Liverpool School of Art and Creative Industries Journal
LSACI Journal is a peer-reviewed journal, that is run by and for students at the Liverpool School of Art and Creative Industries at Liverpool John Moores University. The journal publishes writing, artwork and creative content in a variety of forms from students at all levels.
Liverpool School of Art and Creative Industries, Liverpool John Moores University
The copyright of content is retained by the author(s). Please check the specific licence for this item. The majority of the content in this journal is published under a Creative Commons Attribution Licence. Artworks are published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Licence. These licences allow others to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full text of works in this journal, or to use them for any other lawful purpose in accordance with the licence. This journal provides immediate open access to its content and has no submission or publication fees.
Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Thought I would create a tribute to my favorite brand of cola, as I have always liked Pepsi's mix of blue and red. Also included in the piece are the brand’s various collaborations with Michael Jackson, Star Wars and several others. The strange tie in merchandise like Pepsi man figurines, pencil cases and the several cd compilations they released over the years. As a whole this piece has been made to celebrate Pepsi's legacy, from the strange tie ins and historical sponsorships to the wild alternative flavors and iconic commercials. This piece can make you nostalgic, excited or, want Pepsi!
The Liverpool School of Art and its Archive: 1825-2025
Among the Colleges which would eventually join the Liverpool Polytechnic in 1970, and becoming LJMU in 1992, one of the oldest is the Liverpool School of Art, whose archival papers are managed by LJMU Special Collections & Archives. Evolving from the 1823 Mechanics’ and Apprentices’ Library was the 1825 Mechanics’ Institute, the earliest English School of Art outside of London – although the only real artistic instruction provided was a Ship Drafting class. In 1832, the school was renamed the Liverpool Mechanics’ Institution and the Liverpool School of Art became first a separate Department of the Liverpool Institute, eventually splitting from the Institute in 1905 to amalgamate with the Applied Art Section for the University of Liverpool and later receiving the title of Regional College of Art from 1949 onwards. Amongst the many treasures within its archive include: a comprehensive body of historical student artwork; student photographs; hand-drawn student magazines from as early as 1910; extensive design work and photography from the Department of Fashion c.1948-present; records of the student degree shows and dress parades; as well as administrative records, staff records, teaching material, and building plans.
This is about a choice: stay in the past/move forward. Dyed lilies represent the past. A love lost. I used to receive bunches of those from my partner, and that always made my day better. Now, in this illustration, lilies became a symbol of everything we went through together, and something that's difficult to let go of. Where I come from, swallow birds fly low to the ground just when it is about to rain, and so I like to use them as a symbol of change through pain. The illustrated bird is holding a key; could be a key to a better future, ready to be grabbed, once you're ready to move on. But it can fly away anytime, so a decision has to be made quick. As for the hands on chest, they represent self-trust and intuitive knowing. The piece was created to help me cope with my feelings, and there is nothing deeper to it. I hope it inspires someone out there to create, too.
Copyright (c) 2025 Victoria https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
‘BEDROCK’ draws on Liverpool’s distinctive geography and the beliefs which underpin the city’s social foundations. It is inspired by the sandstone which spans the city region and is found in its distinctive architecture. ‘BEDROCK’ also acts as a metaphor for the social foundations of Liverpool and the people, places and values that ground us.
Scouse Bird? (2024-2025) is a body of work created in response to the anti-immigration riots of August 2024 in Liverpool and other regions. During this time, I witnessed a bird fall to its death in my garden, which caused great distress due to sounding like a brick had been thrown at the window. Imagine a world where people migrate as birds do – this would most likely result in chaos like riots. Comparing these two narratives with the overlapping theme of trauma, through dual meanings in the artworks’ titles alluding to the personification of the bird as a self-portrait, I’m attempting to communicate questioning my identity and searching for a solution for the internal conflict of being a mixed-race immigrant.
