Aesthetic Strategies in Neo-Conceptual Art, 1980s-1990s. The decline of formalist aesthetics figured prominently in Neo-Conceptual art and postmodern theory of the 1980s. In the 1990s, this trend began to reverse, and revisionist aesthetic theory re-emerged as a salient force in contemporary art scholarship. Using the perspective of revisionist aesthetic theory, this study will show evidence of aesthetic strategies in Neo-Conceptual art that have been neglected in post modern, anti-aesthetic int ....Aesthetic Strategies in Neo-Conceptual Art, 1980s-1990s. The decline of formalist aesthetics figured prominently in Neo-Conceptual art and postmodern theory of the 1980s. In the 1990s, this trend began to reverse, and revisionist aesthetic theory re-emerged as a salient force in contemporary art scholarship. Using the perspective of revisionist aesthetic theory, this study will show evidence of aesthetic strategies in Neo-Conceptual art that have been neglected in post modern, anti-aesthetic interpretations. As the first systematic analysis of how aesthetic and conceptual operations interact in Neo-Conceptual art, the study will change how conceptualist art is understood within both post modern art discourse and revisionist aesthetic theory.Read moreRead less
Ethical Globalism: Changing Strategies of Political Critique and Intervention in Art and Curatorial Practice after 1989. This project identifies and analyses changing strategies of political critique and intervention in the international artworld over the last fifteen years. The first comprehensive study of the impact of globalisation on both art making and international survey exhibitions, it identifies new forms of "transnational" art and curatorial practice that engage affective techniques to ....Ethical Globalism: Changing Strategies of Political Critique and Intervention in Art and Curatorial Practice after 1989. This project identifies and analyses changing strategies of political critique and intervention in the international artworld over the last fifteen years. The first comprehensive study of the impact of globalisation on both art making and international survey exhibitions, it identifies new forms of "transnational" art and curatorial practice that engage affective techniques to achieve political effects. By drawing on theories of globalisation and developing an analysis of affectivity in art, it demonstrates the distinctive contribution of visual imagery to an understanding of issues such as racism, economic globalisation, violence and conflict, refugees and displacement.
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Affect and Expression in Women's Art in Art Movements of the 1960s and 70s. Through a study of four artists, this project will constitute a major revision of the way art history understands the key art movements of the 1960s and 70s. The study will focus on four women artists?each representing a key movement of the period: Hesse (minimalism), Clark (conceptualism), Cha (conceptualism), Mendieta (land art)?and will demonstrate that their approach to affective expression is the key to understandin ....Affect and Expression in Women's Art in Art Movements of the 1960s and 70s. Through a study of four artists, this project will constitute a major revision of the way art history understands the key art movements of the 1960s and 70s. The study will focus on four women artists?each representing a key movement of the period: Hesse (minimalism), Clark (conceptualism), Cha (conceptualism), Mendieta (land art)?and will demonstrate that their approach to affective expression is the key to understanding their contribution to the development of late-modern art. In the process it will reveal the shortcomings of existing art historical interpretations that see these movements as aiming to eliminate expression and subjectivity.Read moreRead less
The Other Orient. Reinterpreting Orientalist Art by studying the priorities of Ottoman painters and patrons in Constantinople, 1839-1909. My aim is to produce a new understanding of Orientalism through intensive research into the role of Ottoman elites in the development of art in nineteenth-century Constantinople. This will be the first comprehensive study of the complex web of cross-cultural interactions in the capital of the Ottoman Empire in this period, including the major art exhibitions, ....The Other Orient. Reinterpreting Orientalist Art by studying the priorities of Ottoman painters and patrons in Constantinople, 1839-1909. My aim is to produce a new understanding of Orientalism through intensive research into the role of Ottoman elites in the development of art in nineteenth-century Constantinople. This will be the first comprehensive study of the complex web of cross-cultural interactions in the capital of the Ottoman Empire in this period, including the major art exhibitions, the Sultan's patronage and the unique collaborations between European and Ottoman women artists and patrons. The result will be a major innovation within post-colonial and feminist art histories through the inclusion of indigenous perspectives on the production and reception of Orientalist art. The outcome will be two refereed journal articles and a book entitled, The Other Orient.Read moreRead less
A Playful Aesthetic: Reinterpreting Rococo visual culture by studying the serious pursuits of its themes, forms and processes of interactive engagement. My aim is to produce a new understanding of the role of amusement within the visual culture of eighteenth-century Europe. This will be the first comprehensive study to reconnect the diverting forms of Rococo art, architecture and garden design with the aesthetic theories of the period. The project will provide original critical perspectives on t ....A Playful Aesthetic: Reinterpreting Rococo visual culture by studying the serious pursuits of its themes, forms and processes of interactive engagement. My aim is to produce a new understanding of the role of amusement within the visual culture of eighteenth-century Europe. This will be the first comprehensive study to reconnect the diverting forms of Rococo art, architecture and garden design with the aesthetic theories of the period. The project will provide original critical perspectives on the play of forms and emblems in western art. It will also offer an innovative model for recovering processes of reception to indicate how visual experiences contribute to the production of culture.Read moreRead less
