Kaya

I'm a cultural researcher and arts educator. I explore and write about performance art in Eastern Europe and beyond.

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Latest Articles

Arts 44	…But is it ‘Art’? There has been a long-standing debate whether certain practices or pieces of work should or shouldn't be called art. First... Kaya Oct 11
Arts 56	Tehching Hsieh: The Experience of Time and Duration in Performance Art Since the first Futurist manifesto in 1909, in which F. T. Marinetti layed out the main ideas behind the avant-garde... Kaya Dec 22, 2022
Arts 42	Gavazov and the Eastern European Art Scene Delving into history, especially that of art, is complicated and often entails a great deal of imagination. The historian is... Kaya Feb 24, 2020
TV 44	Utopian Relations: Intersectionality in ‘Orange is the New Black’ and ‘Black Mirror’ Romantic, sweet, slightly childish and seemingly never-ending - this is the type of love that plays the role of an... Kaya Apr 21, 2019
Literature 24	The Brutal Presentation of Modern Society in The Play ‘Shopping and F***ing’ Have you thought about how our society is 'improving' lately? You would say 'Of course, I do it all the time,... Kaya Dec 2, 2016

Latest Topics

animation

Cartoons

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The History and Impact of Modern Cartoons

Analyse the development of modern cartoons and animations. What impact might they have on young children's perception of the world – whether that is related to how a certain animal/person/character looks like (their visual representation), or whether it impacts behaviours in a certain way. How might kids react to certain characters and relationships portrayed on the screen? Can some of these have a perceptible negative impact on their lives?

As a starting point, trace the development of cartoons (from Disney, to Cartoon Network, etc) and some iconic shows.

I like this idea, but I definitely agree that it'd probably be best to pick some (or even one) specific show/s. Or maybe the way that modern cartoons have impacted one specific part of life/culture? There are so many different impacts you could argue modern cartoons have had, after all. – AnnieEM 2 years ago
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This might be a cliche suggestion, but an interesting route along these lines would be to analyze a cartoon that is bursting with political and social commentary (Like the new She-ra and The Princesses of Power"), to see if any of the major themes are actually absorbed by kids, or if they are more like fan service (harsh term but lacking a better one) for the many LGBTQIA adult viewers the cartoon's producers knew would be watching. You may be looking for more of a meta-analysis, but a lot of interesting things could be gleaned from examining She-Ra and it's viewership. – adhyuki 2 years ago
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I like this topic - perhaps you could detail the change of modern cartoons from purely for children (but with bits and gags meant to help their parents be entertained as well, I'm thinking Rugrats), to what Modern Cartoons look like now. For example, Adventure Time and Stephen Universe, which obviously are enjoyed by all ages due to its creators using a mixture of techniques (both visual and writing) to entertain a wider audience. Perhaps then you could delve into how this change then affects children today - for example, how much are the picking up on themes/ideas that are not meant for them? Or how is the overall tone, perhaps from purely chaotic comedy (Fairly Odd Parents) to a mixture of serious and comedy (Avatar the last airbender/Adventure Time) to purely adult animation that we all know many children are watching (Invincible/Rick and Morty etc). – Harry P 2 years ago
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There's definitely a lot of interesting directions you could go with this topic. Like how the decline of linear television and concurrent rise of streaming has broken down demographic barriers. Or how social media has transformed the ways fans interact with creators and the works they produce. – AddThreeAndFive 10 months ago
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literature

Poetry

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Poetry and Art: How is poetry integrated into contemporary visual art?

Analyse the different ways written and/or spoken word and poetry gets integrated into visual art pieces. These can be artworks where words are used as a visual cue, as an integral part of a performance narrative or any other way. What is the link between the sound and image of a word/poem? What effects does it produce on the viewer/listener? Can words be used as a visual element only? Examine instances where classical poems are reworked through a ontemporary lens and reused in a modern context.

