VSA4084

The culture and imagery of cities

Leigh Astbury

10 points
* 2 hours per week
* First semester
* Clayton

Objectives Upon completion of this subject students will have developed an urban context for the study of Australian art and culture; be able to assess critically the active dynamic relationship between patronage, institutions, and art production; and have explored the interrelationship between different fields of artistic and cultural endeavour.

Synopsis The subject will study the nature and role of the image of the city from first settlement together with the development of city architecture from the colonial period to federation. The role of art institutions and the formation of nineteenth and early twentieth-century Australian taste will be studied with reference to the foundation of the National Gallery of Victoria, significant private collections and the establishment of academies, schools of design and art societies, as well as gardens, cemeteries, and war memorials. The growth of culture in a city is thus viewed against patterns of patronage and collecting, and the institutionalisation of taste.

Assessment First seminar paper (2000 words): 25%
* Second seminar paper (2000 words): 35%
* Essay (3500 words): 40%

Preliminary reading

Bourdieu P Distinction: A social critique of the judgement of taste Routledge, 1984
Cox L The National Gallery of Victoria 1861- 1968: A search for a collection NGV, 1970
Stratham P (ed.) The origins of Australia's capital cities CUP, 1989