Search

The article presents an instructional resource exploring James Cochran's mural art through the national visual arts standards. It provides a guide for understanding the stories of communities depicted in the murals and for classroom discussion of the paintings including the relationship of hands and heart in "Cosmic Heart," inspiration behind "The Lisbon Dove," significance of location of "Portrait of Shakespeare" and "Mural at Port Augusta," and feminist representation in "The Ladies Supper."

The authors analyze sustainable cultural landscapes through the lens of ecosystem services. Their case study focuses on transformation of the peri-urban landscape of the Stockholm region, Sweden. Peri-urban landscapes are characterized by diversified and fragmented land uses that are strongly related to urban lifestyles. The rapidly increasing trend for recreational horse keeping is replacing traditional agriculture. Horse keepers’ and local government perspectives on horse keeping are examined, as well as the related demand for ecosystem services, which affects the landscape. The article is based on government documents, interviews with local government officials, and field visits to 16 horse-keeping facilities in two municipalities. Horse keeping was found important for sustaining cultural ecosystem services related to a rural cultural landscape and for maintaining traditional agriculture that provides provisioning ecosystem services. However, several differences between traditional agriculture and horse keeping that affect the demand for ecosystem services related to land use were found to shift the focus from provisioning services to recreational services. The authors conclude that horse keeping, as an emerging crosscutting issue in peri-urban landscapes, needs new more integrative planning processes that account for the full range of ecosystem services and links between cultural services and ecosystem functioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Forschungen zur Volks- und Landeskunde is the property of Romanian Academy Publishing House / Editura Academiei Romane and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper investigates the relationship between the real and art in the context of the issue raised by Theodor Adorno by the end of World War II regarding the impossibility of poetic language (which he later extended to culture) after the Holocaust. By observing a few case studies we try to understand how art is possible after the Holocaust and how the concept of community is reflected in contemporary art. We will see how the ephemeral nature of installations operates by dwelling on the language of fulgurances and gaps of history. We focus on the way in which the story of a community is told in spite of all machinery of disimagination and we thus try to determine who is given a face and who is denied a face when history is written, who is removed from its visibility, and how this removal is enacted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the concept of wit in painting and the role of color in painting in the context of paintings depicting fires by 16th century painter Gillis Mostaert of Antwerp, Belgium. Topics discussed include the painting technique of Mostaert in the context of 16th and 17th century Flemish art, the practices of art collecting in Antwerp at this time, and representations of communal rather than individual subjects in art.

The article explores the idea of universal shareability of the judgement of the sublime in the philosophy of author Immanuel Kant. The author compares Kant's aesthetic ideas on the sublime to the criticism of philosopher Jean-François Lyotard. The article explores how aesthetic judgements can be based on feelings of pleasure and displeasure while establishing a universally valid norm of togetherness. Other topics include universal communicability, crisis in community, authenticity and philosophy, and pure judgements of taste.

This paper contributes to the debate about the social relevance of museums by exploring two seemingly different situations: the making of a community portrait by artists for an exhibition about city life, and the unanticipated discoveries by international students in a display of decorative arts. The account and analysis demonstrate how the two experiences amplify each other and raise issues about the possibilities and limits of relevance in and through museums. The paper also considers as a factor of relevance the two small cities in which the two museums are located. The paper concludes by identifying three conditions for relevance—transparency, integrity, and connection—that may have implications for the development of exhibitions and public programs in various museums and galleries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An image of "By All Means Necessary," an acrylic painting on bricks, is presented.