The State Library Of New South Wales

Upon entering the room, visitors’ eyes dart to that mysteriously empty frame centered on the opposite wall. In such a painstakingly designed museum, this frame looks out of place. On these walls hang the memoirs of revered artists, but the empty frames scattered throughout remember something more tragic: the largest property theft in world history (Menconi, 2012). Head of security at the Gardner, Anthony Amore, refers to these empty frames as “placeholders, not memorials” and urges visitors to see them as a “testament” to their belief that they will reacquire the stolen paintings someday (Menconi, 2012). Whether they do or not, the 1990 Gardner theft greatly impacted

Though Political satire is usually used to provide entertainment and humour, it is also used to expose absurdity and hypocrisy among the political world. In order to understand the concept and meaning of a political cartoon, the reader must have an insight of the current political status and issues or it would be difficult to comprehend the cartoon. The cartoon, ‘Knights and Dames’ attempts to express the cartoonists opinion on the current Knights and Dames issue which is the reintroduction of the use of Sir and Madame. Knights and Dames are predominantly used throughout the United Kingdom. Tony Abbott, the man in the cartoon is shown in an unflattering light in order to make fun of him and his choices as prime minister. He is shown holding a flag from the United Kingdom with a book that says ‘Knights and Dames Reaction’. This shows that the cartoonist attempts to express that we are becoming like the UK and somewhat turning into them through Tony Abbotts choices hence why the

This cartoon is depicting Australia’s politics denying Australia citizens the right of same sex marriage, using the iconic TV show, The Voice, to convey the message. The audience is first drawn to Tony Abbott who is shown with overlarge ears and stating that he should not be ‘expect[ed]’ to ‘turn’ around for same sex marriage, which represents him not allowing it. The way he is sitting is also showing his stubbornness on the issue. The audience then see the other “judges” who have all said yes to marriage equality. This represents USA, Ireland and New Zealand who all allow same sex marriage. These countries being used may be to make the audience feel as if Australia is falling behind these countries that we are so similar to.

Australia is a young, modern country made up of a diverse and multicultural population, therefore, it’s difficult to say that it has a single national identity. This essay will examine what Australia’s identity may look like, specifically, through art.

The fourth lesson will be analyse the content of the picture book “Why I love Australia” by Bronwyn Bancroft. The lesson involves: discovering the visual art element and principals of the illustration (VAES1.3); introduce the artist Bronwyn Bancroft (VAES1.3); explore the traditional Indigenous feature and art technique used in the illustration (VAES1.3); reading the book to class, and guiding student to discover the relation between the words and pictures (ENe-1A).

When you think of the “land down under” you don’t really think of the kind of government they have. I chose to write about the Australian government because I really don’t hear much about Australia. It currently has a pretty interesting story to tell when it comes to their government. I became a bit interested in Australian politics when I saw a political animated cartoon on the internet that depicted Kevin Rudd, the last Prime Minister, on a news television show and it was quite humorous. I am going to give a quick history lesson on Australia then go into how the government formed and came to be. Then I will talk about the Australian constitution, the Australian arms of government, their federal system, political parties and Australia’s

Contemporary Australian artist Fiona Hall uses biological features in her artwork to make political and social statements on contemporary issues and the history behind them.

In his opinion piece, published in the Gladstone Observer on the 25th of January in 2014, Scott Sawyer takes an informal tone as he discusses his thoughts on the racism often shown on Australia Day, which have become more prominent across the modern society. The piece develops from a relaxed and positive tone into a disappointed and more stern tone. The articles title “Ditch the racism and enjoy Australia Day as it should be” clearly proclaims the contention as Sawyer uses persuasive techniques to position the readers to agree with him. He does this by using imagery tied in with metaphors, rhetorical questions, colloquial language as well as emotive appeal throughout the piece.

Now, in 2017, the protests over Australia Day and the history of the country have escalated to a level first seen here in America. Over a week ago, in Sydney’s Hyde Park, the statute there dedicated to Captain James Hook was vandalized. With what is presumed to be spray paint, “no pride in genocide” and “change the date” were written across the statute. Many members of Australia’s nationalist party have spoken out and held their own protests in response to this “heinous” act. They have spoken out how this act is tarnishing the history of Australia and given the country a bad name as well as spreading the positivity of nationalism. The Prime Minister of Australia, Malcom Turnbull called the act, via Facebook, an act of Stalinism, and that Australians

The cartoon pointedly draws readers’ attention to a “second baby” in a tiny box at the main door of Dandenong hospital, where Catherine was earlier found one morning. The box now holds a bemused “baby” to illustrate the cartoonist’s point that all is not well with the Prime Minister as well as the Coalition Party’s standing with Australians. The wide-eyed look captures

The cartoonist has intentionally caricatured Turnbull and his wife’s height to make them look childlike. The effective use of the caricature has negatively adjusted the way Australian citizens view Malcolm Turnbull. Furthermore, exaggerating their height into little children could also indicate what Turnbull is really like when discussing important political changes in Parliament between parties; he is very apprehensive like a little boy in a pet shop. To the last example, Turnbull’s eyebrows and anxious smile has particularly been caricatured for further understanding of Turnbull’s hesitation. This effectively brings out Malcolm confidence as a Prime Minister and how strained he is as ‘the crowd’ closely observes him. Moreover, Turnbull putting his hand on his chin is a great provision to show his anxiousness alongside a fake smile towards the proposing idea ‘GST Increase’ represented by an unappealing scorpion. The effective use of caricature is especially useful when Turnbull’s nervousness is contrasted with his positive media portrayal. Caricature plays an important role on delivering the cartoonist’s message about Turnbull and revealing his true

The history of graphic art and the cycle of politicization, depoliticization and then repoliticization span the late 19th century through and into the 21st century. Evolving from humble beginnings into the commercial behemoth it’s become to today this essay will explore graphic design’s evolution and the politics that affected this growing art movement during this influential timeline.

This cartoon emphasises the relationship between Winston Churchill the British Prime Minister (Left) and the Australian Prime Minister John Curtin (Right). The

In the article The arena of imaginings: Sarah Bartmann and the ethics of representation, Rosemarie Buikema looks into the controversy around Willie Bester’s statue of Sarah Baartman. The statue, made by a South African artist, was put in the library of the University of Cape Town’s Science and Engineering Department. To my surprise, the exhibition of the statue in a Science and Engineering Department

‘Imagine you were in charge of a museum’s collecting policy. What would you chose to collect and how would you justify these decisions?’