Fiona Hall: Force Field Education Kit - Museum of Contemporary Art

MCA Education KitPage1EDUCATION KITFiona Hall Cell Culture 2001-02 (detail) glass beads, silver wire, Tupperware, vitrine vitrine: 157 x 247 x 90 cmSouth Australian Government Grant 2002, Art Gallery of South AustraliaCourtesy of the artist and Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney, Australia © the artistMuseum of Contemporary Art, Sydney6 March – 1 June 2008City Gallery Wellington, New Zealand12 July – 1 October 2008Christchurch City Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu, New Zealand4 December 2008 – 1 March 2009

MCA Education KitPage2CONTENTSIntroduction 3Ways to use this kit 3Curriculum Connections (includes Postmodernism Focus) 4Exhibition Overview 6Curatorial Intention: Key Themes 7Artwork Analysis with Image, Curatorial or Artist Practice, Focus Questions and Activities• Artwork Analysis 1: Amazonical (2007) 10• Artwork Analysis 2: Mourning Chorus (2007–08) 13Secondary Case Study: MCA Collection in Context – The Price is Right (1994) 17Two Post-visit Practical Activities for Primary Level• Activity 1: Soap Carving: Hybrid Creatures 18• Activity 2: Metal Embossing 20Post-visit Practical Activity for Secondary Level• Darkroom Photography Exercise: Photograms 21Additional Teaching and Learning Suggestions – Focus Questions and Activities• Primary Level 22• Secondary Level 23Glossary 26Further reading and research 27Evaluation Questionnaire: MCA Education Kits 28Acknowledgements 29

MCA Education KitPage3INTRODUCTIONThis online Education Kit has been producedby the Museum of Contemporary Art tosupport the exhibition Fiona Hall: Force Fieldin Sydney and during the exhibition tour toNew Zealand. Fiona Hall: Force Field wasorganised and toured by the MCA inpartnership with City Gallery Wellington.Fiona Hall: Force Field is a major survey ofwork by Australian artist Fiona Hall, bringingtogether photographs, videos and sculpturalinstallations encompassing thirty years ofpractice.This kit offers an insight into Hall’s work andartistic practice, which explores theintersection of nature and culture. Keyworks in the exhibition are examined toprovide background information about thework, themes, connections and concerns inHall’s art.A special feature is a focus on post-visitpractical art activities for primary andsecondary level.Please note: This exhibition containsartworks featuring nudity and sexualimagery. Some works may not be suitablefor younger audiences, especially Primarystudents. MCA Learning recommends thatteachers should preview the exhibitionbefore bringing classes, or contact MCALearning for further information at thebooking stages.WAYS TO USE THIS KITThis resource is intended for use by teachersand students of Primary and Secondaryclasses, as well as a general guide forTertiary and community arts audiences.The material in this kit is designed forstudents of Visual Arts and Photographic &Digital Media, but is also relevant for thestudy of English, especially for the study ofVisual Literacy and History.The kit can be utilised by education groupsengaging directly with the works during theclass excursion as well as individual studyand research. The images, activities andideas can assist with pre-visit preparationand during the gallery visit, and to developpost-visit activities.The material is intended to complement theinformation provided in the exhibitionpublication, exhibition room brochure,SKETCH (a resource written by the artist for8 – 14 year olds) and SKETCH Junior foryounger audiences, MCA Artist’s Voice andthe exhibition wall texts.Teachers are advised to adapt theseactivities to suit their students’ needs or tointegrate areas of this resource into existingclassroom units of study. Focus questionsand activities are included to stimulatediscussion and critical thinking by students,and to lead to a deeper investigation of theissues raised by Fiona Hall.Key terms are defined in the glossary at theend of this kit. A guide to additional readingand resources has been provided to assistwith further study.

MCA Education KitPage4CURRICULUM CONNECTIONSTeachers are encouraged to adapt syllabuslinks from the list below to suit the system oftheir school’s state or their country. Usethese suggestions as a starter for planning,or talk to MCA Learning staff for furtherideas.For senior students in New South Wales,Fiona Hall: Force Field is an ideal context todevelop Case Studies, investigating Artist’sPractice or Curatorial Practice and looking atapproaches to photography, sculpture andinstallation. The study of the exhibition in theMuseum environment during the class visitto the MCA provides a valuable opportunityto look at the Conceptual Framework, andstudy the Frames through engaging with theworks of art, or to look at the development ofa Body of Work.Fiona Hall’s research approaches, range ofhistorical and contemporary sources, andconnections to global and intimate themesmeans the exhibition is an excellentopportunity for the study of the PostmodernFrame.See the Focus Questions and Activitiessections for further syllabus-linked teachingand learning ideas.Visual Arts/Creative Arts• The role of the Contemporary Museum• Working in series, developing a Body ofWork• Postmodernism (see below for furtherdetails)• Conceptual Framework—Artist, Artwork,Audience, World• Exposure to a range of artistic practice• Diversity of media and techniques• Art and politics, art and current events• Artist’s Practice• Identity and self• Art History, Art Criticism• The role of the body in contemporary artpractice• Feminist perspectives• Appropriation and recontextualisation• Art and politics, art and current events,art and personal histories• Narrative in art• Critiquing the Role of the Museum(Historical and Contemporary)Postmodernism Focus:Fiona Hall: Force Field connects to the HSCVisual Art Postmodern Frame through:• The Body / Gender politics• Postcolonialism/Colonial history• The domestic and the everyday• Politics, Consumer culture, Global trade• Collaboration• Appropriation and recontextualisation• Language and text• Fluidity, multiple readings andinterconnectedness (the exhibition titleForce Field refers to overlappingenergies and ideas)• Examining and critiquing systems oftrade and exchange• Humour and irony• Critique of museums and museologicaldisplay, especially the impulse tosystematise and classify• Art which pushes or crosses boundariesand territories• Art which is challenging and provocativeEnglish• Analysing Visual Texts• Oral and research skills• Response to visual stimuli• Creative writing and response• Critical essays and reviewsPhotographic & Digital Media; TimebasedArts• Allusions to popular culture including film• The photographic portrait• The place of photography in the canonof art and art history• Photography as documentation – truthand artifice

