Performing the Transformative
Author(s)
Primary Supervisor
Younger, Janette A
Other Supervisors
Shaw, Elizabeth M
Year published
2021-07-05
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Inherent in this artistic project is the question of why menopause is not defined in Western society as a natural process of transformation that has the potential to result in empowerment for the individual woman. The project Performing the Transformative speaks of this potential as it might be depicted in performance art through a series of videos and live performances that actively contemplate and represent the process of change in identity at the menopause. This is undertaken through the use of heuristic methodology that embraces a process of an internal search to discover the nature and meaning of experiences, resulting ...
View more >Inherent in this artistic project is the question of why menopause is not defined in Western society as a natural process of transformation that has the potential to result in empowerment for the individual woman. The project Performing the Transformative speaks of this potential as it might be depicted in performance art through a series of videos and live performances that actively contemplate and represent the process of change in identity at the menopause. This is undertaken through the use of heuristic methodology that embraces a process of an internal search to discover the nature and meaning of experiences, resulting in growing self-knowledge. In the project, videos are intuitively performed and recorded employing the tripartite process of separation, transition and incorporation evident in a rite of passage. My hybridised theoretical framework draws upon gerontology, feminist psychoanalysis, performativity and gender theory. These theories provide a framework for my research and facilitate in addressing both the creative outcomes and the exegesis for Performing the Transformative. Because the primary vehicle in the expression of my research is performance as a rite of passage, it is important to critically engage with masque, masquerade, and performativity in relation to the question of transformation and empowerment. Gerontology studies and feminist studies on transformation at menopause inform the reflection on this practice. The key terms of masque, masquerade and performativity are defined, as well as studies on the absence of ritual and rites of passage as means of transformation in contemporary society are addressed.
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View more >Inherent in this artistic project is the question of why menopause is not defined in Western society as a natural process of transformation that has the potential to result in empowerment for the individual woman. The project Performing the Transformative speaks of this potential as it might be depicted in performance art through a series of videos and live performances that actively contemplate and represent the process of change in identity at the menopause. This is undertaken through the use of heuristic methodology that embraces a process of an internal search to discover the nature and meaning of experiences, resulting in growing self-knowledge. In the project, videos are intuitively performed and recorded employing the tripartite process of separation, transition and incorporation evident in a rite of passage. My hybridised theoretical framework draws upon gerontology, feminist psychoanalysis, performativity and gender theory. These theories provide a framework for my research and facilitate in addressing both the creative outcomes and the exegesis for Performing the Transformative. Because the primary vehicle in the expression of my research is performance as a rite of passage, it is important to critically engage with masque, masquerade, and performativity in relation to the question of transformation and empowerment. Gerontology studies and feminist studies on transformation at menopause inform the reflection on this practice. The key terms of masque, masquerade and performativity are defined, as well as studies on the absence of ritual and rites of passage as means of transformation in contemporary society are addressed.
View less >
Thesis Type
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Degree Program
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
School
Queensland College of Art
Copyright Statement
The author owns the copyright in this thesis, unless stated otherwise.
Subject
artistic project
menopause
Western society
transformation
empowerment