Browsing by Subject "Fine Art"

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    A deeper kind of nothing
    (2019) Abraham, Catherine; MacKenny, Virginia; Zaayman, Carine
    'Nothing’1 is frequently associated with insignificance. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, 'to reduce to nothing is to consider or treat as worthless or unimportant’. This project aims to reveal that this form of nothing is, essentially, something. As a child, I was told that my struggle with breath, with asthma, was nothing but psychosomatic. The heart of this project is a physical manifestation of a psychosomatic nothing, and the sense of personal insignificance implied by repetitive, unacknowledged housework. The overarching title, A Deeper Kind of Nothing, was garnered from theoretical physicist Lawrence Krauss’s A Universe from Nothing: Why there Is Something Rather than Nothing (2012) in which he explores the origins of our universe. In this book, he refers to nothing as the space that exists where something once was, an absence. He explains that 'all signs suggest a universe that could and plausibly did arise from a deeper nothing - involving the absence of space itself - and which may one day return to nothing’ (2012: 183). Krauss asserts that 'nothing is every bit as physical as something’, and this idea of a 'deeper nothing’ stirred my thinking. Nothing is one thing, but a deeper nothing, one that the universe may have arisen from, is quite another. Relating this to the impact of seemingly insignificant objects, events and feelings, nothing becomes something physical that is understood to be both tangible and generative of something new. It is this 'something new’, the outcome of what is considered 'nothing’, which is the deeper kind of nothing that this project presents. My reflections on generative nothingness have produced a series of performative processes: 1. Collecting - breaths, eggshells (the main materials of this body of work) and words 2. Working with breath, eggshells and words, on my own and with others 3. Conversing while painting eggshells. These methodologies are made manifest here in a book that is a record of the transcribed texts, short films, balloons, painted eggshells and boxes, bronzes and residue from a 'banquet’. Discarded eggshells and exhaled breaths are traces of the everyday that are typically overlooked. The dispensability inherent in both provides a basis from which to express real and imagined subjugation experienced by 'the good child’, 'the good wife’ and 'the good mother’: the child who felt shame for causing a fuss over her struggle to breathe and the wife who walked on eggshells.
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    Aba té Home: Journey to Robben Island
    (2022) Fortuin, Sam Seth; Mahashe, George Tebogo
    Aba té Home – Journey to Robben Island, is a memoir, reflecting how my creative practise and research leads to a recollection from my childhood. I recalled how the elements of fire, whiskey and the soil came together to create a form of storytelling that rooted my sense of home. By following the conceptual thread of my recollection, I found myself in my father's former communal prison cell holding on Robben Island. My understanding is that our contemporary social imaginary in Africa is influenced by the remnants of colonial archives. The form of this project is therefore inspired by the need for an alternative perspective, that is rooted in indigenous sensibilities (Harris, 2002:84). As an artist, stories prompt my encounter with new perspectives. Therefore, this story offers a window into the elements of my community's storytelling practices and how they have come to shape my understandings. Overall, Aba té Home allows for the convergence of a variety of themes, ranging from the social complexity of archives, indigenous healing modalities, ancestral dreams and the layered meaning of the body through space and time. The telling of this story through written text is accompanied by my creative expressions in the form of visual journal entries, black ink encodings, mixed media paintings, installation and a video which was taken inside the space of the prison cell.
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    Absent Presence: an exploration of memory and family through printmaking
    (2022) Hambsch, Oliver; Inggs, Stephen; Siopis, Penny
    Visual and linguistic metaphors help to conceptualise memory by reducing its physiological and philosophical complexities to a degree that allows its processes to be easily understood. Two commonly used metaphors are ‘memory as an imprint' and ‘memory as a photograph'. However, these metaphors ignore vital aspects of memory, such as its fluidity, the interplay between remembering and forgetting, and the role of imagination. They can thus be considered misleading and problematic. Of particular interest is the ‘memory-as-imprint' analogy and how engagement with the visual language of printmaking can modify it to create a more comprehensive depiction that accounts for the physiological processes of individual memory and the retention and transmission of collective, familial memory. Through my practical work, I seek to address these concerns through both traditional and experimental printmaking techniques, which I reflect on and analyse through the theoretical framework of printmaking. I use photographs sourced from my family archive as references, focusing in particular on those from the German post-war period, and remediate them into various print mediums, each addressing particular facets of memory that I consider important. My work is intended to serve as a reflection on what memory is and how it is experienced, the theoretical aspects of printmaking and my own relationship with my family memory. I argue that through a conceptual engagement with printmaking, print can be used as a metaphorical device that extends beyond the simple ‘memory-as-imprint' analogy.
