Artistic Research Articles

Stand-Up Comedy as an Erotic Art: Reframing Stand-Up Comic Performance Through the Lens of Audre Lorde

ABSTRACT Violent metaphors are common in the description of stand-up comedy. If a comedian is successful, she “kills”—vaudeville slang that hardened in the twentieth century into an aggressive, hierarchical ethos this article refers to as the dominance model that is problematic because it reproduces systems of oppression that disadvantage comedians of marginalized identities, especially women and LGBTQIA+ performers. While pervasive in the stand-up industry, the dominance model is not inherent to the art form itself but is rather a by-product of the white, heteropatriarchal culture in which stand-up was forged. A more inclusive model frames stand-up comedy as an erotic art as defined by Audre Lorde in “Uses of the Erotic.” Lorde argues that erotic knowledge is deeply felt in the body, joyful, and shared, a description that neatly encapsulates the experience of stand-up comedy for both performer and audience and offers a fresh, feminist approach to understanding stand-up comedy performance.

Cross-Cultural Communication and Diversity in Contemporary Art

With the accelerated development of globalization, cross-cultural communication has become an important component of contemporary art, and diverse expressions in artistic creation have become the core of cultural interaction and innovation. Cross-cultural communication not only drives innovation in art forms but also allows the blending of artistic elements from different cultural backgrounds, reflecting the fluidity and complexity of cultural identity. This paper explores the far-reaching impact of cross-cultural communication on contemporary art creation, particularly in the context of globalization, through an analysis of cultural interaction mechanisms in contemporary art, innovative paths of artistic language, and the cultural identity and conflicts within cross-cultural exchanges. The study highlights how the diversity of artistic expression promotes social and cultural awareness. In the future, as new technologies continue to advance, cross-cultural artistic creation will further expand the scope of global art exchanges and promote deeper cultural identity and integration.

Harmonious Heritage through the Qualitative Analysis of Northeast Folk Songs in the Evolution of Northeast Drum

This study explores the artistic and cultural significance of the Northeast Drum (Jianban), a traditional Chinese folk art characterized by its unique blend of narrative storytelling, rhythmic musical accompaniment, and audience interaction. The research focuses on the contributions of Liu Guiying, a renowned provincial representative inheritor of the Northeast Drum, and her innovative techniques that have revitalized this art form. Through qualitative methods, including interviews and participant observations, the study examines the structure and themes of Northeast Drum performances, the role of improvisation, and the integration of Northeast folk songs. The findings highlight the dynamic nature of these performances and their cultural resonance within the community. The study also discusses the challenges and opportunities in preserving this intangible cultural heritage, emphasizing the importance of educational programs, digital archiving, and cultural policies. Recommendations for future research include comparative studies, the impact of modern technology, audience dynamics, and longitudinal studies on preservation efforts. This research contributes to the understanding and sustainable development of the Northeast Drum, ensuring its relevance for future generations.

Odissi on Screen: A Meditation on Regional Television

This article aims to interrogate the role of the television screen in creating, re-creating, disseminating, and deconstructing the dancing body. It presents a study of the contemporary landscape of odissi dance, a nationally recognized Indian traditional art form from the eastern Indian state of Odisha, through its on-screen representation. As an odissi soloist, I register, analyze, and interpret screenic data, mainly televised interviews of dancers, live telecasts of dance festivals in Odisha, and performances recorded for the camera in the studios. I focus on content primarily broadcast on the state-owned satellite channel broadcasting in Odia, the official language in Odisha. My position is of a Sahrdaya, an observer tutored in the codes and conventions of the art form and critically responsive to the structure of emotion in the presentation. I locate the dancing body across discursive, disseminative, and choreographic renditions. This subjective positioning, I argue, democratizes the expressive ethos of odissi embodiment. Commenting on the contemporary curation of the dancing body by the state network, this essay brings larger questions around the representation of gender, sexuality, caste, and regionalism on the television screen.

