Arts

18 pages, 2683 KB

Open AccessArticle

Casa da Arquitectura and the Liminality of Architecture Centers: Archives, Exhibitions, and Curatorial Strategies in the Digital Shift

by Giuseppe Resta and Fabiana Dicuonzo

Arts 2025, 14(5), 120; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts14050120 - 1 Oct 2025

Abstract

This study explores the evolving role of architecture centers in the digital age by analyzing the case of Casa da Arquitectura (CdA) in Porto, Portugal, a hybrid institution that functions as both archive and museum. Positioned within the broader context of museum digitization [...] Read more.

This study explores the evolving role of architecture centers in the digital age by analyzing the case of Casa da Arquitectura (CdA) in Porto, Portugal, a hybrid institution that functions as both archive and museum. Positioned within the broader context of museum digitization and liminality theory, the research investigates how CdA navigates the spatial, social, and procedural shifts inherent in digital transformation. Drawing on qualitative methods, including in-depth interviews with key personnel and on-site observations, the study examines the institution’s strategies in acquisition, curation, and exhibition design. The findings highlight CdA’s innovative approach to archival visibility, the creation of a multipurpose digital platform (“edifício digital”), and the integration of archival acquisitions with exhibition practices. These practices illustrate a condition of triple liminality of the digital museum concerning its process, position, and place. The study also discusses how digitization reconfigures the museum’s organizational model in terms of accessibility and curatorial complexity. By analyzing CdA’s operational and curatorial choices, the paper discusses how digital museums can act as speculative, process-oriented spaces that challenge traditional boundaries between archive and exhibition, physical and virtual, institutional and public. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Museums in the Digital Age)

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17 pages, 257 KB

Open AccessArticle

From Silos to Synergy: Redefining Collaboration in the Performing Arts and Museum Sectors

by Christos A. Makridis

Arts 2025, 14(5), 119; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts14050119 - 1 Oct 2025

Abstract

The arts sector—museums, theaters, and orchestras—in the United States and Europe faces increasing financial and operational challenges, from declining attendance to reduced public and private funding. While these organizations have historically pursued their goals independently, their future may depend on fostering collaboration across [...] Read more.

The arts sector—museums, theaters, and orchestras—in the United States and Europe faces increasing financial and operational challenges, from declining attendance to reduced public and private funding. While these organizations have historically pursued their goals independently, their future may depend on fostering collaboration across these traditionally siloed institutions. By pooling resources, expertise, and, most importantly, audiences, cross-disciplinary partnerships can amplify the impact of cultural institutions while addressing shared challenges. For instance, museums and performing arts organizations could collaborate on immersive experiences that integrate visual and performing arts, attracting a broader and more diverse audience base. Similarly, joint programming and shared digital platforms could reduce overhead costs and expand outreach. These partnerships also enable the arts to present a unified case for public and philanthropic support, leading to greater collective societal impact. Drawing on successful examples of cross-sector collaboration, this paper explores practical strategies for fostering synergies among arts institutions. By working together, the arts can not only enhance their resilience in a challenging environment but also redefine how cultural experiences are created and consumed, ensuring their relevance and vibrancy for future generations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Arts and Urban Development)

24 pages, 2380 KB

Open AccessArticle

Resisting Chauvinist Stereotypes: The Impertinence of Russian Painting at London’s International Exhibition of 1862

by Rosalind Polly Blakesley

Arts 2025, 14(5), 118; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts14050118 - 30 Sep 2025

Abstract

The Russian empire’s displays of applied and decorative art at the Great Exhibition of 1851 and its immediate successors have long galvanised scholars for their semantic complexity. By contrast, Russia’s first selection of paintings for this fiercely competitive arena, shown at London’s International [...] Read more.

