Piece Of Art Research Articles

What Research through Art can bring to CSCW: exploring ambiguous futures of work

Abstract As work is shifting and changing, we, CSCW researchers, must consider our role in creating work futures, and what experiences we want to produce through technology design. What qualities are important to consider about the human experience when designing work technologies for the future? Exploring the potentials of artistic practices for epistemological inquiry, we demonstrate Research through Art as a novel futuring approach for CSCW research, leveraging the power of artistic practice for exploring questions of human experience. We engaged with young artists who created art pieces that manifested their hopes, intuitions, and anxieties on the future of work. Our analytical inquiry of these artistic practices allowed us to explore what different futures might be imaginable and what might these futures feel like. We find that futuring entails engaging with ambiguities, which can be a productive resource for design. We identified the ambiguities of time, purpose, body, identity, and agency as foundational for the imaginaries produced by the artists. By intersecting the ambiguities, we can begin to systematically frame novel design questions for CSCW technologies of the future by conceptualizing these ambiguities as multifinalities – single points from which many possibilities emerge.

Exploring sustainable aesthetics through repurposed studio waste materials for unorthodox finishes

This study recycles and repurposes discarded studio waste materials, such as broken ceramics, glass fragments, sawdust, and bits of shattered P.O.P molds, to create visually compelling creative works. The interest for this study is inspired by the prolific generation of waste that arises from the studio learning practices of sculpture and ceramic students. A studio-based research approach utilizing Aesthetico-Action Research design is employed in a systematic approach to explore the feasibility and promise of composite amalgamation. The researchers mix resin and fiberglass composite materials with the various types of studio waste. The primary objective is to achieve creative outcomes with unconventional and unique finishes. The technique, philosophical and symbolic application, and usage of these materials in creating distinct art pieces including an exclusive “African woman” offer intriguing insights. The study reveals that the studio can efficiently repurpose waste materials, creating new cast materials for sculptures and ceramic works with distinctive and non-traditional finishes. This highlights the intrinsic transforming capacity of disposable waste materials, presenting a compelling opportunity for new and sustainable artistic practice where material finishes are not concealed.

The Game-Like Experience of Virtual Reality Art: Sensational Players and Critical Audiences

This article delves into why audiences perceive virtual reality (VR) art as a game-like experience and how it impacts audiences’ reception of culture by examining two VR art pieces and their respective audience responses in focus group discussions. Through qualitative analysis, two factors are identified: the cognitive association of VR with gaming due to audiences’ preconceptions about VR, and the immersive environment of VR creating the “magic circle” that fosters the sense of play. The study argues that the intersection of VR and art generates the affordance allowing audiences to “play” with culture. However, the “not-serious” feature of play in VR may work against the norms and mores of a specific culture in the real world, especially when it relates to religious or ethnic culture. This article sheds light on the implications of the game-like experience in VR for creating VR applications beyond gaming, particularly in art and cultural heritage.

Ethnic pornography in the Balkans: national identity between sex and violence

ABSTRACT Examining four cases from the cultural production tied to the former Yugoslavia and its cultural legacies, this article introduces the notion of ethnopornography, a practice of laying bare the trappings of violence and sexuality in a post-imperial context. Moving across historical periods, the article analyzes the uses and abuses of the human body in The Bridge on the Drina by the Nobel laureate Ivo Andrić, the popular oral epic “Marko Kraljević and Džemo Brđanin,” Croatian war songs, and “Balkan Erotic Epic,” a performance art piece by Marina Abramović. Working through the theories of Sigmund Freud and Michel Foucault, it sheds new light on the political unconscious of the South Slavic region. The article presents the sadomasochist dynamic inherent in cultures and societies that have been marginalized owing to centuries of foreign imperial domination.

Répugnant : le harcèlement sexuel dans l’industrie de la restauration – la face cachée de la restauration

A review of Annika Lusis's contemporary art piece, Distasteful: Sexual Harassment in the Restaurant Industry , presented as part of the Exploration Gallery at the 2023 Canadian Association of Food Studies (CAFS) Conference.

Visual resource extraction and artistic communication model design based on improved CycleGAN algorithm.

