Arts

25 pages, 17572 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Urban Canvas in Motion: The Role of Kinetic and Media Facades in Urban Space Design

by Karolina Dąbrowska-Żółtak and Anna Szalwa

Arts 2025, 14(1), 6; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts14010006 - 16 Jan 2025

New technologies and urban expansion have made it increasingly important for architects to incorporate movement into building facades, using a variety of artistic methods. This study explores the use of movable and movable-like solutions on urban elevations, ranging from visual effects to advanced [...] Read more.

New technologies and urban expansion have made it increasingly important for architects to incorporate movement into building facades, using a variety of artistic methods. This study explores the use of movable and movable-like solutions on urban elevations, ranging from visual effects to advanced technologies enabling physical movement. Case studies demonstrate different approaches to incorporating movement in building exteriors and their goals. This study considered how these solutions impact urban aesthetics, functionality, and energy efficiency. The research methods used include visual analysis, a literature review, and technological analysis of the kinetic systems used. The results show that movement at elevations can be achieved using various tools and can affect energy efficiency and building layout, in addition to having visual impacts. This study concluded that it is important to integrate new technologies into urban design and called for further research into the long-term impacts of changeable elevations on the urban environment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Aesthetics in Contemporary Cities)

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25 pages, 1556 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Queering Militarism in Israeli Photography

by Nissim Gal

Arts 2025, 14(1), 5; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts14010005 - 8 Jan 2025

Abstract

This article, Queering Militarism in Israeli Photography, examines Adi Nes’s Soldiers series, a body of work that interrogates the intersections of queerness, militarism, and nationalism within Israeli society. By employing a distinctive “military circus” aesthetic, Nes challenges the rigid heteronormative and hyper-masculine [...] Read more.

This article, Queering Militarism in Israeli Photography, examines Adi Nes’s Soldiers series, a body of work that interrogates the intersections of queerness, militarism, and nationalism within Israeli society. By employing a distinctive “military circus” aesthetic, Nes challenges the rigid heteronormative and hyper-masculine archetypes embedded in Israeli military identity. His staged photographs depict soldiers in circus-inspired performative poses, blending military discipline with elements of the carnivalesque to subvert conventional representations of military masculinity. This approach creates spaces where queerness, vulnerability, and fluid identity defy the rigid confines of nationalist narratives. Using queer studies frameworks, performance theory, and postcolonial critique, this article analyzes Nes’s depiction of soldiers as both military subjects and circus performers, examining how these representations disrupt the “naturalness” of gender, power, and identity within the Israeli national ethos. Through a close reading of key images—such as the fire-breathing soldier, the acrobat on a tightrope, and the strongman figure—this article argues that Nes critiques homonationalism and exposes the co-optation of LGBTQ+ identities into militaristic frameworks. His images juxtapose exaggerated masculinity with homoerotic and introspective vulnerability, positioning the queer body as both a participant in and a subverter of the national narrative. Drawing on contemporary queer theory—including José Esteban Muñoz’s concept of “disidentification”, Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick’s theories of queer shame and performativity, and perspectives on temporality, failure, and counterpublics following Elizabeth Freeman, Jack Halberstam, Michael Warner, and Sara Ahmed—this article frames queerness as an active site of resistance and creative transformation within the Israeli military complex. The analysis reveals how Nes’s work disrupts Zionist masculinities and traditional militaristic structures through a hybrid aesthetic of military and circus life. By reimagining Israeli identity as an inclusive, multi-dimensional construct, Nes expands queer possibilities beyond heteronormative confines and homonationalist alignments. This merging of critical queer perspectives—from the destabilizing of discipline and shame to the public visibility of non-normative bodies—posits that queer identities can permeate and reshape state power itself, challenging not only the norms of militaristic nationalism but also the boundaries of Israeli selfhood. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Contemporary Visual Culture in Conflict Zones and Contested Territories)

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15 pages, 2924 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Nomadic Sensibility: Materiality and the Politics of Shelter in Merz and Kato’s Artistic Practices

by Diana Angoso de Guzmán

Arts 2025, 14(1), 4; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts14010004 - 2 Jan 2025

Abstract

This article examines nomadism through the conceptual framework of philosopher Rosi Braidotti, analyzing its implications for contemporary artistic practices. By focusing on case studies, including Italian artist Mario Merz’s igloos and Peruvian artist Jimena Kato’s perilous constructions, this article explores material precariousness and [...] Read more.

