Lauren Meek, Lauren Jones, Damian Philippone, Damian Gould

Assignment 3 – Collaborative Group Publication

Public Relations field

Group members:

Lauren Jones (s3280712), Lauren Meek (s3233495), Damien Gould (s3284606), Damian Filippone (s3290645)

Artefact #1:

CLOSED SIGN, FORMER CITY MUSEUM, OLD TREASURY BUILDING, SPRING STREET

The public announcement of the demise of Melbourne‟s old-world sensibility is presented through a vivid red installation which sits atop the former City Museum‟s imposing steps. Occupying much of the Old Treasury building‟s forecourt, and encroaching onto the bustling Spring Street footpath, the

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triangular-prism shaped artwork acts as a notice board to inform passersby of the unfortunate closing of the city‟s own specialist museum. Signifying Melbourne‟s dramatic evolution, the largely incongruous and visually jarring structure communicates the death of classical museums in an increasingly modern city.

Suggesting that the virtual city has finally come to supersede the physical city, the artefact reminds its viewers of the contemporary roles and responsibilities of museums in the new society. The closing of the City Museum is widely attributed to the success and popularity of the Melbourne Museum, which has been praised for its relevance and modernity (Eberle 2001). Whilst the importance of historical appreciation remains unquestioned, the form in which the city seeks to exhibit its history remains under dispute. Concerns about the loss of historical reverence are not unfounded, as the desire to embrace new technology seems to demand the hasty abandonment of hundreds of years of knowledge in traditional curation.

Those opposed to the reformatting of museums assert the belief that forgetting the importance of „heritage‟ would come at a great cost, as museums remain a fundamental institution in Melbourne culture (Logan 2004). However, it must be noted that the preservation of culturally out-dated or socially inaccessible exhibits could equally compromise the city‟s ability to inform its citizens of the past. It makes sense that if a community cannot interpret and examine its own identity, it can never be “enlightened” (Logan 2004).

Modern museums are like mirrors, reflecting the community whilst encouraging imagination, creativity and interaction. Whilst museums were once considered as merely repositories for knowledge, fact and classification, the Melbourne Museum incorporates aspects of interaction and immersion; which acts to satisfy the modern city's yearning for 'abstraction'. There is a notable emphasis on the incorporation of new technology, such as screens and electronic displays, within Lauren Jones Lauren Meek Damien Gould Damien Philippone

the exhibits themselves. In this way, history is not always, ostensibly, the main attraction. Therefore, a major factor in the closure of the City Museum was, potentially, its inability to remain current, as Melbourne itself gradually migrates to an „online‟ geography (Holding 2009). Such a shift in connectivity and networking is purported to undermine the “complexity of the city” (Logan 2004), however, one could argue that the elimination of complexity is, in fact, the ultimate goal.

Importantly, Melbourne will never remain static. Museums exist to document the unyielding force of change which shapes the urban landscape like a stream erodes a canyon. The evolution (or closure) of museums is an explicit attempt to reflect the evolution of the city, and its dwellers, respectively. In a society where media has spawned a generation of stimulus-addicted youths, it is necessary to enforce “education as theme park” (Eberle 2001), rather than education as rotelearning. By addressing the fact that Melbourne has developed a yearning for “spectacle” (Eberle 2001), modern museums fulfill one‟s desires and remain conceivably purposeful. Presenting their exhibits in the „language‟ of modern communication, museums are attempting to remain relevant by constantly 'challenging' traditional perceptions and expectations.

Postmodern Melbourne has created postmodern museums; containing exhibits which are driven by commercial success and updated incessantly in response to what is trending. This New Melbourne seeks to repackage antiquity so it is accessible in a contemporary culture, and in doing so, does not allow itself to be anchored by the past. Opening itself up to the capabilities of multimedia, Melbourne has looked to the future to communicate its history.

