scholarly journals On Taking our Sources Seriously: Servius and the Theatrical Life of Vergil's Eclogues

2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-140
Author(s):  
Ismene Lada-Richards
Keyword(s):  
Popular Culture ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Republican Rome ◽  
The World ◽  
Historical Question

This article revisits a famous staple of the Vergilian tradition, Servius's heavily contested scholion on the actress Volumnia Cytheris's theatrical rendition of Vergil's sixth Eclogue. By shifting the focus of inquiry from the strictly historical question ‘did it happen?’ it cuts through, identifies and disentangles a nexus of prejudices which have led to the devaluing of Servius's information. The sidelining or dismissal of this piece of evidence, I argue, has more to teach us about our own culturally entrenched and discipline-inherited assumptions than about what could have happened in late Republican Rome. Scrutiny of the evidence on the stage re-mediation of high poetry suggests it is entirely plausible that Cytheris would have performed a theatricalized version of Vergil's masterpiece. Indeed at the very heart of the story lies the convergence between élite poetry and the world of professional stage artists. Moreover, Cytheris's possible performance of a repertoire that coincides with the mythological core of pantomime dancing in its artistic maturity opens pivotal questions concerning what Plutarch (Mor.748a) aptly calls the “full association and mutual entanglement” between the arts of poetry and dance. Taking Servius seriously gives us the impetus to explore more decisively dimensions of Roman life that have been messily sidelined as a result of the systematic privileging of “texts” in our surveys of Roman intellectual landscapes over the centuries. Even if Servius's extract turned out to be no more than a “myth”, an “anecdote”, as such narratives go, this is an incredibly helpful one, provided we are willing to press it into the service of larger inquiries regarding the “circulation” of cultural energy between élite and popular culture.

scholarly journals “ELECTRIC PROTO-PERFORMANCE”: ENIGMARELLE THE AUTOMATON AT THE 1938 EXPOSITION INTERNATIONALE DU SURRÉALISME

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 151-170
Author(s):  
DARIA O. MARTYNOVA ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Popular Culture ◽  
International Exhibition ◽  
Scientific Conference ◽  
Electric Pulses ◽  
The Public ◽  
Early Twentieth Century ◽  
The Arts ◽  
The World ◽  
Ideal Person

The following article is based on a report presented at the Arts and Machine Civilization International Scientific Conference. The author analyzes publications related to Enigmarelle and automata in periodicals of the early twentieth century in order to identify the significance of Enigmarelle’s phenomenon at the 1938 International Exhibition of Surrealism. In the course of the study, it was concluded that Enigmarelle became a centerpiece of the opening, a kind of a wobbler that was intended for attraction and intriguing the public. Enigmarelle is a documented curiosity of the early twentieth century, mystified in popular Parisian newspapers of the first half of the century. Initially, Enigmarelle was created only for the entertainment of the public, as the popularity of automaton resumed in connection with the dollomania in the second half of the 20th century. However, for the 1938 International Exhibition of Surrealism in Paris, the surrealists turned Enigmarelle the automaton into an exhibition object and shifted the emphasis of its function from entertaining to symbolic; as a result, the “mechanical human” became the image of an “ideal” person bringing danger and death. This change in the interpretation was facilitated by the hysteria, which is fundamentally significant for the surrealists’ work. Also, Enigmarelle’s paramount significance can be explained by a reference to its connection with Frankenstein. The automaton, a mechanism controlled by electricity, drew parallels with mesmeric practices, during which a body could be controlled by electric pulses. It can be concluded that surrealists turned the popular culture phenomenon, Enigmarelle the automaton, into an exhibit that correlated with the films of the 1920s and 1930s about the revivification and creation of an inanimate being (Frankenstein, 1931, Metropolis, 1927, The Golem: How He came into the World, 1920). Such a presentation was associated with mesmerism and hysteria, which was related to the ocularcentristic concept and surrealists’ pre-war mood. Based on the analysis of publications in periodicals, it can be assumed that Enigmarelle’s phenomenon anticipated viewers’ active involvedness. This, in turn, served as a kind of a binder, uniting the disparate elements of the exhibition.