The Russian empire’s displays of applied and decorative art at the Great Exhibition of 1851 and its immediate successors have long galvanised scholars for their semantic complexity. By contrast, Russia’s first selection of paintings for this fiercely competitive arena, shown at London’s International Exhibition of 1862, failed to ignite the public imagination and has largely evaded the historian’s gaze. While the three-dimensional artworks provided a recurrent source of wonderment for their superlative craftsmanship, stupendous materials, and often hyperbolic proportions, the paintings were apparently flat in every sense of the word: derivative, lacklustre, and incapable of capitalising on the opportunity that international exhibitions offered to present a national school. The dismissive comments they attracted set the tone for many later accounts, embedding the idea that Russian painting prior to the twentieth century was of limited consequence—a perception that would prove convenient to those asserting the originality of the avant-garde. Yet renewed consideration of Russia’s display of paintings in 1862 suggests that their critical reception speaks to concerns that went well beyond the pictures’ supposed obligation to represent a national school. Notably, a small but significant number of history and portrait paintings by academically trained and often well-travelled artists challenged notions of Russians as primitive and parochial. The technically adventurous of these parried the belief that Russian art was insufficiently mature to experiment in painterly effect. Most audacious of all, they broached unspoken national boundaries by daring to suggest that Imperial Russian artists could innovate in areas on which the success of British painting rested. The attitudes towards Russian painting in 1862 thus invite fresh scrutiny, revealing as they do a disruptive arena in which aesthetic rivalries and chauvinist sensibilities came to the fore. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue In the Center and on the Periphery: Russian and Soviet Art and Visual Culture)

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23 pages, 6954 KB

Open AccessArticle

Music and Narrative: Philip Glass’s Post-Minimalist Technique in The Hours Interacts with the Structure of the Film

by Bomin Wang

Arts 2025, 14(5), 117; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts14050117 - 28 Sep 2025

Abstract

This study explores how Philip Glass’s post-minimalist techniques in the film score of The Hours interact with the film’s non-linear narrative structure. By integrating musicological analysis and film narrative theory, the paper examines the use of micro-variations, additive processes, and repetitive harmonic structures [...] Read more.

This study explores how Philip Glass’s post-minimalist techniques in the film score of The Hours interact with the film’s non-linear narrative structure. By integrating musicological analysis and film narrative theory, the paper examines the use of micro-variations, additive processes, and repetitive harmonic structures in Glass’s score. These techniques are shown to not only intensify the emotional resonance of the film but also reinforce its fragmented temporal flow across three interwoven storylines. Case studies of specific scenes illustrate how the music’s subtle evolution parallels the narrative’s thematic continuity and psychological depth. This research contributes to the understanding of post-minimalist film scoring, emphasizing the aesthetic and structural synergies between music and moving image. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Film Music)

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13 pages, 882 KB

Open AccessArticle

Human Skeletons in Motion, Defleshed Animals in Action and Transformation of Species in Northern Tradition Rock Art

by Trond Klungseth Lødøen

Arts 2025, 14(5), 116; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts14050116 - 25 Sep 2025

Abstract

This paper addresses attention to iconographical expressions in the Northern Tradition rock art of Scandinavia that have received limited awareness. Yet, as it will be demonstrated, this iconography contains valuable insights into past ideas and concepts. This study also examines the background for [...] Read more.

This paper addresses attention to iconographical expressions in the Northern Tradition rock art of Scandinavia that have received limited awareness. Yet, as it will be demonstrated, this iconography contains valuable insights into past ideas and concepts. This study also examines the background for the production of Northern Tradition rock art. Recent dialectic procedures within prehistoric rock art research and studies of archaeological remains, including multidisciplinary methods, dating measures, and demographic analyses, have contextualised Northern Tradition rock art into a more defined reconstructed past social context, at least regarding Western Norway. This has further connected the rock art to demographic changes at the end of the Late Mesolithic period. It is argued that this demographic development triggered the production of rock art, allowing a deeper insight into past world views through iconographical visualisations. Based on this background, it is also argued that the imagery of the Northern Tradition reflects past societal conditions and work as a proxy for insight into Late Mesolithic world views. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Rock Art Studies)

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13 pages, 221 KB

Open AccessArticle

Wrapping Up “Through the Eyes of Those Who Are No Longer”: Paolo Taviani’s Leonora addio (2022)

by Marco Grosoli

Arts 2025, 14(5), 115; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts14050115 - 24 Sep 2025

Abstract

The first film signed by Paolo Taviani without his brother Vittorio (who died in 2018) in more than 60 years, Leonora addio (2022) recapitulates and condenses an entire career by recounting the grotesque (real-life) journey of the burial, cremation, exhumation, transfer (from Rome [...] Read more.

