© ATOM 2013 A STUDY GUIDE BY CASEY LANGSFORD
http://www.metromagazine.com.au
ISBN: 978-1-74295-364-9 http://www.theeducationshop.com.au The series follows former Art Gallery of New South Wales director Edmund Capon on an epic journey across the continent and back in time. It’s a journey of discovery in which Edmund uncovers the story of how art and artists played their part in the dramatic story of Australia’s cultural and historical development.
For the first time on Australian TV, the series weaves the story of the Indigenous, European and Asian art traditions in Australia together. Each epi- sode follows a different theme as the story moves from the colonial past to the modern day. The films mix history in with Edmund’s encounters with important contemporary artists, whose work reflect the big-picture themes the series explores.
Overall, The Art of Australia explains how through They investigate and discuss the contribution of The Art of prehistory, colonisation, gold rushes and wars, art the arts to society and other disciplines, such Australia is a helped make Australia, and continues to do so. It’s as Mathematics and History, focusing on ways three-part a dramatic tale that allows the viewer to under- contemporary and traditional arts disciplines, forms landmark stand better how art helped create a distinctive and works reinforce and challenge social, cultural, series. It is a Australian identity. personal and artistic practices and values. co-production between ABC, While teachers of Art will certainly be able to use this These learning standards are useful to consider BBC and Screen resource in their units, it will also be an engaging and when using The Art of Australia. Australia. informative series to use in English and Humanities. In conjunction with Art, this series connects to the Curriculum Guidelines AusVELS cross-curriculum proprieties:
Learning areas that this series could link to include: 1. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories -- Art and cultures -- English 2. Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia -- History The Art of Australia could also be successfully The Australian National Curriculum (Arts) outlines incorporated as a supporting text in English, with the learning focus at Year 10 that students develop the documentary highlighting how art reflects aesthetic and critical awareness through observa- Australian identity and, at the same time, has SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2013 tion, research, discussion and analysis of arts works helped shape the history and culture of Australia. from different social, historical and cultural contexts. ‘Creating and Presenting’ encourages students Students are required to compare arts works to to draw on different texts to explore their context. consider similarities and differences in the styles, This documentary would support the development themes, intentions and aesthetic qualities of works of their context and their writing. by particular artists and artworks made at a par- ticular time within specific cultural contexts. 2 EPISODE ONE
Episode One, ‘Strangers in a Strange Land’, tells the story of how art helped European settlers come to terms with an unfamiliar land, and how, by ignoring 60,000 years of Indigenous culture, they saw the place through a distorted European lens, until a uniquely Australian impressionism emerged that reflected the emergence of a distinctive national identity and an independent nation.
Context
This episode tells the story of how art helped European settlers come to terms with the unfamiliar landscape of Australia. conduct on Australian history or signifi- cant artworks. For example, students Before viewing the episode, it might might create the timeline shown below. be useful for students to explore Indigenous artwork prior to European Viewing Activities arrival and settlement. As students watch Episode One, they Aboriginal culture, and their artwork, can create and complete the tables on is considered to be one of the oldest the following page. to ‘belong’ and the importance of traditions in the world. remembering your past. Strangers in a Strange • Research Aboriginal art and • Students are to interview a migrant culture at the following website Land who has moved to Australia. This and summarise the different types may be a relative or even some- of art:
and other forms of art you have grants today still explore. He identified history SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2013 previously looked at are similar and two central concerns: the pressure - In what ways have they had to in what ways they are different.