MCA Education KitPage5• The moving image – video andinstallation• Multimedia presentationsAustralian History• Post colonialism, colonialism andcontactSociety and Environment• Visual arts as a reflection ofcontemporary culture• Visual arts as a reflection of cultural orpersonal identity• Ecology – plants, animals and ecologicalprocesses of Australia and othercountriesPUBLICATIONFiona Hall: Force FieldThis new 96 page publication, co-publishedby City Gallery Wellington and Museum ofContemporary Art, features essays byVivienne Webb (MCA) and Greg O’Brien(City Gallery Wellington), an interview withthe artist and Paula Savage (City GalleryWellington) and full colour plates.Available from MCA Store, RRP$39.95/MCA Members $31.96ESL/NESB/CALD• Developing a visual arts vocabulary list• Written and oral responses• Cultural identity and issues in the visualarts• Australian culture and historyMCA EDUCATION PROGRAMSTo book a group visit to the MCA to viewFiona Hall: Force Field, or for information oneducation programs and services linked tothis exhibition please contactMCA Learning education@mca.com.au 029245 2484 or www.mca.com.au/educationFiona Hall in Guyana, 2007

MCA Education KitPage6EXHIBITION OVERVIEWFiona Hall: Force FieldAt the core of Fiona Hall’s work is theintersection of nature and culture. Over thepast four decades her art has focussed onthe natural world—its complex processes aswell as its wonders—and in recent years hasreflected an increasing concern at the impactof humans upon it.Like a ‘force field’ of conflicting energies,Hall’s art is shaped by the histories ofcolonisation, systems of knowledge, and theethics of consumption. Her sources rangefrom the historical to the contemporary, andfrom the global to the domestic, drawingupon literature, politics, finance, media,science, sexuality, gardening andmetaphysics. Her art negotiates theboundaries between competing interests andexerts a subtle yet precise engagement withthem.the last decade that chart the overlappingterritories of power, politics and theenvironment. Some reflect Hall’s recentinterest in camouflage—defence patternstaken from nature and adapted for militarypurposes. Others weave together narrativesof global trade and colonial history, ofenlightenment and exploitation.Fiona Hall: Force Field aims to reveal a kindof archaeological layering of the artist’sformal and conceptual concerns, as well ascontinuities in her practice over time. Notonly is her work remarkable for theconsistency of its ideas and interests, butalso for its relentless pursuit of new artisticpossibilities and its capacity to engage withshifting social and environmental conditions. 1This exhibition presents an in-depth surveyof works from the 1970s to the present. Bornin Sydney and based in Adelaide, Hall beganworking with photography but has extendedinto diverse media including sculpture,installation, moving image and gardendesign. Her work is characterised by its useof ordinary objects and materials, which aretransformed into complex and allusive artworks.The exhibition is divided into zones whereworks from different phases of Hall’s careerare brought together. The works in thisgallery date from the 1980s and 1990s andexplore aspects of the domestic realm andconsumption. The adjacent section revolvesaround ideas of the body. Another selectionon this level reflects upon connectionsbetween various life forms, while at thecentre of the exhibition is a group of worksthat explore humanity’s relationship to natureand our concepts of Paradise. Themezzanine level features works largely fromHoldfast (Macrocystic angustifolia) 2007tin, aluminium 27.5 x 27.2 x 2 cmCourtesy of the artist and Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney, Australia© the artist1 MCA introductory wall text, 2008

MCA Education KitPage7CURATORIAL INTENTIONS: KEYTHEMESFiona Hall: Force Field is curated into sixdifferent thematic ‘chapters’ or ‘zones’ whereworks from different phases of the artist’scareer are brought together in a galleryspace.Presenting her art in this way reveals thediversity yet consistency across her earlierand recent practice. This allows theaudience to discover a kind of archaeologicallayering of her formal and conceptualconcerns and to trace the artist’s artisticdevelopment or re-investigations. Not only isHall’s work remarkable for the continuity ofher ideas and interests, but also for itsrestless pursuit of new artistic possibilitiesand its capacity to re-engage with shiftingsocial and environmental issues.Focus Questions:• Suggest three alternative themes tocurate Fiona Hall’s works into.• Which other works by Fiona Hall could fitinto some of these themes?• Make a list of works which crossbetween themes. Which is the work orseries of works which connects to themost themes?• Investigate other ways you could curateFiona Hall’s artworks. For example:chronologically, by media or by methodand materials. Make an illustratedexhibition floorplan and curatorialstatement to support your ideas.• Interview a member of your class or amember of the public to discover theirresponse to this curatorial concept.1. Domestic/ConsumptionThe exhibition opens with a suite of worksdating from the 1980s and 1990s thatexplore ideas of the domestic realm. While‘home is where the heart is’, it is also a zonein which the material, emotional and spiritualaspects of life jostle, clash and sometimesachieve a tentative equilibrium. The ethicsand politics of daily life take shape throughthe forms of familiar household items –everyday, throw-away materials reflectingthe many decisions and rituals ofconsumption.Featured works:The price is right (1994)Medicine bundle for the non-born child(1994)Give a dog a bone (1996)The Social Fabric (1996)2. Symbiosis/InterrelationsAnother grouping of works exploresconnections between diverse life forms. Alertto the extraordinary capabilities of animalsand plant life, their precise adaptations andintricate interaction, Hall’s art frequentlyechoes the workings of the natural world andthe processes of adaptation and interactionshe observes there. Humans are drawn intothe mutually supportive and, at times,competitive relationships between species:insects; plants; marine organisms. We arenot external to, but enmeshed within thecomplex and delicate web of the naturalworld.Featured works:Holdfast (Macrocystic angustifolia) (2007)Dead in the water (1999)Insectivorous (2006)Castles in the air of the cave dwellers (2007)Amazonical (2007)3. BodyBoth early and recent works reflect Hall’salertness to the body not only as somethingsexual, vulnerable and a part of ‘nature’, butalso as a political and complex entity. The

