COLLECTION NAME:
Graduate Thesis Collection
Record
Title:
Recreating Myth: Deconstruction and Reconstruction of Traditional Chinese Signs
Creator:
Dong, Zhenjie
Subject:
Thesis (M.F.A.) -- Photography
Subject:
Savannah College of Art and Design -- Department of Photography
Rights:
Copyright is retained by the authors or artists of items in this collection, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law
Abstract:
This thesis, based on Roland Barthes Mythology and Jacques Derrida’s deconstruction
theory, analyze the strategy utilized by Chinese authorities to create signs/myths that
conceal ideological messages. I challenge the myths that are created by authority to
provide univocal messages and argue that symbols can be used by everyone to express
his/her distinct voice and opinion. The visual component of the thesis, inspired by the
critical voices of the citizens on the Internet as well as the work of artists Ai Weiwei,
Yang Yongliang and Vik Muniz, transforms traditional Chinese signs. By using rotting
and decaying symbolic plants as well as social and political oriented video and QR codes,
I am expressing my criticism of the social and political climate of contemporary China.
By reintroducing and reinterpreting these traditional signs, I provide an alternative to the
univocal, authoritative approach employed by the Chinese government.
theory, analyze the strategy utilized by Chinese authorities to create signs/myths that
conceal ideological messages. I challenge the myths that are created by authority to
provide univocal messages and argue that symbols can be used by everyone to express
his/her distinct voice and opinion. The visual component of the thesis, inspired by the
critical voices of the citizens on the Internet as well as the work of artists Ai Weiwei,
Yang Yongliang and Vik Muniz, transforms traditional Chinese signs. By using rotting
and decaying symbolic plants as well as social and political oriented video and QR codes,
I am expressing my criticism of the social and political climate of contemporary China.
By reintroducing and reinterpreting these traditional signs, I provide an alternative to the
univocal, authoritative approach employed by the Chinese government.
Publisher:
Savannah, Georgia : Savannah College of Art and Design
Date:
2012-05
Format:
PDF : 19 p. : ill; JPG