This article examines nomadism through the conceptual framework of philosopher Rosi Braidotti, analyzing its implications for contemporary artistic practices. By focusing on case studies, including Italian artist Mario Merz’s igloos and Peruvian artist Jimena Kato’s perilous constructions, this article explores material precariousness and material agency as a means of engaging politically with topics such as migration, diasporic cultures, and the contested notion of home. It seeks to elucidate the dynamic interplay between balance and imbalance, revealing the transformative essence of being. Central to this discussion are three key concepts drawn from Braidotti’s work: (1) the nomadic subject, (2) performativity, and (3) potentiality. These categories are crucial for understanding how nomadism, as both a theoretical and practical approach, redefines subjectivity and materiality in art. The analysis suggests that these artistic practices embody a nomadic ontology, where movement and instability become generative forces for creation, challenging traditional notions of fixed identity and static form. The article contributes to the ongoing discourse concerning the intersection of philosophy and contemporary art, proposing that nomadism offers a valuable lens through which to view the evolving relationship between the artist, their materials, and the broader socio-cultural context. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Visual Arts)

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8 pages, 199 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Gateway to the East: Decorative Art and Orientalist Imagery in Moscow’s Kazan Station, 1913–1916

by John McCannon

Arts 2025, 14(1), 3; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts14010003 - 2 Jan 2025

Abstract

At the time of its construction, which started in 1913, the architectural design of Moscow’s Kazan Station was considered by many to be out of step with the avant-garde creative energies that pervaded fin-de-siècle Russian culture. The same opinion applied to the artworks [...] Read more.

At the time of its construction, which started in 1913, the architectural design of Moscow’s Kazan Station was considered by many to be out of step with the avant-garde creative energies that pervaded fin-de-siècle Russian culture. The same opinion applied to the artworks that were installed to decorate the station’s interior. In the decades since, art historians have generally shared the judgments levied by those who complained about the station’s supposed deficits in the 1910s. The purpose of this article is to show that, while the designs and décor of Kazan Station were indeed anachronistic—especially considering the high-tech purposes and functions of the industrial-era railroad station—the anachronism, far from reflecting a lack of awareness or innovative ability, resulted from conscious decisions on the part of Alexei Shchusev as architect, Alexandre Benois as the individual who selected artists to work on the station, and the artists themselves, including Nikolai Roerich and Pavel Kuznetsov, namely, those who built and decorated the station deliberately concealed the station’s inherently modernist and utilitarian nature behind a backward-looking, past-oriented façade, both to fulfill their mission of commemorating old Russia’s imperial expansion and subjugation of the East and to assuage the social and cultural anxieties often stirred up in the late 1800s and early 1900s by the construction of infrastructural assets such as railroad stations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue In the Center and on the Periphery: Russian and Soviet Art and Visual Culture)

19 pages, 4298 KiB

Open AccessOpinion

Recollections and Reflections About My Dad, Leo Mazel (1907–2000)

by Alexander Zholkovsky

Arts 2025, 14(1), 2; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts14010002 - 2 Jan 2025

Abstract

This first-hand memoir essay offers a reflective narrative on the life and legacy of professor Leo Mazel, a prominent Soviet musicologist. Recounted by his stepson, the text weaves together personal memories, anecdotes, and cultural insights into Mazel’s professional contributions and personal life. As [...] Read more.

This first-hand memoir essay offers a reflective narrative on the life and legacy of professor Leo Mazel, a prominent Soviet musicologist. Recounted by his stepson, the text weaves together personal memories, anecdotes, and cultural insights into Mazel’s professional contributions and personal life. As a pioneer in the field of music theory and analysis, Mazel’s rigorous approach blended mathematical precision with a deep commitment to artistic integrity. His unique scholarship extended to stylistic studies of composers like Beethoven, Chopin, and Shostakovich, with an emphasis on “holistic analysis”—a method that integrates historical and aesthetic contexts. Through rich storytelling, the memoir also provides glimpses into Soviet academic life, artistic censorship, and Mazel’s resilience against political pressures. Interactions with notable figures and intellectuals punctuate this account, painting a vivid picture of a life devoted to music, intellectual curiosity, and mentorship. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Music vis-à-vis Other Arts in Eastern and Central Europe: Performance, Literature, Theatre, Art/Architecture and Visuality)

