Academic literature on the topic 'Painting, Modern 20th century Themes, motives'

Chinese folk painting nianhua (literal translation, “New Year’s picture”) is a kind of Chinese graphic art, which received a wide popularity in the late XIX – early XX centuries. On the eve of the New Year in China everywhere decorated interiors of living rooms with colorful pictures containing New Year’s greetings, they were pasted on windows, doors, gates. Decorative pictures had a utilitarian and cultic purpose: images of mythological characters and gods symbolized happiness, longevity, prosperity, protected from disasters and misfortunes. At the beginning of the 20th century, nianhua was produced in the woodcutting shops in a woodcut way, since the middle of the 20th century have been used modern technologies, including printing. New Year’s paintings significantly different from national academic painting. The philosophical concept of New Year’s painting was to reflect the spiritual life of the people, moral values, and artistic tastes. The images were built on the basis of folklore motifs, a rhythmic combination of bright colors created a decorative effect, so nianhua is a valuable material that demonstrates the aesthetic representations of the Chinese people, their folk traditions and symbols. The themes of the New Year’s paintings are extremely diverse and includes the following: scenes from classical literature, religious and symbolic and benevolent drawings, genre art painting, calendars depicting 12 cyclic signs of animals, agricultural calendars and advertising pictures. During the history of its existence, the New Year’s picture plays an important political and ideological role. Traditional paintings propagated the foundations of the orthodox Confucian ideology about social and ethical relationships, including hierarchy in the family and society: “Wu lun – the five principles of relationships”, “Xiao – filial piety”, “Ren – patience”. In the second half of the XX century, the New Year's picture is developing as an agitational poster. Under the influence of European painting and modern political processes in Chinese society, artists began to use a new artistic method - revolutionary realism on purpose to illuminate sociopolitical events, propagandize government tasks and resolutions. The basic principles of painting the New Year’s picture are the decorative character (the brightness of colors, the rhythmic combination of color spots), the hyperbolism and idealization of images, the folklore basis of plots and the conventional symbolic-metaphoric language.

The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 spawned a request from both the government and the public for an appropriate pictorial representation to be evaluated in the categories of ‘high art’, a request which revealed the inability of the predominant aesthetics to be satisfied. The paintings on the subjects of the preceding Balkan Crisis of 1875–1876 easily appealed to the existing reserve of descriptive means in primarily appealing to Orientalist motives by using the international Oriental-artistic language. In this case, painters such as K. Makovsky or V. Polenov did not need to resort to some inversions in the “Turkestan Series” by V. Vereshchagin: the developed artistic language allowed the conveying of the desired content without loss. On the contrary, attempts to present pictorial representations of the Russo-Turkish War found that the old military art was no longer perceived as genuine “art”. Thus, in not being regarded as a proper fixation of “memorable events”, the prevailing new aesthetics was unable to convey the pathos and heroics desired by the authorities. At the same time, it was found that a strong aesthetic effect in military plots was achieved through “seriality”, the interpretation of similar plots as isolated and independent. However, this did not produce a significant effect, that is to say, painting as such was not self-sufficient since it required the assistance of the text, the sequence of images, etc. The problem was reduced significantly with the new aesthetics of the 20th century, and in the last decades of the 19th century, in connection with mentioned above difficulties of painting, historical plots acquired new value, providing new opportunities for the representation of heroic themes while simultaneously giving greater aesthetic freedom.

