Melbourne Conservatorium of Music - Theses
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ItemMysteries of darkness, and the sentimental child( 2013)The sentimental image of the child in an aesthetic setting has become a much discussed topic and is frequently circulated in Australian and international media. My combined thesis and studio practice develop a further inquiry into images of children in contemporary art and within the Romantic Movement. Concerns about the philosophical and ethical implications of using children as subjects in art are central to my investigation. The purpose of the thesis is to investigate the social and cultural implications of using children as subjects in art. When reflecting on the portrayal of the child in art, several key elements need to be taken into consideration and I will investigate them in detail. Questions around the use of this imagery in my own artworks were formed at the beginning of my research project and these questions were central to the development of the ideas in this investigation. Why do past and present images of children sometimes acquire the kind of negative publicity that labels them indecent? How has the cultural history underpinning images of children in art influenced our reading of images today? How do today’s artists address the genre and what are the most pressing issues affecting contemporary depictions of children in art? To better understand and reflect on this topic it is crucial to discuss and form an understanding about what the child image represents. This is carried out by investigating Australian and International artists, including but not limited to the much discussed photographers Bill Henson, Sally Mann, Jane Burton, Polixeni Papapetrou and painter Louise Hearman. In this paper, I will scrutinise a range of responses to their work. Visual outcomes of my research will be demonstrated through a public exhibition of images I produced during the period of my candidature. The public exhibition of my studio-based research includes a series of oil paintings that explore the theme of children in nature. Through the use of fabricated timber surfaces I try to emphasise a natural context for my depictions of the landscape whilst maintaining a contemporary approach to pictorial convention. My work focuses on the sentimental representation of the child in the bizarre and eerie atmosphere of the bush. Informed by iconic images of ‘the lost child’ in the Australian wilderness, my pictures necessarily make reference to Romantic imagery. Representing the child symbolically, I aim to celebrate innocence and naivety; and that particular positioning is at the heart of my research project.