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    An investigation into the interrelationship between the formal means of collage and assemblage and the painted surface
    (1984) Siebert, Kim; Delport, Peggy
    The work includes a variety of approaches varying from the use of images selected from the media and found objects to objects transformed or manufactured by the artist. A major formal concern is the integration of collage or assemblage with the painted surface. Subject matter is drawn from persona] preoccupations with biographical details, womanhood and social and historical context. The format and scale of the works vary and are determined by the content. The practical body of work is accompanied by a short dissertation which discusses the nature of the formal mode used and its relationship to the content of the work.
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    Annotations of loss and abundance : an examination of the !kun children's material in the Bleek and Lloyd Collection (1879-1881)
    (2011) Winberg, Marlene; Skotnes, Pippa; Hamilton, Carolyn
    The Bleek and Lloyd Collection is an archive of interviews and stories, drawings, paintings and photographs of and xam and !kun individuals, collected by Wilhelm Bleek and Lucy Lloyd between 1870 and 1881 in Cape Town. My dissertation focuses on the !kun children's material in the archive, created by Lucy Lloyd and the four !kun boys, !nanni, Tamme uma and Da, who lived in her home in Cape Town between 1879 and 1881. Until very recently, their collection of 17 notebooks and more than 570 paintings and drawings had been largely ignored and remained a silent partner to the larger, xam, part of the collection. Indeed, in a major publication it was declared that nothing was known about the boys and stated that "there is no information on their families of origin, the conditions they had previously lived under, or the reasons why they ended up in custody" (Szalay 2002: 21). This study places the children centre stage and explores their stories from a number of perspectives. I set out to assess to what extent the four !kun children laid down an account of their personal and historical experiences, through their texts, paintings and drawings in the Bleek and Lloyd project to record Bushmen languages and literature. In order to do this, I have investigated the historical and socioeconomic conditions in the territory now known as Namibia during the period of their childhoods, as well as the circumstances under which the children were conveyed to Cape Town and eventually joined the Bleek- Lloyd household. I have looked at Lucy Lloyd's personal history and examined the ways in which she shaped the making of the collection in her home. I suggest that a consideration of the loss and trauma experienced by Lloyd may have predisposed her to recognition and engagement of, or at least, accommodation of, the trauma experienced by the !kun boys.
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    Apple girl : ingesting and transforming Apple girl from fairy tale into sculpture and performance
    (2013) Joubert, Jill; Alexander, Jane; Morris, Gay
    The submission for my Master of Fine Art degree, which is devoted to the interpretation and transformation of the Italian fairy tale, Apple Girl, into performed sculpture, consists of this document as well as a photographic story-book which illustrates the sculpture component. The sculptured tableaux on wheels, conceived through the properties of carved wood and found-objects, also function as miniature puppet theatres. These are wheeled into the performance arena at relevant moments to be animated by myself, with jazz artist, Athalie Crawford, at times accompanying the performance. Thereafter, the audience is invitedto view the constellation of tableaux as an art work, fixed as an arrangement of sculptures to which the performance has given a framework for presentation and interpretation.
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    An archaeology of self
    (2010) Cilliers, Ryna; Younge, Gavin
    The title of this dissertation is An Archaeology of Self. The first two chapters explore the historical and theoretical basis that has informed my creative work. It is predominantly concerned with artists who engage with the everyday in their art-making. The three main ideas elaborated upon in the body of the text are; the notion of mark making and trace as able to invoke the corporeal presence of the artists; the inclusion of quotidian objects and routines as subject matter within art that recontextualises them as worthy of attention; and the extent to which the representation or use of material objects, traces and leavings can retain significant meaning. The latter is explored in reference to artists who use an archaeological methodology in their work. An underlying theme in both practical and theoretical research is the concept of indexical trace that invokes the presence of its referent while paradoxically signalling its absence. The concluding chapters deal with my methodology and the processes of collection used in arriving at the works presented for examination.
