Artistic Approach Research Articles

Introduction: Uncomics

The artists featured in this issue all appeared in C’est Bon Anthology (CBA) #56&57: Uncomics, published by C’est Bon Kultur (CBK), in 2022. CBK’s stated purpose is to support, evolve and disseminate comics with higher artistic ambitions – that is, comics made away from the commercial factory paradigm of the mainstream industry. ‘Un/comics’ was edited by comics artist and researcher Allan Haverholm, who coined the term Uncomics in his master’s thesis to describe comics that are about abstract and nonlinear modes on the periphery of comics.

Comics, emceeing and graffiti: A graphic narrative about the relationship between hip-hop culture and comics culture

Hip-hop culture will officially turn 50 years old on 11 August 2023. This cultural movement began in a recreational room in The Bronx, New York City, and is now enjoyed throughout the world. In recognition of its upcoming half-century celebration, this article reviews the origins of hip-hop culture (e.g. hip-hop pioneers such as DJ Kool Herc, Keef Cowboy and Lovebug Starski) and the relationship its emceeing and graffiti elements have with comics culture. I begin with a brief review that demonstrates how graffiti predates hip-hop culture. This is illustrated through depictions of cave paintings, ancient Roman street art and ancient Mayan graffiti. I also highlight hobo graffiti and the graffiti from the Cholos and Bachutos gangs from twentieth-century Los Angeles, California. The introduction of the ‘Kilroy was here’ tag during the Second World War and the protest graffiti from a German anti-Nazi group are also depicted. I conclude the historical review of graffiti with an introduction to the early appearances of hip-hop-styled graffiti. Next, I present multiple historical influences on hip-hop emceeing. Examples include (but are not limited to) West African griots, enslaved Africans, Muhammad Ali, Millie Jackson, The Last Poets and Gil Scott-Heron. Likewise, older genres, such as funk music, blues music, jazz poetry and Black militant poetry inspired much of rap music. Afterwards, I examine the bidirectional relationship between graffiti and comics art, and emceeing and the textual/storytelling aspects of comics. This includes comics-inspired graffiti, hip-hop monikers (e.g. Big Pun, Snoop Dogg, MF Doom and Jean Grae), hip-hop lyrics (from artists such as Grandmaster Caz, Inspectah Deck, Jay-Z and The Last Emperor) and album covers. Conversely, I offer examples of how graffiti has inspired comics visuals and storytelling as well as how emceeing has inspired the comic-book storytelling and the protagonists featured in fictional and non-fictional comic book narratives.

“Tomfoolery” That Deserves Our Attention (Playlets)

“Tomfoolery” That Deserves Our Attention (Playlets)

THE NOVEL IN THE WORK OF RUSSIAN WRITERS OF THE LATE 20TH CENTURY

The beginning of the 20th Century marked an era of unprecedented and radical changes in social structures, economic systems, and political organizations among other spheres of life. Various literary schools of thought developed and each had a distinct artistic approach and ideological aspects. The Russian literature developed as a major way to learn about the Russian culture and worldview coupled with ways of loving, fighting, and expression. This period ranks as the Silver Age of the Russian literature and it served the urgent mission to provide the Russian citizens with a kind of truth, which could only be conveyed through literature in a censored society.

Restoration of the Kyiv-Podil Pokrovska Church in the 1950s: Monumental Painting by Lidia Spaska

