Melbourne 2006: marketing south-eastern Australian aboriginal art

The Aboriginal cultural sector is dynamic and highly valuable to the Australian economy, returning an estimated $100 million dollars annually. The majority of Aboriginal artists and art works have been perceived to be in northern Australia— eighty per cent of them are in fact in this region—but Aboriginal artists in south-eastern Australia are emerging as a strong force as they struggle for recognition from commercial and national galleries, curators, art dealers, newspaper critics, and buyers. If marketing is to be effectual, the Aboriginality of the art must be presented in a form that is understood and accepted by the audience. Thus changing public perceptions is crucial to marketing south-eastern Aboriginal art. The primary task of this article is to discuss this marketing priority for Aboriginal art and artists in south-eastern Australia, previously neglected in marketing literature. Specifically, the upcoming Melbourne Commonwealth Games are proposed as an opportunity for intensive marketing of the region’s Aboriginal arts.

Modern dance, domestic life and civil society

In her book The Reluctant Modernism of Hannah Arendt (2000) Seyla Benhabib uses the concept of an ‘alternative genealogy of modernity’ to help her both to understand Arendt’s political philosophy and to rethink the potential for civil society to become a progressive political force at the beginning of the twenty first century. The idea of an alternative genealogy of modernity refers to a heterogeneity of social and political forms, spaces and acts that might be used to remap and redefine a modernity whose dominant topology has been shaped by the binary division between so-called public and private spheres. Alternative modernities have already been elaborated and explored from a range of different perspectives including feminist and postcolonial ones: for example, in Rita Felski’s Gender of Modernity (1995) and Dipesh Chakrabarty’s Provincialising Europe (2000). In this paper I want to elaborate upon the idea of an alternative genealogy of modernity from my perspective as a dancer. Thinking through the sociality of art and, more specifically, of some historical dance-making practices can make visible alternative spaces and processes of the (potentially) political. In the West, the modes of art-making form part of an as yet not fully explored arena of the social and of social practices. Modernist and Romantic ideologies have tended to preclude attention to the specific sociabilities of art-making. On the one hand Modernist ideology and art discourses have promoted the idea of an art work’s ‘autonomy’: its radical separation from the social relationships, the bodies and the conditions of its making. On the other hand Romantic ideology, still pervasive in popular conceptions of art practices, construes creation as interiority and individualistic expression. Socialist feminist and Marxist discussions of art have emphasized the social conditions of art-making but these have tended to be concerned with the social inequalities instituted within the public/private split rather than seeking to destabilize that division itself by posing questions of differences within the social. In my discussion below I draw on aspects of early modern dance practice and creation in taking up Benhabib’s concern to mobilise an alternative genealogy of modernity towards a renewal and reactivation of civic life. This project involves unsettling clear distinctions between the so-called ‘public’ and ‘private’ but, at the same time, as Benhabib cautions ‘the binarity of public and private spheres must be reconstructed and not merely rejected’. (2000:2006)

Changing perceptions : marketing south eastern Australian aboriginal art

The Aboriginal cultural sector is dynamic and highly valuable to the Australian economy, returning an estimated $100 million dollars annually. The majority of Aboriginal artists and art works have been perceived to be in northern Australia-eighty percent of them are in fact in this region-but Aboriginal artists in South Eastern Australia are emerging as a strong force as they struggle for recognition from commercial and national galleries, curators, art dealers, newspaper critics, and buyers. If marketing is to be effectual, the Aboriginality of the art must be presented in a form that is understood and accepted by the audience. 1 Thus changing public perceptions is crucial to marketing South Eastern Aboriginal art. The primary task of this paper is to discuss this marketing priority for Aboriginal art and artists in South Eastern Australia, previously neglected in marketing literature. Specifically, the upcoming Melbourne Commonwealth Games are proposed as an opportunity for intensive marketing of the region's Aboriginal arts.

History, memory, and the politics of programming : the video work of Richard Fung

Richard Fung, a Toronto-based video artist and cultural critic, was born in Trinidad in 1954, and attended school in Ireland before immigrating to Canada to study at the University of Toronto. Richard Fung has taught at the Ontario College of Art and Design, and has been a visiting professor in the Department of Media Study at the State University of New York in Buffalo. He is currently the coordinator of the Centre for Media and Culture in Education, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto.

Using narrative inquiry to explore the impact of art on individuals

Discourse about the impact of art has been prominent in academic and arts industry discourse over the past two decades. Contention in the discourse has led to the call for new research frameworks that place the experience of the individual as central to understanding the impact of art. The authors present the background of this discourse and outline narrative inquiry as a research method that elicits individual experiences. The authors present the findings of a narrative inquiry and establish that the way individuals experience art and its impact is far broader in scope than previous research suggests.

