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Item Video activism in the shadow of Wellywood : an exegesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Fine Arts at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand(Massey University, 2021) Heynes, MikeThis creative practice-based research was conducted in Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand, the home of ground-breaking movie companies Wingnut Films, Weta Workshop, Weta Digital, and Park Road Post. Following the success of director Peter Jackson’s The Lord of The Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, with pioneering special effects led By Richard Taylor, Wellington city has colloquially become known as Wellywood, in honour of our film industry’s connections to Hollywood. Parts of Aotearoa have since been renamed by government tourism agencies and businesses to reflect their use as locations in the films set in the fictional world of Middle Earth. Throughout the course of this research, the “Wellywood” movie industry has faced a range of issues including workers’ rights and workplace harassment and has attracted criticism for its influence on government policy. In the Shadow of Wellywood is an experimentally animated video work satirizing the dominant studio system and its ability to shape our national identity and consumerist desires. This tale of celebrity dreams of stardom turning into nightmares draws upon tropes of action, melodrama, musical, film noir, and road movie genres to locate the narrative within the artificial world of the production studio. In using movie-themed action figures as stand-ins for Hollywood actors, and animating them using rudimentary techniques, the work considers the celebrity cycle and the technological advances of the industry. The artificial setting satirically suggests that we no longer have a national cinema, but one of transplanted culture. In combining analogue and digital video technologies the creative process reflected upon obsolescence, and the place of handmade animation techniques within an increasingly digital environment. In continuing to work with obsolete video technology rather than upgrading to the latest format the research has been conducted with the intention of developing an environmentally sustainable method of studio-based production. This research has identified a gap in the field of video art practice through continuing to use equipment that others no longer want and rejecting the latest movie industry technologies as a mode of critical engagement. This research makes an original contribution to the creative field of video activism through using equipment until it literally wears out and accepting the resulting inconsistencies in production. The creative processes used in the development of the final work explored a methodology of experimentation, collaboration, and iterative testing designed to critique mainstream movie production and distribution systems, and to explore alternatives. Through adapting the situationist principles of détournement, psycho-geography and the dérive, this research demonstrates the continued relevance of Guy Debord’s key text Society of the Spectacle (1967) for re-contextualizing the movie industry as an instance of the spectacle, an artificial capitalist system designed to manipulate the consumer, and for identifying ways to resist and critique it. A series of expanded cinema collaborations with musicians during the developmental stages of the research allowed for testing the concept of a studio backlot and exploring the notion of special effects. The animation studio built for this research drew upon traditions of repurposing established by pre-digital experimental film and expanded cinema artists. The portable micro cinema designed for screening In the Shadow of Wellywood locates the work outside of mainstream networks and within an alternative system of distribution underscoring the project’s positioning as a form of video activism.Item Living with the unassimilable : a creative arts thesis, supported by a written component, in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Creative Arts, Whiti o Rehua School of Art, College of Creative Arts, Massey University, Wellington(Massey University, 2021) Cui, LiangLiving with the Unassimilable is a creative practice PhD research project initiated in response to a haptic experience – a violent encounter with the surface of a framed canvas – which triggered a repressed trauma within me. I interpreted the trauma as a consequence of my mother’s transmission to me of her experience of the Chinese government’s gender policies in her youth during the Cultural Revolution. The purpose of this research was to realise a new art language to express and release the repressed trauma in order to achieve catharsis. Despite the challenging cultural and psychological distancing of being voluntarily ‘displaced’ in New Zealand from China (the land of my birth and upbringing), a sense of freedom gradually developed without the previous constraints experienced in my homeland. A series of explorations engaging with diverse materials and modes of display was conducted to arrive at an appropriate and original art expression to reflect upon the significance of past memories, relevant historical and cultural backgrounds, and to communicate the traumatic and cathartic experiences. The creative investigation was undertaken in parallel to pertinent theoretical analysis. From Sigmund Freud theories, I interpreted the experience with my mother as a trauma and Julia Kristeva’s concept of abjection contributed to deciphering the sensations experienced in the traumatic event and haptic experience, and confirmed my related artistic articulation. Representing something far wider than a personal experience, a reflection on China’s patriarchal system led to Michel Foucault’s theory of power in order to unpack the government’s regulation of people’s sexuality, and to Judith Butler in relation to the performance of gender and identity. ‘Touch’ and ‘surface’ were rendered significant by the haptic encounter and Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s body schema and Erin Manning’s politics of touch offered theoretical perspectives that advanced my creative practice. Jill Bennett’s notion that trauma-related art directly engages with viewers by embodied sensations to register the repressed memory, coincided with establishing the appropriate means of artistic expression for this research: a hybrid sculpture/video installation. Through the orchestration of