Copyright (c) 2025 Sandra Mutukwa https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
I am Komal Madar, a multidisciplinary artist working across painting, sculpture, and performance. My obsessive need to ‘make’ begins with seeking out discarded and humble materials. I am guided by the philosophy of kismat—fate and chance encounters—connecting me to people and places as I hunt for materials. The thrill of the in-between stages of making and the possibilities these encounters spark have become the fulcrum of my process. The Yoni series (2020–2024) consists of 42 sculptural works created using discarded textile off-cuts as a vehicle to explore feminist discourses and their intersections with ancient Indian language and culture. Specifically, I draw from the Sanskrit word yoni—meaning "womb," "vulva," or "source"—and its symbolic representations. Through processes of layering, slashing, blowing, pulling, stretching, and ripping, I challenge traditional expectations of textiles, unravelling entangled concerns and generating fresh narratives around gender, patriarchal structures, and sexual taboos. Performance has played a key role in documenting the making of the Yoni sculptures, which I shared on Instagram. In 2023, one of my reels reached 8.1 million views, leading to an editorial feature in Vogue India (Nov–Dec 2023), where I was selected as one of five emerging female artists shaping a progressive art landscape.
I created a series of artworks inspired by Egon Schiele and Gustav Klimt, featuring my friend Freya as the subject. Initially, I began with pencil sketches, a monoprint, and a painting of her. I then manipulated these works, merging three versions of Freya into a blurred, overlapping composition. This process resulted in three unique manipulated versions, which I developed into a large canvas piece. The final work explores the transformation of these original pieces, with colour shifts enhancing the dynamic, abstract nature of the merged forms. It reflects both the fluidity of identity and the evolution of my artistic process.
Copyright (c) 2025 Liv Foulston https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Little Girl Giants Shoe came into play through powerful memories I hold from my childhood when I witnessed the Liverpool Giants. To capture the essence of those moments, I chose a range of blues, starting with ultramarine and blending phthalo blue with titanium white to create a custom palette, reflecting the varying tones of water. The end of my paintbrush was used to create subtle wave-like movements, allowing the deeper ultramarine to show through, while a squeegee helped me express my emotions across the sky, tapping into my inner child’s voice. For the Giants shoe, I used burnt sienna and employed a layering technique, constantly reworking the surface by dripping, splattering and scraping away paint. This process of applying and removing layers reflected the complexity of memory and feeling. As I painted, I connected with the emotions I experienced as a child witnessing the Giants, bringing those feelings to the surface once again. Through these techniques, I sought not only to recreate the scene from archival snapshots but to channel the emotions and memories of that awe-inspiring moment. The painting is an emotional tribute to both the Giants and my own childhood wonder. I have had success with this painting this year, it was accepted into the extended longlist for the Jackson Art Prize.
Copyright (c) 2025 Emily Edwards https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Hidden in Plain Sight: Iconic Liverpool Architecture
35mm Film photographs capturing the landmark architecture of Liverpool. The buildings and structures people walk past every day, often without a second thought, yet they define the city's character. Through light, perspective, and detail, this collection gives the people of Liverpool a new appreciation for the architecture we pass in our daily lives. Olympus OM101.
Copyright (c) 2025 Zina Ali https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Photography has been a passion of mine since childhood, inspired by my grandfather. I enjoy photographing nature in my local park, a wild and unpolished space that offers a quiet beauty. While it lacks the grandeur of places like the Gloucestershire hills which I often photograph, it challenges me to find moments of beauty in less obvious surroundings. Lighting is central to my work. It transforms scenes throughout the day, drawing out different textures and details. Golden hour, just before 6pm, is my favourite time. Leaves appear translucent, and colours come alive. I also enjoy photographing at dusk for the creative challenge. Though roses aren't my favourite flower, they photograph beautifully, especially when light captures the fluidity of their petals. Newsham Park, a listed Victorian site, is sadly neglected despite its diverse wildlife. Once supported by the local community, efforts to maintain it have faded. Still, I find meaning in photographing what remains, such as bluebells beneath trees, petals floating in water, and life among litter. Since 2020 I have volunteered at Speke Hall, blending my love of history, nature and art. In contrast, Newsham Park reminds me to appreciate overlooked places and to preserve beauty where it is most vulnerable.
Copyright (c) 2025 Rebecca Adelt Lomas https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
How has the transformation of art dismantled Kant’s theory of objectivity in favour of viewer subjectivity, contextual interpretation, and the collapse of traditional aesthetic values?
