Browsing by Subject "symbolit"

This thesis is a study about art as a constructive element of the society. The aim of this work is to prove the significant and special nature of art as a creator of the future of the society, as well as show how the curiosity of art is a part of social and political research. The scientific argument of the thesis is based on studies by Claude Lévi-Strauss and Victor Turner. The main thread and the basic concept of the work has been to examine the term 'bricoleur', used in Lévi-Strauss`s 'La Pensée Sauvage' to describe a person recreating new by using the surrounding society as his material. The starting point of this thesis is to study and examine the relationship between the bricoleur and art. The key work from Victor Turner has been 'The Forest of Symbols: Aspects of Ndembu Ritual', and also 'The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure'. The viewpoint of Lévi-Strauss has been extended by using the thoughts and arguments of Turner´s studies about ritual symbolism. By comparing the thoughts of these two anthropologists the intention is to show the diverse and versatile meaning of art as a constructor of the society. The subject has been examined by using artistic examples. The thesis focuses especially on the work and the artistic production of three artists. Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo are examples of visual artists and Jean Sibelius is an example from the field of music. The study analyzes and examines the artistic repertoire of other artists as well, such as the art work of Pablo Picasso´s. The basis of the selection of the artists has been their great social impact as well as the fact that they lived in the same era on different continents. The structure of the thesis has been divided into four main sections: The first part examines art as a phenomena and focuses on theoretical and historical definition, as well as the relationship between art and society. The chapter is to make the reader understand what the thesis is talking about when it is talking about art. The second part is about the nature of art as a creator of cohesion through the light of artistic examples and social circumstances. Through the examples of Rivera, Kahlo and Sibelius the artistic work shall be seen as an empowering element of the society. The third chapter concentrates on the analysis of the artistic data and proves how the comparison of the artistic work is relevant, even if it was born on two different continents. The aim of the chapter is to show through very concrete examples how it is possible to create the new through art. The fourth section examines the work of Lévi-Strauss and Victor Turner. The chapter looks into the anthropological discussion of the subject. The chapter also intends to show how by studying the ritual context and symbolic meaning of art, as well as the nature of bricoleur, the role of art will be understood as an important and significant element in society. The study argues that art has a unique role as a force that regenerates and recreates the society. It also shows the significance of art as a transformative, intergrative and empowering phenomena.