Master's Thesis

Further East, as Dusk Falls

Final Thesis 4.05 MB

Author of thesis: BSc Clara Goldenstein

Acad. year: 2025/2026

Supervisor: MgA. Veronika Vlková

Reviewer: Mgr. art. Katarína Poliačiková, ArtD.

Abstract:

The diploma project explores the phenomenology of dusk as a metaphor for a state of in-betweenness, connected to the investigation of my family heritage. It develops as a research-based practice grounded in introspection, traveling, reading, and collecting. Born and raised in Brazil, I descend from Eastern European immigrants who settled in South America in the 1920s and 1930s. My research stems from a reconnection with Romania and Moldova – countries my family left – and reflects a personal search for a past I have not lived, yet still feel connected to.
A body of work that constitutes the diploma project builds a visual vocabulary of recurring elements, like characters from a narrative that exists between memory and fiction. Visual elements, like fabric-covered edges, metallic roofs, velvets, roses, bells, stars and landscapes, appear as references and material links to my ancestry.
Using the blue hour as a poetic framework, the project aims to develop a visual and conceptual language that reflects transitional states of time and identity. It seeks to generate a body of work that is rooted in a personal search for identity and connection.

Keywords:

Ancestry, Identity, Migration, Autofiction, Memory, Dusk, Blue Hour, Archive, In-betweenness, Collecting.

Date of defence

22.05.2026

Result of the defence

Defended (thesis was successfully defended)

znamkaAznamka

Grading

A

Process of defence

Studentka představila svůj projekt jako instalaci fotografií, videa a předmětů, kterou zrealizovala přímo ve své ložnici. Pozvala porotu k sobě domů, čímž dílu dodala silný autobiografický a intimní rozměr. V. Vlková přečetla posudek vedoucí práce, v níž vyzdvihla využití fotografií a hotových předmětů a zmínila důležitá témata paměti, migrace a hledání kořenů. V díle se objevuje motiv „in-betweenness“, např. v motivu „blue hour“, který odkazuje na čas mezi dnem a nocí a stal se hlavním motivem prezentovaného videa. D. Alster ocenila schopnost autorky budovat vlastní umělecký jazyk a pracovat se sémantikou uměleckého díla. Byla také zdůrazněna schopnost vytvořit osobní ikonografii. J. Bulvas Stejskal však problematizoval, zda není tato „východoevropskost“ exotizována. Oponentský posudek K. Poliačikové zdůraznil snový charakter a použití malého formátu. Umělkyně uvedla, že před svým příjezdem neznala místo, odkud pocházeli její předkové; proto uznává jistou estetizaci a instrumentalizaci vyplývající ze skutečnosti, že pracuje s vizuálními symboly typickými pro tento region, které ji fascinují. Na závěr diskuse dostala umělkyně doporučení pro svou budoucí uměleckou praxi. Byla také vznesena otázka: Co se stane s projektem, až se umělkyně vrátí do své rodné země, Brazílie? -- The student presented her project as an installation of photographs, video, and objects set up directly in her bedroom. She invited the jury into her home, giving the work a strong autobiographical and intimate dimension. V. Vlková read the supervisor’s review, highlighting the use of photographs and ready-made objects, mentioning important themes of memory, migration, and the search for roots. The motif of “in-betweenness” appears in the work, e.g., in the “blue hour” motif, which speaks to the time between day and night, which became the main motif of the presented video. D. Alster praised the author’s ability to build her own artistic language and to work with the semantics of the artwork. The ability to create a personal iconography was also highlighted. J. Bulvas Stejskal, however, problematised whether this “Eastern European-ness” is not exoticised. K. Poliačiková’s opponent’s review highlighted the dreamlike quality and the use of a small format. The artist stated that before her arrival, she was unfamiliar with the place where her ancestors came from; therefore, she acknowledges a certain aestheticisation and instrumentalisation stemming from the fact that she works with visual symbols typical of this region, which fascinate her. At the conclusion of the discussion, the artist was given recommendations for her future artistic practice. The question was also raised: What will happen to the project once the artist returns to her native country, Brazil?

Language of thesis

English

Faculty

Department

Study programme

Fine Art and Design (FAAD)

Composition of Committee

Mgr. et MgA. Kristína Jamrichová, Ph.D. (předseda)
MgA. Veronika Vlková (člen)
MgA. Lenka Veselá, M.A., Ph.D. (místopředseda)
Mgr. Jakub Bulvas Stejskal, Ph.D. (člen)
PhDr. Ivana Rumanová, Ph.D. (člen)
MgA. Darina Alster, Ph.D. (člen)
doc. MgA. Hynek Alt, Ph.D. (člen)

Supervisor’s report
MgA. Veronika Vlková

Grade proposed by supervisor: A

File inserted by supervisor Size
Posudek vedoucího diplomové práce [.pdf] 92,38 kB

Grade proposed by reviewer: A

File inserted by the reviewer Size
Posudek oponenta [.pdf] 189,87 kB

Responsibility: Mgr. et Mgr. Hana Odstrčilová