Viktor Vlasov is one of the brightest representatives of Ukrainian button accordion school, and his work is a special page in the musical culture of Ukraine and a significant component of the button accordion art for children. By his work V. Vlasov implements, new ideas and techniques of performing skills that rely on bright artistic images in the native children’s music, and also applies the means of composition techniques that appear in contemporary button accordion art and he pays attention to the latest unconventional methods of sound making. Due to this variety, V. Vlasov’s works have no only their main task – the education of children, but also it is a guideline for other composers. Music scholars, who study the work of Ukrainian composer-accordionist V. Vlasov, have the important task to give a proper assessment of work in general, and summarize the basic criteria of his approach to the formation of the system of young accordionist’s professional skills. Children’s music of button accordion of Ukrainian authors is a significant amount of works for young performers. Although the history of button accordion performance and pedagogy in comparison with other musical instruments is very short, it can be confirmed of the formation of certain schools of button accordion craftsmanship, including the author’s schools, one of which includes the original work of V. Vlasov. In Ukraine, the period of children’s music of button accordion development was synchronized with the formation of a professional button accordion music in general. Beginning from the second half of the twentieth century composers-accordionists made a huge contribution to the musical heritage, including for children. At the same time, information about this stage of musical culture is still poorly explored, the potential of the Ukrainian children’s music of button accordion is not sufficiently defined, the information about collections of plays for children and young people of Ukrainian composers is not generalized or systematized. Ukrainian music for children encompasses a multitude of individual composer styles (from V. Kosenko, M. Lysenko, I. Shamo to contemporary authors such as A. Gaidenko, V. Vlasov, P. Gubanov, O. Shmykov, B. Myronchuk and many others. V. Vlasov definitely can be considered composers with a brightly individually creative writing. All composer’s musical creativity is original and is closely connected with Ukrainian and world classics using authentic folklore, with an appeal to modern pop and jazz genres. He is the author of many works for button accordion which are as complicated, oriented on high level masters as works for beginners. V. Vlasov’s «Album for Children and Youth» has become an important achievement in the field of button accordion art. The cycle of V. Vlasov includes 45 different-colored music pieces; they are not connected with a plot-thematic line, because each music piece has its musical and artistic content. In addition, the music pieces are grouped into five notebooks in accordance with the general plan and a clear pedagogical task. In the first two notebooks of the album («Album of the first-graders», « At a visit to a fairy tale «), the world of a modern child is developed very clearly in the tradition of children’s album from such composers as R. Schumann and P. Chaikovsky to S. Prokofiev and B. Bartok. In the notebook «Folk tunes» which includes folk treats, V. Vlasov managed to cover folk leaks of different regions of Ukraine. The music pieces of the last notebook («Variety-jazz plays») are based on modern jazz language. Researchers more often pay attention to the listed notebooks. This article focuses on the central book of the album – «Chamber Plays». Three sonatas at the beginning of this notebook are perceived as a microcycle where the specificity of sonat thinking is consistently revealed and the artistic and technical tasks for the artist are gradually becoming more complex. The first music piece is a miniature «Sonatyna» of F-dur of early classical type, but even in the summary presentation the thematic contrast is already presented and the functional and logical side of the sonata form is implemented. The second «Sonatyna» D-dur meets the examples of Vienna classics – the thematic is based on the original contrast, there is already a motive comparison in a small development. The third «Sonatyna» C-dur is the most difficult task for performance; it relies on a complex of expressive means corresponding to the music of the 20th century – the toccata-basis of the themes, a complex harmonious language. Thus, three sonatas are a short «summary» of the genre for button accordionists at beginner level. The study of these sonatas is important for assimilating the most complex musical structure. The following music plieces are devoted to other genres, where the author focuses on the transformation of stylistic features. The romantic type of «Serenade» focused on J. Field’s nocturnes has such features as intricacy, expressiveness, sensuality and refinement and corresponds to the general lyrical character of the music piece. The greatest artistic complexity for button accordion performers in «Serenade» is precisely the embodiment of the character of a work that requires a certain level of student’s artistic development, an open emotionality. «Harpsichord» is a work that helps to restore the picture of the aristocratic salon of the times of Rococo, but at the same time it gives certain tasks for the young performer. V. Vlasov somewhat unusually interprets the distribution of textural functions in this musical piece: the part in the left hand imitates the sound of a harpsichord, creating a harmonic accompaniment, while the soloing art of the right hand reflects the timbre of flute or oboe; here the coordination of the hands of the button accordionist and the differentiation of the strokes are important. The last music piece of the book «Watercolour» seems more complicated in content, and more complex in texture development and performance tasks. In this musical creation of this genre of painting, the composer redefines the established notions about the art technique of watercolors and combines the traditions of musical Impressionism with the elements of the «plot», which is represented as a picture. The Viktor Vlasov work, one of the most prominent representatives of the Ukrainian Button accordion School, is a special page of the musical culture of Ukraine and an important component of children’s button accordion music. The most important achievement of the composer in the “Album for Children and Youth” is the systematic, consistent, professional justification of the whole set of musical and auditory ideas and professional skills that make this cycle can be a real school of button accordion craftsmanship.

