A new theory of Aboriginal art. The paradigms developed by scholars have a huge impact on the value of art. After the Australian artworld repositioned Aboriginal art from the frame of 'primitive art' to that of contemporary art, the price of and market for Aboriginal art increased enormously. However, Aboriginal art failed to penetrate the international contemporary artworld because the paradigms of contemporary art within which it was framed were outmoded. Through examining the production of Ab ....A new theory of Aboriginal art. The paradigms developed by scholars have a huge impact on the value of art. After the Australian artworld repositioned Aboriginal art from the frame of 'primitive art' to that of contemporary art, the price of and market for Aboriginal art increased enormously. However, Aboriginal art failed to penetrate the international contemporary artworld because the paradigms of contemporary art within which it was framed were outmoded. Through examining the production of Aboriginal art from the perspectives of its producers and recent globalised contemporary art practices, this project aims to develop a new theory of Aboriginal art that is more aligned with the thinking of current curators who set the agenda at the upper end of the market.Read moreRead less
Curating Photography in the Age of Photo Sharing. This project aims to develop new curatorial models to enable Australian art galleries to respond effectively to changes in the medium of photography wrought by digital technologies. By conducting the first comprehensive analysis of nearly five decades of Australian photography curating and comparing it to curatorial approaches in related institutions locally and internationally, the project seeks to: identify the crucial role of photography exhib ....Curating Photography in the Age of Photo Sharing. This project aims to develop new curatorial models to enable Australian art galleries to respond effectively to changes in the medium of photography wrought by digital technologies. By conducting the first comprehensive analysis of nearly five decades of Australian photography curating and comparing it to curatorial approaches in related institutions locally and internationally, the project seeks to: identify the crucial role of photography exhibitions in the shaping of Australian visual culture; and develop opportunities for curators to better engage with the current proliferation of images, including new forms and practices of photography enabled by the Internet.Read moreRead less
Art and Cultural Exchange at the Strait of Gibraltar. The project aims to give a first-time analysis of visual culture at the Strait of Gibraltar. It asks how painting, photography, film, and maps relate to colonial expansion, with a focus on Australian, French and Spanish involvement in the Western Mediterranean. The British fortress-colony of Gibraltar and the international Moroccan port of Tangier have never before been subject to comparative analysis. Key outcomes include two major exhibit ....Art and Cultural Exchange at the Strait of Gibraltar. The project aims to give a first-time analysis of visual culture at the Strait of Gibraltar. It asks how painting, photography, film, and maps relate to colonial expansion, with a focus on Australian, French and Spanish involvement in the Western Mediterranean. The British fortress-colony of Gibraltar and the international Moroccan port of Tangier have never before been subject to comparative analysis. Key outcomes include two major exhibitions, one on Australian Orientalism at the National Gallery and the second on historical art in the region. By shedding historical light on people smuggling, contraband and post-Brexit identity at the Strait, the project aims to generate cultural knowledge pertinent to international co-operation.Read moreRead less
The War Rug: the history, iconography and theory of the war art tradition of the Baluch of Afghanistan 1979-2004. The 'war rugs' of Afghanistan, a new topic of art-historical, sociopolitical, and cross-cultural communications, reflects an Indigenous perspective of twenty five years of conflict in the region. This project will: *Produce new knowledge on a regional topic of considerable sociopolitical relevance *Enable Australia to take a leading role in the articulation of new fields of knowledg ....The War Rug: the history, iconography and theory of the war art tradition of the Baluch of Afghanistan 1979-2004. The 'war rugs' of Afghanistan, a new topic of art-historical, sociopolitical, and cross-cultural communications, reflects an Indigenous perspective of twenty five years of conflict in the region. This project will: *Produce new knowledge on a regional topic of considerable sociopolitical relevance *Enable Australia to take a leading role in the articulation of new fields of knowledge and academic discourse, enhancing both our international reputation and knowledge of the region *Provide an exemplary model for the role of museums in the conceptualisation of artistic categories cross-culturally *Develop new applications of online database technologies *Develop new modes of integrating new digital technologies in an exhibition setting. Read moreRead less
Augustus Earle (1793-1838) and the roles of humanism and science in interpreting the world and its peoples. The study relates to two national concerns. The first is Australia's capacity to understand and engage with its global environment. A closer understanding of Earle's and other artists' engagement with peoples around the world will feed the interest in past appraisals that already exists in global tourism. Secondly, a study of a past, influential form of collaboration between science and ....Augustus Earle (1793-1838) and the roles of humanism and science in interpreting the world and its peoples. The study relates to two national concerns. The first is Australia's capacity to understand and engage with its global environment. A closer understanding of Earle's and other artists' engagement with peoples around the world will feed the interest in past appraisals that already exists in global tourism. Secondly, a study of a past, influential form of collaboration between science and art will shed light on the issues in cross-disciplinary and cross-sectoral research collaborations between the arts and sciences in our own day. The study addresses an issue currently being considered by governments around the world, and in Australia by the Prime Minister's Science, Engineering and Innovation Council.Read moreRead less
Nineteenth-Century climate change: atmosphere, culture and romanticism. To understand and adapt to climate change, we need to understand its cultural history. Nineteenth-century Britain witnessed a crucial episode in this history, when air became central to art and science, and culture was reconceived as climatic. This new link between culture and climate allowed social changes to be seen as having climatic effects.
The reformulation of landscape as a user-generated interactive aesthetic. This project seeks to provide Australia with an opportunity to advance its understanding of landscape and climate change by building the world's first networked landscape visualisation system.
Atmoscape: the aesthetic reformulation of the atmosphere using intelligent imaging systems. The proposed research provides Australia with an opportunity to advance its understanding of atmosphere and climate by building the world's first remote sensing visualisation system networked across three continents.
Heritage in the limelight: the magic lantern in Australia and the world. The project aims to discover and analyse the large number of glass magic lantern slides that remain under-used in our public collections. International scholarship has recently begun to show that lantern slide shows were a ubiquitous, globalised and formative cultural experience. The project aims to explore the international reach and diversity of this globalised modernist apparatus from the Australian perspective. It plans ....Heritage in the limelight: the magic lantern in Australia and the world. The project aims to discover and analyse the large number of glass magic lantern slides that remain under-used in our public collections. International scholarship has recently begun to show that lantern slide shows were a ubiquitous, globalised and formative cultural experience. The project aims to explore the international reach and diversity of this globalised modernist apparatus from the Australian perspective. It plans to understand how diverse audiences affectively experienced these powerful forms of early media, and to develop ways for today’s Australians to re-experience their magic, invigorating and expanding our cultural heritage.Read moreRead less
Performing transdisciplinarity. This project aims to use the illustrated songbook, a performative genre which fuses image, music and text, to study the transdisciplinary nature of 18th-century print culture. Through multifaceted research on an exemplary songbook, this project will create a multimedia digital interface for linking deep disciplinary knowledge and the recreation of the sounds, sensibilities, and social mores of 18th-century France. The project's model of rich digital understanding ....Performing transdisciplinarity. This project aims to use the illustrated songbook, a performative genre which fuses image, music and text, to study the transdisciplinary nature of 18th-century print culture. Through multifaceted research on an exemplary songbook, this project will create a multimedia digital interface for linking deep disciplinary knowledge and the recreation of the sounds, sensibilities, and social mores of 18th-century France. The project's model of rich digital understanding has potential benefits for cultural institutions whose complex objects lie dormant or underused.Read moreRead less