Students might also benefit from creat- DATE EVENT – key artwork, key historical moment etc ing a timeline in which they can add important historical dates from Episode EXAMPLE: EXAMPLE: Captain Phillips and the First Fleet arrive in Botany Bay, One and other research that they January 1788 Australia. 3 Name of Artwork/s DESCRIPTION OF ARTWORK IMPACT OF ARTWORK
EXAMPLE EXAMPLE EXAMPLE
Name of Artist SIGNIFICANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE ARTIST
EXAMPLE EXAMPLE SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2013
4 B A
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A Romantics and Australian Identity adapt? - Any significant artwork in As more and more free settlers arrived Australia and their home in Australia, the nature of the artwork country that resonates A being produced also shifted. The with them and why; include ‘grandfather’ of Australian landscapes, these images in your report John Glover, created an array of • Describe the artwork Longing Write a biography of Lycett that romantic depictions of the Tasmanian and Belonging by Iranian artist includes major events, significant landscape and Indigenous people. Hossein Valamanesh. What is be- artworks and your analysis of his Photos marked B above are his work. ing conveyed in this piece? Create impact on art in Australia. In the centre is John Glover’s portrait your own piece of modern art Joan Ross, a modern Australian by Mary Allport. entitled Longing and Belonging. artist, uses Lycett to influence her • European settlers are seen as own artwork. • Define the term ‘romanticism’ as it ‘strangers in a strange land’. Using • Compare the two landscapes relates to art. two of the artworks shown in the presented in the episode. How is • Conduct some research on John episode, explain how European the role and place of Indigenous Glover. Use this website to help settlers tried to adapt to this Australians different? Explain the your get started: • Conduct some research on • Why might this artwork by Ross australian/featured-works/glover/>. SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2013 Joseph Lycett. Photos marked (the video art that draws inspira- Create a biography of Glover that A above are his work. Use this tion from Lycett) be controversial? includes major events, significant website to get you started: B A B B B Glover portrayed Indigenous Australians in his pieces, however at this time Tasmanian Aboriginals were being massacred, removed from their land and transported to Flinders Island. • Find three artworks of Glover’s that depict Aboriginals. How are C the Aboriginals portrayed in these artworks? Explain any differences to Lycett’s representations of • Examine the artwork Death in Exile artwork than other techniques? Indigenous Australians. (see photo A above) and discuss - Sketch or create a piece of • Investigate the massacre of the following questions work that has been inspired Tasmania’s Aboriginal populations. artwork. been titled Death in Exile? changing nature of Australian art and SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2013 - What is the overall signifi- culture. We continue to see throughout Ricky Maynard creates artwork based cance of Maynard’s piece for the artwork of this time a shaping of on the tragedy and survival of the peo- Australian art and in shaping an Australian identity. The artworks of ple of Flinders Island. It is clear that Australian identity? artists like Eugene von Guerard (See events of the past still impact artworks - Explain why photography photos labled C above and next page) of today. See photos B above. might be more effective for this foster this burgeoning sense of identity. 6 • Explore the paintings made by von Guerard. Use this website as a starting point: B C A there recreating what you see for rise of the impressionists, who reject a piece of artwork. This may be many of the notions of the romantics, a drawing, painting or a series of including their more traditional training photographs. Explain how this styles. These artists, as the documen- B landscape is known to you, why it tary suggests, want to represent the is important and what you learned world that they see around them. Their from creating artwork about it. and differences are there in the techniques and vision of Australia artwork? were very different from previous art- One of the artworks that Capon exam- • In what ways have the ex- ists examined in this episode of the ines is Black Thursday by William Strut treme weather and landscape documentary. (See painting below). This painting of Australia shaped Australia’s depicts the ferocious nature of the identity? • Why did Streeton (See photos la- Australian environment. The paint- • What are the myths about bled B) and Roberts reject roman- ing shows not only the hardships of Australian history, culture and ticism? Explain the key