Mosaic Space and Mosaic Auteurs


Book Description

Mosaic Space and Mosaic Auteurs constructs a model of mosaic, which extends our focus beyond narrative strategy, to approach the trend of diverse multi-strand films across genres, nations and filmmaking contexts since the late 1980s. Different from investigation of this recurring global phenomenon from perspectives of spectator engagement, narratology, cognitive understanding and socio-political messages, proposed by film scholars, the model of mosaic helps establish the intertwining relationship between narrative, aesthetics, transnational production, and distribution modes – and in the framework of contextualised geopolitical spaces. As the transnational auteurs in question draw talents, resources, and subject matters from a wide range of geopolitical spaces along their border-crossing journeys, their films juxtapose diverse spatial configurations. In fact, "mosaic" is a spatial metaphor which puts emphasis on the visual image of spaces and links space, narrative, and authorship into a multidimensional model of spatial compilation. It is a mosaic which gathers, groups, juxtaposes, and re-arranges spaces, offering a reading of mosaic beyond an exclusive focus on narrative – its nuances are examined in detail in different mosaics of Alejandro González Iñárritu, Atom Egoyan, Hou Hsiao-hsien, and Michael Haneke.




Mosaic Space and Mosaic Auteurs


Book Description

In this thesis I propose approaching multi-strand films in a way that extends our focus beyond narrative strategy, arguing that the assemblage of narrative threads in fact infers a larger spatial mosaic. In this mosaic, spaces with diverse socioeconomic and geopolitical backgrounds, historical implications, and virtualities are interwoven through a variety of cinematic means, which include not only narrative but also editing, framing and mise-en-scene. In addition, I demonstrate that in certain auteurs' works the construction of filmic mosaic space correlates with the bringing-together of film professionals, locations, financial resources and distribution routes across borders through the auteurs' travelling. Hence this thesis lies in the intersection between the cinematic manifestations of mosaic space, spatial representations, and transnational filmmaking networks facilitated by authorship. Since the term "mosaic" is used here as a spatial metaphor to connect the interlinking concepts of space, narrative, and authorship, I term the travelling auteurs "mosaic auteurs", the multistrand narrative "mosaic narrative", and the assembled film space "mosaic space". I will use the filmmaking contexts and film works of Michael Haneke, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Atom Egoyan and Alejandro González Iñárritu as examples, and the spatial theories of Marc Augé, Gilles Deleuze, Félix Guattari, Saskia Sassen, Mike Featherstone among others to explain the dynamism of spatial configurations.




Mosaic Space and Mosaic Auteurs


Book Description

Mosaic Space and Mosaic Auteurs constructs a model of mosaic, which extends our focus beyond narrative strategy, to approach the trend of diverse multi-strand films across genres, nations and filmmaking contexts since the late 1980s. Different from investigation of this recurring global phenomenon from perspectives of spectator engagement, narratology, cognitive understanding and socio-political messages, proposed by film scholars, the model of mosaic helps establish the intertwining relationship between narrative, aesthetics, transnational production, and distribution modes – and in the framework of contextualised geopolitical spaces. As the transnational auteurs in question draw talents, resources, and subject matters from a wide range of geopolitical spaces along their border-crossing journeys, their films juxtapose diverse spatial configurations. In fact, "mosaic" is a spatial metaphor which puts emphasis on the visual image of spaces and links space, narrative, and authorship into a multidimensional model of spatial compilation. It is a mosaic which gathers, groups, juxtaposes, and re-arranges spaces, offering a reading of mosaic beyond an exclusive focus on narrative – its nuances are examined in detail in different mosaics of Alejandro González Iñárritu, Atom Egoyan, Hou Hsiao-hsien, and Michael Haneke.