MCA Education KitPage8body is a site shaped by influences andconcepts from the surrounding world,including the media, morality, science andreligion. Yet the physical form also embodiesa sensual, experiential knowledge and thisdisjunction provides a dynamic within Hall’swork. Witty, playful and even shocking, thesecreations tease and provoke our sense ofprivacy and propriety.Featured works:Pupa (2005)Syntax of flowers (1992)Scar Tissue (2003–04)Manly Beach (1985)Collaroy Beach (Eko and Max Pam) (1985)Words (1990)Morality dolls – the seven deadly sins (1984)4. Paradise / NatureAt the centre of the exhibition is a group ofworks that explore humanity’s relationship tonature and concepts of Paradise. Severalseries of works revolve around humanity’sage-old desire for harmony with nature andfor a return to the Garden of Eden. In Hall’sart, conflicting systems for understandingand controlling the natural world compete forour attention. Botanical Latin, vernacular andindigenous languages propose competingframeworks for knowing and classifying thebiodiversity around us. Although nature iscentral to culture, religion and science, it isultimately owned and contained by none.Featured works:Paradisus Terrestris (1998–2005)Occupied Territory (1995)Cell Culture (2001–02)Paradise (1984)5. TerritoryA number of works chart the overlappingterritories of power, politics and theenvironment. Some reflect the artist’s recentinterest in camouflage–defence patternstaken from nature and adapted for militarypurposes, which has infiltrated our daily livesthrough media reportage of terrorism andwarfare. Several works are dedicated to thedisappearance of species and thedegradation of bio-systems. Throughmapping the convergence of human andnature, Hall reflects upon what we have lostalready and what we still stand to lose.Featured works:Mourning Chorus (2007–08)Tender (2003–05)Amnesiac’s Cartography (Narrow Road,Deep Chasm) (2007)Mire (2005)Breeding Ground (2007)Stronghold (2008)Leura, New South Wales (1974)6. TradeThis section includes works from the lastdecade of Hall’s practice which weavetogether narratives of global trade andcolonial history, of enlightenment andexploitation. This room is encircled by thesweeping scope of Hall’s ongoing majorwork When my boat comes in (2002–) whichpresents an extended meditation on theinterrelation of plants and human activity.This work and others within this spaceincorporate banknotes and evoke the valuewe attribute to plants and their role in theflow of finance. The global scale of thecurrencies is nevertheless tied to individualdesire and consumption and loops back toconnect with other threads drawn out withinthe exhibition. 2Featured works:When my boat comes in (2002– )Cash Crop (1998)Understorey (1999–2004)2Fiona Hall: Force Field room brochure, Vivienne Webb, Curator,Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, Gregory O’Brien, SeniorCurator, City Gallery Wellington, 2008

MCA Education KitPage9Fiona Hall Cash Crop 1998soap, gouache on banknotes, labels, vitrinevitrine: 132 x 130 x 160cmCollection: Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney – Contemporary Collection Benefactors Program 2000© the artist

MCA Education KitPage10ARTWORK ANALYSIS 1Amazonical 2007Fiona Hall Amazonical 2007 (stills)video 12:25 minutesCourtesy of the artist and Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney, Australia© the artist

MCA Education KitPage11ARTWORK ANALYSISAmazonical 2007video12:25 minutesCourtesy of the artist and Roslyn Oxley9Gallery, Sydney, AustraliaCurator’s Quote‘Viewing Fiona Hall’s work is like entering alush garden full of fertile materials, wondrousinvention and surprising, even shockingcreations. Strange creatures capture theimagination and a mass of intricate detailrewards intense scrutiny. Yet the designingintellect and hand of the gardener areeverywhere evident and beneath the wildprofusion there lies an intriguing sense oforder.’ 3Artwork Information/ Artist’s IntentionAmazonical was filmed in September 2007 onan expedition to Guyana with staff from theAdelaide Botanic Gardens, following in thefootsteps of Richard and Robert Schomburgkwho carried out extensive natural history,ethnographic and surveying work in BritishGuyana in the 1830s. A specimen of the giantwaterlily which they collected was sent toLondon and named Victoria regia, in honour ofQueen Victoria.Its exotic flowers and the massive size andunusual form of its leaves captured theVictorian imagination. The plant was grown intropical hot-houses, where babies and youngchildren were placed upon its leaves to bephotographed. The ribbed under-structure ofthe leaves inspired architect Joseph Paxton,who was first to successfully flower the lily, inhis design for the Crystal Palace, built for theGreat Exhibition of London in 1851.3Vivienne Webb, ‘Human Nature’, Fiona Hall: Force Field, Museum ofContemporary Art (exh.cat.), 2008, p. 11Now known botanically as Victoria amazonica,this giant waterlily has been found to possessanother unusual characteristic: scientists havediscovered that the flower, which opens atdusk, not only exudes an intense perfume toattract pollinating beetles, but raises its internaltemperature considerably to entice them intoits centre. Willing captives, they spend all nightin an atmosphere which has been describedas a ‘nightclub for beetles’. They remaintrapped inside all the next day, then arereleased at dusk, laden with pollen, to fly toanother opening flower and repeat theprocess.Fiona Hall, 2008Materials and Methods: TechnologyAmazonical is one of three video works inFiona Hall: Force Field, as video is a newermedium for the artist. Fiona Hall uses videotechnology to create a studied, gentle, poeticmood. Long, panoramic views of the river arecontrasted with detailed views of plants,birdlife and insects. There are no humanvoices, only sounds from the environment andthe boat moving through the water. Fiona Hallused a hand-held camera to shoot footagefrom the side of a boat moving along the river.This technique is reminiscent of both naturedocumentaries and home-movies, creating asense of intimate connection with thelandscape and tourist experiences ofdiscovery, and placing the viewer in the boatalong with the artist.Artist’s PracticeIn September 2007 Fiona Hall participated in avoyage mounted by the Adelaide BotanicGardens down the Rupununi River in Guyana,South America. This area of the Amazon basinis rich in biological diversity and during theexpedition plant specimens were collected andprepared for the South Australian StateHerbarium archive, Adelaide, along with seedsof specimens to be propagated and grown inthe recently rebuilt tropical waterlily house,now known as the Amazon Waterlily Pavilion.

