HOWARD ARKLEY 1 INTERPRETIVE RESOURCE | Learning at the Gallery | Art Gallery of South artgallery.sa.gov.au/learning

The Home Show DID YOU KNOW? DID YOU Howard Arkley’s major installation was included in the 1999 Venice Biennale. Identify other Australian artists in the Gallery’s collection who havealso been represented in a Venice Biennale. , 1998, ,synthetic polymer Riteroom Riteroom paint on canvas, 203.0 x 200.0 cm; Gift of the Art Gallery of South AustraliaArt Foundation Gallery 1999, of South Australia, Adelaide. © estate of Howard Arkley,Contemporary Courtesy Art, Melbourne of Kalli Rolfe image: Howard Arkley, Australia, 1951–1999, representing the Australian bush, a place where very few people lived at the time. Arkley’s work explores the beauty suburban of homes, transforming their identity through his brightly coloured patterns and unusual perspectives. contrasting stencilled patterns with hazy airbrushed outlines. Althoughthese lines define shapes their blurred edges give the impressionof being slightly out focus.of Before Arkley, few artists depicted suburban environments, instead colour and airbrushed lines. Inspired the by bold colours and lines used in advertising posters and junk mail, his images are pristine with large areas of flatcolour dominating his . Arkley creates a sensoryoverload by and lived in Melbourne. He is best known for his paintings interiors of and exteriors suburban of homes, whichhe enlivens with dense patterning, vivid Howard Arkley (1951–1999) was an AustralianHoward Arkley painter (1951–1999) who was born HOWARD ARKLEY ARKLEY HOWARD HOWARD ARKLEY 2 INTERPRETIVE RESOURCE | Learning at the Gallery | Art Gallery of South Australia artgallery.sa.gov.au/learning KEY LITERACY WORDS Abstract Airbrush Australian identity Collaboration Landscape Line Pattern Perspective ArtPop Stencil Suburbia y,

. Chair. and Riteroom

Riteroom. Riteroom

Carnival in Suburbia: The Art Howard of Arkle RESOURCES RESOURCES patterns that Arkley could have used instead. Look closely at all the patterns in Re-draw all the patterns you can see. Create three new MAKING MAKING Imagine you have stepped inside Arkley’s . Draw an outfityou would wear when visiting painting? What does Arkley’s painting make you think and of why? Why do you think Arkley chose these colours for this RESPONDING RESPONDING Find all the straight and curvy lines in

EARLY YEARS EARLY http://bit.ly/2vFNwow http://bit.ly/2wRVGZq National Portrait Gallery WEBSITES The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia Howard Arkley Interview Howard http://bit.ly/2wctYti Cambridge University Press, University Press, 2006 VIDEOS BOOKS J. Gregory, HOWARD ARKLEY 3 INTERPRETIVE RESOURCE | Learning at the Gallery | Art Gallery of South Australia artgallery.sa.gov.au/learning . Riteroom . Chair . What type music of Riteroom ordinary houses are filled with pattern – on . Photograph all the patterns that exist in your THINK & DISCUSS & THINK Assign a soundtrack to would you select and why? laundry baskets and flyscreens as ready-made stencils. Collect variety a everyday of objects that could be used as temporary stencils such as nets, doilies and fabrics. Create a repeated pattern using these makeshift stencils. Arkley’s paintings celebrate the Australian home a of particular era. His use vivid of colours and patterns draw the viewer’s attention to a mundane scene and encourage us to look at these environments in a new Using a photographway. your of school or classroom, re-draw the basic shapes the of buildings or objects. Fill these shapes with elaborate and contrasting patterns, line to transformand colour, your everyday environment. MAKING MAKING Arkley stated ‘ the fireplace, on the curtains, tiles, in the carpet; and the differentbricks on the differenthouses, then you have the lawn, the house the tiles, then you have the beautiful sky – it’s rich’ collage. create a images these home. Using Arkley thought the airbrush was an interesting tool because he could make marks without touching the canvas. Using a range objects of experiment with making marks without allowing your implement to touch the surface. Draw the person who might live in the home of What would they look like? What would they wear? Write a short story to describe who this person is. Design a table to accompany Arkley’s Arkley would often use objects such as perforated ? Riteroom ? What mood , 1991, Oakleigh,, 1991, Chair Riteroom be comfortable tosit on? Chair AM through the Art Gallery of South Australia Foundation 2015. Donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program,Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide image: Howard Arkley, Australia, 1951–1999, Melbourne, synthetic polymer paint and vinyl on wood, 86.5 x 38.0 x 40.0 cm (chair), x 64.5 1.0 cm (base); x 61.5 Gift of Patrick Corrigan your life what would be on your list? Nouveau style, colours in advertising, punk and rock music as well as science, mathematics and geometry. If you were to create a work art of based on influences in images including works artists by Paul Klee and Wassily Kandinsky, real-estate advertisements, decorative panels on fly screens, Home Beautiful magazines, the Art Explain your answer. Howard Arkley was inspired a range by ideas of and you made your selection. HowardWould Arkley’s How many other works art of in the Gallery can you find representthat interiors? interiors these of one Choose that you would like to live in. With a friend discuss why Considerwhat your lounge room looks like at home. What things do you think are missing from does this painting convey? What do you notice about the other works nearby? RESPONDING RESPONDING What is your first impressionof PRIMARY HOWARD ARKLEY 4 INTERPRETIVE RESOURCE | Learning at the Gallery | Art Gallery of South Australia artgallery.sa.gov.au/learning ,