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    Aspects of feminine mythology and related pictoral imagery as source for the development of a personal sculptural iconography
    (1992) Norman, Lee; Younge, Gavin
    The representation of the female figure in Western society has been moulded by such diverse forces as religion, economy and geography, nonetheless, certain images of the female form and representations of feminine qualities appear to be archetypal. One example is that of the Venus of Willendorf which has been recognised as a generalised image of women's fertility. This is mainly due to its formal exaggeration of, and emphasis on, the reproductive aspects of women's bodies. A second example is contained in the theories of Jungian psychologists who have recognised the feminine principle as embodied in the myths and pictorial imagery of what is known as the great goddess. They maintain that the symbols and images from these myths are similar to those in the myths, dreams and fantasies of modern individuals. Following on from these insights the first series of sculptures was aimed at examining women's experience of the reproductive aspects of their bodies in patriarchal society. Generalised images of female fertility were represented through the expressive device of exaggeration. I was concerned to express each woman's individuality by including facial details and gesture. It was also necessary to depict conventionalised elements of patriarchal society. This was achieved through a personification of bestial attributes. The ceramic medium offered many advantages, among them, its primordial qualities and its suitability for modelling and casting voluminous forms. An interest in broader aspects of femininity developed out of the study of images of the great goddess. This was facilitated by a reading of Jungian contrasexual psychology which maintains that the feminine principle is a universal psychological element specific to both men and women. The intention in the second series of sculptures was to celebrate this principle. Since it is not gender-related, it was necessary to find imagery other than that of the female figure. The feminine principle is not definable in purely physical terms since it is experienced in the conscious and unconscious mind, in fantasy, and in what is taken for reality. Abstract symbols associated with goddess mythology were recontextualised in this series and were intended to function on several layers of perception. The technique of modelling cement onto a metal armature facilitated the bold and celebratory forms chosen to celebrate the feminine principle.
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    At sea : documentation and commentary on the body of practical work submitted for the degree of Masters of Fine Art
    (2011) Spindler, Katherine
    This body of work is comprised of individual pieces that differ in media and scale, forming a series of linked and related encounters. All the works find their origin in an eighteen-month period of living on a hospital ship in West Africa, and the story of this time forms the basis of this book. In addition the intense and emotional experience of caring for a friend in the last few weeks of her life brought into focus thoughts of living and dying that seemed to be reflected in much of what I encountered on board. This book is a reflection of both my working process and the experiences, images and ideas that gave rise to it. I have tried to present the ambiguities of 'the ship', the paradoxes it embodies and its source as the inspiration for my work while at the same time hinting at its rich resonance in terms of both maritime histories and the literature it has generated.
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    Avant lounge exotica
    (2012) Viljoen, Sunette; Inggs, Stephen
    Avant Lounge Exotica is a project that explores the poetics of interior living spaces, specifically in relation to print media and magazine imagery. Throughout this project I have engaged with ideas around intimacy and interiority, and the sensory experience within a space. By creating imaginary environments and presenting different iterations of these spaces, I try to acknowledge the personal, psychological experience in a private interior. This interior is one that exists as part of a larger sociological context that is based on consumerist aspirations and displays of wealth.
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    Body of evidence
    (2002) Lomofsky, Lynne; Payne, Malcolm
    This body of work is an experiential study which aims primarily to investigate the effect of the Western medical anatomisation of myself - the cancer patient - on and through my artmaking. The dissertation aims to contextualise my practice - to situate it somewhere between the different readings of cancer according to the Western theory of disease, the Eastern and New Age understandings of the body and ill health, and the work of other artists. It seeks balance between these competing discourses and looks for integration through them. The responses of other artists to their ill bodies are described, several of them exploiting medical technology, others subverting the language of the dominant discourse and the image of the 'good' patient with a 'bad' body. My own work attempts to make art around and out of the experience of cancer. The artmaking is an attempt to gather an understanding of my condition and to integrate art and life. The challenge is to visually represent this. I began the work with an ambivalence - was I an activist helping others, or was I merely immersed in my own struggle to maintain sanity, to reach a peace with my body, a calm space from which to deal with my condition? I have dismissed this ambivalence and settled on the latter position, which has the indirect effect of helping others. I have realized, like Jo Spence, that it is easy to burn yourself out when you work from a position of anger. Art and science have exploited and depicted the body throughout their history, sometimes in ways that overlap, sometimes at cross purposes that conflict, and sometimes in mutually supportive ways. When examining the binaries of revealing and concealing, visibility and invisibility, legibility and illegibility, one cannot avoid a conflict with the medical system. However, through the excavation of my body by modern medical technology, I have evolved from previously seeing only the horror of a tumour to now also seeing the hidden beauty of the other landscapes inside my body. My artmaking is thus taken up as a personal issue, not attempting to shock or to be placatory, but to externalize the cancer experience and, rather than simply reacting to it, to find the beauty inside my body.