Visual Communication Method of Multi-Frame Film and Television Special Effects Images Based on Deep Learning

In the view of art form change, there is a perspective problem in the detail part of multi-frame film and television special effects (TSEs) images in the special effects rendering module, which leads to the greater ambiguity of multi-frame film and TSEs images. In order to advance the talent of identifying the detail structures and characteristics of multi-frame film and TSEs images, a visual communication technology of multi-frame film and TSEs images in the view of art form change grounded on deep learning is suggested. The transmission relation model of detail characteristics of multi-frame film and TSEs images in the field of artistic form change is constructed, and the attenuation treatment of detail action special effects of multi-frame film and TSEs images in the field of artistic form change is carried out with the assistance of deep learning approaches. The detailed information and color of multi-frame film and TSEs images are obtained by using prior map knowledge instead of rendering basic color. Over the technique of filtering and preserving, the multi-frame film and TSEs images are directed to screen the detailed feature quantity of the input film and TSEs images in the field of artistic form change. In addition, the Sobel operator is practiced to perceive the scrawny edge information of multi-frame film and TSEs images, and block fitting interpolation and depth filtering analysis are used in the edge area to realize the visual communication and color feature parameter identification and amplification of multi-frame film and TSEs images in the field of artistic form change, so as to improve the fuzzy enhancement of multi-frame film and TSEs images. The test results and results indicate that the average Peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) of the proposed method is about 37.7166[Formula: see text]dB, which is 49.08% and 52.08% higher than the PSNRs of the Harris method and SUFR method, respectively. It has been confirmed that this scheme can successfully solve the edge blurring and distortion problems of multi-frame movies and image images in the field of art form change.

Phenomenon of Screen Dance in the Context of Dialogism of Choreographic and Audiovisual Arts

The purpose of the article is to reveal the peculiarities of the phenomenon of screen dance in the context of dialogism of choreographic and audiovisual art. Research methodology. The method of analysis and synthesis was applied (to study the scientific literature on the research topic and identify the main concepts of screen dance), the terminological method (to clarify the concept of "screen dance"); the typological method and the method of historical and cultural analysis (to identify the peculiarities of the interaction of choreographic and audiovisual art in historical retrospect), the method of generalisation. Scientific novelty. The phenomenon of screen dance is studied in the context of dialogism of choreographic and audiovisual art in historical retrospect; the concept of "screen dance" has been clarified; the properties of screen dance are understood, the points of common influence and mutual exchange between film and dance are considered, which define it as an autonomous practice; little-known and unknown sources, as well as the results of research by modern foreign scientists, were introduced into scientific circulation. Conclusions. The study found that there are no strict criteria for defining screen dance in the scientific literature. During the historical development, this art form was usually denoted by a number of terms limited by indications of materiality (video dance, film dance, dance film), but it is screen dance that formulates the common denominator between them. Within the problematics of dialogism of choreographic and audiovisual art, screen dance can be considered as a form of research that studies the relationships between composition, choreographic language, and the meanings of body, movement, space, and time in the context of contemporary debates about cultural practices. Screen dance can take many forms and features and cross genres, with no limits on how it can be produced, filmed, edited and distributed. The coexistence of choreographic and audiovisual in the concept of screen dance is characterised by a constant dynamic interaction, the specifics of which are determined by innovative technological inventions and trends in the socio-cultural space.

Genesis of Music Video Clip as a Popular Form of Modern Audiovisual Culture: Experiments with Music Visualisation

The purpose of the article is to reveal the peculiarities of the development of the music video clip in the context of the historical interaction of musical and audiovisual culture. Research methodology. General scientific methods of cognition were applied, in particular analysis and synthesis, systematisation of theoretical data, the method of structural-functional analysis, which made it possible to reveal specific aspects of the interaction of music and various forms of artistic practices in the space of audiovisual culture; a typological method, with the help of which various features of the music video clip in the structure of modern audiovisual culture are revealed. Scientific novelty. The genesis of the music video clip as a popular form of modern audiovisual culture is studied; the problem of integration of visual images and music as part of artistic practices in historical retrospect is considered. Little-known works of foreign scientists, the problems of which are correlated with the subject area of research were introduced into scientific circulation. Conclusions. The genesis of the music video clip testifies to the significant role of artistic practices in the process of image and music interaction at the early stages, which contributed to the invention of new creative ways of representing the imaginary – animation and montage proposed by avant-garde artists; videos and video installations created by mastering the television image; music videos that opened a new dimension for experimentation, becoming an influential form of modern culture. Artistic history of analogue interactions between cinema and music during the 20th century demonstrates the antecedent conditions of production, perception, and socio-political context that were necessary for the mass popularization of the music video as an established form. Thanks to the early experiments in the formation of visualised music, the music video as a new form of audiovisual art gained cultural value, which allowed it to play a significant role at the modern stage. The music video played and continues to play a key role in the socio-cultural space. The technological evolution from analogue to digital means of production and display has accelerated the development of both the form and the aesthetics of the music video, which emphasises one of the most important roles of art in society – to provoke thought and encourage a rethinking of social, political and cultural conditions and surroundings, using this is the main means of communication, including popular music.