Viktor Vlasov is one of the brightest representatives of Ukrainian button accordion school, and his work is a special page in the musical culture of Ukraine and a significant component of the button accordion art for children. By his work V. Vlasov implements, new ideas and techniques of performing skills that rely on bright artistic images in the native children’s music, and also applies the means of composition techniques that appear in contemporary button accordion art and he pays attention to the latest unconventional methods of sound making. Due to this variety, V. Vlasov’s works have no only their main task – the education of children, but also it is a guideline for other composers. Music scholars, who study the work of Ukrainian composer-accordionist V. Vlasov, have the important task to give a proper assessment of work in general, and summarize the basic criteria of his approach to the formation of the system of young accordionist’s professional skills. Children’s music of button accordion of Ukrainian authors is a significant amount of works for young performers. Although the history of button accordion performance and pedagogy in comparison with other musical instruments is very short, it can be confirmed of the formation of certain schools of button accordion craftsmanship, including the author’s schools, one of which includes the original work of V. Vlasov. In Ukraine, the period of children’s music of button accordion development was synchronized with the formation of a professional button accordion music in general. Beginning from the second half of the twentieth century composers-accordionists made a huge contribution to the musical heritage, including for children. At the same time, information about this stage of musical culture is still poorly explored, the potential of the Ukrainian children’s music of button accordion is not sufficiently defined, the information about collections of plays for children and young people of Ukrainian composers is not generalized or systematized. Ukrainian music for children encompasses a multitude of individual composer styles (from V. Kosenko, M. Lysenko, I. Shamo to contemporary authors such as A. Gaidenko, V. Vlasov, P. Gubanov, O. Shmykov, B. Myronchuk and many others. V. Vlasov definitely can be considered composers with a brightly individually creative writing. All composer’s musical creativity is original and is closely connected with Ukrainian and world classics using authentic folklore, with an appeal to modern pop and jazz genres. He is the author of many works for button accordion which are as complicated, oriented on high level masters as works for beginners. V. Vlasov’s «Album for Children and Youth» has become an important achievement in the field of button accordion art. The cycle of V. Vlasov includes 45 different-colored music pieces; they are not connected with a plot-thematic line, because each music piece has its musical and artistic content. In addition, the music pieces are grouped into five notebooks in accordance with the general plan and a clear pedagogical task. In the first two notebooks of the album («Album of the first-graders», « At a visit to a fairy tale «), the world of a modern child is developed very clearly in the tradition of children’s album from such composers as R. Schumann and P. Chaikovsky to S. Prokofiev and B. Bartok. In the notebook «Folk tunes» which includes folk treats, V. Vlasov managed to cover folk leaks of different regions of Ukraine. The music pieces of the last notebook («Variety-jazz plays») are based on modern jazz language. Researchers more often pay attention to the listed notebooks. This article focuses on the central book of the album – «Chamber Plays». Three sonatas at the beginning of this notebook are perceived as a microcycle where the specificity of sonat thinking is consistently revealed and the artistic and technical tasks for the artist are gradually becoming more complex. The first music piece is a miniature «Sonatyna» of F-dur of early classical type, but even in the summary presentation the thematic contrast is already presented and the functional and logical side of the sonata form is implemented. The second «Sonatyna» D-dur meets the examples of Vienna classics – the thematic is based on the original contrast, there is already a motive comparison in a small development. The third «Sonatyna» C-dur is the most difficult task for performance; it relies on a complex of expressive means corresponding to the music of the 20th century – the toccata-basis of the themes, a complex harmonious language. Thus, three sonatas are a short «summary» of the genre for button accordionists at beginner level. The study of these sonatas is important for assimilating the most complex musical structure. The following music plieces are devoted to other genres, where the author focuses on the transformation of stylistic features. The romantic type of «Serenade» focused on J. Field’s nocturnes has such features as intricacy, expressiveness, sensuality and refinement and corresponds to the general lyrical character of the music piece. The greatest artistic complexity for button accordion performers in «Serenade» is precisely the embodiment of the character of a work that requires a certain level of student’s artistic development, an open emotionality. «Harpsichord» is a work that helps to restore the picture of the aristocratic salon of the times of Rococo, but at the same time it gives certain tasks for the young performer. V. Vlasov somewhat unusually interprets the distribution of textural functions in this musical piece: the part in the left hand imitates the sound of a harpsichord, creating a harmonic accompaniment, while the soloing art of the right hand reflects the timbre of flute or oboe; here the coordination of the hands of the button accordionist and the differentiation of the strokes are important. The last music piece of the book «Watercolour» seems more complicated in content, and more complex in texture development and performance tasks. In this musical creation of this genre of painting, the composer redefines the established notions about the art technique of watercolors and combines the traditions of musical Impressionism with the elements of the «plot», which is represented as a picture. The Viktor Vlasov work, one of the most prominent representatives of the Ukrainian Button accordion School, is a special page of the musical culture of Ukraine and an important component of children’s button accordion music. The most important achievement of the composer in the “Album for Children and Youth” is the systematic, consistent, professional justification of the whole set of musical and auditory ideas and professional skills that make this cycle can be a real school of button accordion craftsmanship.

