An exploration into the nature of power in Prague in the Baroque and Art Deco Periods using the Symbolic Female to reflect the Paradigm Shift. Emperor Rudolf II made his home in Prague drawing astronomers, artists, astrologers and alchemists to his court. As the map on the left indicates Bohemia was considered to be the heart of Europe during the Baroque era as it flourished culturally and scientifically. The start of my exploration will begin in this period, examining the nature of Rudolf’s power as given by God through the ‘Divine Right of Kings.’ I intend to show how this power was demonstrated through art using the symbol of the female form, particularly looking at the work of the Czech Artist Karel _kreta. The Nature of Power and the Symbolic Female Using the Art of Alphonse Mucha I will examine the state of these early nations, exploring what circumstances led to them. Mucha was born and spent much of his time in Bohemia and the culmination of his work was the Slav Epic in which he wished to give to the Slavic people as sense of their nation’s history. In my examination of the Art Deco period I will also be using the work of Gustav Klimt. Klimt’s work explores the crises of separation, the nihilism that had come about due to the failing truth of the subject-object divide. Klimt’s women no longer look entirely female, people often blend into backgrounds, the perfection of the female of the Baroque period is gone. Perfection is no longer given by God just as power is no longer given by God. The very nature of truth, beauty and power has changed. My project will try to determine why these changes have taken place, what process it was that led to this transformation from Power given by God to the emerging Nations.
Category: 2003
Aims · To resolve the problem of Consciousness and reconcile the mind/brain dichotomy via a new conception of language. Objectives · To provide an account of how the brain works. · To disabuse the notion of mental processes. · To show how a different way of looking at language can explain the problem of the mind. · To show that higher consciousness is a product of language. Sources · The field of Neuroscience – Gerald Edelman, Susan Greenfield. · Ludwig Wittgenstein, Gilbert Ryle, Derek Bickerton. Michael Polanyi, Alfred Korzybski · The Field of Psycholinguistics – Susan Curtiss Background After developing a new conception of knowledge and language I wanted to find out if it could be applied to the highly debated topic of consciousness to yield some result
1) In the book of change I want to briefly discuss the philosophic possibilities between the concept of a particular place and the ideology or philosophic approach of the people who inhabit that particular space. 2) My approach (and this is the one I intend to follow for the extended essay) is to divide the subject into the following 4 sections: A. A sense of place and the problems associated with this concept. B. The dialectical relationship between the place and the people who live and work there. C. The philosophic or ideological issues, which arise upon the basis of this relationship. D. Some critical reflections. I have considered basing my study on the East End of London. This is a place, which has almost entered popular folklore for a variety of reasons ranging from notorious crime/criminals (Jack the Ripper/The Krays) to its allegedly heroic defiance of Hitler’s bombers during the Second World War. Yet when we use a phrase like the East End precisely what do we mean? In fact even in the most limited sense the area is vast ranging from Spitalfield/Liverpool Street at its far western fringe; to Poplar/Limehouse in the South; to Hackney/Walthamstow in the North; to Stratford/Leytonstone in the East. The area covered is an astonishing 100 square miles and the population is 2 _ million. This is about twenty times greater is size than Newcastle/Sunderland combined with a population 6 times greater. One obvious problem with an approach like mine is: can we state definitively that such an area has common features? Surely there is such diversity within this vast area that there can be no single ideological or philosophic project identifiable in the area. There may be a multiplicity of philosophies possibly competing approaches – but one approach. This is something I intend to explore. It was Marx who once famously remarked that without people there is no history. Certainly as diverse / colourful the East End is, it does not get its character. History / ideology from buildings / the river / parks / streets etc. Its philosophy comes from the people. Again can there be a common approach from 2 _ million people consisting of ordinary working class people / middle class liberal intellectuals / a smaltering of revolutionary socialists / similarly small numbers of Ultra Right activists / small time crooks, gangsters, hard men as well as people from just about every country in the world. Again we shall see. If a common philosophy can arise what exactly can it be? Arguably it takes a myriad of forms but probably includes: A. A sense of difference from the rest of London based not only on geography but factors like working class solidarity / common sacrifice and deprivation etc. B. Thus a kind of ‘them and us’ approach brings out a sense of moral rage against ‘outsiders’. C. Arguably it also takes different forms for example a refusal to accept bourgeois ‘legality’ and a refusal to accept that certain kinds of crime especially property are real crimes. D. This may even inform the radical political tradition in the area. One sees deprivation at first hand and decides only a radical approach can challenge it.
