Utilitarian Objects Research Articles

Aestheticization of the park environment around utilitarian objects of university campuses (by the example of the design concept of reconstruction of the park parking area of the FEFU campus)

Today, university campuses are not only part of the university, but also part of the public space. The importance of these territories as an ecological, recreational and socio-cultural urban object is constantly increasing, which requires special attention to the appearance of both educational and administrative buildings and adjacent garden and park areas. The subject of the study was the possibility of aestheticizing park areas located around utilitarian objects of university campuses (parking lots, boiler rooms, technical warehouses, etc. objects). Traditionally, not enough attention is paid to these spaces. Using the example of the design concept of the reconstruction of the park parking area of the FEFU campus, the article presents a number of project proposals that contribute to the aestheticization of the space around these utilitarian university facilities. As a result of the study, it was found that due to the peculiarities of the relief, microclimate, as well as the existing layout, traditional gardening techniques are not effective and alternative solutions are required. 1. As the main artistic technique, it is proposed to use the principle of "alleyness" to give the integrity of the previously designed disparate sectors of the garden and park area around the parking lot. 2. The main decorative element selected art objects in the form of unique arches on the high points of the sectors, which are connected by paths surrounded by greenery. 3. The stone is used as a decorative element. Stone lawns are an important part of the design of the territories adjacent to the parking lot, solving the problem of freezing, burning out lawn covering. As a result, the formed park area with attractive artistic elements will bring the necessary aestheticization around the parking lot and create a visual dominant. The proposed solutions can be adapted to other objects of the university environment that are experiencing similar problems.

Lost Symbols in the Historic City of Puebla in Mexico

Since its origin, the city of Puebla has had representative elements in its public spaces that have survived for a long time, they are ornamental and utilitarian objects which are landmarks of the city. Street furniture is a benchmark of identity too. All elements have legends, they are references that have given identity to streets and avenues. Natural elements also refer to a city’s identity, like trees. But the natural element that defined origin, trace and growth of the city is one of the least visible. In the sixties, the San Francisco River was piped, as a sign of the new modernity, and today it is a boulevard where thousands of cars pass. Thus, bridges and other types of elements that the population still remember, mainly the elderly, have been forgotten. In recent years, some initiatives have emerged to rescue the historical memory of daily life and the revaluation of repre­sentative objects of the city center, such as the Casa Analco Community Museum project, coordinated by the Faculty of Architecture of BUAP in collaboration with residents of the Analco neighborhood. This article discusses both the monuments, their relics, elements of nature that shape the city's identity, as well as the gradual loss of these symbols.

The concept of wrapping and its ontological character among the Maya

A textile with its threads, its weft, and warp, for the western ontology, is a simple utilitarian object or a body adornment. This study will discuss the wrapping among the Maya, starting from concepts present in ancient and contemporary Maya thought to identify the ontological character of some ceremonial textiles present in these societies. Based on an approach proposed by the ontological archaeology, I will discuss the conceptual proximity between the terms pix (to wrap, to cover) and pixan (soul, or something that is received from the other world), to think of the wrap as an element of articulation between the two ontological spaces, allowing the presence of beings and entities of the cosmos in Maya cities of the Classic and contemporary periods.
 By generating the materialization and performance of these beings, wraps create relational fields that activate these entities temporarily in ordinary space, establishing effective contact with the Maya cosmos. A brief analysis of these Textile Beings present during the Classic Period will be discussed as a case study, in order to consider such a conceptual proposal.

Обиходные вещи в культовых практиках среднедонского оседлого населения скифской эпохи

The article systematizes information about utilitarian objects found on settlements in such an archaeological context, which indicates the transformation of their semiotic status. They come from buildings and pits related to cult and ritual activities, collective burials on the territory of the hillforts, which were special funerary and sacrificial complexes, as well as from burial grounds, which were cemeteries of the settled population of the Don forest-steppe. The author considers war and hunting accessories (arrows, spears, harpoons), household and everyday life utensils (tools, ceramic wares), which acquired a semiotic function in these objects. Their semantics is unclear. But it can be assumed that the sharp tips of weapons and tools placed on the remains of people or in ritual pits served as apotropai or mediators, linking the sacred and profane spheres of life. Ceramic vessels, whole or broken, formed an important part of sacrificial offerings. Often they were found in ritual bonfires. The upper part of the jar in one of the children’s graves, apparently, also acted as a kind of mediator between the earthly world and the otherworld.

