This dissertation examines conditions for and forms of artistic production in two cities, Beirut and Sarajevo, in the aftermath of violence and civil strife. Through primary research into the fragile recreation of conditions for the making, exhibiting and dissemination of contemporary art in two post-war situations, the dissertation identifies the historical, political and social frameworks within which singular interventions have been made by four artists inscribing differentiated experiences of violence and trauma. In four case•studies, the thesis performs cross-exploration of the impact of war in contemporary an. In a video / installation by Danica Dakic, depersonalized autobiography touches on the experience of exile during the siege of Sarajevo and of belonging to a diaspora ceaselessly moving across languages. In the performance based practice of Maja Bajevic, the artist positions herself beside 'witnesses of horrific events. Lamia Joreige's video practice reveals the way violent memories map the space of the city and beyond to reach over borders of time and space. Paola Yacoub, an architect working in photography, seeks a photographic form in which to register how war acts on the urban fabric of Beirut or a landscape in Southern Lebanon, hidden behind our habitual way of looking. Through the approach of the post-traumatic, a term mainly used in literary and cinematic contexts and rarely applied to visual arts, my writing grounds these specific art practices within the historical, social, geopolitical and cultural contexts of the post-traumatic fabric and cultural institutions of two cities. Walter Benjamin's theoretical ground in using literary style of the fragment provides an appropriate form of narration in the face of disruptive events and the accumulating burden of shattered pasts.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:590266 |
| Date | January 2012 |
| Creators | De le Court, Isabelle |
| Publisher | University of Leeds |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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