Copyright is owned by the Author of the thesis. Permission is given for a copy to be downloaded by an individual for the purpose of research and private study only. The thesis may not be reproduced elsewhere without the permission of the Author. Policy and Practice Collecting Contemporary Australian Art 1980 -1995 A thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Museum Studies Massey University, Palmertson North New Zealand Susan F. M. Abasa 2001 - To the Memory of my Mother, Bicky, and For my Father, Andre and my Brother, Andrew Peter iii ABSTRACT Since the 1970s contemporary art has been considered "a hot item". Art practice has been marked by diverse styles and innovative techniques and was often accompanied by a radical critique of art's production and its reception. In this period, there have been shifts in the sensibilities of some intellectuals and artists and a growing cultural critique which questioned or rejected the homogenizing values and universalizing notions of the 'grand master narrative' espoused by art museums. Instead, a growing consciousness about 'the politics of difference' has challenged the art museum to acknowledge the importance of cultural diversity and adapt its policies and practices to reflect such dynamics. This thesis examines the way in which art museums have developed and enacted policies to collect contemporary Australian art between 1980 and 1995 and the consequences of those policies for the construction of public collections. The discussion is framed by the context of government policies for the arts and cultural heritage which underwent significant ideological transformation in this period. The thesis investigates the acquisition policies and practices of four leading Australian art museums between 1980 and 1995. It compares and contrasts acquisitions in those institutions and illustrates findings through a quantitative analysis of their collections. The thesis argues that there is a substantial difference between the rhetoric of acquisitions policies and actual collections of contemporary art. It reveals the anomalies and tensions which surround 'the finely honed discursive and rhetorical devices created to justify the structural and institutional support for elite practice.' It concludes that the collections of contemporary art are conservative, partial, incomplete and impoverished anthologies of contemporary art practice and that the art museum finds difficulty in overruling the traditional values of art history and the 'grand master narrative'. By establishing, perpetuating and institutionalizing the canon, the art museum systematically regulates and reproduces cultural representations. Furthermore, government cultural policies which increasingly support elite producers in 'cultural industries' and aim to disseminate the resulting 'Australian culture' to more consumers through cultural tourism and art export, assist the art museum to maintain its position. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many staff in Australian art museums have assisted this project. At the Art Gallery of New South Wales: Deborah Edwards, Curator of Decorative Arts & Sculpture; Renee Porter, Assistant Registrar Cataloguing & Documentation; Barry Pearce, Curator of Australian Art. At the National Gallery of Australia: Senior Curators Roger Butler, Wally Caruana, Gael Newton and Andrew Sayers; Maxine Esau and Diane Johnston, Assistant Registrars (Documentation); Grant Smith, Systems Analyst. Margaret Shaw, Chief Librarian and her staff answered many enquiries. At the National Gallery of Victoria: Eva Kanepe, Assistant Registrar; Jason Smith, Curator of Contemporary Art, Michael Watson and the library staff. At the Queensland Art Gallery: Doug Hall, director, and Dr. Caroline Turner, (then) deputy director gave their support to this project at the outset, offering access to reports, minutes and acquisitions data. To them and to the following staff I owe special thanks: Julie Bond, Glenn Cooke, Julie Ewington, Judy Gunning, and Anne Kirker. Chris Saines, formerly Manager of Curatorial Services, and now Director, Auckland Art Gallery, provided an in-depth interview on policy developments at the Gallery since my resignation from the Gallery in 1988. Martin Shub, Discovery Media provided access to NATSIV AD, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Artists DataBase. Information on the Taxation Incentives Scheme for the Arts came from Susan Nolan, Australian Department of Communications and the Arts, the National Association for the Visual Arts and Tom Lowenstein, Lowenstein Sharp Feiglin Ades. Senior Policy staff at Arts Victoria, Arts Queensland and the NSW Ministry for the Arts provided policy documents, annual reports and answered correspondence. Librarians at Massey University, the College Liaison and Inter-loan sections, assisted with overseas loans and access to ABN. The Parliamentary Library, Canberra, provided research reports and House briefings. Pamela Lovis assisted with proof