The purpose of the article is to find out the history of Lidia Spaska's painting during the restoration of the Kyiv-Podil Pokrovska Church in the 1950s, and its iconographic and stylistic features. The research methodology is based on the application of archival and bibliographic searches, which enabled finding and highlighting the unknown facts; iconographic and iconological methods, which made it possible to analyse the development of plots, and the method of comparative evaluation allows to clarify the peculiarities of the artist's approach to their interpretation. The scientific novelty consists in the introduction into scientific circulation of previously unknown materials about L. Spaska's participation in the restoration of the Kyiv-Podil Pokrovska Church in the 1950s; in the first attempt at an iconographic and iconological analysis of her monumental paintings in this restoration process. Conclusions. It has been established that Lidia Spaska was the author of the monumental painting of the Kyiv-Podil Pokrovska Church. The following works belonged to her brush: two compositions “The Entombment” and “The Resurrection” in half-domes; two wall paintings in the northern and southern arms – “Ascension of Virgin” and “Apparition of Virgin on Mount Pochaiv”; paintings of the drum of the central dome and elastic arches. These works have not survived in their original form to our time. The iconography of the images gives reason to believe that L. Spaska did not use fixed subjects, but on the basis of her knowledge and experience tried to interpret or adapt them to the wishes of the customer, as evidenced by their iconographic analysis. The compositions of all works are subordinated to the architectural space and are organically perceived in the general interior of the temple. In her painting, L. Spaska focused on the fine modeling of the face, giving it increased attention, while the clothes and the background were painted more generally; the figures are characterised by expressive silhouette and movement. Losses and later renewals of paintings do not allow us to draw general conclusions about the color and its features.
 Key words: Lidia Spaska, Kyiv-Podil Pokrovska Church, religious painting, Lamentation, Entombment, Resurrection, Apparition of the Virgin Mary.

An Artistic Approach to Secondary School Students’ Process of Discovering Scientists: Theatre and Science

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of science theatre plays on secondary school students’ attitudes towards the subject of science and their views on scientists. The study was conducted with 38 seventh grade secondary school students over a six-month period. The “Scale of Attitudes Towards the Subject of Science” and “Opinion Survey About Scientists” were used to collect the quantitative data, and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used for the analysis of the obtained data. For the collection of the qualitative data, the compositions written by the students and the researcher’s observation notes were used, and the obtained data were subjected to inductive content analysis. In the study, it was concluded that the science theatre plays were highly effective in increasing secondary school students’ attitudes towards the subject of science. On the other hand, it was determined that the activities had no effect on the students’ views about scientists. The results obtained from the qualitative data reveal the advantages of science theatre plays for students, as well as their contribution to students’ personal development. The findings were discussed in the light of the literature and recommendations were made for future research in line with the results.

Comics As a Tool for Research on Gender Violence. Interview With Nayanika Mookherjee on the Graphic Novel Birangona. Towards Ethical Testimonies of Sexual Violence During Conflict (2019)

Comics and the recently emerged graphic novel format are among the art forms that researchers have chosen to disseminate and provide a visual representation of their work. This relationship between comics and research, which is part of a practice labelled as “arts-based research”, has been facilitated by comics’ recognised narrative and didactic abilities. Research on gender-based violence has not been deaf to the call of comics art, and, in some rare but interesting cases, it has exploited the features of the medium to visualise and circulate research findings. An example is the graphic novel Birangona (Mookherjee & Najmun Nahar, 2019 Durham University), authored by the researcher Nayanika Mookherjee and by the comics artist Najmun Nahar Keya, which was circulated, both in an online and paper version, with the aim of popularizing a set of guidelines on how to conduct oral history data collection with survivors of wartime rape. This interview with Professor Nayanika Mookherjee, the co-author of the graphic novel and the anthropologist who conducted the research with wartime rape testimonies from which the guidelines were taken, has the objective of presenting the arts-based research project Birangona and discussing, in a scholarly fashion, the implementation of visual arts methodologies (and comics-based methodologies in particular) to research gender violence.

Beyond anthropomorphising robot motion and towards robot-specific motion: consideration of the potential of artist—dancers in research on robotic motion

The design of robot motion is one of the most important questions in social robotics as it underpins successful human–robot interaction. Human-inspired motion design based on anthropomorphic models, through which human motion features are identified and implemented in a robot, is dominant in social robotics. The article considers perceptual, communicational and social dimensions of motion and suggests going beyond anthropomorphising robot motion and towards the quest of robot-specific motion. Robot-specific motion, as opposed to motion designed using an anthropomorphic model, can be characterised as motion that is designed and generated by robot features drawn through its mobility, materiality, and electro-mechanical ability. Through research on robot-specificity in motion it is possible to consider expressive and communicative features of motion independently of an anthropomorphic model. With this aim, the article stresses the importance of the artistic approach, especially in collaboration with dancers who are expert in motion, pointing out two specificities in art: non-efficiency centred approach and experiences. The article argues for renewing the traditional robotics approach by illustrating some artistic work and research which explore robot-specific motion.

