1 21 January — 12 MarchChina and Revolution: History, Parody and Memory in Contemporary ArtThe exhibition re-evaluates the Cultural Revolution through propaganda poster art

produced in the 1960s and ’70s, as well as through oral histories collected by the

curators in 2008–2009. It opens dialogue between the past and present with work

from artists with first hand experience, as well as through the display of original

political posters carrying political and social messages to the Chinese masses.

Curator Professor Stephanie Hemelryk Donald, Dean of the School of Media and

Communication at RMIT University, and Professor Harriet Evans, Coordinator of

Asian Studies Research at the University of Westminster. Artists Liu Dahong, Xu

Weixin, Li Gongming, Shen Jiawei. Public Program 21 January: Shen Jiawei, with

Professor Donald, on the fate of Standing Guard for Our Great Motherland 1975,

by Shen Jiawei, and the life stories of artists in the Cultural Revolution; 3 March:

Missing histories and childhood in the Cultural Revolution, Professor Stephanie

Hemelryk Donald.

21 January — 12 MarchRevolutionising Anime: Production I.G.’s pursuit of ultra-realistic fantasyDetailing the intricate process behind creating animation through storyboards,

backgrounds and digital images from Production I.G. films, including Mamoru

Oshii’s international cult hit Ghost in the Shell, and its sequel Innocence.

Viewers are taken behind the scenes of Production I.G, one of the world’s leading

animation companies, recognised for its sophisticated animation techniques

and ultra-realistic animation. Curator Masafumi Konomi, The Japan Foundation

Public Program 16 March: Japanese animation: pre-production and design, Dr

Christopher Barker, lecturer, Animation and Computer Graphics, RMIT University.

21 January — 12 MarchJAPAN: Kingdom of CharactersAstro Boy, Hello Kitty, Pokémon and Pocket Monsters – Welcome to the world of

Japanese characters. The 60-year history of Japan since the end of World War II is

mirrored by the Japanese fondness for characters, which have permeated Japanese

life from manga to TV and computer games, and especially commercial character

goods. Interest in Japanese subculture, particularly anime and manga, has been

increasing rapidly all over the world. This exhibition focuses on the country’s

obsession with characters and the social reality they reflect, and also examines the

impact they have had on Japanese society. Curator Masafumi Konomi, The Japan

Foundation. Public Program 16 February: Sexual Robots and Plastic Humans in

Anime, Philip Brophy, expert on Japanese animation; 9 March: Encounters with

Japanese popular culture, Carolyn Stevens, Associate Professor, Japanese Studies,

University of Melbourne.

15 April — 28 MayChelle Macnaughtan: Spatial ListeningAinslie Murray: Intangible Architecture Malte Wagenfeld: Aesthetics of AirExploring the role of air, light and sound in contemporary architectural space.

These three exhibitions are linked by transdisciplinarity and poetic yet rigorous

expansions of current discourses in design and architecture. These three artists

provide distinct but highly complementary deep, slow, sensual experiences of

space. Curator Suzanne Davies Artists Ainslie Murray, Chelle Macnaughtan,

Malte Wagenfeld. Public program 15 March: Artists in conversation: Ainslie

Murray, Chelle Macnaughtan and Malte Wagenfeld; 19 May: Musicologist Richard

Toop on Greek composer, architect and mathematician, Iannis Xenakis.

17 June — 14 August Gioielli d’Autore. Padova e la Scuola dell’oro Italian Contemporary Jewellery Padua and its Jewellery School Highlighting the importance of the City of Padua as a centre at the forefront of

contemporary jewellery, this exhibition explores the creative development of

artists whose innovative jewellery designs and education philosophy led to the

creation of the renowned Paduan Jewellery School, from its origins in the 1950s

until today. Over 150 works reveal how the artists made their innovative choices

based on research of materials, aiming at reaching harmonious balance and purity

of form. Curator Mirella Cisotto, The City of Padua Artists Giorgio Cecchetto,

Lucia Davanzo, Maria Rosa Franzin, Stefano Marchetti, Paolo Marcolongo, Paolo

Maurizio, Barbara Paganin, Renzo Pasquale, Francesco Pavan, Mario Pinton,

Piergiuliano Reveane, Marco Rigovacca, Graziano Visintin, Alberta Vita, Annamaria

Zanella and Alberto Zorzi. Public Program 17 June: Artists talk with Alberta Vita

and Lucia Davanzo; 24 June: Jewellery in Europe and Australia, Alberta Vita and

Lucia Davanzo in conversation with Melbourne jewellers Elfrun Lach and Teresa

Lane. Moderator: Mark Edgoose, Coordinator of Undergraduate Studies (Gold and

Silversmithing) RMIT School of Art. Translator, Luciana Perin.