Application of new genre public art in community empowerment: a case study of Chongqing Tie Lu San Cun Village, China

Abstract Purpose This paper aims to explore the necessity of using new genre public art (NGPA) to enhance community empowerment based on the characteristics of this art form and in conjunction with community empowerment theory. The study analyzes representative cases of NGPA to investigate its potential for strengthening community empowerment. Methodology The research primarily employs a case study approach, which selects samples based on their influence and project sustainability to examine the characteristics of NGPA. Content The study first analyzes the theories and characteristics of community empowerment and NGPA. Then, it selects the community practice activities of NGPA in Chongqing’s Tie Lu San Cun Village (Railway Third Village) as a case for empowerment analysis. Finally, it discusses the achievements of the project and the areas that need improvement. Conclusion and recommendations The findings show that NGPA can enhance community empowerment. They propose methods for improving areas that need enhancement and provide academic insights for policymakers to support artistic practices due to their benefits for community empowerment.

‘Mapping’ China’s Art Industry: Understanding Contemporary China Through Qiu Zhijie’s Maps as a Medium of Cultural Relations

Deeply ingrained in the fabric of Chinese society, calligraphy originated as an ancient art form and is known as the chief of all traditional arts in China. In the current artistic context of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), calligraphy has merged with contemporary art forms to reflect the dynamic changes and realities of the country. Addressing gaps in academic literature focusing on China’s soft power and cultural diplomacy, this paper focuses on cultural relations to develop a people-centered pathway that flows “organically” and enables the understanding of current-day China. Inspired by Anne Marie-Slaughter’s conceptualization of a “web” of networks, this paper employs a case study analysis of specific contemporary artworks by Chinese contemporary artist Qiu Zhijie. Indeed, this paper finds that Qiu’s maps reflect nuances of contemporary Chinese society, showcasing the intricate relationship between calligraphy, contemporary Chinese art forms, and Chinese culture and society. Further, due to the unique combination of Chinese characters and English text, woven together through cartography and Chinese calligraphy, Qiu’s maps provide international audiences with basic tools for understanding cross-cultural nuances and contemporary realities. In the context of international relations, Qiu’s maps may act as a medium for improving the international community’s understanding of current-day China.

Enhancing Creativity: The Impact of Multilingualism on Creative Arts Instruction and Expression in South African Schools

Teachers heavily rely on the dominant language of instruction—a spoken and written mode of communication—rather than expressing creative art forms through actions, signs, symbols, and other means. The reliance on monolingual forms of instruction to teach these art forms may diminish their efficacy. This research thus aimed to optimise the use of multilingualism in the context of Creative Arts and expression. Teachers teach Creative Arts with the aim of equipping learners with fundamental knowledge and skills in the arts, thereby fostering creativity, imagination, and appreciation for artistic activities. Multilingualism also entails using the human senses to see, understand, and navigate the various symbolic worlds humans encounter. The study adopted a transformational paradigm based on qualitative participatory research, focusing on ten eighth-grade learners purposefully selected from a particular school. Semiotics, the study of signals and the epistemology of their presence in society, served as the theoretical foundation for the research. The researcher collected data through focus groups and observations and then used a narrative analysis method for analysis. The findings revealed that limitations such as insufficient instructional time, a lack of training and linguistic dominance, a lack of resources, and limited preparedness impede the effective use of multilingual instructional methodologies. The researcher concludes that compulsory incorporation of semiotics in Creative Arts instruction may be crucial in fostering creative thinkers who cannot only express creative practices in a conventional manner but also use their talents in other domains, such as animation in creative practice. Keywords: Multilingualism, Creative Arts, Semiotics, Transformational Paradigm, Participatory Research.

Recreating the Poetics of the Landscape of the Asya Novel by I. S. Turgenev in the Kyrgyz Language

The subject of this study is the Kyrgyz text of the translation of the Asya story and its original. The article uses the method of comparative analysis to compare the style of the Asya story by I. S. Turgenev with his translation into the Kyrgyz language, carried out by professional translator Murzabek Omurzakov, in the aspect of recreating landscape sketches. The purpose of the study is to identify stylistic deviations of the translation text from the original and evaluate the transformation of epithets and lexemes denoting natural phenomena. As a result of the study, it is determined that the artistic originality of the original is not adequately reflected in the translation, and deviations from the stylistic features of the original are identified. Frequent repetitions are indicated, which reduced the beauty and poetry of the original narrative. Also, as a result of the analysis, the attitude of the author of the translation is revealed, which led to the substitution of concepts and epithets; a number of verbs with the meaning of the attribute are weakened and are not reproduced. It was also possible to find out how to convey such aspects of the landscape in the Kyrgyz language as the reflection of light and color shades. The author of the translation, using equivalent lexemes, recreates with maximum accuracy the poetics of the landscape as an artistic form. The results obtained have practical significance in teaching Russian literature courses at schools and universities.