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10 pages, 11524 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Lombard Sculptures from Saint Sophia of Kijv at the Russian National Museum in Moscow

by Spiriti Andrea

Arts 2025, 14(1), 1; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts14010001 - 31 Dec 2024

Abstract

A group of Romanesque sculptures today at the Gosudarstvennyj Istoričeskij Muzej in Moscow, coming from the restoration of the Cathedral of Saint Sophia in Kijv, can be related to the commission of Vladimir II Monomak, Grand Prince of Kijv, cultural heir of both [...] Read more.

A group of Romanesque sculptures today at the Gosudarstvennyj Istoričeskij Muzej in Moscow, coming from the restoration of the Cathedral of Saint Sophia in Kijv, can be related to the commission of Vladimir II Monomak, Grand Prince of Kijv, cultural heir of both his great-grandfather, the grand prince Vladimir I (who had founded the church between 1011 and 1037), and of his grandfather, the Eastern Roman Emperor Constantine IX: It is argued here that, alongside the Byzantine mosaicists certainly present, the sculptures are the work of a group of artists from the Lombardy lakes (also known as Comacine masters), attested in central and eastern Europe through Bavaria, Bohemia, Poland and then arriving in Sweden, active in Kijv between 1113 and 1125. It is probable that their specific origin is from Valchiavenna. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Russia: Histories of Mobility)

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22 pages, 2072 KiB

Open AccessArticle

(Dis)embodiment: Danielle Abrams’s Quadroon and the Destabilization of Visual Identities

by Stacy Schwartz

Arts 2024, 13(6), 187; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts13060187 - 20 Dec 2024

Abstract

Danielle Abrams’s performance art critically engages with late twentieth-century debates on race, queerness, and identity, positioning her as a vital figure in challenging monolithic and heteronormative structures of identity. Her early work Quadroon (1998), a live performance and four-channel video installation blending music, [...] Read more.

Danielle Abrams’s performance art critically engages with late twentieth-century debates on race, queerness, and identity, positioning her as a vital figure in challenging monolithic and heteronormative structures of identity. Her early work Quadroon (1998), a live performance and four-channel video installation blending music, costume, gesture, and speech, compounds impassioned debates within the art world and beyond around the impact of multiculturalism on identity-based art, the invisibility of Jews of color and other marginalized members of the Jewish community, and the state of Black/Jewish relations in the United States following the Crown Heights riots of 1991. Abrams’s pieces frequently negotiate the tensions and intersections between her Black and Jewish familial heritage and her lesbian identity through the embodiment of semi-fictional personae grounded in family lore, self-perceptions, and cultural stereotypes. This paper explores how Abrams destabilizes the readability of “authentic” identities on the surface of the body in Quadroon via her adoption of personifications of her Black grandmother, her Jewish great grandmother, her identification as a butch lesbian, and her (unsuccessful) teenage attempt at passing for Greek. Pairing video recordings of each character with interludes from an unpublished performance script, I consider the anxieties of passing expressed in the personas of Dew Drop and Janie Bell, and through the lens of Abrams’s diaries, pose Butch in the Kitchen’s potential as an indefinite body to queer socially imposed constructions of monolithic and essentialist identity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Articulations of Identity in Contemporary Aesthetics)

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28 pages, 9460 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Struggle as Image and Symbol in Spanish Romanesque Parish Porticoes

by José Arturo Salgado Pantoja

Arts 2024, 13(6), 186; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts13060186 - 20 Dec 2024

Abstract

The extensive bibliography on medieval architecture highlights that parish church porticoes are one of the most singular features of the Spanish Romanesque tradition. These structures, which regulated the transition to the Aula Dei, provided villagers with a safe space for conducting liturgical [...] Read more.

