Year 10 PDM
BEYOND THE FRAME
PHOTO MEDIA INSTALLATION
BEYOND THE FRAME
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In this unit of work we will be
investigating contemporary photographic
practices in an Australian and
International context
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We will be looking at time based
installations and the role of
photo-documentation
Vocab
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Postmodern
A widely used term for progressive, unconventional art starting
around the 1980’s. It generally challenges the traditions of art,
particularly the concept of originality and acceptable media. It is
often characterized by the use of technology and may draw on
other art traditions

Ephemeral
Existing only for a short time
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Installation
Artwork created for a particular site or gallery space
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Documentation
Record of transitory works in the forms of photography/video.
Documentation replaces the art objects role as the “saleable item”.
Key Artist 1 – Melanie Pullen
Untitled (Metro Series), 2005
C-Print, Plexi Face Mount
43"(H) x 54 3/4"(W), 55"(H) x 70 3/4"(W), or 76 1/2"(H) x 99
1/2"(W)
Ace Gallery Beverly Hills, 2005
Bottles (Water Series), 2005
C-Print, Plexi Face Mount
43"(H) x 54 3/4"(W), 55"(H) x 70 3/4"(W), or 76
1/2"(H) x 99 1/2"(W)
Ace Gallery Beverly Hills, 2005

Self-taught artist, Melanie
Pullen (born 1975) began
her "High Fashion Crime
Scenes" project after seeing
a copy of Luc Sante's 1992
book Evidence (1914-1919)
about crime scene photos
from the New York City
Police Department.

Statement
“I’m totally fascinated about
lines and perspective. I like
long shots in hallways,
anything that has a depth
to it. “- Melanie Pullen
Melanie Pullen: High Fashion Crime Series, 2005
Installation View
Ace Gallery Beverly Hills
Fashion has always had a dark side, but it's never been traversed as
provocatively as in photographer Melanie Pullen's critically acclaimed exhibition
High Fashion Crime Scenes.
In meticulously crafted large-scale photographs, authentic crime scenes are reenacted with a twist—not only are the corpses outfitted in designer vintage and
couture, but you might recognize some very-much-alive actors like Juliette Lewis.
Pullen's penchants for the macabre were initially inspired by Luc Sante's
Evidence, a book of New York City crime scene prints compiled in the 20th
century, but she also studied up on pre-’50s L.A.P.D. records.
The resulting images are hauntingly beautiful, inspiring double and triple takes
when you realize that amidst the photograph's grisly visage, the victim is clad in
Chanel.
SAMANTHA GILEWICZ
Student Task 1
Look up on the internet Pullens High Fashion Crime
Series
http://www.novakart.com/MelaniePullen_Info.cfm?ArtistsID=434&Object=
Read the Interview with Melanie Pullen
1) How do the images in this series make you feel?
2) Statements from the artist are valuable sources of information about the
artists inspirations, intentions and working methods. What understanding
have you gained about Pullens artistic practice from reading this
interview
Key Artist 2 - Alicia Frankovich
was born in New Zealand in 1980 & living in Berlin
Key Artist 2 - Alicia Frankovich
Media: Plastic, carabenas, dirt, coconut fibre, newspaper, water tank, water pump, poly piping, nylon webbing,
gaffer, sash, steel, basil, kiwifruit vines, tuscan kale, broccoli, flat leaf parsley, curly leaf parsley, long snake beans,
purple kings, greens, tomatoes: black krims, black Russians, tigerella, red fig dwarf, peach dreams, chillies: hellfire mix,
jalapeno reds, capsicum: mini yellow, mini red, long yellow mini chocolate, long green, bronze fennel, succulents,
eggplants: heirloom mix, long jacks, red oakleaf, lettuce.
Frankovich has created a body made of fruit and plants
suspended upside down in the gallery space.
Frankovich uses fruit to symbolize both the living flesh and
the soul. The installation hovers above the viewer’s body
and changes over time in the space. Again she explores her
interest incontrasting bodily performance with architectural
dwelling, the ephemeral with the permanent.
Student Task 2

Consider how Frankovich draws from nature, in the form
of real living plants, in her work. Look at a range of other
contemporary artists who also draw from nature or install
natural objects as part of their work. Look at the work of
contemporary Swiss artists Gerda Steiner and Jorg
Lenzlinger as well as Jeff Koons’ sculpture of a dog made
from growing flowers. Compare the works of these three
artists.
Key Artist 3 – Simryn Gill
Simryn Gill, Throwback (detail) 2007 Interior
parts of Tata truck, termite mound soil, river
clay, laterite, seashells, fruit skins, leaves,
bark and fibre, flowers, glue, resin, milk
Michael Buxton Collection
The exhibition highlights Gill’s pursuit of meaning through materials and art-making processes. It also
focuses on her ongoing interest in collecting, reading, archiving, arranging, casting and photography.
‘Throwback 2007, is a sculptural work created from truck engine parts and Garland 1993-ongoing, is an
installation of objects collected from beaches in Malaysia and Singapore that encourages audiences to
hold, touch and rearrange its parts and thereby participate in the work’s transformation.
Key Artist 3 – Simryn Gill
Road Kill 2000
Student Task 3 - Simryn Gill
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Describe the Photographic Series?
Describe the installation content?
How was it constructed?
Why did she name the series Road Kill?
What do you think of the work and why?
Briefly describe another of Gills
installation series
Create a summary page on Simryn Gill in
your documents under the titles Artist,
Artwork, Audience, World (Conceptual
Framework) – research the internet.
Key Artist 4 – Cordeiro & Healy
Postmodern Frame – Use humour to challenge our
values, deconstructing history and objects
Sean Cordeiro and Claire Healy are
Australian collaborative artists who
explore the shifting ideas of mobility,
home, consumerism and waste in our
contemporary society through
deconstructing, compacting or laying
out.
Key Artist 4 – Cordeiro & Healy
Artwork looks at
deeper levels of
meaning like the
function of a
home. The
removal of space –
leaving no space
inwhich to live
MATERIALS
The materials
and contents of
buildings often
form their art
making
materials. Artists
photo document
their practice
The artworks are a
direct response to the
artists world
The cordial Home Project 2003
Installation of entire house
6 C type LED Prints
The materials have
lost their original
function instead
taking on their own
identity as objects
Cordeiro & Healy
Artists Statements
‘ When you pull something apart it’s like a complete analysis
of the material, and stacking it feels like a safe way to
present it to the audience, because it is almost like silencing
it.”
Student Task 4
Explore how the PRACTICE of another artist reflects their society
Further Study / References

Melanie Pullen
http://www.acegallery.net/artistm
enu.php?pageNum_ACE=1&totalRows_ACE=86&Artist=4#
http://www.melaniepullen.com/
http://www.novakart.com/MelaniePullen_Info.cfm?ArtistsID=434&Object=
Alicia Frankovich
http://www.accaonline.org.au/EducationKits
http://www.artspace.org.nz/exhibitions/2009/aliciafrankovich.asp
Simryn Gill
http://www.heide.com.au/Exhibitions/Simryn_Gill_Gathering
http://www.roslynoxley9.com.au/artists/16/Simryn_Gill/164/9737/
http://www.breenspace.com/artists/6/works/70/simryn-gill-paper-boats
Claire Healy and Sean Cordeiro
http://www.claireandsean.com/