her classical performance reception and rewriting, how the exchanges between visual and literary productions work towards the definition of a paradoxical heroic standard. Where Medea “becomes Medea” and renews the oath that Seneca made her take: “Fiam”.

Le cinéma n’enregistre pas seulement ce qui existe: il arrive qu’il fabrique des objets pour les filmer. Des « simulacres » qui peuvent être aussi bien des parodies d’œuvres d’art que des machines à voyager dans le temps. Comment penser ces objets improbables, excroissances filmiques souvent kitsch, qui dénoncent au sein du film même ses artifices fictionnels? Comment pensent-ils le cinéma, ses spécificités et ses relations avec les arts plastiques? À partir de l'exemple du cinéma français des années 1960, ce travail de thèse s’est donné pour objectif de replacer ces objets dans la culture visuelle, de les analyser comme des carrefours artistiques et de débattre des questions théoriques qu’ils soulèvent, notamment de la capacité du cinéma à mettre en fiction le pouvoir des autres arts. Au point de rencontre entre la théorie artistique et la fiction cinématographique, l’histoire de ces objets hybrides permet de comprendre que le cinéma peut se faire historien d’art et que l’histoire de l’art est elle-même une longue suite de fictions sur les pouvoirs attribués aux objets. En cela, ces simulacres cinématographiques apportent des sources inédites à l’historien des arts visuels. / Not only do films record what exists: they sometimes create objects to be filmed. These « simulacra » can just as well be parodies of art works or time machines. How do we think about these peculiar objects, all-too-often kitsch filmic excressences, which serve to highlight fictional artifice? Moreover, how do we think about cinema, in both its specificities and its relation to Plastic Arts? Looking through the lens of French cinema in the 1960's, this thesis intends to reconsider these objects in the context of visual culture, to analyse them as artistic crossroads, and to debate the theoretical issues they raise, most particularly the ability of cinema to turn into fiction the power of other arts. At the meeting point between artistic theory and cinematographic fiction, the history of these hybrid objects allows one to understand that cinema can perform the role of an art historian, and that art history is itself a succession of fictions about the power assigned to objects. As such, these cinematographic simulacra provide visual arts historians with unexpected sources.

This thesis focuses on four women-directed films as a way to illustrate some characteristics shared by the new Catalan creative documentary: El cielo gira ( The Sky Turns, dir. Mercedes Álvarez, 2004), Nedar (Swim, dir. Carla Subirana, 2008), La plaga (The Plague, dir. Neus Ballús, 2013), and Penèlope (Penelope, dir. Eva Vila, 2018). My aim is to highlight their alternative cinematographic strategies, which stray from the hegemonic discourses of documentary filmmaking. In so doing, I analyze these films from three different angles: the relationship between the filmmaker and the material world; the alternative modalities of time; and the haptic connection between the spectator and the screen. Instead of preparing a traditional thesis in manuscript form, I engage with these films through a video-essay, the most appropriate mode of academic rhetoric and presentation to address this topic (Keathley 190). Entitled Cinema “Turns”: Catalan Creative Documentary, my video-essay articulates my study into three parts: in the first part, I analyze the limits of the realist discourse; in the second, I focus on how these films approach temporality; and in the third, I address their haptic visuality. To view the accompanying video essay, please download the additional file below.

Words are fickle, easily misunderstood, and often put us at a loss... but we all have so much we feel we need to express. This begs the question: Is there any safe way of communication? Can anything ever really be communicated how you mean it? Will you ever see the reflection of what you feel, think, and dream outside of yourself? In response to this existential dilemma, I imagine an alternative language of images, sounds, color, feelings, and non-identification. My thesis is a meditation on the issues with standard language and the idea of alternative language. In my argument I understand language as a medium, and communication as an art for which we choose the medium that best conveys what we need to express. Through an experimental audiovisual collage film, I grapple with the phenomenon of the inexpressible and play with alternative ways that we can communicate more effectively and truthfully– with an emphasis on image-language.

Anne-Louis Girodet Trioson's Portrait of C.[itizen] Jean-Baptiste Belley, ex-representative of the Colonies, is evidence of the changing ideological situation during the French Revolution. Girodet was one of the most learned and accomplished students of Jacques-Louis David who strove to surpass his teacher in two ways: 1) by painting David's Neoclassical style so well that his handling surpasses that of his master, and 2) by choosing subject matter never before explored by David. Girodet accomplishes both within this work. The Neoclassical handling of the image has been achieved with amazing clarity, and the central figure of an identified black man had never been displayed in the Salon previously. The work was without precedent and without progeny. It successfully transcends the boundaries of portraiture into the highest tier of the Academic hierarchy: History Painting. Lacking in the existing scholarship of this portrait as history painting is that the work is successful in fulfilling a didactic and moralizing function, bearing significance to the general public. Scholars have hitherto ignored the striking visual similarities between this and Grand Tour portraits of Englishmen earlier in the century. This portrait of Belley calls into question accepted post-colonial readings by not adhering to a strict Orientalist interpretation. His hybrid nature nullifies readings that he is merely a black man posed as a French one. Belley cannot be seen as simply African, nor Haitian, nor French, nor military man, nor politician; each of these aspects of his being add up to his individual identity. It was because of Belley's race that he was chosen for this portrait; his complex nature creates a dramatic painting relevant to varied members of the general public, his status as a black man allows for a politically relevant subject worthy of history painting, and the choice of Girodet's model of Grand Tour portraiture with its connotations of education, travel and social status—when applied to a black man—make this a revolutionary painting unparalleled in history.