reading. Andrew Abaza offered commentary and advice on constitutional law, economic theory and taxation issues. Roimata Olson helped shape and produce the final print copy. I am grateful to Professor Mason Durie, Head of the School of Maori Studies, Te Piitahi-a-Toi, for smoothing administrative arrangements on several occasions. A substantial part of this thesis relies on data from the art museums surveyed, which in raw form were incompatible. The Art Management System database created especially for this project holds almost 30,000 records. Phillippe Limsowtin designed that system, presided over early data retrieval and tutored me in the basics. My special thanks go to Henry Barnard for his patience and perspicacity in supervising this thesis. Fragmented and long as the research process has been, his guidance, knowledge and good humour have sustained me in the task. David Butts, my senior colleague in Museum Studies, has been a steadying influence, asking challenging questions. He also commented on drafts, interrupting his leave to do so. As advisors these two share important characteristics - they possess, and nurture in others, a respect for ideas and value the dignity which is achieved through the expression of creative excellence. I have learned much from them and am strengthened by the association with them on this project. The final part of this work came together immediately following the death of my Mother. She quizzed me about the key arguments regularly and, eager to see the work completed, she cajoled and worried that progress was erratic. The thesis is dedicated to her, in acknowledgement of her keen intellect, her respect for heritage in its many forms and to her enduring faith in sound educational principles, beliefs which have been transmitted and sustained within my family. To them, and to those close friends who have been guardians of these values and who have supported me, I can only hope that some of your confidence in me is rewarded. CONTENTS Abstract Ill Acknowledgements IV Table of Contents v List of Figures List of Tables Abbreviations Glossary Reader's Guide to the Thesis Introduction Research Objectives The collections database formed for this project Limitations IX XI Xlll XIV xvi 1 8 9 9 Preview of Chapters and Key Arguments 10 Chapter One: Government and Cultural Policy 15 Part One - Transformations: An Overview of Australia's Political Economy 16 Egalitarianism, Utilitarianism and Paternalistic Intervention 17 Post World War II and Keynesianism 1940- 1970 18 The New Paradigm 19 The Knowledge Economy and the "Clever Country" 21 Part Two - Transformations: Changing Approaches to Cultural Policy 23 Government Patronage of the Arts and Cultural Development 23 The period of "voluntary entrepreneurship" c.1930 - c.1968 24 "Statutory patronage" - c.1968 to the present 24 "De-centralised patronage" - c.1985 27 "The arts industry model" - c.1989 to the present 28 Part Three - Cultural Policy Development After 1990 31 Introduction 31 The ALP and Coalition Parties and their Arts Policies 1980 - 1995 32 Victoria - Mapping Our Culture and Agenda 21 34 Queensland - A State for the Arts 35 New South Wales: Arts Funding is Cultural Policy 37 The Commonwealth - Creative Nation, 1994 39 Conclusion 41 Chapter Two: Institutional Practice: Contemporary Collecting 43 Part One - Institutional Histories and Collecting Policies 45 National Gallery of Victoria 45 Acquisition policy development 47 The Development Collection 49 Art Gallery of New South Wales 51 Queensland Art Gallery 52 National Gallery of Australia 55 Part Two - Collecting in Practice 58 1. Overview 59 1.1 Number of acquisitions 1980 - 1995 59 1.2 Changes in the rate of acquisitions after 1987 61 1.3 Range of acquisitions 62 1.4 Value and number of acquisitions 63 2. Media 65 2.1 Installation, electronic and performance art 65 2.2 Decorative arts 66 2.3 Pictorial art (drawings, paintings, photographs and prints) 68 2.4 Collecting works by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists 69 3. Method of Acquisition 70 3.1 Purchase 70 3.2 Gifts 72 4. Artists 73 4.1 Number 73 4.2 Gender 73 4.3 Emerging artists 74 Part Three - Taxation Incentives for the Arts Scheme 76 Development and Implementation of the Tax Incentives for the Arts Scheme 78 Outcomes of the Scheme 1990 -1995 79 Analysis: The Scheme and Cultural Reproduction 81 Conclusion 85 Chapter Three: Contemporary Art and the Representation of Women Artists in Art Museums 87 Introduction I - The Framing Discourses The Status of Women - Equal Opportunity The Contributions of Feminist Art Historians II - The Empirical Evidence Statistical Evidence - Previous Studies Results of This Study 87 88 88 92 95 97 98 Part One: An Overview of the Empirical Study of Women Artists 98 Women Make Up Approximately One-Third Of All Artists 98 Less Than A Third Of All Works Acquired Between 1980 and 1995 Are By Women Artists 10 I Women Make The Largest Proportion of Textiles, Multimedia and Metalwork Yet These Are Least