Concepts:- To examine the way in which female athletes are systematically discriminated against in the following areas:- 1) Media 2) Sexuality 3) Race 4) Disability 5) Gender – Masculinity/Femininity 6) Coaching and Administrative positions Sources:- Newspapers, The History of Sexuality – M. Foucault Sporting Females – J. Hargreaves Women, Sport and Culture – S. Birrell & C.L.Cole Sport & Postmodern Times – Ed by G.Rail Tattoo, Torture, Mutilation & Adornment – A.Bolin Project Territory:- The world of sport – and in particular female sports. The Change:- Unfortunately my research has shown that there has not been a major change as of yet. There have been numerous improvements in the treatment of female athletes, but there is still an enormous way to go before they are treated on a par with their male counterparts.
Keywords/ concepts Body image, women, the media, society, reality, sphere of influence, perception, subject object division, networked society Objectives 1. To examine the way women, in particular, can distort the view of their bodies, focusing on the influence the media may have in this. 2. To look into why the media has become an important influence in our lives. 3. To demonstrate how media images can sometimes be distortions and/or distort. 4. To study the way the media can change our notion of reality and to what extent we are networked into the media. Territory I will look into recent studies on body image related disorders and the effect the media may have on the statistics of these disorders. In addition I will study advertisements primarily directed at women and how these can be distorted. I also hope to study writings on networked societies and media deceptions, considering how our sphere of influences has changed. Sources The works of Paul Virilio and Jean Baudrillard, articles from Internet sources, advertisements and articles from popular magazines e.g. Vogue. Change and human aspect I hope to show a change in the levels of body image related disorders as the influence of the media has grown and examine how the media can alter perceptions in society and even deceive it without its knowledge.
The transition from the beginning of the twentieth century to the latter stages marked a change in thinking that can be reflected through the change in function of the art gallery. Taking the period that is known as High Modernity (roughly from 1900 to 1968) and exploring its defining artist, Picasso, and the philosopher that was instrumental in shaping the thought, Hegel, it can be seen that the Musée Picasso in Paris shows all of these characteristics. A full exploration of the themes of identity and capitalism will be used as the ‘signs’ that mean a historical account can be formed. Around 1968 many changes in thinking and society occurred which provoked a paradigm shift. The Pompidou Centre in Paris showed evidence of these changes in its retrospective of Roland Barthes. The philosopher Foucault gave a differing historical account than Hegel’s which looks to the networks of thought and how they interact, this also reflects the exhibition in that it is no longer a straightforward chronology but is instead an understanding of the overall, the particular and how they interact.
Subject: Post-Humanism and Post-Industrial Society in Occidental North East England from the mid twentieth century to the early twenty-first. Source: Part One – The Post-Human Condition by R. Pepperell Part Two – Liberating Technology by J. Graves Secondary support material Out of Control by R. Kelly The Inhuman by J. F. Lyotard Man and technology by B. Adkins Objectives: Part One – To show the theoretical and through example, empirical, paradigm shift from a ‘human-centred’ universe to a ‘Post-Human’ one. Part Two – To show the theoretical and through example, empirical, paradigm shift from an industrial society to a ‘Post-Industrial’ one. Method: Assumptions; 1. The Post-Human condition is the impact of high-technology on art, creativity, philosophy and what it is to be human. The argument is made that the changes going on in science, culture and technology are so profound as to wipe away hundreds of years of beliefs and to show that we are moving away from a ‘human-centred’ universe to a ‘Post-Human’ one, hence the universe’s shifting focus away from man (i.e. the fleeting focus.) 2. The rise of technology indicates the potential to expand and automate production. In a society where work is the central activity it is important to look at the implications of the shifting away from the paradigm that the Industrial Revolution and Age was and is. Our maintenance of power of manufacturing and of even intellectual superiority is becoming increasingly illusionary in our scientific society, as technology is responsible for the ‘inhuman’ wielding and controlling more and more, hence the apparition is that of human dominance (i.e. the phantom of power).