Metavivorship and Narrative Repair in Teva Harrison’s <i>In-Between Days</i> (2016)

Teva Harrison’s autobiographical graphic memoir In-Between Days (2016), which chronicles her experiences living with a metastatic breast cancer diagnosis, is a hallmark text of graphic medicine that must be approached from a framework that combines knowledge of disease process and comics art. As she reflects on her rounds of treatment, her symptoms, her anxieties, and her everyday experiences since diagnosis, Harrison combines text and image in innovative page layouts that exploit the artistic possibilities of the medium. Attention is paid to paratextual elements of comics, panel shape and sequence, and word-image interactions, with reference to comics theory and previous work on cancer in graphic novels. Giving voice to her individualized patient experience, Harrison also crafts a memoir with pedagogical value for comics scholars and healthcare providers alike. By applying the concepts of “metavivorship” (Tometich et al., 2020) and “narrative repair” (Nielsen, 2019) to In-Between Days, analysis highlights the creator’s efforts to reconcile body and mind as she lives with metastatic disease.

Landscape architecture design as an art creative practice: A studio teaching model

Landscape Architecture is defined as a blend of art and science. However, it has been acknowledged that configuration of design forms, which is related to spatial composition and element forms is the most challenging design aspect that the students face in learning the design process in the basic design course. This is not the case for the scientific aspects where students can establish their ability and confidence in learning landscape technical issues and functional requirements. This paper discusses the outcomes of the first Landscape Architecture Design Studio at the Department of Landscape Architecture at Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University (IAU), which represents the first foundation stone for Landscape Architecture design education. The Landscape Architecture Studio has examined the role of creative practice in art plays in the landscape architecture design process in the light of Zangwill’s Aesthetic Creation Theory (ACT), and following the Form-Based Design (FBD) approach process defined by Stefano Fillipi. In this studio, students were asked to design a private garden related to, hypothetically, an artist’s family house. Based on the FBD approach, each student chose a specific modern artist, supposedly owning the garden house, and studied his artistic principles of forms, patterns, colours and composition, and used them as an inspiration for their own art paintings. The students’ art pieces acted as the basis for conceptualising their design preliminary plans and 3D images. As a result of this studio, students showed a great interest in the studio artistic approach, and demonstrated a significant ability to translate the artistic principles and qualities existing in creative painting successfully into their landscape architecture design. At the end of the teaching process, a reflective student survey feedback from instructors indicated that students had learned about the aesthetic creative approach and were able to understand the role non-aesthetic properties played into manifesting the design aesthetic quality.

Telling a Compelling Story: An Exploration of Cognitive Simplicity in Comic Book Design and Characterisation as Visual Communication for Political, Cultural and Social Influence

The objective of this article is to discuss the role of comics as a source of political and social influence, to understand the challenges in modern comics upholding of aesthetic simplicity and cultural authenticity. To explore comic’s significance and value as a cultural art-form, several aspects of comic design and characterisation development through modernisation are discussed through literature and case studies, based on the problem statement: Can comics be a source of political and social influence? For primary research, qualitative interviews and a survey were conducted among Malaysia’s art and design communities using sequential mixed method research. The aim was to examine target audiences’ perceptions of comic design and shifts in characterisation, and how global cultural trends such as media convergence and entertainment marketing affect comics’ authenticity. Findings suggest that comics are not time-bound products; hence their immense capacity to engage fans despite shifts in characterisations. Significantly, comic art fans in Malaysia seem to adopt a conservative attitude in desiring characters to maintain aesthetic simplicity and cultural authenticity. Overall analysis suggests that maintaining original essence in characterisation enable audiences to understand artists’ authentic cultural experiences through graphic storylines documenting the issues addressed. Results suggest that mainstreaming of comics propel the industry’s future growth through diversification and inclusiveness of social narratives, but audience’s perceptions of comics as a source of political and social influence maybe affected. Future research could probe the degree in which comics’ aesthetics appeal and cognitive simplicity contribute to extending comics’ role as an authentic global cultural art-form.