Lauren Jones Lauren Meek Damien Gould Damien Philippone

Artefact # 2:

WE ARE SORRY, LANEWAY COMMISSION 2009

Drawing pedestrians off the main streets and engaging them to explore the hidden wonders of the cities back allies is fundamental to the Laneway Commission. Every year artists install temporary work around the city: in 2009 Cathy Busby installed her art on Little Bourke Street. She challenges the use of everyday space by employing her art as a form of cultural contestation.

Plastering sections of two landmark speeches by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd she is publicly displaying the continued communication of aboriginal reconciliation. Suggesting that Melbourne's history and treatment of aboriginals is still a prominent issue.

The artifact is less to do with intercity Public Relations and more to do with how the city relates with itself, as the Laneways Commission is a government funded Lauren Jones Lauren Meek Damien Gould Damien Philippone

initiative I can only conclude that it was thought relevant to keep aboriginal reconciliation very much in the public spectrum. However it is important to note that any public outcry or challenge is a form of PR, be it a rally, protest or in this case an artwork.

Cathy Busby's art communicates both its immediate subject (aboriginal reconciliation) and a broader image of Melbourne and her identify as a culturally expressionist city. The idea that Melbourne employs art as a tool for resistance has become popular culture. Walking down Swanston Street it is common to see quirky, half hidden, artistic expressions challenging the prescribed order of things (Melbourne Council, 2009). The lanes themselves that house creations like Cathy Busby's art are a bi-product of the grid system, the formal structure giving Melbourne her shape, it is therefore very relevant that resistance begins by reclaiming these "artificial constructs" (Melbourne Council, 2009).

Melbourne is constantly trying to form links with other global cities: Litworth said that parallels are drawn between Melbourne and London as an "international attractive city with culture, diversity and exciting places to explore" (p.12). Public art is one of the ways Melbourne has defined herself on the global scale, it is one of the ways she is communicated nationally. Litworth explains that Melbourne's identity is shaped by art and the imagined communities formed on the notion of being set apart from other Australian cities.

Brown-May draws attention to the idea that Melbourne's grid system was a tool for control. Indeed it challenged the way Aboriginals interacted with the land, imposing a "spatial order" on a landscape that had previously been subject to an intimate relationship between Aboriginal people (1998, p.2). Aboriginals had no

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place in the new Melbourne and were either forced out of the city or into the then unlivable laneways.

Entrenched in this artefact is the history and treatment of aboriginal people in Melbourne, and its positioning on the walls of the grid system that sought to control almost negates sincerity. Australia struggled with the idea of aboriginal reconciliation: politicians were at odds as to who should say sorry and what exactly there were sorry for. Cathy Busby's artwork is interesting because it can be viewed in two ways, in its more sedate form it simply expresses the truth, or exactly what happened, but in a more challenging way it can be seen as an instrumental attack on the heart of the reconciliation movement. Some aboriginals felt that the process of reconciliation had no soul or depth so the question as to whether Cathy Busby might be using her art to challenge the sincerity of the apology is a significant one.

Artefact # 3: METRO TRAINS MELBOURNE

Lauren Jones Lauren Meek Damien Gould Damien Philippone

These public relations advertisements by Metro Trains Melbourne are featured prominently on the blank white walls that contain Melbourne Central stations escalators. After Connex failed to renew its contract with the Victorian Government in 2009, Metro Trains Melbourne replaced Connex on the 30th November of that same year. (Metro Service Commitments 2009, p.1) Since then Metro Trains have been adamant in communicating to the Melbourne public that there will be a noticeable improvement of the current state of Melbourne public transport. Therefore these public relations advertisements can be found all around Melbourne‟s public transport areas. This particular advertisement reads 'Spend your time reading a book, not a road map'; through such advertisements as this it is evident that MTM are trying to distance and disassociate themselves from the 'Connex' name as much as possible.

As commuters stare into space whilst waiting for their escalator ride to reach the top (or bottom), the once blank walls that went relatively unnoticed on their journeys now confront them as today's "urban landscape[s] are [now] market forces for commodifying desire" (Mendes, 1995, pp.362). Christina Mendes' chapter on appropriating space in 'Signal Driver’ discusses how areas that were once public spaces are now being modernised through redefining the roles of urban objects and areas into the private domain and a result of this; a merging of the private and the public has occurred. The reason why these Metro Trains Melbourne messages seem to be the only form of advertisements that occupy the walls, buses and trains of Melbourne‟s public transport landscape is due to the majority of advertisers opting to advertise in the MX.

