Art Movement Worksheet

Movement:

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Ideas:

Influences: Devices: Artists:

Exploring National Identity

Portraiture is an art genre oft-used for defining and representing identity, whether this be an individual’s or a groups’. As a European tradition, portraits of Australians dating back from early-settlement to the present day serve to illustrate and explore historical figures, cultural diversity and national stereotypes. Artists have used portraiture to explore and understand a ‘new’ land, celebrate achievements and individuals and to explore, challenge or redefine Australian identity. Through analysing the ways in which we present ourselves and the way we are perceived we can look anew at themes of identity.

This portrait by John Lewin is thought to be of Windradyne, a famous Aboriginal warrior from the early 1800s. Windradyne was a resistance leader of the Wiradjuri people who led his people in the Bathurst war against British settlers in central-western New South Wales.

Like so many portraits of Aboriginal people from this time, the individuals are unnamed, so while we don’t actually know if this portrait is in fact Windradyne, it can be inferred as the artist is known to have drawn a picture of a Wiradjuri elder (in a romantic style wearing a possum cloak) whom he met with Governor Macquarie in 1815.

This early photograph of Johnny Cuzens Zellanach tells the story of the first Australian test cricket team to tour England. The team, consisting of 13 members – twelve of whom were Indigenous Australian cricketers – arrived in England on 13 May 1868 and played an impressive 47 matches with 19 draws, 14 losses and 14 wins. Zellanach, pictured in the photograph, was regarded as an impressive fast bowler. The Sporting Life (28 October 1868) said of their exploits,

No eleven has in one season ever played so many matches ... so successfully – never playing fewer than two matches in each week, and frequently three, bearing an amount of fatigue that now seems incredible ...

The tour proved to be financially successful raising £2,176. For the players however, fatigue and illness proved to be too much with one member dying. There is also no record of any Aboriginal players being paid and many died in obscurity in Australia upon their return. The implementation of the Victorian Aboriginal Protection Act 1869 ceased any possibilities of further tours as it restricted the movements and freedoms of association for Aboriginal peoples.

George Lambert’s Miss Alison Preston and John Parker on Mearbeck Moor painted in 1909 depicts a changing Australian landscape and people. The painting is a powerful example of pastoralist Australia, one where the land has been influenced by the European immigrants.

The relationship of the sitters is intriguing – the older gentleman with a much younger lady companion, but they are actually uncle and niece. The status that Miss Alison Preston is afforded in the piece is one of independence; she stands confidently with hand on hip, an Edwardian lady participating in a hunt; something quite unusual for the times.

She is given a dominant position in the composition which shows her in a progressive light, that of a position of power. Mr Proctor assumes a sitting pose that belies his authority yet he almost assumes the role of Miss Preston’s squire…perhaps he is just tired from the hunt.

In stark contrast, Russell Drysdale’s The drover’s wife (1945) portrays the hardships of life on the land for pioneering Australians. The landscape is flat and lifeless with a few barren trees breaking up the monotony.

Despite this, our subject, the drover’s wife, stands resolutely in the foreground with an expression of calm resignation. Her feet are planted assuredly on the ground and she is half turned as if to join her husband at the wagon, taking one final look before venturing into the harsh, desert landscape.

This painting is typical of the vision that Drysdale created of the Australian outback and the people who lived there. It portrays the relationship that non-Indigenous Australians have had with the land, one of acceptance and resilience for the hard work that it takes to make it in the Australian outback.

Max Dupain’s Sunbaker (1937) captures a quintessentially Australian pastime of relaxing at the beach. It is one of the most recognisable and famous Australian photographs and probably also Dupain’s most famous work. It captures the image of Australians at leisure, an image of a healthy, sporty culture that appreciates the outdoors; a body culture. The irony is that the sitter is not Australian at all and was in fact a British builder on holiday.

Sport is further celebrated in this portrait of an Australian Rules footballer by Sidney Nolan. The painting, entitled Footballer, shows a St Kilda Football Club player standing near the posts with a crowd in the background. The subject was later revealed to be Bill Mohr. Nolan, during his boyhood, had many sporting interests including going to watch the football on weekends. He painted this work during a period in the 1940s when he was painting many heroic figures such as Ned Kelly.

Culture and national identity are by definition not static. Culture is a dynamic idea that is shaped and influenced by changing times, people and their cultural practices. Multiculturalism isn’t a new idea in Australia, in fact, pre European settlement, Australia was populated by hundreds of different language groups of Indigenous Australians each with their own unique culture. There was never one nation, this is an entirely new idea. With the arrival of people from various countries, Australia’s mainstream identity has evolved and shifted as each new diverse migrant group brings with them new cultures, foods and traditions that are absorbed into the mainstream culture.

Patrina Hicks’ Kylie (2003) explores aspects of belonging and isolation in a highschool portraits series that she created in Sydney. She captures images of multicultural Australian youth during a defining period in their lives. The subjects are examined in detail with the prints almost double the size of the real sitter allowing the viewer to explore them in exquisite detail. It lays bare the blemishes and exposes the reality faced by multicultural youth as they explore their identity.

Key terms: portraiture, identity, Australian, culture, history, multiculturalism, Aboriginal, nation building, nationalism

Questions

1. Look at George Lambert’s painting Miss Alison Preston and John Proctor on Mearbeck Moor (1909). Notice the position of independence and dominance that Miss Preston has in the work. What protest movements occurred during the late 19th and early 20th century that may have influenced this work? Make a link.

2. Describe the difference between the impressions of the landscape in George Lambert’s painting and Russell Drysdale’s painting. Why is the landscape portrayed so differently? What does this say about the changing impressions of our understanding of the Australian landscape?

3. Mainstream culture dominates the national identity. However, multicultural Australia is made up of many different cultures and traditions. Explain what you identify as your culture and compare it with what you think the ‘mainstream’ Australian culture is.

Suggested activity

1. Find a work in the exhibition that portrays some aspect of Australian culture. Explain how this work represents it. Is this a positive cultural attribute? Is it uniquely Australian?

2. Create a portrait that explores your personal history and illustrates aspects of culture that you identify with. You may like to use the Environmental Portraiture Worksheet on Page 22.

3. You are tasked with creating an artwork that informs a foreign visitor about Australian culture.

4. Your artwork should be in the form of a portrait.