MCA Education KitPage12The journey provided the artist with materialfor artworks on display in the exhibition FionaHall: Force Field, including the new video workAmazonical and the installation Castles in theair of the cave dwellers. Fiona Hall recordedthe voyage in Log: Journal of a River Voyage,Guyana 2007. This video documentarydemonstrates the artist’s ongoing process ofengaging with scientists and with research intothe natural world.Fiona Hall and Vivienne Webb, 2008Key Themes• Symbiosis• The complex relationship betweenhumanity and the natural world• Knowledge and power: howunderstandings of nature have changedover time, from myth and fantasy toscience and data• The absurd wonder and intelligence of thenatural world• Colonialism: interpreting the world throughWestern systems of knowledge andcategorisation. “Discovering” existingcountries or ecosystems• Threat, greed and seduction: conflict anddesire surround access to preciousresources, which often come from natureDefinitionSymbiosis: interaction between two differentorganisms living in close physical association,typically to the advantage of both. 44 Judy Pearsall (ed.), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, OxfordUniversity Press, 1998Focus Questions and ActivitiesPrimary:• What else can you see in the video apartfrom the Victoria amazonica waterlily?• Complete a research project about theflora and fauna (plants and animals) of theAmazon basin, focussing on one plant oranimal that particularly interests you. Findout where the plant or animal lives andwhat its special characteristics are. Makea collage using images of the plant oranimal printed from the internet, orphotocopied from books.• Visit your local Botanic Gardens andobserve the relationship between plantsand insects. Make your observations intoa storyboard of events.Secondary:• Compare and contrast Amazonical withtwo of Fiona Hall’s other works using theStructural Frame.• How does Amazonical raise issues relatedto power? Consider the PostmodernFrame and write an essay using threeexamples from the work to support yourargument.• Research a plant that has an interestingcultural association. This could be anintroduced species now considered aweed, or a plant used in traditionalceremonies or rituals. Research its habitatand if possible, find a living example (butdo not interfere with the plant if it isendangered, protected, or in a NationalPark or Botanical Garden). Alternatively,find an image in a botanical book. Createa series of detailed drawings of the plantin ink, pencil or charcoal. Find materialrelated to its cultural associations, such asweed eradication information, ordocumentation of ceremonies or rituals.Create a collage using your drawing andmaterial, considering how the placementof your material creates meaning, ornarrative. Title your work and display it inyour classroom or school.

MCA Education KitPage13ARTWORK ANALYSIS 2Mourning Chorus 2007– 08Fiona Hall Mourning Chorus (2007 – 08) resin, plastic, vitrine dimensions variableCourtesy of the artist and Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney, Australia © the artist. Photograph: Greg WeightFiona Hall Mourning Chorus (2007 – 08) (detail) resin, plastic, vitrine dimensions variableCourtesy of the artist and Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney, Australia © the artist

MCA Education KitPage14ARTWORK ANALYSIS 2Mourning Chorus 2007–08resin, plastic, vitrinedimensions variableCourtesy of the artist and Roslyn Oxley9Gallery, Sydney, AustraliaCurator’s QuoteFiona Hall’s recent work Mourning Chorus(2007-08) refers to the demise of the once‘deafening’ song of New Zealand’s birdfauna. This work brings togethercharacteristic aspects of Hall’s practice; floraand fauna are represented by reworkedfound objects and an ironic reference ismade to the museological practice ofcollecting specimens—species that wereonce seen in nature are now only seen deadin the museum.Eleven extinct or endangered bird speciesare represented by disposable plasticchemical containers animated by carved andcast resin beaks. Bottles of toxic chemicalsthat eradicate insects, for example ‘Beetleand Grub Killer’ stand as a metaphor for thedestruction of bird species and light uprandomly as though flickering to life. All thisis visible through the delicate vinyl patternsof native New Zealand plant foliage, spreadacross the glass panels. The complex circuitof wires below the coffin connects the birdsto the earth, as though allowing the toxicliquid to drain into the ground, causingfurther destruction.Mourning Chorus is a work born out of Hall’sinterest in the environment and humanity’simpact on it. During an artist residency inNew Zealand in 2006, she began to researchthe politics of bird extinction. Describing NewZealand “like a silent island” 5 , Hall recalledreading an entry dated 6 February 1770 fromthe diary of Joseph Banks, “This morning Iwas awaked by the singing of the birdsashore... the numbers of them were certainlyvery great…their voices were certainly the[most] melodious wild musick I have everheard, almost imitating small bells but withthe most tuneable silver sound imaginable.” 6The discrepancy between Banks’ descriptionof New Zealand and her own formed theconceptual framework for this artwork.Isabel Finch, 2008Research InformationMany Australian and New Zealand bird andplant species have evolved from a commonancestry, with shared origins from the timewhen both lands were part of the ancient,southern super continent known asGondwana. However the subsequent post-Gondwanan development of New Zealandfauna took a very different path: an absenceof native mammals and snakes enabled thecontinued evolution of unique bird species,many of them flightless and ground-nesting.Waves of human migration over the past 900years have disrupted this vulnerable ecosystem.The introduction of predatoryanimals such as rats, stoats and weaselshas devastated the populations of numerousspecies. Land-clearance and the arrival ofother environmental competitors such aspossums and rabbits have hammered morenails into the coffin of the demise of NewZealand’s birds.Of the eleven bird species represented inMourning Chorus nine are extinct, and two,the Kakapo and the Little Spotted Kiwi, areextinct in their native habitats but undergoingbreeding programs on several of NewZealand’s off-shore island sanctuaries whichhave been cleared of vermin. A number ofthe birds and all of the tree speciesrepresented in Mourning Chorus are closely5 Discussions between Fiona Hall and Isabel Finch, unpublished, 24March 2008.6 Quoted in The Future Eaters, Tim Flannery, Grove Press, New York,1994, p. 65.

