Work 2004/2005

WORK is an annual publication of the Department of Architecture that documents student work in design studios and courses in the Master of Architecture and Post-Professional programs, as well as events, faculty news and student awards. It also includes abstracts of PhD dissertations defended that year. It provides an opportunity to explore the creative work of our students and is a permanent record of work in the Department

Limits of Abstraction in Electroacoustic Music

In this thesis the relationship between abstract and representational aspects of electroacoustic music will be discussed. Such an exploration exposes the limits of abstraction in electroacoustic music, as the interaction between musical form and the world outside the immanent context of the work is revealed. In Chapter 1 an examination of the complex system of relationships between sounds within a musical structure and the representational nature of many of the sounds themselves, referring to their origins in the real world, suggests analogies with poetic texts and early twentieth century painting. In Chapter 2 there follows a discussion of ideas contained in Simon Emmerson’s article The Relation of Language to Materials (Emmerson, 1985). Emmerson’s ideas are examined and expanded, with particular regard to the relationship of syntax and discourse. In Chapter 3 the compositional methodology of sound manipulation is discussed, contrasting analytical and synthetic approaches to sound transformation and Ten Hoopen’s model of the specific / surrogate continuum (Ten Hoopen 1994) is discussed and developed. An analogy between structures based on dissonance / resolution and ambiguous / specific source recognition is developed with particular reference to the work Grand Junction. In Chapter 4 a new model, the associative field model, is proposed to examine more closely the nature of ambiguous source recognition with particular reference to the cycle of Seasons. The rôle of ambiguity in aesthetic appreciation is discussed. Finally, in Chapter 5, the interaction of the work with its wider context is discussed. The influence of literary accompaniments to the work, such as the title and programme note is considered as is collaboration in the form of music specifically created for contemporary dance, as exemplified in The Killing Floor. The interaction of the work and the performance space is considered in the site-specific installations Boomtown and Living Steam

Farocki/Godard. Film as Theory

There is a tension between the requirements of theoretical abstraction and the capacities of the film medium, where everything that we see on screen is concrete: A train arriving at a station, a tree, bodies, faces. Since the complex theories of montage in Soviet cinema, however, there have continuously been attempts to express theoretical issues by combining shots, thus creating a visual form of thinking. This book brings together two major filmmakers-French New Wave master Jean-Luc Godard and German avant-gardist Harun Farocki to explore the fundamental tension between theoretical abstraction and the capacities of film itself, a medium where everything seen onscreen is necessarily concrete. Volker Pantenburg shows how these two filmmakers explored the potential of combined shots and montage to create "film as theory.

Re- imaging visual information complexity : a creative approach to information entropy, perception, identification and understanding

The author considers the material nature and aesthetic role of information complexity in creative production. Outlining the context of computer based artworks within the visual/fine arts and the relationship of dematerialised media to digital code, computer science techniques are redefined as both artwork, and method of creative investigation. A discussion of several of the author’s artworks illustrates these themes

Banksy

Bristol born Banksy is usually categorized as a Street Artist, although his art, in content and form, transcends a narrow understanding of this term. This publication primarily deals with Banksy as a contemporary Urban Artist and his relationship with consumer culture. It examines Banksy not only in light of his illicit work on the street, but also in regard to his gallery exhibitions. The study highlights representative works of his art, pieces which demonstrate his versatility, but also stand for different periods of his oeuvre. This book presents the first academic study of Banksy’s art in English; with a history and discussion of the terms Graffiti, Street Art and Urban Art and a rich array of biographical information. It will be of interest to academics and the general public as well

Faking, forging, counterfeiting: discredited practices at the margins of mimesis

Forgeries are an omnipresent part of our culture and closely related to traditional ideas of authenticity, legality, authorship, creativity, and innovation. Based on the concept of mimesis, this volume illustrates how forgeries must be understood as autonomous aesthetic practices - creative acts in themselves - rather than as mere rip-offs of an original work of art. The proceedings bring together research from different scholarly fields. They focus on various mimetic practices such as pseudo-translations, imposters, identity theft, and hoaxes in different artistic and historic contexts. By opening up the scope of the aesthetic implications of fakes, this anthology aims to consolidate forging as an autonomous method of creation

Faking, Forging, Counterfeiting

Forgeries are an omnipresent part of our culture and closely related to traditional ideas of authenticity, legality, authorship, creativity, and innovation. Based on the concept of mimesis, this volume illustrates how forgeries must be understood as autonomous aesthetic practices – creative acts in themselves – rather than as mere rip-offs of an original work of art. The proceedings bring together research from different scholarly fields. They focus on various mimetic practices such as pseudo-translations, imposters, identity theft, and hoaxes in different artistic and historic contexts. By opening up the scope of the aesthetic implications of fakes, this anthology aims to consolidate forging as an autonomous method of creation

Food - Media - Senses: Interdisciplinary Approaches

Food is more than just nutrition. Its preparation, presentation and consumption is a multifold communicative practice which includes the meal's design and its whole field of experience. How is food represented in cookbooks, product packaging or in paintings? How is dining semantically charged? How is the sensuality of eating treated in different cultural contexts? In order to acknowledge the material and media-related aspects of eating as a cultural praxis, experts from media studies, art history, literary studies, philosophy, experimental psychology, anthropology, food studies, cultural studies and design studies share their specific approaches

Polish Avant-Garde in Berlin

This book presents a historical panorama of the Polish avant-garde in Berlin from 19th century historical avant-garde until the recent art. Looking at specific artistic strategies and development of modernist paradigm both in the pre- and post-Second World War period from the perspective of the migration experience, this book offers a deep insight into mechanisms, relations and identity programmes of particular artists or groups. It also reveals the dynamics of eventual cultural exchange or alternative forms of artistic transformation and message that Polish artists imprinted in the Berlin’s art scene. Whether historical avant-garde or the neo-avant-garde, the component of novelty inscribed in the term itself ceases to be a sheer, one-dimensional slogan and reveals a whole range of cultural projections that artist-migrants are both creators and the subject of. Here the notion of exoticism, wilderness, but also critical and ironical approach often constitute the perception of Polish art in the Berlin milieu