Likely To Be Acquired 102 The Greatest Number of Works Made By Women Are Prints, Photographs and Aboriginal Art 102 Summary 103 Part Two: An Examination of the Relationship of Media and Gender 103 Key Findings Concerning The Relationship of Media and Gender 106 Sculpture and Painting 106 Printmaking 106 Ceramics l 07 Photographs 107 Summary 108 Part Three: A Critical Analysis of Collecting Practices at the Margins 109 Representation of the Women's Art Movement 110 Emerging Artists: The Michell Endowment and Margaret Stewart Endowment 113 "Is There A Gender Issue In Aboriginal Art?" 116 Conclusion 121 Chapter Four: Collecting Contemporary Aboriginal Art 125 Introduction 125 Part One: Presentation of the Data 127 The Growth of Contemporary Aboriginal Art in Public Collections 129 Contemporary Aboriginal art collecting escalates after 1988 129 All collections of Aboriginal art experience growth but the extent of growth varies 130 Purchase is the predominant form of acquisition 131 There is a nexus between acquisitions and exhibitions 133 The Development of Survey Collections of Contemporary Aboriginal Art 133 Collections favour ' tribal 'rather than urban-based work 134 Collections do not maintain focus on regional representation 135 Part Two: Acquisition Practices in Art Museums Examined 135 The Period of Oversight and Neglect - Art Museums and Aboriginal Art to 1984 137 Exhibitions of Aboriginal Art 1929 - 1984 139 Acquisitions of Aboriginal Art by art museums to 1984 140 Acquisitions at the Art Gallery of New South Wales to 1984 143 Acquisitions at the National Gallery of Victoria to 1984 145 The Period of Awakening: 1984 - 1988 146 Papunya - "too ethnographic for the galleries not ethnographic enough for museums" 146 Changes in policy and practice 149 Acclaim: Building the Profile 1988 - 1995 151 The Australian Bicentennary 1988 152 Strategic interventions: exhibitions and cultural tourism 153 Strategic interventions: the art market 154 Strategic reactions: art museums, exhibitions and acquisitions 154 Strategic reactions: employing staff of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent 157 Conclusion 158 Conclusion 161 Appendices Appendix 1: Appendix 2: Appendix 3: Appendix 4: Appendix 5: Appendix 6: Brief for Design of Database: Art Management System Art Management System - Technical Information Operations Income Indicating Government Subsidy and Non-Government Revenue Australian Labor Party and Liberal Coalition Arts Policies 1986 - 1995 Compared Chronology of Key Government and Museum Policy Initiatives Total Acquisitions 1980 - 1995: Summary of Raw Data Appendix 7: NGA Contemporary Australian Art Acquisitions and 169 174 186 188 191 194 Total Acquisitions 1980 - 1995 Compared 195 Appendix 8: QAG Analysis of Acquisitions 1990 - 1995 196 Appendix 9: Rate of Acquisitions 1980 - 1987 and 1988 - 1995 Compared: Summary of Raw Data 198 Appendix 10.1: Works by Media in Individual Collections: Summary of Raw Data 199 Appendix 10.2: Total Works by Media: Summary of Raw Data 200 Appendix 11: National Trends (Media): Summary of Raw Data 201 Appendix 12: Frequency of Acquisition: Raw Data (Incidence 4-17 only) 204 App_endix 13: Taxation Incentive Scheme for the Arts 214 Appendix 14: No. of Works by Medium, Institution and by Gender 1980 - 1995 216 Appendix 15: No. of Unique Artists by Gender, Medium and Institution 1980 - 1995 217 Select Bibliography LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page The Shift in Cultural Policy 1980 - 1995 7 2 A Typology of Arts Funding (after Rowse 1985) 25 3 Total Acquisitions 1980 - 1995 60 4 Contemporary Australian Art Acquisitions National Gallery of Australia 61 5 Rate of Acquisitions of Contemporary Australian Art 1980 - 1987 & 1988 - 1995 61 6 Range of Acquisitions by Media 1980 - 1995 63 7 Value of Acquisitions and Number of Works 1980 - 1995 64 8 Queensland Art Gallery Ceramics Acquisitions 1980 - 1995 67 9 Total Acquisitions Pictorial and 3-Dimensional Fom1s Compared 68 IO National Trends Print Acquisitions 1980 - 1995 69 II Acquisitions of Aboriginal Art 1980-87 & 1988-95 Compared 70 12 Method of Acquisition All Institutions 1980-1995 70+71 13 Sources of Revenue for Acquisition by Purchase 71 14 Gender Total Number Contemporary Australian Artists Acquired 1980-1995 73 15 Frequency of Artists Acquired 1980- 1995 75 16 Distribution of Donations under the Tax Incentives for the Arts Scheme by Number, Value and Category of Institution 80 17 Value of Individual and and Corporate Donations through TIA 1990-1995 81 18 Percentage of Works Created Before 1970 and Acquired Through TIA Scheme 1987 - 1995 82 19 Value of Works Made Before and After 1970 and Acquired 1987 - 1995 82 20 Gender and the Hierarchies of Value in the Art System 94 21 The Number of Women Artists Represented in All Collections 1980 - 1995 99 22 Representation of Women Artists in Individual Galleries 1980-1995 100 22 All Galleries Women Artists 1980-90 & 1990-95 Compared 100 23 Number of Works By Gender All