Since the mid-1980s Chinese calligraphy art has undergone a radical change and has opened itself to experimentation. A vivid debate on CCC （Contemporary Chinese Calligraphy） （Zhongguo xiandai shufa） is involving a...Since the mid-1980s Chinese calligraphy art has undergone a radical change and has opened itself to experimentation. A vivid debate on CCC （Contemporary Chinese Calligraphy） （Zhongguo xiandai shufa） is involving art critics in China nowadays. WANG Dongling and the modernists think that, despite many changes and influences, we can still refer to the traditional calligraphic lexicon to describe the calligraphic production of contemporary Chinese art. They still remain deeply rooted in the signified system of Chinese writing, even if they break with the strict rules of Chinese classical aesthetic （contamination of Western elements and focus on the stylistic exploration）. WANG Nanming and the Avant-garde think that ＂contemporary calligraphy is not calligraphy yet＂： It is ＂anti-calligraphy＂, annihilates Chinese tradition, rejects the use of legible characters, experiments with new languages and new media within the idiom of international contemporary art. The result is the creation of works of art that could be assimilated to Abstract art, Abstract expressionism, Conceptual art, Performance art, Contemporary dance, Multimedia art, and even Street art. This paper aims at showing how still valid and extremely productive are both these two theoretical and creative/practical approaches to Chinese calligraphy in China nowadays. They turned the art of calligraphy into a medium for global comprehension and communication.展开更多
Tennyson＇s poem ＂Boaidicea＂, published in 1864 but at least conceived in 1858, has never been very highly regarded. It is usually omitted from editions of the complete poetical works. There are two reasons for this...Tennyson＇s poem ＂Boaidicea＂, published in 1864 but at least conceived in 1858, has never been very highly regarded. It is usually omitted from editions of the complete poetical works. There are two reasons for this. Firstly, written in an approximation of Catullan/Callimachan galliambics, it is no easy read. Secondly and more importantly, however, it sits most awkwardly within a huge body of contemporary art -paintings, sculptures, and novels as well as poems which present the （properly） Queen Regent of the Iceni as the spiritual ancestor of Victoria （the Gaelic word boudicca does, after all, men ＂victory＂）. Far from portraying Boadicea （as the name was then commonly spelt from the 18th to themed 20th centuries） as the harbinger of British imperial glory, Tennyson presents her as the half-mad victim of Roman oppression, brutalized by her own experiences into a personal vendetta. I argue that this poem is a riposte to Sir William Thornycroft＇s bronze statue of Boadicea, a symbol of patriotic pride. It was begun at roughly the same time as the poem, both at the behest of Prince Albert; Tennyson would have seen Thornycroft＇s models. In the poem, Tennyson envisions Bo/idicea reducing Colchester and Londonto a red-black stain infested with carrion eaters, and he seems to be asking whether this colour, ironically reflected in the finished statue of the Regent, chariot and horses （she used cavalry and chariots to attack Londinium, after all） is anything like a becoming tribute to Victoria. As for the dating of composition, Tennyson＇s the most likely model for Boaidicea is Lakshmibai, Queen Regent of Jhansi, who, during the Indian Mutiny of late 1857, is reputed to have ordered a massacre of English civilians who were tortured and dismembered in much the same as Boudicca＇s victims. The poem is thus a meditation on the evils inherent in empire building and its effect upon native peoples.展开更多
The expression ＂My Hideous Progeny＂ is widely known to be taken from Mary Shelley＇s preface to the revised edition of Frankenstein （1831）, in which she wrote, of the novel itself and of its creature, Frankenstein...The expression ＂My Hideous Progeny＂ is widely known to be taken from Mary Shelley＇s preface to the revised edition of Frankenstein （1831）, in which she wrote, of the novel itself and of its creature, Frankenstein＇s monster. This paper argues that, if the monster is seen not only as the product of Frankenstein＇s workshop of filthy creation, but also as the child from whom Frankenstein as parent recoils in horror; the works of Kiki Smith, Abigail Lane, and Cindy Sherman, created out of body parts, may also be considered hideous progenies of female creativity. Like Mary Shelley＇s gothic novel, the body, in the work of these three women artists, is not only the raw material of their art, but also the screen on which we project our bad dreams. Through the art of Smith, Lane, and Sherman, we can certainly feel the shudder of body horror that ripples through the Gothic canon from Frankenstein, whose manmade monster＇s yellow skin barely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath. Departing from their artistic examples, we will be able to perceive how the monstrous feminine in contemporary art can be grounded in a very famous hallmark work of Gothic literature.展开更多