elements, in particular, the combination of static sculpture and moving imagery, and diverse material qualities and media, the final installation ‘transformed’ an inner, individual, and psychological experience into a visual and material art language. In the embodied sensations, it uttered the otherwise unspeakable trauma, thus becoming an expression of living with the unassimilable. The hybrid practice is not the only contribution the research makes to the field of trauma/catharsis-related installation art and to contemporary Chinese art. Situated in a globalised world and positioned in relation to relevant contemporary Chinese and Western art and theory, this creative practice assimilates my heritage – including Chinese language and philosophy in relation to gender power politics – thus presenting hitherto unexplored perspectives.Item A story in the telling. . . : an exegesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree, a Masters in Fine Arts, Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand(Massey University, 2018) Cook, DamonThis exegesis contains a laying out of the ground that is our contemporary moment of environmental and social crisis,. This includes the approaches and attitudes that have brought that crisis into being. These are approaches and attitudes that seek to control and master the world. The ‘body’— that is, our own bodies and the body of that world— is where this drama is seen to play out. Art and contemplative practices are understood as offering counter modes to control and exploitation. These counter modes of practice and understanding are examined and critiqued. An attempt is made to perform this problem by offering points of clarity and orientation, while, at the same time avoiding too much clarity and control. Which is to say that this exegesis is also a literary text, in part and whole. Finally, in keeping with this performance of clarity and control, and possible counter modes, the concluding section —‘Where to Next’— offers two suggestive, rather than explicitly directive ways forward.Item Where memories sleep : an exploration into human-centred design and visual storytelling to persuade and educate : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for a Master in Design at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand(Massey University, 2019) O'Hara, William JasonWhere Memories Sleep is an immersive cinedance installation designed to introduce new audiences to Antarctica and the science undertaken at Scott Base. The research explores using human-centred design methodologies to develop the communication strategy and visual narrative that inform the project’s creative direction. Tailored to appeal to millennials while remaining inclusive of all age groups, it primarily focuses on engaging and informing audiences about the existence and relevance of the science rather than expecting action toward Antarctica or climate change. Sitting at the confluence of three narrative disciplines; documentary, persuasion, and entertainment, the research project investigates the interaction and integration of these worlds when combined into a single immersive experience. Central to the project is a two-part narrative structure; a metaphoric imagined ‘legend’ that functions as a ‘Trojan Horse’ to engage the audience, and a supporting documentary making implicit the links to real science. The project narrative is inspired by the rich history of Antarctic exploration and draws on traditional and contemporary oral, visual and theatrical storytelling techniques. The storyline follows a familiar ‘hero’s journey’ structure beneath which runs a non-fiction aspect representing the current scientific activity in Antarctica. Where Memories Sleep is conceived as a long-term initiative and therefore adopts a flexible, modular approach to the narrative and scenographic elements. It is proposed to work across a variety of installation locations and media opportunities, such as a single-channel online video, to full live dance performance/installation.Item This bloody show : outside and inside the artist's body in performance and video work : an exegesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand(Massey University, 2019) Harris, ClaireUtilising autobiographical content and her own body as medium and subject, the artist seeks to represent aspects of risk and self-harming without replicating or staging acts of self-harm. Drawing on writers Lea Vergine, Jennifer Doyle, Maggie Nelson and Amelia Jones, and artist Gina Pane’s performance work, this exegesis identifies points of contention in the production and reception of performative acts of self-harm. Beginning with installation and video works the artist creates tangential situations alluding to anticipation, depersonalization, and self-reflexivity in self-harm. Through this research the artist arrives at eggs as a fluid proxy for the body/self and for dynamics of anxiety in video and live performance works. Additional issues arising involve perceptions harm and risk; the “feminist performance art meets misogynous cinema” dynamic within this MFA work; and the double consciousness, self-management, and projection in being female subject, performer, and artist. This abstract is old now and not totally relevant.Item Trick of the light(Massey University, 2004) Dudding, KathyTrick of the Light is a video installation essay that relates the story of the incubus in the form of a multiple screen and sound installation. Research into the topic of the incubus as it has been represented in art and film, both historical and contemporary, reveals that in the main these works have been from the male perspective. Trick of the Light endeavours to put forward a viewpoint of the incubus experience with regard to female sexuality and subjectivity. In 'The Haunting', I will relate the connection between the incubus and the monstrous-feminine, concentrating first on three key historical paintings: The Nightmare (Henri Fuseli, 1781), Danaë (Rembrandt, 1636), Danaë (Gustav Klimt, 1907). I will follow an analysis of these three paintings with an examination of two cinematic works that pertain to the incubus: Rosemary's Baby (Roman Polanski, 1968), The Entity (Sidney J. Furie, 1985). These works will be surveyed in the context of the monstrous-feminine. 