Summary. The defined issue is the new angle to study Petro Kholodnyi Sr. heritage, that allows to research the thematic interest features and style synthesis specific to artist`s original language, where we can trace the modernist style, symbolism, byzantine style and impressionism echoes. It was observed an important group of artwork by Kholodnyi Sr. in the article. Together with the sacral heritage, they have played a significant role in the reviving of the Ukrainian national art in the first part of XX century - the compositions on the folk themes. The comprehensive review of the folk poetics in creative work by Petro Kholodnyi Sr., is lightened in context of the current historical and art-cultural realities of the defined period, that allowed to distinguish the characteristic, typical and novel features in creating, by Petro Kholodnyi Sr., the Ukrainian national art through appealing to the folk poetics. It was marked, that Petro Kholodnyi Sr. engagement in folklore was natural in context of two essential interdependent tendencies of that period: the idea of the “national reviving” in the Ukrainian culture in the first part of XX century, among the characteristic features of which – appealing to folklore as the field of the national spirit preserving and “tradition discovery”. It is defined the peculiarities of trendsetting technical performance and ideological-stylistic understanding and rendering of the folk poetics in the visual form, that expanded the idea of this source interpretation abilities in form and sense aspects of that period art searches context. Methods. For holistic analysis, author applied the following methods: form and style analysis to explore the art peculiarities of the artwork, on the Ukrainian folklore motives, by Petro Kholodnyi Sr.; comparative style analysis to detect the features of artist creation manner and its change according to certain one or other ideological-sensitive or emotional message, and to distinguish the differences, between comprehension and visual implementation of the folk poetics in Kholodnyi Sr. creative work in comparison with Russian artists, who, in their creative activities, appealed to the folk well-springs. Results. Through folk poetics, which he felt delicately, Kholodnyi Sr. propagates the most current messages of “national reviving” in early XX century. In particular, the Ukrainian national history pages he exposes via appealing to such source of its study as ballad (thought) (“The thought of the Black sea windstorm”), that added some folk-poetic colours to the theme; also he refers to one of the most famous ancient Rus literature memorials of the late XII century – “The Lay of Igor’s Campaign”, which is saturated with Slavic folk poetry motives. In compositions created by these sources, Kholodnyi Sr. not so much emphasized the ballad subject illustrations or historical annals context as the poetic highness. So there is in his artwork, even on historic themes, a strong, musical in its harmonic melody, rhythm of colourful spots and lines. That’s the important individuality of his creations. The same powerful national poetics we can also feel in his creative works on Ukrainian tales, corals and songs motives, where the emphasis is put on enlarging the emotional-sensitivity edge, but not on the external plot, that we can see in such works as “Oh, there is rye on a field”, “Ivasyk and witch” and “The tale of a girl and a peacock”. Poetry and subjective-emotional components of two last creations point out on the affinity to symbolic-modern worldview, where the reality and tale are mixed at the moment. In his works on folk themes, he combined the style trends early XX century with the national painting traditions. Particularly “The Tale of a girl and a Peacock” corresponds by style to plastic language of modern with its emphasized decorativeness, softness of lines and clear lineal drawing, but in composition “Oh, there is rye on a field” we can see the signs of late modern which includes into its art language the method of stylization one or other famous historical pattern, in this case - byzantinism. Both art work performed in discovered by artist tempera technique which allowed to get that colour tints that enchanted in the ancient Galician icons. So these paintings possess you by delicately harmonized tincture which together with folk motive, its subject and ethnographic details, like heroes’ cloths, creates the folk-national sound of composition.