[ES] La presente tesis doctoral, titulada Decir casa, cielo, bosque. Ensayo sobre la habitabilidad del mundo y los límites de la visualidad aglutina la investigación llevada a cabo durante el período comprendido entre febrero de 2018 y julio de 2021. Esta investigación se inscribe en la práctica artística, por lo que recoge diferentes procesos, gestos y proyectos desarrollados durante estos años. Partiendo de nuestra condición de "habitantes del afuera" y "hablantes del decir" hemos transitado diversas realidades cuya aprehensión resulta imposible de llevar a cabo por medio del ver. A lo largo del trabajo hemos constatado la imposibilidad de acceder a un acontecer puro, abordando este hecho a partir de la distancia insalvable entre mundo y lenguaje. Una brecha que ha sido trabajada, especialmente, en base a la configuración visual de la realidad y al privilegio del sentido de la vista en nuestro contexto cultural. A través del estudio de las visualidades hegemónicas occidentales hemos atendido a la crisis de la epistemología visual y al asentamiento de una falla en el conocimiento visual del mundo. De alguna manera, ello nos ha permitido preguntarnos por otras formas de habitabilidad que comprendan estos factores. Para llevar a cabo este planteamiento hemos construido un relato fragmentario en el que proponemos formas de articular lo que escapa al ver y en el que exponemos los diferentes procesos artísticos llevados a cabo. Todo ello se expone en relación con determinados enunciados de los regímenes visuales que ordenan y configuran nuestra mirada. La forma en la que este relato fragmentario ha sido construido trata de no preconfigurar el sentido de la investigación desde un marco conceptual previo. En este mismo sentido, el relato no busca alimentar diferenciaciones binarias entre teoría y práctica o entre creación y no-creación, artístico y no-artístico. La escritura empleada no se da al margen del propio trabajo, sino que, como parte del mismo, busca privilegiar la naturaleza variada del relato y la pluralidad de voces y procesos que han intervenido en la investigación. En definitiva, a través de múltiples textos, procesos y experiencias hemos podido explorar otras lógicas visuales al margen de los principios de claridad, transparencia y legibilidad. Ello nos ha permitido desarrollar un ejercicio de investigación en base a la práctica artística, ensayando diferentes formas de habitar, aprehender, decir y ver el mundo. / [CA] La present tesi doctoral, titulada Dir casa, cel, bosc. Assaig sobre l'habitabilitat del món i els límits de la visualitat aglutina la investigació duta a terme durant el període comprés entre febrer de 2018 i juliol de 2021. Aquesta investigació s'inscriu en la pràctica artística, per la qual cosa recull diferents processos, gestos i projectes desenvolupats durant aquests anys. Partint de la nostra condició d'"habitants dels afores" i "parlants del dir" hem transitat diverses realitats, l'aprehensió de les quals, resulta impossible de dur a terme per mitjà del veure. Al llarg del treball hem constatat la impossibilitat d'accedir a un esdevindre pur, abordant aquest fet a partir de la distància insalvable entre món i llenguatge. Una bretxa que ha sigut treballada, especialment, sobre la base de la configuració visual de la realitat i el privilegi del sentit de la vista en el nostre context cultural. A través de l'estudi de les visualitats hegemòniques occidentals hem atés la crisi de l'epistemologia visual i l'assentament d'una falla en el coneixement visual del món. D'alguna manera, això ens ha permés preguntar-nos per altres formes d'habitabilitat que comprenguen aquests factors. Per tal de dur a terme aquest plantejament hem construït un relat fragmentari en el qual proposem maneres d'articular allò que escapa al veure i on exposem els diferents processos artístics duts a terme. Tot això s'exposa en relació amb determinats enunciats dels règims visuals que ordenen i configuren la nostra mirada. La forma en la qual aquest relat fragmentari ha sigut construït tracta de no preconfigurar el sentit de la investigació des d'un marc conceptual previ. En aquest mateix sentit, el relat no busca alimentar diferenciacions binàries entre teoria i pràctica o entre creació i no-creació, artístic i no-artístic. Així mateix, l'escriptura emprada no es dona al marge del treball, sinó que, com a part d'aquest, cerca privilegiar la naturalesa variada del relat i la pluralitat de veus i processos que han intervingut en la investigació. En definitiva, a través de múltiples textos, processos i experiències hem pogut explorar altres lògiques visuals al marge dels principis de claredat, transparència i llegibilitat. Això ens ha permés desenvolupar un exercici d'investigació sobre la base de la pràctica artística, assajant diferents maneres d'habitar, aprehendre, dir i veure el món. / [EN] This doctoral thesis, entitled Saying home, sky, forest. Essay on the habitability of the world and the limits of visuality brings together the research carried out during the period between February 2018 and July 2021. This research is inscribed in the artistic practice, so it gathers different processes, gestures and projects developed during these years. Starting from our condition of "inhabitants of the outside" and "speakers of saying", we have traversed different realities whose apprehension is impossible to carry out by means of seeing. Throughout the work we have noted the impossibility of accessing a pure happening, approaching this fact on the basis of the unbridgeable distance between world and language. A gap that has been worked on, especially on the basis of the visual configuration of reality and the privilege of the sense of sight in our cultural context. Through the study of Western hegemonic visualities, we have attended to the crisis of visual epistemology and the establishment of a failure in the visual knowledge of the world. In a way, this has allowed us to ask ourselves about other forms of inhabitation that harbour these factors. In order to carry out this approach, we have constructed a fragmentary narrative in which we propose ways of articulating that which escapes seeing and in which we expose the different artistic processes carried out. All of this is presented in relation to certain statements of the visual regimes that order and configure our gaze. The way in which this fragmentary account has been constructed tries not to preconfigure the meaning of the research from a previous conceptual framework. In this same sense, the narrative does not seek to feed binary differentiations between theory and practice or between creation and non-creation, artistic and non-artistic. The writing employed does not occur at the margins of the work itself, but rather, as part of it, seeks to privilege the varied nature of the narrative and the plurality of voices and processes that have been involved in the research. In short, through multiple texts, processes and experiences, we have been able to explore other visual logics outside the principles of clarity, transparency and legibility. This has allowed us to develop a research exercise based on artistic practice, testing different ways of inhabiting, apprehending, saying, articulating and seeing the world. / Esta tesis ha sido realizada en el marco del Programa de Ayudas de Investigación y Desarrollo (PAID-01-07) de la Universitat Politècnica de València / Granero Ferrer, A. (2021). Decir casa, cielo, bosque. Ensayo sobre la habitabilidad del mundo en los límites de la visualidad [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/179555