Simbol ribe i maritimni motivi na kasnoantičkim svetiljkama sa teritorije centralnog Balkana

Elements of Christian visual culture appeared in various media in monumental and applied art during the late antique period, from painted decoration in the catacombs, through funerary monuments, to utilitarian objects such as jewellery and lamps. The paper analyses the symbolic meaning of fish and maritime motifs in the context of the late antique visual culture of the Mediterranean and their meaning within the Interpretatio Christiana, as well as the appearance of these motifs on late antique lamps. Ten lamps with maritime motifs or in the form of fish or dolphins are known from the territory of the Central Balkans. Elements of decoration are considered in relation to analogies, textual references, and the context of the finds.

Conceptual art in design

The purpose of the article is to consider the concept and determine its components, in the development and analysis of conceptual art in modern design. Methodology. The following methods are used: analysis, synthesis, as well as semiotic, hermeneutic, psychoanalytic. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the study of conceptual art on the examples of hairstyle design, hairdressing collections, and an attempt to comprehend the underlying contexts and meanings in the process of interpretation. Conclusions. Given the fact that modern design as a polymorphic entity with a dominant innovative component actualizes the activities of the new generation and acquires the features of intellectual comprehension of visual information, it can be argued that conceptual art is a priority in this direction. The concept as the initial concept of the conceptual is defined as a multilevel formation of content, the semantic meaning of the sign, which requires a process of interpretation. Through J. Dili's study of the theory of sign systems, the interpretation of the concept in the system of traditions, rituals, customs, which is perceived differently by different people due to belonging to different cultures, societies, etc., becomes clear. It is proved that the creation of the concept is based on processes based on individual practice, personal associations, and the main types of metaphorical and allegorical thinking that arise from the experience of not only cognitive but also substantive activity. The study of conceptual art on examples of hairstyle design, hairdressing collections shows the peculiarity of such works of art: they are not always functional and are not always defined as a utilitarian object, but the use of unusual color, shape, progression, silhouette lines, the fullness of space and volume with signs and symbols, require a multilevel semantic definition in the process of interpretation through intellectual comprehension of the inherent contexts and meanings. Keywords: conceptual art, concept, design, hairstyle.

Design jako próba przywrócenia kanonu? Pojęcia, metody i dyskursy a niemieckie i śląskie wzornictwo pierwszej połowy XX wieku

In the article, the concept of canon is related to the process that has been defined as the transition from applied art to design. The thesis is then put forward that this processcan be seen as the canonisation of products intended for mass production. The above statement suggests that a (qualitative?) change has taken place between designing and producing artistic and also utilitarian objects and the phenomenon called design. However, an answer to this problem first requires a clarification of terms. If we understand design and production historically in the context of the transition from handicraft to machine production, i.e. within the narrative socio-economic history, and if we place design in the ontology of visual culture, its pictorial representations and materiality, we will see a shift of focus to aesthetic values, related to form and materiality, and thus canonisation – the establishment of icons (of design). The canon will in this sense be a defence against aesthetic relativism. Escaping into the canon is art history’s way of dealing with the social, economic and knowledge and technology arts was included in the research on searching for connections with Bauhaus as an exemplification of the canon. Design as historically understood industrial design and design as a creative activity, as the energy needed to produce a canonical utilitarian object, i.e. one whose aesthetic or artistic value will go far beyond utilitarian, form the framework in the text for methodological discussion, reflections on defining concepts and critical analysis of scientific discourses and their possible junctures. transfer issues that are indispensable in the study of crafts, arts and craft and design. The history of art (but also popular culture!) has canonised many works and phenomena. One example is the Bauhaus, widely seen as the canon of 20th-century design, although Gropius himself defined its purpose in the words: “das ziel des bauhauses ist eben kein ‘stil’, kein system, dogma oder kanon [...]”. Similar phenomena took place concerning the design of the first half of the 20th century from the Lower Silesia area: the slogan “Breslauer Moderne” referred, in part, to the Werkbund exhibition in 1929 (WuWA), and the activity of the Wrocław Academy in the field of applied arts was included in the research on searching for connections with Bauhaus as an exemplification of the canon. Design as historically understood industrial design and design as a creative activity, as the energy needed to produce a canonical utilitarian object, i.e. one whose aesthetic or artistic value will go far beyond utilitarian, form the framework in the text for methodological discussion, reflections on defining concepts and critical analysis of scientific discourses and their possible junctures.