The article deals with genre-style modifications of the realistic essay of the 19th-20th centuries. In the article the author studies Anton Krushelnytsky’s artistic legacy (1878–1937) in the context of the dominant trends of Ukrainian literature at the end of XIX – the beginning of XX century and through the receptive dimensions of modern theory of literature. The paper defines the ideological and axiological background of the writer’s artistic understanding the reality and aesthetic nature of his creativity. The unity of the form and contest of prose texts is determined. The prose of the given period has a great variety of intra-genre modifications: essay, feuilleton, short story, story, novel. The works demonstrate exceptional multidimensionality of their inner structure, style diffusion, eclecticism of belles lettres methods and ways to achieve reality; the motives of «true morals» appear, which form counterbalance and alternative to moral chaos. Syncretic interaction of aesthetic paradigms of neorealism with impressionism, expressionism, symbolism is observed in prose. The characteristic features of the literature of the transitional stage in the moral-ethical, psychological and emotional aspects are revealed. Ukrainian literature of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was accompanied by the synthesis of sociological, psychological, aesthetic systems. The genre and style features and modifications of A. Krushelnytsky’s small form of prose are considered. The narrative models of the writer’s novels are analysed. Consequently, the essay as a genre of small prose is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon that contains philosophical and aesthetic representations, artistic, socio-political, and moral-ethical quest for the breakthrough of the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The artistic practice of writers contributed to enriching of Ukrainian writing with new themes, images and genre forms, expanding the limits of traditional realism, so, updating the artistic and stylistic palette. The given motives of writers’ works reflected to the inside feelings and experiences of heroes are present as intertextual inclusions in prose of M. Kotsubinskiy, V. Stefanik, P. Mirniy, L. Ukrainka, O. Kobilianska and other writers at the turn of XIX-XX centuries. Being an organic component of Ukrainian literature, the narrative represents a tendency to expand the social sphere of personality images, to deepen the personal psychological characteristics of the individual. The place and role of prose creative works in Ukrainian literary process at the turn of the century are grounded.

The essay presents an overview of Jewish American prose of the second half of the 20th — first two decades of the 21st century within the context of multicultural literature of the USA. The definition of Jewish literature remains a matter of debate. The author of the essay based on the opinions of critics concludes on the criterion for assigning a writer to Jewish literature. It is the artistic embodiment of the personal Jewish experience and identity in the works of literature, the view “from inside,” the perspective of collective memory and the connection to history and culture. Jewish literature today is one of the most developed ethnic segments of multicultural American literature. Writers under study are recognized throughout the world, their works have been translated into many languages, including Russian, they are known to readers and have already become the subject of study by literary scholars. Today, Jewish American literature is represented by two generations of writers. “Senior” generation includes the authors born in the 1920s–30s who began their literary careers in the 60s when there was a generational change in national literature. “Young” generation is represented by the writers who began their literary careers in the 2000s. On the example of the works of the most famous authors of both generations, the author of the essay talks about the factors determining the specific features of Jewish American prose and its characteristic themes, problems, and motives: the search for identity and roots, the representation and rethinking of the Holocaust, ethnic stereotypes, the image of the Jewish family, and the traditions of Jewish humor. The study of the works of modern Jewish writers in the United States allows us to draw conclusions about the display of border consciousness, national and ethnic identity, and collective memory in fiction.