Conceptual art is one of the twentieth century art movements that has gained popular attention in the contemporary artworld. It has received much scholarly prominence in the Western world, and perceived as an emergent...Conceptual art is one of the twentieth century art movements that has gained popular attention in the contemporary artworld. It has received much scholarly prominence in the Western world, and perceived as an emergent art of European origin. What has been given little or no scholarly attention is the African essence of root of conceptual art movement. This article addresses the historical epochs of conceptual art in Africa and delves into the critical question of whether or not conceptual art is an emergent art in Africa. With the help of the images of African artworks, this article attempts to fmd visual answers by examining the art-historical account of the art through visual analysis in simple narrative format in telling the African side of the story. It concludes that the adoration and idolization of Marcel Duchamp as the father of conceptual art is contestable since the art was many centuries old in Africa before the twentieth century artists began to practice it in the West. Duchamp＇s attempt at dematerialization of art, and showing distaste to the traditional aesthetics of Western art at the time through conceptual exploration had been in practice in African art and, therefore, not an invention.展开更多
The recent social processes that are striking the Republic of Macedonia are distorting the nature of many sophisticated socio-anthropological phenomena, including the artistic practices. Thus, we will try to briefly e...The recent social processes that are striking the Republic of Macedonia are distorting the nature of many sophisticated socio-anthropological phenomena, including the artistic practices. Thus, we will try to briefly elaborate on several tendencies about contemporary art in the Republic of Macedonia, by ＂screening＂ the theoretical discourses on the issue and by critical perception of recent practices concerning the field. Today＇s views on the creative practices, incorporated in ＂conceptual＂ packages that should develop a new culture of living, are manifested in the creative industries, have been just recently recognized in the Macedonian society. The ＂propaganda＂ character of the treatment of artistic practice changes only formally the media of their manifestations. The idea about the possible and necessary engaged attitude of art towards society had its place also in the modern as well in the postmodern concept of art. In the Republic of Macedonia this ＂ideological＂ attitude towards art regretfully has also become the main mechanism for political domination, manifested mainly in architecture and landscaping of public space. The commercialisation of art supported by the media imposes the discourses of popular art over the content of high art. It seems that art is represented in the field of ＂education and science＂ in the Republic of Macedonia only when certain pragmatic, frequently politicised, interests need to be satisfied.展开更多
Fiumara d＇arte is an open-air museum of sculpture and contemporary art. Among the art-works of Fiumara d＇arte, the Pyramid is the last one in order of time. It is a monumental sculpture made of COR-TEN steel, by the...Fiumara d＇arte is an open-air museum of sculpture and contemporary art. Among the art-works of Fiumara d＇arte, the Pyramid is the last one in order of time. It is a monumental sculpture made of COR-TEN steel, by the artist Mauro Staccioli and it is located on one specific point of the 38th parallel of latitude, on a hill of the northern mountains of Sicily. In this study the architectural and engineering features of land art-works built in this particular plein-air park are examined and discussed. After a general description of Fiumara d＇Arte and its significance in the territory, the case of the Pyramid on the 38th parallel is focalized and a discussion of its architectural, artistic and environmental values is reported. Moreover the structural implications in its design and construction are explained, while the worst effects of external actions are underlined by showing the results of the analysis performed on a finite element model of the whole structure.展开更多
In contemporary Turkish art, topics or items considered obscene by society are being carried out by a number of artists with protest, agitation, anti-propaganda, or strike purposes. Issues that are often seen in socia...In contemporary Turkish art, topics or items considered obscene by society are being carried out by a number of artists with protest, agitation, anti-propaganda, or strike purposes. Issues that are often seen in social life such as domestic violence, honour killings, rape, gender discrimination, intolerance against minority groups generate some artists＇ main theme in their work. Certain circles do not show any reaction to such social wounds, or even support. These circles that have no discomfort in the existence of these wounds get disturbed when they face these social realities through artistic activities. These artists are subject to threats or even physical attacks by such groups. In this paper, Turkish artists, namely Sukran Moral, Taner Ceylan, and Nezaket Ekici who make use of such obscene scenes in their works, will be analyzed including their performances, reactions, and attitudes toward threats and attacks.展开更多