The extensive bibliography on medieval architecture highlights that parish church porticoes are one of the most singular features of the Spanish Romanesque tradition. These structures, which regulated the transition to the Aula Dei, provided villagers with a safe space for conducting liturgical ceremonies and rituals, administering sacraments, and burying the dead. However, parish porticoes soon took on other uses of a secular nature. Thanks to their social role and privileged location, they became ideal spaces for admonishing and instructing the faithful through well-chosen visual repertoires. This article explores these functional and iconographic aspects through the lens of struggle: on the one hand, the earthly confrontation between ecclesiastical authorities and village communities as to the functions of the porticoes, and on the other, the allegorical struggle depicted in their reliefs, whose admonitory motives can be linked to the attributes and meaning of the architectural framework. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue History of Medieval Art)

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19 pages, 2795 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Forces of the Hyksos and Their Representations: Glimpse of Reality or interpretatio Thebarum?

by Uroš Matić

Arts 2024, 13(6), 185; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts13060185 - 16 Dec 2024

Abstract

Not much is known about the forces of the Hyksos, 15th Dynasty rulers of the Second Intermediate Period in Egypt. This was a time when Egypt and Nubia were divided between several competing royal houses and corresponding dynasties, e.g., the 14th and 15th [...] Read more.

Not much is known about the forces of the Hyksos, 15th Dynasty rulers of the Second Intermediate Period in Egypt. This was a time when Egypt and Nubia were divided between several competing royal houses and corresponding dynasties, e.g., the 14th and 15th Dynasty in Lower Egypt, 16th and 17th Dynasty in Upper Egypt, as well as the Kushite kingdom in Nubia. Loyalty to any of these polities was not based on ethnic identity. Forces of different ethnicities could pledge loyalty to any of the competitors. Bearing in mind the multi-ethnic population on the territory under the Hyksos rule, this article discusses the reality behind ideologically colored Theban representations of the Hyksos forces as consisting solely of foreigners. Starting from the premise that royal artistic production is deeply entangled with power in ancient Egypt, this article analyzes the ways private and royal inscriptions as well as literary and visual representations were employed to construct the cultural memory of the Second Intermediate Period which privileged the experience of Theban victors and degraded the experience of their rivals. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ancient Egyptian Art Studies: Art in Motion, a Social Tool of Power and Resistance)

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15 pages, 2018 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Flemish Art: Past and Present

by Karen Shelby

Arts 2024, 13(6), 184; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts13060184 - 16 Dec 2024

Abstract

“Nowhere in the world are there cities of art in such close proximity to each other as in Flanders” [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Flemish Art: Past and Present)

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39 pages, 5301 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Redefining Urbanism in Perspective of Climate Change: Floating Cities Concept

by Krystyna Januszkiewicz, Jakub Gołębiewski, Bartosz Czarnecki and Adam Turecki

Arts 2024, 13(6), 183; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts13060183 - 14 Dec 2024

Abstract

This article analyzes the concept of floating cities in the context of increasing threats resulting from climate change. It explores the potential of a floating city concept to provide sustainable and livable conditions on a large scale in response to the growing climate [...] Read more.

This article analyzes the concept of floating cities in the context of increasing threats resulting from climate change. It explores the potential of a floating city concept to provide sustainable and livable conditions on a large scale in response to the growing climate crisis. Specifically, this article considers whether climate change is prompting a redefinition of urbanism and examines how the floating city concept can be useful from this perspective. The analysis draws on ideas related to megastructures, particularly those based on platforms. A pioneer in this field was Kiyonori Kikutake, who in 1958–1963 presented three concepts of floating cities under the name Marine City. His designs were centered around modularity and mobility. Today, Kikutake’s vision is experiencing a resurgence as climate change forces architects and urban planners to rethink traditional cities. Contemporary architects such as Vincent Callebaut and Bjarke Ingels are now gaining attention for their innovative designs of floating cities, which are being closely examined by experts and policymakers. The first part of this article provides a comparative analysis of Marine City with contemporary examples of megastructures, such as the Lilypad and Oceanix projects, illustrating how the concept of floating cities have evolved over the centuries. The question is, which solutions developed by Japanese Metabolists remain relevant and how has modern technology enriched and advanced the concept of living on water? The second part of the article analyzes the potential of floating cities to redefine urbanism in response to the growing threat of climate change. This analysis primarily focuses on the possible interactions between floating cities and the environment. The results show that the challenges posed by climate change are redefining the urban planning paradigms formed in the first half of the 20th century. The floating city concept shows some potential as a viable response to these challenges. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Applied Arts)

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18 pages, 1490 KiB

Open AccessArticle

“Choreographing Empathy” in Walking Miracles, an Original Dance/Theater Work Created from Stories Told by Six Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse

by Barbara Dickinson

Arts 2024, 13(6), 182; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts13060182 - 11 Dec 2024

Abstract

Walking Miracles, a dance/theater project, was created from the stories of six adult survivors of child sexual abuse and completed due to the conscientious work of many collaborators. A psychotherapy group of fourteen sessions was audiotaped and attended by the six survivors, [...] Read more.