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    The cannibals' banquet
    (2012) Grobler, Isabelle Christine; Langerman, Fritha; Alexander, Jane
    In this project I have attempted to determine and analyse my own "mechanisms of filtering, selecting and assembling" (Hoptman 2007: 128). The cannibals' banquet consists of a practical body of work and an artist's book. The function of the artist's book is to contextualise my creative practice within a theoretical and historical context. My area of interest is assemblage and its relation to consumption. A primary attribute of consumption is that it is premised upon the creation of a constant desire for new things. The corollary of this process is a mass of obsolete or 'dead' objects, which are discarded to make room for these recent acquisitions, ending up in scrap yards, second hand shops and flea markets. My interest is in what I perceive as an integral relationship between the origins and development of assemblage and that of a consumer society, since both function within object relations. With object relations I mean the interaction between people and objects as although objects themselves are lifeless, the relationship between an object and a person is animated through the assignment of meaning to an object by a person. In this sense the object stands in relation to the person who projects certain attributes onto it as the carrier of such meanings. The same object could conceivably hold completely different meanings assigned to it by different individuals at the same time.
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    Cape Mongo
    (2015) Knoetze, Francois; Saptouw, Fabian; Alexander, Jane
    Cape Mongo is an anti-fable to the mythologies of Cape Town’s consumer culture. This anti-fable takes shape through an amalgamation of sculptural, performative and video-montage processes, culminating in five films. Each of these films follows a different Mongo character as it journeys through various urban spaces. Throughout these journeys, the project attempts to construct a form of social commentary on the current spatial, economic and political conditions of the city by exploring the variety of possible contexts and urban spaces that these discarded objects may have inhabited during their life cycles. This process has also involved a great deal of reflection on my personal entanglement with the conditions of living and consuming in the city. The journeys of the commodities that I consume and discard on a daily basis can be traced to reveal the intricate economic networks which underpin the consumer culture of Cape Town. The recyclable packaging of consumer goods is presented as mnemonic vessels of interconnectedness which expose the relationship between myself and the spaces and lives these objects inhabit. As the films follow the Mongo characters through various cityscapes, their journeys conjure up imagery relating both to my childhood as well as to several of the historical trajectories that have lead up to the endemic inequality2 and social alienation which characterise present day Cape Town.
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    A catalogue of shapes: a composite object portrait of an oral-formulaic Homer
    (2015) Von Solms, Charlayn Imogen; Arnott, Bruce Murray; Chandler, Clive
    The thesis identifies an equivalence between two seemingly disparate art-forms - Homeric poetry (the Iliad and the Odyssey) and sculptural assemblage. The synthesis of form and content achieved by the re-organization, manipulation, and transformation of pre-existing components in the theory of an oral-formulaic Homer is explored by means of a practical application of sculptural assemblage. The thesis proposes that Homeric poetics and sculptural assemblage are sufficiently similar in terms of structure, methodology, and interpretive processes, to enable a sculptural evocation of the participatory interpretive aspects of Homeric composition in performance that is comprehensible to a contemporary audience. The development of an iconography of an oral-formulaic Homer is expressed in a series of twelve sculptural assemblages entitled A Catalogue of Shapes 2010-13. These sculptures are composite object portraits of twelve Homeric characters. The creation of this catalogue of characters was informed by core structural, compositional, and conceptual aspects of the Iliadic Catalogue of Ships as a reflexive site of artistic self-awareness. A Catalogue of Shapes therefore represents a composite object portrait of an oral-formulaic Homer. The representational system underlying A Catalogue of Shapes incorporates complex connotative allusions achieved by the manipulation of symbolically-invested materials, objects, and forms to reflect the compositional strategy underlying Homeric poetics. As an 'aesthetic translation' this series of sculptural assemblages comprises the creative and contextual re-interpretation of attributes characteristic of the form and content of an existing text/artwork, by means of creating another. It is both an autonomous artwork and an extension of an existing creative tradition.