There seems to be a renewed interest in the last couple decades in studying and writing about consciousness. Consciousness may be the most difficult question humans are trying to resolve. Yet eliciting transcendence, ...There seems to be a renewed interest in the last couple decades in studying and writing about consciousness. Consciousness may be the most difficult question humans are trying to resolve. Yet eliciting transcendence, a phenomenon that rises above, or goes beyond, normal limits of consciousness, has been an identified goal for many artists in the past, possibly even in cave art. Drawing on works shown in the 2006 Art Gallery of Hamilton exposition called Sublime Embrace： Experiencing Consciousness in Contemporary Art and in the 2002 Houston Contemporary Art Museum 2002 show called THE INWARD EYE： Transcendence in Contemporary Art, the author will explore the biological, psychological, cultural, and spiritual facets of transcendence. Perhaps, with the renewed symbiotic relationship between the sciences and art, the convergence of digital media, and the emergence of global communication networks, we are at the verge of art that will create a change, an alteration in our consciousness, and an altercendent state. What this change will be is yet a mystery.展开更多
What is the influence of the media as a means of work today？ Media as a material （paper, canvas, vinyl, etc.） on which it is printed, with its specific characteristics and special features--texture （plain, uneven,...What is the influence of the media as a means of work today？ Media as a material （paper, canvas, vinyl, etc.） on which it is printed, with its specific characteristics and special features--texture （plain, uneven, with a defined relief）, colour shade, and even thickness; media as a means of documentation of the result of the creative process through catalogues; media as a mediator representing the result of this process in the common cultural sphere. How powerful is the media？ There is one thing happening at the moment of ＂the event occurring＂ in the institution （a gallery, an exhibition hall, etc.）. It is performed, reproduced, eventually sold. Otherwise it does not exist--it is not paid attention in the media, it is released nowhere （it is nowhere ＂published＂）, respectively it does not influence anybody and does not iustify the use of its existence.展开更多
The Igbo artists of all generations, from the pre-colonial to the post-colonial period, and from her traditional to contemporary art practices, have demonstrated the ability to express the material, as well as spiritu...The Igbo artists of all generations, from the pre-colonial to the post-colonial period, and from her traditional to contemporary art practices, have demonstrated the ability to express the material, as well as spiritual world of the lgbo cultural society. The fear of the unknown, uncertainties of the forest, river, mountain, seas, oceans, lightening, thunder, and the changing weather, brings her artists in constant contact with their spirituality. Over time, these artists have demonstrated their inherent ability to perceive, through their various art practices, the unseen, speak the unspoken, revere and share in the silent salient world of their ancestors, as well as preserve it for posterity. This paper presents an insight into the Igbo cultural society with reference to her indigenous and contemporary art practices. It identifies the trajectories of her art and cultural developments toward contemporary and global acceptance, and in addition attempts to identify her visual creative frontiers.展开更多
With the development of economy and society, every comer of the world＇ s cultural and spiritual civilization are closely linked together, At the same time, the clothing and contemporary art are in the big tide of mut...With the development of economy and society, every comer of the world＇ s cultural and spiritual civilization are closely linked together, At the same time, the clothing and contemporary art are in the big tide of mutual penetration and mutual influence. Contemporary art has influenced on the costume design. Costume design can play their own advantages in art tide, toward a higher point. The passage from the clothing design and other fields of contemporary art in the process of cross-border integration explores the future development trend of garment design.展开更多
文摘Since the mid-1980s Chinese calligraphy art has undergone a radical change and has opened itself to experimentation. A vivid debate on CCC （Contemporary Chinese Calligraphy） （Zhongguo xiandai shufa） is involving art critics in China nowadays. WANG Dongling and the modernists think that, despite many changes and influences, we can still refer to the traditional calligraphic lexicon to describe the calligraphic production of contemporary Chinese art. They still remain deeply rooted in the signified system of Chinese writing, even if they break with the strict rules of Chinese classical aesthetic （contamination of Western elements and focus on the stylistic exploration）. WANG Nanming and the Avant-garde think that ＂contemporary calligraphy is not calligraphy yet＂： It is ＂anti-calligraphy＂, annihilates Chinese tradition, rejects the use of legible characters, experiments with new languages and new media within the idiom of international contemporary art. The result is the creation of works of art that could be assimilated to Abstract art, Abstract expressionism, Conceptual art, Performance art, Contemporary dance, Multimedia art, and even Street art. This paper aims at showing how still valid and extremely productive are both these two theoretical and creative/practical approaches to Chinese calligraphy in China nowadays. They turned the art of calligraphy into a medium for global comprehension and communication.