In Gillian Dyer‟s „Advertising as communication’ she states how typical public relations campaigns usually try to promote a positive image of what they are advertising without appearing to actually do so. Metro Trains Melbourne recent Lauren Jones Lauren Meek Damien Gould Damien Philippone

public relations advertisements have taken the exact opposite approach mainly due to the negative associations with public transport that was created by Connex. MTM‟s concerted effort to convey a positive image becomes evident when one rides an escalator in one of Melbourne‟s many train stations as consecutive adverts are displayed on the escalator walls spruiking MTM‟s „great customer service‟ and several other „improvements‟.

Anne Cronin‟s ’Advertising and the metabolism of the city: urban space, commodity rhythms’ examines and deconstructs how the frequent periods of immobility whilst waiting for trains, buses etc (called „dwell time‟ by advertisers) in areas "such as underground train stations are seen to have a „captive audience‟ where travelers on the platform or in the carriage often have nothing to do but read the ads and have significant time in which to do it"(pp.5). Metro Trains Melbourne public relations campaign is an example that embodies this idea as their public relations adverts can be seen not only on the escalator walls of train stations but on bus stops and the trains themselves.

Lauren Jones Lauren Meek Damien Gould Damien Philippone

Artefact # 4:

OUR LITTLE PIECE OF EUROPE

In the late 1830‟s during the design process of the grid, Melbourne‟s laneways were designed as access points for deliveries to the houses and business in the area. By the 1840‟s and 1850‟s they were areas mostly associated with immigrants and an environment that included overcrowding, poor sanitation and criminal behavior (Fung, 2006).

That has all changed in recent times and the laneways and back alleys of Melbourne are home to hidden bars and clothing boutiques. With a distinctly European feel, people are no longer afraid to wander through the laneways.

People from all walks of life come together and appreciate the romance of the dark, hole in the wall cafes and cafe culture and the graffiti once seen as a criminal act but now viewed as art, dressing up the grey walls making them visually appealing.

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The thing about Melbourne‟s is: while other cities have the luck of being set in a beautiful location; Melbourne has had to develop itself into somewhere tourists want to visit. It has developed itself into a sophisticated modern city rather than relying on „tangible icons‟.

While Melbourne may have adopted the coffee culture from the Italians, there have been other cultures shaping the way Melbournians consume coffee and over the years it has been adapted to local conditions. “Australian‟s have followed the Italians in making espresso and the French in sitting around in cafes” (Jolliffe, 2009).

In 1998 coffee took over from tea as Melbournian‟s favourite hot beverage. “The increased coffee consumption is often linked with the post war surge in migration from continental Europe, particularly Italy” (Jolliffe, 1999). The Italians migrated mostly because of Melbourne‟s strong manufacturing base and still today are the largest non-British ethnic group in the city.

When PR people talk about the city, they use words like enchantment, cosmopolitan and sophisticated. As well as promoting the fact that Melbourne is developing a name for itself in the fashion and restaurant industries. “Detour from the main trails and discover Melbourne's intimate and enchanting web of lanes, alleys, little streets and arcades” gives the reader an idea of the mystery and romance of Melbourne (Hewett 2009).

. “Marketed as internationally appealing and a truly iconic Melbourne experience, laneways have been transformed and consumed as part of civic desires for Melbourne to be counted as a world city” (Fung 2006). The lanes offer „international flavour‟ and an opportunity to feel like you can have it all with Italian coffee, Japanese cuisine and European fashion, all within reach. “The urban Lauren Jones Lauren Meek Damien Gould Damien Philippone

character of Melbourne is defined by a pastiche of picturesque stereotypes and images of multiple versions of Europe” (Fung 2006). Fung argues that this is why Melbourne is incapable of producing its own urban centers and also “the seduction of Melbourne‟s lanes represents an increasingly blurred boundary between what might be the real experience of the lanes and is implemented and marketed to entice international investment”.