Collections 1980 - 1995 100 24 Number of Works by Gender for Individual Galleries 1980 - 1995 102 25 Total Aboriginal Art Acquisitions 1980-1987 and 1988-1995 129 27 Acquisitions on Non-Aboriginal Art 1980-1995 130 28 Aboriginal Art Acquisitions 1988-1995 130 29 Method of Acquisition, Aboriginal Art 1980-1995 132 30 Collecting Contemporary Aboriginal Art 136 LIST OF TABLES Table Page Government outlays on cultural facilities and services 1986-1994 27 2 Goss Labor Government Review of Arts and Culture 36 3 National Gallery of Victoria Acquisitions Policies l 985 and 1994-95 compared 48 4 Queensland Art Gallery Acquisition Policies l 984 and l 988 compared (with amendments passed through Trustees in I 994 and I 995) 54 5 National Gallery of Australia Acquisition Policies 1976 and I 994 compared 56 6 Age at First Acquisition (%) 74 7 Discrete Women Artists Represented in Four Collections I980- I995 99 8 Type of Art Practice by Gender 105 9 Number of Discrete Women Artists by Medium Acquired I 980 - 1995 105 IO Number of Women's Works by Medium Acquired I980 -I995 106 I I Number of Artist Members of the Sydney Women's Art Movement Represented in Public Collections 1 IO 12 Sydney Women's Art Movement Acquisition Details 111 13 Gender Of Artists Represented in the Michell Endowment I980- 1987 l I4 14 Gender Of Artists Represented in the Margaret Stewart Endowment 1987 - 1995 114 15 Women Artists in the Michell Endowment, the Margaret Stewart Endowment and the NGV by Medium 115 16 Representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women Artists in Four Contemporary Australian Art collections 1980-95 120 17 Collecting Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art 1980-1995 128 18 Aboriginal Art Acquisitions 1980-1995 130 19 Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Stait Islander Art, Queensland Art Gallery 135 20 Exhibitions of Aboriginal Art 1980-1995 (Number) 154 ABBREVIATIONS The following abbreviations are used in the thesis. They are explained in context. ABS ACT AGDC AGNSW ALP ATSIC CMC CLR DASETT DCA DCITA EEO EOC HCC NATSIVAD NGA NGV QAG QLD SQL TIA UNESCO Vic Australian Bureau of Statistics Australian Capital Territory Art Gallery Directors' Council Art Gallery of New South Wales Australian Labor Party Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission Cultural Ministers' Council Commonwealth Law Reports Department of the Arts, Sport, Environment, Tourism and Territories Department of Communication and the Arts Department of Communications Information Technology and the Arts Equal Employment Opportunity Equal Opportunity Commission Heritage Collections Committee I Council National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Visual Artists Data Base National Gallery of Australia National Gallery of Victoria Queensland Art Gallery Queensland (State of) Sequential Query Language Taxation Incentives for the Arts Scheme United Nations Education Scientific & Cultural Organisation Victoria (State of) xiii xiv Aboriginal Art Australiana Avant-garde Ceramics Decorative Arts Drawings Glass Jewellery Paintings GLOSSARY OF TERMS (Sources indicated in italics) For the purposes of this project, the database categorises all works of art made by artists of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent as Aboriginal Art. Refers to material which may have value above and beyond that suggested by its inherent nature due to its association with Australian history or culture. (Cultural Gifis Program, 1985) A term implying interest in advanced forms of contemporary art. (Cultural Gifts Program, 1985) Objects made of clay and subsequently fired. Includes all accepted sub­ disciplines such as porcelain, pottery and earthenware. (Cultural Gifts Program, 1985) Visual art forms which derive from design and I or elaboration of objects of practical utility. (Cultural Gifts Program, 1985) Two dimensional works of art dependent on the predominance of linear representation of masses. Principally a work of art created by means of linear media such as pencil, charcoal, chalk, conte, crayon I oil crayon, pen and ink, felt-tipped pen or fibre-tipped pen etc., Used where a work of art relies on these mediae. It is recognised that paintings may incorporate drawing in these mediae. A compound made from the fusion of silica and an alkaline flux under intense heat and often in combination with other ingredients. Artefacts fashioned from precious or semi-precious metals, stones or enamels designed to ornament the body. Contemporary jewellery may be made from a wide range of non-precious materials; its designation as jewellery is confirmed by its purpose. The database categorises jewellery as silver/metal which encompasses decorative arts made in metal. Two dimensional works of art dependent on the predominance of representation of masses as opposed to drawings which depend largely on linear representation. In a technical sense this refers to works created with a brush by means of a medium orientated to the depiction of