文摘Tennyson＇s poem ＂Boaidicea＂, published in 1864 but at least conceived in 1858, has never been very highly regarded. It is usually omitted from editions of the complete poetical works. There are two reasons for this. Firstly, written in an approximation of Catullan/Callimachan galliambics, it is no easy read. Secondly and more importantly, however, it sits most awkwardly within a huge body of contemporary art -paintings, sculptures, and novels as well as poems which present the （properly） Queen Regent of the Iceni as the spiritual ancestor of Victoria （the Gaelic word boudicca does, after all, men ＂victory＂）. Far from portraying Boadicea （as the name was then commonly spelt from the 18th to themed 20th centuries） as the harbinger of British imperial glory, Tennyson presents her as the half-mad victim of Roman oppression, brutalized by her own experiences into a personal vendetta. I argue that this poem is a riposte to Sir William Thornycroft＇s bronze statue of Boadicea, a symbol of patriotic pride. It was begun at roughly the same time as the poem, both at the behest of Prince Albert; Tennyson would have seen Thornycroft＇s models. In the poem, Tennyson envisions Bo/idicea reducing Colchester and Londonto a red-black stain infested with carrion eaters, and he seems to be asking whether this colour, ironically reflected in the finished statue of the Regent, chariot and horses （she used cavalry and chariots to attack Londinium, after all） is anything like a becoming tribute to Victoria. As for the dating of composition, Tennyson＇s the most likely model for Boaidicea is Lakshmibai, Queen Regent of Jhansi, who, during the Indian Mutiny of late 1857, is reputed to have ordered a massacre of English civilians who were tortured and dismembered in much the same as Boudicca＇s victims. The poem is thus a meditation on the evils inherent in empire building and its effect upon native peoples.
文摘The expression ＂My Hideous Progeny＂ is widely known to be taken from Mary Shelley＇s preface to the revised edition of Frankenstein （1831）, in which she wrote, of the novel itself and of its creature, Frankenstein＇s monster. This paper argues that, if the monster is seen not only as the product of Frankenstein＇s workshop of filthy creation, but also as the child from whom Frankenstein as parent recoils in horror; the works of Kiki Smith, Abigail Lane, and Cindy Sherman, created out of body parts, may also be considered hideous progenies of female creativity. Like Mary Shelley＇s gothic novel, the body, in the work of these three women artists, is not only the raw material of their art, but also the screen on which we project our bad dreams. Through the art of Smith, Lane, and Sherman, we can certainly feel the shudder of body horror that ripples through the Gothic canon from Frankenstein, whose manmade monster＇s yellow skin barely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath. Departing from their artistic examples, we will be able to perceive how the monstrous feminine in contemporary art can be grounded in a very famous hallmark work of Gothic literature.
文摘Conceptual art is one of the twentieth century art movements that has gained popular attention in the contemporary artworld. It has received much scholarly prominence in the Western world, and perceived as an emergent art of European origin. What has been given little or no scholarly attention is the African essence of root of conceptual art movement. This article addresses the historical epochs of conceptual art in Africa and delves into the critical question of whether or not conceptual art is an emergent art in Africa. With the help of the images of African artworks, this article attempts to fmd visual answers by examining the art-historical account of the art through visual analysis in simple narrative format in telling the African side of the story. It concludes that the adoration and idolization of Marcel Duchamp as the father of conceptual art is contestable since the art was many centuries old in Africa before the twentieth century artists began to practice it in the West. Duchamp＇s attempt at dematerialization of art, and showing distaste to the traditional aesthetics of Western art at the time through conceptual exploration had been in practice in African art and, therefore, not an invention.
文摘The recent social processes that are striking the Republic of Macedonia are distorting the nature of many sophisticated socio-anthropological phenomena, including the artistic practices. Thus, we will try to briefly elaborate on several tendencies about contemporary art in the Republic of Macedonia, by ＂screening＂ the theoretical discourses on the issue and by critical perception of recent practices concerning the field. Today＇s views on the creative practices, incorporated in ＂conceptual＂ packages that should develop a new culture of living, are manifested in the creative industries, have been just recently recognized in the Macedonian society. The ＂propaganda＂ character of the treatment of artistic practice changes only formally the media of their manifestations. The idea about the possible and necessary engaged attitude of art towards society had its place also in the modern as well in the postmodern concept of art. In the Republic of Macedonia this ＂ideological＂ attitude towards art regretfully has also become the main mechanism for political domination, manifested mainly in architecture and landscaping of public space. The commercialisation of art supported by the media imposes the discourses of popular art over the content of high art. It seems that art is represented in the field of ＂education and science＂ in the Republic of Macedonia only when certain pragmatic, frequently politicised, interests need to be satisfied.