Responsible Entertainment Greening festivals and events

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chantal Laws
Keyword(s):  
Popular Culture ◽  
Entertainment Industry ◽  
Exponential Rate ◽  
Live Performance ◽  
Modern Life ◽  
Distinct Area ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Live Music ◽  
The World ◽  
The Impact

This chapter explores the contemporary issue of responsible production within the arts and entertainment industries, focusing on live music events and festivals in particular. In its broadest context the entertainment industry is vast, encompassing 18 unique sectors (Moss, 2009), each providing a plethora of tangible and intangible products that, according to Vogel (2007), is estimated at US$1 trillion annually. This makes it the largest industry in the world, generating more revenue and growing at an exponential rate as leisure time becomes increasingly important as an escape from,or antidote to, the pressures of modern life. Live events bridge the distinction between high art products which are considered as a ‘merit good’ (Pratt, 2005) and forms of popular culture and leisure that can be consumed both at home and in designated public spaces. Hughes (2000) states that live performance of both art and entertainment is a distinct area for management, as such events require active participation on the part of an audience. As pop/rock consumers can now choose from ‘an almost limitless number of events’ (Mintel Group, 2008) at any given time, the viability of continued growth in the industry becomes of real concern, and the impact of such intense consumption levels can no longer be ignored.

scholarly journals Jatra and Kabuki : An Indepth Look

2012 ◽  
pp. 109-115
Author(s):  
Farhanaz Rabbani
Keyword(s):  
Popular Culture ◽  
Contemporary Art ◽  
Folk Art ◽  
Emotional Involvement ◽  
Political Dimension ◽  
Mass Public ◽  
The Arts ◽  
The World ◽  
Different Cultures

As the world sails into the second decade of the new millennium, more and more people are beginning to realize the importance of folk art, their elegance and beauty. Contemporary art is a reflection of the seeds sown by folk art in different cultures hundreds of years ago. But apart from just being traditional, folk art has a significant socio-political dimension. In this paper, folk art stands as a representation of the mass public which expresses itself as popular culture. According to Ang, the ‘populist aesthetic’ is “based on an affirmation of the continuity of cultural forms and daily life, and on a deep- rooted desire for participation, and on emotional involvement” (274). This paper will focus on the distinctive nature and role of popular folk art- the Bangladeshi Jatra and the Japanese Kabuki, which originated from the populist aesthetic of two very different cultures. Although Bangladeshi and Japanese cultures are varied, they have some common grounds on which oral or “dialogue drama” flourished as ‘performance’ among the underprivileged masses. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/afj.v4i0.12935 The Arts Faculty Journal Vol.4 July 2010-June 2011 pp.109-115

Book Review

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 386-389
Author(s):  
Eduardo Oliveira
Keyword(s):  
Urban Planning ◽  
Urban Design ◽  
Olympic Games ◽  
City Image ◽  
European Capital Of Culture ◽  
The Arts ◽  
The World ◽  
The City ◽  
The Olympic Games

Evinç Doğan (2016). Image of Istanbul, Impact of ECoC 2010 on The City Image. London: Transnational Press London. [222 pp, RRP: £18.75, ISBN: 978-1-910781-22-7]The idea of discovering or creating a form of uniqueness to differentiate a place from others is clearly attractive. In this regard, and in line with Ashworth (2009), three urban planning instruments are widely used throughout the world as a means of boosting a city’s image: (i) personality association - where places associate themselves with a named individual from history, literature, the arts, politics, entertainment, sport or even mythology; (ii) the visual qualities of buildings and urban design, which include flagship building, signature urban design and even signature districts and (iii) event hallmarking - where places organize events, usually cultural (e.g., European Capital of Culture, henceforth referred to as ECoC) or sporting (e.g., the Olympic Games), in order to obtain worldwide recognition. 

Between High Culture and Low Culture; and also The Difference Between Popular Culture and Folk Culture

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (8) ◽  
pp. 12
Author(s):  
Kunal Debnath
Keyword(s):  
Popular Culture ◽  
Folk Culture ◽  
Common People ◽  
High Culture ◽  
The World ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Low Culture

High culture is a collection of ideologies, beliefs, thoughts, trends, practices and works-- intellectual or creative-- that is intended for refined, cultured and educated elite people. Low culture is the culture of the common people and the mass. Popular culture is something that is always, most importantly, related to everyday average people and their experiences of the world; it is urban, changing and consumeristic in nature. Folk culture is the culture of preindustrial (premarket, precommodity) communities.