This paper explores the transformation of Immanuel Kant’s aesthetic theory in response to modernist and contemporary attitudes towards art. Kant’s notion of impartial beauty and universal preconceptions is contrasted with later critiques emphasising context, viewer interpretation, and cultural dynamics. In Critique of Judgement (1790), Kant asserts that true aesthetic judgments are independent of personal taste and environment. However, modern and contemporary critiques, from Clement Greenberg (1982) and Marcel Duchamp (Fountain, 1917), contend this, arguing that the meaning of an artwork is shaped by context and individual perception. This study investigates Kant’s concept of ‘disinterested judgement’ and its influence on formal analysis, highlighting how artists like Duchamp and Frank Stella (Black Paintings, 1958-1960) reject traditional aesthetic values. Additionally, the participatory nature of work by Félix González-Torres (Untitled [Portrait of Ross in L.A.], 1991) is assessed, where viewer engagement is integral to meaning. Roland Barthes’ Rhetoric of the Image (1964) and the recontextualising of the crucifix in pop culture illustrate how evolving cultural contexts influence interpretation. Findings suggest that while Kant’s theory laid the foundation for formal analysis, art is increasingly subjective and viewer oriented. This paper invites greater investigation into how art’s judgement has shifted from objective standards to an interactive dialogue between the artwork, artist, and audience.
Poetry, Activism & History: ‘Writing the Future, Reclaiming the Past’
Awarded Steve Biko Young Achievers, featured 100 Inspirational Women of Merseyside, Future List 2022 of Northern Woman awards and finalist of BBC Words First. Currently sits on the Anti-racist board for Curious Minds & Diversity Action Group for the Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse Theatres and Critical Friends Group at Liverpool Biennial. Former artist of Weston Jerwood Creative, Humboldt Foundation Residency (Germany), Roots & Routes (Germany & Holland), Erasmus+ Theatre-markers for Social Change (Hungary), Queensland Poetry Festival (Australia), Imperial War Museum, Poet in residence University College of London & Norfolk Ponds Project working on the secret Life of Ponds and Museum of Colour, These Things Matter Exhibition & Guest Poet of MANX Lit-fest 2024 and many more. Currently facilitator for the National Literacy Trust delivering social action workshops in schools across the UK. Writer for the co-creation project Voices Weaving in collaboration with Composer Michael Betteridge & Community Choir participants from Asylum Link Liverpool. Supporting The University of Liverpool: Music Reminiscence and Community Wellbeing on Merseyside project. Lead Facilitator for Liverpool Arab Arts festival education programme in collaboration with Qatar Foundation International.
‘Our Most Beautiful Contrivances’: Exhibiting Empire in Nineteenth Century Liverpool
By the turn of the nineteenth century Britain, like many of its European neighbours, had taken an interest in advancing technological knowledge through the exhibiting of mass-produced goods, first on a national, and by 1851, an international scale. Underpinning these ventures was a desire to drive sales and to apply to manufactured goods an aesthetic sensibility in which the fine arts were united with the tools of industry. Whilst many regard Birmingham’s 1849 ‘Exhibition of Industrial Arts and Manufacturers’ as being Britain’s first national exhibition of industry, recent evidence has emerged which challenges this long-held perception. Research conducted by Dr Isabel Robinson of LJMU’s History Department has brought to light compelling evidence which locates the seeds of this cultural movement to regional initiatives within the heartland of the Industrial North. Significantly, her research has shown that during the mid-nineteenth century, the city of Liverpool was instrumental in cultivating what has come to be known as the ‘World Fair Movement.’ Dr Robinson’s broader research focusses on the extent to which LJMU’s earliest schools were complicit in enslavement, empire, and the distribution of racial science. Composed of at least thirteen antecedent colleges, the university we know today actually began life in 1825 as the Liverpool Mechanics’ School of Arts.