MUSEUMFICATION OF EVERYDAY LIFE: EVERYDAY LIFE AS A SPACE OF MEMORY OF A BYGONE AGE

The article is dedicated to the artistic and philosophical reflection on the everyday life of the communist era in the novel «The Museum of Unconditional Surrender» («Muzej bezuvjetne predaje», 1996) by Dubravka Ugrešić.The main attention is paid to the museumfication of elements of everyday life of the former Eastern bloc countries (SFRY, USSR in particular), i.e. transformation of material traces of the communist past into museum exhibits.After the fall of communist regimes in the Eastern bloc countries, and the disappearance of some of these states from the world map, entire layers of garbage and material remnants, including utilitarian objects accompanying the bygone everyday life, have remained. As long as the communist era has gone, the traces of its everyday life have acquired new meanings, associated with memory and nostalgia. These meanings define a new hypostasis of everyday objects: their hypostasis as museum exhibits.A world-famous Croatian writer Dubravka Ugrešić witnessed the formation and the breakup of Yugoslavia. In the novel«The Museum of Unconditional Surrender», written during her voluntary exile in Berlin, she depicts the museumfication of communist everyday life, revealing its new, metaphysical sense.The artistic world of the novel is organized within the metaphor of museum, which is emblematic for the postmodern philosophical and aethetical paradigm. The main action takes place in Berlin. Being a shelter for countless refugees and emigrants form the former socialist states, this city is seen as a total museum. Its dwellers repeatedly refer to themselves as to «walking museum exhibits». Thus, not only things, but also people get museumficated as remnants of a bygone era.The Museum of the Unconditional Surrender of the German Armed Forces, which gave the title to the novel, stands as a symbol of repressive mechanisms of the collective memory, promoting the coherent ideological metanarrative of the official history. Dubravka Ugrešić is aimed to deconstruct the museum as an ideological body, depicting some alternative storages of memory in the novel.First, it is the so-called «home museum» – a private collection of disordered photos and everyday things from the past. Besides, there are Berlin landfills and flea markets where things and people from the disappeared countries are found together. These alternative «museums» accumulate the uncoherent, subjective, heterogenic memory of the past. Such memory opposes the coherent metanarrative of a classic public museum.Looking through the different aspects of collective memory materialized in everyday objects, the article analyzes the relation between garbage and cultural memory, trivial objects and art, as well as the writer’s conception of museum.

Macabre ceremonies: How Los Zetas produces extreme violence to promote organizational cohesion

Why do some organized crime groups (OCGs) carry out face-to-face killings where perpetrators debase their victims and defile their bodies? Leading criminologists contend that OCGs carry out extreme killings deliberately to attain specific performance objectives. Conversely, psycho-sociological scholars argue that extreme killings only occur in situations that affect perpetrators’ reasoning and emotions. In their view, these situations are largely beyond OCGs’ control. I argue that analyzing extreme killings as organizational rituals can contribute to reconciling these seemingly conflicting views. More specifically, I contend that the OCG known as Los Zetas ritualizes executions to generate the conditions that make extreme violence possible. Through ritualization, Los Zetas influences executioners’ perceptions of extreme behavior from something abhorrent into something valued, desirable, and enjoyable. Once the conditions conducive to extreme violence emerge, Los Zetas exploits it to attain utilitarian objectives.

Equal-quantile rules in resource allocation with uncertain needs

A group of agents have uncertain needs on a resource, which must be allocated before uncertainty resolves. We propose a parametric class of division rules we call equal-quantile rules. The parameter λ of an equal-quantile rule is the maximal probability of satiation imposed on agents — for each agent, the probability that his assignment is no less than his realized need is at most λ. It determines the extent to which the resource should be used to satiate agents. If the resource is no more than the sum of the agents' λ-quantile assignments, it is fully allocated and the rule equalizes the probabilities of satiation across agents. Otherwise, each agent just receives his λ-quantile assignment. The equal-quantile class is characterized by four axioms, conditional strict ranking, continuity, double consistency, and coordinality. All are variants of familiar properties in the literature on deterministic fair division problems. Moreover, the rules are optimal with respect to two utilitarian objectives. The optimality results not only provide welfare interpretations of λ, but also show how the rules balance the concerns for generating waste and deficit across agents.

MODERN UKRAINIAN PHOTO BOOK AS AN OBJECT OF CONCEPTUAL ART OF POSTMODERNISM

Purpose. The purpose of the study is to identify the features of modern Ukrainian photo books, which have become a striking example of following the trends of postmodern art. Methodology. The study is based on the integrated use of historical, comparative methods, systems analysis, synthesis, generalization. Results. The modern Ukrainian photo book is considered as a work of conceptual art of postmodernism. Certain artistic and compositional features and design techniques of Ukranian photobooks are identified; originality of form; author's presentation of textual, content and visual components of the indoor unit: inclusion of ready-made images (ready-made) and photo manipulation, use of collages, photos of utilitarian objects, etc. Scientific novelty. On the example of art history analysis of a number of well-known Ukrainian photobooks, the characteristic features of the photobook as an object of modern conceptual art is determined, the features of figurative, stylistic, artistic and compositional design solutions are systematized. Practical significance. The artistic and compositional features and design techniques used by photographers in the implementation of creative ideas have been identified, the theoretical basis of modern conceptual art have been expanded that can be useful in future creative projects of photobooks that will have both artistic and commercial value.

