Cosmopolitan tendencies in recent intersubjective art

This thesis uses cultural studies approaches to ask in what ways can intersubjective art act on the disparities brought about by late capitalism through the auspices of cosmopolitanism? How do the same processes that oppress others allow the artist to be mobile and self-reflexive while accruing and deploying a broad range of knowledges and competencies? The answer is paradoxical: those oppressed by the processes of late capitalism become the focus, theme, and content of the intersubjective artwork while the artists benefit from a system they seek to problematise and critique. Three case study chapters highlight these complex and disconcerting politics.

Transition: Exchange establishing a visual arts practice based on personal pedagogy

There is a perceived tension in the relationship between the roles of art teacher and artist that led to the question: can an art teacher use their professional training and experience to establish an authentic artistic identity? This self-study tracked and analysed how the process of making her own art enabled an art teacher to also identify as an artist. Drawing on Lamina, the public exhibition of her multimedia artworks, the final exegesis proposes five conditions for art teachers in developing their own art practice: developing an identity as artist, using time and space mindfully, tolerating uncertainty, mentoring, and privileging the process.

Terra Incognita: A symbolic mythical journey

This practice-led project is implemented in the context of rites of passage based on significant events in formative transitions of Self. It employs an intuitive methodology to examine and explore the 'Child archetype', mythos, symbolic imagination and self-narrative, through the manifestation of a visual symbolic language. The contexts, methods and processes enable empowerment, heightened awareness of personal and collective relationships, meaningful discovery and development of innovative ideas and forms. The implications for this project highlight the importance of intuition in creativity and innovation. Creative practice is a vehicle for personal and collective interconnectedness. I have discovered self-empowerment, meaningful learning and innovative forms of personal and collective communication as a way of enabling transition of a significant life event.

Josh lovegrove: Infinite

Research background: Infinite by Josh Lovegrove is an extended play album co-produced in collaboration with ARIA-nominated artist Mark Sholtez. The album consists of original songs written by Lovegrove, and songs co-written by Lovegrove, Carfoot and Sholtez. The scholarly context of the project is informed by studies of songwriting and ambiguity by Negus and Astor, new approaches to the study of record production associated with Zagorski-Thomas, and studies of creative labour by Hesmondhalgh and Baker. The project focused on the dynamics of musical performance and production in the recording studio, investigating the interface between the creative tasks of songwriting, production and performance in the recording of popular music. The project asked, in what ways do collaborative songwriting and production processes overlap, how has the nature of creative labour changed as a result of new forms of digital recording technology, and how can these aspects inform developments in the learning and teaching of popular music? Research contribution: The project has demonstrated the nuanced ways that the practices of record production have changed in the face of technological developments, and how this has impacted upon the specific forms and divisions of creative labour. Research significance: The project resulted in a well-reviewed album release that has further established Lovegrove’s reputation as a performer and songwriter. The creative work underpins ongoing research into the nature of popular music production, in particular how the nature of collaborative songwriting can inform innovation in the learning and teaching of popular music.

Key change: The role of the creative industries in climate change action

The role of the creative industries – arts and artists – in helping to drive the changes in laws and behaviours that are necessary to tackle climate change, while not superficially obvious, is a deep one. Arts and artists of all kinds, as cultural practitioners, have been closely entwined with social change and social control since time immemorial, in large part because they help shape our understanding of the world, framing ideas, prefiguring change, and opening hearts and minds to new ways of thinking. They have played a major role in campaigns for law reform on many issues, and climate change should be no exception. Indeed, with climate change increasingly being seen as a deeply cultural issue, and its solutions as cultural ones to do with changing the way we understand our world and our place in it, the role of cultural practitioners in helping to address it should also increasingly be seen as central. It is curious, then, how comparatively little artistic engagement with climate change has taken place, how little engagement with the arts the climate movement has attempted, and how little theoretical and critical analysis has been undertaken on the role of the creative arts in climate change action. Through a literature review and a series of interviews with individuals working in relevant fields in Australia, this study examines and evaluates the role of the creative industries in climate change action and places it in a historical and theoretical context. It covers examples of the kind of artistic and activist collaborations that have been undertaken, the different roles in communication, campaigning for law reform, and deep culture change that arts and artists can play, and the risks and dangers inherent in the involvement of artists, both to climate change action and to the artist. It concludes that, despite the risks, a deeper and more thoughtful engagement of and by the creative industries in climate action would not only be useful but is perhaps vital to the success of the endeavours.