Editorial

2017 ◽  
pp. 2-3
Author(s):  
Peter Hoar
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Editorial Team ◽  
Local Market ◽  
Design History ◽  
Recorded Sound ◽  
The Arts ◽  
The World ◽  
1960S And 1970S ◽  
New Zealanders

Kia ora and welcome to the second issue of BackStory. The members of the Backstory Editorial Team were gratified by the encouraging response to the first issue of the journal. We hope that our currentreaders enjoy our new issue and that it will bring others to share our interest in and enjoyment of the surprisingly varied backstories of New Zealand’s art, media, and design history. This issue takes in a wide variety of topics. Imogen Van Pierce explores the controversy around the Hundertwasser Art Centre and Wairau Māori Art Gallery to be developed in Whangarei. This project has generated debate about the role of the arts and civic architecture at both the local and national levels. This is about how much New Zealanders are prepared to invest in the arts. The value of the artist in New Zealand is also examined by Mark Stocker in his article about the sculptor Margaret Butler and the local reception of her work during the late 1930s. The cultural cringe has a long genealogy. New Zealand has been photographed since the 1840s. Alan Cocker analyses the many roles that photography played in the development of local tourism during the nineteenth century. These images challenged notions of the ‘real’ and the ‘artificial’ and how new technologies mediated the world of lived experience. Recorded sound was another such technology that changed how humans experienced the world. The rise of recorded sound from the 1890s affected lives in many ways and Lewis Tennant’s contribution captures a significant tipping point in this medium’s history in New Zealand as the transition from analogue to digital sound transformed social, commercial and acoustic worlds. The New Zealand Woman’s Weekly celebrates its 85th anniversary this year but when it was launched in 1932 it seemed tohave very little chance of success. Its rival, the Mirror, had dominated the local market since its launch in 1922. Gavin Ellis investigates the Depression-era context of the Woman’s Weekly and how its founders identified a gap in the market that the Mirror was failing to fill. The work of the photographer Marti Friedlander (1908-2016) is familiar to most New Zealanders. Friedlander’s 50 year career and huge range of subjects defy easy summary. She captured New Zealanders, their lives, and their surroundings across all social and cultural borders. In the journal’s profile commentary Linda Yang celebrates Freidlander’s remarkable life and work. Linda also discusses some recent images by Friedlander and connects these with themes present in the photographer’s work from the 1960s and 1970s. The Backstory editors hope that our readers enjoy this stimulating and varied collection of work that illuminate some not so well known aspects of New Zealand’s art, media, and design history. There are many such stories yet to be told and we look forward to bringing them to you.

Redefinisi Fungsi Desa dalam Manga Naruto dan Bande Dessinée Astérix: Sebuah Kajian Komparasi Budaya Populer

Metahumaniora ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 293
Author(s):  
Tania Intan
Keyword(s):  
Popular Culture ◽  
Rural Environment ◽  
Cultural Comparison ◽  
Structural Element ◽  
Legal Entity ◽  
Bande Dessinee ◽  
Spare Time ◽  
Popular Medium ◽  
The World ◽  
The Village