MCA Education KitPage15related through their Gondwanan ancestry toothers native to Australia.Fiona Hall, 2008Artist’s PracticeFiona Hall spent time in New Zealand onKapiti Island, situated off the south coast ofthe North Island. Kapiti Island is a naturereserve where rare and ancient NewZealand flora and fauna includingendangered bird species are protected.Visitors numbers are limited and permissionis usually granted for day visits. Hall wasgranted permission to stay on the island for aweek to conduct her research.The artist also spent time at Te PapaTongawera Museum of New Zealand,Wellington and Auckland Museumresearching the extinct birds featured inMourning Chorus. Hall looked at skeletonsand archive material in order to accuratelyrecreate each of the birds’ beaks. She alsovisited the Australian Museum to conductresearch for this work. Fiona Hall made theartwork during a residency at AucklandUniversity.Key Themes• Territory• The impact of humans on theenvironment• Global interconnectedness of humansand plant and animal species• Museology; how systems of knowledgeand categorization impact on ourunderstanding and use of the naturalenvironment• Colonialism• EvolutionDefinitionMuseology: the science or practice oforganising, arranging, and managingmuseums. 77Judy Pearsall (ed.), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, OxfordUniversity Press, 1998Focus Questions and ActivitiesPrimary:• Complete a research project on KapitiIsland. Find out about the significance ofthe island in Maori history andcontemporary culture; the impact ofEuropean arrivals on the islandenvironment; the conservation work thathas been completed, and the uniqueflora and fauna of the island (includingthe marine environment).• Study this artwork in the galleryenvironment. With your classmates,write a list of all the different displayeffects you can see which add to thelook of the artwork. For instance, thecoffin-shaped cabinet, the room lighting,the colour and shape of the surroundingroom.• Using masking tape and recycledobjects such as used and washed foodcartons, old packaging, string, shreddedpaper, newspapers and magazines, orcardboard boxes, make a sculpture ofone of the birds or plants that you learnabout in your research project.Secondary:• Write an essay that explores the impactof colonialism on the environment inAustralia. Compare and contrastIndigenous Australian uses and attitudestowards the land with colonial, Europeanuses and attitudes. Use specificexamples and include at least fivereferences in your bibliography.• Fiona Hall has used found material inthis work. How does her use of foundobjects such as bottles of toxic cleanerscontribute meaning to the work?• Develop a sculpture using found orrecycled materials that explores therelationship between humans and thenatural world. Consider manipulating thefound material in interesting ways, orexploiting the qualities of the object tocommunicate your ideas. You may

MCA Education KitPage16include your own drawings, photographsor collage in your work. Document yourprocesses in you VAPD and title yourwork. Present your work to your classwith an explanation of your processesand ideas.Further Reading and Resources on KapitiIsland and New Zealand birdsNew Zealand Department of ConservationTe Papa Atawhai website,http://www.doc.govt.nz/templates/PlaceProfile.aspx?id=35101Kapiti Island and Kapiti Marine Reserveenvironmental education kit, available on theNew Zealand Department of ConservationTe Papa Atawhai website,http://www.doc.govt.nz/templates/MultiPageDocumentTOC.aspx?id=42818‘Online Collection’ (search results for ‘birds’),Te Papa Tongawera Museum of NewZealand website,http://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/Search.aspx?imagesonly=on&advanced=colCollectionType%3ABirdsFiona Hall Mourning Chorus (2007 – 08) (detail) resin, plastic, vitrinedimensions variable Courtesy of the artist and Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery,Sydney, Australia © the artist

MCA Education KitPage17SECONDARY CASE STUDY: MCA COLLECTION IN CONTEXTThe Price is Right 1994Polyethylene containers, ceramic plate, electrical components, dimensions variableMuseum of Contemporary Art, purchased 1995 © the artist photograph: Jenni CarterThe Price is Right is a major installation constructed from unassuming polyethylene ‘Tupperware’containers. Sensor-activated lights flash Morse code from inside the opaque containers whenviewers approach, cumulatively spelling out the sentence “I have the misfortune of not being afool”. The work’s obscure Morse code message is a line appropriated from Charles Dickens’ 1857rags-to-riches tale Little Dorrit, a book which cautions against precisely the kind of “get rich quick”aspirations now promoted by television game shows, such as the one which gives the work its title.Hall’s use of common household items is characteristic of her practice, suggesting the consumeristideals of middle class domesticity, such as the social activities of the ‘Tupperware Party’. Hallimbues these domestic objects with unexpected beauty, elements of the fantastic and wry socialcommentary.The Price is Right and Give a Dog a Bone (1996) are two works in Force Field from the MCACollection. Acquired by the MCA in 1995, The Price is Right reflected the shift in the Museum’scollecting focus towards major works by Australian artists. The collection of this work also extendsthe Museum’s substantial body of light works and art of political comment. 8Focus Questions:• How does Fiona Hall’s use of domestic objects comment on consumer culture?• Describe the process of transformation of the Tupperware objects, and the effect that this hason our reading of the work.• This work can be displayed in various configurations. How would you choose to display it atthe MCA or in another setting of your choice?• Why do you think the artist shows the tangle of electric cords at the bottom of this work?8Vivienne Webb, MCA Collection: New Acquisitions in Context , Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, 2005, p.17