Abstraction: Imagine a supermarket with aisle upon aisle of purchasable goods appealing to each and every appetite, whim, or fancy. Purchasable for a limited time only, that is, until their ‘sell by date’ runs out, then the shelves are restocked and it is on to the freshest goods and the newest fads. In my project I will investigate whether this is an accurate and justifiable account of contemporary art, and if so, why? Section 1. Modernism, The Search for Ambrosia Enter the intellectual avant-garde, the revolutionaries, pioneers, map readers and guardians of high taste, searching for that which is guaranteed to satisfy. Transgressing old, outdated traditions and paving the way for a new and better future, waiting for the rest of society to follow suit. The Bitter Taste, The Crisis of Modernity: The failure of the artist as the modern hero but his/her brilliant success at becoming an icon. Political incompatibility, the dawning limits of the experimentation and exploration, and the absorption and assimilation of elitist avant-garde artwork by the mindless masses. There were no successful conversions; the artwork was absorbed while the ideologies behind them were not. Section 2. What is a Hot Dog?: Postmodernism, (…is elephant dung the secret ingredient?): Prepare yourself for a scandal. Virtual realities, simulation, canned culture, a schizophrenic way of life abundant in choice. The power in art is no longer found within its creations but the prices they command. Certain lengths are carried out by the artist in order to stand out in this overcrowded artistic stage and thus extend his/her shelf life. No battles, no obligations, no crusade, no spiritual journey, no brotherhood, no notion of linear progression. The task now is keeping fresh and well within your ‘sell by date’. ‘Back of the Net’ Objectives: 1. ‘Subsidence’: The Politics of Post, I shall investigate the ‘gradual shift’ that happened in the attitudes towards art in western civilisation during ‘modernism’ and ‘postmodernism’ in the twentieth century. 2. ‘Mirror Image?’: Reflections of Society, does in any way reflect society and if so, does it follow that because contemporary art is superficial that so too is society? Explore the connotations this might have. 3. GM Free: Commodification Verses Purity, was art always destined to become a commodity? Or was there any real possibility that it could be anything else? 4. When is ‘Shit’ really ‘Shit’?, investigate how defecation has become the marketable medium? The power of shock and the spectacle in a postmodern society. The necessity of extending the artists’ shelf life. Sources: The sources for this project are very extensive and include information obtained from the National Records Office in Kew, newspapers, galleries (specifically, Tate Modern, London, and the Baltic, Gateshead), a numerous amount of books (both from my personal collection and borrowed from libraries) and the World Wide Web. The Philosophical Anchor: In this essay I wish to break through the elusiveness of art and relate it with the human experience. The story of art can go some way in revealing or demonstrating the present human condition. I wish to jump over the partitioning rope, disregard the ‘Do Not Touch’, take the picture from the wall, turn the canvas around and read the ingredients on the back…
Part One: Exploring the Tibetan Book of the Dead: The Tibetan Buddhist way of Life and Death. The first part of this project will focus mainly on the Buddhist conception of Death, as promulgated in, what is known in the West, as the Tibetan Book of the Dead. For the Tibetans, one must become accustomed to the reality and possible immediacy of death, for this they say, can give greater vitality to life, as well as liberate us from the petty confusion we find ourselves in in our daily lives. What is more, the Tibetans have great sensitivity towards the dying to ensure that they come to terms with death, and are guided through the whole process with as little suffering as possible. The main points I will cover in this first section are:- A summary of the TIbetan Book of the Dead – Rebirth and the stages of death – Illusion of the self – Impermanence – Liberation from suffering – Caring for the dying. Part Two: Exploring Western attitudes towards death: The struggle for self preservation and the denial of death. The second part of this project will address the problem of death, as that is what it is for Westerners. I will look at how our whole culture revolves around avoiding death and decay, and the mechanisms we have in place that give us the illusion that we can escape this natural process. In the west, we find it difficult to come to terms with death, in fact, we do not have to, for there is much to distract our attention. The material world, for instance, creates the illusion that the world is fixed, and many of us identify ourselves with that fixity until the end of our life, when, in fact, the world is in a constant state of flux, death and rebirth. The main points I will cover in this first section are: – Fear of death and what this leads us to do in our lives – Death as an evil, a catastrophe, as morbid, or even unnatural – Can we learn anything about our attitude towards death from Buddhism? – Instinct for self preservation and immortality – Fascination with death: murder in the media – How we care for the dying – Would it be beneficial for us to have a greater awareness of death?