Through the application of computer vision and deep learning methodologies, real-time style transfer of images becomes achievable. This process involves the fusion of diverse artistic elements into a single image, resulting in the creation of innovative pieces of art. This article centers its focus on image style transfer within the realm of art education and introduces an ATT-CycleGAN model enriched with an attention mechanism to enhance the quality and precision of style conversion. The framework enhances the generators within CycleGAN. At first, images undergo encoder downsampling before entering the intermediate transformation model. In this intermediate transformation model, feature maps are acquired through four encoding residual blocks, which are subsequently input into an attention module. Channel attention is incorporated through multi-weight optimization achieved via global max-pooling and global average-pooling techniques. During the model's training process, transfer learning techniques are employed to improve model parameter initialization, enhancing training efficiency. Experimental results demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed model in image style transfer across various categories. In comparison to the traditional CycleGAN model, it exhibits a notable increase in structural similarity index measure (SSIM) and peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) metrics. Specifically, on the Places365 and selfi2anime datasets, compared with the traditional CycleGAN model, SSIM is increased by 3.19% and 1.31% respectively, and PSNR is increased by 10.16% and 5.02% respectively. These findings provide valuable algorithmic support and crucial references for future research in the fields of art education, image segmentation, and style transfer.

The Art of Dying in a Digital World: How Death is Represented in Digital Art

With the rise of computing, human rituals and cultural practices have increasingly interwoven with digital technologies. In this milieu, the cultural facets of death and art are particularly noteworthy. The realm of art has undergone a seismic shift due to computing, developing new artistic forms and enhancing the reach of older forms. Concurrently, aspects of death are now integrated into digital technologies, manifesting in unique ways such as the retention of data from the deceased, digital expressions of grief, online memorials, and the like. In light of this, our fundamental, qualitative, and exploratory study endeavors to map out and discuss digital art pieces that delve into themes of death, mourning, and digital afterlife. In doing so, we probe the intersection of art, death, and technology. Our findings delineate the primary methodologies and technologies employed in digital art centered around death, and the nuanced modalities through which this subject is portrayed in digital media.

Creativity Through Kendi Creation

Kendi is a traditional tool that has existed in Indonesia since 2000 BC. Hence, it is essential to preserve Kendi in order to maintain the craft’s rich history and culture in Indonesia. Currently, kendi preservation is particularly carried out by art students. In its preservation, creativity plays a crucial role when developing ideas for creating kendi made by art students. This study examined the role of student imagination in the development of a kendi craft. This study is qualitative research. The findings revealed that the Kendis monotonous shape can be developed into a variety of shapes, resulting in a unique shape and improving its novelty value. Even though the kendi’s shape has altered, it can still be utilized as a water storage container. Kendi can be used to stimulate students’ imaginations into making a piece of art since numerous types of creative and innovative kendi are generated through this imagination.
 Keywords: art education, jug, imagination, art work

CONTEMPORARY INDIAN WOMEN ARTISTS AS DIGITAL SOCIAL COMMENTATORS ON WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT

In recent years, there has been a rapid increase in the number of Indian women artists harnessing digital platforms to critique and engage with societal norms surrounding gender equality and women’s empowerment. Being active participants on digital platforms they are strongly addressing issues related to women’s rights by socially commentating through their art. Digital platforms encourage global audiences and international access to artworks that enable artists to amplify their content through active social media engagement. Social media platforms are powerful mediums of connection that encourage the boosting of young talent to reach diverse audiences through their exhilarating art pieces. These women artists are presenting themselves and letting out their voice through art campaigns, projects, series, installations, 3D artworks, crypto, digital paintings, etc. to bring to the forefront topics such as gender bias, patriarchy, violence against females, stereotyping, inclusivity, sexuality, consent, body shaming, feminine perfection, female beauty standards and so on. They are motivated to present to the women of India, the need to be aware of the challenges and threats imposed on their identity as the society in which they live is at the turn of acknowledging a new age that is ready to offer acceptance and equality to women on the terms of their fight and struggle of pushing the system forward from the dead asleep. The digital artworks of a senior contemporary women artist and a young digital social commentator will be discussed in the paper to present a richer and more comprehensive understanding of the socio-political issues addressed through the artistic journey of these two artists belonging to different age groups.

