Artistic representations of the sea and coast: implications for sustainability

This article explores artistic representations of Australian seas and coasts, and the power of art to sustain seas and coasts. Research into artworks at the National Gallery of Australia was supplemented with a study of other local public and private works. A number of substantive themes emerged in...

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Main Authors: Stocker, Laura, Kennedy, Deborah
Format: Journal Article
Published: International Centre of Landscape and Language 2011
Online Access:http://ro.ecu.edu.au/landscapes/vol4/iss2/28
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/28341
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author Stocker, Laura
Kennedy, Deborah
author_facet Stocker, Laura
Kennedy, Deborah
author_sort Stocker, Laura
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description This article explores artistic representations of Australian seas and coasts, and the power of art to sustain seas and coasts. Research into artworks at the National Gallery of Australia was supplemented with a study of other local public and private works. A number of substantive themes emerged in viewing the paintings;; the sea and coast has been represented as: sea country, sovereign territory, sublime spaces, a Romantic space of yearning, a psychological journey, a literal journey, a site of social and political comment, social places, ecological places and a site for industry. We discuss these themes, reflecting on the various expressions of human-­sea relations and the cultural, political and ideological values that inform the artworks. This article points to possible artistic representations of sustainable seas and coasts. In turning to the power of art in sea and coastal sustainability, we discuss the potential of art to create shifts in consciousness and relationships by challenging humans to imagine the sea differently.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-283412017-03-08T13:13:17Z Artistic representations of the sea and coast: implications for sustainability Stocker, Laura Kennedy, Deborah This article explores artistic representations of Australian seas and coasts, and the power of art to sustain seas and coasts. Research into artworks at the National Gallery of Australia was supplemented with a study of other local public and private works. A number of substantive themes emerged in viewing the paintings;; the sea and coast has been represented as: sea country, sovereign territory, sublime spaces, a Romantic space of yearning, a psychological journey, a literal journey, a site of social and political comment, social places, ecological places and a site for industry. We discuss these themes, reflecting on the various expressions of human-­sea relations and the cultural, political and ideological values that inform the artworks. This article points to possible artistic representations of sustainable seas and coasts. In turning to the power of art in sea and coastal sustainability, we discuss the potential of art to create shifts in consciousness and relationships by challenging humans to imagine the sea differently. 2011 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/28341 http://ro.ecu.edu.au/landscapes/vol4/iss2/28 International Centre of Landscape and Language restricted
spellingShingle Stocker, Laura
Kennedy, Deborah
Artistic representations of the sea and coast: implications for sustainability
title Artistic representations of the sea and coast: implications for sustainability
title_full Artistic representations of the sea and coast: implications for sustainability
title_fullStr Artistic representations of the sea and coast: implications for sustainability
title_full_unstemmed Artistic representations of the sea and coast: implications for sustainability
title_short Artistic representations of the sea and coast: implications for sustainability
title_sort artistic representations of the sea and coast: implications for sustainability
url http://ro.ecu.edu.au/landscapes/vol4/iss2/28
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/28341