differences colonial life but the impact of fire on identity? Do you think art has had in the two styles. the landscape and individuals. a role in shaping these myths? Be prepared to justify your answers. These Australian Impressionists are • Discuss why this painting might be often referred to as the Heidelberg important in Australian history. Impressionists and the School. They painted mostly in the • Australia often experiences ex- Heidelberg area, Heidelberg being a treme weather and this has been Heidelberg School suburb of Melbourne. depicted in various artworks. Compare Black Thursday with The documentary charts the dra- • What techniques did the artwork produced after the Black matic shift in the art world in the late Heidelberg artists use that were Saturday fires. What similarities nineteenth century. It highlights the different from previous artists? SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2013 7 Tom Roberts’ artwork Shearing the Rams is an iconic Australian paint- ing. It depicts certain elements of Australian culture and identity; but, as Capon points out in the documentary, • List the characteristics of Capon’s discussion of the Heidelberg these shearers soon lost their jobs to Australians and the environment School highlighted their impact on the mechanical shearing. that were revealed through artwork art world but also noted their struggle from this era. Complete a table like to gain widespread acceptance. The • Examine Shearing the Rams by the table on this page. 9 by 5 exhibition was one of the ways Tom Roberts. Who is represented • What is the role of women during the artists exhibited their works to the in the painting? How is Australian this time? How are they portrayed public. identity depicted? Does this paint- in the artwork of the Australian ing accurately reflect Australians of impressionists? • Imagine you are an art critic any era? • There were female artists who who has just visited the 9 by 5 • Consider a typical Australian activi- fought to belong in the art world exhibition. You are to write an art ty of today – it might be the Boxing during the nineteenth century. Use review for a Melbourne paper. Day Test or a barbecue in the park. this website as a starting place Your review needs to define Create your own piece of artwork and research one female artist of impressionism, outline who was that reflects Australia’s identity. the Heidelberg School: Australia’s Federation in 1901 was SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2013 a pivotal time in the development of Australian identity and nation- Characteristic Myth/Truth? hood. The artwork of the impres- EXAMPLE: EXAMPLE: While it is evident that early settlers in Australia did sionists highlighted the shift from Hardworking work the land, many Australians were not farmers. Farming the European-centric romanticism labourers, working continues to be integral to Australian mythology and artwork, of colonial times to the homegrown under blue skies. even with the majority of Australians living in major cities. representations of the Australian bush 8 A1 and people. Tom Roberts captured the moment of Federation in his nicknamed work the ‘Big Picture’. See picture A1 above and his other works on this page. The work took years to complete and is precise in its details and portraiture, and it captured a break in Australia from our traditional British past. • Why do you think Roberts was commis- sioned to create a piece of artwork like the ‘Big Picture’? Why is this artwork still significant today? • Imagine you are Tom Roberts. Write a selection of diary entries from the time that he was creat- ing this art that details his experi- ences. What would the process have been like for Roberts? Add different sketches, drawings or annotations to the diary entries to illustrate his words. • Write an extended piece that com- pares and contrasts the history of art from the time of the early settlers and convicts to Federation. Refer to the different artists and http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/discover_ artwork mentioned in the docu- collections/history_nation/ mentary. At least one paragraph macquarie/artists/lycett/index.html should focus on Indigenous http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/ http://www.artistsfootsteps.com/html/ Australians. lycett-joseph-2382/ Women_artists.htm http://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/ http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/ SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2013 References galleries/australian/featured-works/ australianimpressionism/ glover/ education/insights_9by5.html http://ausvels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/ http://nga.gov.au/Exhibition/NIAT07/ http://www.aph.gov.au/Visit_ http://australia.gov.au/about-australia/ Detail.cfm?IRN=163793&ViewID=2 