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Elitism in contemporary art : investigating high school learners' responses to the Cape Town Art Fair
Thesis MA(VA)--Stellenbosch University, 2017.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | en_ZA |
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Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
2017
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| _version_ | 1867614060322750464 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Goldswain, Warwick |
| author2 | Costandius, Elmarie |
| author_browse | Costandius, Elmarie Goldswain, Warwick |
| author_facet | Costandius, Elmarie Goldswain, Warwick |
| author_sort | Goldswain, Warwick |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | Stellenbosch University |
| description | Thesis MA(VA)--Stellenbosch University, 2017. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/100801 |
| institution | Stellenbosch University (South Africa) |
| language | en_ZA |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:46:01.452Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publishDateRange | 2017 |
| publishDateSort | 2017 |
| publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| publisherStr | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| spelling | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/100801 Elitism in contemporary art : investigating high school learners' responses to the Cape Town Art Fair Goldswain, Warwick Costandius, Elmarie Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Visual Arts. Elitism in contemporary art Contemporary art Cape Town Art Fair Art in education UCTD Thesis MA(VA)--Stellenbosch University, 2017. ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This research was initiated as a result of my experience as an art learner in a high school and at university, where notable disparities in the approach between the institutions became evident. Traditional schooling seemed out of touch with contemporary strategies, while contemporary art displayed elitist tendencies of its own. The purpose of this research was to investigate the various manifestations of elitism in contemporary art. Problems included historical elitism in art, as well as contemporary strategies that were difficult to link to movements of the past. In a South African context, issues of concern included the isolation of public and private art entities from the wider demographic, as well as outdated strategies of art education at school level. Secondary purposes of the research were to investigate the response of high school learners to the Cape Town Art Fair (CTAF) and to investigate how school is implicated in creating disparities between education and contemporary art. The research was conducted using empirical case studies of 24 high school art learners from Curro Durbanville. This adopted the form of a written questionnaire about learners’ experiences of the CTAF and focus group discussions about selected artwork from the CTAF. The paradigm for this approach was interpretive, since multiple measures of observation were used. An inductive content analysis method was used in evaluating the data. The findings of the research were that learners preferred naturalistic art over alternative aesthetic strategies. Learners struggled to comprehend the conceptual content of the work, while strategies of appropriation or irony were generally misinterpreted. The fact that most of the artworks engaged relevant issues made it “different from the art museums”, although many learners expressed a desire for more “positive art”. Learners noted the diversity of art shown at the CTAF, although it was felt to cater mainly for buyers and those with appreciation for art, and to lack public engagement and space for up-and-coming artists. The conclusions of the research were that buyer-and-seller models such as the CTAF were largely isolated from the wider demographic of South Africa, who were physically and economically marginalised. The lack of alternative spaces made these models the dominant means of public engagement with art. This was further problematised by the tendency of art to exist in an intellectual and wealthy preserve. School strategies of art production also seemed outdated, adding to the observed disparity. These strategies emphasised narrow ways of seeing perpetuated by an emphasis on “the conquest of visual appearance” and notions of the art object (Danto 1997:125). These strategies were disparate from contemporary trends since they exclude alternative, connective, intuitive, or spiritual ways of seeing, which might themselves offer possibilities for new ways of being. AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie navorsing