Magic has been a much-debated topic over the last centuries. This thesis discusses the disappearance and return of magic in academic discourse and evaluates it through a theoretical framework for...Show moreMagic has been a much-debated topic over the last centuries. This thesis discusses the disappearance and return of magic in academic discourse and evaluates it through a theoretical framework for scientific inquiry. Finally, it aims to evaluate the use of magic as an interpretative theme in archaeology. The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw many new theories and approaches to the subject. Influential anthropologists and sociologists released theories that were mainly based on evolutionist ideals. The rejection of these ideals, the problematic classification of witchcraft, sorcery and magic, and its adoption in modern media contributed to the disappearance of magic in academic discourse. In archaeology, these changes can be seen by studying Palaeolithic art. The return can be seen from 1990 to 2010 by its adoption in more archaeological research. These studies primarily focussed on the Mediterranean and failed to incorporate materiality fully. The full return of magic can be observed in the 2010s when publications specifically focused on the materiality of magic over a larger geographical and cultural area. This return resulted from a paradigm shift in anthropology where magic was now studied from a magical Worldview or consciousness instead of a rational Western worldview. An increase in material culture studies with the adoption of object agency and recognising the marginalisation of magic also contributed to the return. Object agency also contributed significantly to recognising the importance of portable artefacts in Palaeolithic art. The rise of material culture studies, its adoption of Latour’s Actor-Network Theory, and the shift in anthropology can be explained as two paradigm shifts vital for the return of magic in academic discourse. Magic can serve as a quality of practices and materials that can highlight certain features of materiality, potency, and verbal or ritual performance that would otherwise have gone unnoticed. Magic is a tool to understand ancient practices and materials better. Archaeology has much to contribute to studying magic through material studies and archaeological contextsShow less
Painting descriptions can aid children’s learning and development in museums. Previous research has shown that painting descriptions can influence people’s visual attention towards paintings and...Show morePainting descriptions can aid children’s learning and development in museums. Previous research has shown that painting descriptions can influence people’s visual attention towards paintings and possibly their aesthetic appreciation, which are both important for the perception of art. However, little is known about the effects of painting descriptions when specifically tailored to children’s level of understanding and development. Therefore, this research investigated the question: “How do tailored painting descriptions impact children’s visual attention and aesthetic appreciation of art?”. Compared to receiving no (tailored) painting descriptions, it was expected that children show increased visual attention towards paintings after receiving a tailored painting description and that they would show a difference in their visual exploration and aesthetic appreciation of the paintings. An ecological experiment was conducted at Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam with 62 children aged 10-12. The children were asked to view three different paintings. Before viewing these paintings, the children either received a painting description tailored to children (child description condition, CDC), a painting description written for adults (adult description condition, ADC), or no painting description (free viewing condition, FVC). Their visual attention towards the paintings was measured using a wearable eye-tracker. Their aesthetic appreciation was measured using an adapted version of the AESTHEMOS questionnaire. Both statistical and qualitative analyses were used to investigate differences in visual attention and aesthetic appreciation between the conditions. Results showed that children in the CDC displayed more visual attention towards areas mentioned in the descriptions compared to ADC and FVC. There was no significant difference in children’s visual attention between the ADC and FVC. Also, children in the CDC showed slightly decreased visual exploration of the paintings. Lastly, no results were found regarding the effects of painting descriptions on children’s aesthetic appreciation. The findings underline the effectiveness of tailoring information to children’s level of understanding and development in influencing their visual attention. Also, it suggests that giving more complicated information written for adults might be just as ineffective as giving no information at all. Museum educators can apply this knowledge to further improve children’s learning in museums and the overall museum experience. The effects of tailored information for children may also be studied to improve children’s engagement and understanding of information in other settings, such as general education or healthcare, or when providing safety information. Lastly, these results strengthen the body of evidence for understanding children’s visual attention in real-world settings.Show less
