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New media art : immersion and the sacrifice of the body
Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2016.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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University of Pretoria
2017
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| _version_ | 1867613670249332736 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author2 | Thom, Johan |
| author_browse | Thom, Johan |
| author_facet | Thom, Johan |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | © 2017 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. |
| description | Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2016. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/60375 |
| institution | University of Pretoria (South Africa) |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:39:50.247Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publishDateRange | 2017 |
| publishDateSort | 2017 |
| publisher | University of Pretoria |
| publisherStr | University of Pretoria |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository |
| spelling | oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/60375 New media art : immersion and the sacrifice of the body Thom, Johan leandre.llr@gmail.com Le Roux, Leandré Virtual reality New media art Cyberspace Cyber-utopian myth UCTD New media art Digital art Virtual reality Immersion Immersive technologies Embodiment The body Phenomenology Cyberculture Cyberspace Cyber-utopianism Humanities theses SDG-03 Humanities theses SDG-04 Humanities theses SDG-09 Humanities theses SDG-11 Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2016. New technologies, such as virtual reality, often draw to itself myths from other fields of interest and discourses. One such myth that has attached itself to virtual reality is the notion that virtual reality can provide a utopia for the mind, or true self, if the body can be cast off. It is this discarding of the body that my thesis aims to investigate in terms of Girardian sacrifice. Girard?s notion of sacrifice is built upon the observation of various cultures throughout history. It stands to reason that in our contemporary, digitally influenced, society, sacrifice, in some form, still persists. I argue that the body, when viewed as disposable, through the use of virtual reality, exhibits the same traits as the selected sacrificial victim. As the myth of a utopia for the mind, or true self, exists prior to the advent of virtual reality, traces of it, as well as the sacrifice I argue it entails, can be found in other texts as well. One such a text is The Chrysalids (Wyndham 1955). This text presents the reader with characters which I argue represent both the mind and body separately. The Chrysalids culminates in the characters representing the mind leaving for a utopian city whilst the character who, I argue, is most strongly associated with the body, Sophie Wender, is killed. It is also argued here in that the notion of abandoning the body is simply a myth since the inability to abandon the body is also discussed in terms of phenomenology, pointing out that the body can ultimately not be completely removed from the making of meaning. This phenomenological acknowledgement of the body, along with a critique The Chrysalids and cyber-utopia?s view of the body, forms the basis of my practical body of work. ae2026 Visual Arts MA Unrestricted SDG-03: Good health and well-being SDG-04: Quality education SDG-09: Industry, innovation and infrastructure SDG-11: Sustainable cities and communities 2017-05-12T11:38:41Z 2017-05-12T11:38:41Z 2017-05-03 2016 Dissertation Le Roux, L 2016, New media art : immersion and the sacrifice of the body, MA Dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd <http://hdl.handle.net/2263/60375> A2017 http://hdl.handle.net/2263/60375 en © 2017 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria |
| spellingShingle | Virtual reality New media art Cyberspace Cyber-utopian myth UCTD New media art Digital art Virtual reality Immersion Immersive technologies Embodiment The body Phenomenology Cyberculture Cyberspace Cyber-utopianism Humanities theses SDG-03 Humanities theses SDG-04 Humanities theses SDG-09 Humanities theses SDG-11 New media art : immersion and the sacrifice of the body |
| title | New media art : immersion and the sacrifice of the body |
| title_full | New media art : immersion and the sacrifice of the body |
| title_fullStr | New media art : immersion and the sacrifice of the body |
| title_full_unstemmed | New media art : immersion and the sacrifice of the body |
| title_short | New media art : immersion and the sacrifice of the body |
| title_sort | new media art immersion and the sacrifice of the body |
| topic | Virtual reality New media art Cyberspace Cyber-utopian myth UCTD New media art Digital art Virtual reality Immersion Immersive technologies Embodiment The body Phenomenology Cyberculture Cyberspace Cyber-utopianism Humanities theses SDG-03 Humanities theses SDG-04 Humanities theses SDG-09 Humanities theses SDG-11 |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/2263/60375 |