For

Senior Years Students

Curriculum

VCE Art

Aim

To expand knowledge of the theme of Constructed Worlds and respond to commentaries on art.

Preparation

To do this activity you will need to:

• Read the information for Theme Eight – Contemporary Art : Constructed Worlds.
• View the work either online or in the exhibition.
• Research through the library or Internet.

Individual Task

"For some time now, viewers have been unable to assume that photographs are an objective distillation of a moment in time, and photographers working in any industry no longer pretend that ‘ the camera never lies"
Lesley Alway, Director, Heide Museum of Modern Art in Perfect for every Occasion: Photography Today, 2007.

Do you agree or disagree?

Research Questions

Research the meaning of the phrase “the camera never lies”. What does this phrase make reference to?

Group Task

Thomas Demand said:

"Things enter reality through photography. Tourists don’t know they’ve seen the sights until they can match their experiences to picture postcards."

What implication does Demand’s commentary have on the practice of photography today?

Brazilian born artist, Vik Muniz, tests the ground between drawing and photography. Thomas Demand, in conversation with Muniz, recently stated:

" the concept of constructing realities in the studio is much stronger than faking things for the camera. They are genuine sculptures documented."

From this statement do you think Demand is suggesting that the sculptures are more important than the final photograph?

Research how Demand came to be a photographer. What media did he use before photography and why did he change?