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
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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Shaping Indonesian Contemporary Art: the role of institutions. Southeast Asia is a new international focus of the art world. In the absence of the kinds of public grants programs and arts institutions that support contemporary art in the West, what are the major structures within Indonesia that shape the choices of artists, support their work economically, and determine what is presented to the world as “contemporary Indonesian art”? By examining the roles of major art teaching institutions (in ....Shaping Indonesian Contemporary Art: the role of institutions. Southeast Asia is a new international focus of the art world. In the absence of the kinds of public grants programs and arts institutions that support contemporary art in the West, what are the major structures within Indonesia that shape the choices of artists, support their work economically, and determine what is presented to the world as “contemporary Indonesian art”? By examining the roles of major art teaching institutions (in Bandung, Yogyakarta and Jakarta); art criticism and its vehicles; exhibitions; museums and private collections; art auctions; and artists' collectives, this project looks at Indonesian art as the product of tension between commodity forms and the creative desires of artists to participate in global contemporary art.Read moreRead less
Mobilising remote Aboriginal art centre records for art history. This project will use the archives of remote Aboriginal art centres to promote Aboriginal artists. For a long time their work has been thought of overseas as primitive, or of ethnographic interest. By examining the innovations of the work of Aboriginal artists, this project will demonstrate that these are contemporary artists of global quality.
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
Art of Peace: New perspectives in visual art on peacekeeping from the 1990s. Art of Peace investigates the important role of art in Australia’s engagement in international peacekeeping. Australian artists such as George Gittoes and Wendy Sharpe have created powerful and memorable images of Australian forces as peacekeepers and nation-builders. Yet, what of the less-visible perspectives of artists from the countries to which Australia sends peacekeepers? Art of Peace will create new knowledge aro ....Art of Peace: New perspectives in visual art on peacekeeping from the 1990s. Art of Peace investigates the important role of art in Australia’s engagement in international peacekeeping. Australian artists such as George Gittoes and Wendy Sharpe have created powerful and memorable images of Australian forces as peacekeepers and nation-builders. Yet, what of the less-visible perspectives of artists from the countries to which Australia sends peacekeepers? Art of Peace will create new knowledge around those artists’ perceptions of peacekeeping missions, through a new body of scholarship, public engagement and an exhibition in Perth and Sydney curated by Art Gallery of WA. It engages a national audience to focus on the important role of Australia in international affairs since 1990 through new contemporary art.Read moreRead less
Art in conflict: transforming contemporary art at Australian War Memorial. This project aims to investigate conflicts and compromises arising within official schemes for commissioning Australian contemporary war art, in partnership with the Australian War Memorial (AWM). The AWM has built on its Official War Artist scheme to transform the commissioning of war art, engaging high profile contemporary artists to produce often challenging work. This project will focus on this important yet under-res ....Art in conflict: transforming contemporary art at Australian War Memorial. This project aims to investigate conflicts and compromises arising within official schemes for commissioning Australian contemporary war art, in partnership with the Australian War Memorial (AWM). The AWM has built on its Official War Artist scheme to transform the commissioning of war art, engaging high profile contemporary artists to produce often challenging work. This project will focus on this important yet under-researched national collection of art, placing it at the centre of current discussions around contemporary art and war. The project seeks to continue to transform the AWM’s curatorial approaches and build an enduring digital archive of analysis and interpretation.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