Imagining Paradise - The Aestheticized Garden as Articulation of a Mythic Western Imaginary of Paradise

Simple item page
dc.contributor.advisorTerreblanche, Carine
dc.contributor.authorKovats, Nora
dc.contributor.otherStellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Visual Arts.en_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2016-03-09T14:25:00Z
dc.date.available2016-03-09T14:25:00Z
dc.date.issued2016-03
dc.descriptionThesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2016.en_ZA
dc.description.abstractENGLISH SUMMARY: This study explores the extent to which the aestheticized garden can coercively articulate a mythic Western imaginary of paradise as the site for an occidental exotic fantasy of the East. The splendour of Islamic ‘paradise gardens’, together with imports including foreign plants, Eastern novelties and manuscripts such as the Arabian'Nights narrative, played a major role in influencing the Western construct of the ‘orient’ as exotic, erotic, alluring and ultimately ‘other’. This distorted, miragePlike Western view of the ‘orient’, contrived without the consent of its inhabitants, denies the corresponding reality of its geographical location. This theory offers a lens through which to view the Western obsession with the exoticized ‘other’ – both in the East and in the Americas – and the ensuing European mania for collecting rarities, compiling ‘cabinets of curiosities’, and creating hothouses as paradisiac microcosms housing outlandish botanical collections. My practical work, split into the Pomegranate' Collection and the Gifappeltjie' Collection, aims to simultaneously rely on and subvert this exoticizing gaze in a series of highly symbolic contemporary jewellery objects that offer glimpses of a fragmented, aestheticized botanical paradise.en_ZA
dc.description.abstractAFRIKAANS OPSOMMING: Hierdie tesis ondersoek die mate waarin ‘n estetiseerde tuin ‘n Westerse paradysvoorstelling as medium vir ‘n Westerse eksotiese fantasie van die ‘Oriënt’ kan uitbeeld. Hierdie Westerse siening van die Ooste as eksoties, eroties, aanloklik en veral as ‘die Ander’ is gedeeltelik beïnvloed deur die beeld van pragtige Islamietiese ‘paradysP tuine’, ingevoerde seldsame plante en ander nuwighede, asook manuskripte soos die Arabiese' Nagte' storieversameling. Dié Westerse verwronge drogbeeld van die Ooste, opgebou sonder sy inwoners se inwilliging, ontken die ooreenstemmende werklikheid van ‘n egte, geografiese ligging. Hierdie teorie bied ‘n lens waardeur die Westerse beheptheid ondersoek kan word: enersyds die obsessie met alles wat eksoties is in beide die MiddePOoste en in Amerika, asook adersyds die Europese manie vir eienaardige versamelinge in ‘kunskabinette’ en tropiese glashuise, wat as uitbeelding van ‘n botaniese mikrokosmos gesien kan word. My praktiese werk, bestaande uit die Pomegranate' Collection en die Gifappeltjie' Collection, skep indrukke van ‘n gefragmenteerde, estetiseerde botaniese paradys in die vorm van ‘n versameling simbolieke, kontemporêre juweliersware met die doel om die bogenoemde vervreemdende aanskouing gelyktydig aan te wend en te bevraagteken.af_ZA
dc.format.extentxiv, 116 pages ; illustrationsen_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/98485
dc.language.isoen_ENen_ZA
dc.publisherStellenbosch : Stellenbosch Universityen_ZA
dc.rights.holderStellenbosch Universityen_ZA
dc.subjectOrientalism in arten_ZA
dc.subjectJewelryen_ZA
dc.subjectAesthetics -- Westernen_ZA
dc.subjectGardens -- Religious aspectsen_ZA
dc.subjectParadiseen_ZA
dc.subjectCabinets of curiositiesen_ZA
dc.subjectWestern imaginaryen_ZA
dc.subjectExoticismen_ZA
dc.subjectArabian Nightsen_ZA
dc.subjectCivilization -- Orientalen_ZA
dc.subjectCivilization -- Westernen_ZA
dc.subjectUCTD
dc.titleImagining Paradise - The Aestheticized Garden as Articulation of a Mythic Western Imaginary of Paradiseen_ZA
dc.typeThesisen_ZA
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
kovats_imagining_2016.pdf
Size:
287.29 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.71 KB
Format:
Plain Text
Description:
Download
Collections
Masters Degrees (Visual Arts)