The bidirectional role of music effect in epilepsy: Friend or foe?

Epilepsy is a prevalent neurological disease that impacts around 70 million individuals globally. Anti-seizure medications (ASMs) are the first choice for clinicians to control unprovoked epileptic seizures. Although more than 30 ASMs are available in the market, patients with epilepsy (PWEs) still show poor responses to adequate drug treatment. Meanwhile, long-term medications not only bring heavy financial burdens but also lead to undesirable side effects. Music, a ubiquitous art form throughout human history, has been confirmed as therapeutically effective in various neurological conditions, including epilepsy. This alternative therapy offers convenience and a relatively safe approach to alleviating epileptic symptoms. Paradoxically, besides anti-convulsant effect, some particular music would cause seizures inversely, indicating the pro-convulsant effect of it. Considering that investigating the impact of music on epilepsy emerges as a compelling subject. In this review, we tried to present the following sections of content on this topic. Initially, we overviewed the impact of music on the brain and the significant progress of music therapy in central neurological disorders. Afterward, we classified the anti-convulsant and pro-convulsant effects of music in epilepsy, relying on both clinical and laboratory evidences. Finally, possible mechanisms and neural basis of the music effect were concluded, and the translational potentials and some future outlooks about the music effect in epilepsy were proposed. PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY: Epilepsy is an extremely severe neurological disorder. Although anti-seizure medications are preferred choice to control seizures, the efficacy is not satisfied due to the tolerance. Anecdotal music effect had been deemed functional diversity but not clarified on epilepsy, pro-convulsive, or anti-convulsive. Here, we reviewed this interesting but puzzling topic, as well as illustrating the potential mechanisms and its translational potential.

Provincial Drag in the Philippine Tropics: Towards a Decolonial Queer Tropical Aesthetics

Drag, in its neoliberal permutation, has become the most consumed queer art form everywhere in the world. The popularity of drag is often attributed to the bourgeoning empire of the Drag Race franchise. While the cultural phenomenon that is Drag Race has constructed a platform for drag to thrive in the mainstream scene, it has also created a limited and hegemonic understanding of drag as simply glamour and superstardom. This essay problematizes what has become “homonormative drag” and outlines the need to turn to pluriversal drag aesthetic praxes. It is argued that deploying a decolonial queer tropical lens, following Rolando Vazquez’s decolonial aesthesis and Samantha Nöel’s tropical aesthetics, opens our understanding of drag to situated local experiences in the tropics. This essay, unpacks the aesthetics of what I call “provincial drag,” found in the digital content produced by queer subjects in the Philippine provinces, to illustrate and re-locate the critical function of drag not simply for gender subversion, but also to laugh at neoliberal and colonial projects.

DEVELOPMENT OF PERFORMANCE SKILLS OF STUDENTS ON THE BASIS OF UZBEK FOLK INSTRUMENTS

General Background: Music serves as a profound art form that enriches individual lives and fosters a conducive environment for personal and communal development. Specific Background: Its impact spans various domains, including labor, public affairs, and recreation, suggesting that music plays a crucial role in enhancing lifestyle quality. Knowledge Gap: Despite extensive recognition of music's benefits, there remains a lack of comprehensive understanding regarding its specific effects on creativity and individual maturation processes. Aims: This study aims to investigate the relationship between music appreciation and the development of creative abilities, while examining its influence on emotional well-being and aesthetic culture. Results: Preliminary findings indicate that engagement with music not only enhances creative expression but also significantly contributes to emotional resilience and aesthetic awareness. Novelty: This research introduces a nuanced perspective on the role of music as a catalyst for holistic personal development, emphasizing its dual capacity to evoke joy and reflect on the complexities of human emotion. Implications: The insights derived from this study underscore the importance of integrating music education and appreciation into personal development frameworks, suggesting that fostering musical engagement may serve as a vital component in cultivating creativity and emotional intelligence in individuals, thereby enriching societal cultural fabric.