Parliament/Parliament_House_ australian-story/austn-indigenous http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/learn/ Art_Collection/Tom_Roberts_ -art/ schools-resources/eugene-von Big_Picture -guerard/background-info 9 EPISODE TWO The second episode, ‘Coming Of Age’, explores how Australian identity evolved in the twentieth century and how modern art Down Under struggled to emerge. As modern artists expressed both the dreams and the demons of this new nation, they met with decades of disapproval from the old guard. Set against the two World Wars, the struggle against this saw the creation of confronting DATE EVENT – key artwork, key historical moment etc and bewitching EXAMPLE: EXAMPLE: The landing of ANZAC troops at Gallipoli; pivotal moment images that not only 25 April in Australia’s myth creation and shaping identity in the early revolutionised Australian 1915 twentieth century art but heralded its arrival on the world stage. • Why is remembering World War One so important? Be prepared to justify your response. Context • How do Australians remember those who have been involved in This episode explores art in the early wars? Research how your local twentieth century in Australia and how area commemorates ANZAC Day modern art struggled to emerge in and Remembrance Day, then con- Australia. duct some research into how other Viewing Activities countries remember their involve- Before viewing this episode, it might ment in war. In what ways are they be useful for students to watch As students watch Episode Two they similar or different? Episode One, ‘Strangers in a Strange can create and complete the tables on • In what ways does the art of this Land’. This episode will give students the next page. period (1914–1920) reflect a need an insight to how early settlers came to for Australians to create an identity terms with their landscape through art. The Horror of the rather than accurately depict the war as it happened? Students could focus on a particular Battlefield • Create your own artwork that artwork or artist. commemorates World War One Edmund Capon begins this epi- and Australians’ involvement. You • Research an Australian artist who is sode by showing how war has been may want to focus on a particular either from the romantic school or remembered and represented at the soldier or battle, or you may like who is an impressionist. Create a Australian War Memorial. He suggests to choose a landscape or maybe one-page summary of this person’s that this period in Australian art was someone who was there but life and their major achievements. about change but that these changes wasn’t a soldier, like a nurse. • Define the following terms: impres- did not come easily. SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2013 sionism, romanticism, modernism, The soldiers themselves did some surrealism. World War One was seen as a proving of the most honest and confronting • Create a timeline of important ground for Australia. It was an oppor- artwork of this time. Capon discusses historical and cultural events, like tunity for the still-very-young nation the published work, the ANZAC Book significant artwork. This timeline to shape its identity and, at the same which included stories, sketches and can be added to. See example time, support the traditional homeland: artwork made by soldiers. It highlights this page. Britain. the mischievous humour of these 10 Name of Artwork/s DESCRIPTION OF ARTWORK IMPACT OF ARTWORK EXAMPLE: EXAMPLE: EXAMPLE Name of Artist SIGNIFICANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE ARTIST EXAMPLE: EXAMPLE SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2013 11 Australians and begins to cement the notion of Australians as larrikins. • Explain how art has been used to remember and commemorate war. • Find one image from the ANZAC Book, describe the artwork and explain how it depicts the war and why you chose it. You may want to use this website to help you find an image: Ben Quilty is a contemporary Australian A artist who travelled to Afghanistan as an Official War Artist of Australian. His • Think about why many artists who Modernism and the artworks, shown in this episode, are were involved in World War One Age of Extremes portraits that illustrate the agony of war might create artwork that focused for soldiers and highlight the constant on visions of home rather than threat to troops who are deployed. the war they were experiencing. Capon highlights the tension within Why were artists still drawn to the Australia. Between our growing • Describe one of Quilty’s artworks. impressionist themes of the bush population and obsession with mass- How are they different from other and landscapes? production and consumption and an artwork about war? In what ways • Research the history of the ever-present fear of foreigners and, at are they similar? Archibald Prize and answer the