The first film signed by Paolo Taviani without his brother Vittorio (who died in 2018) in more than 60 years, Leonora addio (2022) recapitulates and condenses an entire career by recounting the grotesque (real-life) journey of the burial, cremation, exhumation, transfer (from Rome to Sicily) and re-burial of Luigi Pirandello’s corpse over more than ten years, as well as by showing in the last thirty minutes an adaptation for the screen of “The Nail” (“Il chiodo”, the last novella by the renowned Sicilian writer). A quintessential testament film refracting the writer’s death in Vittorio’s (one of the film’s many Pirandello-esque mirror games) and alluding to the intellectual legacies of either, Leonora addio daringly thematizes the exploitation of cultural value as well as its political implications—particularly in the specific Italian context and, implicitly yet unmistakably, in the present day too. My paper will analyse Leonora addio paying particular attention to how this subtext intersects the film’s “testamentary” surface, to Deleuze’s “crystal images” (pervasively informing the structure of Leonora addio), to the film’s many nods to Kaos (a 1984 Pirandello adaptation for the screen by the Taviani, analysed mainly through the lens of Lacanian gaze theory) and to the role of death in both films. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Swan Songs: Philosophical Reflections on Death, Time, and Memory in Testament Films)

26 pages, 6020 KB

Open AccessArticle

Exploring the Interface Between Orality, Text and Images: An Interplay of Black Drawings and Unfired Clay Figures Within the Depths of the Sierra Mixe of Oaxaca, Mexico

by Leslie F. Zubieta Calvert

Arts 2025, 14(5), 114; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts14050114 - 23 Sep 2025

Abstract

Drawing on archaeological evidence, early ethnographic accounts, and historical documents, this article offers initial reflections on the possible past uses and meanings of a set of black drawings found deep within a cave in what is now known as the Sierra Mixe of [...] Read more.

Drawing on archaeological evidence, early ethnographic accounts, and historical documents, this article offers initial reflections on the possible past uses and meanings of a set of black drawings found deep within a cave in what is now known as the Sierra Mixe of Oaxaca, Mexico. Following this investigative approach, it explores the role of rock art as an interface between orality, imagery, and text in the context of ancient Mesoamerica. To understand the possible ontological perceptions of the creators of these images in the past, it is suggested that this imagery functioned as inscriptions in a dialogue with spatially related unfired figures modelled in clay, which are exceptionally well-preserved in this subterranean space. An interplay of media on various supports is proposed, wherein two-dimensional images and three-dimensional figures may have been used as a combined system for transmitting and circulating intergenerational cultural knowledge, serving as an anchor for collective memory. In this context, rock imagery played a role in a broader communication system in Mesoamerica. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Rock Art Studies)

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28 pages, 312 KB

Open AccessArticle

Coming to Turkey—Passing Through Turkey: Migration Routes and Spaces in the Cinema of Emigration

by Şölen Köseoğlu and Merve Kılıçbay

Arts 2025, 14(5), 113; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts14050113 - 19 Sep 2025

Abstract

International migration is a dynamic phenomenon that shapes urban spaces in Turkey. This study focuses on 18 films that depict the experiences of migrants who see Turkey as a transit country or a temporary stop, offering insights into their journeys and perspectives. Using [...] Read more.

International migration is a dynamic phenomenon that shapes urban spaces in Turkey. This study focuses on 18 films that depict the experiences of migrants who see Turkey as a transit country or a temporary stop, offering insights into their journeys and perspectives. Using a qualitative analysis of cinematic narratives and spatial representations, the study highlights key locations, such as Istanbul, the Aegean coasts, and occasionally the Black Sea, where migrants often find themselves in waiting spaces, like motels, barns, or warehouses, facing uncertainty, violence, and discrimination. By examining these spatial representations and symbolic elements, the study explores how cinema reflects migration’s social and urban impacts, demonstrating its potential as a tool for understanding this complex process. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Film and New Media)

22 pages, 347 KB

Open AccessArticle

Race and Space in Rap: Conceptions of (Multi)Racial Identity and Urban Life in Rap Music

by Matthew Oware

Arts 2025, 14(5), 112; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts14050112 - 18 Sep 2025

Abstract

Existing research focuses on how different actors infuse space and place with social meaning. In this paper, I examine how biracial rap artists Drake, Logic, and J. Cole construct their racial identities and depict urban areas in line with the strong-willed trope prevalent [...] Read more.