Arts and Crafts Management Model of Baan Huai Ta Community, Utttaradit Province

Purpose: The objectives of the present research on the arts and crafts management model of Baan Huai Ta community, Uttaradit province were to analyze the community arts and crafts management model; develop the community arts and crafts management model; and evaluate the community arts and crafts management model of Baan Huai Ta, Uttaradit Province. Theoretical Framework: This study employs the concept of local wisdom and product development and design. Design/Methodology/Approach: The procedures involved building a network, acquiring knowledge, developing a community arts and crafts management model, developing community arts and crafts, evaluating the community arts and crafts management model. A qualitative research was employed consisting of observation, in-depth interviews, focus group discussion, and participatory action. Findings: The analysis of community arts and crafts management model suggested the area-based potential of Baan Huai Ta with arts and crafts abilities including weaving, wickerwork, and wood carving. Her Majesty Queen Sirikit had graciously supported people in the community to receive career development trainings in arts and crafts intended to offer extra jobs for generating more income. Their products were delivered for distribution to the Bureau of the Royal Household and the Arts and Crafts Promotion Foundation. Research Practical and Social Implication: Evaluation results of community arts and crafts works were as follow: increased value at a highest level; design concept at a highest level; selection of raw materials at a highest level; production process at a highest level; quality and beauty at a highest level; increased value added at a very high level; creating identity at a very high level; and generating value added at a very high level. The arts and crafts management model of Baan Huai Ta community, Uttaradit province comprised 4 components namely: analysis of community context; analysis of community management//network building; development of arts and crafts; and evaluation of arts and crafts management model. Originality/Value: The development of community arts and crafts management models focused on the designs with applied local wisdom to provide community products. The design concept is based on the link of science and knowledge in coordination with applied local materials to develop community products with an aim to bring about value added, self-reliance, as well as group forming. This had led to the development of products consisting of 12 pieces of fabric art and craft products, 2 pieces of carving art and craft products, and 8 pieces of wickerwork arts and crafts products, totaling 22 products.

Human Dilemma and Pathos in the Novels of Amitav Ghosh

Amitav Ghosh’s fiction deals with some of the most relevant issues, concerning human emotions and relations in different social and political settings. His narrative ties the readers’ delicate emotions with the indispensable emotions of the characters. His fiction has a universal appeal touching the heart of readers from all over the globe. He cleverly employs the themes, knitted wisely with the societal issues ensuing in the formation of literary magnum opus. Like a compliant scholar of the postmodern era, Amitav Ghosh propounds the conception of a piece of art that satiates not only the critical perspective of the literary critics but also the emotional thirst of the common readers. Being a journalist and a teacher as well, Ghosh has a close judgment of human suffering and pain and his psychological wisdom about fragile human relations is remarkable. In this research paper an attempt has been done to explore the themes of dilemma and pathos in the novels of Amitav Ghosh.

Cryptoart: ethical challenges of the NFT revolution

The digital transformation of the art world has become a revolution for the sector. Cryptoart, based on non-fungible tokens (NFT), is attracting the attention of artists, collectors and enthusiasts for its ability to tokenise any element that can be sold as art in the digital market. In this way, it is able to become a scarce resource and an economic asset by encapsulating the market value of a piece of digital art, which may or may not have a reference in the real world. This study will delve into the ethical aspects underlying what is known as the NFT Revolution, particularly impacts related to the abuse or destruction of cultural heritage, speculation and the generation of economic bubbles and environmental unsustainability. To this end, this research has been carried out within the framework of a hermeneutic-critical proposal for analysing, understanding and prescribing cryptoart and its processes. This, methodology, typical of the human and social sciences, critically analyses the current context of the digital transformation of art through the study and interpretation of bibliographical sources and case studies in order to reconstruct the keys and conditions of possibility that guide its development in a fair and responsible way.

STRUCTURAL FIRE ENGINEERING ON HERITAGE INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS. STRUCTURAL MEASURES TO GUARANTEE THEIR PERFORMANCE

AbstractIndustrial Architecture and their associated engineering structures have a clear objective. They need to be designed and constructed to allow for a product production independently of their nature. In the early XX century German Architecture, especially with the “Bauhaus” movement and others, such as Pier Luigi Nervi in Italy, provided a great impulse to the concept of Industrial Architecture constituting pieces of art. Today, we find examples of industrial buildings that are excellently preserved, and the management of their changing flexibility demand generate engineering judgement to accommodate new “production options” with a safe performance.

