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Fictional Worlds and Characters in Art-Making: Fook Island As Exemplar for Art Practice

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Fictional Worlds and Characters in Art-Making: Fook Island As Exemplar for Art Practice COPYRIGHT AND CITATION CONSIDERATIONS FOR THIS THESIS/ DISSERTATION o Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. o NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes. o ShareAlike — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original. How to cite this thesis Surname, Initial(s). (2012) Title of the thesis or dissertation. PhD. (Chemistry)/ M.Sc. (Physics)/ M.A. (Philosophy)/M.Com. (Finance) etc. [Unpublished]: University of Johannesburg. Retrieved from: https://ujcontent.uj.ac.za/vital/access/manager/Index?site_name=Research%20Output (Accessed: Date). Fictional worlds and characters in art-making: Fook Island as exemplar for art practice by Allen Walter Laing Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Magister Technologiae: Fine Art In the Department of Visual Art Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture University of Johannesburg 8 October 2018 Supervisor: David Paton Co-supervisor: Prof. Brenda Schmahmann The financial assistance of the National Research Foundation (NRF) towards this research is hereby acknowledged. Opinions expressed and conclusions arrived at, are those of the author and are not necessarily to be attributed to the NRF. Declaration I hereby declare that the dissertation, which I herewith submit for the research qualification Master of Technology: Fine Art to the University of Johannesburg is, apart from recognised assistance, my own work and has not previously been submitted by me to another institution to obtain a research diploma or degree. Allen Walter Laing ___________________________ Date _____________________________ i Acknowledgements I would like to thank: David Paton and Prof. Brenda Schmahmann for their patience and guidance that enabled me to complete this dissertation. The University of Johannesburg and National Research Foundation for financial assistance. Heidi Fourie for unending support through the process, the least of which includes taking photographs of many of my artworks. Sonja Laing for support and editing of this document. Jack Ginsberg and Warren Siebrits, whose 2016 publication on Walter Battiss has been key to this study. Norman Catherine and Warren Siebrits for the interviews. Heidi Fourie, Jack Ginsberg, Benji Liebmann, Harrie Siertsema, Johan Stegman, Angus Taylor, Stuart Trent, Ronel van der Vyver as well as all my friends and patrons for supporting my career and creating opportunities for interesting places to live, work and exhibit. The Johannesburg City Library for their friendly and willing help in hosting my exhibition. ii Abstract In this study I examine the functions and effects of incorporating fictional worlds and characters into my art practice, using Walter Battiss’ Fook Island as an exemplar for this practice. The study is composed so as to blur certain lines between conventions of fictional and academic writing. I present a biography of Battiss with a focus on moments in his life where, I argue, the lines between fantasy and reality become blurred, and show evidence of his childlikeness, which I term ego fictus. I argue that this approach to his art-making was key to his resistance to and protests against censorship, and his ability to navigate difficult moments in his life. I discuss how fiction, narrative and autobiography can be applied to an art practice to make it more appealing, entertaining and accessible to viewers, and thus increase the reach and impact of an artist’s work and conceptual messages. I spend much time describing the practical components of this study, which include two fictional characters that form part of this study, an exhibition of works titled N.’s Apparatus, and a catalogue of the exhibition. Key Words Walter Battiss, ego fictus, narrative, autobiography, fiction, humour, fantasy, childlikeness, censorship in South Africa. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS VOLUME I: Dissertation DECLARATION…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ii ABSTRACT…….………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… iii TABLE OF CONTENTS..…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. iv PREFACE………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 1 INTRODUCTION………….…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 6 CHAPTER 1:………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. …… 20 CHAPTER 2:……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 59 CONCLUSION………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 110 APPENDIX A: Facsimile of Informed consent for interview: Norman Catherine...............…………….…. 113 APPENDIX B: Transcript of interview: Norman Catherine – 22 November 2015.……………………………… 114 LIST OF SOURCES CONSULTED…..……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 127 VOLUME II: Figures, facsimiles of writings of Prof. Etterforsker and Mr. Nieandertaalensis LIST OF FIGURES…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 1 FIGURES…………...……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…. 3 FACSIMILE OF WRITINGS BY PROFESSOR W.R. ETTERFORSKER..……………………………………………….. 26 FACSIMILE OF WRITINGS BY MR A. NIEANDERTAALENSIS……….………………………………………………………. 197 iv PREFACE Most days I feel like hiding, but it is near impossible. It feels to me as though we have all become crude little gods. Omniscient, omnipercipient, omnipresent; and like the Olympians and Asgardians we are petty and squabbling; warring and violent; lascivious and treacherous. Our tedious godhood flows from our imminent and perpetual tethers to the world-wide web: it is tied to the talismans in our smart phones and at the altars of our laptop computers. All day my mind is scoured by a rushing flood of white-hot information: I know everyone’s fears, everyone’s triumphs, everyone’s angers, the suffering of the world, and the tantalising but torturously unattainable promises of scientific discovery. I am exhausted from fighting down jealousy caused by others’ avatars on social media, from chewing on guilt from others’ accounts of their pain, from loathing my powerlessness against the poison of tyrants’ lies and deeds. The web is a trap in which I am suspended, and cursed to share in all the evil and unjustness of every human. We all are the sacrificial lambs and scapegoats, but none of us is pure enough to bear these burdens and rise again redeemed. In the face of these feelings, what hope do I have, and where can I turn? Being part of capitalist ‘rational’ global Western society in general, and being a white South African in particular, I experience a lack of metaphysical, mystical and spiritual elements in my life and in my society. I feel as though the world has become so focussed on material progress, empirical discovery, luxury and quick entertainment (none of which are necessarily bad) that, taken together, these tendencies delineate a living that feels superficial and meaningless, and which seems to be lacking ‘something more’ that I feel humans have a desperate need for, and have lost. I believe that it would be dishonest of me to adopt an existing belief-system or metaphysics (just to satisfy my need as described above) if I do not have a deep and genuine conviction of the particular truths contained in it. This is why I seek, instead, through art-making, to discover what I seem to once have had; especially as a child, when fantasy, hope and possibility were still alive. 1 The studio component of this study (culminating in the exhibition opening on 20 October 2018, entitled N.'s Apparatus) involves an inquiry into my own process of art making and the use of various characters, narratives and fictional elements to mediate between myself and the world around me. Through a parody of selected scientific practices within the fields of psychology and anthropology, I explore how playing characters and creating fictional ritual machines1 (and subsequently analysing them in an ostensibly scientific manner) allows me to process the frustration and confusion I experience with events and people that upset me in reality. The apparent difficulty and meaninglessness of modern life is disturbing, and leads me to develop a nihilistic view of existence. It also leaves me ill-equipped to make sense of the actions of other humans, since without a belief in some benevolent higher intelligence who/which is/are ensuring that justice will be done on planet earth, I cannot feel that evil will be punished or goodness rewarded, and this makes the world seem like a terrifying and out-of-control place in which to exist. Although I have lost my capacity for traditional religious faith, I remain convinced that a general 'religiosity' is an integral part of a healthy human psyche,2 and so I speculate that I might access the same mental 'benefits' that are found in religion via the creation of art. I 1 I call my sculptures ritual machines (whether or not they bear any resemblance to actual machines) to express the idea that they are all intended (at least ostensibly) to execute some sort of function, which is only possible when their employment is coupled with some ritual action and belief from the ‘user’. Together with the supporting documentation and ephemera (such as fictional diaries, journals and illustrations) they constitute N.'s Apparatus 2 Ember, Ember & Peregrine (2002:439) present a two-fold reason for the apparent ubiquity of religious beliefs in human cultures
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