Photographs, because of their chemical make up, are inherently unstable. The process of degradation is relatively fast and cannot be turned around. This puts both artists and conservators in a... Show morePhotographs, because of their chemical make up, are inherently unstable. The process of degradation is relatively fast and cannot be turned around. This puts both artists and conservators in a difficult position. The idea of reproducing old photographs in order to be able to present them 'the way they were meant when first created'is attractive to many contemporary artists as well to museums. However, the concept of the reproduction of photographic artworks as a fountain of eternal youth that protracts a flawless condition is not without problems. Eternal youth comes at a price. That price varies with each individual work of art. Forever Young examines the reproduction of four photographic artworks as a conservation strategy from the vantage point of a conservator working in a museum of contemporary art. This dissertation explores a vast issue in modern and contemporary art. It is a first attempt in its field and will undoubtedly be start for many future research and scholarly discussion. Show less
'The scar of death. The biography of Jan Wolkers' contains the rebellious life story of Jan Wolkers (1925-2007), one of the most famous, loved ánd controversial writers and artists (also a... Show more'The scar of death. The biography of Jan Wolkers' contains the rebellious life story of Jan Wolkers (1925-2007), one of the most famous, loved ánd controversial writers and artists (also a painter and sculptor) of the Low Countries. Wolkers was obsessed with love and death, also the two most important themes of his work. No one stayed closer to the truth than I, stated Wolkers. His work and art' the biographer concludes, 'are one.' Show less
The main question of this thesis is: how did the Herlaars acquire their position in the Dutch river area and manage to maintain it for a long time, and what served as the basis of power? The... Show moreThe main question of this thesis is: how did the Herlaars acquire their position in the Dutch river area and manage to maintain it for a long time, and what served as the basis of power? The concept of 'maatschappelijk vermogen', introduced by Schmidt in 1986, is used to describe the position and power of the Herlaars. The focus of this research is pointed to the Herlaars with their extensive possessions in the Dutch River area. The development of power as described provides an image of power and also answers the question how the Herlaars managed to maintain their position. The Herlaars seem to have been very aware of both the opportunities and the threats offered by the geopolitical ambitions of these great lords. In the second quarter of the 14th century the Herlaars managed to acquire seigneurial rights and substantial houses in the border area of the territory of Gelre and Brabant. However, this property was not used by the Herlaars to consolidate or gain a position in the territory of the landlords, or to acquire even more possessions. My research shows that the Herlaars were no border lords but something more humble, noblemen living on the border. Show less
'Bewegend lezen' stelt een cinematografische leeshouding voor en doet dit via Thomas Rosenbooms roman 'Gewassen vlees'(1994), door velen beschouwd als historische roman. Dit proefschrift verkent... Show more'Bewegend lezen' stelt een cinematografische leeshouding voor en doet dit via Thomas Rosenbooms roman 'Gewassen vlees'(1994), door velen beschouwd als historische roman. Dit proefschrift verkent wat het kan betekenen wanneer analytische instrumenten uit de narratologie en de filmanalyse gezamenlijk worden ingezet. Zo laat het zien dat de roman juist deze leeshouding uitlokt wat leidt tot verbindingen met filmgenres en specifieke filmfragmenten. Via analyses van diverse fragmenten wordt helder op welke wijze de roman omgaat met 'het verleden', namelijk: ambigue. Enerzijds speelt de roman in op een dominante fictie en gaat daarbij pornografisch om met ons verleden: het verleden is een lustobject. Anderzijds verstoort de roman ook, evenzo pornografisch, de dominante fictie van de historische roman, bijvoorbeeld door het introduceren van een beeldtaal die nauw aansluit bij animatie-, slapstick- en griezelaspecten. de inzichten die deze dissertatie biedt door deze cinematografische leeshouding aan te nemen hebben consequenties voor onze visie op en omgang met het verleden, onze leeservaring en ons literatuuronderwijs. Show less