References

Artefact 1 -Logan, W 2004, „Museums, Community Identity and Urban Heritage‟, Cities and Museums: Local and Global Challenges Forum keynote paper presented 3 September 2004 at the Queensland College of Art Auditorium, Deakin University, South Brisbane, pp. 1-8

Artefact 1 - Eberle, J 2001, „Reading the Melbourne Museum‟, Screen Education, vol. 1, no. 26, pp. 222-225

Artefact 1 - Holding, T (Minister for Finance) 2009, More Victorians to be Married in Historic Building, media release, The Premier of Victoria, Melbourne, 11 December

Artefact 2 - Brown-May, A 1998, 'The Desire for a City', 'The Citizens are beginning to Complain', 'The Life and Death of the Streets', in Melbourne Street Life: the Itinerary of our days, 1st ed, Australian Scholarly Publishing, Kew Vic, pp. 2-3, 18-19, 68-69 and 206-207.

Artefact 2 - Litworth, M, Forgotten Spaces Revitalising Perth's Laneways, no. 1, Laneways Project Team: Strategy & Urban Development Units, City of Perth, Lauren Jones Lauren Meek Damien Gould Damien Philippone

Perth.

Artefact 2 - 2009, Project Brief Public Art Program Temporary Works Laneways Commission 2009: A Season of Contemporary Artworks in the Public Domain, Melbourne (Vic) Council, City of Melbourne, Melbourne.

Artefact 3 - Mendes, CS 1995, 'Signal Driver: From bus stops to bus shelters the new art of appropriating space', in Current issues in criminal justice, 6th edn, Institute of Criminology, University of Sydney, pp. 362-370.

Artefact 3 - Dyer, G 1982, Advertising as communication, 8th edn, Methuen & Co Ltd, United Kingdom

Artefact 3 - Anne Cronin, ‟Advertising and the metabolism of the city: urban space, commodity rhythms‟, published by the Department of Sociology, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YL, UK at HYPERLINK "http://www.lancs.ac.uk/sociology/papers/cronin-advertising- metabolism-city.pdf" http://www.lancs.ac.uk/sociology/papers/cronin-advertising- metabolism-city.pdf

Artefact 4 - Fung, P (2006) „The Seduction of Melbourne‟s Laneways: making Melbourne a „World city‟, Crossings website, accessed 13/04/2010 HYPERLINK "http://www.inasa.org/crossings/11_2/index.php?apply=fung"http://www.inasa.org /crossings/11_2/index.php?apply=fung

Artefact 4 - Hewett, A (2009) Lose yourself in Melbourne Laneways, Only Melbourne website, accessed 12/04/2010 HYPERLINK "http://www.onlymelbourne.com.au/melbourne_details.php?id=9408"http://www.o nlymelbourne.com.au/melbourne_details.php?id=9408 Lauren Jones Lauren Meek Damien Gould Damien Philippone

Artefact 4 - Jolliffe, L 2010, Tourism and cultural change: Coffee culture, Destinations and Tourism, Lee II (eds.) Channel view publications, accessed 22.05.2010 HYPERLINK "http://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=LnpwfgQvAMsC&oi=fnd&pg=P A99&dq=melbournes+european+laneways&ots=tEciI7k4bV&sig=0OC9Kw0RjXhl 1yjdoFLsqsQ66aY#v=onepage&q&f=false" http://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=LnpwfgQvAMsC&oi=fnd&pg=P A99&dq=melbournes+european+laneways&ots=tEciI7k4bV&sig=0OC9Kw0RjXhl 1yjdoFLsqsQ66aY#v=onepage&q&f=false

Lauren Jones Lauren Meek Damien Gould Damien Philippone

COMM2411 – Communication and Social Relations Assessment Task#3, Semester 1, 2010 Map of Revisions GROUP NAMES & STUDENT NUMBERS: 1. Damien Gould s3284606 3. Damian Filippone s3290645

2. Lauren Jones 4. Lauren Meek s3233495

Referee Comments KEY TUTOR FEEDBACK (on WRITTEN ASSESSMENT TASK #1) Artefact#1 Advised that the research should explore the contrasting ideas about the modern role and purpose of museums, with specific reference to the varied museums in Melbourne.