In this paper, ‘Internet memes’ will be analysed from the perspective of Ferdinand de Saussure’s model of linguistics and Roland Barthes’ theory of Post-Structuralism in order to prove that ...Show moreIn this paper, ‘Internet memes’ will be analysed from the perspective of Ferdinand de Saussure’s model of linguistics and Roland Barthes’ theory of Post-Structuralism in order to prove that ‘Internet memes’ are a kind of language. I will argue that ‘Internet memes’ can be seen as a language by comparing it to language structures as described in de Saussure’s model of linguistics. This comparison will showcase the similarities between regular language structures and the structures that ‘Internet memes’ are built from. Furthermore, by using the theory of Post-Structuralism, I will argue that ‘Internet memes’ as a language have an influence on culture and cultural practices such as art. Consequently, Holly Sweet’s Vine Tarot is used as a case study, or more specifically the card called The Lovers, which corresponds with the Two Bros Vine by Anthony Padilla, to show that ‘Internet memes’ are indeed as layered and complex as any language, and therefore influence cultural practices.Show less
The thesis discusses the hybridity of Japanese sartorial culture with a focus on the works of Issey Miyake. It explores the boundaries between culture, body and sartorial design. Moreover, how do...Show moreThe thesis discusses the hybridity of Japanese sartorial culture with a focus on the works of Issey Miyake. It explores the boundaries between culture, body and sartorial design. Moreover, how do the designs of Issey Miyake express his Japanese identity while also crossing borders between East and West?Show less
Master thesis | Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology (MSc)
open access
This study aims to shed light on the artist community Treehouse in Amsterdam as a space for artistic practice. By applying the concepts: place and space, community, artistic practice and artistic...Show moreThis study aims to shed light on the artist community Treehouse in Amsterdam as a space for artistic practice. By applying the concepts: place and space, community, artistic practice and artistic process, this study focuses on place and space as conditions in which artistic process can emerge. My goal is to explore the diversity of these artistic practices and spaces in which it is practiced. In terms of discussing the experiences of place and space, I would like to explore the perspectives of policy makers and the lived experiences of the artists within the place and space. This study aims to offer a more focused navigation of artistic processes; and explores what (pre)conditions are needed for the artists to engage in their artistic process. It aims to shift the approach from exploring art as established institution, to art as “practice”. Therefore, my aim in this article is to explore artistic practice and the role of place and space, and the artistcommunity in it (both physical and social). I used qualitative research methods and observational filmmaking as a research tool to generate empirical data. The results of this research are presented in a textual output (this article), and an audio-visual output (the film: Space for Artistic Practice, 2021), with both being part of the same overarching research. Two of my participants allowed me to study them more intensively on their artistic process. This provided insight in the small-scale aspects of their social reality, such as interaction, the forms of communication through art and their artistic processes. I introduce the concept of “creative sphere” as a mental space, which artists can experience when the workspace meets certain desired preconditions, and artistic process can happen. This approach discusses how the division and ordering principles of the space is part of an artistic interpretation and discusses different conditions in which art is made. Place and Space for artistic practice and artistic process has a political side, but it also has a personal side. Therefore, this article is divided in two parts. In the first part, I explore artistic practice in relation to place and space in a macro perspective (political and community), and in the second part, I will discuss the role of space in artistic process (personal and in a more philosophical perspective).Show less
This article utilizes the artworks of Daan Roosegaarde to show how the arts can be appropriated as meaningful reflexity tools to contribute in closing the gap between ecocentrism and technocentrism...Show moreThis article utilizes the artworks of Daan Roosegaarde to show how the arts can be appropriated as meaningful reflexity tools to contribute in closing the gap between ecocentrism and technocentrism in the current sustainability debate. By first analysing the two contrasting worldviews of Idealism (ecocentrism) and Conformism (technocentrism) – inherent in the sustainability discourse – it is shown that we currently adhere to the ideals of the latter to tackle all of the pressing environmental issues our anthropogenic world is faced with. Hereafter, I propose complex thinking as a possible way to overcome this divide, and utilize the theories of social scientists Sasha Kagan and Hans Dielemans to suggest the arts as a way of establishing an all-encompassing approach towards sustainability. Sasha Kagan’s system-thinking is used to articulate the bigger picture of sustainability approaches – which is not solely science infused and emphasizes interconnectedness. However, added to this is the theory of Hans Dielemans, through which such an understanding is suggested as a means to instigate a cultural shift by reflecting on our own behaviour and practices. Subsequently, this framework is applied to several case studies of the Dutch artist Daan Roosegaarde to show how his artworks appeal to human reflective capacity, rehabilitate the human–nature relationship, and offer the possibility of a middle ground between ecocentrism and technocentrism.Show less
