Postmodernism in contemporary Australian art-music: analysis and reappraisal. Art-music composition in Australia is vibrant and diverse but its relationship with current trends in other art practices has not been well understood, and music critics and educators have too often been dismissive of musical innovation of the postmodern kind. This project will be the first sustained analysis of the emergence and critical reception of postmodernism in Australian art-music, from the linked perspectives ....Postmodernism in contemporary Australian art-music: analysis and reappraisal. Art-music composition in Australia is vibrant and diverse but its relationship with current trends in other art practices has not been well understood, and music critics and educators have too often been dismissive of musical innovation of the postmodern kind. This project will be the first sustained analysis of the emergence and critical reception of postmodernism in Australian art-music, from the linked perspectives of musicology and cultural studies. It will produce the first thematic book on Australian art-music since Covell's 1968 'Australia's Music', providing a standard reference and valuable education resource for music critics, scholars and educators while locating Australia in current international debates about postmodern musicRead moreRead less
Marking Masculinity in Australian Theatre, 1955-70 and 1985-2000: a movement-based analysis of performed masculinities in historical and cultural contexts. This project will chart variations and changes in the representation of masculinity in Australia during the second half of the 20th century, as revealed by a movement-based study of two contrasting periods of Australian theatre, 1955-70 and 1985-2000. Materials to be studied are written play scripts; film and video recordings of theatre perfo ....Marking Masculinity in Australian Theatre, 1955-70 and 1985-2000: a movement-based analysis of performed masculinities in historical and cultural contexts. This project will chart variations and changes in the representation of masculinity in Australia during the second half of the 20th century, as revealed by a movement-based study of two contrasting periods of Australian theatre, 1955-70 and 1985-2000. Materials to be studied are written play scripts; film and video recordings of theatre performance; and theatre reviews which comment on the performance of gender. The outcomes of the research, in the form of conference papers, scholarly articles and a jointly-authored book, will enhance our understanding of the social effects of masculinity, and of theatre's impact on social change in Australia.Read moreRead less
Australian Stage Comedians 1915-1930: Configuring a Comic National Identity. This project aims to make a major contribution to Australian cultural history by examining the origins of what has often been described as the distinctive Australian sense of humour.
While elements of this national characteristic emerged in colonial times, including an emphasis on stoicism, self-deprecation and the contradictions of existence (e.g. in Steele Rudd's and Henry Lawson's stories), this project will incre ....Australian Stage Comedians 1915-1930: Configuring a Comic National Identity. This project aims to make a major contribution to Australian cultural history by examining the origins of what has often been described as the distinctive Australian sense of humour.
While elements of this national characteristic emerged in colonial times, including an emphasis on stoicism, self-deprecation and the contradictions of existence (e.g. in Steele Rudd's and Henry Lawson's stories), this project will increase community awareness of how stage comedians during and after the First World War focused these tendencies into a distinctive emphasis on the comedy of everyday experience, and on maintaining a tough-minded optimism in adversity. Read moreRead less
The Two Frank Thrings. A study of two lives in the context of the performing arts in twentieth-century Australia. This dual biography of F.W.Thring (1882-1936), stage and cinema entrepreneur, and his actor son Frank (1926-94), will explore two remarkable lives in relation to their performance culture and society. It will provide the first scholarly biography of both men, and through them will illuminate the history of Australian cinema and musical theatre, investigate issues of distinctively n ....The Two Frank Thrings. A study of two lives in the context of the performing arts in twentieth-century Australia. This dual biography of F.W.Thring (1882-1936), stage and cinema entrepreneur, and his actor son Frank (1926-94), will explore two remarkable lives in relation to their performance culture and society. It will provide the first scholarly biography of both men, and through them will illuminate the history of Australian cinema and musical theatre, investigate issues of distinctively national iconography and voice, and examine the complex interactions between industrial/economic forces and artistic vision. Its principal outcome will be a book that should add significantly to our knowledge of the performing arts in twentieth-century Australia, and to continuing debates in the arts.Read moreRead less
Circus Aerialists: Bodies, Gender and National Identity. This research will produce the first critical study of circus aerial performance 1860 to 1990. It asks what the impact of this performance is on social beliefs about bodies. How has gender and national identity been presented in aerial acts? The research promotes the legendary Australian performers who have been among our most famous cultural exports, and yet remain neglected in Australia. Were circus athletes predecessors of sports athlet ....Circus Aerialists: Bodies, Gender and National Identity. This research will produce the first critical study of circus aerial performance 1860 to 1990. It asks what the impact of this performance is on social beliefs about bodies. How has gender and national identity been presented in aerial acts? The research promotes the legendary Australian performers who have been among our most famous cultural exports, and yet remain neglected in Australia. Were circus athletes predecessors of sports athletes? Increasing numbers of professional aerialists work in circus' multimillion dollar arts industry, which makes this specialised study, archive and book overdue. It is new knowledge that expands Australia's research base.Read moreRead less