'Crotch' will look at woman artists who have sought to counter negative attitudes towards women with regard to sexuality. The performance art of woman working in the 1960/70s – Valie Export, Hannah Wilke, Carolee Schneemann – will be examined in relation to their highlighting of the female sexual part. I will follow with a comparison of contemporary woman artists working in this subject area: Tracey Emin and Zoe Leonard. A number of woman feature filmmakers who have also addressed women's sexuality will be studied in 'Touch'. In today's era of post-Mulveyism, in the hands of the woman director the gaze is female. While directors such as Jane Campion have eroticized sex on screen, others such as Catherine Breillat have maintained a natural aesthetic not dissimilar to pornography. Here I also introduce Laura U. Mark's notion of 'haptic cinema' and relate it to my own concept of film-ecriture feminine. 'Body Cuts' will foreground the recent phenomena of film and video moving into the gallery space, and the resultant changed relationship of the viewer with such works. Peter Greenaway's idea of the audience performing the editing will be examined here. I look at the work of Eija-Liisa Ahtila as an example of an artist/filmmaker working in both the gallery and the cinema. Artist Pipilotti Rist's video installation work Sip My Ocean will be looked at in relation to film-ecriture feminine. I will also use her work to introduce a premise for the spatiality of eroticism and the relationship of woman's sexuality and architectural space. 'A Bedtime Story' tracks Trick of the Light from its genesis to its resolution. I explain the process of creating the work, and talk about the separate pieces – Incubus Drawing, These Lips, Condensation, Spirit Photography, Sink Scene, Skeptic/Spiritualist- in relation to the depiction of women's sexuality in art, film-ecriture feminine, sexuality in space, and the video installation essay. [From Introduction]Item From the television : an exegesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Art at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand(Massey University, 2017) Cartwright, KevinOn the Television is presented as an immersive digital video installation that seeks to draw the viewer into the dreamlike world of the televisual. Images derived from iterative practice-based works create metaphorical foci for sociocultural archetypes and a politic of the personal. Drawn from a biographical context and primarily relying on the visual icon of the balloon, this work tests the viewer's relation to the realm of the digital screen, and offers an alternative vision for a mass media of the individual.Item To represent the sex of angels : trans/poetics : an exegesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand(Massey University, 2017) Winter, AliyahThis exegesis utilises writer Rebekah Edwards’ definition of ‘trans-poetics’ as a methodology for the creation of performative and moving image artworks. The linguistic categories within transpoetics are transcribed through a creative practice, valuing language for its multiplicity, ambiguity and limitations. The projects outlined in this exegesis focus on queer and trans histories lifted from archival documentation. Trans-poetics are employed to circumvent and rearticulate the problematic legacy of queer and trans representation. The aim of this research is to utilise and push beyond the established oeuvre of queer autoethnographic work. To take the waters (2017) and Hardening (2017) are two moving image works formed in response to the life and events surrounding the internment of Hjelmar Von Danneville on Matiu Somes Island in 1917. As works of significance, they are clear distillations of modes and methods of transpoetics used in response to narratives within historical material.Item Interesting life : how to make political video art in New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts at Massey University(Massey University, 2008) Hewitt, MurrayI started this thesis with the question how is it possible to make political video art in New Zealand? This came out of my desire to understand better the issues for artists currently making political work, as I found that in my practice I kept returning to political themes. It soon became apparent that I needed to include my journey out of community work into an art practice. It also seemed important to acknowledge a significant discovery, that for me, the process is often as important as the art produced. Therefore this paper includes an explanation of my change from community worker to artist, and its relevance to my art practice. And, a discussion about the importance of process: while the central and more pertinent question remains throughout, how to make political video art in New Zealand? I begin looking at philosophy confessing my assumptions about morality and looking at the struggles within postmodern subjectivity: and its implications for content in art work. The next section considers the modernist ideas of the Situationists, and of Joseph Beuys, and their hopes for the fusion of art and life, followed by reflections on my past involvements in community work. I then track the intention shown in the work of Beuys into the postmodern era looking specifically at the work Intervention to aid drug-addicted women. Shedhalle by the Austrian Art Collective Wochenklausur, considering their pragmatic, contextually-specific gestures of art. I look at two of my own works. Weeping Waters and Untitled, focusing on the importance of the process while making the distinction between the process and art.Item Into the arms of my coloniser : re-imagining myself and the other : an exegesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand(Massey University, 2016) Ulutupu, ChristopherPostcolonialism is not a subject I have chosen to explore, rather, it is a reality that I have been born into. As a Samoan New Zealander I find myself automatically designated the position of ‘other’, and my image perpetually projected through the lens of the dominant culture. This exegesis seeks to explore various points of view (including my own) as a way of challenging those projections. My approach is autobiographical, examining Edouard Glissant’s ‘multiples’ as they exist within me, and locating a video art space for those different voices to materialise. Into The Arms Of My Coloniser: Re-imagining Myself and The Other is a study into disestablishing the binary that defines myself as in opposition to the dominant culture. Through video and performance I occupy the space described by Alison Jenkins and Kuni Jones as the “indigene-coloniser hyphen” (2008), a space that allows for cultural distinctions but also acknowledges the interwoven nature of the relationship between indigenous cultures and their colonisers.