Viscerality

2019 ◽  
pp. 175-204
Author(s):  
Brahma Prakash

This chapter discusses dugola (singer-duels) performance in the context of (Syn)aesthetics, which is a unique and sensual approach to the creative process (thinking, producing, receiving). It tries to contextualize the immersive environment in which the music is created, learned, and performed by the performers. Drawing from Eugenio Barba’s claim that performer’s energy is a readily identifiable quality, this chapter studies the principles on which the performers model their muscular and nervous power to intensify their performing capacity. As the intensity between two singer competitors grows, the performance space becomes a magnetic field and creates its affective presence. The performer’s body vibrates with full energy and songs and stories seem to flow in that energy. This chapter will discuss the creative process in which the ‘folk performance’ works in a local cultural context. In caste based Indian society, this (syn)aesthetics offers some unique characteristics of these performers.

Costume ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-185
Author(s):  
Ana Balda Arana

This article investigates how the traditional attire and religious iconography of Cristóbal Balenciaga's (1895–1972) country of origin inspired his designs. The arguments presented here build on what has already been established on the subject, provide new data regarding the cultural context that informed the couturier's creative process (with which the Anglo-Saxon world is less familiar) and conclude by investigating the reasons and timing of his exploration of these fields. They suggest why this Spanish influence is present in his innovations in the 1950s and 1960s and go beyond clichéd interpretations of the ruffles of flamenco dress and bullfighters’ jackets. The findings derive from research for the author's doctoral thesis and her curatorial contribution to the exhibition Coal and Velvet. Balenciaga and Ortiz Echagüe. Views on the Popular Costume (Balenciaga Museum, Getaria, Spain, 7 October 2016–7 May 2017).


2018 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 45-95
Author(s):  
Gražina Daunoravičienė

Against the background of the Lithuanian professional music modernisation over the late Soviet period through to the early 21st century, the study focuses on the theoretical-compositional system of dodecatonics by the most consistent Lithuanian modernist Osvaldas Balakauskas (b. 1937). Based on it, the conceptualisation of the composer’s creative process, the modern expression construing specificity, the socio-political and cultural context, and the aesthetic value will be revealed. By interpreting the process of modernisation from the viewpoint of parataxical comparativism, the relationship between the dodecatonics and other 20th century ­stheoretical-compositional systems as well as the theoretical tradition will be examined. The issues of individualisation of the 12-tone technique and the implementation of the principles of the Dodecatonics in Balakauskas’’ compositions will be discussed. The system is contextualised in the milieu of the inculcation of “formalistic” modernist doctrines in Lithuania and the USSR and of the updating of composing systems and the development of new ones.


Text Matters ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 273-291
Author(s):  
Nicole Fayard

The article explores the potential “healing” role performance art can have when representing disabling trauma, and engaging, as part of the creative process, participants who have experienced in their lives significant trauma and physical, as well as mental health concerns arising from gender violence. It focuses on the show cicatrix macula, performed during the exhibition Speaking Out: Women Healing from the Trauma of Violence (Leicester, 2014). The exhibition involved disabled visual and creative artists, and engaged participants in the process of performance making. It was held at the Attenborough Arts Centre in Leicester (UK), a pioneering arts centre designed to be inclusive and accessible. The show cicatrix macula focused on social, cultural, mental, and physical representations of trauma and disability, using three lacerated life-size puppets to illustrate these depictions. Working under the direction of the audience, two artists attempted to “repair” the bodies. The creative process was a collaborative endeavour: the decision-making process rested with the audience, whose privileged positions of witness and meaning-maker were underscored. Fayard demonstrates the significance of cicatrix macula in debunking ablist gender norms, as well as in highlighting the role played by social and cultural enablers. She calls attention to its potential for mobilizing positive identity politics, including for viewers who had experienced trauma. For example, the environment of the participatory performance space offered some opportunities for the survivor to become the author or arbiter of her own recovery. In addition, the constant physical exchange of bodies within this space of debate was well-suited to the (re)connection with the self and with others.