Existing research focuses on how different actors infuse space and place with social meaning. In this paper, I examine how biracial rap artists Drake, Logic, and J. Cole construct their racial identities and depict urban areas in line with the strong-willed trope prevalent in rap discourse, drawing on theories and insights regarding the production of space. Specifically, I hypothesize that these artists will affirm a Black male identity and perceive place as a hazardous environment, embracing a specific motif in rap mythology. I conducted a content analysis of 386 songs from 2010 to 2023 and found that not all identify as Black and that two artists portray their surroundings as threatening. Nonetheless, each rapper incorporates their environment as a facet of their rap persona. Focusing on biracial artists enables an exploration of meaning-making at the intersection of racial identity and socio-spatial cultural production, thereby broadening our understanding of place. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Arts and Urban Development)

17 pages, 5614 KB

Open AccessArticle

Marginal Manipulations: Framing Byzantine Devotion Through Gentile Bellini’s Cardinal Bessarion with the Bessarion Reliquary

by Ashley B. Offill

Arts 2025, 14(5), 111; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts14050111 - 12 Sep 2025

Abstract

In the early 1470s, Venetian artist Gentile Bellini painted Basilios Bessarion kneeling in front of the precious Byzantine reliquary that Bessarion donated to the Venetian Scuola di Santa Maria della Carità. This painting functioned as the cover to the tabernacle where the reliquary [...] Read more.

In the early 1470s, Venetian artist Gentile Bellini painted Basilios Bessarion kneeling in front of the precious Byzantine reliquary that Bessarion donated to the Venetian Scuola di Santa Maria della Carità. This painting functioned as the cover to the tabernacle where the reliquary was stored. Rather than accurately depicting the sacred object, Bellini’s painting reworks the appearance of the reliquary in relation to the figures in the painting and reveals a disjunction between the relic and its cover. The reliquary becomes a somber, monumental object that has more presence as a looming entity than as a combination of parts and histories. This paper positions Bellini’s painted enclosure for the reliquary as a product of the blending of Venetian and Byzantine devotional practices and sacred objects. Bessarion’s reliquary was an aggregate object, and Bellini’s painting continues the reframing of Bessarion’s reliquary to serve as a visual contract of the connection between Bessarion and the Scuola di Santa Maria della Carità and, more broadly, Byzantium and Venice. Bellini’s painting ultimately seeks to capture the sacred mystique associated with Byzantine Orthodoxy while also establishing the reliquary within its Venetian, confraternal present. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Renaissance Rhapsody: Miscellany and Multimodality in Early Modern Europe)

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28 pages, 5721 KB

Open AccessArticle

Coexistence of Tradition and Modernity for Cultural Sustainability: The Teochew Opera Approach in Malaysia

by Ziqiao Lin and Mei Foong Ang

Arts 2025, 14(5), 110; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts14050110 - 12 Sep 2025

Abstract

Traditional cultural practices, increasingly impacted by modernisation and urbanisation, are experiencing diminished transmission and declining interest among younger generations. Teochew opera in Malaysia is no exception, pressured under similar challenges in sustaining its relevance and appeal within contemporary society. Considering these shifts, the [...] Read more.

Traditional cultural practices, increasingly impacted by modernisation and urbanisation, are experiencing diminished transmission and declining interest among younger generations. Teochew opera in Malaysia is no exception, pressured under similar challenges in sustaining its relevance and appeal within contemporary society. Considering these shifts, the sustainable preservation and revitalisation of traditional arts has become a pressing concern for scholars and cultural practitioners alike. This study investigates strategies for sustaining Teochew opera in Malaysia, employing qualitative methods including participant observation and semi-structured interviews. The findings reveal that Teochew opera operates within a sacred and secular framework, serving religious rituals and cultural festivals. This duality allows for continuity through tradition in sacred settings and adaptation through innovation in secular contexts. The coexistence of these realms offers a blueprint for sustainable cultural evolution. While challenges such as low youth engagement and limited institutional support persist, the research underscores the potential of educational initiatives and community-driven efforts to renew interest and ensure continuity. The study contributes valuable insights for policymakers and cultural stakeholders seeking to safeguard intangible cultural heritage in pluralistic, rapidly modernising societies. Full article

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17 pages, 928 KB

Open AccessArticle

The Weight of Silence: Vermeer’s Theater of Stillness

by Yi Wu

Arts 2025, 14(5), 109; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts14050109 - 7 Sep 2025

Abstract

As a painter of the Dutch Golden Age and a pivotal figure in the Northern Renaissance, Vermeer’s oeuvre inaugurated a maritime modernity in the wake of the Protestant Reformation through its odes and elegies to quotidian existence. This essay centers on Vermeer’s masterpiece, [...] Read more.

