Browsing by Author "Arnott, Bruce"

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    A re-assessment of ornament as a sculptural element
    (1987) Chetwin, Margaret Jill; Arnott, Bruce; Younge, Gavin
    This dissertation partial 2 and photographic documentation was produced in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Fine Arts (MFA) at the Michaelis School of Fine Art, University of Cape Town. In my undergraduate study I was interested in the way in which familiar objects changed their meaning in different contexts. In this study, my focus of attention has been on the transference of meaning associated with the conventionalised language of historical ornament. This has involved a process of incorporating 'found' imagery into composite images of a fantastical nature. The use of ornament as a source material posed problems. The original symbolic function and communicative power of many ornamental motifs and images has been undermined by constant use. As such they have become cliched. I have attempted to revitalise these tired forms through a re-assessment of their value as 'sculptural' elements and by an ironical examination of their past associations. Before re-contextualising the work in a contemporary dimension, it was necessary to undertake a survey of the historical antecedents of revivalism and other forms of aesthetic eclecticism. Although schematic, this overview was important to my understanding, and I have devoted a full chapter of the dissertation to this section of the study. A discussion of current Post-Modern debates is included and forms a central part of this section.
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    A group of satirical sculptures examining social and political paradoxes in the South African context
    (1988) Murray, Brett; Arnott, Bruce
    My proposal was to produce a group of satirical sculptures thematically embracing paradoxes within the broad South African context. My intention was to work within the tradition of social and political satire. Strict definitions of satire were to be expanded to include both comedy and tragedy. By satirising particular stupidities, abuses and "evils of all kind" within South African society, I hoped to address the same in a broader context by implication. By discussing some artists who have worked within this tradition my intention was to determine an art-historical context within which to place my work, to extract elements of a shared experience and to attempt to define the nature of satire.
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    I can explain : the work of art is no longer necessary
    (2005) Young, Ed; Arnott, Bruce; Younge, Gavin
    The bulk of our knowledge of the international art world, and in many cases within the local South African art scene, is based largely on what we read in magazines, art books and the art press. To most individuals these exhibitions exist mainly in written form and within the viewer's personal mental constructions.
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    Magical realism and subjective reality : an investigation of poetic symbolism and the development of related sculptures
    (1995) Dickerson, Brendhan Bailie; Arnott, Bruce
    To meet the requirements for the Master of Fine Art degree at the University of Cape Town my intention was to develop a series of sculptural assemblages which address a sense of subjective or poetic reality, using symbolically resonant found and fabricated objects. The body of work is to be understood as a sculptural parallel to (but not illustrative of) Magical Realist literature, in which arcane phenomena are incorporated into a narrative in order to achieve just such a sense of subjective reality.
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    Salt in the wound : a visual exploration of societal and experiental aspects of female reproduction and abortion
    (2004) McInnes, Jacqueline Helene; Arnott, Bruce; Alexander, Jane
    Salt in the Wound comprises a body of creative work supported by a theoretical discussion that critiques a patriarchally informed and imposed process of control over female reproduction and abortion. It also endeavours to explore social and psychological complexities and paradoxes attendant on the choice to abort a pregnancy. I survey contemporary effects of a western ideology developed in the 18th century, which proposed that the sole purpose of heterosexual sex should be procreation and that it should take place within marriage. In essence however, it is the corollary of this ideology that is my particular concern, this being the persistent inclination of western societies to perceive abortion in terms of a feminine defiance against a societal norm of maternal self-sacrifice.