Author(s):  
A. M. Tormakhova

The article is devoted to the analysis of the influence of technology evolution on the process of producing and replicating works of art. There is a trans- formation of musical creativity, which occurs due to the opportunities that arise because of sound recording technologies development, processing and reproduction of musical sound. The process of performing a musical pieces and actually creating it are experiencing great improvisation. Live looping en- ables recording and playing looped audio samples in real time using special devices or software. The ability to create audio tracks and to use them in "real time" can concern both the concert activity of leading and well-known musicians, recordings in professional studios of performers of different genre and style directions, but the most expedient and influential are those who create compositions in "amateur" single. This expediency is based on the spectrum of practical application of one's own voice, which is impossible without devices equipped with such a technology. The development of artistic practice is not possible beyond the cultural context. Changes in one of the cultural spheres associated with emergence of ability to record audio, emergence of new tech- nologies, software – necessarily lead to essential or structural modifications in other areas. Using the principle of live looping allows you bypass most of the links associated with the show business infrastructure. However, the essence and stages of creative process remain largely unchanged. Improvisation, which is proclaimed as the main form of presentation of musical material while using live looping, becomes a pledge of creative maturity and skill of the performer, who acts as a composer, arranger and sometimes even a conductor. The development of the technological level helps create artistic projects, the appearance and implementation of which will depend on one person.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 315-324
Author(s):  
Avanish Bhai Patel

The cases of mob lynching against the vulnerable groups are the matter of grave concern in contemporary Indian Society which is the worst form of crime against humanity. Today, people belong to vulnerable groups such as minorities and Dalits are seriously attacked and assaulted to death by a mob of people of a particular community. These cases of mob lynching definitely affect the way of life and sense of well-being of minorities and Dalits to a large extent causing a fracture in their social and personal status in society which they have got as a human being. The objectives of the study are to understand the nature of mob lynching in the socio-cultural context of India and to examine the linkage between social media and mob lynching. The present study employs content analysis for the study of mob lynching. The data have been collected from lynching affected regions of the country through various Newspapers (Hindustan Times, The Hindu, The Indian Express and The Times of India etc., Delhi Edition) and monthly magazines (India Today and Economic Political Weekly etc.). The cases of mob lynching have been collected from March, 2013 to September, 2019. The study has found that the cases of lynching are committed against minorities and Dalits due to suspicion of beef consuming, cow slaughtering, skinning of dead cows child lifting, and theft. The study also indicates that most of cases of mob lynching are committed due to fake news, rumors and hate speeches which are circulated on social media platforms.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dr. Durgesh K. Upadhyay

Creative music making is one of the least studied aspects of music education. This may be partly due to our limited knowledge of the creative process. There is a need to explore and understand the creative process of music making by taking perspective of music students within a particular socio cultural context. Present study aimed to explore and analyze the creative process of music making (making variations in rāga’s contents and/or compositions) by considering the vocal students’ perspective in an institutional setup. 10 vocal students (2 from Diploma, 4 from B. Mus. and 4 from M. Mus.) from two prestigious institutions of UP were interviewed (4 in-person and 6 telephonically). Thematic analysis revealed three themes – causal forces, conscious music making, and natural process of music making. Findings suggest that the particular psychological state, occasion or situation which inspires music students to visualize and forces them to create new music. Two creative processes of music making identified (i.e., conscious and natural) follow different pathways.


2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-159
Author(s):  
R.M. Channaveer

Student unrest has been a grave phenomenon and syndrome to educational system in India and world as such.  Time and again student organizations give call for agitations to protest their dissent which is either just or unjust, causing violence and civic disturbance.  Social anomaly of Indian society and politicization of student folk has further made the educational institutions more vibrant and dynamic organizations. The recent outburst of upper strata to dissent the OBC reservation in the elite higher educational institutions and that of Gujjar community to claim ST status ended in violence towards self and society. Any protest if it is ideology-based is activism; if it fosters violence-ideology it is unrest. Phenomenon of this nature brings to fore challenging issues related to democratic system.  Whether means justify end or else it is conviction that the democratic institutions and political leadership respond to violence ideology.  Or else is it social insensitivity that the Indian society is prone, which indicates apathy to peaceful means that do not yield any just benefits.  Any restive outburst all over the world involves youth force especially from the institutions of higher education. Emerging postmodernism with changing socio-cultural context in the wake of neo-liberalism is a great challenge to the higher education. Indian society in post-independence period is passing through varied transitions in every decade. Green revolution, white revolution, grey revolution and social movements have changed the face of Indian society from time to time.  Technological innovations and social constructivism have strengthened the democratic fabric.  However, the collectivism of violence ideology to bring drastic changes has endangered the Indian society. Therefore, sociologists, economists and social work scholars have harped upon this phenomenon and attempted to explain it from different perspectives. The paper attempted to scan the social science literature to organize the perspectives proposed by social science scholars in order to develop holistic understanding about the phenomenon.