2

3

5 7

6 8

4

RMIT Gallery Exhibition Program 2011

7

8 2 September — 5 NovemberSpace invaders: australian . street . stencils . posters . paste-ups . zines . stickers Drawn entirely from the collection of the National Gallery of Australia, the

first Australian institution to have collected this type of work, this exhibition

surveys the past 10 years of Australian street art. Featuring 150 works by over

40 Australian artists, the exhibition celebrates the energy of street-based

creativity, recognising street stencils, posters, paste-ups, zines and stickers

as comprising a recent chapter in the development of Australian prints and

drawings. Curator Jaklyn Babington, Assistant Curator, International Prints,

Drawings and Illustrated Books, National Gallery of Australia Artists Aeon,

Azlan, Byrd, Civil, Dlux!, James Dodd, Adrian Doyle, Ghostpatrol, Haha, Misha

Hollenbach, Jumbo, Ash Keating, Lister, Makatron, Marcsta, Meek, Meggs,

Mini Graff, Miso, Monkey, Nurok, Okipa, Prism, Proof, Psalm, Reks, Rone, Dan

Sibley, Robert Sim, Sixten, Al Stark, Sync, Twoone, Vexta, Xero, Yok, Zap. Public

Program The Graffiti Wall – Public Art Project throughout the exhibition, with

artists NAILS, Twoone, Miso, Ghostpatrol, Al Stark; 2 September: Curator’s

talk with Jaklyn Babington; 8 September: artist talk; 26 September: Vandals

or Vanguards? Street Art seminar, moderator Jaklyn Babington, with Teal

Triggs, Professor of Graphic Design, Faculty of Design, London College of

Communication, University of the Arts, NAILS, Eloise Peace, Sticky Institute and

CIVIL; 27 September: Artists talk with Jumbo and Zap; 6 October: Seniors Festival

print event with Twoone.

2 September — 5 NovemberTate AdamsStill active in his late 80s, printmaker Tate Adams is acknowledged as both

improving technical standards and developing printmaking as a respected art

form. In 2010 Adams was made the Inaugural Honorary Fellow of the Print Council

of Australia. This exhibition explores the development of his work from the 1960s

when he established the artist print department at RMIT University, where he

taught for 22 years, through to his current works. Adams moved to Townsville in

1989, establishing Lyre Bird Press at James Cook University where he became an

honorary lecturer. Lyre Bird Press continues to publish books in collaboration with

Jenny Zimmer of Zimmer Editions. Curator Vanessa Gerrans RMIT Gallery Artist

Tate Adams Public Program 29 September: floor talk Vanessa Gerrans with print

specialists Frances Thomson and Professor Jenny Zimmer.

25 November — 28 January 20122112 Imagining the FutureTapping into general anxieties about an uncertain future and public concern

about the consequences of climate change, 2112 Imagining the Future reveals how

contemporary artists imagine the world might look in one hundred years’ time. The

exhibition gravitates towards science fiction, a genre highly developed in literature

and film but marginal in the visual arts, While responding to a number of urban

mythologies, such as impending armageddon, the exhibition resists predictions

of inevitable global disaster and explores the idea that although the unintended

consequences of human actions have already begun to shape our perceptions of the

future, that future is not fixed and can yet develop according to human vision and

consensus. Curator Dr Linda Williams, Associate Professor in Art, Environment

and Cultural Studies in the School of Art, RMIT University Artists Including Keith

Cottingham, Stephen Haley, Sam Leach, Yves Marchand, Romain Meffre, Lyndal

Osborne, Roman Signer, Kenji Yanobe, Ken & Julia Yonetani. Public Program 2

December: Utopia or dystopia? Curator’s view with Dr Linda Williams; 6 December:

Imagining the Future, Dr Linda Williams with artists and writers on science fiction.

RMIT Gallery is Melbourne’s most vibrant public art and design gallery.