Under the skin: Wearable technology futures

Artist statement – Artisan Gallery I have a confession to make… I don’t wear a FitBit, I don’t want an Apple Watch and I don’t like bling LED’s. But, what excites me is a future where ‘wearables’ are discreet, seamless and potentially one with our body. Burgeoning E-textiles research will provide the ability to inconspicuously communicate, measure and enhance human health and well-being. Alongside this, next generation wearables arguably will not be worn on the body, but rather within the body…under the skin. ‘Under the Skin’ is a polemic piece provoking debate on the future of wearables – a place where they are not overt, not auxiliary and perhaps not apparent. Indeed, a future where wearables are under the skin or one with our apparel. And, as underwear closets the skin and is the most intimate and cloaked apparel item we wear, this work unashamedly teases dialogue to explore how wearables can transcend from the overt to the unseen. Context Wearable Technology, also referred to as wearable computing or ‘wearables’, is an embryonic field that has the potential to unsettle conventional notions as to how technology can interact, enhance and augment the human body. Wearable technology is the next-generation for ubiquitous consumer electronics and ‘Wearables’ are, in essence, miniature electronic devices that are worn by a person, under clothing, embedded within clothing/textiles, on top of clothing, or as stand-alone accessories/devices. This wearables market is predicted to grow somewhere between $30-$50 billion in the next 5 years (Credit Suisse, 2013). The global ‘wearables’ market, which is emergent in phase, has forecasted predictions for vast consumer revenue with the potential to become a significant cross-disciplinary disruptive space for designers and entrepreneurs. For Fashion, the field of wearables is arguably at the intersection of the second and third generation for design innovation: the first phase being purely decorative with aspects such as LED lighting; the second phase consisting of an array of wearable devices, such as smart watches, to communicate areas such as health and fitness, the third phase involving smart electronics that are woven into the textile to perform a vast range of functions such as body cooling, fabric colour change or garment silhouette change; and the fourth phase where wearable devices are surgically implanted under the skin to augment, transform and enhance the human body. Whilst it is acknowledged the wearable phases are neither clear-cut nor discreet in progression and design innovation can still be achieved with first generation decorative approaches, the later generation of technology that is less overt and at times ‘under the skin’ provides a uniquely rich point for design innovation where the body and technology intersect as one. With this context in mind, the wearable provocation piece ‘Under the Skin’ provides a unique opportunity for the audience to question and challenge conventional notions that wearables need to be a: manifest in nature, b: worn on or next to the body, and c: purely functional. The piece ‘Under the Skin’ is informed by advances in the market place for wearable innovation, such as: the Australian based wearable design firm Catapult with their discreet textile biometric sports tracking innovation, French based Spinali Design with their UV app based textile senor to provide sunburn alerts, as well as opportunities for design technology innovation through UNICEF’s ‘Wearables for Good’ design challenge to improve the quality of life in disadvantaged communities. Exhibition As part of Artisan’s Wearnext exhibition, the work was on public display from 25 July to 7 November 2015 and received the following media coverage: WEARNEXT ONLINE LISTINGS AND MEDIA COVERAGE: http://indulgemagazine.net/wear-next/ http://www.weekendnotes.com/wear-next-exhibition-gallery-artisan/ http://concreteplayground.com/brisbane/event/wear-next_/ http://www.nationalcraftinitiative.com.au/news_and_events/event/48/wear-next http://bneart.com/whats-on/wear-next_/ http://creativelysould.tumblr.com/post/124899079611/creative-weekend-art-edition http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/smartly-dressed-the-future-of-wearable-technology/6744374 http://couriermail.newspaperdirect.com/epaper/viewer.aspx RADIO COVERAGE http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/wear-next-exhibition-whats-next-for-wearable-technology/6745986 TELEVISION COVERAGE http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/wear-next-exhibition-whats-next-for-wearable-technology/6745986 https://au.news.yahoo.com/video/watch/29439742/how-you-could-soon-be-wearing-smart-clothes/#page1