Author(s):  
Liane Gabora

This chapter explores how we can better understand culture by understanding the creative processes that fuel it, and better understand creativity by examining it from its cultural context. First, it summarizes attempts to develop a scientific framework for how culture evolves, and it explores what these frameworks imply for the role of creativity in cultural evolution. Next it examines how questions about the relationship between creativity and cultural evolution have been addressed using an agent-based model in which neural network-based agents collectively generate increasingly fit ideas by building on previous ideas and imitating neighbors’ ideas. Finally, it outlines studies of how creative outputs are influenced, in perhaps unexpected ways, by other ideas and individuals, and how individual creative styles “peek through” cultural outputs in different domains.


2020 ◽  
Vol 44 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 55-68
Author(s):  
Chantelle Ko ◽  
Lora Oehlberg

Abstract We present the second iteration of a Touch-Responsive Augmented Violin Interface System, called TRAVIS II, and two compositions that demonstrate its expressivity. TRAVIS II is an augmented acoustic violin with touch sensors integrated into its 3-D printed fingerboard that track left-hand finger gestures in real time. The fingerboard has four strips of conductive PLA filament that produce an electric signal when fingers press down on each string. Although these sensors are physically robust, they are mechanically assembled and thus easy to replace if damaged. The performer can also trigger presets via four sensors attached to the body of the violin. The instrument is completely wireless, giving the performer the freedom to move throughout the performance space. Although the sensing fingerboard is installed in place of the traditional fingerboard, all other electronics can be removed from the augmented instrument, maintaining the aesthetics of a traditional violin. Our design allows violinists to naturally create music for interactive performance and improvisation without requiring new instrumental techniques. The first author composed two compositions to highlight TRAVIS II: “Dream State” and “Kindred Dichotomy.” Both of these compositions involve improvisation in their creative process and include interactive visuals. In this article we describe the design of the instrument, experiments leading to the sensing fingerboard, performative applications of the instrument, and compositional considerations for the resultant pieces.


2011 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 260-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vytautas Petrušonis

In the planning of urban renovation, interests, intentions and potentials of a large variety of actors of an urban environment must be taken into account. In urban regulations, statements should be formulated on the groundwork of collective psychology rather than on the basis of categories of individual psychology. This can strengthen consensual basis, which is important for effective communication to all actual actors of urban renovation. In this aspect, the role of cultural archetypes is especially important. Thanks to the cultural archetypes, the cultural context – that can encourage more adequate and reasonable comprehension of the meaning of urban environment elements in a renovation process – can be better actualized. The article provides the analysis on the extent the cultural archetypes are reflected in statements of documents fulfilling the regulative function. The critical analysis and evaluation of the conceptual basis of the urban renewal process allow concluding that the reception of cultural archetypes essentially does not occur for the reason of domination of descriptive narratives, which emerge from mythological narratives for the purpose of a creative process required to present and disclose the pre-logic existential experience, which is usually very important. Therefore, chances to achieve consensus with the society on urban renovation based on such regulations are very thin. Alternative approaches for statement formulation to be used in regulative documents are also introduced in the presented article. Santrauka Planuojant urbanistinę renovaciją turi būti atsižvelgta į daugybės subjektų, darančių įtaką miesto aplinkos tvarkymui, interesus, intencijas ir galimybes. Konsensinį pagrindą gali sustiprinti projektavimo eigą veikiančių „teiginių“ formulavimas neapsiribojant individo psichologijos kategorijomis, o tokių informacinių vienetų formavimo procese didesnį dėmesį skiriant kolektyvinės psichologijos plotmei. Būtent tai gali atlikti kultūriniai archetipai, kurie praplečia kultūrinį kontekstą ir paskatina adekvatesnį bei motyvuotesnį renovuojamos urbanistinės aplinkos elementų reikšmės suvokimą. Nagrinėjama, kokiu laipsniu urbanistinę renovaciją veikiančiuose reglamentiniuose teiginiuose atspindima su kultūriniais archetipais susijusi plotmė. Kritiškai išanalizavus ir įvertinus urbanistinės renovacijos proceso idėjinius pagrindus, nustatyta, kad kultūrinių archetipų recepcija iš esmės nepasireiškia, nes dominuoja deskriptyvieji naratyvai, užgožiantys mitologinius naratyvus, labai svarbius egzistencinei ikirefleksinei patirčiai prezentuoti kūrybiniame procese. Aptariami alternatyviniai renovacijos planavimo reglamentavimo būdai.


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