Copyright (c) 2025 Isabel Robinson https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Surrendering to Risk: A Brief Account of Existentialism, Fear and Art
Some time ago I wrote a short text about creativity and existentialism. I was quite afraid of the idea of taking risks at the time. Uncertainty and senselessness were difficult for me to digest after having had a difficult upbringing. I wanted control and predictability, but I knew I would not get anywhere without risk and discomfort. What follows is that text with a few interjections I make a few years later. Not denying the initial ideas but rather updating them slightly. I still use and read these arguments every time I find existential and political fear paralysing me. Now being one of those moments. In the original text I was very assertive, and I affirmed almost unequivocally that writing, art and creative life in general are the tools humans have against nothingness, helplessness, anguish, nostalgia for home, and ultimately, ghosts. The artist safeguards and protects herself from that nothingness she has been told contains the universe, that precedes it. I still share some of these ideas but struggle to be so confident with anything that comes from a human mind.
Copyright (c) 2025 marina Sequera https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Exhibition Review of the British Textile Biennial, Blackburn (29th September-29th October 2023)
The British Textile Biennial takes place every year across East Lancashire. They commission artists to create textile art pieces to present the work within the context of the area. They will present their works in public spaces, galleries, and historic buildings, usually left behind by the textile industry. East Lancashire in the North of England was impacted by the industrial revolution. It was transformed from a quite countryside into wealthy cotton mill towns, with Blackburn being the most successful. East Lancashire, being a major textile production hub, had a worldwide impact. This industry was a huge booming area that was around 200 years, that left an enormous impact on East Lancashire that now has almost disappeared (British Textile Biennial, 2023). For example, in Burnley it has one of the last surviving cotton mills called the Queen Street Mill, with over a 1000 working looms. It had opened its doors in 1894. Now this mill is a treasured part of the local and regional history (Wilkinson, 2016). About 10% of the manufacturing labour was employed by the British Textile industry until as recently as 1960s (Humphrys,1984). With the first cotton factory for ring spinning was in Lancashire that was opened in 1877 called the New Ladyhouse Cotton Spinning (Toms, 1998). The 2023 Biennial’s statement explored the idea of a more sustainable relationship we could have with our land, people, and clothing. The exhibition is presented across towns of East Lancashire including Blackburn, Accrington, Burnley, and Barrowford. The exhibitions explores the traces of the routes of fibres and different fabrics from the past to present across the world to and from Northeast Lancashire. Following the journey of cloth spun and woven on the Pennine moors to the current fast fashion sold in the high streets (British Textile Biennial, 2023).
Copyright (c) 2025 Greta Varpiotaite https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Under the Soviet Shadows: Lithuania’s Art under the Iron Curtain
This research paper will explore the unheard voices of Lithuanian artists behind the iron curtain of the Soviet Union. With Lithuania under occupation in 1940, they were heavily oppressed, with many of their arts destroyed. There were few artists who remained, with many of them either executed or fleeing the country for America. The few who remained would become Fine Art teachers and would avoid voicing their opinions of the Soviets, conforming to official directives. Occupied from 1940-1990, artists had to navigate a delicate balance between creative freedom and the state imposed socialist realism. Some artists found ways to critique and evade censorship by developing subtle visual language. An innovative artist who stayed loyal to Lithuania was Antanas Zmuidzinavicius who played a vital role to Lithuania’s Art History. Another significant figure to Lithuania’s history of art was Antanas Gudaitis. The Research objectives of this paper are: to explore paintings, sculpture and other arts and crafts that contributed to Lithuania’s cultural identity before the Soviet Union. My second aim is to examine the art created at the height of the occupation. My third aim is to explore the impact of Lithuania’s art within the Soviet Union. By analysing different artistic works, this paper will shed some light on a new perspective of creativity of Lithuania under authoritarian rule as their work adapted with a little rebellion. The point of the research is to bring light Lithuania’s art that is often overlooked due to limited global recognition, it’s important to find out about other artists to gain a new perspective of art under oppression.