Walking Miracles, a dance/theater project, was created from the stories of six adult survivors of child sexual abuse and completed due to the conscientious work of many collaborators. A psychotherapy group of fourteen sessions was audiotaped and attended by the six survivors, three dancer/choreographers, and one psychotherapist. Our goals were to provide positive psychotherapeutic experiences for the survivors and the foundation for a dance/theater piece that would then be presented to the public at the conclusion of the group sessions. Our hope was that audiences would gain a deeper empathetic understanding of child sexual abuse and would become stronger allies for the survivors and stronger advocates for child abuse prevention. Empathetic abilities were critical for this project—in the psychotherapy process, in the care taken to protect the trust and confidentiality of the survivors, and in the creation of the script, choreography, music, and poetry. I will examine the nature of empathy and the processes for creating specific movements from such dark experiences. How does one approach a work about issues so intensely personal? What care do we need to provide for the participants during the progression of the work? What are the ethical aspects of such projects that use the personal narratives of hidden communities? Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Choreographing Society)

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12 pages, 1121 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Destroying Vision, Destroying Hearing: Sergei Kuriokhin and Arkady Dragomoshchenko

by Evgeny Pavlov

Arts 2024, 13(6), 181; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts13060181 - 10 Dec 2024

Abstract

The article explores the unique friendship and creative synergy between two towering figures of late Soviet underground culture, the avant-garde jazz musician Sergei Kuriokhin and the poet Arkady Dragomoshchenko. Both outsiders in Leningrad, they shaped its literary and musical landscapes without aligning with [...] Read more.

The article explores the unique friendship and creative synergy between two towering figures of late Soviet underground culture, the avant-garde jazz musician Sergei Kuriokhin and the poet Arkady Dragomoshchenko. Both outsiders in Leningrad, they shaped its literary and musical landscapes without aligning with any movements. Dragomoshchenko, a seminal poet, defied categorization, while Kuriokhin, a polymath, challenged conventions across music, performance, and politics. Their collaboration epitomized innovation, blending Dragomoshchenko’s cerebral poetry with Kuriokhin’s avant-garde music. Despite linguistic barriers, their connection transcended verbal communication, rooted in shared modes of nonlinear thinking and creative experimentation. Kuriokhin’s revolutionary Pop Mekhanika, a chaotic fusion of genres and sensory experiences, mirrored Dragomoshchenko’s relentless poetic evolution. Their friendship catalyzed pivotal encounters, such as with the American poet Lyn Hejinian, expanding their artistic horizons. Dragomoshchenko’s poetic vision, centred on perception’s fleeting nature and the boundaries of possibility, echoed Kuriokhin’s multisensory assaults on audience expectations. Through their unconventional artistry, Kuriokhin and Dragomoshchenko navigated the shifting cultural landscape of late Soviet society, embodying a spirit of defiance and exploration. Their enduring influence transcends their untimely deaths, leaving an indelible mark on Russian avant-garde culture. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Music vis-à-vis Other Arts in Eastern and Central Europe: Performance, Literature, Theatre, Art/Architecture and Visuality)

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18 pages, 5749 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Multivariantism of Auditory Perceptions as a Significant Element of the Auditory Scene Analysis Concept

by Adam Rosiński

Arts 2024, 13(6), 180; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts13060180 - 9 Dec 2024

Abstract

The concept of auditory scene analysis, popularized in scientific experiments by A. S. Bregman, the primary architect of the perceptual streaming theory, and his research team, along with more recent analyses by subsequent researchers, highlights a specific scientific gap that has not been [...] Read more.