文摘Fiumara d＇arte is an open-air museum of sculpture and contemporary art. Among the art-works of Fiumara d＇arte, the Pyramid is the last one in order of time. It is a monumental sculpture made of COR-TEN steel, by the artist Mauro Staccioli and it is located on one specific point of the 38th parallel of latitude, on a hill of the northern mountains of Sicily. In this study the architectural and engineering features of land art-works built in this particular plein-air park are examined and discussed. After a general description of Fiumara d＇Arte and its significance in the territory, the case of the Pyramid on the 38th parallel is focalized and a discussion of its architectural, artistic and environmental values is reported. Moreover the structural implications in its design and construction are explained, while the worst effects of external actions are underlined by showing the results of the analysis performed on a finite element model of the whole structure.
文摘In contemporary Turkish art, topics or items considered obscene by society are being carried out by a number of artists with protest, agitation, anti-propaganda, or strike purposes. Issues that are often seen in social life such as domestic violence, honour killings, rape, gender discrimination, intolerance against minority groups generate some artists＇ main theme in their work. Certain circles do not show any reaction to such social wounds, or even support. These circles that have no discomfort in the existence of these wounds get disturbed when they face these social realities through artistic activities. These artists are subject to threats or even physical attacks by such groups. In this paper, Turkish artists, namely Sukran Moral, Taner Ceylan, and Nezaket Ekici who make use of such obscene scenes in their works, will be analyzed including their performances, reactions, and attitudes toward threats and attacks.
文摘There seems to be a renewed interest in the last couple decades in studying and writing about consciousness. Consciousness may be the most difficult question humans are trying to resolve. Yet eliciting transcendence, a phenomenon that rises above, or goes beyond, normal limits of consciousness, has been an identified goal for many artists in the past, possibly even in cave art. Drawing on works shown in the 2006 Art Gallery of Hamilton exposition called Sublime Embrace： Experiencing Consciousness in Contemporary Art and in the 2002 Houston Contemporary Art Museum 2002 show called THE INWARD EYE： Transcendence in Contemporary Art, the author will explore the biological, psychological, cultural, and spiritual facets of transcendence. Perhaps, with the renewed symbiotic relationship between the sciences and art, the convergence of digital media, and the emergence of global communication networks, we are at the verge of art that will create a change, an alteration in our consciousness, and an altercendent state. What this change will be is yet a mystery.
文摘What is the influence of the media as a means of work today？ Media as a material （paper, canvas, vinyl, etc.） on which it is printed, with its specific characteristics and special features--texture （plain, uneven, with a defined relief）, colour shade, and even thickness; media as a means of documentation of the result of the creative process through catalogues; media as a mediator representing the result of this process in the common cultural sphere. How powerful is the media？ There is one thing happening at the moment of ＂the event occurring＂ in the institution （a gallery, an exhibition hall, etc.）. It is performed, reproduced, eventually sold. Otherwise it does not exist--it is not paid attention in the media, it is released nowhere （it is nowhere ＂published＂）, respectively it does not influence anybody and does not iustify the use of its existence.
文摘The Igbo artists of all generations, from the pre-colonial to the post-colonial period, and from her traditional to contemporary art practices, have demonstrated the ability to express the material, as well as spiritual world of the lgbo cultural society. The fear of the unknown, uncertainties of the forest, river, mountain, seas, oceans, lightening, thunder, and the changing weather, brings her artists in constant contact with their spirituality. Over time, these artists have demonstrated their inherent ability to perceive, through their various art practices, the unseen, speak the unspoken, revere and share in the silent salient world of their ancestors, as well as preserve it for posterity. This paper presents an insight into the Igbo cultural society with reference to her indigenous and contemporary art practices. It identifies the trajectories of her art and cultural developments toward contemporary and global acceptance, and in addition attempts to identify her visual creative frontiers.
文摘With the development of economy and society, every comer of the world＇ s cultural and spiritual civilization are closely linked together, At the same time, the clothing and contemporary art are in the big tide of mutual penetration and mutual influence. Contemporary art has influenced on the costume design. Costume design can play their own advantages in art tide, toward a higher point. The passage from the clothing design and other fields of contemporary art in the process of cross-border integration explores the future development trend of garment design.
