THE ART - Canberra 100

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“THE CENTENARY OF CANBERRA IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL AUSTRALIANS TO CELEBRATE THE GREAT ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE CANBERRA REGION AND INDEED OUR NATION. THAT IS WHY THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT HAS CONTRIBUTED $67.6 MILLION TO THE CENTENARY OF CANBERRA.” (Simon Crean, MP Minister for Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government, in a news release regarding the Centenary Scientific Residency Commission, 30 March 2012) As part of the centenary, and the many commissioned works to be presented in 2013, three commissioned artistic works are presented as part of this resource. STELLRSCOPE BY ELEANOR GATES-STUART—A MAJOR VISUAL ARTS PRODUCTION, QUESTACON 2013 THE STORY OF THIS WORK OF ART AND ITS ACQUISITION StellrScope is a perfect example of the fusion of art, science, mathematics and digital technologies to produce an extraordinarily creative and innovative art work. It is sure to inspire all viewers, including school students, about the beauty of, not just the visual arts, but also science and mathematics. This exciting project comes about through the Centenary Science Art Commission. The Centenary of Canberra Unit of the Chief Minister and Cabinet Directorate of the ACT Government launched a Science Art competition for a commission and exhibition in 2013 of new work. The Request for Proposal, late 2011, called for a research and development program in collaboration with a nominated science institution approved by the Territory. The intention was that an artist from the Canberra region would work in residence with a nominated science institution to develop a new work for exhibition for the Centenary of Canberra. An associated aim was to draw attention to the great strengths of Canberra in the field of science and some of the interesting ways that Canberra artists are working with scientists and innovative technologies to produce new works. Eleanor Gates-Stuart was awarded the commission with her concept of StellrScope and her residency is with CSIRO. Her project explores and builds on the story connecting the Canberra region to Australia’s major crop, wheat, from the time of William Farrer through to the modern era. As a fine arts practitioner, to an artist working in fields of design, digital art and communicating science, Gates-Stuart has taken on what she describes as a ‘massive’ project, to tell this agricultural and scientific story in new and exquisitely beautiful ways. As more than one person has said to her, ‘Who would have thought wheat could be so interesting!’ StellrScope focuses on the physical and biochemical traits of organisms in physical plant structures, simplifying complex visualisation data and images to construct a digital video. It uses the latest technology, multiple digital projects and digital alignment to immerse viewers in the world of wheat so that they can see the remarkable stages of wheat growth and development and the importance of, as one of Gates-Stuart’s science colleagues expressed it, researching ‘the holes in bread’. William Farrer understood the importance of wheat for Australia and he experimented with cross breeding, one of his main tools being tweezers. CSIRO continues to work with wheat, using highly sophisticated tools and techniques, to improve the quality of bread for the benefit of today’s citizens and associated economic growth. In the media news release, 30 March 2012, announcing that Gates-Stuart was the local artist to take up the Centenary scientific residency, the ACT Chief Minister, Katy Gallagher, commented that recognising Canberra’s role in the nation’s scientific achievements was an important goal and legacy of the Centenary and Mr Crean, MP, said that Gates-Stuart’s proposal joined the dots between art, science and agriculture. The acquisition of this project is significant for Canberra and Australia as a whole. This project, probably more accurately described as an event, will result in a series of scientific art works for exhibition at Questacon in August 2013, during the celebration of 25 years of Questacon. It will be an interactive, immersive environment. An exhibition documenting the StellrScope residency will also be presented at the CSIRO Discovery Centre including a series of digital art works. 12 THE ART OF BRINGING THE ARTS TO CANBERRA
GOING FURTHER •• Research the life and work of Eleanor Gates-Stuart who comes from an English background and is a printmaker by trade. Like Jan Brown (Icarus) she studied at the Chelsea College of Art. •• Explore Gates-Stuart’s association with the Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science (CPAS). It is the world’s most diverse academic science communication centre, located at the ANU in Canberra. They train highly qualified scientists to become skilled communicators who can excite the imagination of the public about science and encourage informed decisions about scientific issues that will concern us in the 21 st century. •• Follow Gates-Stuart’s work— www.eleanorgatesturat.com.au/ egs/RESEARCH. •• Visit the CSIRO Discovery Centre regarding the work being done around the issue of food. •• Visit Megalo Print studios. •• Experiment with digital image processing (e.g. photoshop) to layer students’ photographs. •• Research William Farrer (b. 1845) and his work with wheat, conducted in the Canberra region. He and his wife, Nina, lived at Cuppacumbalong near Tharwa, and then at Lambrigg, just a short distance from the suburb of Gordon, where he is buried. MAGICal (re)Mix by Eleanor Gates-Stuart SECTION 3 13
Page 1 and 2: THE ART OF BRINGING THE ARTS TO CAN
Page 3 and 4: CONTENTS SECTION 1 Introduction: th
Page 5 and 6: THE EDUCATIONAL LANDSCAPE THE CENTE
Page 7 and 8: GOING FURTHER ART CHALLENGES OUR PE
Page 9 and 10: GOING FURTHER MacDonald’s paintin
Page 11 and 12: Great Hall Tapestry (1984 - 88) Art
Page 13: Image courtesy of Ben Wrigley GOING
Page 17 and 18: It’s time. MOST SECRET PRIME T IM
Page 19 and 20: of petroglyphs (art etched onto the
Page 21 and 22: THE AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM: ENGLISH
Page 23 and 24: FOUR BEAUTIFUL SEASONS, TWELVE FANT

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