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    The choreography of display : experiential exhibitions in the context of museum practice and theory
    (2003) Thorne, Jessica Louise; Skotnes, Pippa; Soudien, Crain
    In this project I examine curatorial processes and the experience of constructing and viewing museum exhibitions. Specifically I have been interested in the way in which certain exhibits facilitate powerful emotional responses from their viewers. I suggest that the curators of these kinds of exhibitions employ strategies which not only choreograph the displays but the viewers' bodies themselves as they move through them. As a case study of an experiential exhibition I focus on the District Six Museum where I have been part of its curatorial team since 1999. The work of curatorship that I have done at the Museum during the period of my registration for this degree constitutes part of this submission.
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    Chorus for chimeras: a series of etchings towards the development of a personal iconography incorporating symbols, mythologies and ritual
    (1988) Vorster, Alma; Skotnes, Pippa; Inggs, Stephen
    Aspects of mythologies, their associated rituals and shamanism, are the subjects of this thesis. In a portfolio of twenty-one etchings, I have modified and recontextualised images from a variety of sources as a means to developing a personal iconography. Ritual and the creation of mythologies offer humankind one way in which inexplicable aspects of experience can be confronted. Myths are expressed visually or verbally through the language of symbols. These symbols provide a means to transcend the physical world, and to create an environment in which knowledge and understanding of the cosmos is enriched. The rituals accompanying myths, and in particular the role played in these by the shaman, have been of major importance in the development of this body of work. The exploration of my field of study was principally based on visual reference material and recounts of myths. Source material was derived from rock paintings, ritualistic costumes, musical instruments and other objects found in the rites which accompany the narration of myths of n1ainly pre- . literate societies. In the section, SOURCES AND REFERENCES, such areas of interest are discussed. Rituals have been an important focal point of my examination of mythologies, as an abundance of symbolical connections to the metaphysical realm are included in them. These take the form of clothing and other adornments, such as headdresses and masks, and a variety of ritualistic objects and instruments. The meanings of mythologies are distilled, through the participation of the observers or listeners, by personally interpreting the symbols they perceive. Often symbols are obscure and in their understanding assistance is required. This aid is offered by those individuals who, in a given culture, specialize as interpreters - prophets, sages, priests and shamans. 1 The shaman, as mediator, has been a special concern in my research. I have concentrated on those societies where shamanism is the central religious practice. By virtue of their experience of ritualistic ecstasy, shamans are believed to transcend the physical barriers of time and space to become inhabitants in a metaphysical sphere and participants in the mythology. To enable entry, the ecstatic has to undergo a symbolical metamorphosis during the trance state. This metamorphosis entails a ritualistic suffering, death and resurrection as well as a ceremonial incarnation: an animal or spectral form appropriate to him or her or the occasion. My investigation into the transformation processes has focused mainly on visual references to the animal or mythical beings which aid the incarnation. As well as the gleaning of symbols and forms from mythologies, and their associated rituals, I have referred to a multitude of designs and shapes from the natural world, including palaeontological and biological sources. To formulate the information comprising my personal iconography, various interpretative and manipulative processes were employed. These took the form of drawings and collages. In the section, WORKING METHODS AND ETCHING PROCESSES, these will be discussed. This section is also concerned with the variety of etching techniques utilized in the body of practical work. In the section, INTRODUCTION TO THE PRINTS, I have mentioned some of the themes developed in the four series. I have not discussed the meanings of each print individually, as I hope that these will, in part, be determined by the viewers themselves, but have tried rather to provide an insight into some of the motives I have had in constructing my images. A selection of images from my sketchbooks as well as preparatory drawings relating to the final in1ages have been included. The INDEX TO THE PRINTS, details editions, techniques, sizes and titles of each print.
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    Claiming process : a strategy of production in approaching notions of self, biography and community in painting
    (2002) Nichol, Catherine; Langerman, Fritha
    My project is an exploration of process within the painting medium, themed round my experiences of 'self' and community, as located in my past and present circumstances. Throughout my work, my intention has been to explore my social, personal and political 'beliefs' in order to create a body of paintings that both reflects and challenges my 'belief' structures. In my work there are contradictory desires for change and stability, and an ongoing struggle between location and dislocation.