This thesis aims to address the question: “How does the representation of Kurdish cultural resistance in visual art made by the Kurdish-Dutch diaspora fit within the Kurdish political discourse?”...Show moreThis thesis aims to address the question: “How does the representation of Kurdish cultural resistance in visual art made by the Kurdish-Dutch diaspora fit within the Kurdish political discourse?” To answer this question, films by Beri Shalmashi and Reber Dosky were analyzed by means of Visual Discourse Analysis on the basis of themes and symbols that fit within Kurdish political discourse. Unlike traditional International Relations (IR), this thesis takes an aesthetic turn and presents a more expressive and critical view from a diasporic narrative of the Kurdish question, which will deepen the knowledge concerning this conflict through visual discourse analysis. The themes and symbols discussed are cultural memory and collective trauma, the geo-linguistic homeland, autonomy, feminism, and the Kurdish mountains. These themes and symbols are all linked to Kurdish nationalism and cultural resistance and play an important role in the creation of a Kurdish identity among the Kurds living in diaspora. Moreover, this thesis demonstrates how the Kurdish diasporic community represents itself and how politicized Kurdish culture is.Show less
The purpose of this thesis is to provide new insights into women painters in China, by investigating their use of orchids to symbolise femininity and in which ways the orchid became a theme for...Show moreThe purpose of this thesis is to provide new insights into women painters in China, by investigating their use of orchids to symbolise femininity and in which ways the orchid became a theme for self-identification of female painters.Show less
This thesis is a contribution to the debate about the relation between art and politics. I argue that art is political insofar as it is transformative, but that any further political determination...Show moreThis thesis is a contribution to the debate about the relation between art and politics. I argue that art is political insofar as it is transformative, but that any further political determination exceeds the bounds of the essence of art. Aesthetic art does not serve any specific political agenda as its reorganizational effect is unpredictable and dispersive. This does not exclude that art can also be an ordinary political tool when engaged with non-aesthetically, activist art being an example of art with a high probability of affording such an engagement. As such, activist art – being merely a (more elaborate) form of propaganda – does not do justice to the specialness of art. I will conclude by submitting that aesthetic art is a strange political tool as it aids in forming our aesthetic sense – thereby affording us to unveil our being organized in the world and facilitating general emancipation.Show less
People of African descent in the West share a similar experience of oppression through European colonization and the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. Such a shared experience has led to a transnational...Show morePeople of African descent in the West share a similar experience of oppression through European colonization and the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. Such a shared experience has led to a transnational black consciousness. The black scholars W.E.B. DuBois and Frantz Fanon both discussed this concept, which describes an the existence of transnational black solidarity and identity, due to the subjugation to oppression. The black race has become the subject of negative discourses, a product of white supremacy and western hegemony. This thesis is a postcolonial reading of the artworks of black American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat and the Black British artist Chris Ofili, through which we explore the transnational connection among the peoples of the African diaspora. With the use of semiotic analysis, we uncover the hidden meanings within Basquiat’s and Ofili’s work, analyzing the themes of being black in the West and being black in connection to the African diaspora.Show less
The concept of empathy emerged at the end of the nineteenth century and described an emotional aspect of aesthetic experience. In the context of art, empathy was supposed to enable an art lover to...Show moreThe concept of empathy emerged at the end of the nineteenth century and described an emotional aspect of aesthetic experience. In the context of art, empathy was supposed to enable an art lover to experience art more deeply or even merge one’s emotional life with the artwork’s motivation and meaning. On the other hand, empathy, as connected to the arts, represented a chance of improving one’s empathic reactions, both towards the artwork as well as towards other human beings. Although very beneficial, this outlook on empathy has been lost, and the meaning of the term has changed significantly. Empathy, which is especially visible in the realm of medicine, turned into an instrument used for the collection of knowledge on the patient. Despite the change in its meaning, empathy can be successfully reconsidered with the help of art.Show less