Transcultural Images in Hollywood Cinema


Book Description

Transcultural Images in Hollywood Cinema discusses how cinema, particularly Hollywood, impacts the cultural identities we construct for ourselves in order to make sense of who we are in the world. The politics of representation in cinema influence the boundaries of ethnic and racial characteristics and invent cultural and symbolic meanings that create a conventional image throughout the world. The transnational perspective, dissolves, fragments, and decentralizes this image, leaving the nationalist understanding of identity to a hybrid form. Cultures and identities that are expanded across borders form a mosaic by combining their local characteristics with those of the host cultures. This book examines the transnational and transcultural characteristics of Hollywood cinema. The narrative, cinematographic, and aesthetic structures of Hollywood cinema are turned upside down as chapters analyze gender, social, cultural, and economic-political contexts. Scholars of international communication, film, and social sciences will find this book particularly interesting.




John Ormonds Organic Mosaic


Book Description

In a uniquely dualistic creative career spanning five decades, John Ormond made major contributions to both English-language poetry and documentary filmmaking. Born in Swansea, he learned to ‘think in terms of pictures’ while working as a journalist in London, where he secured a job at the celebrated photojournalist magazine Picture Post. Employed later by the BBC in Cardiff during the early days of television, Ormond went on to become a pioneer in documentary film. This book is the first in-depth examination of the fascinating correspondences between Ormond’s twin creative channels; viewing his work against the backdrop of a changing Wales, it constitutes an important case study in the history of documentary filmmaking, in the history of British television, and in the cultural history of Wales.




The Marseille Mosaic


Book Description

Formerly the gateway to the French empire, the city of Marseille exemplifies a postcolonial Europe reshaped by immigrants, refugees, and repatriates. The Marseille Mosaic addresses the city’s past and present, exploring the relationship between Marseille and the rest of France, Europe, and the Mediterranean. Proposing new models for the study of place by integrating approaches from the humanities and social sciences, this volume offers an idiosyncratic “mosaic,” which vividly details the challenges facing other French and European cities and the ways residents are developing alternative perspectives and charting new urban futures.




Mosaic Art and Style


Book Description

New in Paperback! Mosaic ideas for every room Mosaic Art and Style is a celebration of how mosaics can be integrated into our environments. Author JoAnn Locktov explores our fascination with mosaic art and illustrates how artists have crafted architectural installations as well as decorative and functional objects that have added immeasurably to living spaces. Readers will enjoy seeing how mosaic art can be applied to every surface imaginable. Mosaic Art and Style tells the story of how the projects were conceived and fabricated from the artists' points of view. Locktov has forged special relationships with a multitude of artists, who have allowed her to feature their work in Mosaic Art and Style. Through these relationships, she takes the reader into the world of the artist and gives readers a behind-the-scenes pass into the artists' workshops, where she shares their personal thoughts about the creation and inspiration that imbues their work.




Mosaic Art and Style


Book Description




Beginner's Guide to Making Mosaics


Book Description

Transform areas and items in your home into beautiful works of art! Unique and fun to do, this introductory guide to mosaic art covers everything from window sills and wall murals to flower pots and picture frames. You’ll learn everything you to know about the materials, tools, and techniques, and create 16 beautiful mosaic projects with step-by-step photography and captions.




The World Underfoot


Book Description

In the Greek Classical period, the symposium--the social gathering at which male citizens gathered to drink wine and engage in conversation--was held in a room called the andron. From couches set up around the perimeter, symposiasts looked inward to the room's center, which often was decorated with a pebble mosaic floor. These mosaics provided visual treats for the guests, presenting them with images of mythological scenes, exotic flora, dangerous beasts, hunting parties, or the spectre of Dionysos: the god of wine, riding in his chariot or on the back of a panther. In The World Underfoot, Hallie M. Franks takes as her subject these mosaics and the context of their viewing. Relying on discourses in the sociology and anthropology of space, she presents an innovative new interpretation of the mosaic imagery as an active contributor to the symposium as a metaphorical experience. Franks argues that the images on mosaic floors, combined with the ritualized circling of the wine cup and the physiological reaction to wine during the symposium, would have called to mind other images, spaces, or experiences, and in doing so, prompted drinkers to reimagine the symposium as another kind of event--a nautical voyage, a journey to a foreign land, the circling heavens or a choral dance, or the luxury of an abundant past. Such spatial metaphors helped to forge the intimate bonds of friendship that are the ideal result of the symposium and that make up the political and social fabric of the Greek polis.