Interpreting nostalgia as a therapeutic tool in Aftersun by Charlotte Wells (2022)
Nostalgia is an oft-misrepresented concept. Originally, it was seen as a medical condition, describing the psychosomatic effects of severe homesickness (Wilson, 2015, pp. 478-479). Transliteration from the Greek 'nóstos' and 'álgos' leads to 'return home' and 'longing' respectively (Boym, 2001). Over time, it has morphed into an acute longing for a home, past, or memory that can no longer be visited—or that never existed in the first place; the longing is more for a state of mind than a strictly geographical location (Chase and Shaw, 1989, p.1). This shift of focus from spatiality to temporality was also represented in shifting representations of nostalgia. In literature, for example, “Odysseus longs for home; Proust is in search of lost time” (Phillips, 1985, p.65). Cook (2004, p.98) argues that "memory is a central preoccupation of cinema, and a crucial part of the development of cinematic language", using the example of analepsis as a primary feature of filmic narratives. Barthes (1986, p.345) argues that leaving the cinema is like awakening from hypnosis. The argument could be made that the phantasmagoria of this trance combined with filmic techniques such as cross-cutting allows filmmakers to create a Proustian connection from present to past. The innate efficacy of cinema in presenting memories just as realised as their respective 'presents' lends itself to rich analyses of nostalgia in film. Rather than focusing on heritage, historical and aptly-named 'nostalgia films' films being nostalgic, this post will focus on nostalgia itself as a narrative and thematic focus. Specifically, this essay will interpret nostalgia as a therapeutic tool in Aftersun (Charlotte Wells, 2022).
Copyright (c) 2025 Devan Whitehouse https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
An Investigation of the Inherent Politicism of African American Cinema
The ostensible dominant functions of cinema are to entertain and to make money; however, the role of politics in film must not be overlooked. Rather than film simply having the efficacy to carry political messages, several scholars state that it is impossible for a film to be without ‘political implications’ (Plantinga, 1997, p.14). These implications can either be backgrounded and implicit or foregrounded and explicit (Haus, 1991, p.70). For example, politics can be forced and obvious like the propaganda films of the Second World War or subtle like the endorsements of opposing pacifism missed by censors in some 1930s B-movies, as Leab (2008, p.395) notes. It is to no surprise that Sergei Eisenstein has been quoted as claiming ‘there is no apolitical art’ (in Esnault, 1970, p. 4). This inherent politicism is amplified when filmmakers actively challenge the hegemony of Hollywood. In Eisenstein's case, this led to the codifying of Soviet montage theory and, in particular, the theorisation of intellectual montage. Rather than the realism illusion of Hollywood's dominant continuity editing, the Marx and Hegel- informed dialectics of intellectual montage act as ‘the perfect form for the expression of an ideological thesis’ (Kiernan, 1990, p.96). This paper investigates the roots of Black American Cinema to explore how far it is and has been fuelled by politics, even more than the inextricable and intrinsic politicism of film. In particular, much like Eisenstein’s ideological opposition to Hollywood, Black American Cinema will be examined as opposing Hollywood, both from outside the system—through the case studies of Oscar Micheaux and Cheryl Dunye—and inside it, through an investigation of Hattie McDaniel.
An exploration of iconographical symbols and their reflection of moral and theological concerns in the late Middle Ages within the work of Hieronymus Bosch.
This essay will examine two works of art by Dutch artist Hieronymus Bosch. The chosen works are from the early period and late period of Bosch’s career, in order to provide a comparison of the themes and narratives found at different stages of his career. I will analyse the panel painting titled Ecce Homo (C.1475-1485) as well as the triptych titled the Temptation of Saint Anthony (C.1500-1510). In doing so, I will provide a discussion on how Bosch’s art reflects the moral and theological concerns of the late Middle AgesMuch of Bosch’s personal life is left unknown due to the time period in which he was working, meaning that the only surviving records of his life are official documents with little detail about his character. It is estimated that he was born sometime around 1450 and was buried in 1516. ‘Few records describe how Bosch acquired the major altarpieces for which he is famous today’ (Finger, 2020, p. 13), though it is known that he would often spend time with members of the social elite in s’Hertogenbosch, the town in which he resided for the majority of his career. Because of his standing in society Bosch experienced fame during his lifetime, he had a workshop with several assistants, and it is thought that his patrons brought commissions to him.
Copyright (c) 2025 Hannah Peacey https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The Art of Dining: Inspired Menus and Inviting Spaces.