Women represent 45% of the entire workforce in the United States, but only comprise 26% of the high-tech industry. Early introduction and interest in video games, contributes to computer literacy and self-confidence in terms of computing skills. Socially pervasive gender stereotypes, found in ubiquitous software, specifically games, factor in the alienation of young girls from active participation in computing. Currently marketed gaming software perpetuate this societal bias in the guise of overly-sexualized game avatars, and fail to adequately address documented female gaming preferences. Gender inclusive design is more a pragmatic approach to ameliorating gender bias, than creating a pink box “girl’s game.” Such games cater solely to stereotypical “female” interests, and are uncomfortably close to the concept of “separate but equal.” In the scope of this research a gender inclusive computer role playing game (CRPG) interface was designed and evaluated. The advantage of a CRPG is that it may be played individually or single player mode, as in the prototypic interface, or allow collaborative game play within a smaller group (2-12) when migrated to a multiplayer online environment. Small groups, involved in CRPG collaborative play, may reduce the incidence of online harassment or intimidation by male players, often encountered by experienced female gamers when engaged in Massively Online Multiplayer games. The Xanthia: A Fae’s Battle CRPG, was designed with the intent of studying key female preferences outlined in this research. The design utilized a stylized “cute” but strong female protagonist, featured a compelling storyline, and a backstory narrative. The game broached real world environmental issues with an underpinning of moral dilemma in the guise of good versus evil. Competitive but not combat-centric play was utilized in the game design, which enabled leveling up without the demise of the central protagonist. Fantasy-themed conflict resulted in transformations of both protagonist and antagonists when a change of state occurred during battle, thus eliminating the violence of gory death scenarios. This formative study endeavored to examine the underlying reasons for female underrepresentation in the high-tech and computing fields. The CRPG used in the study, incorporated key gender inclusive game elements found in current literature, in order to acquire insight into female gaming preferences. Two survey instruments were utilized to gather data from 35 female Barry University students, who had disparate gaming experience, comfort with computers, and academic majors. A pre-game questionnaire pertained to motivations for play, level of gaming expertise, and self-perceived comfort with computing. Additional data were gathered regarding access in early childhood to a gaming console or computer in the participants’ childhood homes and the incidence of tinkering. The female sample pool provided CRPG feedback post-game engagement. Examination of survey responses indicated that identification with the central female protagonist was a key element in positive game engagement for the majority of the study’s participants. In general, experienced gamers were more apt to tinker with the hidden features of the game. Experienced gamers also enjoyed competiveness and challenge more than their inexperienced or non-gamer counterparts. The primary component of positive engagement for this female sample group was “fun.” Social interaction was a key motivator for engagement in video game play for the majority of the participants. Empirical data collected from survey instrumentation suggested that individuals who had the easiest access to video game consoles and computing equipment, participated at greater rate in tinkering in childhood. The participants who tinkered, had a higher self-perception of comfort with computing.