times, women. • Quilty asked his subjects, who following questions: were suffering from Post Traumatic - When did it begin? The Sydney Harbour Bridge – as it Stress Disorder, to pose in a way - Who is it named after? was being built and after its com- that reflected how they felt. In pairs - What restrictions are there? pletion – gave rise to modern art- create an artwork that reflects how - How has it changed over time? works that reflected the optimism it the subject feels. Each person - Find two Archibald Prize win- represented. should ask the other to pose in a ners and compare and contrast SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2013 way that shows how they feel. these two artworks. Then dis- • Two artists who captured the cuss with the class which one Sydney Harbour Bridge were However, art from this period (1914– you prefer and why. Grace Cossington Smith (see A 1920) also represented a real desire - Create your own portrait for the above) and Henri Mallard (see all to erase the horrors of war and retreat Archibald. photos this page). Find two pieces to the non-confronting certainty of life of artwork from both of these art- back home. ists that depicts the bridge. Write 12 A an analysis of these four pieces of artwork that explain how they re- flected the time they were created in and how they helped shape an Australian identity. • Find a large icon or construc- tion site and take photos that will convey a message about Australia. Annotate the work and be pre- pared to explain it to the class. C The beach has become a symbolic place in Australia. It represents many things to different Australians. The art- work from the 1930s explored the role of the beach and revealed a growing confidence and optimism in Australia. It also highlighted some of the more racist aspects of Australian life in the 1930s. • Examine Charles Meere’s Australian beach pattern (1940) • Capon discussed the White • How has Meere’s work been paro- SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2013 (see painting B above). You Australia Policy and its impact. died? Discuss as a class why this may wish to visit this website to Spend some time researching this work might be parodied. help you: Australians had been mostly absent ists like Picasso. Imagine you are • In a table, describe the impact of SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2013 from artwork since the 1800s, but an art critic or the curator of a new Australia’s relationship with the artists like Yosl Bergner painted the art gallery and have been asked to UK and the impact of Australia’s urban underclass as they saw it. display very contemporary work. relationship with the US. What do you think your response • Why did it seem like Aboriginals had would be? Traditional or cutting- disappeared from art in Australia edge artwork? 14 C B A A does it add to myths created about D Australian identity? • Choose a well-known Australian personality or hero. Create a series of artworks, that are modern in The Heide School and their impact on art in Australia. composition, and that tell the story • Sidney Nolan (See item D above) of this Australian. Be prepared to The Heide School was hotbed of radi- was a member of the Heide discuss your artwork with the rest cal politics and radical art. John and School. One of his artworks, Boy of the class. Sunday Reed opened their house to and the Moon, was described as • Capon discusses Aboriginal rights different artists who were exploring an image ‘that neither shocks nor during the early twentieth century. human emotion and the human condi- amuses’. What is your opinion on Spend some time researching the tion (See John and Sunday Reed in this artwork? Why do you think it struggle for Indigenous rights in photos A above). It was a place where was described so negatively? Australia during the first half of the new art was being fostered but was • How did Nolan’s portrayal of the twentieth century. What were con- also filled with sexual tension and Australian landscape differ from ditions like for Aboriginals during volatile relationships. earlier Australian artists? this time? How did Nolan’s experi- SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2013 • Nolan is well known for his Ned ence of Indigenous Australians • Choose one of the following art- Kelly Series. Research the differ- impact on his artwork? ists: Joy Hester, Albert Tucker (See ent paintings done by Nolan for item B above) or Arthur Boyd (See this series. This website might be The artists of the Heide School helped item C above). Research their life useful as a starting place: • Many Australian artists spent time overseas. Why do Australians feel a need to travel, particularly to Europe? • Imagine you are the curator of the National Gallery of Victoria. You are to put on an exhibition of modern Australian art. Choose at least ten pieces