Aims & Objectives: · To examine the relationship between Public Space and Public Life. · To identify the major changes that have occurred from the 18th century to today in the design and use of public space in the West; and the subsequent effect that this has had on public life. Structure: The first section will be examining the changing philosophies, ideas, and perspectives on public space/place, and public life. In the second section I will be looking at the changing development of space and place in western culture. Section three will be investigating the recent trend in ‘reclaiming’ urban space for public use. Section four will be assessing the reasons why public space and its design are so important to public life. Territory: The physical territory for my project will be Newcastle-upon-Tyne, focusing on particular areas: such as Eldon Square, Quayside, and Bigg Market. To back up and contrast what I find in Newcastle, I will also use specific examples from elsewhere. Sources: Some of my main sources will be Richard Sennett, Jan Gehl & Lars Gemzoe, David Harvey, Bernard Rudofsky. Information collated from Newcastle University library and Newcastle Central library will also be used along with research from various Internet sites.
The title of my Stage 3 project asks the question ‘Is It Ethically Acceptable That The Journals of Kurt Cobain Have Been Made Accessible To The Public?’ Objectives: 1. To determine whether one can justify the posthumous publication of the Nirvana singers’ extremely personal journals when it will become abundantly clear that the publication would have been against his will. 2. To compare and contrast Cobain to Franz Kafka in terms of both having had their diaries published posthumously against their will. To compare the similarities in their personalities and writings. 3. To argue against Max Brod, friend of Kafka and publisher of his diaries, who, owing much to the Kantian tradition, would say that one does not own one’s own thoughts, therefore endorsing such publications. Change: In terms of viewing specific changes, I will investigate into how the views of reading somebody’s personal thoughts may have changed in the seventy years between their deaths (Kafka- 1924, Cobain- 1994), or indeed the publications of their diaries by those close to them (Max Brod- 1958, Courtney Love, Cobain’s widow- 2002). I will ask if the changing nature of the diary and the celebrity could justify the publications. Sources: Primary sources will of course be the published diaries of Cobain and Kafka themselves, with additional material in the form of commentaries on the diaries, and biographies on the subject (one written by Brod himself). Expectations: I expect to discover that by the end of the project I will have found no explanation or excuse that will justify the publication of Cobain’s diaries, or even Kafka’s by arguing for the authenticity of the individual as we may find within the work of Heidegger and Nietzsche.
OBJECTIVES. To answer: Is there reality or only appearance? What is it about Physics that makes everything else “stamp collecting”? Why do both nature and physics become explicable with maths? How do observers see things? Would we recognise a Theory of Everything? Did Quantum Mechanics kill cause? TEXTS. B. Russell: The Relation of Sense- Data to Physics; Kant: Critique of Pure Reason; M. Lange: Locality, Fields, Energy and Mass; T.Kuhn: The Structure of Scientific Revolutions; G. Berkeley: Treatise Concerning Principles of Human Knowledge; K. Popper: The Logic of Scientific Discovery Key Words. Theory, reason,experiment, cause and effect, measurement.