MCA Education KitPage19• Sculptures can be installed onto upturnedplastic plates or squares of cardboard as a‘plinth’.Sections ready to join by toothpick. Photograph: Justine McLisky, 2008Sectioning the soap. Photograph: Justine McLisky, 2008Bird/camera hybrid soap carving. Photograph: Justine McLisky, 2008Painting the carving with food colouring. Photograph: Justine McLisky,2008

MCA Education KitPage20PRIMARY ACTIVITY 2Metal EmbossingLength: 1 – 2 hoursAge group: Years 3 – 6 (This activity canalso be adapted to suit Secondary students).make marks or rubbings through theback of the metal.• Frequent turning to look at the other sideof the metal will help students see whichmarks look best.• Sharp edges can rolled back around apencil for safety.After drawing plant or vegetable forms inspiredby Fiona Hall, students emboss their designinto metal “shim”, resulting in an elaborate anddecorative artwork.Materials:• Embossing aluminium shim. Aluminiumshim in 5 different colours is availablefrom S&S Supplies from $17.49 for a onemetre sheet or $14.50 for a pack of fiveA4 sheets.• Clay tools, pens, ice cream sticks,embossing tools or other objects such asspoons or dental tools.• Paper and pencils.• Plants or images of plants.Steps:• After viewing Fiona Hall: Force Field,students can either draw directly from theplant forms in her work or draw fromcollected plants (such as ferns andleaves) or from photocopies of botanicaldrawings.• Students should experiment withcomposition in their drawings:overlapping forms, making some formstouch the edges etc. The more detail inthe drawings––shading, patterning,dotting, cross-hatching– the better.• Students select their favourite drawingand re-draw in darker pencil or pen.• Teacher to place one pre-cut piece ofembossing metal (shim) in front of eachstudent. Each table should have aselection of clay tools, pens, pencils orembossing tools.• Students trace their drawing onto theback of the metal and use the tools toEmbossing the drawing design into the metal surface. Photograph:Museum of Contemporary Art, 2008Child’s completed artwork. Photograph: Justine McLisky 2008

MCA Education KitPage21POST-VISIT PRACTICAL ACTIVITY FORSECONDARY LEVELDarkroom Photography Exercise: Text andNature PhotogramsLength: 2-3 hoursAge group: Year 9-12Drawing on Fiona Hall’s themes of trade,currency and geographical history and herphotographic practice, students will createtheir own unique artworks that express afeeling of place.Students will develop these ideas through aseries of photogram images. They willdesign a personal motif based on abotanical specimen they locate within theschool or museum grounds, and use this asthe basis of their thematic investigation intoidentity, place and formal composition.• Students to contribute up to three otherobjects which have personalsignificance to them.• In the darkroom, under a safe light,Students to layer objects and plantmaterials onto 5x7 photographic paper.Students must use at least one sourceof text or Letraset for each composition.• Once a composition is developed,students can put the glass plate over thetop to keep their arrangement flat.• Students to make photograms of theircompositions using the enlarger as alight source, and develop these in theprovided chemicals.• Students to produce at least tenphotograms each. These can bedisplayed around the classroom in aseries, or overlaid onto each other in asimilar composition to Fiona Hall’sWhen my boat comes in (2002–)Materials:• Letraset or other text (you canphotocopy text, letters or headlines ontoclear plastic if you cannot find Letraset)• Plants and flowers collected outside.• Other objects such as jewellery or coinswhich have personal significance for thestudents.• Glass plates to keep the objects flat.Method:• Students to participate in a viewing ofFiona Hall: Force Field. A particularfocus is the works in the ‘Paradise’,‘Territory’ and ‘Trade’ zones, looking atHall’s composition and weaving togetherof materials and ideas.• Students to collect a range of plants andflowers from your garden or the schoolgrounds (make sure you are allowed todo this).Student examples of photograms, MCA Bella Workshop April 2008.

MCA Education KitPage22ADDITIONAL TEACHING AND LEARNINGSUGGESTIONS - FOCUS QUESTIONS ANDACTIVITIESPRIMARY LEVELPre-visitGoogle the artist’s name. In small groups writea word list about the artist and her work.Where was the artist born? Which countrieshas Fiona Hall travelled to and worked in?Locate these on a map or a globe.What is an installation? Devise a definition asa class and write this on the blackboard.Discuss what you think a ‘Force Field’ couldbe. What could the connection be with FionaHall?Currency is a key theme in this exhibition.Discuss and compare different kinds of money.If students are from other cultures, they canbring in currency from their country.Research some native plants or animals. Talkto the science teacher if you need assistance.How many different kinds of currency can youidentify in When my boat comes in (2002–).Look very closely–what do all these banknoteshave in common? (The artwork title gives youa clue.)Find the video Stronghold (2008). Why do youthink the artist wanted the work to be placed inthe wall? What was your reaction when yousaw the tarantula? Watch how other peoplereact when they see this work.Did you know that spider web is one of thethinnest and strongest threads in existence?Design and draw an artwork you could makewith spider web. Think of an interesting wayyou could install this artwork–would it be insidethe walls, in a corner or in a cabinet?Select one item in Dead in the water (1999).Use white pencil to draw the “above” and“below the water” views on two sheets of blackpaper. Use the pencil to try to capture thesurface detail of the objects, and leave areasof black paper to show the negative spaces.Make an illustrated timeline of key works inFiona Hall: Force Field.In the galleryFind two works which are made from domesticobjects. Write down the title, date, media(materials) of the works. What are thedifferences between the works?Look at how Fiona Hall transforms materials inher artwork. Locate and draw works which usethese processes: knitting, cutting, beading,weaving.Describe two different ways Fiona Hall hasmanipulated the materials of aluminium andmoney.Write a list of all the animals Fiona Hall hasfeatured in her works.Drawing Dead in the Water (1999). MCA School Holiday Programs,April 2008 Photograph: Justine McLisky