Would also be interesting to note the differences between reading a poem and hearing the same poem read aloud or performed. How does this change our interpretation? What aspects are different? Emotion, pauses in breath, etc – kaitfitz 2 years ago
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literature

#BreakfastatTiffanys

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'Breakfast at Tiffany's': A Feminist Approach

The 1958 novella by Truman Capote 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' offers its readers a sneak peek into the lavish lifestyle of early twentieth century New York. The main protagonist, however, had become the centre for much debate among feminists. This topic would entail a balanced analysis of the character of Holly Golightly – is she the source of empowerment for women through liberating herself in the ways described in the book? Or is her personality simply an archetype, a false stereotype for a certain demographic of women?

This is very interesting and as both a fan and a sceptic I'd love an in depth analysis of this! I also wonder how the changes from book to screen changes our perception of Holly for the worse or better. Perhaps we can empathise with her a little more by resolving the love story, however you could also argue this further destroys her autonomy. – rubyellam 6 years ago
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It helps to also recognize the fact that the main protagonist is also looking for her dreams, as indicated in the song "Moon River", which is in the film version of "Breakfast at Tiffany's". Moon River, which is the name of a real river down in Savannah, GA, but the main protagonist imagines a partner who's looking for the same dreams that she is, which inspires her all the more. – mplo 6 years ago
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Great topic! It will be extremely helpful if you add other outside sources supporting your argument. – Yvonne T. 6 years ago
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I think this a great topic, and it will gain a lot of positive attention given that the movie is a classic and very popular still. I think especially in today's society, we need more analysis and exploration of the feminist ideals and how they were represented in the 1950s compared to now. – reschilke 6 years ago
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I would also encourage the writer to explore the possibility of both/and rather than either/or in terms of feminist analysis. – oddiem 5 years ago
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Great topic, especially for a piece not traditionally thought of as feminist (at least, I never thought of it that way). – Stephanie M. 4 years ago
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film

Female Gaze

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The Female Gaze

Discussions around the male gaze (in art and elsewhere) are present within the Western socio-political, cultural and artistic milieu since a very long time. What about the female gaze – something which is becoming more and more powerful and evident in the 21st century? I would like to leave this topic relatively open so that writers can choose their own angle from which to hadnle it. I would be interested to see whether people examine this issue from a certain political stance, from a gender studies' perspective or from a more traditional pathway of looking into painting and photography, for example. I believe there is a lot to be said regarding the representation of women nowadays – in art, in films, on TV, in literature…the female figure is becoming more independent, having agency over her own body and her own gaze. What changes (if any) does this bring into the mechanisms of production, and consequently consumption, in pop culture?

Love this topic! I think there's a lot of room for different analyses and perspectives depending on the angle, like you say, and media type. Looking at different waves of feminism could also be cool if you wanted to understand how we arrived at the 21st-century female gaze. – carmenxbd 5 years ago
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Such a great idea! In my college film classes, we discussed the male gaze frequently, but the female gaze was not brought up. I think that in an increasingly feminist society that this topic definitely has relevance. I would be interested in discussing it from a cinematic perspective and how the female gaze does or does not objectify a male character in the way that male creators objectify their female characters, even from a camera lens. – lstraub 5 years ago
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I think a relevant movie here would be Portrait Of A Lady On Fire, since it was a film that was purely framed through the female gaze. It showed love and affection and women supporting women without objectification or misogynistic undertones. By allowing the women in this film to simply Exist, without the necessity that they be consumed by a man, it is incredibly unpopular with many people. However, it very poetically manages to capture the unique experience of the love between women - both romantic and platonic. In the way the romance between the women progressed, the ways in which they fall in love with each other and the ways in which every shot is framed, is completely unaffected by the usually ever-present male gaze. All I'm really saying is that I think there would be a lot to say about how this film captures the female gaze exceptionally well. – NayanaK 4 years ago
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Two sources about the male gaze in media could be Jeff Wall who is a Canadian artist who created photographs such as 'Picture for Woman' that explored the idea of the male gaze. Laura Mulvey was the theorist who coined the 'male gaze theory' so she might be an interesting source to compare the female gaze to. – Erika 4 years ago
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arts

Action Painting

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Action Painting: Conception and Legacies

Analyse the birth and develpment of action painting as an art movement and look at some of the examples which followed on from it. Jackson Pollock is the person primarily associated with this movement but there are a lot of other artists who were working in this mode as well. Raise questions about its form, concepts, potentialities and the critical and effective work which are inhabiting this style.