of artwork to include and annotate these to explain why you have chosen them. You are also required to put in your own piece of modern artwork that reflects at least one of the themes explored by an Australian modern artist. References http://www.anzacsite.gov.au/4panels/ opt2.html http://www.awm.gov.au/shop/ SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2013 item/9781742231341/#. UmGy5pi4bIV http://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/ galleries/australian/featured-works/ meere/ http://www.awm.gov.au/encyclopedia/ war_artists/ww2.asp http://nga.gov.au/nolan/ 16 A B EPISODE THREE In the third episode, ‘Beyond Australia’, Edmund Capon explores how, since the 1960s, Australia and its art went B global. Transformed into a C migrant nation, Australia’s dependence on Britain ended and artists played a huge role in shaping the new Australia. At first they adopted American D abstraction before a far more ancient art form from the heart of the continent – and impressionist period, however Indigenous art – emerged. It Australia had also developed an idea became Australia’s instantly that it was a cultural backwater. There recognisable calling card. was a real anxiety about whether to import culture from the outside or to develop its own. The Opera House is an Australian icon developed by a Context Danish architect, which often symbol- E ises Australia’s cultural cringe. There This final episode of Art of Australia was an aesthetic battle occurring investigates art in Australia from the during the 1960s, a battle between 1960s and the identity crises that settlement up until the end of tradition and change. faced the art world during this time. World War Two. Highlight key artists and how they changed, or • What is meant by the phrase ‘cul- Before viewing this episode students influenced, the art world. tural cringe’? When did it develop might benefit from watching Episode in Australia? Does it still exist One, ‘Strangers in a Strange Land’, Viewing Activities today? and Episode Two, ‘Coming of Age’. • Capon describes the Opera House These two episodes examine art in As students watch episode three they as ‘creative energy in concrete Australia from the arrival of the first can create and complete the tables and glass’. Find other examples of European settlers up until the end of overleaf. how it has been described – both World War Two. This will give students positive and negative descriptions an insight into the art world up until Identity Crisis – and list them in a table. Is the SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2013 the 1960s. Opera House still a cultural icon? • Research the artists Ian Fairweather • Define the following terms: impres- Edmund Capon highlights how the sionism, romanticism, modernism, early 1960s were a time of identity A: SPANISH ENCOUNTER, 1960, JOHN OLSEN, COLLECTION ART GALLERY OF NSW B: LAING surreal, abstract, and aesthetic. crisis for Australia. The young nation GROUNDSPEED C: ANAK BAYAN, 1957, IAN FAIRWEATHER, • In a one-page summary explain had created some innovative artists COLLECTION ART GALLERY OF NSW D: ROSEMARY LAING how art developed from European and artworks during the romantic A DOZEN USELESS ACTIONS FOR GRIEVING BLONDES E: 6. JOHN OLSEN 1960 STANDING ON LADDER 17 Name of Artwork/s DESCRIPTION OF ARTWORK IMPACT OF ARTWORK EXAMPLE EXAMPLE EXAMPLE Name of Artist SIGNIFICANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE ARTIST EXAMPLE EXAMPLE SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2013 18 a B and John Olson. In what ways do these artists belong to the early ab- Australia? Describe how this type stract movement? What challenges of abstract art was different from did they face? anything Australia had ever seen • Asian and Indigenous perspec- before. tives continued to be missing from • Find images of this wrapping Australian art during this period. and other wrappings done Explain why this might be the case. by artists. This website may be useful as a starting place: The Vietnam War was a time of great in shaping identity of a nation, to be noticed but felt like it lacked cul- Black Rabbit. How has Boyd SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2013 Australian or otherwise? Do ture. He highlights the Wrapped Coast changed as an artist? In what ways you think Pollock contributed – One Million Square Feet, Little Bay, does he reflect the different time to shaping American identity? Sydney, Australia, 1968–69 in which periods in which he lived? Does - Do Australian artists have a section of the Australian coast was to reflect Australian ideas, wrapped in fabric. A: WRAPPED COAST, STILL OF ARTHUR BOYD PAINTING landscapes or themes? Be B: BRIDE RUNNING AWAY, 1957, ARTHUR BOYD prepared to justify your answer. • Why was this artwork significant in C: INTERIOR WITH BLACK RABBIT,1973, ARTHUR BOYD, COLLECTION NATIONAL