Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Undefined Genre, Or, A Study Into Work Reliant On Visual Art Mediums To Transform The Protagonist Function Of The Human Body In Performance, Tony Currie

Theses : Honours

This thesis is a study into performance art, specifically examples of work in which the artist engages with a physical object or visual arts medium to create a work of art in the presence of an audience. The subsequent work of art created can vary from works on paper, to living structures, or any other physical and tangible structure. I have addressed the audience demographic of performance art, the genre’s conceptual genesis, its ephemeral nature, and its commoditisation to analyse its relevance to the current artistic climate. During my study, an importance has been placed on live performance, not on …

Utilizing Classical Saxophone Articulation Techniques In Jazz Performance, Jeremy Trezona

Theses : Honours

No abstract available.

Scripting Therapeutic Screen Stories : Animating The Healing Potential Of Film Narratives, Andrew Levett

Theses : Honours

Beyond entertainment, animated narratives can potentially induce psychological healing, termed “individuation.” Stories exist in many forms, like literature, film and conversation, as well as in the human mind, or “psyche.” These “self-narratives” use life experience to shape consciousness. Therefore, effective storytelling based on archetypal myths can restructure the psyche. Film narratives communicate meaning through symbols, termed “textual cues”, while screenwriters employ specific templates, which organise story information into familiar structures. These guide audiences towards predetermined meaning. Through bibliotherapy, which is the use of literature for therapeutic purposes, audiences project their unconscious content onto narrative components that resonate with it. Ego-consciousness …

Ben Wendel : The Manipulation Of Sound And 'Shapes' In The Construction Of An Improvised Solo, Luke Christopher Minness

Theses : Honours

The aim of this dissertation is to define and analyse several idiosyncratic devices utilised by tenor saxophonist Ben Wendel in order to manipulate elements of sound, rhythm and melody in the construction of an improvised solo. Through transcription and analysis of selected improvisations performed both live and in the recording studio. This paper will also outline and observe Wendel’s use of several articulation techniques as well as examining key methods of manipulating melodic and rhythmic cells unique to Wendel’s improvisational style. Definitions of each device and their application will be taken from transcription analysis of solos taken over "What …

Uncovering A Genre : The Integration Of Suspended Aerial Apparatus And Contemporary Dance Practice In Australia, Catherine Ryan

Theses : Honours

Genres in the performing arts are constantly shifting and changing, with many artforms evolving into new spheres of performance. It is not uncommon for creators to employ tools and techniques from various disciplines to support their artistic vision and enhance their work. A number of contemporary dance artists have begun to explore movement in the air by adapting skills or equipment from other disciplines and industries to suit their needs. At the same time, some circus artists and aerialists have been lowering their apparatus to incorporate ground-based movement into their work. It is this cross-pollination between art-forms that has formed …

Joe Henderson's Harmonic Approach To Improvisation Within The Duo Setting In His 1992 Quintet Album, Lush Life: The Music Of Billy Strayhorn, Patrick Van Der Moezel

Theses : Honours

Jazz improvisation can be greatly influenced by the combination of instrumentation, influencing the role of the instruments and the way they relate to each other. Notably, the stripped-back nature of the duo emphasises these differences. Musicians such as Sonny Rollins, Stan Getz and Joe Henderson are three of many saxophonists who have employed this particular combination to explore different ways of improvisation.

This paper will draw on Joe Henderson’s 1992 album Lush Life: The Music of Billy Strayhorn, which uses the duo setting on three tracks. Each of these three tracks has a slightly different combination (saxophone with bass, with …

Developing Audiation Through Internalisation : Using The Pivots System As An Example, Steven Vacca

Theses : Honours

Having well-developed aural skills is an important factor in many musical tasks, such as improvisation. The skill of audiation (the ability to hear and comprehend sound), as coined by Edwin E. Gordon, is attained by internalising certain concepts or elements, and storing these as a vocabulary. Just as verbal skills are acquired by learning and memorising words and phrases, so too is this aural skill developed by learning and internalising musical patterns and concepts. Through audiation, this vocabulary is recalled when the same or a similar pattern is heard again. The sound is identified and understood because it has been …