I do recall that the newspaper “The Guardian” had a whole article devoted toward these types of avant-garde artistic styles. It was published in 1990. This may prove helpful. – J.D. Jankowski 5 years ago
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anime

#TokyoGhoul

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Choice and Consequences in the Series 'Tokyo Ghoul'

This is a proposition for the analysis of making choice and facing consequence in the anime (or the manga) series 'Tokyo Ghoul'. The character of Ken Kaneki can be taken as the main vehicle for exploring the philosophical idea of personal choices and the effects one has to face based on them. It can also be explored from a psychological stance, especially through delving into the divided identity of the protagonist in 'Tokyo Ghoul:re".

initially kaneki decides to stick with the delusion that he can live as a human even though his body is of a ghoul. he chooses to stay weak and naive. as a result he is taken by jason and tortured till his very psyche is fractured and split. he then flips then jumps from one side of the spectrum to the other far end. – SKala 6 years ago
16

West World

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Existential and Philosophical Questions in 'West World'

The new HBO series 'West World' is a striking example of a deeply philosophical reflection of the world we live in. It poses questions regarding the existence of God, who or what is he? Are people able to 'play' God? Is there another world, one which is invisible for us? Or maybe countless dimensions? Are our everyday lives just a meaningless form of existence or is there a deeper meaning to everything? The series suggests that everything happens for a reason and people can, after all, control their own destiny.

Such an interesting topic! The TV series Westworld has gone much further than simply being a remake of the 1973 movie. In the series, we follow human characters but, most of all, we follow the robots and we sympathize with them. We mainly see their perspectives and, sometimes, we even identify with them. The consequences of such a directorial choice are complex. Robots are not presented as others anymore. They have feelings, memories, and back-stories. They are continuously updated in order to satisfy the clients better, in a way that reminds us of the way in which we continuously need to adapt ourselves to the ever-changing external world. Even though these robots are depicted in such a ‘human’ way to us, we also see them treated as objects, as goods by the clients and by their creators. Still, even within their oppressed and objectified position, these robots manage to control their own storylines. In this way, the old motif of the struggle between creator and creature –which recalls Shelley’s Frankenstein– is explore in a new, existential way. Can individuals escape determinism? Can we rewrite a story that has already been written? If not, is there a meaning in our lives? – CostanzaCasati 8 years ago
1

film

Special Effects

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Modern Cinema: Are Movies Becoming Just a Bunch of Special Effects?

We all admire the new techniques and special effects in movies we see in the cinema, but is there actually any value in them? You walk out of the cinema with your eyes full and your head empty. Are movies adopting a purpose just for entertaining? Films from the past, like Luc Besson's Leon, or Blade Runner, or even Forrest Gump carry lots of food for thought, a vast emotional landscape and deserve to be called true works of art. Can we say the same about movies nowadays?

I totally get where you're coming from, but treating this as a symptom of "modern cinema" seems like a bit of a generalization. True, the issue has become grossly more inflate with each passing year since the 1980s, but that's only really one side of the industry, the flashy Blockbuster market designed for mass consumption. Let's just look at one year for a moment, 2014: sure, the box office was dominated by Transformers 4, The Hobbit 3, and Guardians of the Galaxy 1, but this was also the year of Boyhood, Whiplash, and Selma, as well as (in my opinion, two of the best films in recent memory) Leviathan and The Best Offer. Perhaps the issue isn't that all contemporary films are saturated in special effects, but rather that the films which employ extraneous spectacle with little substance consistently out-gross the more artistic films, which may say more about audiences than filmmakers. In fact, this very subject was handled expertly in Birdman (also from 2014), which made great use of special effects to enhance its artistry while simultaneously satirizing the current state of the popular cinema. – ProtoCanon 8 years ago
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Depends on what one means by art, I would tend to agree with you that a lot of movies don't seem to have any substance outside of the over-the-top special effect sequences, action movies in particular. Keep in mind though, that the people working on those special effects more than likely have computer design and art backgrounds. When looking at it from that standpoint, movies like Fast & Furious, The Avengers, X-Men, and so on, are more art-based than The Piano or Forrest Gump. The problem or question at hand, is whether or not studios are choosing more special effects filled mega releases over thought provoking 'works of art'? – MikeySheff 8 years ago
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I find that although films such as Independance Day: Resurgance do exist, wherein special effects are all the film has to offer, many a time, VFX aid storytelling in films today, and even blockbusters can remain compelling films despite the use of set pieces full of special effects, examples being Edge of Tommorow, Captain America: The Winter Soldier/Civil War, and Ex Machina, a film which used very expensive visual effects to tell a particularly intelligent and compelling story. – JacobSe7en 8 years ago
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This is a great topic. I think that the Hollywood film is the general type that appears in cinema today where there is flashing and violence and different uses of special effects to keep viewers interested. It seems that films these days are focusing too much on this aspect and not on the emotional aspect and I think this really takes something away from the culture of cinema. – alexadoiron 8 years ago
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Latest Comments