The concept of auditory scene analysis, popularized in scientific experiments by A. S. Bregman, the primary architect of the perceptual streaming theory, and his research team, along with more recent analyses by subsequent researchers, highlights a specific scientific gap that has not been thoroughly explored in previous studies. This article seeks to expand on this concept by introducing the author’s observation of the multivariant nature of auditory perception. This notion suggests that listeners focusing on different components of an auditory image (such as a musical piece) may perceive the same sounds but interpret them as distinct sound structures. Notably, even the same listener may perceive various structures (different mental figures) when re-listening to the same piece, depending on which musical elements they focus on. The thesis of multivariantism was examined and confirmed through the analysis of selected classical music pieces, providing concrete evidence of different interpretations of the same sound stimuli. To enhance clarity and understanding, the introduction to multivariantism was supplemented with graphic examples from the visual arts, which were then related to musical art through score excerpts from the works of composers such as C. Saint-Saëns, F. Liszt, and F. Mendelssohn Bartholdy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applied Musicology and Ethnomusicology)

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12 pages, 3253 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Kris Martin: Altar/Altering Perspectives

by Karen Shelby

Arts 2024, 13(6), 179; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts13060179 - 5 Dec 2024

Abstract

Kris Martin: Altar/Altering Perspectives Flemish artist Kris Martin’s work exists in relationship to the city of Ghent and his reflection on that city’s medieval past. His pieces that implicitly engage with the Ghent Altarpiece by Hubert and Jan van Eyck question the position [...] Read more.

Kris Martin: Altar/Altering Perspectives Flemish artist Kris Martin’s work exists in relationship to the city of Ghent and his reflection on that city’s medieval past. His pieces that implicitly engage with the Ghent Altarpiece by Hubert and Jan van Eyck question the position of human beings in both physical and subjective relationships to works of art. They invite viewers, particularly residents of Ghent, to participate in a new narrative of Ghent, one that is framed, sometimes literally, by the layers of Romanesque and Gothic art and architecture and the symbolism and visual language of Flemish Christianity. They reveal his baroque interest in bringing together tradition and a contemporary conceptual ideology and fall somewhere between the theatricality of the carnival and the artificiality of the spectacle. While a few pieces pointedly reference a Flemish Catholic ideology, the medieval manipulation of the public and the direct iconography are missing. Through his manipulation of scale and placement in non-traditional locations, the pieces are open to new readings beyond the emotive and didactic. But, much in the tradition of the Northern Renaissance, they engage the viewer intellectually and ask for introspection. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Flemish Art: Past and Present)

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21 pages, 18533 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Black Cartographer of the Long Eighteenth Century: Anastácio de Sant’Anna’s Guia de Caminhantes

by Matthew Francis Rarey

Arts 2024, 13(6), 178; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts13060178 - 5 Dec 2024

Abstract

From 1816 to 1817, Anastácio de Sant’Anna, a pardo (mixed-race) artist and cartographer active in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, produced the Guia de Caminhantes, a manuscript atlas of Brazil and the Americas. Sant’Anna’s Guia is one of the few extant cartographic works produced [...] Read more.

From 1816 to 1817, Anastácio de Sant’Anna, a pardo (mixed-race) artist and cartographer active in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, produced the Guia de Caminhantes, a manuscript atlas of Brazil and the Americas. Sant’Anna’s Guia is one of the few extant cartographic works produced by a Black artist during the slavery era. Discussing the Guia in English for the first time, this essay positions Sant’Anna’s work inside of the emergent subfield of Black Geographies. It argues that Sant’Anna used the Guia to advocate for the place of Black and Indigenous histories in Brazil’s nascent, post-colonial national identity, while also interrogating the history of cartography and landscape painting in colonial Brazil. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Black Artists in the Atlantic World)

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24 pages, 4753 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Laban Effort in Empty-Handed Interactions of Hindustani Dhrupad Vocal Improvisation

by Stella Paschalidou

Arts 2024, 13(6), 177; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts13060177 - 29 Nov 2024

Abstract

Effort, commonly understood as the power of an action toward an intended goal, is acknowledged as an important aspect of music expressivity. Previous studies in Hindustani Dhrupad vocal improvisation, particularly those focusing on manual interactions with imaginary objects, have revealed the intricate connection [...] Read more.

