Remain in Light:
Photography from the MCA
Collections
Suitable for Years 7-10 Visual Arts
How to use this resource
This resource is designed for the classroom, to be displayed on an interactive whiteboard
or via a PC/laptop and projector.
Information for teachers, with suggested learning activities, is contained within the notes
section, along with links to further education resources.
About the exhibition
Remain in Light: Photography from the MCA Collections is a touring exhibition of
photographic works made by Australian and international artists over the last fifty years.
The exhibition features over 70 photographic works from Australian and international
artists from the 1960s to today across a range of media including black and white
photography, artist books, photo-lithography and digital photography.
The exhibition will tour to key regional galleries in NSW, Victoria and Queensland until
October 2015
About the MCA
Located in Sydney at Circular Quay, the MCA is Australia’s only museum dedicated to
exhibiting, collecting and interpreting the work of today's artists.
The MCA’s vision is to engage audiences with contemporary art and ideas through the
presentation of a diverse program of exhibitions and special events.
Documentary Photography
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Documents real life
Is observational
Captures a moment
Can tell the story of a time and
place
William Yang, Distances 1981, ink on silver gelatin print, Museum of Contemporary Art, purchased 1999
Documentary Photography
This photograph was taken
by Trent Parke on a trip
visiting remote parts of
Australia. The work is part
of a series Welcome to
Nowhere.
Trent Parke, Shark Bay WA from the series 'Welcome to Nowhere' 2006, C type print, image Museum of
Contemporary Art, purchased with funds provided by the Coe and Mordant families, 2007
Ideas to consider
Many photographers use their medium to capture
daily life or to tell a story.
What role does photography play in your daily
life?
How does documentary photography differ from
photojournalism?
Janet Brosious, Dawn 1978, silver gelatin photograph, J W Power Collection, University of Sydney, managed by
Museum of Contemporary Art, purchased 1978
Serial Photography
•
•
A series of photographs exploring a particular subject or idea
As a group the images can paint a detailed picture of an idea
or issue, or build up a story
Above: Polixeni Papapetrou, Mario Milano 1992, silver gelatin print, Museum of Contemporary Art, gift of the
artist, 1993; Below: Polixeni Papapetrou, Mr Wrestling 1992, silver gelatin print, Museum of Contemporary Art,
gift of the artist, 1993
Ricky Maynard
Explore Ricky Maynard’s series
No More Than What You See.
Create a word map of ideas and
associations to record your
experience of this series.
Ricky Maynard, Untitled, from No More Than What You See 1993, gelatin silver fibre print, Museum of
Contemporary Art, purchased with funds provided by the Coe and Mordant families, 2010
Performance Photography
•
An act performed for the
camera
or
•
A documentation of a
performance
Mike Parr, Camera Poem, drip blood from your finger onto the lens of a camera 1972 1972
type C photograph, Museum of Contemporary Art, gift of Flinders University Art Museum, 1991
Rosemary Laing
Rosemary Laing works with a production
team to stage her carefully planned
photo shoots and capture an action.
Create a storyboard that shows the
before and after of this image - what has
just happened, and what will happen
next?
Rosemary Laing, bulletproofglass #7 2002, type c photograph, Museum of Contemporary Art, donated through
the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program by Lucy Turnbull, 2009
Manipulation of the Photographic Image
Ian Burn utilised a photocopier to
manipulate images in his series;
Systematically altered photographs.
Brainstorm a list of the different ways that
photographs can be manipulated.
Ian Burn, Systematically altered photographs: Suburban Sunday (A) 1968, black and white photograph reproduced
from Australian Panorama, Australian News and Information Bureau, c1967, Museum of Contemporary Art, gift of
Terry Smith, 1997
Julie Rrap
Julie Rrap’s work often explores
representations of the female body in both art
history and popular culture.
What kind of body do you think these feet are
attached to?
Create a collage or drawing of a body that has
adapted to life in the 21st Century.
How has this body adapted to challenges of
contemporary life?
Julie Rrap. Overstepping 2001, digital print, Museum of Contemporary Art, gift of Andrew and Cathy Cameron,
2008
Big Ideas
How have camera phones and photography apps
changed the way we think about and experience
photography?
Can anyone be a photographer?
What is the purpose of the photographs you take?
Christo, Packed public building, project for Sydney, Australia 1969, synthetic polymer paint, cotton fabric, cotton
thread, pencil, coloured pencil, pressure-sensitive tape on photographs, synthetic polymer weave and staples on
cardboard, J W Power Collection, University of Sydney, managed by Museum of Contemporary Art, gift Mr
Chandler Coventry, 1972
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