Representation in Art

Art can help represent many different people, religions, cultures and events. If you are interested in the way art represents a certain subject, these examples may help you:

Example representation in art dissertation topic 1:

Australian Aboriginal art: The exploitation of an indigenous people, or exploitation by an indigenous people?

In June 2007, the Australian Senate published a report into unethical practices in the Australian Aboriginal art industry. It uncovered extensive fraudulent activities in the sector, including that much art sold in tourist shops was not executed by indigenous people, but by backpackers and casual labourers. This thesis considers the juxtaposition of commercial exploitation of Aboriginal artists, and the exploitation by Aboriginal artists ‘selling out’ by mass-producing representations of an ancestral heritage. A controversial topic, the paper reports on interviews with Aboriginal art brokers as well as Aboriginal cultural historians, and debates at what point exploitation is a learned progression of a saleable commodity.

Suggested initial topic reading:

• Altman, J. (2005). Brokering Aboriginal art: A critical perspective on marketing, institutions, and the state. Geelong, Vic.: Deakin University.
• Bunten, A.C. (2008). ‘Sharing culture or selling out? Developing the commodified persona in the heritage industry’, American Ethnologist, Vol. 35, pp. 380-395.
• Simons, M.S. (2000). ‘Aboriginal heritage art and moral rights’, Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 27(2), pp. 412-431.