What 4′33″ Is

What is John Cage's 4′33″? This paper disambiguates this question into three sub-questions concerning, respectively, the work's ontological nature, the art form to which it belongs, and the genre it is in. We shall see that the work's performances consist of silence (rather than containing environmental sounds), that it is a work of performance art (rather than music), and that it belongs to the genre of conceptual art. Seeing the work in these ways helps us to understand it better, and promises to assuage somewhat the puzzlement and irritation of those who are at first resistant to its charms.     

ART AND CLIMATE CHANGE: CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS RESPOND TO GLOBAL CRISIS

This essay examines various contemporary artistic responses to climate change. These responses encompass multiple media and diverse philosophical and emotional forms, from grief and resignation to resistance, hope, and poignant celebration of spiritual value and natural beauty. Rejecting much of the terminology of current theory, the author considers the artworks in relation to interrelated and arguably unjustly discredited aesthetic and theological categories, namely, the sublime and the beautiful as well as the via negativa, the latter adapted from Thomas Aquinas by theologian Matthew Fox. Art's power is seen largely as the ability to “humanize” the science by rendering it emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually relatable to individuals. The broken relationship between humanity and nature seems related to the need for a renewed religious sense of integration with, and belonging to, the cosmos. Art might play a pivotal role in bringing this about.     

Opicinus de Canistris: some notes from Jung's unpublished Eranos Seminar on the medieval Codex Palatinus Latinus 1993

Abstract: Jung held an informal seminar for a limited number of students after the end of the Eranos Conference in August, 1943. All traces of this seminar were lost until the notes taken on it by one of the students, Alwine von Keller, were found in 2006. Jung's talk consisted of a psychological commentary on a series of images in the medieval Codex Palatinus Latinus 1993, attributed to Opicinus de Canistris (1296‐c.1352), a fourteenth‐century Italian clergyman, mystic, miniaturist, and cartographer. Jung interpreted Opicinus’ images as a series of mandalas in which the Shadow, the dark principle, does not manage to be integrated into a balanced system. Opicinus tried to settle this division into opposites, which constitutes the main problem in modern times, while remaining inside the system of Christian doctrine. However, he did not succeed in his attempt to integrate the principle of the Shadow on the doctrinal level because he was not aware of the very same division in his own unconscious. Our article points out the features in the seminar where Jung seemed to show much more originality in his interpretation than other psychoanalytic studies on Opicinus or other analytical‐psychological readings of medieval Christian art.     

Philosophers on the "Art-of-Living"

Art-of-living is a classical notion in philosophy that is currently receiving renewed interest. Art-of-living refers to a kind of self-direction with a view to the good life. This paper surveys modern philosophical thought on this subject. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The Art of Living by Dispositionally Happy People

The cognitive and motivational processes by which happy people are able to artfully sustain their happiness are examined within a subjectivist construal approach. Individuals who perceive themselves as happy respond to ordinary experiences differently than their less happy peers. Research from our laboratory has revealed these differences in a variety of contexts, including people's responses to decisions, their reactions to social comparisons, and their interpretations of life events. Our research has also shown that, after experiencing failure, happy people tend not to engage in negative self-reflection and are able to perform subsequent tasks without dwelling. Although happy people experience negative moods and negative life events similar to those of less happy people, they evaluate these events less negatively and respond to them in more positive, affirming ways. These group differences suggest a number of possible ways to sustainably enhance happiness, and current experimental interventions designed to test the effectiveness of several intentional happiness-increasing strategies are discussed. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

梅尔美术判断测验在中国应用的信、效度检验

目的:修订梅尔美术判断测验(Meier Art Judgment Test)并对其信度、效度进行检验。方法:通过对来自6所大学、中专共2270人施测梅尔美术判断测验,采用CTT区分度和IRT的模型拟合检验、区分度筛选项目,以霍兰德艺术分测验、学生艺术创作水平自评与艺术过往经历分量表为效标,以及采用效标组法(美术与非美术专业)检验效标关联效度。结果:保留的61题都拟合IRT的2参数logistic模型,量表得分与各效标得分相关显著,美术与非美术专业学生得分存在显著差异; 但测验信息量分析表明,对高能力被试的测量误差相对较大。结论:修订的量表能测量个体的美术判断能力; 今后改进方向应该是增加更难的试题。     

Family of Origin Predictors of Marital Outcomes Among Coptic Orthodox Christian Egyptian-American Couples

Despite the importance of family within the Coptic community, the extant literature on Coptic family relationships is remarkably limited. The purpose of this study was to explore parental marital quality and family of origin (FOO) quality as predictors of marital satisfaction and marital stability among Coptic Orthodox Christian Egyptian-American couples. Self-report survey data from 255 married Coptic couples living in the United States were analyzed using an actor-partner interdependence model. Results indicated husband FOO quality predicted both marital satisfaction (β =.51, SE?=?.18, p?=?.005) and marital stability (β?=?.51, SE?=?.22, p?=?.022) among Coptic husbands but not among Coptic wives. Results further indicated wife parental marital quality, wife FOO quality, and husband parental marital quality were not predictive of marital satisfaction or marital stability among Coptic husbands or wives. Clinical implications, limitations, and recommendations for future research are discussed.     

‘Close,not close’: Migrant artists negotiating transnational mother-daughter intimacies

The feminisation of migration is contributing to growing awareness of the transformation of familial subjectivities and emotional terrains as a result of transnational movements. The emotional lives and identities of women have often been at the forefront of these investigations. However, the female roles investigated are largely limited to those of mothers and domestic workers. In this paper, we explore how another gendered identity has also been transformed by international migration: that of the daughter. We avoid repeating analyses of the gendered experiences of domestic workers by drawing on an analysis of research conducted with young female artists who are first or second-generation migrants. Reflecting on research interviews and examples of their work exploring mother-daughter relationships, we consider how independently mobile young women navigate the emotional and geographic distances in their intimate relationships with their mothers, both within and beyond their artistic works. We argue that the navigation of ‘close, not close’ relationships with their mothers shapes their gendered subjectivities by informing the social and cultural identities they enact across the distances of generations on the one hand, and of nations, on the other.     

Culture,art and artifice: theatre as a laboratory for identity / Cultura,arte y artificio: el teatro como laboratorio de identidades

Abstract

This paper approaches theatre performance as a laboratory for the simulation of behaviour. The preparation of the professional production of a theatre play was observed and videotaped with the purpose of studying (a) the process of production of artefacts for giving sense to the play and each of its scenes, (b) shaping the identity of the characters, and (c) how these artefacts were reshaped and readjusted in successive rehearsals. Results support the thesis that the process of production of a scenic text can act as a simulation model for how cultural artefacts, conscious processes and behaviour get articulated when developing a character’s identity.     

In Search of the Virgin and Child in Egypt: Coptic Art in Specialized Encyclopedias

Abstract

This article examines a variety of specialized encyclopedias from several disciplines that can be used to introduce students to the topic of Coptic art. The reference works included here can be found in a variety of academic libraries, from Carnegie research institutions to learning resource centers in community libraries, and will help students develop the foundational knowledge necessary to approach more specific topics within Coptic art. Although students may be comfortable, with varying degrees of effectiveness, searching the online catalog or navigating library databases to find books and journal articles, they are, for the most part, unaware of the wealth of useful information found on the metaphorical reference shelves. It is here that librarians can serve a valuable role identifying specific reference titles that introduce students to scholarly texts on a myriad of topics.