Its broad exhibition program explores and celebrates all aspects of visual culture,

by presenting changing exhibitions of Australian and international fashion,

architecture, fine art, craft, new media and technology. As part of RMIT University,

RMIT Gallery plays an important role in professionally profiling outcomes in

interdisciplinary teaching and research at RMIT. An adjunctive program of public

lectures, seminars and publications provides an opportunity for audiences to listen

to artists, curators and leading visual arts professionals talk about their work and

contemporary culture.

RMIT Gallery is prominently and centrally located at 344 Swanston Street,

Melbourne, near the intersection with La Trobe Streets. Diagonally opposite

Melbourne Central Railway Station, the gallery can also be reached by trams

traveling on Swanston and La Trobe Streets, including the City Circle tram. Limited

parking is available. Melways reference; 2F E1.

RMIT Gallery www.rmit.edu.au/rmitgallery344 Swanston Street Melbourne Australia 3000 GPO Box 2467 Melbourne 3001

Tel: + 61 9925 1717 Fax: + 61 9925 1738 Email: rmit.gallery@rmit.edu.au

Become a Fan of RMIT Gallery on Facebook Follow RMIT Gallery on Twitter

Check website for regular updates on public programs, special events and news.

Gallery hours: Monday–Friday 11–5. Saturday 12–5.

Closed Sundays and public holidays. Free admission. Lift access available.

Below: RMIT Gallery façade. Photo: Mark Ashkanasy.

12

MAIN IMAGE __ CHINA AND REVOLUTION: HISTORY, PARODY AND MEMORY IN CONTEMPORARY ART

Installation view. Photo. Mark Ashkanasy. 1 __ CHINA AND REVOLUTION Liu Dahong, Four Seasons (Summer), 2006 (detail), print based upon 1991 oil painting, 56x 90 cm. 2 __ REVOLUTIONISING ANIME: PRODUCTION

I.G’S PURSUIT OF ULTRA-REALISTIC FANTASY Screen shot from The Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence ©2004 (detail), Shirow Masamune/ KODANSHA-IG, ITNDDTD. 3 __ JAPAN: KINGDOM OF CHARACTERS Installation view. Photo. Mark Ashkanasy. 4 __ CHELLE MACNAUGHTAN: SPATIAL LISTENING Chelle Macnaughtan, Les Trottoirs des Paris 2003–2007 (detail), digital photographs, each 20 x 26.6 cm. Photo: Chelle Macnaughtan. 5 __ AINSLIE MURRAY: INTANGIBLE ARCHITECTURE Ainslie Murray Untitled 2010, installation view, Tyvek, acrylic, dimensions variable, perforated photographs 101.5 x 67.5 cm. Photograph: Ian Hobbs. 6 __ MALTE

WAGENFELD: AESTHETICS OF AIR Malte Wagenfeld, Atmospheric Sensitivity, 2011, installation view. Photo: Vicki Jones. 7 __ GIOIELLI; D’AUTORE. PADOVA E LA SCUOLA DELL’ORO. ITALIAN CONTEMPORARY

JEWELLERY. PADU A AND ITS JEWELLERY SCHOOL Francesco Pavan, Cubo 2004, brooch, various metal alloys, enamel, 5.6x 7.6x 3 cm. 8 __ GIOIELLI Alberto Zorzi, Scriptura, bracelet, 1978, gold, 20 x 10 x 8 cm. 9 __ 2112 IMAGINING THE FUTURE Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre, Adams Theater, Detroit, from The Ruins of Detroit, (Steidl 2010). 10 __ SPACE INVADERS: AUSTRALIAN. STREET. STENCILS. POSTERS. PASTE-

UPS. ZINES. STICKERS Meek, Begging for change, 2004, stencil, printed image 89.1 x 73.5 cm. 11 __ SPACE

INVADERS Jumbo, X-ray man-machine pointing a ray-gun at the amphibians, 2010 (detail), 247.0 x 586.0 cm 12 __ TATE ADAMS Tate Adams, Bartley’s Funeral, 2009 (detail), gouache on paper, 120 x 71cm. Courtesy of Perc Tucker Regional Gallery. 13 __ 2112 Tony Lloyd, We have All The Time In The World 2008 (detail), oil on canvas, 100 x 280 cm. 14 __ 2112 Stephen Haley, One Second (Water Bottles 5982), 2010 (detail), lightjet photograph, 120 x 120 cm.

10

11

12

13

14

9