Mata Ni Pachedi: Tales of the goddess on textiles from Gujrat, India

India is a land of vibrant culture and heritage. It is home to many diversified craft techniques, most of which have been intensely investigated, recorded, diversified and revived, while a few have languished. This work reflects the origins and process of the Indian craft Mata Ni Pachedi, which means ‘behind the mother goddess’ and is a cloth that constitutes a temple of the goddess. The original creator of Mata Ni Pachedi is the nomadic Vaghari community from Gujarat, the members of which lived along the banks of the Sabarmati River and worshipped the mother goddess in all her forms. The community created these textiles as an ode to the goddess, as sacred wall art pieces that enabled them to worship the goddess when they could not enter temples due to their low caste. Mata Ni Pachedi is a unique textile that has survived modern-day clothing techniques using natural dyes and simple block printing techniques, exploring different forms of gods and goddesses on cloth. Those in the rural community of Gujrat still worship their goddess on a piece of fabric during the festival of Navratri, in March and September. This research aims to investigate and catalogue the evolution, consumption pattern, production process and present-day scenario of the Mata Ni Pachedi craft to aid and sustain its survival and establish its context in contemporary times.

Through the looking glass: qualitative study of critical care clinicians engaging in humanities.

Critical care medicine is facing an epidemic of burnout and consequent attrition. Interventions are needed to re-establish the medical field as a place of professional growth, resilience, and personal well-being. Humanities facilitate creation, reflection, and meaning-making, holding the promise of personal and community transformation. This study aimed to explore how clinicians engage with a humanities program, and what role and impact do the humanities play in their individual and collective journey. This is a qualitative study employing a phenomenological approach. Participants were faculty and trainees who participated in the program. Data consisted of (a) 60-h observations of humanities evenings, (b) more than 200 humanities artifacts brought by participants, and (c) 15 in-depth participant interviews. Data were analyzed inductively and reflectively by a team of researchers. Participants were motivated to engage with the humanities curriculum because of past experiences with art, identifying a desire to re-explore their creativity to make meaning from their clinical experiences and a wish to socialize with and understand their colleagues through a different lens. The evenings facilitated self-expression, and inspired and empowered participants to create art pieces and re-engage with art in their daily lives. More importantly, they found a community where they could be vulnerable and supported, where shared experiences were discussed, emotions were validated, and relationships were deepened between colleagues. Humanities may impact resilience and personal and community well-being by facilitating reflection and meaning-making of challenging clinical work and building bonds between colleagues.

Artwork


 
 
 As a learner, I’ve always been curious about the world around me, including a keen interest in how organisms function at a cellular level. This curiosity led to me developing a passion for the sciences. Not only that but as a curious individual I have always felt drawn to the sciences, a field where questions are always encouraged, hence the title of piece being “But, why?”. My passion for understanding the world at a cellular level made me want to study CPPS for my undergrad. Now, being in the second year of my degree I not only enjoy my classes but also appreciate the shift in perspective they have caused in how I view the world around me. This art piece is dedicated to the change in perspective I have experienced. Through my art piece, I try to use biological figures in imitation of the natural world to show that the things we learn are everywhere around us. For example, the DNA bridge is indicative of our genetic material being the backbone of who we are at the molecular level. Below the DNA bridge, I included the initials R.E.F as an homage to Rosalind E. Franklin whom I first learned about in grade 11 about not having received credit for her work in revealing the double helix formation of DNA. I drew the DNA so that it is unwinding closer to the end to show how there is still so much we have yet to discover and understand regarding its many complexities. I also included a body of water since it is crucial to many forms of life, and inside of it, I drew outlines of duplicating cells. Next to the water, is a phospholipid bilayer, something that has come up in my studies since high school as something simple yet crucial. The bacteriophages creeping towards the left are meant to contrast the bright and joyful imagery, to show how in sciences we learn about the interesting ways in which our bodies and environments are able to fend off potential dangers. However, these dangers are also important in the balance of life and the natural environment. The greenery framing the art piece is meant to represent the extracellular matrix, the various proteins that hold cells together. I tried to imitate this through my painting as crosslinked greenery. In the bottom right corner, I’ve also drawn myself looking up from reading a textbook as a way to show what it’s like to learn about such fascinating things and how it directly shifts my world view. Lastly, I drew this piece with a clear vanishing point as a metaphorical way of showing that our knowledge of the world and the study of science has gone through a journey and though our knowledge may have “dates of discovery” and points at which we began the studies of certain things, there is still no clear end to learning and everything we discover only leads to more questions which is definitely my favourite part about learning in my degree. Similar to the endless journey of the sciences, I look forward to where my own journey in this field will go.
 