An Investigation Of The Benefits Of Improvisation For Classical Musicians, Rebecca S. Kossen

Theses : Honours

For centuries improvisation has been an integral part of European classical music culture. Until the nineteenth century most musicians were composers, improvisers and performers. Today, improvisation is less common in the classical music scene with most classical musicians being either performers or composers and only a minority of them having the ability to improvise. Is improvisation relevant to the classical musician whose main concern is the performance of written repertoire?

Learning how to improvise and practicing improvisation requires a musician to develop particular skills which can be directly applied in the performance and interpretation of precomposed music. This make improvisation …

A Transcultural Journey : Integrating Elements Of Persian Classical Music With Jazz, Kate Pass

Theses : Honours

This study centres on the integration of Jazz with Persian classical music. In particular it documents the processes and the outcomes of a musical collaboration between myself—an Australian jazz double bass player—and a group of classically trained Persian musicians.

The study is in three parts. Part one serves as a backdrop to parts two and three and explores notable examples of collaborations between jazz musicians and musicians from other cultures. Part two provides a succinct exposition of the main features of Persian music, and part three documents my work in integrating Persian classical music with Jazz.

Somewhat Damaged And Interrogating The Incubus : Sleep Paralysis Explored In The Young Adult Novel, 'Somewhat Damaged', Lauren Payne

Theses : Honours

This thesis, comprising an excerpt from my young adult paranormal novel ‘Somewhat Damaged’ and an essay, examines the mythic potential of sleep paralysis, a paralytic transitory state between sleep and consciousness during which frightening hallucinations are projected onto the waking environment. While the neurophysiology is generally agreed upon, further investigation is warranted on the anomalous phenomena that manifests during sleep paralysis hallucinations. Within the theoretical framework of psychoanalysis, particularly Carl Jung’s collective unconscious theory (1959), I will imaginatively explore the recurring figure of the ‘incubus’ of sleep paralysis that has provoked ubiquitous fear and ambiguity. The essay will describe the …

The Making Of Disgrace Kelly: Dragging The Diva Through Cabarets, Pubs And Into The Recital Hall, Caitlin Cassidy

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This research project investigates the synthesis of cabaret and recital performance as a way to re-invigorate the recital as a performance platform. As a curious classical singer with a passion for cabaret, I have explored cabaret in my own creative practice as a classically trained opera singer through the employment of practice-led research methodologies. This project includes research manifested in rehearsals, performance and exegetical writing, including a unique self-reflexive voice in the writing style, to encompass a practice-led research methodology. The culmination of these approaches was a final performance program entitled Diva Bites the Dust. A study of the diva …

Inside Schizophrenia: Mending The Internal Conflict; And, The Historical, Cultural And Social Aspects Of Schizophrenia, Fiona Erica Nichols

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis comprises a memoir and essay on schizophrenia. It is estimated that 285,000 people suffer some form of schizophrenia in Australia. This means, on average, one in seventy people in Australia suffer from the disorder. For males, schizophrenia often develops in early adulthood. For females, it has later onset. There are about five types of schizophrenia: paranoid, catatonic, disorganised, undifferentiated, and residual. The focus of this thesis is on the diagnosis of Paranoid Schizophrenia. There is no cure, but it is treatable. However, people with a treatment resistant schizophrenia can find life difficult. The aim of the thesis is …

Creating And Performing New Australian Works On The Hungarian Concert Cimbalom, Joshua Webster

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis explores the creation and performance of five new Western Australian works for the Hungarian concert cimbalom. These include four solo works, and one duet, which were scored, analysed, performed, and recorded. This thesis is in two parts: this exegetical component, which details the background, development, and findings of the research, including the scores created, and the manual that was developed for composers’ use; and a practical component, which is an active representation of the research, included as video recordings. To assist the composition of the new works, a manual was developed for the composers’ use. This manual began …

