107-046 Contemporary Australian Art

Usually 12.5 points of first year art history, see Prerequisites. Students seeking information on variations to normal prerequisites should contact the subject coordinator.

This subject examines contemporary artistic practice in Australia, from 1980 to the present. A broad variety of media will be considered, including painting, sculpture, installation, performance, photography, video and multimedia technologies. Artistic practices will be related to significant issues in the formation of Australian culture over the period: the relationship of regional and global cultures; the diversity of identities within contemporary culture; the impact of new technologies and ideologies on culture. Artists' responses to social debate on issues such as race relations, immigration, the environment, censorship, republicanism, gay and lesbian politics will be considered. In addition, changes in the infrastructure and institutions of the culture industry - galleries, museums, publishing and media - will be examined.