This article explores the intersection of art and dining in order to argue that restaurant design is an underappreciated art form with the power to shift the way we think about food. The restaurants FOOD, The Fat Duck, and The Alchemist are used to support this argument. By analysing two key design elements of each restaurant, the interior and the menu, this article demonstrates their ability to create an engaging artistic experience for diners. The Fat Duck and The Alchemist are used as important examples of contemporary restaurants which succeed in creating multi-sensory dining experiences. It is argued that they are able to do so through their incorporation of elements of performance and visual artistry. These restaurants both build on the legacy of artist-run restaurants like FOOD, which is used as an example of a pioneering restaurant that transcended the functional needs of a space. Ultimately, this article encourages recognition of the artistic value of restaurant design by highlighting the intersection of art and dining within the culinary industry. Effectively, this fusion of disciplines has created new opportunities for artistic expression and engagement by urging chefs and customers to think differently about the role of food and dining in our lives.
A Study on Iconography within the Work of John Everett Millais.
John Millais’ 1859 Apple Blossoms depicts eight young girls enjoying a picnic on a spring day. The composition is bright and high in saturation, with opulent colours creating a warm and joyous atmosphere. In the foreground, the girls idle on the grass. On the left-hand side of the canvas, a girl in a burgundy dress pours liquid from a jug, two girls sit at her feet, both engrossed in their own activities. In the middle of the composition there is a large bowl containing curds and whey placed on a blanket (Escolme, 2014) a fallen leaf rests in front. Behind the bowl, a girl in grey holds golden spoons, some of which have been passed amongst the others. Drawing the eyes of the viewer to the right-hand side of the canvas, a girl in a yellow dress lies salaciously on her back, she holds a blade of grass to her lips and makes eye contact with the viewer. Almost out of view, a scythe hovers over the young girl. Three of the girls have various flowers in their hair and there are also baskets of flowers placed upon the grass. In the background, behind a short wall, there is an orchard, thus the perspective is deep as we can see into the trees. Numerous flowers grow amongst the trees which fill the top half of the canvas, their leaves turning from buds to blossoms and back again.
Strandbeests: challenging perceptions of sentience.
Within the scope of contemporary art, few pieces evoke philosophical debate like Theo Jansen’s Strandbeests (Dutch for ‘beach animals’). These ever-evolving kinetic sculptures not only blur the lines between life and art, but also push us to consider the nature of sentience itself. As defined by the Oxford English Dictionary, a sentient being is ‘capable of feeling; having the power or function of sensation, or of perception by the senses.’ (Oxford English Dictionary, 2023). Ergo, sentience is characterised by the possession of sensory organs which respond to external stimuli, allowing for perception and responsiveness. Theo Jansen’s skeletal, wind-powered creations certainly present us with an uncanny sense of sentience as they traipse the beaches of Holland. Whilst initially unassuming, these aesthetically simplistic creatures formed of simple materials push the boundaries of artistic expression. They exemplify the concept of artificial life, an interdisciplinary field of research which explores the potential for human creativity to produce new forms of sentience. Bringing together scholars in mathematics, philosophy, and engineering, the study of artificial life ‘aims to understand biological life better by creating systems with life-like properties and developing novel forms of life.’ (Aguilar, et al., 2014). Themes of sentience and artificial life are also evident in the works Can’t Help Myself by Sun Yuan and Peng Yu, In Love With The World by Anicka Yi, and Kim Rose’s NFT titled Orphic. Such pieces, alongside Jansen’s Strandbeests, invite viewers to challenge their assumptions about what it means to be alive and what constitutes art.
Sokari Douglas Camp (2015) Europe Supported by Africa and America
Sokari Douglas Camp CBE, a London based artist born in the Niger Delta in 1958, draws from her Kalabari heritage to cultivate its culture and actively engages in raising awareness of the disastrous situation of her people and land through her creations. This paper will explore inspirations behind one of her sculptures, Europe Supported by Africa and America (2015) (Fig.1) and show that it carries a significant message for international audiences conveying artist’s faith in the power of love, collaboration, and re-birth. It will also discuss how it links the past and present exploitation of the Niger Delta – first through enslaving its people, then through extraction of the oil, and will examine how this evocative artwork relates to Camp’s own body of work and to those of other artists, who explore similar subjects.