This project illustrates the relationship of humanity to its world, or base foundation and how the concept of time reduces both humanity and its world to finitude. Looking closely at society and our efforts to achieve human immortality through technology, it is obvious that the human being has attempted to pervert the world into its own vehicle but is thwarted by the changing hand of time. This is ultimately the final change.
Objective · Investigating a sense of belonging and its relationship to structure. Territory · In my project I follow the connection between structure in daily life and the structures found within Durham Cathedral. · I was interested in exploring the idea about one’s sense of belonging to a place, and most particularly whether this is affected by our structures, self imposed or otherwise. If a structure changes do we lose our sense of stability? Structure and stability have always been linked but is it these which, when taken out of the literal sense of architecture and put into the personal ideas of life, form the basis for which we shape our attachments? · I have chosen Durham Cathedral because of my personal knowledge and experience of the building and the life within it. · It provides many good opportunities for comparisons to be made between the life as it used to be lived in and around the cathedral over the past 900 years, and how we live our lives today. Because much of the day to day traditions in the cathedral have remained more or less as a constant it can be used as a basis providing useful information to contrast and compare what it is about structure that affects us. Summary · The first half of my project concerns the comparisons between structure and person, and the second half looks at the sense of belonging. As a conclusion bringing the whole project together, the last section looks at whether it is structure that makes us happy, or whether we could live without it. Research/Resources: Historical fact – building of cathedral Personal experiences – those working there and those visiting Works of Kant, Foucault and others
The Dream. . . .‘Do I have to change my name? Will it get me far? Should I lose some weight? Am I gonna be a star? I’m just living out the American dream and I realized that nothing is what it seems. . .’ These lyrics are taken from Madonna’s recent song ‘American Life’ highlight our society’ pre-occupation with achieving the ‘American dream.’ The car, the house, the family, the job and the respect of friends all constitute our life’s aspirations, what we value and most of all what we fear that we not achieve. In my project I have explored the following objectives and idea of the American dream, highlighting it through Arthur Miller’s play Death of a Salesman, and Louis Begley’s novel About Schmidt and using the lyrics from Madonna’s song American Life. OBJECTIVES: ~ What constitutes the American Dream and how, or if, it has altered over time. ~The relation of its concept to the philosophies of Sartre, such as fear, freedom, emotions and existence ~How these concepts are related to the main character’s in Death of a Salesman and About Schmidt ~Whether we have a choice in our quest to achieve it or whether we have become ‘trapped’ by its rules. ~To what extent do we have any freedom and how this aspiration affects our existence ~Is the American Dream really the most satisfactory state to be in? The humiliation that Willy experiences as a result of not quite achieving this dream drives him to take his own life. With arguments over the importance of attaining the American dream aside, this single incident demonstrates the power and influence of it over today’s society. The question is, are we trapped, is there really ‘nowhere to run’ or is it up to us to change our values?
Contribution to the book of change: Aim To show there is a link between philosophical theory and popular American culture in an attempt to bridge the gap between humans and things around them Concepts/ Key words Existentialism and ideas from philosophers such as Sartre and Camus. Popular American culture namely The Simpson’s Objectives To illustrate that the following picture although stereotypically American with busy highways and mega capitalism does not represent popular American culture. To see if there is a link between the heroes of Sartre, Camus and Nieztsche and some of the Simpson’s characters To determine whether Homer is the authentic individual that Sartre and Camus dreamed of? Or is Bart the übermensch that Nietzsche depicted who could rise above Christian morality and create a new moral code? Project Territory The Simpson’s TV show Sources Jean Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, Friedrich Nieztsche, Mark Conrad……….
Beauty: There has been a pre-occupation with our society as far back as we can remember, yet we still cannot define it, due to its changing character. The fairy tale promises that we are raised on promise security, a prince Charming and that we will live ‘happily ever after’ if we attain beauty. In this project I will be investigating and forming my own concepts on the following: ~ The role of beauty in our Western selected traditional fairy tales and how they reflect our societies attitude towards it and their role in creating these conceptions. ~What constitutes a ‘beautiful’ woman in our society and how this has altered over time, is it just a fashion? ~The phenomenon of the beauty pageant and what it means to be ‘beautiful in our society. ~The desperation associated with achieving this ‘beauty’ and what happens when it goes ‘wrong.’ I will highlight these objectives using the concepts of Plotinus and the Enneads, where he looks at beauty, the soul and what constitutes beauty. I will also use some of the concepts of Kant aesthetics on ‘natural’ beauty, the purpose of beauty and the judgements of taste.