 

‘Take the Money and Run’: if there is copyright there is art (in Denmark)?

Abstract The case concerned copyright and breach of contract in a piece of performative art and the implications of aesthetic neutrality in copyright law for the evaluation of contemporary art.

Let’s Talk About Hair and Art

The objective of this paper is to critically reflect upon a cultural text in the form of a piece of mixed media abstract realism artwork titled Hair Power, made in 2020. This piece was inspired and motivated by my involvement with a World Afro Day event held on 15 September 2020. The paper draws on my personal, political, cultural, and historical rationale for making the artwork, and includes relevant background information and wider influences. I discuss the artistic process — composition, colour scheme, themes, materials— and how and why I made the painting the way I did. The paper also aims to show the intertextuality of visual art and community activism and the importance of art as a form of resistance against Westernised beauty standards and of the power of images in their ability to transport the audience in which they are intended. This paper will also seek to understand the connectivity between artists and the community, and the importance of representation within the visual arts. It will draw on my cultural heritage and African and Caribbean diasporic cultural connections. It will further seek to connect art with literary projects, working together to challenge those ideologies that do not work for Black people who choose to wear their afro hair in its natural state, so that pride is more important than hiding or changing afro hair to fit into society’s ‘norms’. Hair Power is a piece of personal and political abstract realism art that was made as a reminder that afro hair in its natural state is to be celebrated. Hair Power was also one of two pieces of artwork integrated as a symbolic gesture into my Birkbeck College “Race Law and Literature” assignment in April 2021. The assignment involved writing a creative nonfiction narrative of a historical event using the theme of everyday racism in the British education system. Hair Power marks my decision to make more political art.

From Tip of Brush to Tip of Knife: The Relationship Between Post-mastectomy Breast Reconstruction and the Classical Arts.

Breast reconstruction is highly complex, requiring navigation of not only clinical and operative realities, but of patient expectations as well. The authors sought to identify historical art pieces that exhibit breast asymmetries and deformities for comparison with photographs of breast reconstruction patients seen at the clinic of the senior author (S.O.P.) to demonstrate that achievement of perfect breast cosmesis is challenging in both breast reconstruction and in the classical arts. Open access libraries and Creative Commons images were reviewed to identify appropriate works of art from various time periods and geographic locations. Following artwork selection, photographs of breast reconstruction patients were reviewed and paired with selected artworks exhibiting cosmetically similar breasts. A total of 8 pieces of selected historic art were found to have at least 1 matching patient photograph, with 9 correlative patient photographs ultimately chosen. Common breast asymmetries and deformities identified included ptosis, asymmetric chest wall placement, asymmetric nipple placement, and absence of the nipple. This review identified diverse artworks of varying styles spanning vast expanses of both geography and time that exhibited breast deformities and asymmetries commonly encountered in patients seeking revision of breast reconstruction. This underscores that creating the cosmetically ideal breast is difficult both in the operating room and the art studio. Importantly, the authors emphasized that the arts frequently celebrate that which is considered beautiful, although to the trained eye of a plastic surgeon that which is considered beautiful is often classified as dysmorphic or asymmetric.

Some aspects of Pólemos and catastrophe according to Ernst Jünger and Simone Weil

The present paper analyses the relationship between the figures of the Arbeiter and the Krieger, described by Ernst Jünger, and their metaphysical context, that is, the becoming in which the catastrophe of war takes place. The analysis is conducted through a theoretical comparison with Simone Weil’s thought, in which war is considered as an extreme case of malheur, i.e., the manifestation of divinity as pure grace devoid of power. Two useful paradigms are thus outlined to explain the condition of the human being in the becoming: the paradigm of dominion (Jünger) and the paradigm of waiting (Weil). In the second part of the paper, those two options are associated with two art pieces, in order to visually represent the characteristics of dominion and waiting, showing the dramatic issue of the choice for dominion in the face of the catastrophe produced by technology.