Oct 13 Kaya I like your term ‘art-ness’! It turns the whole converstion in an entirely new direction – is ‘art’ an adjective, as you propose, something to be possessed by a concrete work, or is it a noun, or even a verb as it almost seems to have a life of its own?	…But is it 'Art'?
Oct 13 Kaya That’s exactly how this article starts – an acknowledgement of the importance of contextualisation 🙂	…But is it 'Art'?
Feb 13, 2023 Kaya As someone who doesn’t use TikTok, and is not even tempted, it’s intereseting to learn that there is actually some significant work being done on the platform. I wonder why has this trend stayed only on TikTok, can a similar phenomenon somehow appear on Instagram too for example?	BookTok Influencers and Their Impact on the Publishing Industry
Feb 13, 2023 Kaya It’s amazing how different perpsectives and elements become visible every time you watch a good piece of film. That’s the secret to powerful and effective art – being able to present a lot of underlying arguments at once. A reminder I need to re-watch the movie again!	Spirited Away as Social Criticism
Feb 9, 2023 Kaya An interesting take on a topic that should be talked about more. It’s a difficult one because there hasn’t yet been a unified ‘explanation’ of the idea of ‘good art’ or even ‘art’ as it is, not to mention how complicated it gets when we bring that discussion to the digital realm.	Why Should We Separate Real Art From NFTs of the Bored Ape Yacht Club Type?
Dec 28, 2022 Kaya In different ways. For example, he had a friend, or more like a “co-facilitator”, who was helping him out during Cage piece. There is more information on the day- to- day details in the book ‘Out of Now’ which I’ve cited, if you’re interested.	Tehching Hsieh: The Experience of Time and Duration in Performance Art
May 19, 2020 Kaya Yes 🙂	Gavazov and the Eastern European Art Scene
Feb 28, 2020 Kaya A very interesting analysis. I was wondering, does the fact that ‘Game of Thrones’ was a series with a lot of episodes has anything to do with its success? That is to say, it is quite difficult to be exceptionally truthful to a book when you have an hour and a half to tell the whole story and it’s completely different when you have a whole season to make it happen. That’s just an observation, or rather – a question 🙂	An Analysis into Screen Adaptations

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Kaya

Latest Articles

…But is it ‘Art’?

Tehching Hsieh: The Experience of Time and Duration in Performance Art

Gavazov and the Eastern European Art Scene

Utopian Relations: Intersectionality in ‘Orange is the New Black’ and ‘Black Mirror’

The Brutal Presentation of Modern Society in The Play ‘Shopping and F***ing’

Latest Topics

The History and Impact of Modern Cartoons

Poetry and Art: How is poetry integrated into contemporary visual art?

'Breakfast at Tiffany's': A Feminist Approach

The Female Gaze

Action Painting: Conception and Legacies

Choice and Consequences in the Series 'Tokyo Ghoul'

Existential and Philosophical Questions in 'West World'

Modern Cinema: Are Movies Becoming Just a Bunch of Special Effects?

Latest Comments