By Sarah Toal

What does it mean to be a forgotten ‘superhero’ of design? Could it refer to someone who has fallen through the cracks of the design world? Or could it be a reference to Fry’s theory of marginality, that being, those ‘rendered silent’ by the ‘Eurocentric’, ‘dominant’ voices throughout history [1]? The piece presented here to explore this statement is by Tommy McRae, an Aboriginal artist from the nineteenth century [2]. He was presumed to be a Kwat Kwat man who drew his observations, outlining his perspectives of the events happening around him throughout the time he lived [3][4]. The piece in reference is titled “Squatters”, created using black ink on paper and is part of the extremely difficult to obtain, ‘Notebook’, 1875 [5]. This piece was acquired by the NGV, having been originally owned by McRae’s supporter Canadian Roderick Killborn, who commissioned drawings from McRae throughout the time he lived. ‘Squatters’ represents a ‘kind of narrative’ that only someone outside of Western culture can tell [6]. The figures represented in McRae’s designs can be a reference to the European settlers of the time, drawn hollow and less expressive in contrast to the other highly rendered figures featured within his work [7]. This use of storytelling through imagery provides an intimate and subjective view of Australia’s past, one that contrasts from Australia’s previously ‘eurocentrically grounded’ history [8].

It is important to consider Fry’s theory of marginality to analyse McRae as a designer and his work’s place within Australian history. According to Fry, artists like McRae fall under the marginal category of designers because they don’t fit in with Western ideologies or ideas of modernity. However, it is increasingly apparent that work like “Squatters” are important within the understanding of Australia’s history, and what forms Australia’s design history. Fry states that design history in Australia is made from ‘forces of import’, meaning we have had no individualised design history [9]. McRay is an example of how Australia has often forgotten the works of Aboriginal artists as part of design history. Australia’s design history lies within the voices of those who have been rendered silent, those who have fallen victim to ‘ethnocide’, that being ‘destruction of the culture of the “other”’, culture that doesn’t reside within ideals of western culture [10]. However, in recent times Australia has been more open in the exploration of indigenous culture, with artists such as Tommy McRae being increasingly celebrated. This is evident through more information being provided on indigenous artists, pieces such as “Squatters” being presented and charters such as the Indigenous Design Charter being created to allow for appropriate representation of Aboriginal culture [11]. Acknowledgement of Indigenous culture has allowed Australia to take a step forward in preventing the ‘covert, or even unconscious’ acts of segregation within design practice [12]. This begs the question, is Tommy McRae still a ‘forgotten superhero’ within the design world? Or is Australia on the right path towards more representation that will allow artists like McRae to be celebrated?

References:

[1] Tony Fry, “A Geography of Power: Design History and Marginality,” Design Issues 6, No. 1 (Autumn, 1989): 17.

[2] Nerissa Broben, “Tommy McRae,” Culture Victoria, accessed April 11 2019, https://cv.vic.gov.au/stories/aboriginal-culture/the-koorie-heritage-trust-collections-and-history/tommy-mcrae/

[3] Ibid.

[4] Jryan, “Tommy McRae’s Sketchbooks,” National Gallery of Victoria, accessed 11.04.2019. https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/essay/tommy-mcraes-sketchbooks-2/

[5] Ibid.

[6] Fry, 17.

[7] Jryan.

[8] Fry, 22.

[9] Ibid, 20.

[10] Ibid, 18.

[11] Russell Kennedy et. al. Australian Indigenous Design Charter – Communication Design (Australia: 2016), 1.

[12] Dimeji Onafuwa, “Allies and Coloniality: A Review of the Intersectional Perspectives on Design, Politics, and Power Symposium,” Design and Culture 10, no.1 (2018): 9.

By Sarah Toal

Eerie yet beautiful. These were the first notes I wrote upon entering the “ENTER” exhibition in Kew, newly curated by the Lyon Housemuseum. As I walked through one of the major rooms of the small exhibition I couldn’t help but notice a violin playing faintly in the background, which was surprisingly not intended to be part of the piece that struck my interest the most. It was hard to miss the sculpture that took up a large portion of the space in the room.  The piece in question had a boldly coloured pair of red antler-like structures emerging from a red boot, sitting upon a turquoise rock. However, this was only one part of the piece as it sat within a moderately sized walkway in a large, white, field-like environment. However, I couldn’t quite figure out what the field consisted of despite the sculptured figures being incredibly detailed. My initial reaction to this piece was that although it was grand and aesthetically pleasing, I couldn’t identify the underlying meaning. However, upon reading the guide I received on entry the messages became clear.

This piece is titled “The Clearing” by Patricia Piccinini, a contemporary Australian Artist and one of the few selected to take part in the ‘ENTER’ exhibition. Piccinini asks her viewers to question the idea of nature within our contemporary world. Her proposition is that we need to have a better understanding of our constantly moving modern world and change the way we think about nature to protect what’s left of it [1]. Piccinini also proposes that the field consists of flowers, all the same yet positioned differently to appear as though they are all different, an attempt to embody how nature is complex despite being represented in a simple environment [2]. These statements allowed me to further my understanding of the underlying connotation, as I initially didn’t have, as Bourdieu states, the ‘cultural competence’ or the ‘code’ to which was required in deciphering the underlying meaning of this piece [3]. What she has stated refers directly to aesthetics, we are focussed on how the piece looks and fail to consider what is being symbolised, to which I am guilty of. An art principle used within “the Clearing” is contrast, commonly represented by using a coloured object within a white space, as it has been used here. In my case, I focussed on the coloured object as it stands out, with the white field being a secondary thought despite it exploiting a large area within the exhibition. This is a metaphor for how we perceive the world, we are so focussed on what is right in front of us, or what is considered materialistic, that we fail to realise what surrounds us, that being nature. ‘Critical designers do not suggest what is the preferable future according to them; they encourage the society to reflect on it’ although Piccinini isn’t suggesting how to effectively improve our focus on nature, she is calling her audience to begin to recognise what is beyond the modernistic world we have become consumed within [4].

References:

[1] Lyon Housemuseum, The Clearing 2019. Didactic booklet to accompany the piece “The Clearing” 2019 presented at the ENTER Conversation exhibition, Housemuseum Galleries: Lyon Housemuseum, 16 March – 21 July 2019. Visited 30 March 2019.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Pierre Bourdieu, Distinction: A social Critique of the Judgement of taste (France: Harvard University Press, 1984), 2.

[4] Liene Jakobsone, “Critical Design as Approach to Next Thinking,” The Design Journal 20, no:sup1 (2017): S4259.