is aan die gang gesit deur my ervaring as 'n kunsleerder in 'n hoërskool en op universiteit, waar noemenswaardige verskille in die benadering van die instellings duidelik geword het. Dit het geblyk dat tradisionele skoolopleiding uit voeling met huidige strategieë is, terwyl kontemporêre kuns elitistiese tendense van sy eie vertoon. Die doel van hierdie navorsing was om die verskeie manifestasies van elitisme in kontemporêre kuns te ondersoek. Probleme wat aangespreek is, het historiese elitisme in kuns, sowel as kontemporêre strategieë wat moeilik is om met bewegings van die verlede in verband te bring, betrek. In 'n Suid-Afrikaanse konteks het kwessies wat kommer wek die afsondering van openbare en privaat kunsentiteite weg van die breër demografiese konteks behels, sowel as verouderde strategieë van kunsopvoeding op skoolvlak. Sekondêre doelwitte van die navorsing was om hoërskoolleerders se reaksie op die Kaapstadse Kunsfees (CTAF) te ondersoek en ook hoe die skool by die skep van ongelykhede tussen onderwys en kontemporêre kunste betrokke is, te beskou. Die navorsing is gedoen met behulp van ’n empiriese gevallestudies wat 25 kunsleerders van Curro Durbanville betrek het. Die gevallestudie het die vorm van 'n geskrewe vraelys oor leerders se ervarings van die Kunsfees en fokusgroepbesprekings oor die Kunsfees aangeneem. Die denkraamwerk vir hierdie benadering was interpretatief, aangesien verskeie waarnemingsmaatstawwe gebruik is. Induktiewe inhoudsanalise is vir die ontleding van die data van die gevallestudies aangewend. Die bevindings is dat leerders naturalistiese kuns verkies teen oor alternatiewe estetiese strategieë. Leerders het gesukkel om die begripsinhoud van die werk te verstaan, terwyl strategieë van toe-eiening of ironie oor die algemeen verkeerd vertolk is. Die feit dat die meeste van die kunswerke relevante kwessies betrek het, het dit "anders as die kunsmuseums" gemaak, maar baie leerders het 'n begeerte vir meer "positiewe kuns" uitgespreek. Leerders het kennis geneem van die diversiteit van die kuns wat by die Kunsfees te sien was, alhoewel hulle gevoel het dat dit hoofsaaklik vir kopers en diegene met waardering vir kuns voorsiening maak, en dat openbare deelname en ruimte vir opkomende kunstenaars ontbreek. Die gevolgtrekkings was dat koper-en-verkopermodelle soos die Kunsfees grootliks geïsoleerd is van die res van die demografie van Suid-Afrika wat fisies en ekonomies gemarginaliseer is. Die gebrek aan alternatiewe vertoonruimtes maak hierdie modelle die dominante middel vir openbare betrokkenheid by kuns. Dit is verder geproblematiseer deur die tendens van kuns om in 'n intellektuele en welgestelde omgewing bestaan te vind. Strategieë vir die maak van kuns op skool kom ook verouderd voor en lewer 'n bydrae tot die waargenome verskil. Hierdie strategieë beklemtoon beperkte maniere van kyk wat vanweë die klem op "die verowering van visuele voorkoms" en opvattings oor die kunsobjek bly voortbestaan (Danto, 1997:125). Hierdie strategieë is teenstrydig met kontemporêre idees vanweë hul uitsluiting van alternatiewe, samebindende, intuïtiewe, of geestelike maniere van waarneming, wat self moontlikhede vir nuwe bestaanswyses kan bied. Masters 2017-02-09T06:37:10Z 2017-03-29T11:32:41Z 2017-02-09T06:37:10Z 2017-03-29T11:32:41Z 2017-03 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/100801 en_ZA Stellenbosch University 74 pages : illustrations application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| spellingShingle | Elitism in contemporary art Contemporary art Cape Town Art Fair Art in education UCTD Goldswain, Warwick Elitism in contemporary art : investigating high school learners' responses to the Cape Town Art Fair |
| title | Elitism in contemporary art : investigating high school learners' responses to the Cape Town Art Fair |
| title_full | Elitism in contemporary art : investigating high school learners' responses to the Cape Town Art Fair |
| title_fullStr | Elitism in contemporary art : investigating high school learners' responses to the Cape Town Art Fair |
| title_full_unstemmed | Elitism in contemporary art : investigating high school learners' responses to the Cape Town Art Fair |
| title_short | Elitism in contemporary art : investigating high school learners' responses to the Cape Town Art Fair |
| title_sort | elitism in contemporary art investigating high school learners responses to the cape town art fair |
| topic | Elitism in contemporary art Contemporary art Cape Town Art Fair Art in education UCTD |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/100801 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT goldswainwarwick elitismincontemporaryartinvestigatinghighschoollearnersresponsestothecapetownartfair |