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Browsing by Subject "Contemporary"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    All We Have: Performance Photographs and Artist Interviews in the Contemporary
    (2016-06) Wolff, Rachel
    This dissertation examines two distinct but related sources used in the writing of history about the present and recent past: documentary photographs and artist interviews. Contemporary art history relies heavily on both tools as offering historical evidence. The two also share some attributes as sources: they are simultaneously of the moment and out of time, fragmentary while also appearing to be encompassing, definitive in their possibility of making meaning despite being highly mediated. While photographs and interviews act within a constellation of evidence, I argue that there is something particular about their use in contemporary art history. My goal is to interrogate what might be lost and gained in using photographs and interviews as historical evidence, and therefore what looking at or reading these tools responsibly might entail. To do so, I begin with introducing words and pictures in the contemporary most broadly, before providing literature reviews related to both interviews and photographs more specifically. I then examine these tools through the framework of what I call “networked witnessing,” proposing how we could and should use photographs and interviews within contemporary art history. With this framework established, I turn to my case studies—first performance photographs, then artist interviews—in order to offer examples of carrying out my recommendations. While my case studies explore the variety of conclusions one might productively draw from understanding historical evidence through networked witnessing, I ultimately reveal the ways in which photographs and interviews require a type of inter-viewing—of looking again, from various perspectives, through many layers of mediation, for what might be unfamiliar—that can change our perceptions of our own scholarly responsibility.
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    Babel's Apology: Religious Nostalgia and Literary Engagement with the Postsecular Age
    (2018-12) Miller, Grace
    Postsecularism has recently become a popular field of inquiry in literary criticism, but literary critics frequently overlook religious writers and texts in their studies. This dissertation argues that religious works share many similar traits with the established canon of postsecular literature and bring many aspects of their value systems into dialogue. These postsecular religious works are marked by two noteworthy elements; first, they adapt their approach to their own religion to emphasize the same aspects that postmodern theologians and postsecular writers tend to emphasize: mysticism beyond rationalization and faith versus practice, a tendency that is possibly meant to make the works more palatable to postsecular readers. These authors do not need to wander from their own religious traditions to accomplish this; they simply incorporate their religions’ own traditions in the realm of mysticism or aesthetic experience. The second aspect of these works, however, which provides some tension to the narrative, is a keen sense of religious nostalgia and loss. This loss influences every narrative differently; sometimes it ungrounds the faith experience from history, emphasizing the transitory nature of lived experience, including religious experience. At other times, it brings into stark relief the modern age’s inability to provide enough comforts to dull the passions of the human spirit. As this argument progresses, the implications of religious nostalgia—and the sense of loss that often comes with it—become increasingly grave, from the death of an individual in Marilynne Robinson’s Gilead to the destruction of an entire culture as portrayed throughout Louise Erdrich’s novels, then examining eschatologies in the work of Walker Percy, and finally, Don DeLillo’s portrayal of religious history as it might be applied to mass destruction and death. Each of these narratives illustrate, in their own way, the way these authors and their characters abandon theological authority in favor of emphasizing aspects of religion that can be preserved in the postmodern world, namely, its mystical, ineffable characteristics. As they write, they erase unnecessary difference and preserve the aspects of their faith that deserve preservation, achieving what Habermas called “the mystical fusion with a consciousness that embraces the universe.”
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    The evolution of Scandinavian folk art education within the contemporary context.
    (2010-12) Litsheim, Mary Etta
    Folk education in Scandinavia evolved through the influences of political, social, and cultural change in 18th and 19th century Denmark. Danish high society supported the academic rigor of the German education system and expressed little interest in sustaining the rural folk and its culture. N.F.S. Grundtvig, scholar, minister, and libertarian, who observed this discrepancy between the city elite and the rural class, developed the folkehøgskole (folk school) construct that would provide an equitable education and retain the essence of traditional Danish culture. This movement, a melding of education and ethnographic philosophies, inspired the development of folk schools throughout Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and America. Notable modernist and postmodernist educators were inspired by this progressive and student-centered methodology over that of the strictly pedagogic. Museum educators now refer to adult learning technology in developing their events and activities. The Vesterheim Museum, the case in point for this study, offers traditional folk art education programs which include building skills and knowledge in traditional Norwegian arts and crafts. On an annual basis, the Vesterheim sponsors an exhibition and recognition event to recognize the efforts of these artisans. The artistic expression that emanates from the artifacts--weaving, knifemaking, woodworking, and rosemaling--is influenced by Norway's nationalistic period from the mid 17th to the early 19th century. The purpose of this study is to facilitate understanding, through education and recognition efforts, ways in which traditional folk art expression might evolve.
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    Examination of the impact of the Contemporary Music Project on wind band repertoire and performance in Oregon.
    (2009-10) Robblee, Timothy John
    Wind band conductors have long considered the identification, selection, and creation of quality repertoire as fundamental issues in teaching music in the context of an instrumental ensemble. The Contemporary Music Project (CMP), through the placement of 90 composers in public schools from 1959 to 1973, created a substantial body of repertoire for high school wind band. While researchers have articulated the historical importance of the CMP in encouraging composers to write for the wind band, the direct impact of the compositions has not been explored sufficiently. The purpose of the present study was to study the impact of CMP compositions by examining the music composed by three Oregon-based CMP composers (OBCC) and the impact of these compositions upon repertoire practices in the state of Oregon. Such a study was needed to identify factors that hindered the impact of CMP band repertoire and to inform similar repertoire commissioning efforts in the future. Following a detailed examination of CMP history and an exhaustive literature review, diverse types of data were collected to answer a set of research questions. Evidence of the lasting impact of compositions by the OBCC was sought through examination of published repertoire resources, state repertoire lists, state and regional conference programs, and a survey of Oregon high school band directors. Analysis of these data revealed that CMP compositions from Oregon had only minimal impact upon the repertoire practices of state high school band directors. To more fully understand the factors that influenced this lack of impact, a representative work by each of the three composers (Karl Kroeger, James Kurtz, and Lawrence Widdoes) was selected for expert evaluation. Additionally, data were collected through open-ended evaluator survey responses and composer interviews. Data analysis revealed two primary factors that limited the impact of works composed by the OBCC. First, though considered of good quality by evaluators, compositions of the OBCC did not distinguish themselves from previously composed works and were viewed as somewhat traditional in style. Second, CMP infrastructure in regards to publishing and promotion of works was found to be ineffective in reaching the target audience of high school band directors. The present document concludes with a detailed discussion of these results and recommendations for future research.