Perceptions of the impact of art : implications for the art sector

This paper explores how individuals perceive art and its impact, and what implications these perceptions have for the art sector. Much previous research into the impact of art has been based on perspectives of art and impact implicit in government policies. This paper posits that to increase demand for art activities, a greater understanding of individuals’ perspectives of these two concepts is necessary. The paper reports findings of a three year research project into the impact of art based on the perception of the individual. Findings highlight three key areas: first, it is not the art product, but creativity or the creative process that results in impact; second, that individuals are autonomous in the creation of art experiences and the resultant impact; and third that there is a link between the motivation to have an art experience and the perceived potential impact.

Urban living and obesity : is it independent of its population and lifestyle characteristics?

OBJECTIVES: Living in an urban area influences obesity. However, little is known about whether this relationship is truly independent of, or merely mediated through, the demographic, socio-economic and lifestyle characteristics of urban populations. We aimed to identify and quantify the magnitude of this relationship in a Sri Lankan population.

METHODS: Cross-sectional study of adults aged 20-64 years representing the urban (n = 770) and rural (n = 630) populations, in the district of Colombo in 2004. Obesity was measured as a continuous variable using body mass index (BMI). Demographic, socio-economic and lifestyle factors were assessed. Gender-specific multivariable regression models were developed to quantify the independent effect of urban/ rural living and other variables on increased BMI.

RESULTS: The BMI (mean; 95% confidence interval) differed significantly between urban (men: 23.3; 22.8-23.8; women: 24.2; 23.7-24.7) and rural (men: 22.3; 21.9-22.7; women: 23.2; 22.7-23.7) sectors (P < 0.01). The observed association remained stable independently of all other variables in the regression models among both men (coefficient = 0.64) and women (coefficient = 0.95). These coefficients equated to 2.2 kg weight for the average man and 1.7 kg for the average woman. Other independent associations of BMI were with income (coefficient = 1.74), marital status (1.48), meal size (1.53) and religion (1.20) among men, and with age (0.87), marital status (2.25) and physical activity (0.96) among women.

CONCLUSIONS: Urban living is associated with obesity independently of most other demographic, socio-economic and lifestyle characteristics of the population. Targeting urban populations may be useful for consideration when developing strategies to reduce the prevalence of obesity.

Investigating 'indecent, obscene or pornographic' art : lessons from the Bill Henson controversy

This article considers the manner in which police in Australia investigate art that is putatively indecent, obscene or pornographic. It does so by examining the recent Bill Henson controversy and other similar instances where art and the criminal law have collided. This analysis will demonstrate that under Australian law there is little or no chance of a successful criminal prosecution for obscenity, indecency or pornography. Consequently, it is argued that police investigative procedures must take account of this legal reality. To this end a reform proposal is offered: upon receiving a complaint of this nature, police must — as a matter of internal procedure or law — immediately refer the impugned artwork to the Classification Board for a classification decision before they commence a formal investigation.

Cadaveric vs. live-donor kidney transplants : theoretical foundations of interaction between institutions and inequality

In 1991, the World Health Assembly approved a set of Guiding Principles which emphasize voluntary donation, non-commercialization and a preference for cadavers over living donors” (World Health Organization). The objective of this paper is to identify the factors that affect the ratio of cadaveric transplants to all transplants. This paper first provides informational background on problems surrounding kidney transplants and then uses a theoretical framework which employs standard economic assumptions but incorporates a setup where the persons needing kidneys can obtain it from their compatible relatives or purchase it from individuals who are willing to sell one of their kidneys. The methods of economic theoretical analyses are used where following definitions and assumptions some conclusions are drawn. This paper finds that factors such as inequality, rule of law and religion have significant effect on the ratio of cadaveric transplants to all transplants. The paper concludes that improvement in equality and in rule of law will increase the use of cadaveric kidney transplants. In addition, fighting religious beliefs against cadaveric kidney transplants too will lead to a higher ratio of cadaveric transplants to all transplants.

Giorgio de Chirico and the idea of enigmatic imagery : the innocence of becoming

My paintings emerge from within a context best explained by reference to Nietzsche's perspectivism. That is an intellectual attitude that deprivileges rationalism and accommodates scepticism or unknowing as an acceptable starting point From this standpoint art/language can be seen as being in a state of becoming rather than as representing a state of being. This thesis aims to demonstrate, not only by a philosophical encounter with Giorgio de Chirico's work: ie. his use of myth, his Nietzschean perspectivism and his enigmatic interpretation of figuration, that the most helpful context and understanding of my work can be realied. De Chirico's art, like Nietzsche's philosophy seeks in its processes to explore the possible unity of Dionysian aesthetic force with the Apollonian. Neither Nietzsche nor de Chirico considered within a post-Socratic world that this unity was realizable. Nevertheless they both share in their respective art forms a need to represent the relentless struggle to enact the disjunction of the two aesthetic forces in a secular world. The artist’s enigmatic imagery is characterized by a consideration of appearance and reality and it is for this reason that the work was selected as a model for investigating the nature of enigma. His use of seemingly straightforward, ordinary images suggests a sense of accessibility, yet at the same time they are irreducible to knowing and my own image-making was greatly expanded by investigating these concerns. I am not arguing that de Chirico was influenced by Nietzsche but instead that Nietzsche's philosophical point of view and his use of poetic language to express these views lay in discovering the qualities and substance of the Dionysian spirit As well as working within a Nietzschean world-view set out in The Birth of Tragedy, de Chirico has also drawn on the Italian unification, specifically the Risorgimento and the lineage of these political and mythical figures were endemic to his art and they interface the with his use of the Apollonian-Dionysian disunity first explored by Nietzsche. The focus of the exegesis will be to present the poetic and philosophical use made of the latter in de Chirico’s art It is anticipated that this philosophical encounter with the aesthetic, social and political world of de Chirico will, not only assist in interpreting his life's work anew, but will also provide a context in which my paintings of enigma might be interpreted.