Ronald Stevenson, Composer-Pianist : An Exegetical Critique From A Pianistic Perspective, Mark Gasser

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This exegetical critique makes a conceptual summation of Ronald Stevenson’s life’s work for the piano and his contributions as a composer‐pianist. Chapters one and two provide a profile of Stevenson as a pianist, examining the aesthetic and musical concerns that defined his long career, as well as precedents and antecedents of his pianism. Of particular interest are the ways that Stevenson coalesces aspects of the ‘grand manner’ and his obsession with a pianistic bel canto style. Chapter three examines Stevenson’s remarkable output in terms of piano transcriptions. His conceptualization of this as ‘capturing the essence’ of the original composer is …

Bury Me Deep In Isolation: A Cultural Examination Of A Peripheral Music Industry And Scene, Christina Ballico

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Since 1998, Perth bands have had a strong presence within the Australian music scene. Primarily, each year between 1998 and 2009, songs by indie pop/rock acts from Perth have charted within national broadcaster triple j’s Hottest 100 countdown. Many of the albums from which these songs have been taken have sold in excess of 35,000 copies, and a number of successful and recognised Perth bands have toured with the nation’s largest music festival, the Big Day Out as well as their own high profile national tours. At the same time, Perth’s local indie pop/rock music industry has undergone tremendous growth …

Ten Pounds For Adults, Kids Travel Free: An Essay On The Effects Of Migration Upon The Children Of The British Migrants To Western Australia In The 1960s And 1970s ; And , The Red Pipe: A Novella Set In Port Hedland, Karen Helen Fouweather

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study comprises an essay entitled ‘Ten Pounds for Adults, Kids Travel Free’ and a creative component entitled ‘The Red Pipe: a Novella Set in Port Hedland’. The essay focuses upon the children of the ‘golden era’ of British migration to Australia, between 1961 and 1971, when over 300,000 arrived as part of an unprecedented post-war population drive. Most travelled under an assisted passage scheme in which adults paid £10 towards their fare and their children travelled free of charge. Consequently, these assisted British immigrants were known by Australians as the ‘Ten Pound Poms’. Two decades on from the introduction …

A Study Of The Spatial Dynamics Of Some Introduced Avian Species In The Southwest Region Of Western Australia, Desiree L. Moon

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The Southwest region of Western Australia is a recognised ‘biodiversity hotspot’, as it possesses high levels of biodiversity and endemism; it also holds a number of species threatened by habitat loss. The arrival of Europeans in the region wrought major changes on the natural landscape. Extensive tracts of bushland were cleared for housing, infrastructure, forestry, farming, and mining. Another challenge to regional biodiversity was the spread of exotic plants and animals (including birds); the latter provide the focus for the present study. The research examines four bird species that colonised the Southwest region following European settlement: Australian White Ibis (Threskiornis …

Normal Mysticism : An Interdisciplinary Study Of Max Kudushin's Rabbinic Hermeneutic, Thomas L. Head

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Max Kadushin (1895-1980) was a rabbi, professor, and preeminent figure in the history of American Conservative Jewish rabbinic thought. His hermeneutic system, which centers on the idea of organic religious value-concepts, has had a significant influence on the emerging Textual Reasoning movement.

In chapter one, I describe the intellectual climate in which Kadushin's system took shape—providing a short history of the 19th-century reform and haskalah movements, discussing the general outline of Alfred North Whitehead's process philosophy tradition, and placing new focus on the tension between Conservative Judaism and Mordecai Kaplan's emerging philosophy of Reconstructionism as a critical factor in the …

Photography And The Paradigm Of The Trace, Daniel Nevin

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The idea that photographs can be explained as traces made by the things they depict has been a recurring paradigm in theories about the nature of the photographic medium. Walter Benjamin, Charles Sanders Peirce, Susan Sontag, Andre Bazin and Roland Barthes are a few of the many theorists who have used the paradigm of the trace to explain the nature of photographs. The paradigm can also be argued to have been a significant influence in the work of prominent artists such as Gerhard Richter, Adam Fuss and Cornelia Parker whose work has explored the photographic medium. Through an exegesis and …