THE FORMATION OF ECOLOGICAL CULTURE OF CHILDREN THROUGH THE PERFORMANCE "ADVENTURE OF THE SNOW LEOPARD" OF THEATER FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH NAMED AFTER N. SATS

The article considers the possibility of forming the ecological culture of the younger generation through theatrical art, where the fairy tale is the main pedagogical technique of environmental education of students. Currently, along with the traditional genres of TYUZ (magic, social and household fairy tales, children's musical, etc.), the range of children's drama is expanding due to the integration of modern stage forms into the TYUZ repertoire, such as plastic drama, ecological theater, children's performance, etc. The maximum adaptability of the language of performance to children's emotional perception (stage entertainment and dynamics), the use of advanced technologies in the theatrical production industry and the danger of a potential environmental catastrophe justify the relevance of the functioning of the ecotheater for changing children's psychology and awareness of priority environmental values. The purpose of ecological productions of the world children's theater, including in Kazakhstan, is to form the correct children's ecological worldview, to foster a sense of responsibility to the living and inanimate nature, civic duty and national patriotism. The study of the problem of environmental education of children through theatrical art on the example of the play "The Adventure of the Snow Leopard" of the Theater for Children and Youth named after N. Sats allowed to identify the solution of a number of eco-pedagogical tasks of the state noted in the Message of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The research results obtained during the survey diagnose the relevance of an unconventional artistic approach through the visualization of a broadcast problem in the issues of environmental education of students.

Multicultural dance-making in Singapore: Merdeka, youth solidarity and cross-ethnicity, 1955–1980s

ABSTRACT Emphasizing inner racial and ethnic distinctions, post-independent Singapore adopts multiculturalism as a founding ideology to construct its national culture. However, the artistic experimentation of multicultural dance-making had emerged prior to Singapore achieving independence. This article argues that Singapore’s multicultural dance-making was to be contextualized in the regional development in 1955 when the “Bandung spirit” was translated into youth solidarity that brought together three ethnic groups (Chinese, Malays, and Indians) to perform their visions of Merdeka (free from colonization). Without an identical culture and lineage to build on, the multiracial population flexibly drew resources from their respective ethno-cultural roots, which offered an important Inter-Asia lens for their anticolonial and diasporic imaginations. Such an artistic approach continued and was energized by dancers traveling from India, Taiwan, and Indonesia to implant new dancing forms into local Singapore society. The migratory trajectories of dance pioneers and their convergence in Singapore reveal un-explored inter-Asia connections that were crucial in nurturing local-born Singaporean dancers, who envisioned their hybrid multicultural dances to thrive in the independent Singapore.

DREAMS IN THE STRUCTURE OF A WORK OF ART AS A MYSTICAL MOTIF

This article discusses one of the artistic approaches in literature – the dream motif. The study showed that this motif, which has a special place in mythology, was widely used by Kazakh writers. It is proved that the inclusion of dreams in the structure of a work of art is a serious problem in literary criticism. In this article, the works of Kazakh and English writers were analyzed. The mystical elements used in them, in particular the dream motif, are compared and analyzed. Moreover, the explanation of the essence of dreams in mythology and folklore is given. The form of the article includes prose works written in Kazakh and English languages. In particular, the issue of disclosure of the author's idea through the motif of a dream was considered. It turned out that this problem was used for a deeper description of the inner world of the hero. They put their heroes in an unexpected position, introducing mystical motives into their literary works. Thereby trying to reveal their true character. The authors of the article wanted to show that the increasing appeal of writers to mystical motives is due to the increasing interest of a person in the unreal world and the desire to determine what is beyond his mind.

Representation of aesthetic categories in cake decoration

The purpose of this work is to reveal the socio-cultural and aesthetic content of cake decorating, which reflects the aesthetic ideal of society at the current stage of its development. The research methodology is based on a systematic approach, which involved consideration of aesthetic categories in their relationship and implementation in the socio-cultural sphere, and the use of comparative, logical-semantic, descriptive methods and methods of decomposition and interdisciplinary synthesis. The scientific novelty of the work is the application of the categorical apparatus of aesthetic science for the systematic analysis of art and applied art on the example of cake decorating. Conclusions. Culinary culture has a dual nature, combining theoretical knowledge of cooking technologies and the empirical embodiment of this knowledge in specific culinary products. The decoration of cakes as a kind of arts and crafts is influenced by the following aesthetic categories: beauty, harmony, rhythm and proportion. They determine the visual embodiment of the creative idea of the confectioner. Harmony is defined as an immanent to the object of the material world organization, which is achieved statically through the symmetry of visual elements and dynamic through rhythm and is balanced by the observance of proportions. Aesthetic is a meta category of aesthetics, which implements both the objective and material properties of the world and the properties of the subject of social life. Aesthetic taste embodies the ability to adequately master the aesthetic qualities of reality, which is expressed in a system of direct emotional evaluations and intellectual and critical thinking. Cakes are considered one of the key varieties of culinary art, combining taste and a special artistic approach to decoration, due to the socio-cultural significance of this type of dessert in the ritual practices of social life. Making a holiday cake demonstrates the importance of combining technologically correct and balanced execution of its basis and subsequent decoration, embodying the antinomy of beautiful and practical. Key words: aesthetics, practical aesthetics, culinary art, cake decoration, aesthetic categories, aesthetic taste.