As a painter of the Dutch Golden Age and a pivotal figure in the Northern Renaissance, Vermeer’s oeuvre inaugurated a maritime modernity in the wake of the Protestant Reformation through its odes and elegies to quotidian existence. This essay centers on Vermeer’s masterpiece, Woman Holding a Balance. It scrutinizes and probes the Baroque theater of the soul as depicted by Vermeer through the lens of a post-global, post-colonial Lebenswelt. Grounded in Deleuze’s The Fold, this essay endeavors to furnish a phenomenological and genealogical hermeneutic for Vermeer’s interior scenes. It does so by dissecting Vermeer’s theater of silence, his intrinsic use of light, the female figure behind the fabric, the politics of still life, and the theology and interplay of color. In so doing, this essay aspires to unearth the dialectical, oscillating utopian potential embedded within Vermeer’s imagery. Full article

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21 pages, 1586 KB

Open AccessArticle

Confucian Aesthetics in Migration: Critical Strategies and Visual Translation in Malaysian Chinese Art

by Yuanyuan Zhang and Mumtaz Mokhtar

Arts 2025, 14(5), 108; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts14050108 - 4 Sep 2025

Abstract

Despite widespread recognition of Confucianism’s cultural importance among Malaysian Chinese communities, little is known about how its philosophical principles are reinterpreted and visually transformed by contemporary artists navigating postcolonial realities. This research addresses this gap through a mixed-method approach, combining quantitative data from [...] Read more.

Despite widespread recognition of Confucianism’s cultural importance among Malaysian Chinese communities, little is known about how its philosophical principles are reinterpreted and visually transformed by contemporary artists navigating postcolonial realities. This research addresses this gap through a mixed-method approach, combining quantitative data from 227 fine arts students, qualitative interviews with five representative Malaysian Chinese painters, and visual analysis of 50 key artworks. The results show that Confucianism functions not as a fixed doctrinal system but as a vital meta-framework that allows for the reimagining of core concepts, such as Ren (Benevolence) and He (Harmony), into tools for social critique and cultural negotiation. These ideas are expressed not through illustrative methods but via innovative symbolic and material strategies—ranging from fractured composition to technical experimentation—leading to a variety of personal styles rooted in a shared cultural logic. The study introduces a “critical translation” model for understanding the modernization of traditional philosophies within diaspora contexts, offering both theoretical insights and practical avenues for decolonizing arts education and fostering globally relevant, culturally authentic artistic practices. Full article

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24 pages, 2040 KB

Open AccessArticle

Questioning Global Modernist Art Studies Through Their Latest Output: Moroccan Modernism by Holiday Powers (2025)

by Valerie Gonzalez

Arts 2025, 14(5), 107; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts14050107 - 3 Sep 2025

Abstract

This essay argues that Holiday Powers’ s Moroccan Modernism (2025) offers a compelling case study for rethinking global modernist art from a decolonial perspective, highlighting Morocco’s unique creative, esthetic, and philosophical forces. The questions and issues this book raises, and this essay addresses, [...] Read more.

This essay argues that Holiday Powers’ s Moroccan Modernism (2025) offers a compelling case study for rethinking global modernist art from a decolonial perspective, highlighting Morocco’s unique creative, esthetic, and philosophical forces. The questions and issues this book raises, and this essay addresses, revolve around the problematic of non-European modernism as both a phenomenon of decolonial politics of esthetics, in the Jacques Rancière sense, and an artistic movement born out of the history of Western art through the colonial imposition of the European conception of modernity and system of education. I take particular issue with the dominance of political history, identity discourse, and redundant postcolonial rhetoric that characterizes not only Powers’ narrative but also the account of other area modernisms. This dominance generates a tendency to misestimate art agency and to neglect the investigation of the complex creative, esthetic, and philosophical underpinnings of the modernist construct. A lucid revisiting of Orientalism is mandatory for tackling this understudied aspect of modernism. Yet, I also demonstrate the accomplishments of Moroccan Modernism as a cogent historical exposition of this construct in Morocco, upon the basis of which future studies can be undertaken. Full article

