Current debates about the question of 'art on the periphery' and the idea of 'the other' have direct relevance to the development of art in Australian colonial life and to the practice of art today. This course will examine these questions by concentrating on aspects of art, architecture and design in Australia, both in the colonial era and in the current re-appropriation of early Australian imagery. The course will address such issues as the dependence on imported modes, the role of landscape imagery, and the distinctions between 'high' and 'popular' art forms. The course draws upon staff expertise at the University and upon the rich collection  of resources of the National Gallery of Australia, the National Library, and the built environment and existent fabrics from local sites surviving from the colonial era.

The student will evaluate and critique the dominance of the colonial landscape genre in orthodox histories of colonial Australian art and identify the scope and so-called minor genres throughout the century. These will include the arts produced by colonial women before, and including those associated with, Australian Impressionism, and the decorative arts and design produced for display, consumption and trade. Contemporary issues centering on the rising interest in Australian indigenous art will be analysed also by the student, who will learn to identify and examine the use of colonial themes in recent indigenous arts practices throughout Australia.

2,000 word tutorial paper (30%)

3,000 word essay (50%)

image test (20%)

2 hours per week of lectures, 1 hour tutorial per week, and up to a day's reading and writing per week.

* Bonyhady, T, Images in Opposition: Australian Landscape Painting 1801-1890, OUP,1985
* Smith, B, and Smith, T, Australian Painting 1788-1990, OUP,1991
* Allen, C, Art in Australia: From Colonization to Postmodernism, Thames & Hudson, 1997

*Sayers, A, Australian Art, OUP, 2001