The cosmic tantrum

• Main Author: McCauley, Kevin Taylor
• Other Authors: Younge, Gavin
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: University of Cape Town 2017
• Subjects: Creative Work
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/25972

This dissertation, entitled The Cosmic Tantrum, is presented in two parts: the body of creative work, in the form of a series of art works created over the course of two years of study, and the theoretical work discussed in this document. The creative work is subdivided into two sections: 1) a series of ten figurative mixed-media paintings, organised chronologically; and 2) the lightworks, a suite of fourteen back-lit canvas tapestries entitled The Eternal Carnival. The Eternal Carnival is the centrepiece of my postgraduate work. A set of drawings is also presented as supporting documentation of the artistic process. The theoretical component is the result of two years of research in Postcolonial Theory, Cultural Studies, and scholarship on the artistic and philosophical systems of what is known as the Black Atlantic. I provide an explanation of the theoretical underpinnings of the creative work in the form of a possible theory of culture, which I have called an "insurgent ancestral aesthetic", elaborated in Part One. This theory of culture provides an analytical framework and leads into Part Two, in which I offer an exposition of the artwork. As a theory, an insurgent ancestral aesthetic begins with the assertion that the presence of the artistic philosophies of the African Diaspora can be understood as essential to both Postmodern Theory and contemporary global culture. A comparative study of the relationship between Black Atlantic aesthetic philosophy and Postmodernism develops this theory of culture and leads into a discussion of possible applications of an insurgent ancestral aesthetic. The themes and concepts of the theoretical research are played out in the creative work in various ways; I employ aspects of my work in theory to illuminate the art in Part Two. Generally, in the artwork, an improvisational approach to the human form reveals an image of the body as an expression of emotional, psychological, and spiritual content. The paintings generate a sense of the body as a story written over time, a record of all that has befallen it. The Eternal Carnival is the culmination of my work in shadow and silhouette and employs a narrative approach in signifying upon various spiritual characters and artistic principles active in the aesthetic and philosophic systems of the Black Atlantic.