Confirmation of Candidature - The Strangely Familiar: Contemporary Art as Visual Conundrum

This thesis examines how a work of trompe l'oeil allows for viewer agency that goes beyond simple aesthetic judgement or unmediated conceptual reception of the artist's idea. Through this discussion of trompe l'oeil, the thesis will aim to produce new knowledge informing the understanding of how works of art can position the viewer as an active subject. This knowledge leads to a meaningful exchange between artist, artwork, and audience. This knowledge develops out of the overarching research question of this PhD, which is: Can art produce a subjectivity that is active rather than passive, but who's capacity to be active is not predicated on the will of another? it's not simply acting on the directives of another? This thesis argues trompe l'oeil creates the space for an active subjectivity as it illuminates to the viewer their already active engagement in the meaning making process. Although the common understanding of trompe l'oeil is to `deceive the eye,' this PhD, underscored by French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan's theory of trompe l'oeil, argues trompe l'oeil  can be deployed in a work of art that initially appears familiar, but then is denatured by the discovery of a signifier without a signified, thus `opening up' the `semiotics of the text,' and thus prompting the viewer to `look awry' and see the work as strange. This moment of confusion, it will be argued, actually `opens up' a gap for interpretation. The thesis will further contribute to new knowledge by arguing trompe l'oeil occurs through anamorphosis. Drawing on Slovenian Philosopher Slavoj Zizek's dialectical-materialist position on anamorphosis, this PhD will also argue that there are three different levels of anamorphosis found in visual art. It will argue each level is concurrent with Lacan's psychoanalytic process of vision, maintaining that they reflect the order in which the viewer "naturally" uncovers them. Through this understanding of trompe l'oeil, the PhD will aim to contextualise a number of studio research outcomes through a new interpretative model of aesthetics underscored primarily by a Zizek-Hegelian discourse and analysis of non-traditional works.

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