Voor ’t gewone leven ongeschikt. A biography of Clare Lennart, is a literary and historical biography of author Clare Lennart (Clara Helena van den Boogaard-Klaver, 1889-1972). Her work contains... Show moreVoor ’t gewone leven ongeschikt. A biography of Clare Lennart, is a literary and historical biography of author Clare Lennart (Clara Helena van den Boogaard-Klaver, 1889-1972). Her work contains many recognisably autobiographical elements, especially from her youth. An extensive overview of the life of this 'forgotten author' is the basis for this critical and interpretive biography. In addition it shows Clare Lennart's unique position in her time, the unusual choices she made and ‘the roads not taken’ in her life. The main focus of the research is the question of how Clare Lennart gained an economic position as a woman of letter. A second question focuses on the concepts of posture and self-fashioning. The thesis demonstrates that Clare Lennart was aware of her image as a 'poetic nature lover' and that she openly presented herself as a hack writer. Clare Lennart's poetic style nowadays seems more dated than the sober language used by contemporary authors. Nevertheless, she had a large audience between 1945 and 1972 and the reception was nearly always positive. The biography discusses the contemporary reception of her work in detail and why Clare Lennart's work is omitted from the Dutch canon, using the concept of ‘middle-brow’ literature. Show less
Humanity’s life on Earth is taking a concerning direction: issues such as climate change or the consequences of mass migration shape our future. The research departs from this concern, and... Show moreHumanity’s life on Earth is taking a concerning direction: issues such as climate change or the consequences of mass migration shape our future. The research departs from this concern, and proposes that humanity’s approach to the world can change only if the things-of-the-world start to matter to us, personally. This understanding can emerge in us, if we go beyond the hegemony of the ego that is driven by the current, gain and profit centered mindset. Therefore, I argue that the space in which individuals can revisit and alter how they are in the world, are spaces of ‘ground zero’, empty spaces beyond the structured taken-for-granted reality. Through theoretical arguments based on personal experience, it is demonstrated that certain contemporary art practices invite the beholder into this state of ‘ground zero’, beyond ego-boundaries in a very particular way: cognitively, emotionally and even physically. This state might have relevance for global decision-making as it offers to imagine the world in other ways than the present teleological, instrumentalist attitude. Show less
The Savage as Living Ghost is a study about four scholarly failures to dismantle the notion of the savage in Western discourse. These scholarly attempts are, broadly, structuralist,... Show moreThe Savage as Living Ghost is a study about four scholarly failures to dismantle the notion of the savage in Western discourse. These scholarly attempts are, broadly, structuralist, poststructuralist, postcolonial or multiculturalist, and decolonial. This study examines these four scholarly attempts by confronting them with close-readings of literary works or films in which the notion of the savage is attached to or associated with Native Americans. As Native Americans constitute the paradigmatic figuration of the savage since the European conquest of America, I focus particularly on the ways the West has constructed Native Americans as savages in this study. In Western discourse, the terms “savage” and “civilized” appear quite frequently in political speeches, the media, academic works, and daily conversation. This study looks critically at the rhetoric of civilization which designates Native Americans as savages and Europeans as civilized, and traces how the notion of the savage serves as a moral and cultural term to establish a hierarchy between Native Americans and the Europeans. Studying this process of othering reveals the dark side of European modernity. Show less
In literature ghosts have a long history. They manifest themselves in a variety of forms. They are intriguing because of their undecidable nature—their association with death and afterlife, which... Show moreIn literature ghosts have a long history. They manifest themselves in a variety of forms. They are intriguing because of their undecidable nature—their association with death and afterlife, which are irredeemable and inexplicable to the living. Especially in postcolonial literature we encounter the presence of ghosts. Ghostly figures often serve as metaphors of return—the return of repressed history, which continues to haunt the present. Sometimes they mark a present absence of marginalized groups of people. Noting the ineluctable encounters between ghosts, memories, and subjectivities in postcolonial literature, this dissertation tries to reach a deeper and broader understanding of the narrative potential of the ghostly in spatial, cultural and ethical dimensions. By perceiving ghosts as metaphorical concepts, I incorporate a variety of notions of ghosts into my exploration of ‘spectral space,’ ‘ghost language,’ and ‘mediums.’ I also investigate how these ghost-related concepts function to illuminate a new mode of thinking about the realms of knowledge and ethics. I argue that ghosts are ethical subjects rather than objects of social constructions. They provide us a productive way of establishing a new ethics of ghosts, which is reconsidered as the ethics of how to live with and survive as ghosts. Show less
