The picaresque tradition feminism and ideology critique - Human, Elsie Suzanne (University of the Free State, 1999)
Calvin Seerveld evocatively uses the literary term 'picaresque' in his transposition into visual and imaginary terms, of the philosopher D. H. Th. Vollenhoven's typology of philosophical conceptions. In this study the more limited use of the term 'picaresque novel' and 'picaresque fictional world' in literary criticism is expanded against the background of Seerveld's categories, in order to arrive at the outlines of a broader 'picaresque imaginary world'. The proposition of such an 'imaginary world' not only aids in accounting for the recurrence of similar metaphors, themes and strategies in cultural products, spanning centuries, but also counters the remnants of a subjectivist 'world-view' philosophy in the idea of the 'typiconic traditions'. 'Motifs' in both visual culture and art historical texts are considered to be dynamic 'motives' within the context of the directive imaginary framework of a 'picaresque imaginary world', generating and divulging its ideological orientations. The metaphoric significance in picaresque visual art, of motifs related to vision, the Fool, foolish bodily postures, and playful narrative emplotments, is scrutinized. The prevalence of the metaphoric association of knowledge and vision in 'ocularcentric' mainstream Western culture at least since Greco-Roman antiquity, make metaphors related to vision important barometers of ideological directive frameworks. Themes and motifs associated with the character of the Fool, are unravelled in order to explore his/her metaphoric role as the epitome of picaresque artistry, performing various functions with and in picaresque texts. After having systematized the types of metaphoric bodily postures and gestures that are related to the playfully subversive nature of the Fool, a few pictorial narratives are considered in order to assess how playful metaphors of actions and events divulge underlying picaresque orientations in narrative contexts. The advantages of viewing feminist art from the perspective of 'typiconic traditions' are considered. In feminist searches for trans-generational links among women - a main concern in feminist scholarship, particularly in literary criticism (I'écriture féminine) but also in art history - female cultural production is often relegated to separate or 'alternative' female traditions, that thus have no relevance for, and can have no enduring impact on patriarchal culture. The proposition of such traditions obscures the analysis of the ways in which women have negotiated and disrupted, and still are negotiating and disrupting, artistic, social and other cultural conventions in order to open up a gender sensitive cultural space. Seerveld's 'cartographic methodology' is the basis upon which the field of a feminist search for commonalities is typologically differentiated. Abandoning the search for monolithic female traditions, attention is redirected to the links and gendered contributions of female art to various age-old cultural traditions in visual culture. This approach aids in removing the spectre of biological and cultural essentialism. A study of picaresque art by female artists, moreover, has the potential of enriching our idea of a picaresque tradition. There are subtle nuances and accents in the use, by recent female artists, of motifs and metaphors related to the gendered body, that have not been exploited by male artists; which have not yet been incorporated into our cultural heritage and assimilated into the idea of a picaresque tradition. Finally 'new' methods of ideology-critical visual analysis are designed and experimented with. Such methods of interpreting visual culture are inspired by the theory of ideology outlined by Johann Visagie and combined with experience in teaching art students who 'think visually'. It entails arguing by means of the visual association and juxtaposition of motifs and their metaphorical meanings within specific contexts. The viability of this method of analysis and its potential to enrich art historical methodologies, are promoted in the light of progress in visual technology that facilitates easy visual reproduction of art. However, it is exactly in the context of the global reproducibility of the image and of the radicalization of the concept of the simulacrum that the ideological power of images can easily be regarded as anodyne, pulverized and ineffectual. In the proposed ideology- critical visual analysis, however, visual motifs are interpreted as communicators of ideological 'motives' as in the rest of the study.

In sy omsetting van die filosoof D. H. Th. Vollenhoven se tipologie van filosofiese konsepsies in beeldende terme, gebruik Calvin Seerveld die literêre term 'pikaresk' op 'n evokatiewe manier. In hierdie studie word die meer beperkte literatuurwetenskaplike betekenis van die term 'pikareske roman' en 'pikareske fiktiewe wêreld' uitgebrei teen die agtergrond van Seerveld se kategorieë, met die doelom die kontoere van 'n meer omvattende 'pikareske verbeeldingwêreld' te skets. Die hipotese van so 'n 'verbeeldingswêreld' dien om rekenskap te gee van die herhaalde voorkoms van ooreenstemmende metafore, temas en strategieë in kulturele voorwerpe oor die bestek van eeue. Die hipotese dien ook as kritiek of kommentaar op die oorblyfsels van 'n subjektivistiese filosofie van 'wêreldbeskouing' in die idee van tipikoniese tradisies. 'Motiewe' in visuele voorstellings, sowel as in kunshistoriese tekste, word beskou as dinamiese 'motiverings' in die konteks van die rigtinggewende verbeeldingsraamwerk van 'n pikareske tradisie. Dit onthul die ideologiese oriëntasies van voorstellings en tekste. Die metaforiese betekenis van motiewe wat verband hou met visie, die Dwaas, geklike liggaamsposture, en spel-agtige narratiewe emplotments word ondersoek in pikareske beeldende kuns. Metafore wat met visie in verband staan, is belangrike barometers van rigtinggewende ideologiese verbeeldingsraamwerke, omdat die metaforiese assosiasie van kennis en visie algemeen voorkom, ten minste sedert die Grieks-Romeinse Antieke. Temas en motiewe wat geassosieer word met die Dwaas word ontrafel met die doelom sy/haar metaforiese rol, as verpersonifiëring van pikareske kunstenaarskap, te ondersoek. Nadat verskillende tipes metaforiese liggaamsposture en gebare wat verband hou met die spelerige, ondermynende aard van die Dwaas, gesistematiseer is, word 'n aantal beeldverhale oorweeg om bloot te lê hoe spelmetafore onderliggende pikareske oriëntasies in verhaalsamehange onthul. Die voordele daarin om feministiese kuns uit die perspektief van 'tipikoniese tradisies' te beskou, word oorweeg. In die feministiese soeke na tradisies wat vroue van verskillende generasies en periodes verenig - 'n belangrike opgaaf van die feministiese navorsing, veral in die literatuurwetenskap (I'écriture féminine), maar ook in die kunsgeskiedenis - word vroulike kulturele voorwerpe dikwels gerelegeer tot aparte of 'alternatiewe' vroulike tradisies, wat sodoende geen betekenis het vir, of blywende impak het op die patriargie het nie. Insig in die maniere waarop vroue artistieke, sosiale en ander kulturele konvensies oorgeneem ondermyn het, en steeds dit doen, word daardeur belemmer. Seerveld se 'kartoqrafiese metodologie' is die basis waarop die veld van die feministiese soeke na ooreenkomste tipologies gedifferensieer word. Die soeke na monolitiese vroulike tradisies word verwerp en die aandag word gevestig op geslagtelik-gedifferensieerde bydraes van die kuns deur vroue en die verbande daarvan met verskillende eeu-oue kulturele tradisies in visuele kultuur. Hierdie benadering dien om die sweem van biologiese en kulturele essensialisme te verwyder. Boonop het die studie van pikareske kuns deur vroulike kunstenaars die potensiaal om die idee van 'n pikareske tradisie te verryk. Daar is subtiele nuanses en aksente in die gebruik van motiewe en metafore, wat verband hou met die geslagtelik-gedifferensieerde liggaam en wat nie tevore uitgebuit is deur manlike kunstenaars nie; wat nog nie geïnkorporeer is in ons kulturele erfenis en geassimileer is in die idee van 'n pikareske tradisie nie. Ten slotte word 'n 'nuwe' metode van ideologie-kritiese visuele analise ontwerp en getoets. Sulke metodes om visuele kultuur te interpreteer is geïnspireer deur die ideologieteorie wat deur Johann Visagie geskets word, en gekombineer met ervaring in die onderrig van beeldende kunsstudente wat 'visueel dink'. Dit behels om deur middel van visuele assosiasies en jukstaponerings van motiewe en hul metaforiese betekenisse in spesifieke kontekste te redeneer. Die lewensvatbaarheid van hierdie ontledingsmetode en die potensiaal daarvan om kunshistoriese metodes te verryk, word ondersteun deur ontwikkelinge in die visuele tegnologie wat die reproduksie van visuele voorstellings vergemaklik. Dit is egter juis in die konteks van die wêreldwye reproduseerbaarheid van voorstellings en van die radikalisering van die begrip van die simulacrum dat die ideologiese mag van voorstellings maklik afgemaak kan word as skadeloos en oneffektief. In die voorgestelde ideologie-kritiese visuele analise word motiewe egter geïnterpreteer as draers van ideologiese 'motiverings', soos in die res van die studie.
Thesis (Ph.D. (History of Art))--University of the Free State, 1999
Keywords: Visual communication; Arts and society; Feminism in art