Copyist or Creative? The Emergence of the Woman Fashion Artist in Britain, 1880–1920

Abstract The period between 1880 and 1914 was a critical time for the redefinition of high fashion as a form of art, with couture garments displayed at international exhibitions and couturiers like Paul Poiret claiming the legal protection applied to artworks for his fashion designs. At the same time, a massive expansion in illustrated journals and catalogs selling mass-produced garments offered new possibilities for graphic artists, including women trained in the applied arts by public and private colleges. These trends intersected in the figure of the female “fashion artist,” who conceived new designs or presented them to the public—but did not stitch them. In some cases, this person was a designer working for a dressmaking firm or sample house, while others were copyists of existing garments. This article will analyze surviving documents produced by British women fashion artists; examine the life cycle of fashion artists, as revealed in census data; analyze the pathways for training and career development; and consider the ways in which fashion artists were discussed in women’s magazines, both as role models for employment and as fashion mediators.

Wartime Manchukuo’s Photography Registration System: Mutō Tomio’s Bureaucratic Approach to Photography

This article examines Manchukuo’s photography registration system (1940) that the bureaucrat Mutō Tomio introduced. Conceived to utilize photography for propaganda purposes, the registration system significantly changed the production of photographs in Manchuria, ushering in a bureaucrat-led artistic climate that embraced reform bureaucrats’ vision of state planning. I begin by examining how Mutō’s perspectives on bureaucracy, state-building, and corporatism embodied the core principles of reform bureaucrats. Then, I investigate how the ideals of these civil servants were articulated by the photography registration system, organizing the discussion into three sections that focus on ideology, organization, and technology; these focuses correspond to content, institutional structures, and form in art, respectively. In sum, imperial Japan’s war with China necessitated a justification for mobilization, which was expressed in the war ideology hakkō ichiu (“the eight corners of the world under one roof”). This ideology was conveyed by photographs of loyal-spirit towers (chūreitō). To solidify the state’s control over cultural production, the government organized and established a leader-based system for the photography world. The importance of technology for the war effort ended the existing photographic propaganda model guided by Fuchikami Hakuyō. His “dark” aesthetic was considered undesirable; instead, a modernist aesthetic was favored for registered pictures.

Formation and Development of Stage Ballroom Dance in Ukraine from the Mid-90s of the Twentieth Century to the Early 20s of the Twenty-First Century

The purpose of the article is to analyse the formation, tendencies and peculiarities of the development of stage ballroom dance in Ukraine from the mid-90s of the twentieth century to the early 20s of the twenty-first century. The research methodology is based on the principles of objectivity, historicism, and systematicity. To achieve the goal, the following methods were used: systematisation – to understand the combination of events in stage ballroom choreography; synthesis – to analyse the specifics of the processes of development of stage ballroom choreography in Ukraine; included observation – to review individual choreographic works, stage performances and their preliminary comprehension. Scientific novelty. For the first time, an art historical analysis of the formation and development of stage ballroom choreography in Ukraine was conducted, the specifics of the existence of ballroom choreography in the stage space were highlighted through the prism of the activities of theatres, show ballets and ballroom dance groups that have been operating since the 90s of the twentieth century. Conclusions. It is important to note that one of the most powerful areas of national choreographic art is stage ballroom choreography. Ukraine is a leader among other countries in the world in popularising ballroom dancing through theatrical and stage practice. In other countries of the world, the competition and sports direction are developing more actively, and foreign show ballets are synthesised forms of classical and modern dance with some elements of ballroom dance. Instead, Ukrainian dancers, including students and graduates of the Department of Choreographic Arts of the Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts (specialising in ballroom choreography), create a large number of choreographic productions, concerts, show programmes, musicals, ballets based on the vocabulary of ballroom choreography, which, unfortunately, remain the property of the local dance community. In our opinion, it is the lack of promotion of this art form, as well as the absence of systematic state support for this industry, that makes it impossible to convey to a wide range of viewers the high potential of ballroom choreography as a spectacular stage and dramatic art form.