Howard Arkley transformed our by Howard by Arkley and compare Chair Carnival in Suburbia: theart Howard of Arkley Arkley wanted to change the way people saw the MAKING Author of advertising posters, magazines and products found in the supermarket. Photograph a room in your home. Using Photoshop, simplify your image outlining by its basic shapes. Re-invigorate this image filling by the shapes with colours and patterns sourced from products you might purchase at the supermarket. John Gregory, stated: vision suburbia of – much as Fred Williams’ scrubby marks and long horizon lines made us see the Australian landscape afresh. suburbs. Create a work art of that encourages people to look at the place you live in a different way. Howard Arkley celebrated the banality everyday of living. Create a small sculpture based on your environment and things you see every Transform day. something you ordinaryconsider something extraordinary. into Look closely at it to others in the collection. Which is the most aesthetically pleasing and which would be the most functional? Considering form and function, design your inspiredown chair, those by in the collection. Arkley was inspired popular by culture such as The Art Gallery of South Australia gratefully acknowledges the support of the Wood Foundation in the development of this resource. is also in the Gallery’s TOD . Discuss this statement with Arkley and Davila. Discuss which work art of is more successful in depicting Australia’s identity. international artists. What Australian stories are being told in the work Davila by and Arkley? Select another Australian work art of on display and compare it to Many artists in this exhibition presented a new type Australianof contemporary art, one that tackled ideas about Australian identity, a result being of influencedby Juan Davila, whose work collection. Both artists showed work in the 1981 exhibition ‘Popism’ at the National Gallery Victoria. of by eachby artist. What similarities do they share? During his career Howard Arkley collaborated with Howard Arkley worked closely with artists Jon Cattapan, Robert Rooney and Jenny Watson. Select a work art of works in terms their of formal qualities and concepts. Look at other works art of near Arkley’s installation. What connections can you identify between them? At someAt point in their careers all artists are influencedby others. an At early age, contemporary artist Reko Rennie was inspired Howard by Arkley. Compare both artists’ Select one element or point in time where a shift in Australian design occurred. What influenced this shift? Research interior design trends from the onward. 1940s Describe how interior design has changed in Australia. re-define environment;their previousaboutideas challenging the Australian landscape’ reference to works art of to support your argument. ideas suburbia of to that Arkley’s. of ‘Works art of by John Brack and Howard Arkley attempt to something he was familiar with and instead focussed on suburbia where most people in Australia lived. Investigate the works John of Brack and Ian Strange. Compare their yet few respondedto the urban or suburban landscape. Arkley noted that the rural experience wasnot RESPONDING Many earlier artists depicted the Australian landscape, SECONDARY Information and hyperlinks correct at time of print. Art Gallery of South Australiaof this resource. staff Kylie Neagle and Lisa Slade contributed to the development The Gallery’s Learning programs are supported by the Department for Education and Child Development.