The article deals with the thematicism and thematic work in the first movement of Mozart’s Piano Sonata KV 311/284c (1777). The analysis of thematical process in this instrumental composition is examined under the angle of correlation between the contemporary and historical approaches: 1. the correspondence of the music theory concepts that were part of the lexicon of Wolfgang Amadeus and Leopold Mozarts (Ideen, il filo), with a complex of musical-analytical terms of our time, formed both in line with the historically informed theory, and in the context of the general theory of musical composition and form; 2. the comparison of research methods of the musical-thematic plan in the English-language and Russian musicology of the last half century. Sonata KV311/284c does not pertain to the number of Mozart’s compositions that have already been studied earlier from the point of view of the theory of topoi, which makes its analysis of additional interest. The article defines the topoi in the first Allegro, demonstrates their distribution in the sonata form, traces the logic of motivic and thematic transformations. The similarity of the “plotline”, which is formed from the relationship of the elements of the musical text (tonal, harmonic, melodic, textural, dynamic, etc.), began to be examined in musicology during the last third of the 20th and the early 21st centuries through the prism of the concept of narrative analysis. Such a plotline in Mozart’s sonata unfolds on two levels. The first is the typical for the sonata form “deducibility” of all themes from the main theme, that is, a certain “obligatory tonefabula” of the sonata composition (a term by Rostislav Berberov). The second level is the presence of an individual “intonation fabula” (a term by Inna Barsova), which is realized through the correlation of motives. In this plot, the archetypal narrative of comedy described by Almén (Byron Almén, 2003, 2008) gets its original embodiment. Thus, when considering the works of Mozart, both narratological analysis and the identification of a “common” classical musical language have significant prospects. At the same time, the relationship between the concepts that have been brought into scholarly use in our time and the concepts that have come from the 18th century is by no means unambiguous. The modern terms “narrative” and “topos” primarily define typological models, while the terms taken from the personal communication of Wolfgang and Leopold Mozarts fix individual of such models specific compositions.

Surrealistic art is one of the most engaging and intriguing art genres. Surrealism itself is considered to have been the most influential art movement of the 20th century. Started in the 1920s as a literary movement that eventually took on a visual dimension, its foundational principles have continued to influence the thought process and style of many modern artists in the realm of self-expression. In their studies of many disciplines in the art including genres of painting, drawing and sculpture, students of art at the University usually find the concept of surrealism initially difficult to decipher mainly because of the uniqueness of its own description. The dream-like imageries of surrealism are derived from dreams and the unconscious mind; hence, the students have to contend with the derivation of subject matter from an unusual source. This is challenging for most of them since they are used to formulating subject matter from a purely academic perspective and from themes that they ordinarily relate to in their environment or can easily reference. Although students embark on drawing from their first year of study, they are introduced to surrealistic drawing as a unit in their final year. With their drawing background, it is presumed that by their final year, they have attained adequate levels of drawing skills for application in any artistic challenge. This study examines, through analysis of selected works, firstly, the extent to which students are able to internalise the concept of surrealism and apply it in the construction of the artistic composition, and secondly whether their drawings demonstrate an individual capacity for self-expression and the derivation of meaning, through dream-like imageries drawn from the unconscious mind. The students were exposed to preliminary studies and examination of surrealistic work, discussions of subject matter, origination, style and technique in the course of their unit programme. For the purpose of uniformity of medium, they were instructed to work only in pencil. They were subsequently accorded adequate time and space to embark on their work with class presentations and discussions at prescribed intervals. The resultant drawings were many and varied and the ones selected are those that displayed good artistic execution and/or displayed a certain profoundness of meaning or interpretation.