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18 pages, 449 KB

Open AccessArticle

Immersive Experience in Design: Participatory Practices of Audience Cultural Identity and Memory Construction

by Man-Ting Ku, Shang-Chia Chiou and Hsin-Te Chan

Arts 2025, 14(5), 106; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts14050106 - 3 Sep 2025

Abstract

Immersive theatre, as a contemporary performance form that integrates narrative, space, and sensory participation, has gradually expanded from entertainment consumption to a practice of cultural representation and memory construction. Audiences are no longer merely passive spectators but participate in the narrative through role-playing, [...] Read more.

Immersive theatre, as a contemporary performance form that integrates narrative, space, and sensory participation, has gradually expanded from entertainment consumption to a practice of cultural representation and memory construction. Audiences are no longer merely passive spectators but participate in the narrative through role-playing, situational interaction, and sensory triggers, thereby generating cultural identity and emotional memory. While existing research has preliminarily addressed the characteristics of immersive design and audience interaction, there remains a lack of in-depth exploration into how audiences, after the performance, come to develop cultural positional understanding and sustain memory through participatory practices. Drawing on three Taiwanese immersive productions with strong local cultural contexts—The Great Tipsy, Someone, and Ephemeral Light: Taiwan—this study employs participatory observation and content analysis as an exploratory qualitative inquiry. Findings indicate that audience subjectivity is shaped by role design and the degree of participatory freedom; the depth of interaction and cultural context within narrative strategies determine cultural reception; emotional triggers act as a catalyst for cultural memory construction; and the depth of immersion influences the intensity and continuity of post-performance cultural effects. The three works, respectively, embody “emotional,” “historical,” and “cognitive” modes of cultural influence, producing distinct levels of post-experiential effects. This study further reveals that the formation of cultural identity emerges from the interweaving of design strategies, affective triggers, and narrative participation. These insights not only inform immersive design practices but also suggest the importance of incorporating cultural aftereffect tracking and educational applications to extend the depth and breadth of cultural practice. Full article

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15 pages, 303 KB

Open AccessArticle

Topophilia—Space for Human Creation and Interpretation

by Katarzyna Szymańska-Stułka

Arts 2025, 14(5), 105; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts14050105 - 3 Sep 2025

Abstract

Topophilia, understood as a form of relationship between humans and their environment, can manifest in diverse ways—not only across various domains of art and life but also within the realm of music. This article seeks to expand the thesis of topophilia as a [...] Read more.

Topophilia, understood as a form of relationship between humans and their environment, can manifest in diverse ways—not only across various domains of art and life but also within the realm of music. This article seeks to expand the thesis of topophilia as a category defining the musical space of creation, performance, and perception of a musical work. Topophilia is seen here in the context of human activity in the artistic dimensions—philosophical, creative, architectural, and environmental. The methodological background is derived from the philosophy of place, phenomenology of perception, and musical analysis. This provides the opportunity to apply hermeneutic–philosophical analysis with elements of the theory of place. The thesis of this study is probably one of the first approaches to the category of topophilia in musical analysis, examining the style of composers, such as J.S. Bach, F. Chopin, K. Szymanowski, W. Lutosławski, A. Webern, and I. Xenakis, enriched with elements of musical performance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sound, Space, and Creativity in Performing Arts)

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22 pages, 10841 KB

Open AccessArticle

Smoke Shrouded: Reimagining Bamum Kii and the Troubled Legacies of the Cabinet of Curiosities in 21st Century Museums

by Deirdre A. Lafferty

Arts 2025, 14(5), 104; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts14050104 - 2 Sep 2025

Abstract

Smoking tobacco is a prominent activity in Cameroon, with each region holding different views on the devices used for smoking. In Bamum, these vessels are called kiis. Many of these pipes, or kiis, have been removed from the kingdom and displayed without proper [...] Read more.

