From field to fieldwork : the exhibition catalogue and art history in Australia

Abstract

This thesis examines the transformation of the exhibition catalogue in Australia, from modest exhibition documentation to autonomous publication. This discussion is largely confined to exhibition catalogues produced by Australia's public galleries between approximately1965-2002. The thesis considers why the exhibition catalogue experienced such a dramatic change in such a relatively short period. The thesis reveals how catalogues are shaped by the internal tensions and external pressures experienced by art institutions as their roles and responsibilities change over time. During the period in question, catalogues have kept track of developments in art history by experimenting with changing curatorial fashions and critical approaches. Viewed as a time series, the exhibition catalogue reveals subtle and significant clues about art in its changing institutional setting. The thesis explores the professionalisation of the public gallery network, the nexus between academic art history and the museum, and pressures affecting the management of exhibitions in Australia. Each of these factors has influenced the development of the exhibition catalogue. It is shown how catalogues possess a multiplicity of values, which are often contradictory, and how these values determine the catalogue's practical, commemorative and informative functions. To better understand the relationship between the art museum and the contexts and discourses within which art is produced and disseminated for critical appraisal, this thesis will draw upon a body of theoretical literature broadly known as the sociology of art. The work of Pierre Bourdieu provides a general theoretical framework. Methodologically, the thesis is qualitative. The massive proliferation of exhibition catalogues in Australia since the mid-1970s has meant that the samples examined are broadly representative. In this respect, the thesis has followed the examples of earlier, though less comprehensive, studies from abroad.