Artefact#2 Suggested a discussion on the discord amongst Australia about the whole reconciliation movement process. Also that the artwork may have been designed as an “arrow to the heart” of the issue.

Artefact#3 Wrong disciple chosen for artefact Awkward use of words & grammar Artefact#4 One of my scholarly references was actually not scholarly (Miletic, B 2009)

RESPONSE/ACTION 1. Consulted numerous publications which discuss museums in a Melbournian context.

Found article which directly compared the Melbourne Museum to the Melbourne City Museum.

2. I read more into Cathy‟s art and other chapters in the sources I had to get a better understanding and made some changes.

3. Got in touch with tutor to rectify the issue, changed from a „design‟ group to a „public relations‟ group. Fixed grammatical errors by rewriting sentences.

4. Changed from Miletic, B (2009) to Jolliffe, L (2010)

KEY VERBAL FEEDBACK FROM TUTOR (IN CLASS WORKSHOP AND/OR PRESENTATION) Artefact#1 Advised to re-examine the nature of 1. I consulted my sources again, with the Museums with a better understanding of the intention of paying closer attention to how modern 'recontextualisation' of information, modern museums are recontextualising their which sees exhibits explored in a more 'abstract' exhibits. Janine Eberle's article proved presentation. Also suggested an analysis of the extremely helpful, as it discusses the notion of more 'challenging formats' of curation which revolutionary 'story-telling' in museums in great contemporary museums have adopted. detail. As such, I adjusted my analysis to better Artefact#2 When discussing my artifact I said communicate/critique her understanding. that it was PR in the way it relates to the city 2. I was surprised by the broad definition of PR and its residents. I should have also noted that as I felt it was different form the idea taught in PR is boarder then I acknowledged and is any class. I researched the idea to understand the public movement challenging something. matter better.

Artefact#3 Language used in presentation to 3. Re-wrote & removed some sentences, added complex Why are Metro Trains Melbourne the MX information into the 500 word advertisements so lame? MX magazines summary. advertising.

4. I only used graffiti once in my final piece and I Artefact#4 While describing one of my think it fits into the story about the history of the references, I said a bit about graffiti and Grant lanes so I decided it wouldn‟t affect it too much said to take it out as it doesn‟t go with the to leave it in. „European‟ influences PEER FEEDBACK Artefact#1 It was suggested that my analysis I agreed that my analysis was too heavily

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contained too much reliance on outside sources, dependent on my chosen sources, and and therefore my examination of the actual therefore, I attempted to include a better artefact was lacking. Also, one of my sources balance between my own analysis and those was complimented for its unreliable nature, and which I had researched. Also, my critique of the it was suggested that my criticism of this source source which received peer approval was was appropriate. retained.

Artefact#2 My group suggested I spend more I saw that I had become distracted in my time discussing the aboriginal reconciliation response and had indeed focused too much on rather then placing the emphasis on its the positioning and not enough on the artifact positioning in a laneway. itself. I thought it was import to keep the information on its positioning as it helped to the understanding but I added more on the art itself.

Artefact#3 Some sentences were Removed irrelevant sentences that did not unnecessary. Language used was too contribute anything to the analysing of the analytical. artefact. Re-wrote and re-worded several sentences to be more accessible as the previous sentences could be confusing for those with no prior knowledge of the information being cited Artefact#4 My group suggested that I add a I think it was a great idea, and I added it in, reference tying in the coffee culture in our first this was my new scholarly reference, Jolliffe. meeting.

OTHER SIGNIFICANT CHANGES

Lauren Jones Lauren Meek Damien Gould Damien Philippone