- Title
- Expressions of interest
- Creator
- Roorda, Ross William
- Relation
- University of Newcastle Research Higher Degree Thesis
- Resource Type
- thesis
- Date
- 2020
- Description
- Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Description
- This is a studio-based doctorate in painting and drawing that explores the perplexing subjectivities in representing people and animals as sentient beings in portraiture and my response as an artist to the body of knowledge that exists on the subjective element in portraiture and the body of scientific knowledge that exists in the research done on animal emotion and facial expressions. The research uses these bodies of knowledge as a foundation firstly of what is known about the role of the artist /sitter relationship in portraying people and then explores the gap that exists in representing animals in portraiture from a subjective perspective when that relationship is not possible. Secondly, examining the body of knowledge that exists around animal emotions and the study of facial expression from a scientific perspective as a means of establishing what is known and the gaps between the scientific perspective and my response as an artist looking at representing the animals from a subjective perspective. The practical aspect of the research begins with an exercise of copying a Rembrandt self-portrait as a foundation to explore technical, anatomical and emotive qualities of portraiture and how these translate to animal subjects. The second practical method for exploring subjectivity in portraiture begins by undertaking a series of portraits from a group of selected subjects and finding out first-hand the role the artist/sitter relationship plays in developing portraits of people and how it effects the final image by analyzing selected works and the processes and procedures undertaken during the creation of the portrait. As part of this analysis, an exhibition of the works at a small gallery will provide an opportunity to gather data in an informal manner contributing to information about the artist/sitter relationship from the external perspective of the viewer and observer outside of the artist/sitter relationship. The information gathered from this process sets out the parameters for exploring the gap that exists in the representation of animals in portraiture from a subjective perspective as creatures with shared emotions and feelings similar to humans. Before any work is undertaken on the animal portrait I will explore the role of how science views animal emotions from different viewpoints and definitions such as ‘prescriptive’ and ‘descriptive’. How and what do these definitions mean and can they be interpreted and translated by the artist in closing the gap between science and art in representing animals as sentient beings. I will also look at the role of science in the study of facial expression in animals with interest in how science approaches animal subjects in order to determine what defines an animal’s expression and what methods were used. Here the focus will be on the gap between the ‘subjective’ and ‘objective’ approach taken with the animal subjects and how the perspective of scientific study to facial expressions in animals differs from artistic expression. The practical component of the animal portraits looks at the gaps in the knowledge provided in both the literature from art and science research to explore ways of analysing both perspectives to develop processes and procedures for approaching animal subjects from a subjective perspective such as the application of Paul Ekman’s six universal expressions on animal subjects. The paintings and research in this subject area will continue to be an ongoing part of my studio practice and will provide a foundation for other artists to explore the same themes within their own work. As a spin off this research also has the capacity to be developed further in working with students with behaviour difficulties and Autism in developing materials to assist overcoming difficulties in recognising and reading facial expressions through the disassociation process of using human expressions on animal subjects.
- Subject
- painting; drawing; portraiture; animal emotion; facial expressions
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1413409
- Identifier
- uon:36625
- Rights
- Copyright 2020 Ross William Roorda
- Language
- eng
- Full Text
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| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT01 | Thesis | 5 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download | ||
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT02 | Abstract | 227 KB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |