Black - Aesthetic Dimension in Contemporary Painting and Photography

Doctoral thesis · Doctoral School of Arts, West University of Timișoara · 2024
Author: Dr. Atila-Robert Gomboș · Supervisor: Prof. univ. dr. Stelian Acea
Publicly defended on 21 June 2024 · Academic title of Doctor (PhD) in Visual Arts, with the distinction Magna Cum Laude (qualifier "Foarte bine"), conferred by Order of the Minister of Education no. 7692 of 6 December 2024

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Abstract

A transdisciplinary doctoral study of the aesthetic and perceptual dimension of black in contemporary painting and photography. Combining art-historical analysis, phenomenology, collective and individual case studies (the Magnum Photos group and low-key photography; Petru Lucaci, Joan Witek, Touhami Ennadre), interviews, and a practice-based artistic project, the thesis examines the semiotics of black and its relationship to time, space, the sacred, the social, and the subconscious.

Contents

• Introduction
• 1. General Aspects of Light, Colour, and Its Perception — Light and colour, dispersion, trichromatic and opponent-process theory, dark adaptation, additive and subtractive synthesis.
• 2. From Cosmogonic Black to Black in the Visual Arts — Etymology and controversies; cosmogonic black; the ideal black body; materials, pigments, inks and processes for producing black.
• 3. The Historical Evolution of the Use of Black in the Work of Art — Caravaggio's chiaroscuro and Rembrandtesque light; black and the Bauhaus; black in modern and contemporary painting and photography; black in Romanian art; the symbolism of black across cultures.
• 4. The Method of Observational Research and Subjective Interpretation — A phenomenological analysis of black in art; Man Ray's rayographs; chiaroscuro and abstraction in László Moholy-Nagy; the nocturne in photography.
• 5. The Case Study Method — Collective case study of the Magnum Photos group and low-key photography; individual case studies of Petru Lucaci, Joan Witek, and Touhami Ennadre.
• 6. The Interview Method — Group, focus-group and expert interviews; mixed-methods research on the perception and aesthetics of black.
• 7. Applied (Practice-Based) Research – A Personal Artistic Project — The doctoral exhibition „Dincolo de negru”: photo collage, painting (“Black on Black”), generative art, and the “Memory of Time” series.
• 8. Conclusions — Final conclusions and possible future developments.
• Bibliography

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Related publications (in Romanian) and doctoral exhibition

• “Despre negru în artele vizuale: o foarte scurtă introducere” [On black in the visual arts: a very short introduction], in EM Art, Year 3, no. 13, January 2022, pp. 22-25, ISSN 2734-7923.
• “Estetica negrului: între percepție și expresie artistică” [The aesthetics of black: between perception and artistic expression], in Caiete de Arte și Design, no. 9/2021, pp. 164-173, ISSN 2393-042X.
• “Analiză critică a evoluției negrului în artele plastice” [A critical analysis of the evolution of black in the visual arts], in RevArt, Eurostampa Publishing House, vol. 38, no. 3/2021, pp. 154-164, ISSN 1841-1169.
• “Dincolo de negru” [Beyond Black], in 4 Foi de Artă, no. 33, September 2021, pp. 5, 7, ISSN 2668-0238.
• “Niveluri perceptive ale negrului în arta contemporană” [Perceptual levels of black in contemporary art], in Dana Percec (ed.), Tendințe actuale în științele umaniste [Current trends in the humanities], vol. I, West University of Timișoara Publishing House, Timișoara, 2021, pp. 221-228, ISBN 978-973-125-848-5.
• Doctoral exhibition “Dincolo de negru” (Beyond Black), Art Gallery “Helios”, Timișoara, 14-24 August 2021, presented in chapter 7 of the thesis (applied, practice-based research). Announcements and coverage: Union of Visual Artists of Romania (UAP), Faculty of Arts and Design, UVT (archived copy), Radio România Cultural.

More on the doctoral research: atilagombos.com.

@phdthesis{gombos2024black,
  author = {Gombo{\c s}, Atila},
  title  = {Black - Aesthetic Dimension in Contemporary Painting and Photography},
  school = {West University of Timi{\c s}oara},
  year   = {2024},
  type   = {PhD thesis},
  doi    = {10.5281/zenodo.20514341},
  url    = {https://www.jasminedirectory.com/black-aesthetic-dimension-thesis.html}
}