Exploring the conceptualisation of linguistic diversity and multilingualism in the construction of (Transnational) European Universities: the case of UNA Europa

ABSTRACT In an increasing context of internationalisation, the European Commission announced in 2019 the creation of the first seventeen ‘European Universities’ (EUnis), a Pan-European consortium of higher education institutions designed to promote European values, cooperation and identity. Against this backdrop, this paper aims to examine the ways in which these newly created EUnis construct their views of linguistic diversity and multilingualism. The research used as a case study the example of UNA EUROPA, an alliance of eight leading universities with eight different languages. Drawing mainly on content analysis combined with a discourse analysis approach, three data sources – the project proposal for the EU Commission, the UNA EUROPA website documents, and a research interview with one of its representatives – were examined to look into the ways in which languages and multilingualism are conceptualised. Findings reveal that linguistic diversity and multilingualism are given different degrees of visibility in the three sets of data examined and that utilitarian objectives seem to predominate over identity ones. It is expected that these findings will help unveil the ways in which language issues are problematised or not in the agenda of these newly created transnational universities.

Introducing fairness in Norwegian air ambulance base location planning

BackgroundA primary task of the Norwegian helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) is to provide advanced medical care to the critical ill and injured outside of hospitals. Where HEMS bases are located, directly influences who in the population can be reached within a given response time threshold and who cannot. When studying the locations of bases, the focus is often on efficiency, that is, maximizing the total number of people that can be reached within a given set time. This approach is known to benefit people living in densely populated areas, such as cities, over people living in remote areas. The most efficient solution is thus typically not necessarily a fair one. This study aims to incorporate fairness in finding optimal air ambulance base locations.MethodsWe solve multiple advanced mathematical optimization models to determine optimal helicopter base locations, with different optimization criteria related to the level of aversion to inequality, including the utilitarian, Bernoulli-Nash and iso-elastic social welfare functions. This is the first study to use the latter social welfare function for HEMS.ResultsFocusing on efficiency, a utilitarian objective function focuses on covering the larger cities in Norway, leaving parts of Norway largely uncovered. Including fairness by rather using an iso-elastic social welfare function in the optimization avoids leaving whole areas uncovered and in particular increases service levels in the north of Norway.ConclusionsIncluding fairness in determining optimal HEMS base locations has great impact on population coverage, in particular when the number of base locations is not enough to give full coverage of the country. As results differ depending on the mathematical objective, the work shows the importance of not only looking for optimal solutions, but also raising the essential question of ‘optimal with respect to what’.

Tracking Roman lead sources using lead isotope analysis. A case study from the imperial rural estate at Vagnari (Puglia, Italy)

Recent studies have utilised isotopic analysis for an understanding of the supply sources of lead to major Roman cities in Italy to good effect. Far less attention has been focused on contemporary rural sites in Italy or on the evidence for lead ore sources and the use and processing of lead in such locations. Rather than the more common focus on the isotopic analysis of lead pipes and ingots, this study concentrates on the lead processing and recycling debris, as well as the finished utilitarian objects, excavated in the central village of an imperial estate at Vagnari in south-east Italy. The archaeological and isotopic evidence indicates that the source of lead used in the production of implements here was not uniform, rather the ores stem from various regions within the Roman empire ranging from Italy, Spain, and Greece, to France or possibly Britain.

Konceptualizacija formiranja identiteta odraslosti u kontekstu visokog obrazovanja

The main intention of this paper is to explore the possibility of positioning the discourse on adult identity formation within the context of higher education. To this end, first formational potential of higher education is revisited. Further on, Eriksonian psychosocial theoretical approach and Arnett's concept of emerging adulthood are proposed as the referential framework for conceptualizing adult identity formation processes. It is concluded that by offering instituzionalized moratorium and the possibility for the extended transition from adolescence to adulthood, higher education context provides intensive identity work opportunities. However, in dominant discourses, higher education's humanistic ends have been suppressed by economistic and utilitarian objectives. Therefore, this paper also urges revitalizing higher education's humanistic values by exploring personal growth posibilities.

