Papers by Martha Benedict
Stories have for millennia, been a means of translating the ontological, often surreal, issues of... more Stories have for millennia, been a means of translating the ontological, often surreal, issues of existence into narrative mythologies that resonate throughout generations. In doing so, they become cosmological manifestations of the morals, beliefs and ways of survival of the people who carry, create and share them. Folklore and oral cultures have often emerged from, and come to reflect the sensorial experience, trials and tribulations of the landscapes they emanate from.
Heraclitus and Rik Mayall Walk into a Bar…Considering the Poetics of Chiasmus in Comedy, 2023
The field of philology has for many years turned its self inside out and back to front trying to ... more The field of philology has for many years turned its self inside out and back to front trying to pin down the precise nature of one of linguistics most slippery features: chiasmus. A favourite rhetorical device of the 5th century thinker Heraclitus, chiasmus inverts concepts alongside one another to reveal their unifying bond or logos. Not just a cunning cross-braced construction of philosophical thought, chiasmus is also prevalent within comedy-embodied in the interactions between performer and audience. In exploring the poetical features of this elusive turn of phrase, I will attempt to draw out how chiasmus has not only continued to be used today but that there is a logos between the emergent comedy of Heraclitus' time and the comedians of our own era. Speaking grammatically, chiasmus is a rhetorical figure of speech that is constructed in an AB:BA structure-the first phrase is inverted linguistically in the second half of the sentence (Miller, 2010). Heraclitus frequently constructs sentences in this manner to juxtapose ideas alongside one another in an attempt to reveal their common connection or logos-this is very evidently demonstrated both in structure and theme in Fragment twenty five:
A review of E. Arigita’s 2013 article.
Keywords: memory, silence, cultural criticism, European... more A review of E. Arigita’s 2013 article.
Keywords: memory, silence, cultural criticism, European city of culture, cathedral, Cordoba, Iberian history, Fondacion Cordoba, Polytheism.
The Basilica of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari is one of the most easily distinguishable churches... more The Basilica of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari is one of the most easily distinguishable churches in Venice and Italy as a whole. Dei Frari synthesises, as a cultural site, the visual, political and moral foundations of a City Republic whose independence and civic pride was ingrained within its community-whether religious or secular.
This dissertation discusses the history and evolving relationship between Video Art and Music Vid... more This dissertation discusses the history and evolving relationship between Video Art and Music Video. These distinct, yet interrelated, cultural practices have shared a mutual artistic history and evolved symbiotically, creating a rich tradition of audio-visual synthetic responses to socio- political movements and issues, adapting over time to the new technological and aesthetic modes of the era. Until recently, this relationship has received relatively little attention in Art Historical academia, with discourses by prominent theorists such as Holly Rogers and Carol Vernallis opening up the debate around the place of Music Videos within institutional settings. This thesis offers a selective, analytical study of the evolution of Video and Music Video - Art: from analog, to broadcast and now, in the contemporary period, digital and museological contexts. As a recent field of academic study, this thesis aims to offer conclusions as to the current, and future, relationship and artistic status of Music Videos in the contemporary cultural world, spanning artistic and musical spheres. This dissertation is by no means exhaustive, instead aiming to offer avenues for future study whilst highlighting the multifaceted nature of this contemporary art form. Focussing on close visual and contextual analyses I will demonstrate how, as a medium born out of counter-cultural artistic and socio-political processes, the Music Video - as - artwork is a cultural phenomenon that whilst seemingly contemporary, has a rich, irreverent and complex socio-artistic history.
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Papers by Martha Benedict
Keywords: memory, silence, cultural criticism, European city of culture, cathedral, Cordoba, Iberian history, Fondacion Cordoba, Polytheism.
Keywords: memory, silence, cultural criticism, European city of culture, cathedral, Cordoba, Iberian history, Fondacion Cordoba, Polytheism.