Landscape painting

The images in this exhibition were based on questioning relationships between the histories of painting and photography, which helped to establish the indexical references that became both photography’s most powerful attribute and most subtle illusion. Debates over the objectivity or subjectivity of the photograph and the uneasy relationship between painting and photography, as played out in the history of art, have been brought into sharp relief with the contemporary proliferation of digital images. The digital realm of photography gives rise to a general and relative skepticism of verity, but it can be argued that to artist/photographers, this representational malleability is precisely what their purpose becomes. In researching current issues of the indexical in photographic practice, landscape provides a potent vehicle for exploring issues of representation and illusion, the nexus of painting and photography, and the digital realm. One of contemporary photography’s most resonant themes is a return to pictorial subjects and methods, including a renewed interest in floribunda, still life and landscape. The resulting deconstruction and reconstruction of landscape ‘painting’ in this body of work- the monochrome, linear abstraction, painterly representationalsism and pictorialist detail is presented as a perceptual, aesthetic and digital act. The exhibition incorporates landscape painting’s simplicity and complexity, photography’s significance of representation and minimalist aesthetics in an over-mediated world.

Where the action isn't, that's where it is

Contribution to ARI Remix. ARI remix is a three-year digital humanities, artist interviews and oral history project collecting and presenting memories of Australian Artist-run culture in Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory between 1980 and 2000. Its focus is fleshing out and illuminating the ephemeral and neglected histories of the many lively and socially engaged artistic scenes along the east coast of Australia during the last two decades of the 20th century.

Political feminism: Activist art in Australia in 2015

Brisbane-based artist and Founding Co-Director of LEVEL artist run initiative Courtney Coombs discusses feminist activist art practice in Australia. Recent discussions both in the art world and beyond have increased the profile and demystified the notion of feminism in the twenty-first century, and the term has once again become integrated into mainstream discussion internationally and in Australia. Now that pop music star Taylor Swift has declared herself a feminist, you could be persuaded that the 'f' word has finally become socially acceptable. However, while many artists have adopted the feminist label across the country, it often feels like feminism has become a lifestyle choice rather than a political one. When the badge is so readily worn by many, society can be fooled into thinking that there is no more work to be done. With the 'f' word once again acceptable while the 'p' word (patriarchy) remains so pass , how are artists responding to the changed conditions but continued imposition of what bell hooks has described as the 'imperialist white supremacist capitalist patriarchy'?

Contemporising the Past: Envisaging the Future Refereed - Proceedings of the 2014 World Dance Alliance Global Summit

With a strong emphasis on the interconnection between theory and practice, and how past/present intersections inform the future, these thirty-one articles by artist/scholars and artist/teachers profile current dance research from thirteen countries. The papers coalesce around five sub-themes: o approaches to choreography and performance o shifting cultural dance identities o contemporary research perspectives o changing dance pedagogies o site & environmental dance In exploring the cognitive and the sensory, the rational and the instinctive, the explicit and the implicit, these writings create and celebrate common and differentiated dance understandings — at times directly and provocatively, and at times liminally and poetically.

Remembering the Peel Island Lazaret through re-imagining the Teerk Roo Ra forest

This paper discusses my current research which aims to re-member the site of the Peel Island Lazaret through re-imagining the Teerk Roo Ra forest as a series of animated artworks. Teerk Roo Ra National Park (formally known as Peel Island) is a small island in Moreton Bay, Queensland and is visible on the ferry journey from Cleveland to Stradbroke Island. The island has an intriguing history, and is the site of a former Lazaret and quarantine station. The Lazaret treated patients diagnosed with Hansen’s disease (or Leprosy), and operated between 1907 and 1959. In this paper I will discuss conceptions of the non-indigenous historical context of the Peel Island Lazaret and the notion of the liminal state (Turner,1967). Through this discussion conceptions of place from Australian cultural theorist Ross Gibson are also examined. The concept of two overlapping realms is then explored through the clues and shared stories about the people who inhabited the site. There is then an explanation of my own approach to re-member this place through re-imagining the forest that witnessed the events of the Lazaret. I then draw on theories of the uncanny from German Psychiatrist Ernst Jentsch, Austrian Neurologist Sigmund Freud and South African animation theorist Meg Rickards to argue that my experience of the forest of Teerk Roo Ra was an uncanny experience where two worlds or states of mind existed simultaneously and overlapped, causing a viscerally unsettling uncanny experience. Through an analysis of Czech Surrealist Animator Jan Švankmajer’s cinematic narrative Down to the cellar (1982), my creative work Structure #24(2011), and Australian Artist Patricia Piccinini’s cinematic artwork The Gathering (2007), I discuss the situation of the inanimate and the animate co-existing simultaneously. Using this approach I propose an understanding of the uncanny as an intellectual uncertainty as outlined by Jentsch (1906). I also develop the notion of the familiar being concealed and becoming unfamiliar through mimicry (Freud, 1919). These discussions form an introduction to my creative work Nocturne #5(2014) which re-members the forests of Teerk Roo Ra as an uncanny place primarily expressed through animation.