The article analyzes Y. Boyko-Blokhyn’s comparative model as an important integral concept element of Ukrainian emigre scholars comparative literary studies in the 1930s-1980s period (Y. Boyko-Blokhyn, M. Hnatyshak, S. Hordynsky, V. Derzhavyn, I. Kaczurowskyj, D. Chyzhevsky, Y. Sherekh and others). Approaches of the emigre scholar to literature comparative exploration are interpreted in the context of global comparative studies main trends, and placed against the views of the mainland comparative literary studies representatives. We clarified the distinguishing features of Y. Boyko-Blokhyn’s model, proved its multidimensional and multivector character, and ascertained comparatist attitudes relevance towards modern comparative literary studies, taking into account their development potential. This goes according to the purpose of the work and its tasks. This research applies advances in comparative historical analysis, methodology of both historic cultural and receptive aesthetic schools. Conceptual idea of the scholar shows his attention to contact-genetic relationship as well as typological similarities and differences. The author interprets functionality problem of inter-literary/ intercultural communication preeminently as a national literature stylistic development factor. The study reveals the interdisciplinary nature of Y. Boyko-Blokhyn’s works (with access to the realm of philosophy, psychology and cultural studies), and demonstrates his integration of contextual, intermedial and other approaches, which fundamentally enriched methodological tools of comparative literary studies. Reflections of Y. Boyko-Blokhyn on the problem of Slavic literatures comparative study, while witnessing the author’s inherent interest in national identity problem, emphasized and deepened research of Slavic, specifically East Slavic, literatures as a fundamental component of the European cultural space. They also substantiated the demand for changes in approach to study the East Slavic region, particularly historical and literary processes in Belarusian, Ukrainian, and Russian literatures. Scientist’s observations and conclusions, aimed at understanding Ukrainian literature in the European context, broaden drastically the idea of its peculiarity, with an emphasis on the features conditioned by its development (T. Shevchenko – G. Byron, R. Burns, J.W. Goethe, A. Dante, G. Leopardi, A. Mickiewicz, T. Moore, Novalis, S. Petőfi, W. Shakespeare, F. Schiller; I. Franko – G. Byron, E.T.A. Hoffmann, A. Chamisso; Lesya Ukrainka – G. Hauptmann, M. Maeterlinck, O. Wilde and others). The researcher traces occurrences of literary reception by the national literature of other nations artistic and aesthetic experiences at various levels of comparative poetics (themes, motives, style, etc.) Conclusion. We proved an important role of Y.Boyko-Blokhyn’s comparative model, who developed impactful traditions of national comparative literary studies of the second half of the 19th century – first third of the 20th century, and at the same time rethought (including through denial) western methodologies, in development not only of Ukrainian, but also of the global literature science as a whole. Insights and ideas of the emigre scholar, many of which were often ahead of his foreign colleagues ideas (A. Balakian, H. Bloom, U. Weisstein, D. Durishin, A. Popovich, H.R. Jauss and others), remain relevant even nowadays. Y. Boyko-Blokhyn’s approaches to comparative study of literatures in the world context with a special emphasis on the problem of national identity apparently acquired the utmost importance during the era of globalization. Similar logic of thinking is affine to those modern authors who insist to study first differences between national creative writings, which according to their deep conviction enrich and diversify the global cultural universe (A. Balakian, C.Bernheimer, E. Kaspersky, F. Toudoire-Surlapierre and others). In contrast to “cultural unification scenarios”, Y. Boyko-Blokhyn’s reflections which draw attention to different literatures/cultures polylogue phenomenon, their mutual understanding and enrichment, are based on the following fundamental thesis: “originality is a runner to commonality” (it is also of fundamental importance for formation of comparative literary history concept). It’s emblematic that the Ukrainian scientist back then strongly denied the position of R. Wellek and R.Warren, who absolutized the tendency to universalization of the global literary process. Instead, Y. Boyko-Blokhyn argued for study of national version of pan-European style (romanticism, realism, modernism), traditional plots and characters, and he also scaled out radically the influence range idea as a manifestation of literary reception, with an emphasis on its creative character (from influence as a repulsion to influence as an “activity stimulus”, “impulse for self-movement”). In fact, these reflections of Y. Boyko-Blokhyn anticipated approaches of those scholars who justified later the concept of active perception as opposed to passive influence, actualizing the role of recipient in the process of inter-literary communication (H.R. Jauss), thesis about the decisive role of the recipient literature (D. Durishin), interpretive theory – “fear of influence” (H.Bloom). Y. Boyko-Blokhyn’s conceptual thoughts about understanding the “reverse influences” problem, as well as related matter of contribution of each Slavic, in particular East Slavic, literature to the global cultural heritage, are extremely consonant with arguments that have been in the researchers’ focus even in these recent times (M. Boehmig, O. Pachlovska). In conclusion we can say that Y. Boyko-Blokhyn’s comparative model which is characterized by nation-centric orientation emphasizes fundamentally the prospects for further scientific research in historical, literary and comparative dimensions, first of all in projection of such methodologies inherent to modern comparative literary studies as imagology, theory of intertextuality and cultural transfer

This exegesis is an exploration of meditative process in painting and drawing and accompanies an exhibition of paintings and large drawings called What Lies Beneath. The text contains several passages, called "meditations," which accompany the themes approached in the chapters and give insight into the thoughts and practices of the artist. The methodology involves the examination of the evidence of the work produced by selected artists, looking at the words of artists in notebooks, diaries and interviews and surveying a small number of local contemporary artists. The text opens up the possibilities of drapery and garments and of still life as paths to meditative practice in painting and drawing. The qualities that characterize meditative process/practice, derived from my observations, are categorized. Some of the strengths of these processes are revealed through the examination of the work of artists, both contemporary and historical. The work of Vermeer, Sanchez Cotan, Francisco Zurbaran and contemporary artists Anne Judell, Simon Cooper, Jude Rae, Alison Watt and Eva Hesse highlight different aspects of the meditative process in painting and drawing. The art works in the exhibition are documented and bring out the meditative processes that have contributed to their creation, including the use and meaning of the subject (drapery and the garment as a form of still life).

