Thursday, Apr 16, 2020

4:00 pm PST

View archived lecture here, available for the duration of the Virtual Lecture Series.

Note: The beginning of the video is cut off, it began with an introduction by Dr. Sam Bowker, acknowledging that we were meeting (though virtually) on the land of the Wiradjuri people, who are the cultural custodians of this region from which Dr. Bowker was presenting. The Wiradjuri elders – past, present and future – shape our understanding of this place.

In this lecture we travel to the ‘Great Southern Land’ to discuss five ideas which have shaped Australian art. We will speak of the importance of Indigenous Australian cultures and concepts, the colonial legacies of landscape and mythology, the Angry Penguins and the infamous Ern Malley Hoax, the Blue Poles controversy and ‘cultural cringe’, and Australia’s international presence today.

Dr. Sam Bowker is the Senior Lecturer in Art History & Visual Culture for Charles Sturt University. Based in the regional Australian city of Wagga Wagga, he lectures across Australian, Renaissance, European and Islamic art from Australian perspectives. With Seif El Rashidi, he co-authored ‘The Tentmakers of Cairo: Egypt’s Medieval and Modern Craft’ (American University in Cairo Press, 2018) and has curated many exhibitions.

Please note: one image in this presentation contains profanity

Image credits: “The Kongouro from New Holland” by George Stubbs

This talk is part our COVID-19 response lecture series. Since no one can travel, we’re bringing stunning art from worldwide locations to your family at home. These lectures are hosted by experts the world (and US) over, from Australia to New Delhi and Los Angeles to New Jersey. The times are all listed in Pacific Time (PDT) as the university is based in California. The Zoom links will be posted to each webpage the day before the lecture starts, so please note the dates and times in your calendar and check back. Please feel free to direct any questions to rollandgallery@callutheran.edu.