Case Studies

Question 1

Abdul Abdullah Artworks

Answer 1

“Them and Us” (2011)
“You See Monsters” (2014)

Question 2

Fiona Foley Artworks

Answer 2

“Land Deal” - Printext text on board (1995)
“The Annihilation of the Blacks” (1986)
“Dispersed” (2018)

Question 3

Abdul Abdullah key term

Answer 3

Political voice
Marginalised
Australian multiculturalism
Mistreatment of humanity
Alienation
Disenfranchised

Question 4

Abdullah “You See Monsters” key points

Answer 4

Dehumanised appearance
Eyes, ears, and facial features are non-human
Clenched fists showing anger
Monkeys are seen as a lesser evolution of human
Vulnerable appearance saw through the body language
Traditional clothing - sunnah caps + Thobe
Head down and eyes up which creates tension

Question 5

Abdullah “Them and Us” key points

Answer 5

Lighting on Abdul Abdullah at the front, only on his crescent moon which symbolises Islam
Codes of nationalism and masculinity that pervasively influences racist and stereotypical attitudes towards the “other”
The brother is difficult to distinguish in the dark, which allows audiences to sense fear. This confronts viewers about their unconscious stereotypes

Question 6

Abdul Abdullah context

Answer 6

Growing up as Muslin in a post-September 11
Cronulla Riots Dec 2005
Alienation of Australian Muslims

Question 7

Abdul Abuddlah Quotes

Answer 7

“I have always felt like an outsider among outsiders,”
“I’ve never been allowed to feel like an Aussie”

Question 8

Fiona Foley context

Answer 8

Fiona Foley is a Batjala Woman of Fraser Island

Question 9

Fiona Foley “The Annihilation of the Blacks”

Answer 9

This artwork was created with wood, synthetic polymer paint, feather, string
Physical appearance of the ‘doll’ like figures
Material used: Native tree. Executed by their own nature –> breaking the natural chain of being

Question 10

Fiona Foley “Dispersed”

Answer 10

Elevated - curatorial decision
Installation of giant letters made from charred laminated wood and aluminium, one D pitted with calibre bullets.
Artistic choice of making the font easy so audiences will focus on the meaning of the word

Question 11

Fiona Foley Land Deal

Answer 11

1995 John Batman bought 600 000 acres of land

Chose to install these things to show the physicality of the objects given to the Aborginal people
Knives mirrors, scissors, axes, objects

The artwork allows audiences to walk around the space

It equally reflects issues of custodianship, land possession and occupation of her country, “K’gari” and other areas of Aboriginal Australia.

The spiral shap echoes similar grooved designs drawn in the sand for Aboriginal ceremonies

Question 12

Fiona Foley quote

Answer 12

“Brings to public consciousness the systemic violence toward Aboriginal nations”

How aboriginal people were eradicated off the land, through violent means; massacres

Question 13

Pablo Picasso Artwork

Answer 13

“Guernica” (1937)
“The Young Ladies of Avignon” (1907)

Question 14

Pablo Picasso Guernica

Answer 14

1937 Spanish Civil War approximately one-third of Guernica’s inhabitants were killed or wounded.
Rendered and abstracted cubism style Picasso pioneered.
Far left a woman holding her dead child, releasing a scream, her eyes sliding down her face in the shape of tears and her head bending unnaturally
Acute sense of claustrophobia.
Canvas massive size = 3.5 × 7.77 metres
Painting is monochromatic since a hint of blue is the only colour used

Question 15

Lee Bul artwork details + structural

Answer 15

“Majestic Splendour” (1997)
Installation of raw fish, sequins and mylar bags at Museum of Modern Art, New York

The fish are decorated with stereotypical symbols of femininity and beauty such as ornate jewellery, crystal beads, and flowers.
Utilises the fish as a visual metaphor for the inevitable decay of external beauty

Question 16

Lee Bul artwork Subjective
- Audiences
- Own experience

Answer 16

Allows audiences to engage through their olfactory.
She questions patriarchal authority and marginalisation of women in culture and politics.
In 1989 she emerged with her own experience with abortion which till today is restricted in South Korea

Question 17

Lee Bul artwork postmodern
- Forms
- Issues addressed

Answer 17

The artist’s sculptures embody gruesome and surreal forms

Addressing issues like gender and sexuality in outlandish public performance that challenged a patriarchal society’s tolerance for vocal feminist views.

Question 18

Lee Bul quotes

Critic quotes

Answer 18

“to survive the oppressive censorship of ideology, artistic expression would be the only way out for me”

“it has something to do with beauty of women as well as its suffering”
- Mistook Song

Question 19

Lee Bul context

Answer 19

Labelled as a “Korean feminist”

Inspired by characters of myth, film and art history, these potent forms suggested a world in transformation and the possibilities: bio-technological innovation.

Question 20

Fiona Hall context

Answer 20

A contemporary Australian artist
- Investigates issues based on consumption, politics and trade within nature and the environment.
- Inspired by “Cabinet of Curiosities”

Question 21

Fiona Hall challenge conventions
- Materials
- Forms

Answer 21

Non-traditional materials such as sardine cans and soap
- Bringing into art gallery unfamiliar forms which challenges audiences to reconsider these materials and their historical significance

Question 22

Fiona Hall artwork

Answer 22

Tender (2003-5)
- Relating to the cabinet of curiosity.
- Painstakingly woven (artist practice)
-> Thousands of shredded US dollar bills
-> 86 birds nests each based on different species.

Question 23

Fiona Hall quote

Answer 23

“Complex relationship between the natural world and human systems of value, trade and exchange.”

Question 24

Fiona Hall world
- Issues
- Audience

Answer 24

Environmental pollution, diminishing of animal habitats and consumerism
- Deforestation causing birds, animals and people to lose their homes
The audience understands how the world is being destroyed for profits, the nests representing homes built with care and tenderness

Question 25

Fiona Hall frames
- Conncetion
- US dollar significance

Answer 25

Draws a connection between the fragility of nature and of economic life.

US dollar is still the most valued currency in many developing countries, it suggests people are scavenging for the dollar like a bird scavenging for materials

Question 26

Fiona Hall materials + influence

Answer 26

US dollars and wire + 86 nests

Careful study of nests in the collections, as well as during Hall’s visits to Sri Lanka.

Question 27

Young Ladies of Avignon

Answer 27

Picasso’s use of tone is minimal
African Masks
“Cultural Appropriation”
Going outside the western tradition
Otherness, Curiosity

Instead of portraying women as ‘curved’ and ‘smooth’ in an attempt to express women in his unique way.