Means are the Ends: The Command Issue

Means are the Ends: The Command Issue (2014) was an exhibition of sculptural works exhibited at LEVEL Artist-Run Initiative, Brisbane. The exhibition playfully critiqued the portrayal of women’s desire in cultural production and symbolic discourse through a focus on fetish sensibilities. Developed during a summer residency, the artworks looked to the rituals, materials and iconographies associated with certain divergent subcultures. Employing strategies of sculptural intervention and appropriation, the exhibition consisted of found objects, which had been deconstructed, altered and intervened; a dildo became a faux drawing machine, a butt-plug a makeshift horn. Reconstructing these visual codes through the formal and theoretical language of contemporary sculptural practice, Means are the Ends: The Command Issue spoke to the problematic, humorous and often paradoxical relationship between depictions of the feminine and women’s desire and agency.

Towards (dis)Satisfaction

Hosted at Blindside Artist-Run Initiative (Melbourne) the exhibition Towards (dis)Satisfaction (2015) was a re-staging of earlier sculptural works from the exhibitions Means are the Ends: The Command Issue and Crude Tools (2014), Feeble Actions (2013). The forms humorously interrogated representations of gender and sexuality via strategies of sculptural intervention. A stripper’s pole oozes grease from its stainless surface, fluted with holes. A dildo vibrates on a glass tabletop; propped up by simulated testicles, the intensity of the dildo’s vibrations makes the form spin. With its continual circling, the phallus drags Vaseline over the table, performing a drawing and redrawing of a smeared circle. In Towards (dis)Satisfaction fetish is used as an instrumental strategy, employed as a mode to work across different theoretical and material discourses. In the works the play between explicit and implicit depiction creates an ambiguity that has suggestive potency, where fragmentation and dysfunction initiate diverse readings. These material dialogues make apparent the anxiety and desire inherent in the viewer and question how the visual conventions of erotica and art history are mutually informative.

Wish you were here

"Wish You Were Here" was a solo exhibition held at artist run gallery, Roji to Hito in Tokyo, Japan. The exhibition explored the gallery space itself as a medium, and presented works about the potential of achieving intimacy with public spaces.

The radical in arts education research

Arts education research, as an interdisciplinary field, has developed in the shadows of a number of research traditions. However amid all the methodological innovation, I believe there is one particular, distinctive and radical research strategy which arts educators have created to research the practice of arts education: namely arts-based research. For many, and Elliot Eisner from Stanford University was among the first, arts education needed a research approach which could deal with the complex dynamics of arts education in the classroom. What was needed was ‘an approach to the conduct of educational research that was rooted in the arts and that used aesthetically crafted forms to reveal aspects of practice that mattered educationally’ (Eisner 2006: 11). While arts education researchers were crafting the principles and practices of arts-based research, fellow artist/researchers in the creative arts were addressing similar needs and fashioning their own exacting research strategies. This chapter aligns arts-based research with the complementary research practices established in creative arts studios and identifies the shared and truly radical nature of these moves. Finally, and in a contemporary turn many will find surprising, I will discuss how the radical aspects of these methodologies are now being held up as core elements of what is being called the fourth paradigm of scientific research, known as eScience. Could it be that the radical dynamics of arts-based research pre-figured the needs of eScience researchers who are currently struggling to manage the ‘deluge of Big Data’ which is disrupting their well-established scientific methods?