Sources: Newspaper Articles ‘The Economist’ Philosopher’s Books Literature Books and Productions Art Books Visit to the Ecuadorian Prison Visit to the Newcastle Law Courts Project Territory: Michel Foucault’s Theory on Technologies of Power Key Concepts: Technologies of Power Power over the Individual Human Beings made into Docile Bodies Human Rights Vs Homeland Security (Protection) Punishments and Prisons The Big Brother Resistance against Power Materialism Vs Spiritualism Freedom and Search for the Individual Self Objectives: Foucault had predicted the dominance of technology over our lives and the failure of prisons correctly. The connection between knowledge and power is found everywhere and at anytime. The search for individuality and meaning by the modern man The different ways in which power is presented Progression does not necessarily mean success, for example, the prison system The Change: People’s lives depend on the type of power and knowledge present. Materialism through science and technology, overtook the spiritual and meaningful side of a man’s life The centrality of life is no longer on man, but capitalism and progression. The Book of Change: Our lives are dominated by what surrounds us, such as the knowledge and power present. There is no one time more important than the other.
Objectives: – · To explore the impact of sound recording on the way we interact with music. In the past, people experienced music solely through live interaction: performances, concerts etc. Now music is widely available in recorded form, also through the mass media outlets of radio, television, the Internet. Does this devalue music, simply making it more disposable, or does it transform the potential role of music in a society where traditionally defined boundaries are shifting and collapsing in upon themselves? · To look at the effect of new methods of creating music, such as synthesis and sampling, both on the audience and on the creators of music. Through sampling, music is being made both by recycling and re-contextualising music that has come before, and by reclaiming sources previously dismissed as ‘noise’ to be placed in a musical context. Through sound synthesis, on the one hand acoustic instruments are being mimicked electronically with increasing authenticity. On the other, electronically generated sounds which radically diverge from our traditional sound palette seem increasingly commonplace in a world that is similarly transfigured. · To investigate the way these new techniques reflect the changes in our human/social condition- our relationship with technology, the mechanisation of society. To what extent do changes in musical creation and consumption come about as a result of these social changes, and to what extent do they actually inform the changes. Concepts: – · Mechanisation of society. Simulation and the hyperreal. The shifting role of art in a mass media culture. Territory: – · Western music and culture from the early 20th Century to the present. Sources: – · Jean Baudrillard, Simulacra and Simulation. Roland Barthes, Image-Music-Text. Peter Manning, Electronic and Computer Music. Numerous recorded musical sources ranging from early forays into musical experimentation with sound recording, through to contemporary examples.
A philosophical inquiry into the architects new best friend: a discussion regarding the use of space in relation to design. Territory and field of exploration. Modern and contemporary interior design and interior architecture, specifically the trend in open-plan ‘new york’ style penthouses and lofts. Closer to home the recent trends in Newcastle’s slick and stylish quayside developments. Key concepts and ideas to be investigated. – Architectual space-in relation to the object and process of design – Concepts of purpose, function and place in relation to design – Minimalist approaches to design, style and manipulation of space. “Architecture is like clay held between the fingers of both hands- recording their movements. One hand is the human will, the other is the condition of the environment, architecture is the record of this conversation between the two- it is the medium to reunite them”. My project will aim at showing how the acceptance of space as a valuable architectual tool bridges the gap between humans and the things they witness around them- this space can then be shaped and sculpted by the process of interior design and the placement of objects- drawing the architect and the object closer together in a relationship previously unseen in interior design. My project will also try and identify a clear and distinct change in architectual intentions- the shift from purpose to design and the notion of design for the sake of design.