The recent revocation of the special status in the Indian constitution of Kashmir has once again drawn the situation in Kashmir into the international spotlight. The protracted nature of the...Show moreThe recent revocation of the special status in the Indian constitution of Kashmir has once again drawn the situation in Kashmir into the international spotlight. The protracted nature of the seventy-year-long conflict and the struggle for self-determination of the Kashmiri bears resemblance to the strife between Israel and Palestine since the former’s founding in 1948, though this conflict has garnered greater media attention. In both cases, the impact of seemingly endless conflict and violence has impacted the lives of generations of children. The ways in which children can, and do, influence these conflicts - actively and passively - remains a hitherto under-explored area in academia. The present investigation seeks to address this issue with reference to cultural productions in the form of graphic novels. By cross-examining against actual instances of children, who have become symbols for the respective struggles and an examination of the response by the relevant authorities, this paper teases out the importance of children to both cases. Taken together with the reception received locally, nationally and internationally, a fresh light is cast upon the role of children as symbols and agents in protracted conflicts.Show less
A window serves as the eye of a building. This thesis attempts to approach the windows of early modern China, roughly from the late Ming to the early Qing period. With the findings, it shows that...Show moreA window serves as the eye of a building. This thesis attempts to approach the windows of early modern China, roughly from the late Ming to the early Qing period. With the findings, it shows that windows served as a practical element as well as a culture symbol. On the one hand, a window could be used to enhance light effects and air circulation; with the coverings, windows created a shelter of privacy for both people inside and outside; windows were also taken into the account of architectural design as an evocative pictorial device. On the other hand, it represented social status and wealth. Windows were also silent statement of the so-called elegant taste, ya. Apart from these, the window motif in literature and art could help to frame an erotic space. It can be concluded that in the early modern period, a window had not only practical functions, but also shouldered multiple cultural symbolic implications.Show less
The 'White Temple' at Tsaparang, in Western Tibet preserves some of the most important pre-sixteenth century works of art of Tibet. The temple is dated on literary grounds to around 1540, but its...Show moreThe 'White Temple' at Tsaparang, in Western Tibet preserves some of the most important pre-sixteenth century works of art of Tibet. The temple is dated on literary grounds to around 1540, but its works of art seem to indicate - on iconographic and stylistic grounds - that it was built before 1440. The temple used to be one of the main shrines in a monastery still counting circa sixty monks towards the end of the 17th century, but abandoned some time later when Western Tibet depopulated. Tsaparang was rediscovered and first described by the Italian Tibetologist Giuseppe Tucci in the 1930’s. My thesis shows that Tucci mixed the temples up. Facts derived from authoritative Tibetan literary sources have therefor been attributed to the wrong monuments. Contemporary authors focusing on the region have not noticed this, resulting in a growing amount of literature based on an unclarified chronology of the temples at Tsaparang.Show less
In the last two to three decades, throughout the world, urban and architectural spaces have been losing their identities over cities, driven mainly by commercial and economic interests....Show moreIn the last two to three decades, throughout the world, urban and architectural spaces have been losing their identities over cities, driven mainly by commercial and economic interests. Nevertheless, a number of artists have been escaping from their own traditional sphere of activity and exploring questions about space, the main tool of architects. These artists have been creating innovative hybrid works of art-and-architecture that highlight the singularity of places. Furthermore, they have also been focusing on the spectator’s bodily experiences using a phenomenological approach on their artworks. Recognizing these issues, this research opens discussions on how the adoption of phenomenological aspects in the creative process of art-and-architecture can contribute to an embodied experience through the artist Olafur Eliasson’s constructed work Fjordenhus (2018), in Vejle, Denmark, in partnership with the architect Sebastian Behmann. The main argument is that works embedded in a phenomenological bias can serve as a tool for resuscitation and vitality of architectural spaces in a relationship between architecture, space, and body. This study aims to contribute to the recent debates, concerning the tenuous limit of the interdisciplinary fields of visual art and architecture, with the participation of an artist in the conceptual process of an architectural project.Show less