GALLERY OF AUSTRALIA 19 A B Boyd reflect Australia’s struggle to find an identity? This website may be useful to get started: A C D B then, using traditional Indigenous techniques, create illustrations for these stories. Collate the class’s illustrations into one piece of artwork. • How does Indigenous art create a sense of identity for Australia? How did it set Australia ‘free’? The Australian government commis- sioned Michael Nelson Jagamarra to create a mosaic for the forecourt of Australian Parliament House. The mo- saic is based on Jagamarra’s Possum and Wallaby Dreaming. E • Why is this artwork signifi- cant? What does it represent • Has artwork, and the success of A: COLOUR STILL OF EMILY KNWARRYE PAINTING SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2013 for Parliament House and for Indigenous artwork had an impact B: KAME COLOUR II, 1995 EMILY KNWARRYE, COLLECTION BENDIGO ART GALLERY C: ROVER Aboriginal people? on Indigenous rights in Australia? THOMAS PAINTING ROAD TO WYNDHAM TO SEE • Find a copy of former Prime • Create a timeline of significant PADDY JAMINTJI, 1995, COLLECTION SONIA Minister Paul Keating’s ‘Redfern political and social events in HEITLINGER D: PAPUNYA TULA ARTISTS WITH GEOFF BARDON (FAR RIGHT) OUTSIDE THE Speech’. What is Keating trying to Indigenous history. For each event “PAINTING ROOM” AT PAPUNYA IN 1971 DORN say in this speech? Why is it impor- explain why they are important. BARDON E: OUTSIDE THE PAPUNYA PAINTING ROOM, 1971, FRED FRIIS, PRIVATE COLLECTION tant and still remembered today? Research artworks that you can 21 ABOVE: UNTITLED #20, 2003, BILL HENSON, COLLECTION ROSLYN OXLEY9 GALLERY, COURTESY OF BILL HENSON BELOW: JOHN OLSEN IBIZA, 1957, DEBORAH HART add to this timeline, ensuring that Asia-Pacific region. Art is reflecting • David Walsh, who created MONA, they reflect the event. the changing nature of Australian described it as ‘anarchic’. What • Women seem to be absent from culture. It highlights the geographi- does he mean by this? How is this period of art in Australia. cal and cultural reality of Australia MONA different to other art galler- Explain why female artists might in the twenty-first century. Imagine ies in Australia? not have been recognised in the you have an art gallery and are put- • Research this art gallery and create abstract movement. Find one ting on an exhibition of art from the a brochure that someone visiting Australian abstract artist who was Asia-Pacific region. Find ten pieces the art gallery could use to guide also a woman. Summarise her life of art you would include and anno- them. and major artworks – include im- tate these pieces, explaining why • Ultimately, how has art shaped ages. What impact did she have on you have chosen them. Australia’s identity? Write a one- creating a sense of Australian iden- • Bill Henson’s work is sometimes page discussion on this statement tity? If she was not so well known, controversial. Research some of using artists and artwork from explain why. his works and explain how it is different time periods. controversial and challenging. • Create an artwork that reflects Celebrating Country • What does Henson mean when he your identity. How would you use says ‘no-one is outside their time art to highlight who you are? or place’? How do all the artists Australian art comfortably sits along- that have been shown in this epi- References side art from across the world now. sode reflect this idea that ‘no-one The cultural cringe in reaction to is outside their time or place’? http://www.jacksonpollock.com Australian culture seems to have abat- • How has Australia’s attitude to art- http://www.jacksonpollock.org ed and the globalised world is making ists changed over time? Is society http://kaldorartprojects. cultures much more entwined than more accepting of artists who are org.au/project-archive/ ever before. However, Australian art challenging or do people prefer christo-and-jeanne-claude-1969 continues to try and reconcile many of traditional types of art? http://cs.nga.gov.au/Detail-LRG. the issues that have faced artists since • In what ways are artists celebrated cfm?IRN=74789 European arrival – racism, landscapes in Australia? http://www.aph.gov.au/ SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2013 and shaping identity. Visit_Parliament/Parliament_ The Museum of Old and New Art, House_Art_Collection/ • Examine the series Civilised by MONA, can be seen as a reflection of Architectural_Commissions/ Michael Cook. What is Cook trying Australia’s new-found confidence and Forecourt_mosaic to challenge with his artworks? celebration of art. Located in Hobart, • Australia’s cultural and political Tasmania, it is a cutting-edge gallery links are now closely tied with the that is postmodern in nature. 22 This study guide was produced by ATOM. 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