Imagining Oceania: contesting histories, creating futures
Weekend-long art history course
13 October 2018 10am - 5pm14 October 2018 10am - 5pm
Wolfson British Academy Room, 6 Burlington Gardens, Royal Academy of Arts
£420. Includes all materials, light refreshments at the beginning of each day and wine reception at the end of day one.
Oceania
Terms and conditions
Join leading art historian Dr Kathryn Brown to explore the entangled narratives of Oceanic and European art, the legacies of colonialism and the breath-taking contemporary art of the Pacific Islands.
Recollecting his journey to Tahiti in 1930, Henri Matisse spoke of his desire to find "another space", in which to develop "the objects of his dreams". Many of the large-scale works he produced late in his career referenced the landscapes that he encountered during that trip and the sensation of ‘total ecstasy’ he felt when confronted by the corals, lagoons, tropical flora and marine life he found there.
For many European artists of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Oceania was both an inspiration and an idealised space on which to project personal fantasies. Through the lens of masterpieces by Matisse, Paul Gauguin, Pablo Picasso, Georgia O’Keefe, Isamu Noguchi and the Dada poet Tristan Tzara, the first part of this weekend course examines the impact of Pacific Island art and landscapes on the European modernist imagination.
The course then turns to ways in which contemporary artists from the Pacific Islands critique these constructions and challenge the art-historical traditions within which the arts of Oceania have been categorised and analysed. Examining works by contemporary artists including Lisa Reihana, Yuki Kihara, Angela Tiatia, Michel Tuffery, Julia Mage’au Gray, John Pule and Sofia Tekela-Smith among others, we will discuss diverse forms of art production that confront colonial histories, identity and conflicting constructions of place.
This part of the course will also bring to the fore Oceania’s own modernist cultural history and critical self-fashioning. We will examine many of the creative tensions that Pacific Island artists have explored in their engagement with conceptions of the "contemporary", "tradition" and "myth".
The course concludes by considering the challenges that Western museums face when exhibiting artefacts that were collected during periods of Empire. Addressing cutting-edge debates in museum studies, we will examine some of the ways in which museums are confronting their own role in colonial histories and stimulating new dialogues about approaches to collecting, displaying, contextualising and repatriating cultural objects from around the world.
The course provides an ideal way to learn about and understand the influence of Oceanic art on seminal western artists, as well as the response of contemporary artists working in the Pacific Islands today.
About the course
This course provides a unique opportunity to learn about the histories and legacies of Pacific Island cultural production. It comprises a stimulating combination of history and contemporary art and will spark debate about important issues facing museums today. The course is led by an expert art historian, will include guest lectures by international specialists, and will engage with objects and artworks in noted museum collections from around the world. This course will be delivered in part through lectures but will also include ample opportunity for debate and discussion by participants. The course is held in the historic setting of the newly opened Wolfson British Academy Room.
You will enjoy the intimate and friendly setting and a course which is designed both to provide an overview of these fascinating themes for those new to the field or explore it further for those with long-standing interest in the topic.
What will you get out of this course?
• An introduction to historic and contemporary arts of Oceania
• An understanding of ways in which European modernist artists constructed images of Oceania
• Analytical techniques to interpret and challenge familiar histories of art
• An ability to analyse contemporary artists’ engagement with the histories and legacies of colonialism
• Awareness of pressing issues confronting European museums with non-Western collections
• The opportunity to learn and reflect within a peer group setting with discussions facilitated by an expert in the field
This course is suitable for those with no prior knowledge in the field as well as those with previous experience who would like to develop their understanding further in a small group setting.
This course is for you if:
• You have a general interest in art history and would like to acquire a new approach to understanding cultural, aesthetic and historical exchange
• You have a specific interest in the history of Oceania, colonialism and/or contemporary art
• You would like to enrich your knowledge with an expert perspective and explore pressing issues in museum studies in detail
• You have a personal or professional interest in how cultural objects can be presented and interpreted
Minimum age 18
What's included?
• A rich combination of lectures, discussion and debate led by experts in the field
• An exploration of cutting-edge approaches to cultural production and museum studies
• Complimentary entry to, and a directed visit of, the Oceania exhibition
• A chance to socialise and network in a friendly and supportive environment
• Light refreshments throughout the weekend
• A drinks reception on Saturday
• A certificate of participation upon course completion
Dr Kathryn Brown is a lecturer in art history at Loughborough University where she leads a research group on Museums, Markets, and Critical Heritage. She has published widely on nineteenth and twentieth-century French painting, artists’ books, contemporary art and the art market. Her most recent book is Matisse’s Poets: Critical Performance in the Artist’s Book and she is currently writing a critical life of Matisse for Reaktion Books, editing a book on Digital Humanities and Art History for Routledge, and working on a new translation of Tristan Tzara’s art criticism.
Our programme of short courses and classes offers the opportunity to explore a range of subjects, led by expert tutors and practising artists.