The Business of Art: Corporate Interventions into the Production, Display, and Reception of the Visual Arts. The corporate presence in the Australian art world has increased exponentially over the past decade, resulting in a redefinition of the arts as an industry not to be subsidised but marketed. This project's analysis of the art historical implications of this corporate presence and an assessment of the aesthetic impact of increased corporate interventions into the production and display of ....The Business of Art: Corporate Interventions into the Production, Display, and Reception of the Visual Arts. The corporate presence in the Australian art world has increased exponentially over the past decade, resulting in a redefinition of the arts as an industry not to be subsidised but marketed. This project's analysis of the art historical implications of this corporate presence and an assessment of the aesthetic impact of increased corporate interventions into the production and display of art is of vital significance to the future of Australia, not only in terms of the quality and type of art that is produced by Australian artists, but also to the way that Australians understand the role of the visual arts in their society.Read moreRead less
Peripheral Horizons: Reinterpreting Orientalist visual culture through a comparative study of women's Orientalism in Australia, the USA and Europe, 1855-1914. My project will make a crucial contribution to understanding Australia's place in the world through a comparative study of artistic responses to the Middle East in Australia, the USA, Britain and continental Europe in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Now more than ever is there an urgent need for an understanding of this ....Peripheral Horizons: Reinterpreting Orientalist visual culture through a comparative study of women's Orientalism in Australia, the USA and Europe, 1855-1914. My project will make a crucial contribution to understanding Australia's place in the world through a comparative study of artistic responses to the Middle East in Australia, the USA, Britain and continental Europe in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Now more than ever is there an urgent need for an understanding of this historical context for Australia's cultural perceptions of the Middle East. This project, which is the first comparative art historical study of its kind, will also make a vital contribution to our understanding of the similarities and differences between Australia's approach to this region and that of her western allies.Read moreRead less
Regenerating the Body: Modern Art, Neo-Darwinism and the Fitness Imperative. Drawing upon histories of art, popular culture, medicine, science and sport, this project proposes that a reconceptualization and reimaging of the human body occurred in Western art and culture, from the end of the nineteenth century, through fitness becoming a Neo-Darwinist imperative. By demonstrating how regeneration facilitated the normalization and 'subjectification? of the body for procreative sexuality, technol ....Regenerating the Body: Modern Art, Neo-Darwinism and the Fitness Imperative. Drawing upon histories of art, popular culture, medicine, science and sport, this project proposes that a reconceptualization and reimaging of the human body occurred in Western art and culture, from the end of the nineteenth century, through fitness becoming a Neo-Darwinist imperative. By demonstrating how regeneration facilitated the normalization and 'subjectification? of the body for procreative sexuality, technologized industry and modern warfare, it substantially revises Michel Foucault's ?biopolitical? theories. In identifying how beauty became inscribed upon the regenerated body and abjection upon the degenerate ?other?, it reveals that the quest for biogenetics emerged long before it became a reality in Nazi Germany.Read moreRead less
The impact of Aboriginal art on contemporary urban Australian art. With art people picture and shape their sense of self and national identity. In a time of increasing fragmentation of these identities it is imperative to better understand the shifting politics of representation in today's world. Australia's relationship with its indigenous populations has been the source of major divisions in the Australian community. By showing the positive impact of Aboriginal art on contemporary art, this pr ....The impact of Aboriginal art on contemporary urban Australian art. With art people picture and shape their sense of self and national identity. In a time of increasing fragmentation of these identities it is imperative to better understand the shifting politics of representation in today's world. Australia's relationship with its indigenous populations has been the source of major divisions in the Australian community. By showing the positive impact of Aboriginal art on contemporary art, this project will contribute to a more cohesive national identity. The publication of three books, a national touring exhibition and a web-based database will contribute significantly to the intellectual life of the country and bring this important achievement of Australian cultural life to the wider public.Read moreRead less
The role of recent international exhibitions in creating a new 'Asian Art'. The project will examine the reasons for the advent in the 1990s of many new international Biennales and Trienales in the Asia-Pacific region at Brisbane, Kwangju, Fukuoka, Shanghai, and Yokohama, alongside slightly older ones at Delhi and Sydney. It will investigate what role these played in the creation of a new 'Asian Art' by looking at the cycling of art works and artists between the domestic and international levels ....The role of recent international exhibitions in creating a new 'Asian Art'. The project will examine the reasons for the advent in the 1990s of many new international Biennales and Trienales in the Asia-Pacific region at Brisbane, Kwangju, Fukuoka, Shanghai, and Yokohama, alongside slightly older ones at Delhi and Sydney. It will investigate what role these played in the creation of a new 'Asian Art' by looking at the cycling of art works and artists between the domestic and international levels, between these new exhibition sites and older ones like Venice, São Paolo, and Kassel, and at the role of local, international and transnational curators as mediators in these processes.Read moreRead less