Optical Illusion in Victorian Culture. The aim is to undertake a major interdisciplinary study of optical illusion in Victorian culture, both as a form of popular entertainment and as a discursive field in which new modes of self-representation and knowledge were explored. By focusing on an extensive range of cultural forms including, optical treatise, literary texts, popular entertainments, new visual technologies, newspapers and the periodical press, this project will provide an invaluable his ....Optical Illusion in Victorian Culture. The aim is to undertake a major interdisciplinary study of optical illusion in Victorian culture, both as a form of popular entertainment and as a discursive field in which new modes of self-representation and knowledge were explored. By focusing on an extensive range of cultural forms including, optical treatise, literary texts, popular entertainments, new visual technologies, newspapers and the periodical press, this project will provide an invaluable historical context for contemporary speculations about the impact of new visual technologies on the increasingly blurred boundaries between different cultures, identities and modes of self-representation.Read moreRead less
A comparative historical study of English and French men's self-fashioning, with reference to gender, sexual and national identity, c1740-90. The project analyses the transformation of Anglo-French social attitudes towards elaborate male dress in the period c1740-1790. In so doing, it offers a new explanation for the demise of court dress and the rise of that sober bourgeois style which continues to dominate western male fashion. It will produce the first comprehensive comparative study of two c ....A comparative historical study of English and French men's self-fashioning, with reference to gender, sexual and national identity, c1740-90. The project analyses the transformation of Anglo-French social attitudes towards elaborate male dress in the period c1740-1790. In so doing, it offers a new explanation for the demise of court dress and the rise of that sober bourgeois style which continues to dominate western male fashion. It will produce the first comprehensive comparative study of two courtier figures, the French petit-maitre and the English macaroni, in order to advance the hypothesis that these national masculine identities were interdependent, and played a significant role in the redefinition of modern notions of gender, sexuality, health and consumerism.Read moreRead less
A comparative historical study of English and French men's self-fashioning, with reference to gender, sexual and national identity, c1740-90. The project analyses the transformation of Anglo-French social attitudes towards aristocratic male dress c1740-90. In so doing, it offers a new explanation for the demise of court dress in Enlightenment Europe and the rise of that sober protestant and bourgeois style which now dominates the appearance of western male elites. It will produce the first compr ....A comparative historical study of English and French men's self-fashioning, with reference to gender, sexual and national identity, c1740-90. The project analyses the transformation of Anglo-French social attitudes towards aristocratic male dress c1740-90. In so doing, it offers a new explanation for the demise of court dress in Enlightenment Europe and the rise of that sober protestant and bourgeois style which now dominates the appearance of western male elites. It will produce the first comprehensive comparative study of two courtier figures, the French petit-maitre and the English macaroni, in order to advance the hypothesis that these interdependent national and masculine identities played a significant role in the reformulation of modern notions of gender, sexuality, health and consumerism.Read moreRead less
Understanding Balinese paintings: collections, narrative, aesthetics and society. This project will use digital tools, fieldwork and formal analysis to link a major collection of Balinese paintings held in Australia to collections elsewhere in the world, and to the current practices of Balinese artists. The project increases the capacity of Australia to analyse the cultures of Indonesia and to contribute to regional heritage preservation. The outcomes will provide a basis for future public exhib ....Understanding Balinese paintings: collections, narrative, aesthetics and society. This project will use digital tools, fieldwork and formal analysis to link a major collection of Balinese paintings held in Australia to collections elsewhere in the world, and to the current practices of Balinese artists. The project increases the capacity of Australia to analyse the cultures of Indonesia and to contribute to regional heritage preservation. The outcomes will provide a basis for future public exhibitions of paintings and web-based resources linking Australian public institutions and Balinese communities.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
Couples: depictions of sexuality in South and Southeast Asian art. This collaborative project between the University of Sydney and the Art Gallery of NSW will explore a central element in the art and society of South and Southeast Asia, the couple, whether divine or mortal. The project explores the nature of partnerships and sexual power primarily through image based research, to establish new contexts for interpreting their history, depiction and representation. The variety in images of couples ....Couples: depictions of sexuality in South and Southeast Asian art. This collaborative project between the University of Sydney and the Art Gallery of NSW will explore a central element in the art and society of South and Southeast Asia, the couple, whether divine or mortal. The project explores the nature of partnerships and sexual power primarily through image based research, to establish new contexts for interpreting their history, depiction and representation. The variety in images of couples illustrates complex and changing ideas about relationships between the sexes. Equally complex are depictions of the goddess, androgynous figures such as the form of Shiva as half male, half female, and same sex partnerships. Expected outcomes are a major publication, a symposium and an exhibition.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.
Read moreRead less