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Arts

Arts is an international, peer-reviewed, open access journal promoting significant research on all aspects of the visual and performing arts, published bimonthly online by MDPI.

All Articles (1,270)

Track engravings dominate the rock art assemblage across Marapikurrinya (Port Hedland) in Northwest Australia, with social change through time linked to changes in how and when this graphic vocabulary is employed. Discrete styles have been identified within the broader engraving body, which is argued to have been produced semi-continuously over the last 7000 years, from the point of sea-level stabilisation in this region. It is proposed that changes in these styles reflect and negotiate environmental, demographic, and social changes. In the most recent stylistic phases, track motifs dominate, and it is argued to reflect change in marking strategy, from localised territorial bounded art to regional social harmonisation. This paper explores the potential functions of track motifs as a vocabulary distinct from other figurative art, using Marapikurrinya as a case study.

11 October 2025

Marapikurrinya location: Left: Western Australia and Pilbara; right: Aerial imagery of Marapikurrinya harbour, with key study areas identified in yellow (Basemap: Nearmap—UWA licence).

Food labels are common elements of everyday life. However, from the point of view of communication researchers (especially visual communication), they are incredibly interesting cultural artifacts, located at the intersection of communication, design, technology, and regulation. This article analyzes the evolution of the labels of Muszynianka, a leading mineral water brand in Poland, from the perspective of media archaeology. It treats labels as dual artifacts—media (information carriers, regulatory objects) and artistic (elements of applied art, design). This article emphasizes the importance of materiality, the non-linearity of history and the analysis of the technological–regulatory “archive.” It develops concepts of labels as complex, multimodal messages, especially in a historical context. The authors conducted a visual analysis of the evolution of Muszynianka’s labels, placing them within broader design trends. To explore recurring visual and narrative motifs, a topoi analysis method was used to identify three basic topoi: Topos of Nature/Mountain Origin, Topos of Health/Vitality/Purity, and Topos of Modernity/Technology.

11 October 2025

The earliest label from an undetermined year of origin (year xxx).

The historical pipe organ, an instrument of vast scale and complex construction, has a significant connection to liturgical celebration and to the history of European churches. It is also one of the few musical instruments considered to be a work of architecture. The evolution of organ building, especially in the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries, required deep knowledge of musical culture and technology. The significance of this relationship is illustrated by the example of the former and present organs of the church of St. Mary Magdalene in Wroclaw (Breslau). The first church organs appeared here in the Middle Ages, and as will be shown, in subsequent eras, their location, form, and décor were changed according to evolving cultural and liturgical mandates as well as changes to the structure of the church architecture. The history of the specific organs of the church of St. Mary Magdalene is the product of a rich history of monumental construction, reconstruction, conservation, and restoration, and it is poised to offer a continuation of this tradition in the present and future of the parish and in music history with proposed restorations and renovations of their historic space and instruments.

2 October 2025

Plan of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Wroclaw with three variants of the western part. The plan shows the locations of the organs. Designations: (a) outline of the instrument, (b) floor of the gallery, (c) hypothetical location of the instrument and gallery. Instruments: (1) small organ, builder: Stephan Kaschendorf, 1455–eighteenth(?) century, (2) Positive in the choir, builder: Valentin Heiliger, 1591–1830/1831, (3) Large organ, builder: Michael Hirschfeldt together with Martin Scheufler, ca. 1600–1722 (this is also a hypothetical location of the earlier large organ, ca. 1567–1595), (4) Large organ, builder: Johann Michael Röder, 1724–1888, (5) Large organ, builder: Carl Wilhelm and then Eduard Wilhelm, 1891–1945, (6) Existing large organ, builder: Gebrüder Rieger, 1929, translocation to St. Mary Magdalene: 1970, (7) Existing small organ, builder: Józef Cynar, 1990 (by K. Czajka-Giełdon).

This study explores the evolving role of architecture centers in the digital age by analyzing the case of Casa da Arquitectura (CdA) in Matosinhos, 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.

1 October 2025

View of the exhibition “O Que Faz Falta. 50 Anos de Arquitetura Portuguesa em Democracia” at Casa da Arquitectura, 2024–2025. Reproduced with permission from Ivo Tavares Studio.

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Arts - ISSN 2076-0752Creative Common CC BY license