The Transience Of The Interior Self: Exploring The Lost Real Within A Creative Visual Praxis, Jacqueline Monks

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This research investigates psychological ideas of the interior self as transient and its relationship to the Real within a creative practice that includes video, projection and animation. The significance of the research is in the critical development of my creative practice and its creative outcome as a means of visually manifesting ideas of the interior self as explored by the theorist Slavoj Zizek. Theoretically, the notion of the interior self is defined as a transient state of co-existing contradictions. Its definition is located in Zizek’s reading of Jacques Lacan’ s triad of orders that comprise the thinking self (Zizek, 2007a, …

Countering-Insurgency : A Comparative Analysis Of Campaigns In Malaya (1948-1960), Kenya (1952-1960) And Rhodesia (1964-1980), William J. Bailey

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

History has lessons for the present; could this be the case for modern counterinsurgency operations in countries resembling Iraq and Afghanistan? This research set out to study three historical counter-insurgencies campaigns in, Malaya (1947-1960), Kenya (1952- 1960) and Rhodesia (1964-1980), with a view to establishing whether or not the Colonial authorities had a substantial advantage over modern forces when combating insurgencies. If this was the case, are these advantages transferable to aid forces involved in modern counterinsurgencies?

The research questions focussed on how important the role of the Colonial Forces was to the eventual outcome, examining the principal factors that …

Framing Anorexia : A Play Script And Multidimensional Investigation Of Anorexia : A Play And Critical Essay, Louise Helfgott

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis explores anorexia nervosa in young people. It comprises two components: a play script, "Frames", about 16-year-old Elizabeth who is combating the disorder, her troubled friend Ben, and their families, and a critical essay that reviews qualitative and quantitative literature about anorexia and contextualises the play in relation to selected narratives, plays and films. In my field research, I interviewed a number of professionals working in the field of anorexia and the essay also discusses their views and insights.

Few plays deal with anorexia in an in-depth manner to explore the onset and development of the illness. "Frames" addresses …

Drawn From Artists’ Lives: An Empirical Study Of The Situation And Realisation Of Professional Visual Art Practices In The Western Australian Field Of Cultural Production, Duncan Robert Mckay

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis presents the findings of empirical research on the working lives of visual artists living and working in Western Australia. No detailed studies of this kind have previously been undertaken in a Western Australian context, though a series of national, economically framed studies have surveyed Australian artists working in a variety of art forms about their working lives on five occasions since the early 1980s. Collectively the reports published from these five studies make up the most comprehensive picture of artists’ economic activity that has been available to policymakers and others involved in arts and culture in this country …

My Worst Ever Night At The Best School Ball Ever : Creating Taboo Theatre For Teenagers, Jeremy F. Rice

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

My Worst Ever Night at the Best School Ball Ever (School Ball) is a new play for teenage audiences. The action takes place on the night of a ball for final year students. A prank with a goat goes horribly wrong, a photo of a girl pissing in a pot plant is widely circulated, and everyone finds out about the boy in a sexual relationship with a teacher. At the heart of the play are teenagers, armed with mobile phones, trying to find their way in a contradictory and confusing world.

The creative development of School Ball centred on practice-based …

Homing : Poetry ; &, An Essay On The Poetic Leap In The Late Work Of R.S. Thomas, Shevaun Cooley

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Homing, as a collection, speaks to the capacity and yearning to navigate our way towards something we might call home. In animal behaviour, this seems like an instinct, hard-wired to the body. It is something I envy. By comparison, the instinct, in human behaviour, feels muffled and complicated.

These poems move between two places in which I feel ‘at home’, whatever that means: the south-west of Western Australia, where I was born and raised, and the north-west of Wales, where I lived for a time, and find myself returning to, drawn not by blood, but by longing, and a deep …