Synthesis of Arts by means of Sculpture Forms

The purpose of the work is to characterise the syncretism of sculptural forms in the development of monumental Ukrainian sculpture; emphasise the national features of the development of national sculpture on the example of the works of modern Ukrainian sculptors. The methodology of the work consists in the principles of holistic and systemic approaches to the study of the synthesis of arts in the sculptural forms of Ukrainian artists. An analytical method was applied to study scientific approaches to the synthesis of arts, as well as an artistic-stylistic method, as well as a system-functional method to the structuring of artistic works as a phenomenon of modern monumental sculpture. The scientific novelty of the study consists in the discourse on the synthesis of arts in the art history environment, characterising some works of art that belong to the category of monumental sculpture. Conclusions. It should be noted that in the Ukrainian art space there is a synthesis between classical forms and intermedia installations, which creates a complex and multi-layered context for modern artists. The perception of time, space and material becomes plastic and changeable, and this, in turn, stimulates the development of new aesthetic forms. Sculptural images have a significant influence on the formation of styles of young artists, where the emphasis is not only on silhouettes, but also on specific elements originating from various forms. Artists build associative visual sequences, embodying unrealistic, yet deeply symbolic images that resonate with viewers on an emotional level. In the examples from the workshops you mentioned, we see how a variety of materials and art forms and execution methods are used to create coherent and complete images that reflect the synthesis of different arts. The theme of the synthesis of arts in different sculptural forms, which sometimes seem completely incompatible, is indeed one of the most relevant for research.

Repertoire policy and activities of the national opera and ballet theaters in the conditions of military aggression

The purpose of the work is to identify changes in the repertoire policy of these institutions based on the analysis of the activities of the national opera and ballet theaters of Ukraine, which are determined by the influence of Russian military aggression and worldview and value transformations that are being formed in Ukrainian society and are aimed at protecting cultural and national identity. The research methodology is based on such scientific methods as analytical, comparative, and art studies, which made it possible to obtain reasonable research results and formulate appropriate conclusions. The scientific novelty of the work consists in the generalization and systematization of the activities of the national opera and ballet theaters (Kyiv, Lviv, Odesa) in the conditions of military aggression and the study of the corresponding changes in the repertoire policy, caused by the rejection of the repertoire related to Russian culture, instead of the promotion by the national opera theaters and ballet of Ukrainian culture and its values ​​among the international community. Conclusions. As a result of the conducted research, it was established that in the conditions of martial law, art, and in particular opera and ballet, in addition to continuing to perform their immediate functions, become expressions and symbols of indomitability and national stability. Modern productions, reflecting the drama of the time, make it possible to convey the complex emotions of the people, their pain of loss and hope for victory in an artistic form. In addition, national opera and ballet theaters acquire other features in their activities, transform into cultural hubs engaged in charity, volunteering, joining various public initiatives, especially among foreign colleagues and partners. Performances of opera and ballet troupes become an important component of the informational and cultural struggle against aggression, demonstrating the strength and beauty of Ukrainian culture to the world. The abandonment of the Russian repertoire by Ukrainian opera and ballet theaters during the war is a significant and symbolic step, driven by both cultural and political motives, which is part of a wider process of decolonization of Ukrainian culture and a break with the imperial heritage. This step symbolizes the desire for cultural independence, support of national identity and rejection of any form of cultural dependence on the aggressor country. Thus, the national opera and ballet theaters in Ukraine, despite all the difficulties, continue their activities, fulfilling not only a cultural, but also a social and patriotic mission in the conditions of war.

New York Split Between Escapist Myths and Harsh Realities in David Duchovny's Miss Subways (2018) and the reservoir (2021)

Discovering cities by means of fiction is a technique worth taking into account. Fiction has always had this role of displaying everything that belongs to the superior forms of arts and culture, giving access to the understanding of man’s psychology and mentality in all historical or social contexts. David Duchovny’s two novels, Miss Subways (2018) and The Reservoir (2021), manage to capture, in an interesting manner, full of symbolism, mythical figures and sordid realities during the pandemic, a post-postmodern image of New York. David Duchovny’s ability to master these techniques, as a graduate in Letters himself, takes the reader to discover some unexpected facets of New York today, as they are revealed in Emer’s almost mythical story (Miss Subways) and Ridley’s account of the Covid pandemic (The Reservoir). The image of the city is not something standard in these two novels. It is subject to reinventions, interpretations from its inhabitants / walkers. In both characters’ journeys, the city is alive, fluid and changeable. Walking (Ridley) and traveling (Emer) give meaning to the city. Likewise, in the post-postmodern tradition, we are going to see echoes of the past in the present (Miss Subways), but also encounter the idea that being on the go or restless (The Reservoir), seeing how the characters are searching for themselves, in their attempt to understand certain things. As they do that, they detach themselves from reality (the only way to achieve their aim), giving us a glimpse of New York City.