Investing in Superheroes? Comic Art as a New Alternative Investment

We build quarterly and semi-annual indexes for American and European comic art based on a dataset of more than 106,000 comic art items sold at auction. We find that this new alternative investment can outperform US and European equities and bonds. Between 2002 and 2017, annualized returns of US comic artworks outperformed most asset classes with a solid 11% annualized return, while European comic art achieved 25% yearly returns on average after 2009. We show that comic art delivers significant diversification benefits to an investment portfolio due to low correlations with other assets and geographical diversification between European and American markets. These outcomes contrast with fine art in general, which delivered few diversification benefits when compared to equities and bonds between 2002 and 2017, and whose geographical markets are closely tied.

The Outsider, Art, and Humour

The Outsider, Art, and Humour

An Amalgam of Voices

The contemporary Italian comics artist and author Gipi offers us a narrative approach that speaks to, and for, the twenty-first century. He uses a multi-planed presentation of events that allows for memory and history to be pluri-temporal and pluri-vocal. Gipi’s storytelling navigates a path through micro-histories and history, as he effectively reinserts individual memories and experiences into our continual recreation and reinterpretation of the past. His technique brings together an amalgam of voices and perspectives, real and imagined, that remain distinct yet melded together in his reconstruction and retelling of events. Ultimately, it responds to the question of how we can reimagine and recount history, and comments on the ethical implications of our involvement in the making of history.

"Cool" Media Studies: McCloud, McLuhan, and the Popification of the Humanities

While the comics medium had affected everyday culture long before television became the epitome of the modern mass medium, it was mainly via Scott McCloud's seminal Understanding Comics that comics studies began to tie in with media studies to better understand the ontology of the comics art form. In particular, McCloud drew on media theorist Marshall McLuhan's (1964) diagnosis of "cool" (in distinction from "hot") media. Notoriously, McLuhan characterized "cool" media—television and comics—as iconic forms of popular art that demand high degrees of audience or reader participation, in contrast to "hot" media such as film. While this conceptualization might seem arcane, it harmonizes with John Fiske's (1987) theory of audience participation in what Fiske has called television's "producerly" textuality. This essay will look at a trend in both television and comics studies under the rubric of "cool" media studies—that is, the triumph of a post-McLuhanian spirit assuming a dual role of academic inquiry and pop culture fandom.

Mythos and Postdigital Theology: Beyond the Limits of Digitalization

The effect of digital technologies on religion generally and Christian theology more particular is a topic attracting increasing interest. This article argues that the role of theology is to provide a counter to the tendencies of digitization. Digitization is understood as the division of knowledge into discrete units and valuing this division over models of knowledge that seek to connect and integrate human experiences. The article argues for the need for a postdigital theology that seeks to encounter transcendence in the spaces where human experience exceeds the limits of digitization. Methodologically, the article draws on the interdisciplinary field of postdigital theory. It finds that theology is a work of defracturing or reconnecting forms of human knowledge in weaving together a coherent narrative of human experience that provides hope for relationality in the midst of the destructive tendencies at play in the world. Such defracturing opens a space for an encounter with transcendence, understood in a broad sense that includes encountering the vastness of existence as well as the realm of potentiality from whence liberative hope is fostered. The openness to transcendence that comes from exceeding digitization allows for a theological interpretation of an encounter with the divine within that transcendence. The article then lays a potential framework for such a theological endeavor. This methodological framework is an approach to overcoming the divide between logos and mythos, holding scientific and artistic approaches as equally valid contributions to understanding reality in the production of a religious or theological narrative.