Smoking tobacco is a prominent activity in Cameroon, with each region holding different views on the devices used for smoking. In Bamum, these vessels are called kiis. Many of these pipes, or kiis, have been removed from the kingdom and displayed without proper contextual information in Western institutions since the 1920s. This paper highlights discrepancies in academic pursuits regarding the kii and their decontextualized displays, while also providing ethical guidelines for their future displays. Understanding the intended purpose and cultural significance of a kii allows for the process of restitution in the form of ethical display to take place. Using the Heritage Context Retrieval Analysis (HeCRA) method, the research aim to explore the cultural origins of the kii in the GWU collection, retrieve its cultural context, critique the prevalent cabinet of curiosities display format used in displaying them in museums, and propose ethical frameworks for handling such devices, which are both utilitarian and culturally charged in 21st-century museums. This paper uncovers the true identity of a brass kii and dismantles the cabinet of curiosities and the alignment of African tangible heritage to oddities. The goal is to instigate a new approach to approaching such cultural objects by invoking their original spiritual and cultural symbolism in exhibitions outside of Bamum. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Restitution Beyond Repatriation: Rethinking African Tangible Heritage in Twenty-First Century Museums)

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28 pages, 3104 KB

Open AccessArticle

Artist-Led Regeneration in Polish Cities: Shaping Community Through Public Art

by Natalia Bursiewicz

Arts 2025, 14(5), 103; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts14050103 - 1 Sep 2025

Abstract

This article discusses the role of artistic interventions in shaping communities in selected Polish cities. It especially explores marginalized urban areas that are gaining new identities through art. A crucial aspect of the analysis concentrates on the influence of artistic activities on the [...] Read more.

This article discusses the role of artistic interventions in shaping communities in selected Polish cities. It especially explores marginalized urban areas that are gaining new identities through art. A crucial aspect of the analysis concentrates on the influence of artistic activities on the formation of social bonds. Moreover, it focuses on the revitalization strategies that incorporate artistic activities designed to beautify spaces and enhance residents’ sense of security. It also includes examples of grassroots initiatives undertaken by artists in degraded areas. This study employed a qualitative methodology. In addition to reviewing the literature, a comparative analysis of case studies encompassing murals, site-specific installations, graffiti, and participatory art was conducted. The selected case studies demonstrate that art is not merely an esthetic endeavor but an important tool for solving spatial and social issues. Artists’ activities in difficult areas of a city lead to perceptual, visual, and functional changes. However, the question was whether the process of co-creation with the local community translated into stronger neighborly relationships or a greater sense of security. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Arts and Urban Development)

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20 pages, 9574 KB

Open AccessArticle

From Pin-Up to Paragon: Maksim Gorky’s Evolving Image on Russian Picture Postcards

by Donna Oliver

Arts 2025, 14(5), 102; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts14050102 - 1 Sep 2025

Abstract

By the end of the nineteenth century, picture postcards had become ubiquitous not only as an inexpensive means of communication but also as objects for collection. Literary postcards were especially popular in Russia, and the rapid proliferation of cards featuring portraits of contemporary [...] Read more.

By the end of the nineteenth century, picture postcards had become ubiquitous not only as an inexpensive means of communication but also as objects for collection. Literary postcards were especially popular in Russia, and the rapid proliferation of cards featuring portraits of contemporary writers helped feed celebrity culture, turning those images into sought-after commodities for consumption. At the same time, celebrating Russian cultural accomplishments through picture postcards also helped shape contemporary perspectives of nation and national identity. As a rising star on the literary scene at that time, Maksim Gorky quickly became an icon of contemporary Russian youth culture and, consequently, a popular subject for picture postcards. With his floppy hair and distinctive clothing, Gorky’s image itself demonstrated his difference from established traditional norms for the profession of “writer,” and his revolutionary leanings and unconventional life challenged the dominant mores of the time. In the Soviet period, as picture postcards continued to serve this function of shaping national identity and values, Gorky’s image was frequently used on state-issued postcards, both before and after his death, but this time in service to the state as the “father of Soviet literature” (and regardless of his uneven and at times ambivalent attitude toward that state). This paper examines the evolution in the use and function of Gorky’s images on pre-revolutionary and Soviet-era postcards. As an early icon of non-conformism and liberation, Gorky’s image ironically was co-opted by the Soviet regime to serve as a symbol of political orthodoxy and conformity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue In the Center and on the Periphery: Russian and Soviet Art and Visual Culture)

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