AbstrakSecara alamiah, manusia membutuhkan sarana untuk mengisi waktu luangnyasetelah bekerja keras. Satu media yang murah, mudah dijangkau, dan digemari oleh semuakalangan di seluruh dunia adalah cerita bergambar atau komik yang merupakan bagiandari budaya populer. Pada umumnya, karya paraliteratur-visual ini memang bersifat fiktifdan hanya merupakan peniruan dari kenyataan yang digambarkan secara berlebihan(grotesque). Namun demikian, di dalam komik, sering ditemukan nilai-nilai kehidupanyang bersifat universal dan abadi sehingga dianggap layak sebagai bahan kajian budaya.Naruto, salah satu manga Jepang, dan Astérix, bande dessinée dari Prancis, akan ditelitisebagai representasi dunia Timur dan Barat. Latar sebagai unsur struktural dalam karyakaryafiksi ini ternyata juga menunjukkan kesamaan mendasar, yaitu keberadaan desasebagai tempat hidup para tokohnya. Dalam tulisan ini, akan dibahas pemaknaan lainterhadap lingkungan rural tersebut, yang memiliki andil dalam pembentukan karakterpara tokoh dari kedua komik. Metode kajian komparasi budaya akan digunakan denganpenerapan teori-teori yang relevan. Penelitian singkat ini bertujuan untuk melengkapistudi mengenai komik yang belum banyak dilakukan di Indonesia.Kata kunci: Desa, komik, Naruto, Astérix, Komparasi BudayaAbstractNaturally, humans need a way to fill their spare time after working hard. Acheap, accessible and popular medium by all circles around the world is a picture or comicstory, which is part of popular culture. McCloud (1993:7) defines comics as drawings andembossed symbols in a particular order, aimed at providing information or achievingaesthetic responses from the reader. In general, this visual-paraliterature work isindeed fictitious and merely an imitation of grotesque reality. However, in the comics, itis often found that values of life that are universal and eternal so comics are consideredappropriate as a material of cultural studies. Naruto, one of the Japanese manga, andAstérix, the bande dessinée of France, are examined as a representation of the East andWest. The background as a structural element in these works of fiction also shows the basicsimilarity of the existence of the village as the place of life of the characters. According toKartohadikoesoemo (1984:16), the village is a legal entity, in which a ruling society livesits own government. In this paper, other meanings of the rural environment, which hascontributed in the character formation of the characters from both comics are discussed.The method of cultural comparative is used with the application of relevant theories. Thisbrief study aims to complete the study of comics which is still very limited in Indonesia.Keywords: Village, Comic, Naruto, Astérix, Cultural Comparison

The Music Therapist: Creative Arts Therapist and Contemporary Shaman

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Moreno
Keyword(s):  
Native American ◽  
Creative Arts ◽  
Indian Culture ◽  
Music Therapist ◽  
Psychotherapy Practice ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Contemporary Psychotherapy ◽  
The World ◽  
Traditional Healing Practices

While much of contemporary psychotherapy practice often focuses primarily on verbal exchange between therapists and clients, it is important to recognize that verbal expression is just one mode of expression, and not necessarily the deepest or most profound. Many clients in therapy may be more comfortable in expressing themselves in other ways through the modes of music, art, dance and psychodrama. The sources of the arts in healing extend back for many thousands of years and their modern expression through the creative arts therapies are now widely utilized in the mainstream of modern psychotherapy. Traditional healing practices are still widely practiced in many indigenous cultures around the world today and an appreciation of these practices can deeply enrich our understanding of the essential role of the arts in human expression. The aim of this paper is to consider the roots of the arts therapies and really all of psychotherapy, going as far back as pre-historic evidence, followed by an overview of living indigenous healing practices in such settings as Bushman culture in Namibia, Native American Indian culture, as well as in Kenya, Bali, Malaysia, Mongolia and more.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the arts, culture, and heritage sectors in the African Union member states

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 477-480
Author(s):  
Angela Martins ◽  
Vicensia Shule
Keyword(s):  
Union Member ◽  
African Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
The Arts ◽  
The World ◽  
The Impact

Africa as a continent has been hit by the coronavirus – the COVID-19 pandemic – as have many parts of the world. Many African Union (AU) member states were badly hit by the virus, while others were only mildly impacted. The arts, culture, and heritage sectors have been severely hit by the pandemic. Fortunately, in many countries in Africa, arts, culture, and heritage were placed at the heart of strategic priorities at the national, regional, and continental levels of combating COVID-19.

scholarly journals Geopoetics: Storytelling against mastery

2021 ◽  
pp. 204382062098639
Author(s):  
Aya Nassar
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Open Space ◽  
Arts And Humanities ◽  
The Earth ◽  
The Arts ◽  
The World

In this engagement with Eric Magrane’s article, ‘Climate Geopolitics (The Earth is a Composted Poem)’, I follow two provocations: first, geopoetics as travelling through disciplinary turfs, and second, geopoetics as storytelling. Coming from a disciplinary trajectory that spent a long stop at international relations (IR), these provocations attach me to geopoetics as practice and a growing field. My engagement here is oriented to geopoetics not only at the threshold of geography and the arts and humanities, but also the intersections of geography and politics. I primarily propose that viewing geopoetics as an open space for experimenting allows for disrupting masterful understandings of the academic self and counters a univocal, universal narrative of the world.

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