This paper describes my research project and body of work, which investigates social inequalities through the different language and functions of everyday objects. The research moves on from my previous Honours research project on the dou ble nature of caravan parks in NSW and looked at the changing demographics of these locations. I noted the increase of semi-permanent, residential 'homes' for low income earners and the unemployed, in these holiday locations. This paper examines broader social issues of homelessness and social inequalities within our society. I look at the complexities in the definitions of homelessness and the ways in which people find themselves in the position where they rely on welfare agencies and government support. I also investigate different representations of homelessness by artists and other social commentators, ranging from the hopeless victim to the vagrant. This section locates my social concerns with the context of theoretical debate and artistic representation. I have used everyday and mundane objects in my artworks to discuss these social concerns. Everyday objects posses a language and commonality that is familiar to all members of society. This language is developed from the different historical, cultural and functional qualities that everyday objects possess. I discus this in relation to the development of the everyday object in artistic practices from the early 20th century to today. Of specifically importance to my practice is the influence of contemporary German artists and their manipulation of objects to make works with political and social content. Throughout this paper I have discussed individual art works which illustrate my social concerns and the practicalities of the everyday. Revealing how I juxtapose certain objects to question the uneven nature of travel and home, with regards to possessions and mobility. Additionally I challenge the normal functions of objects to reveal new absurd possibilities of use.

The research project uses still life as a means of exploring current events of violence and oppression. These events are represented through juxtaposing plastic toys with organic objects. The toys include a range of popular generic toys such as army men, cowboys and Indians and toy soldiers. The organic objects were selected for their relationship to the specific event being represented. The toys and organic objects were positioned to create interesting and logical compositions. Themes of the series include opposing objects and ideas pitched against each other such as plastic/organic, perpetrator/victim, violence/peacefulness and destruction/sustenance. Within each work the plastic toys take on the demeanor of the tyrant(s), whereas the organic objects adopt the role of the victim(s). The research project uses these themes to convey the message that violence is both a barbaric way of dealing with conflict and a senseless form of self-expression. I have used symbols and metaphors to build a visual language. For the language to be translated accurately a great deal of research has taken place into the appropriate still life objects for each work. Each work incorporates metaphors and or symbols for both the oppressor and victim within the event being represented. The studio outcome of this research project, Silent Bang, includes a series of highly detailed finished paintings of various scales. Silent Bang as a body of work is colourful and aims to be aesthetically pleasing in addition to conveying a powerful message that incites interpretation.

This thesis will examine the practice of relational aesthetics as it involves the viewer, as well as the way in which it plays out within and outside of the institutional setting of the museum. I will focus primarily on two unique projects: that of The Machine Project Field Guide at Los Angeles County Museum of Art on November 15, 2008, produced by Machine Project, a social project operated out of a storefront gallery in Echo Park; and David Michalek's Slow Dancing at the Lincoln Center Festival in New York City, July 12-29 2007.

Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Masters of Technology in Fine Art Degree, Durban University of Technology, 2017.
The aim of this research is to investigate the exploration of transience in the work of selected artists. This study used qualitative, practice-led research methodology. This research is practice-led as my art making plays an integral part in guiding my research. Process philosophy provides the theoretical underpinning and contextual framework for this dissertation. I focus on both contemporary artists and philosophers who explore the notion of transience. As my selected artists and I use paper as a predominant medium, I look at how paper is an ideal choice of material through which to explore themes of transience. The selected artists that I investigate include Peter Callesen (1967-), Mia Pearlman (1974-), Jodi Carey (1981-) and myself. Through this research I have found that artists expressed similar sentiments to that of process philosophers centuries before these theories existed, and continue to do so today. This validates transience as a relevant form of visual enquiry. Through the exploration of transience by contemporary thinkers and the selected artists, I briefly examine the scope of interpretations and possible meanings of transience. The investigation into paper as an art medium supports its appropriateness as a means to explore themes of transience. The exploration of the selected artists’ work highlights the various aspects of transience as a concept based on both subject matter and medium. This research resulted in a body of work, exhibited in partial fulfilment of the Master of Technology Degree in Fine Art.
M