Issue Based Art

The Aboriginal Memorial

The Aboriginal Memorial is an installation of 200 hollow log coffins from Central Arnhem Land. It commemorates all the indigenous people who, since 1788, have lost their lives defending their land. The artists who created this installation intended that it be located in a public place where it could be preserved for future generations.

The path through the Memorial imitates the course of the Glyde River estuary which flows through the Arafura Swamp to the sea. The hollow log coffins are situated broadly according to where the artists' clans live along the river and its tributaries.

·      Why you selected the work?

I selected this work because I remember learning about this aboriginal memorial in primary school and was always to young to understand what it was about. After reading about it I found it to be a powerful piece of art that represented the aboriginals who lost their lives defending their land.

·      Why you consider the work to be Postmodern (The reading Reed, C, Postmodernism and the Art of Identity will help with this)

I found this artwork to be postmodern as it reflected an experience in the past. And used different kinds of aboriginal art to represent different things.

·      What issue is the artist addressing?

This artist is addressing racism and violence of European settlement in Australia. There are 200 poles that represent 200 years of white settlement.

Having this piece of art in the main area of the national gallery when you walk in I think is showing respect and this artwork celebrates the life of the Aboriginal people.

·      What response do you think they want from the viewer?

The response that I think the artist wants from the viewer is to remind them of our history and that the aboriginals were here long before Europeans. And we should respect their culture.

·      What formal devices has the artist used to convey their message?

They have used hollow wood like what they used for coffins and the paint on these poles represents different clans and the paint used is the same paint they would use on their bodies.

·      What has influenced the artist? Why are they making a work about this issue? (e.g does their gender, cultural context, age etc. motivate and inform the work.)

The people who created this art were aboriginals from all different clans. So they have a connection with the aboriginals who were killed and feel strongly about it.

·      Do you think the work is successful in conveying the message? Why? Why not?

Yes this artwork is successful in conveying its message, as it is situated at the entrance of the art gallery it makes you stop look and think and take in the importance of the traditional aboriginal people.

·      Does your prior knowledge, cultural perspective, political leanings; personal opinions affect your reading of the work? How?

I had little prior knowledge or opinion in regard to this artwork I found it powerful, as it is such a large work in the prime position in the gallery. I like how this is installation art and you can walk through and get a real feel for it.

The National Gallery of Australia: http://nga.gov.au/AboriginalMemorial/home.cfm Accessed 25/05/2011

Garden Of Australian Dreams (GOAD)

The Garden of Australian Dreams (GOAD) is not just the sunken single dimension space at the lower level of the National Museum of Australia (NMA) it is a three dimensional space including the horizontal and vertical planes that surround it.

When trying to understand the GOAD I walked around the space and found that the more imposing feeling I had was not of the garden but of the walls surrounding the garden.

Therefore the most important feature for me was the words on the walls that I could not understand that spoke to me.

I didn’t understand the Braille but I knew it was important to help me to understand the significance of the GOAD.

The words on the walls appealed to me because I couldn’t immediately understand what they were saying.

It references the silent majority who wanted to say sorry to the aboriginal people.

Richard Weller and the architect Howard Raggatt were committed to making the most of  the opportunity given to them to make a statement of the aboriginal situation in Australia.

In my research of the GOAD I found out that the bumps on the façade surrounding the GOAD were Braille. And I further I found that the Braille made sense and words like sorry, Mate, mate, mate were expressed on the face of the building.

I also found, and very few people know this that the Braille written on the façade of the NMA were made relating to the white man and aboriginal conflict. These strong words were changed the day before the official opening by the Prime Minister of the day John Howard. People think the word that was changed was “sorry” but that word in fact still in on the face of the NMA.

The Goad is considered postmodern architecture because it references experiences and things our country has been through.

Les Demoiselles D'Avignon

I chose this artwork by Picasso because it is anything but natural. According to Spalding, Piccaso wanted to paint feelings rather then what things appeared to be. He did this by giving a visual form to his inner feelings rather than painting nature. in order to produce this oil on canvas Picasso travelled the world and according to spalding visited many brothels. Poet Baudelaire described this painting as "... the perfect image of savagery in the midst of civilisation." (p263) Spalding stated that Picasso has "reinvented art" by cutting up the 3 dimensional space that had been  the style in europe for thousands of years.

I find this Painting of these 5 nude and unattractive females quite confronting none of them look particularly feminine the shapes are hard and disjointed. in my opinion this painting  seems somewhat clumsy and unappealing

Project 3 Acknowledging the Source

Boardman, Brett 01/09/2007 , Max Dupain Modernist, Architecture Australia, Vol 96, Issue 5 P39-40

Crombie, I 2004, Body Culture Max Dupain & Australian Culture, 1991-1939 Peleus press, Victoria

Max Dupain Culture and Recreation, Viewed 17th of March 2011, http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/maxdupain/

Max Dupain Exhibition Photography, Viewed 17th of March 2011, http://www.maxdupain.com.au/

Newton, G 1980, Max Dupain, The David Ell Press Pty Ltd, NSW

Thuy On, 16/02/2008, The Age

Is It Any Good?

Aperture Winter 2009 / Issue no. 197

When you catch someones eye it is often an intense moment, The eye in this photo is very "eye catching" because of the intense colours and brightness. when someone stares into your eye you want to look deeper so this photo is very engaging. the pupil of the eye is in the very centre and from what is inside the pupil makes u want to look deeper. and work out what this photo means.

this photo is an advertisement for Swarovski.