Contemporary Australian Photography 1980 to the present. Contemporary Australian art photography has burgeoned over the last 25 years but there is no dedicated book length study in the field. This project will fill this gap by putting Australian photography on an international scholarly agenda, which will generate more scholarship on Australian work. It will have enormous national and community benefit for Australian artists, curators and dealers and the general public who are keenly interested ....Contemporary Australian Photography 1980 to the present. Contemporary Australian art photography has burgeoned over the last 25 years but there is no dedicated book length study in the field. This project will fill this gap by putting Australian photography on an international scholarly agenda, which will generate more scholarship on Australian work. It will have enormous national and community benefit for Australian artists, curators and dealers and the general public who are keenly interested in photography. Read moreRead less
THE UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF AUSTRALIAN MODERNISM. Most histories treat modernism in Australia as a phenomenon of ?fine art,? or simply painting. This project will instead reveal modernism's highly public impact across a range of media (design, photography, advertising, architecture and art). This new history will better explain how modernist visual idioms became ubiquitous in everyday contemporary design and our built environment after their initial, often hostile reception. The project will provid ....THE UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF AUSTRALIAN MODERNISM. Most histories treat modernism in Australia as a phenomenon of ?fine art,? or simply painting. This project will instead reveal modernism's highly public impact across a range of media (design, photography, advertising, architecture and art). This new history will better explain how modernist visual idioms became ubiquitous in everyday contemporary design and our built environment after their initial, often hostile reception. The project will provide an integrated research analysis of the extensive, but disparate, archives on Australian modernism. It will communicate its research findings through a new scholarly study, a major large-scale travelling public exhibition, a CD, and a website.Read moreRead less
The Macquarie PEN Anthology of Australian Literature. The anthology will be a major scholarly work. Its publication will stimulate scholarship in the Humanities. The project will also renew mainstream interest in the scope and sophistication of Australian literature. Many new works will be introduced to Australian readers, to education systems and to literary scholarship. The stand-alone anthology of Indigenous literature will enhance the public profile of Indigenous writers and will provide ....The Macquarie PEN Anthology of Australian Literature. The anthology will be a major scholarly work. Its publication will stimulate scholarship in the Humanities. The project will also renew mainstream interest in the scope and sophistication of Australian literature. Many new works will be introduced to Australian readers, to education systems and to literary scholarship. The stand-alone anthology of Indigenous literature will enhance the public profile of Indigenous writers and will provide a vehicle for the representation of Indigenous culture and history to non-Indigenous Australians, who are often unable to access such knowledge and voices in print. New critical perspectives will ensure a valuable public resource, and understandings of Australian society will be enriched.Read moreRead less
Light, place and presence in the history of Australian photography. Photography is central to Australian history and national identity. It is a powerful tool through which our identities are forged, and through photography our understanding of our place in relation to our environments, each other and the world are made visible. By grounding this research in the unique status of light as a physical agent in photography and a key symbol of identity and place in Australia, this project will develop ....Light, place and presence in the history of Australian photography. Photography is central to Australian history and national identity. It is a powerful tool through which our identities are forged, and through photography our understanding of our place in relation to our environments, each other and the world are made visible. By grounding this research in the unique status of light as a physical agent in photography and a key symbol of identity and place in Australia, this project will develop a new approach to photography that enriches our social and cultural imagination, and propels Australian scholarship onto the international agenda. Read moreRead less
A Non-National History of Australian Art. With their emphasis on national identity, the existing accounts of Australian art remain stuck in the 19th century. In a time of increased globalisation and international co-operation, it is worth remembering that Australian art has long been part of the wider community. This new history of Australian art seeks to recount a long and confident history of artistic collaboration between Australia and the rest of the world. It thus seeks to provide a new und ....A Non-National History of Australian Art. With their emphasis on national identity, the existing accounts of Australian art remain stuck in the 19th century. In a time of increased globalisation and international co-operation, it is worth remembering that Australian art has long been part of the wider community. This new history of Australian art seeks to recount a long and confident history of artistic collaboration between Australia and the rest of the world. It thus seeks to provide a new understanding of ourselves and a refutation of the long-running notion of cultural cringe, which can only be maintained -- in the visual arts, at least -- in denial of the historical record.Read moreRead less