Effort, commonly understood as the power of an action toward an intended goal, is acknowledged as an important aspect of music expressivity. Previous studies in Hindustani Dhrupad vocal improvisation, particularly those focusing on manual interactions with imaginary objects, have revealed the intricate connection between effort and various movement and melodic variables. The study employed manual annotations by participants who visually inspected and assessed the amount of effort that such interactions were perceived to require. However, since effort is inherently perceptual and subjective and the way that an observer makes assessments on effort levels remains a non-transparent process, the paper seeks to examine the applicability of the Laban Movement Analysis (LMA) system in this task. For this, it relies on a multi-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) to infer manually annotated (numerical) effort levels from Laban’s (categorical) Effort Factors, namely Weight, Flow, Time, and Space, for two Dhrupad performances. The results suggest that apart from the Space factor, which was excluded for reasons delineated, a good part of effort’s variance can be explained through the remaining three statistically significant Effort Factors, leading to the rejection of the null hypothesis that they are unrelated. By ascertaining this relationship, effort-related melodic aspects in Dhrupad improvisation can be predicted using the three Laban Effort Factors. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applied Musicology and Ethnomusicology)

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54 pages, 27840 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Citrus: From Symbolism to Sensuality—Exploring Luxury and Extravagance in Western Muslim Bustān and European Renaissance Gardens

by Diego Rivera, Julio Navarro, Inmaculada Camarero, Javier Valera, Diego-José Rivera-Obón and Concepción Obón

Arts 2024, 13(6), 176; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts13060176 - 21 Nov 2024

Abstract

This study delves into the multifaceted realm of citrus fruits, exploring their significance and socioeconomic implications from their early introduction to Western Muslim and Renaissance gardens, tracing their journey throughout history. Employing a multidisciplinary approach, drawing from biological, archaeobotanical, iconographic, and textual sources, [...] Read more.

This study delves into the multifaceted realm of citrus fruits, exploring their significance and socioeconomic implications from their early introduction to Western Muslim and Renaissance gardens, tracing their journey throughout history. Employing a multidisciplinary approach, drawing from biological, archaeobotanical, iconographic, and textual sources, our study offers a comprehensive exploration of citrus symbolism and cultural significance, integrating historical, artistic, horticultural, and socioeconomic viewpoints. The genus Citrus (Rutaceae) comprises around thirty species and its natural habitat spans from the southern slopes of the Himalayas to China, Southeast Asia, nearby islands, and Queensland. Originating from only four of these species, humans have cultivated hundreds of hybrids and thousands of varieties, harnessing their culinary, medicinal, and ornamental potential worldwide. We delve into the symbolic value of citrus fruits, which have served as indicators of economic status and power. From their early presence in Mediterranean religious rituals to their depiction in opulent Roman art and mythical narratives like the Garden of the Hesperides, citrus fruits have epitomized luxury and desire. Christian lore intertwines them with the forbidden fruit of Eden, while Islamic and Sicilian gardens and Renaissance villas signify their prestige. We analyze diverse perspectives, from moralists to hedonists, and examine their role in shaping global agriculture, exemplified by rare varieties like aurantii foetiferi. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Al-Bustān: Recreational Estates in the Islamic West and Sicily—Architectures and Spaces of Prestige as Symbols of Power)

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30 pages, 7352 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Study on Sensory Analysis of Memory Places

by Nurcihan Akdağ and Şefika Gülin Beyhan

Arts 2024, 13(6), 175; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts13060175 - 21 Nov 2024

Abstract

Sensory analyses carried out for the perception and experience of the city emphasize the importance of trying to understand the city with different senses, beyond seeing it with the naked eye. While we aim to obtain information about how these changes in the [...] Read more.

Sensory analyses carried out for the perception and experience of the city emphasize the importance of trying to understand the city with different senses, beyond seeing it with the naked eye. While we aim to obtain information about how these changes in the field are remembered through verbal interviews, the use of sensory perception analyses as a tool makes the study different and original from other studies conducted on a city scale. Cities are not only physical spaces but also carriers of collective memory. The study, which aims to map the sensory perceptions of individuals who have experienced the city for a long time, seeks to present projections for the present and the future by collecting information about the urban space, social life, and memory areas of the city of Isparta that have continued for centuries. Qualitative and quantitative research methods were used in the study. Verbal interviews and sensory analyses form the basis of the study. Concepts, such as common areas shared by groups, group life stories, family relations, national consciousness, and belonging, came to the fore in the emergence of collective memory. In this context, potentially valuable memory spaces were analyzed to determine the perceptual meaning continuities formed in the minds of the urban dwellers. Full article

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