MCA Education KitPage23Post-visitArtwork titles are very important to Fiona Hall.Sometimes they are puns or refer to theunderlying meaning of the artwork. Use adictionary to find the definitions of some titlessuch as Understorey, Holdfast or Amnesiac’sCartography. If you could re-title one of theseworks, what would you call it and why?Using recycled shredded paper, experimentwith different weaving techniques to makebirds’ nests. Research one endangered birdand try to replicate the bird’s nest-makingtechniques. Hang the nests from the ceiling ofthe classroom.Design your own currency. Which countrywould it be for? You could invent a country, ormake it for another planet, or for your school orsuburb. What is the value? Who or what will beon the front? What you can buy?Fiona Hall is interested in the transformation ofobjects. She uses Tupperware in severaldifferent artworks and turns it into differentobjects of things. Study her use of this materialin Cell Culture (2001–02), Give a dog a bone(1996) and Understorey (1999–2004) . Selectone household object and brainstorm as agroup how many different things you could turnit into. Draw your ideas.Make some rubbings of leaves and plantsusing soft pencil or crayon. Make a layeredcollage with your rubbings.Using the resources in this kit, make a soapcarving and try metal embossing. Display yourartworks in your classroom and write a labelwith your artist’s statement.Construct a sculptural work using three ofFiona Hall’s materials and methods. Install thisin a natural setting, perhaps in your schoolgrounds or in your garden.SECONDARY LEVELPre-visitDefine some differences between sculptureand installation. Write your personal definitionin your VAPD.Research Fiona Hall’s background. Do youthink her family and her upbringing could haveinfluenced her practice? Why?Identify and discuss some global issues facingour world today. For instance, globalisation,environmental issues such as greenhousegases, world trade, changing territories or war.Research a Fiona Hall artwork which connectsto one of these issues.Identify and research the six thematic areasthat Fiona Hall: Force Field is divided into bythe curatorial team. Quickly brainstorm with apartner three words and images which youassociate with these words. Using yourknowledge of Fiona Hall’s practice, which ofher works would you put into each categoryand why?In the gallery“In the so-called developing world there’s agreat use of recycled materials, especially tin,for kitchen utensils…I do identify with theimpetus that materials can actually haveanother life and an aesthetic spark beyond theinitial advertising that the company hasdevised with logos and so on”. 9 In the‘Consumption’ section of the exhibition, write ashort paragraph in your VAPD describing howFiona Hall manipulates and transformseveryday materials to explore issues ofconsumer culture. Make some thumbnailsketches showing a close-up of the processes.Locate the works which are housed inmuseum-style vitrines (cabinets). Why do you9 Fiona Hall quoted in “Magic under the surface” The Australian, Friday 7March 2008

MCA Education KitPage24think the artist selected a cabinet to containthese particular works? What is the effect thatlooking into the cabinets has on the audience?Analyse how Fiona Hall uses this display tocritique or raise questions about howmuseums classify and display objects orartefacts.How do Fiona Hall’s works comment on orcritique history and language? Write down thedifferent ways you can identify that the artistuses text and signage in or on her works.Copy the different fonts you can see.Select two works and analyse how theseworks connect with the Postmodern Frame.What are some postmodern characteristics ofFiona Hall’s work? Describe the postmodernstrategies behind her use of irony,appropriation and humour?Locate and investigate Breeding Ground(2007). These beehives are painted withdifferent army camouflage patterns andinstalled underneath the stairs leading to theMCA’s Level 3 galleries. Why do you think theartist wanted the work installed here? What isthe effect on the audience? Where else couldthis work be installed to emphasise thecamouflage element of the work? Which otherworks have been placed in unusual orunexpected places?very narrow area.” 10 How do you thinkaesthetics and politics are connected in FionaHall’s work? Would you describe her as apolitical artist? Why or why not?”Research camouflage patterns in nature and inhuman use. Select three different camouflagepatterns and make a series of paintings orsculptural installations which explore ideas ofjourney, invasion and territory.Teachers can adapt the Metal Embossingactivity in this kit to suit Secondary students,and extend it to relate to Fiona Hall’sParadisus Terrestris series. Students can usescissors to extend the flat relief works intofiligreed works which stand on a plinth bycutting, folding and arranging the edges of thepiece to make this a three-dimensionalsculptural object. Students can extend therepoussé technique by working through theback of the metal to make works which arehighly modelled.Post-visitWhat are some continuing effects ofcolonisation on countries such as Australia,New Zealand or Sri Lanka? Describe somelasting effects on these countries’ nationalidentity, such as language, education orenvironment.Discuss the relationship between Fiona Hall’sartwork and the audience. Who do you thinkare the different audiences who wouldexperience this exhibition?“I think I subscribe to the idea that all art ispolitical, in its broader sense….but I wouldn’tclassify myself as a protest artist as that’s aStudent example of metal embossing and filigree sculpture, MCA 200810 Fiona Hall quoted in “Magic under the surface” The Australian, Friday 7March 2008

MCA Education KitPage25Fiona Hall Tender (details) 2003 – 05 US dollars, wire, vitrines 220 x 360 x 150 cm (installed, approx.) Collection: Queensland Art Gallery © the artist