History of contact and change in the Goroka Valley, Central Highlands of New Guinea, 1934-1949

The thesis traces the interaction of the Goroka Valley people with European and coastal New Guinean intruders during the pacification stage of contact and change. In this 15 year period the people moved from a traditional subsistence culture to the threshold of a modern, European-influenced technological society. The contact experiences of the inhabitants of the Valley and the outsiders who influenced them are examined, using both oral and documentary sources. A central theme of this study is the attempts by Europeans and their coastal New Guinean collaborators to achieve the pacification of a people for whom warfare has been described as 'the dominant orientation'. The newcomers saw pacification as being inextricably linked with social, economic and religious transformation, and consequently it was pursued by patrol officers, missionaries and soldiers alike. Following an introductory chapter outlining the pre-contact and early-contact history of the Goroka Valley people, there is a discussion of the causes of tribal fighting in Highlands communities and two case studies of violent events which, although occurring beyond the Goroka Valley, had important consequences for those who lived within its bounds. The focus then shifts to the first permanent settlement of the agents of change -initially these were coastal New Guinean evangelists and policemen - and their impact on the local people. A period of consolidation is then described, as both government and missions established a permanent 'European presence in the Valley'. This period was characterised by vigorous pacification coupled with the introduction of innovations in health and education, agriculture, technology, law and religion. The gradual transformation of Goroka Valley society as a result of the people's interaction with the newcomers was abruptly accelerated in 1943, when many hundreds of Allied soldiers occupied the Valley in anticipation of a threatened Japanese invasion. Village life was disrupted as men were conscripted as carriers and labourers and whole communities were obliged to grow food to assist the Allied war effort. Those living close to military airfields-and camps were subject to Japanese aerial attacks and the entire population was exposed to an epidemic of bacillary dysentery introduced by the combatants. However the War also brought some positive effects, including paradoxically, the almost total cessation of tribal fighting, the construction of an ail-weather airstrip at Goroka which ensured its future as a town and administrative and commercial centre, and the compulsory growing of vegetables, coffee, etc, which laid the foundations for a cash economy and material prosperity. The final chapter examines the aftermath of military occupation, the return of civil administration and the implementation of social and economic policies which brought the Goroka Valley people into the rapid-development phase of contact. By 1949 Gorokans were ready to channel their aggressive energies into commercial competitiveness and adopt a cash-crop economy, to accept the European rule of law, to take advantage of Western innovations in medicine, education, transport and communications, to seek employment opportunities at home and in other parts of the country and to modify their primal world view with European religious and secular values. A Stone Age people was in process of being transformed into a modern society.

As fire burns : functional work and praxis in ontology

The context: the historical and philosophical demise of the Marxist model of praxis as a unity of theory and practice organized by a Party in service of a Cause. The task: to remodel praxis by distinguishing it from functional work. The proving ground: the discourse of ontology. The thesis works through four types of ontology in its attempt to construct different ontological schemas for praxis and functional work. In the first three ontologies, Platonic, Aristotelian and relativist, ontological impasses occur in the accounts of the relation between one and the multiple, and of the existence of order. They prevent the successful construction of a schema for functional work. It is in the set-theory ontology of Alain Badiou that the means arise for the passage through these impasses and the definitive construction of distinct ontological schemas for functional work and praxis. This results in a new concept of praxis and a multiplication of its domains beyond politics to science, art and love

Re-photography as critical strategy in recent art

Re-photography describes a set of contemporary art practices which involve the mechanical reproduction and re-presentation of photographic imagery appropriated from a variety of cultural sources. The paper takes as its focus a range of re-photographic activities emanating from New York in the early 1980s in which the author discusses certain issues pivotal to an understanding of the status of contemporary art and its possibilities for critical function.

In her own right : women officers and equality in the Salvation Army

The nature of women's equality in the Army, during the 19th century, was unprecedented, and even today women can rise to positions of power and authority not easily equalled in the community. In the 20th century the principle of equality remained the same, but the practice did not. Any major turnaround in women's officership will require an orientation to first identifying and understanding the forces that effect women's advancement in the Army, plus the introduction of fairly exact and regulated remedial measures.