Malaysian Journal of Performing and Visual Arts

HANDBOOK OF VISUAL COMMUNICATION (2ND EDITION) EDITED BY SHEREE JOSEPHSON, JAMES D. KELLY, AND KEN SMITH. NEW YORK: ROUTLEDGE, 2020. 591PP. ISBN: 9781138590311

Sat, 31 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0800

Sheree Josephson, James D. Kelly, and Ken Smith edited the Handbook of Visual Communication: Theory, Methods, and Media (2020), the second edition. This book was published by Routledge (Taylor and Francis Group) in New York, United States of America. The first edition of this book was released in 2004. The key theoretical areas and research methods of visual communication are reviewed in this Handbook of Visual Communication. This volume brings together important and influential work in the discipline, with chapters attributed by many of the most well-known and highly regarded researchers in visual communication. The second edition of this already-classic text has been totally modified to reflect the evolution of communication over the last 15 years, as well as the prevalence of visual communication in our modern mediated lifestyle. There are 13 major visual communication theories described by leading experts in their fields namely perception, cognition, aesthetics, visual rhetoric, semiotics, cultural studies, ethnography, narrative, media aesthetics, digital media, intertextuality, ethics, and visual literacy. Each chapter of this book covers a theory followed by an exemplar study or two in the relevant field, displaying the different methods used in visual communication research and also the research strategies appropriate to particular kinds of media. The Handbook of Visual Communication is a theoretical and methodological handbook for visual communication researchers, as well as a collection of most of the theoretical foundation required to comprehend visual communication. This book is an essential reading material for scholars, investigators and students in visual communication, because it may have an impact on many other fields like advertising, persuasion, and media studies. This book is useful especially for the media practitioners who want to comprehend the visual aspects of how viewers use media in order to make good use of each medium.

PRACTICE-RELATED RESEARCH IN CONTEMPORARY CHOREOGRAPHY: A REVIEW OF METHODS

Jyh Shyong Wong, Premalatha Thiagarajan — Sat, 31 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0800

Practice-related research, such as practice-led research, practice-based research, and Practice as Research, has become increasingly significant in the academic study of creative practices, including contemporary choreography. Six doctoral research projects presented between 2013-2022 will be studied to demonstrate the implication of practice-related research in contemporary choreography. This textual review analyses the definition of practice-led research, practice-based research, and Practice as Research from the perspectives of their fundamental aims and frameworks. With the review of the doctoral research in contemporary choreography, the research problems, questions, methods, and products will be analysed. This paper will foreground the research in contemporary choreography, focusing on practice-related research as the methodology at the doctoral level.

EXPLORING THE 21ST CENTURY NEW AGE MUSIC GENRE: COMPOSERS' IDEOLOGIES, CREATIVITY AND PROMOTION

Renben Humtsoe, Ita Wang — Sat, 31 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0800

This paper aims to establish a better understanding of the New Age Music (NAM) genre in the 21^st century. The intent is to explore underlying ideologies and expressions held by its composers and obtain a multifaceted viewpoint towards the genre. Through content analysis conducted among secondary data including 19 archived interviews, an article, and 24 NAM albums, it was found that the ideologies and musical creativity held by the NAM artists leaned towards healing, expansion of the mind, and spirituality; the identity issue was observed amongst several artists who didn't regard themselves and outputs related to NAM; few 21^st century NAM albums displayed individualism by showing artists’ portrait although the commercialization of NAM inclined towards mental health and awareness instead of a form of entertainment.

BOWED LUTES AMONG THE BAJAU AND THE IRANUN OF SABAH: THEIR STRUCTURES, PERFORMANCE, MUSIC AND POSSIBLE ORIGINS

Jaqueline Pugh-Kitingan — Sun, 31 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0800

Bowed lutes, often called biola, are relatively rare in Sabah. They were traditionally found only among certain maritime communities, such as the Brunei and Kadayan, the Iranun, some west coast Bajau and east coast Bajau, including the Sama Dilaut. In the Kota Belud District of Sabah, the biola (Bajau) or biula (Iranun) is a three-stringed bowed lute shaped like a violin. It is stood in an upright position in front of the seated performer and supported by their right foot, with its scroll leaning backwards towards one shoulder. It is bowed with a horsehair or, nowadays, nylon stringed bow. Among the Sama Dilaut of the east coast, however, the biola has four strings and resembles the European violin. When played, it is usually held with its base against the performer’s chest like a fiddle. Many scholars claim the four-stringed biola originated from the European violin and viola that the Portuguese introduced into Southeast Asia. Some assume the same origin for the three-stringed instruments. Some musicians, however, say the violin came from the Philippines. The three-stringed instruments and their performance reflect bowed lutes of Arab origin. This paper will compare the organology, performance practice and music of the west coast Bajau biola and Iranun biula with the east coast Bajau biola, and will suggest possible origins for these instruments.

AN ANALOGY OF SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE AND AESTHETIC EXPERIENCE IN BACTERIAL ART: A QUESTION OF CONTENT OR EMOTION?

Nur Amira Hanafi, Roslina Ismail — Sat, 31 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0800

Based on two exhibitions of bacterial paintings in 2018 and 2019, we posit that knowledge about bacteria can both impede and enhance viewers' aesthetic experiences. Artists can manipulate biological material to create intriguing visual experiences that evoke emotions ranging from discomfort to admiration by understanding how different types of bacteria interact with one another and their potential uses for artistic expression. We revisited and challenged both Noel Carroll's and Gary Iseminger's theories on the approach to aesthetics due to the inherent complexity of the making process as well as its philosophical implications in bacterial art. During the exhibition, 111 questionnaires and brief interviews were used to collect responses and comments from the audience. We discovered two main themes in the audience responses: "universal knowledge" of bacteria and "pursuit of truth," demonstrating distinct aesthetic experience that is both cognitively motivated and emotionally engaged. From this perspective, bacterial art nudged audiences to look at these works of art with wonder and appreciation for the beauty they contain. As a result, having a basic understanding of bacteria allows us to encounter bacterial art in novel and intriguing ways.