MCA Education KitPage26GLOSSARYAppropriationRefers to the use of borrowed elements in thecreation of new work. In Postmodernism, thisterm refers to the way artists take visualelements from other sources andrecontextualise these elements in ways thatcreate new meanings from the old.CamouflageA kind of visual subterfuge used to hide ordisguise the presence of something.CuratorThe person responsible for the care, collection,interpretation and display of artworks, orobjects, in a museum or gallery. The term isalso used in parks and zoos. Curators incontemporary museums organise exhibitions,liaise with the artists directly, write cataloguesand labels and work with other departments inthe museum to arrange installations and publicprojects, as well as exhibitions in the galleryspaces.DiscourseWritten or spoken communication or debate. Inart, discourse means the conversation that isoccurring around theories and ideas aboutartworks and culture.FiligreeHighly detailed ornamentation or pattern, oftenfound in wire jewellery.GazeTo look or see with fixed intention. The gaze isa term used in art history and theory referringto the relationship between the viewer and thesubject, suggesting a position of power by theviewer over subject.GouacheAn opaque, quick-drying watercolour paint.HybridSomething that is made up of differentelements, suggesting a fluidity or multiplicity.ManipulationIn art, this term refers to the way an artisthandles their materials in the course ofproducing a work. It can also refer to the wayan image is changed using a computerprogram such as photoshop to alter an image.New MediaAn artform or art style which utilises newmedia technologies, such as the internet,digital film,computers, and other non-traditional media.OeuvreThe collective work of an artist , with regard tocharacteristics of style in their practice over theyears.PhysicalityOf or relating to the body. In art this oftenrefers to the way an artist uses their body inmaking the work as well as the physicalpresence of the work in a space in relation tothe viewer.Point of viewA position from which something is observedor considered, and the direction of the viewer’sgaze. In photography and film, point of view (orPOV) refers to positioning of the camera inrelationship to the viewer.PostmodernismA late 20 th century style and concept in thearts, architecture and criticism. Typicalfeatures include a deliberate mixing of stylesand media, self-conscious use of earlier stylesand conventions, and the incorporation ofimages relating to the consumerism and masscommunication of society.RepousséA process of creating an image or pattern inrelief, usually in metal, through hammering orpressing through the back of the object.SequenceRelated events, items or images which followeach other in a particular order in a set or

MCA Education KitPage27group. A sequence can be incorporated into aseries, but not the other way around.SeriesA set, number or sequence of things, events orimages of a similar or related nature whichcome after each other in succession.SymbolismA visual picture or image or emblem thatrepresents or describes something else byassociation, resemblance or convention.Tableau (plural: tableaux)A still scene arranged in painting, photographyor theatre.Type C photographA photograph printed from a negative (thedeveloped film that contains a reversed toneimage of the original scene).VAPDVisual Arts Process Diary, used by NSWVisual Arts students to record ideas.VitrineA display cabinet or case made from glass orperspex used in museums and art galleries.FURTHER READING AND RESEARCHExhibition resourcesFiona Hall: Force Field exhibition publication,Museum of Contemporary Art and City GalleryWellington, 2008SKETCH Activity Journal by ContemporaryArtists Fiona Hall: Force Field for 8 – 14 yearoldsSKETCH Junior for 5 – 8 year oldsMCA Artist’s Voice DVDSelected further readingEwington, Julie, Fiona Hall, Piper Press,Sydney, 2005Ewington, Julie and Fiona Hall, ‘The UnnaturalArt of Fiona Hall’, Object 46, May 2005, p.28.Hart, Deborah, ‘Fertile Interactions – FionaHall’s Garden’, Art and Australia, vol.36, no.2,Summer 1998, p.202.Raffel, Shunaya, Fiona Hall: A Transit ThroughParadise, The Asialink Centre, University ofMelbourne, 1999Stephen, Ann, ‘Taking Cuttings: Fiona Hall’sParadisus Terrestris’, in Juliana Engberg (ed.,Colonial Post Colonial, Bulleen: HeideMuseum of Modern Art, 1996.Online resourceswww.mca.com.auwww.qag.qld.gov.au/exhibitions/past_exhibitions/2005/fiona_hallwww.roslynoxley9.com.au/artist/17/Fiona_Hall

MCA Education KitPage28EVALUATION QUESTIONNAIRE: MCA EDUCATION KITSPlease give us your feedback on MCA Learning’s exhibition-linked resource for FionaHall: Force Field. The Museum of Contemporary Art appreciates your time and input.Are you a teacher, tutor or lecturer? Yes NoIf so, what is your subject area/sector? ___________________________________________Your name (optional) and institution: _____________________________________________How did you hear about this Education Kit? MCA website MCA Learning Youth + Schools program brochure Word ofmouth Other (please state) _________________________________________________How did you access this kit? Online at www.mca.com.au In a teacher pack from MCA Learning Other (pleasestate)How did you use this resource? Personal study Before gallery visit During gallery visit Post-visit As Distance Education support Other (please state) ___________________________How useful did you find this education kit to support your exhibition visit or your classroomlearning?What was the most useful or relevant section/s of the kit?Do you have any additional comments or suggestions?Thank you for your comments. Please fax this page to MCA Learning on 02 9252 4062or email your comments to education@mca.com.au

MCA Education KitPage29ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSFiona Hall: Force Field Education KitProduced by MCA Learning 2008MCA Education Kit written by Justine McLisky,MCA Learning Coordinator (School and FamilyPrograms).Artwork Analysis pages written by EliseRoutledge. Soap Carving Activity by NiomiSands. Contributions to Primary and SecondaryFocus Questions and Activities by NadiaMaljkovic and Sue Salier.Thank you to Vivienne Webb and Isabel Finch fortheir assistance and for permission to reproducetheir writing.Fiona Hall: Force FieldMuseum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, Australia6 March – 1 June 2008City Gallery Wellington, New Zealand12 July – 1 October 2008Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu,New Zealand4 December 2008 – 1 March 2009Exhibition curated by Vivienne Webb, GregoryO’Brien and Paula Savage.Exhibition organised and toured by the Museumof Contemporary Art, Sydney and City GalleryWellington, New Zealand.Thank you to the artist, Fiona Hall, for hersupport and enthusiasm for education programsand resources.Published April 2008 by the Museum ofContemporary Art, Sydney, Australia. © TheMuseum of Contemporary Art Ltd, the artists,authors and photographers. All rights reserved.The publisher grants permission for thiseducation kit to be reproduced only for educationpurposes and strictly in relation to the exhibitionFiona Hall: Force Field.