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    Claiming, breaking and creating : a visual response to the experience of constructed social and spatial constraints
    (2003) Qangule, Thembeka; Delport, Peggy; Langerman, Fritha
    My personal experiences of patriarchal abusive behaviour have shaped and affected me. Two things in my formative schooling years marked the beginning of deep emotional disturbances in my life. Firstly, the vulnerability of being a female schoolgirl, constantly trapped in fear by threats of potentially abusive boys both within and without school premises. The 'old boys', as we would refer to them, instilled in me a negative attitude towards men that has affected me in later life. Secondly, my Sub A teacher who welcomed me with a 'klap' on my first day at school. This was followed by a long year of misery. I found myself going through a journey of broken emotions that resulted in years of aggressive behaviour, creating havoc in my family. This disturbing turbulence led me to seek internal liberation in order to analyse and deal with my emotional state. My health became affected by constant headaches and other stress related conditions. In addition to these formative experiences is my experience as a fine art student at the University of Fort Hare. Like many other black people in South Africa, I entered the field of fine art at a tertiary level with no prior art training. My early work was informed by social concerns and focused thematically on the upbringing of children in a safe and conducive environment. This idea emanated from what I observed and perceived as the submissiveness and subordination of women in my neighbourhood, either as mothers or as girlfriends. The failure for women to stand up to their authoritative, abusive husbands has detrimental effects on children. One of the reasons being that children ' ... attempt to protect a mother who is being attacked by a male companion or a husband, or they are emotionally damaged by witnessing violence and abuse' (hooks 2000: 72). Once I had obtained my undergraduate degree I enrolled at the University of Cape Town for an HDE (Higher Diploma in Education in pursuit of my career). That was a distressing experience. I constantly felt alienated from the tutorial group as I was the only black person in the art tutorial class. This was my first involvement with 'white establishment'. Language and culture, among other things, created a gap and a barrier between my classmates and myself and I discovered that this was the case with other black students also from Fort Hare. Unlike at Fort Hare, I could not easily approach lecturers at UCT to discuss problematic areas concerning my studies. At the time there was only one male black lecturer, who only came in for a section in the Psychology of Education course. Entering UCT felt for me like an act of trespass. I made up my mind that I would not allow myself to feel as if I was at UCT under protest. It is this approach that is the impetus for this dissertation.
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    Contemporary Art Museum Education in the United States of America and South Africa: A retrospective analysis and proposals for the future
    (2017) Kinsman, Houghton Desmond
    The conditions of tertiary education in South Africa (SA) have recently come under intense public scrutiny. Concerns over the state of higher education in SA reflect global debates, which include those in the United States of America (USA), around institutional accessibility, transformation, and the declining role of the humanities in tertiary institutions. This dissertation, therefore, explores art museum education (AME) as a possible alternative, accessible form of higher education. It interrogates the conduciveness of the profession by reviewing AME's history in both countries, undertaking case studies of pertinent pedagogy at the Iziko South African National Gallery (ISANG) in Cape Town, SA and the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) in Miami, USA, and it makes proposals, by reference of the work of Eduoard Glissant, as to how to further develop this academic idea. It is the belief of this research that AME has the potential to offer these tertiary programmes, however, educators must first address their current lack of professional stature and occupational shortcomings. Evidence uncovered in this four-part study shows that AME in both countries operates in challenging conditions today and continues to struggle with a lack of professional recognition. Case studies at the ICA Miami and ISANG highlight the fact that educators need to urgently address their inferior institutional standing, while they also detail the current conduciveness of AME — by showing the effects of indepth educator research practices and that experiments with higher education are already taking place. Consequently, the proposals present potential ways to enhance these experiments, and encourage educators to approach their practices in new critical, and academic ways. This research contributes a new dimension to the field as AME as a model for higher education is a relatively unexplored topic. The research also helps address the lack of documentation of AME in the USA and SA, and it suggests a possible way to create an alternative to increasingly inaccessible tertiary institutions. Additionally, it opens up space for further research by raising questions such as: will the status of AME educators ever change? What still needs to be done practically, administratively, and bureaucratically for AME to become a form of tertiary education? And how might answering these questions help address the need for new academic spaces as well as the demise of the liberal arts and humanities at tertiary levels?