TEACHER’S NOTES SECONDARY

The New Charge: Australian Women Modernists 9 February - 7 April 2013

This education resource has been developed to assist teachers to explore the background, ideas and themes in the exhibition The New Charge; Australian Women Modernists. This exhibition focuses on the work of Australian Women Modernist Artists from the period of 1925-1945.

The New Charge; Australian Women Modernists includes, Thea Proctor, , Grace Crowley, , Clarice Beckett, Ethel Spowers, Jean de Courtney Isherwood and Edna Jane McKenzie. Curated by Brett Adlington and exclusive to Lismore Regional Gallery, this exhibition considers key women artists who were active in the period from 1925 to 1945. Artworks made by the artists from years after 1945 will also be shown in this exhibition. This period saw a growth in social freedom, and as many travelled, they became familiar with developments of Modernism in Europe.

Together they injected new vitality and a modern vision into the world. This exhibition takes as its lead the work of Thea Proctor, housed in the Lismore Regional Gallery permanent collection and sees it in context against her contemporaries.

This Exhibition displays 2D artworks: paintings, drawings and prints. The education resource includes:

For Teachers: • Brief introduction to the Exhibition. • Key terms and definitions. • Online Links for resources related to the exhibition and artists. • Suggested activities for back at in the classroom.

For Students: • Brief introduction to the exhibition and concept of Modernism. • Background information on the period of time that the artists were practising. • Key terms and definitions. • A printable worksheet with images, questions and activities.

Prior to the visit to the gallery you may want to discuss with your students:

The different art-making techniques used by the artists in The New Charge; Australian Women Modernists.

1. What is a Painting? 2. What is a Print? 3. What is a Drawing? 1 TEACHER’S NOTES SECONDARY

Here are some types of artworks your students might see in the exhibition

What is Modern art?

It is a category of art and period of time (approximately the 1860s to the 1970s) in Key which artists made a break with the past and from traditional art-making techniques and styles thereby creating new Modern works of art. Terms

A painting is an artwork that uses paint or ink to make an image. Usually paint is applied with a paint PAINTING brush but sometimes people use their hands, sticks, spray cans or other tools to apply the paint.

A print is a form of visual art in which a mark or impression is made in or on a surface by using pressure. Artists put ink onto the surface of a piece of wood, lino or metal etching plate that has Print been scratched or cut into, then press onto paper to make a print. We can also make prints with our hands or our feet they are called handprints or footprints.

Drawing is a form of visual art that uses of any number of drawing instruments to make marks on a Drawing surface such as paper. Tools you could use to draw include graphite, pencils, pens, charcoal, chalk and pastels.

Portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic image of a person, especially one showing the face and its expression as the main focus.

A still life artwork is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic image that displays mostly Still Life inanimate subject matter (something that is not alive). Still life artworks often feature everyday objects which may be either natural or man-made. Such as flowers, shells, teapots, glasses, bowls and fruit.

Landscape Landscape art can be a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic image of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, forests, paddocks and hills.

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Back at school activities

Create different still-life set ups around the classroom to draw. Each still life station can have different materials, such as pastels, charcoal, graphite or ink to draw with.

Find your favourite landscape in your home town, make a photo or sketch of it and take it back to the classroom to work on it as a print, drawing or painting.

Make a self- portrait using a mirror, take your time to really describe your face and its features and other objects that might appear in the mirror, such as shadows and light around you or things on shelves in the room.

Links to 3 key artists in The New Charge; Australian Women Modernists

Thea Proctor

For further information on this artist go to: http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/proctor-alethea-mary-thea-8122

Margaret Preston

For further information on this artist go to: http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/preston-margaret-rose-8106

Grace Cossington-Smith

For further information on this artist go to: http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/smith-grace-cossington-8469

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Links related to the Exhibition and Artists:

Lismore Regional Gallery http://www.lismoregallery.org/

Modernism http://kids.tate.org.uk/ http://kids.britannica.com/comptons/article-9341223/Modernism http://australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/modernism http://www.arteducation.com.au/art-movements/modernism.php http://arthistoryresources.net/ARTH20thcentury.html

Australian Modernist Women artists http://www.nga.gov.au/Exhibitions/modWomen/index.htm http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography http://www.australian-art-and-prints.com/wool_thea_proctor.shtml http://australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/margaret-preston http://www.artcollector.net.au/GraceCossingtonSmithTheSpiritofLight http://www.artgalleryofballarat.com.au/collection/australian-collection/beckett,-clarice.aspx http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/1999/07/beck-j22.html http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/beckett-clarice-marjoribanks-5178 http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/spowers-ethel-louise-11748 http://collection.lismoregallery.org/artists/detail/ednmck http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Isherwood

Art in Australia Art Gallery of NSW: http://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/ National Art Gallery: http://nga.gov.au/Home/Default.cfm Queensland Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art http://www.qagoma.qld.gov.au/ National Portrait Gallery: http://www.portrait.gov.au/site/ National gallery of Victoria http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/ Australia during the WWII http://www.awm.gov.au/atwar/ww2.asp

These links will also be included on our Lismore Regional Gallery website in our Teachers Resources section. 4