Inventarni popisi liturgijske opreme zadarske prvostolnice iz posljednje četvrtine 16. stoljeća

U radu se kratko prikazuje sadržaj i objavljuje cjeloviti tekst sveščića sa zasad najstarijim poznatim popisima pokretne opreme zadarske katedrale Sv. Stošije, sastavljenim između 1575. i 1593. godine (danas u Arhivu HAZU-a u Zagrebu). Osim cjelovite slike opremljenosti katedrale liturgijskim ruhom, paramentima, srebrninom, knjigama i utilitarnim predmetima, popisi u sveščiću sadržavaju i svjedočanstva o akterima čuvanja katedralne imovine, a pojedini zapisi i specifične informacije o mjestima i vremenu uporabe predmetā, ali i o samom zdanju (primjerice oltarima). U prilozima se donosi integralni tekst svih popisa te jednog starijeg dokumenta, prijepisa presude zadarskog kneza u korist zadarskog kaptola iz 1558. godine, što je u sveščić umetnut naknadno.

Yakut clothes of the 17th and 18th centuries, archaeology and restitution

40 frozen yakutian graves, from the 17th to the 19th century allow the reconstitution of clothes. At the end of the 17th century, new fashions are emerging with the ostentatious use of imported goods and the influences of Russian noble circles and Chinese and/or Mongol and/or Buriat fashions. The garment does not only seem to be any more an element of protection against the cold and a utilitarian object but becomes a way to marking the so-cialization of the individual.

Expanding hermeneutics to the world of technology.

In this essay, I first analyze the extension of hermeneutical interpretation in the Heideggerian sense to products of contemporary technology which are components of our “lifeworld”. Products of technology, such as airplanes, laptops, cellular phones, washing machines, or vacuum cleaners might be compared with what Heidegger calls the “Ready-to-hand” (das Zuhandene) with regard to utilitarian objects such as a hammer, planer, needle and door handle in Being and Time. Our life with our equipment, which represents the “Ready-to-hand” in Heidegger's sense of the word, is determined by temporalization (Zeitigung) which cannot be separated and isolated from the wholeness of things in the world. In the second part of my paper, I explore the positive achievement of material hermeneutics (Don Ihde) with regard to its extension to technoscience and the discussion of how such hermeneutics can contribute to the preservation of our threatened lifeworld, but also to explore the possibilities of how technical inventions, medical innovations could improve our way of life.

The Symbolism of the Coromandel Lacquer Screen of Ming Dynasty from the Municipal O. Bleschunov Museum of Private Collections in Odesa

Rich symbolism is a very important, unique feature ofChinese culture. In China everything issymbolic—cardinal direction, the layout of the Palace, a picture, a vase, a flower. Special meaning is concealed in a manner of depicting clouds, trees, mountains, water, plants. The symbolism of the ornamentation is closely linked with the person’s worldview, beliefs about the structure of the Universe, the relationship of the Universe and a man, about the world around us, nature. The Chinese “friendly” ornament is complex and multifaceted; without knowing it, it is impossible to understand the culture of China. The ability to turn simple utilitarian objects into the works of art always was a feature of Chinese culture. All that was part of everyday life also was used as the space for intensely symbolic art. The aim of this article is to study the symbolism of the decor of the Chinese Coromandel lacquer screen of the Ming dynasty from the collections of Municipal O. Bleschunov Museum of Private Collections in Odesa. After analyzing its plot and deciphering the symbolism of the images, the peculiarity of ideology of the Far Eastern region was revealed; its symbolism being reflected in cosmological, philosophical, and aesthetic views. The meanings of the symbols allowed attributing the plot of the screen—congratulating the Empress with the birth of an heir to the throne, most likely, the firstborn. The births of the other sons were joyful events, yet they played the roles of successors or assistants for their older brother.

The Slurry Wall: Past, Present, and Future

ABSTRACT One of the most telling artifacts in the 9/11 Memorial Museum is the slurry wall, a vestige in situ of the pre-9/11 World Trade Center complex, preserved under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. This subterranean 20 meter long section of the perimeter wall that surrounded 4.5 hectares of the Trade Center site was never meant to be seen or tell its story. Made of reinforced concrete,and tied back to bedrock, its job was to hold back the waters of the Hudson River. The wall was a marvel of engineering in its time and on 11 September 2001 withstood untold forces and thus acquired new meaning – the once mute, utilitarian object became a symbol of hope and resilience. The slurry wall no longer performs the work it was intended to – there is another loadbearing structure behind it – but remains in conversation with Mother Nature. The wall weeps, which has catalyzed corrosion of the steel, introduced salts and a host of other material concerns. The complexity of the slurry wall, as an artifact and an architectural element of the Museum that affects its environment, has necessitated collaboration between a diverse group of stakeholders to parse its secrets.