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Concept of the Neo-Avant-Garde in Peter Bürger's Theory of the Avant-Garde and following critical reaction by B. Buchloh and H. Foster
Jonášová, Markéta ; Stejskal, Jakub (advisor) ; Kaplický, Martin (referee)
The thesis deals with the question of the relationship between historical avant-garde movements and the repetition of its main artistic strategies in the neo-avant-garde after the Second World War. The primary resource to deal with this topic is the theory of Peter Bürger, because his book Theory of the Avant-garde represents a very influential and complex conception of the relationship between the two phenomena. Bürger's harsh critique of the neo-avant-garde, which he derives from his concept of the meaning and intentions of the historical avant-garde, is criticised in particular by Benjamin Buchloh and Hal Foster, two American critics of contemporary art. The aim of the thesis is to show, on the grounds of Buchloh's and Foster's critique, the usefulness of Bürger's conception when theorizing neo- avant-garde phenomena and its relationship with the historical avant-garde movements.
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"Henry James & His Stance towards Aestheticism and Decadence"
Mackal, Jan ; Roraback, Erik Sherman (advisor) ; Robbins, David Lee (referee)
This M.A. thesis focuses on the problematic relationship between Henry James and Aestheticism and Decadence on the example of his two masterpieces-The Portrait of a Lady () and The Golden Bowl (). The main task is to document the evolution of this relationship and to point out that despite his lifelong preoccupation with these two artistic movements in his literary works, James refuses to assume a concrete stance toward them. Before the literary analysis of the two abovementioned novels, the author devotes the first chapter to a brief historical survey as to the nature and purpose of the work of art, to the development Aestheticism and Decadence in Europe and Britain, and to James's relationship with some of the proponents of British Aestheticism. The rest of the thesis is devoted to the literary analysis of the two novels through the optics of Aestheticism and Decadence. Keywords: James, Henry; Aestheticism; Decadence; literary analysis; transatlantic studies
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Protagonist in Gabriele D'Annunzio's Rose Trilogy
Richterová, Daniela ; Flemrová, Alice (advisor) ; Čaplyginová, Olga (referee)
In this thesis we will focus on D'Annunzio's Novels of the rose cycle, on the character analysis of its protagonists in the light of the specific social-historical interpretation of fin-de- siècle period. After a short introduction dedicated to life and work of the author, we will analyse the three novels with the aid of the works of literary criticism in a way that the major themes and specific characteristics of the novels emerge in their comparative interpretation based on the perspective of significance of the author's work in italian and european literature at that time. In conclusion we will consider the possibility of alternative solutions to decadence for D'Annunzio's protagonists which will bring our discussion into philosophical debate about crisis of misguided european rationalism, the crisis related to the problem of dissolution of subject of identity.
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Romantic Impulses in Victorian Literature
Beran, Zdeněk ; Hilský, Martin (advisor) ; Mánek, Bohuslav (referee) ; Peprník, Michal (referee)
The thesis attempts to discuss the character of late Romantic literature and art as it developed in England throughout the Victorian period. It follows the assertion made by G. Hough that it is possible to identify a continuous presence of Romantic ideas and methods in the writings of some major Victorian authors, and reflects the fact that there was actually no consensus or prevailing unequivocal view of Romanticism at that time, as is evidenced in the contradicting statements of such writers as John Ruskin and Walter Pater. The first objective of the thesis is thus to define the characteristic features of English Romanticism as they can be tracked down in the formative period of the 18th century and the time of High Romanticism of the first decades of the following century, and to see what transforming changes these characteristics underwent during the Victorian era. The sources of Romantic sensibility are located in the revolutionary role of the scientific discoveries of the 17th century and a new focus of the philosophical writings of that period, concerning mainly operations of the human mind. This development resulted in new aesthetic conceptions based on the two prevailing approaches, empiricism and Neo-Platonism. These theories conditioned the main concern of Romantic thought, i.e. an...
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The Eternal Boyhood of Jiří Karásek ze Lvovic
Kolařík, Karel ; Vojtěch, Daniel (advisor) ; Lishaugen, Roar (referee) ; Merhaut, Luboš (referee)
The thesis attempts to describe the life and work of Jiří Karásek ze Lvovic through an analysis of his lifestyle, i.e. the way in which he organized, embellished and individualized his life. Karásek sought to shape his existence as an artwork, in accordance with the inspirational concepts of the contemporary and antecedent thinkers and artists (e.g. Oscar Wilde, Walter Pater and Maurice Maeterlinck). He accented its integrity and orientation towards beauty. In accord with his aesthetic vision (and his literary work) Karásek conditioned beauty with sadness and pain and attempted to emphasize melancholic beauty, unity in disunion. For that purpose he would accentuate particularly the disintegrative, critical elements, evoking the impression of unsuccessful, self-destructive endeavor to reach life's high ideal. This corresponded with his tragic concept of the artist immolating himself for his Art. I approach Karásek's lifestyle through the use of the terms youth and (eternal) boyhood, which Karásek himself employed as symbols of mournfully beautiful existence in his literary work. I define a youth - in accordance with the romantic and symbolist interpretation - as a person at odds with reality (contemporary truths, customs and rules), a solitary, unique being, trying to construct a new world - only...
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Art above reality. The Aesthetics of Oscar Wilde and Its Contemporary Context
Souček, Dalibor ; Jarošová, Helena (advisor) ; Pechar, Jiří (referee) ; Ševčík, Miloš (referee)
The main object of my dissertation, focused on aesthetics of Oscar Wilde, includes: transparent recapitulation of thoughts presented in Wilde's theoretically principal texts and further interpretation of Wilde's aesthetics in its complexity and up-to-dateness as well. The key importance for the Wilde's aesthetics, for the main texts capturing his aesthetical thinking, is partly superiority of art over reality, partly the program "life as art". Let's encapsulate individual texts from this perspective: In The Decay of Lying the art - a beautiful lie serves as a paradigm for life and nature. In the essay The Critic as Artist the criticism-art is an example of how people should live: either to escape to beauty, to imagination or to escape to a dissociated, aestheticized view of life. This aesthetically-ethical choice is one of the substantial aspects in the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray: art as an example of how to manage to live a hedonic and sensual live as much as possible - in contrast to a certain extent - how to live a "dissociated, spectatorial life". In The Soul of Man Under Socialism the art has its revolutionary-political dimension: it represents a model of a real individualism; maximum self- development. Finally, in De Profundis Wilde includes in his "artistic life", which is a matter of...
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The Spectre Everywhere and Nowhere
Staněk, Jiří ; Rathouský, Luděk (referee) ; Mikyta, Svätopluk (advisor)
Robert Longo got into his hands Edmumd Engelman's photo book and according to these photos he created a series of large-scale charcoal drawings entitled: The Freud Drawings. I got into my hands 10 years old newspapers with article including photos foreshadowing time, atmosphere and personality of Freud and Robert Longo's work. I will create installation using my own means of expression that invites you in the Sigmund Freud's room as I imagine it.
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