Copyright (c) 2025 Dagmara Firlej https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Love, fear, and desire. Edvard Munch's ambivalent attitude towards women examined through the analysis of two representative examples of his paintings: The Sick Child (1886) and The Dance of Life (1899-1900).
Edvard Munch was a prolific and successful Norwegian painter with a career span of over sixty years, who despite initial difficulties became internationally renowned and ‘one of Modernism's most significant artists’ (munchmuseet, n.d.). He experimented with various art movements from Naturalism, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, yet he is mostly considered a Symbolist and the precursor of Expressionism. John Launer (2021, p.747) maintains that his ‘style ... is instantly recognisable’ and George A. Beller (2006, p.309) adds that his art ‘depicts elemental aspects of human psychology love, melancholy, despair, fear, jealousy, and death.’ Munch never married and his relationships with women were complicated what resulted in contradictory opinions among his biographers and art critics. While Rebecca McEwen (2018, p.34) maintains that ‘since 1893 when he shifted from Impressionism to Symbolism ... his art was overwhelmingly misogynistic’, J. Gill Holland (2005, p.3-4) argues that ‘a balanced look at the full range of his pictures and ... reading the pages of his journal refute that charge.’ The aim of this paper will be to examine Edvard Munch's ambivalent attitude towards women through the critical analysis of two artworks, the early painting The Sick Child (1886) (Fig.1), essential for the Munch’s career and the later one, The Dance of Life (1899-1900) (Fig.2), using two methodologies. The external circumstances which affected the artist’s style of work and chosen themes will be the focus of the biographical methodology, and the critical theory of psychoanalysis will look how the artist's psyche influenced them.
What were Marcel Duchamp's 'Ready-mades' and what impact do you think that they made on twentieth-century art?
In the letter well known to art historians, dated 15th January 1916, and addressed to his sister Suzanne, Marcel Duchamp (Naumann and Obalk, 2000 p.44) described his idea of creating what he called Ready-mades for the first time. He explained that he purchased ‘various objects in the same taste,’ signed them, and gave them the titles. He asked her to not try ‘to understand this in the Romantic or Impressionist or Cubist sense’ because there were no associations. He even provided her with detailed instructions on how to create a Ready-made' with his signature on it remotely. Jacob Lund and Jacob Wamberg (2019, p.6) argue that ‘This impersonal mode of art-making seems to be fundamental for Duchamp.’ He wanted to depart from traditional art which he considered ‘retinal’- pleasing only the eye and not the mind. In his opinion, visual art failed by being only a representation. His Ready-mades, on the contrary, had no representational function, they were what they were, the actual objects not the images of them, ‘conceived … as a form of communication devoid of aesthetic enjoyment’ (Golding, 1973 p.56). They were his revolutionary response to the established canon of art. This paper will explore what exactly the Ready-mades were and discuss the way they impacted twentieth-century art.
When Philosophy Meets Architecture: How Utopian Dream of One Visioner Transformed the Island of Fire
This article explores the architectural mission of an accomplished Spanish artist, thinker, and architect, César Manrique, which he undertook on his native island of Lanzarote, along with its impact, and the legacy he left. It provides his biographical note and highlights that a spirit of the place, ‘genius loci,’ was of a significant importance to Manrique, influenced his return to the island and informed his body of work. This paper also explains that a driving force behind the architect’s passion was his life-long dream of utopia and argues that his mission of creating it proved successful. It discusses his selected projects and their features characteristic to the unique Manrique’s style and how they perfectly blend with the traditional architecture of the island, and how they serve local communities and tourists alike. It also argues that Manrique’s deep connection with nature and respect for environment had significant impact on his work, and that it places him among pioneers implementing ideas of sustainable architecture and environmental care in their projects. This paper also explains how through relentless documentation and personal involvement in conversations, Manrique raised a lasting awareness of the unique value of Lanzarote’s cultural and architectonic heritage to its inhabitants.
There are many reasons why Marina Abramović’s major exhibition in the Royal Academy is important and the fact that it is the artist’s largest one in the UK to date is certainly amongst the most significant ones. It is also, since its opening in 1768, the first solo exhibition held in the Main Galleries by a female artist. It took 255 years and three waves of feminism for this reputable institution to open the gates of its most representative space to a woman - an icon, a pioneer, an internationally acclaimed performance artist who for over 50 years of her career never once stopped experimenting and challenging her own limits and those of her audience, yet still a woman. Adrian Heathfield argues that her life-long work and especially renowned shows in New York’s Guggenheim and MoMA held at the beginning of the twenty-first century, earned her a ‘global, cultural popularity experienced by only a handful of (still mostly male) artists’ (Royal Academy of Arts (RA), 2023 p.43) and subsequently enabled the Royal Academy show. Another reason of the exhibition’s importance lays in the fact that it presents Abramović, a Serbian born in 1946 in former Yugoslavia, not only as a performance artist but as a multidisciplinary one, who utilises photography, video, sculpture, drawing, installation, and other means to explore ‘art as a vehicle for emotional and spiritual transformation’ (RA, 2023 p.4).
The significance and emergence of ‘craft’ in contemporary fine art exhibitions and practice, exemplified within the Venice Biennale 2024.
I never even knew that art could be anything other than spectacular pre-Raphaelite paintings, or imposing renaissance sculptures; the skill, technique and overall grandiose filled me with awe, and quickly became my expectation and standard. Of course, what I didn’t realise was that this slither of the art world that I was exposed to, was simply that - a limited preview into the canon. It was when I had entered university and begun knitting and sewing within the context of visual art that I discovered this history of denial and exclusion for artists like me. Craft has a complex history which has left it often overlooked within the art world, but today we may again be at a point of revival. Mirroring the 1970s, Glenn Adamson (2007, p.166) highlights a certain trendiness of craft within the contemporary art sphere: ‘craft seems positively fashionable in the present moment, as artists, architects and designers evince a fascination with process and materials’. It is important to define what craft is, to delineate what we will be referring to throughout this essay. I will discuss the changing value of the medium, which has gone through many historical variations, so I think it is important to classify craft here as its material manifestations. Tate defines craft as 'a form of making which generally produces an object that has a function’ (Tate, no date), but I believe this discounts a lot of contemporary work, focussing on the physical results. Instead, I prefer Glenn Adamson’s (no date) definition of modern craft - ‘the application of skilled making to the world around us.’ - which instead focuses more on the means of production and less so on the functionality of product.
Copyright (c) 2025 Ellie Felstead https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Magdalena Abakanowicz: Inspired by Nature and Undefeated by the System of Oppression
Magdalena Abakanowicz: Inspired by Nature and Undefeated by the System of Oppression. Explores how Magdalena Abakanowicz mastered adaptability, turning shortages of materials and limitations of expression under the Communist regime into the development of her unique technique to achieve international success. Magdalena Abakanowicz was one of the most internationally acclaimed Polish fibre artists and sculptor, who gained recognition despite living in the country trapped by the communist regime, and despite working in the field of art usually dominated by men. She proved to be a prolific creator by expressing herself in many forms apart from her signature sculpture, such as poetry, prose, film, and visual arts (Milofsky, 1987). She had something important to say and wanted to be heard, so she shared her philosophy, she gave voice to her art in writing and interviews, during her travels, when teaching, and when exhibiting. Abakanowicz lived long enough to enjoy the freedom of creation in reborn Poland, yet a major part of her career fell in a time of restrictions and persecutions before the rule of the Communists and the control of the Soviet Union ended in 1989. Candice Russell (2005, p.6) maintains that ‘[H]er art is a direct reflection of her experiences’ whilst Leslie Milofsky argues that ‘we receive her as a Polish artist and associate her work with her own country’s history and political policies’ (1987, p.369). This paper will explore how the artist’s background, personal experience of war, and living under totalitarian policies, along with the limitations imposed by the regime affected her creative journey, the materials she used, and the techniques she implemented. It will also discuss her strong connection with nature, and how its cycles and processes inspired the artist to search for eternal secrets, patterns, and the place of a human in this mysterious biological chain.