mass areas such as oils, gouache, synthetic polymer paint (acrylic), tempera or watercolour. Other media such as pastel and collage may be regarded Photographs Print Sculpture Textiles Video I video recording Watercolour References xv as a form of painting. The data base created for this project identifies such works as mixed media. (Cultural Gifts Program, 1985) Images reproduced through the chemical action of light on sesitised paper or other support. Refers predominantly to still images. Moving images are classified in this project as film or video. Images produced in multiples based on master designs created by artists on suitable supports including a copper plate, woodblock, screenprint etc., and printed under the artist's supervision. Monoprints - a single impression print - is classified as a print. (Cultural Gifts Program , 1985) A work of art in three dimensions, including relief works or works in the round. It excludes three dimensional work with utilitarian purpose. The database recognises furniture in this category. All cloth works of art. The database includes costume and fashion m this category. Magnetic tape recording used to capture visual images. The term encompasses video cassettes, video discs and any other receptacles of implanted signals, capable of translation into visual images. (Cultural Gifts Program, 1985). The database includes only original works in this medium. A transparent painting medium of which water is the vehicle, and its opaque variant gouache, most often applied to paper. Mayer, R. (1969). A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell. Rowlinson, E. (1980). Glossary of terms used in the description of painting, sculpture and drawing media. In T. Varveris, A Cataloguer's Manual for the Visual Arts. Sydney: Australian Art Gallery Directors Council xvi READERS' GUIDE TO THE THESIS Authorities Before undertaking analysis of the quantitative data on which this thesis is based, it was necessary to verify the orthography of artist's names as well as their biographical details. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists dates of birth may not have been recorded in official documents and therefore information on older artists, in particular, may be imprecise. Similarly, artist's names may differ as current linguistic conventions change. In an attempt to standardise information, the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Visual Artists Data Base (NATSIV AD) has been taken as the authority for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists biographical details. NATSIV AD was first established by Dr. Luke Taylor for the Australian Lnstitute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) in the period 1987- 1990, listed some 1,300 artists and published by Discovery Media in 199 1. The current database was updated and expanded with financial assistance from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) between 1993 and 1995. The NATSIVAD database comprised 5,500 records at the time my research commenced but has been extended since then. However, some artists represented in collections analysed in this current project did not appear in NATSIV AD. Every effort has been made to verify Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists' details and to ensure that inaccuracies and inconsistenc ies have been eliminated from the database established for this thesis. Despite this, it is likely that some errors remain. The following Authorities have been consulted in the process of checkjng data and appear below in the priority order. • National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Visual Artists Data Base (NA TSIV AD). 4th edition. Discovery Media http://discoverymedia.purescript.com.au • National Gallery of Australia ( 1983 & 1989). Australian Art: Artists' Workjng Names Authority List. NGA: Canberra • Kle inert, S. and Neale, M . (Eds.). (2000). Oxford Companion to Aboriginal Art. Melbourne: Oxford University Press • McCulloch, A. and S. (1994). The Encyclopedia of Australian Art. St. Leonards: Allen & Unwin • Varveris, T. (1978). Cataloguers' Manual for the Visual Arts. AGDC: Sydney Cultural protocols and respect It is customary for some Aboriginal communities not to speak the names of the deceased during periods of mourning. I am aware that several significant and senior Aboriginal artists have died during the course of preparing this research and that the official period of mourning may not be over. I wish to acknowledge their passing with respect for them and the ir k.in. Wherever it was possible to remove their names from the narrative which follows, I have done so. In a few cases thi s was not possible. INTRODUCTION Art museums function to collect, exhibit, interpret and preserve works of art for the future. This thesis is concerned with the way in which four leading Australian art museums - the Art Gallery of New South Wales , the National Gallery of Australia, the National Gallery of Victoria and the Queensland Art Gallery - have interpreted one of those functions, and how they have developed and enacted policies to collect Australian contemporary art between 1980 and 1995. It considers the outcomes of those policies and practices on the construction of public collections. Vera Zolberg speaks of the art museum 's purpose to "preserve for future generations the aesthetic achievements of the past and present; providing models of quality for emulation by creative artists of the present and future; providing access to these works, while providing a framework for their understanding for as broad a lay public as possible" (Zolberg, 1993: 155). By defining the purpose of the art museum thus, Zolberg, Pearce ( 1995) and Clifford ( 1988) suggest that art museums can be regarded as the apex of the collecting system. These collections provide a point of reference against which the rest of the collecting system can be measured and against which standards of quality can be judged. Further, as this thesis will assert, art museums construct, confirm and institutionalise the value creation and signification process which binds that system; they are, therefore, integral to the establishment and maintenance of the canon. Collections, a cornerstone of art museums, are the most potent indicators of those values. Since the 1970s criticism has been levelled at the traditional values of the art museum. The post-structuralist critique, in particular, sees the art museum as a debased and discredited institution, founded on a series of fragile fictions which reinforces exclusion, suppresses innovation, and fails to admit critique of the art world and art production (Bourdieu and Haacke, 1995; Crimp, 1993; Foster, 1987; Donato, 1979). 1 Pointing to the proliferation of profit-making enterprises 1 Quatremere de Quincy developed a similar critical stance of the art museum in the late 18th. Century (Sherman, 1994: 123). 2 Introduction undertaken by art museums, commentators claim that the late twentieth century art museum is in danger of "being sucked into the whirlpool of corporate capitalism's culture industry" (Luke, 1992: 5) or, as American artist Jenny Holzer's electronic billboard proclaims sardonically, "Money creates taste". Collections, once considered the ' life-blood' of the museum (Lasko, 1980, Noble, 1970, Wittlin, 1970), are scrutinised and revealed to be fetishized illusions of universal knowledge with each artwork treated independently both of the material conditions of its own epoch and of those of the present (Duncan and Wallach, 1980; Duncan, 1993; Crimp, 1993: 204). Alternate viewpoints, mainly promoted from within the art museum, suggest that pressure from such critique has assisted in transforming art museums. So it is said that art museums now focus more on their social purposes and relationships with communities, and less on functions and procedures. It is this change in focus which has revitalised approaches to collecting and display (Karp, Kreamer and Lavine, 1992; Karp and Lavine, 1991; Weil, 1990). Evidence is presented that art museums have attempted to 'democratise' governance, programmes and collections and that they increasingly recognise that the museum's voice is not transcendent (Harris in Weil, 1990: 51; Bum, 1989). Numerous case studies support these assertions. They show that art museums can, and do, overrule the traditional values of art history and challenge the 'grand master narrative' by considering and employing different paradigms, for example, the social history of art (Pearce, 1995: 148; Conforti, 1989; Clark in Wolff, 1991: 708; Karp, Kreamer and Lavine, 1992; Karp and Lavine, 1991; Moody, 1991; Harper, 1990; Nochlin in Sherman, 1990: 55). The fact that so many of these alternate viewpoints, mounted in defence of the art museum have been promoted by art museum practitioners leaves such viewpoints open to the charge of self-serving justification. The main problem with such defence discourses is that they fail to acknowledge the tensions and anomalies which continue to exist structurally and ideologically even when programmatic practice has been reconsidered and revised. Some of the most trenchant critique of the art museum has come through contemporary art practice, particularly in its avant-garde manifestations. This critique has challenged the art museum and contributed to its transformation. The rebellion against Modernism was already noticeable in the 1960s. At that time, some artists and commentators began to question its fundamental tenets. Why was the Introduction 3 artist-genius always positioned at the apex of the art system? Was the need to celebrate the rapid succession and bravura of new art movements - "the great carnival of aesthetic experiments" - self-defeating? (Pinkey in Taylor, 1995: 389). Taking the lead from their European and American colleagues, Australian artists sought innovations which contested dominant conventions of art practice and its reception. Installation and performance works reveal some of the paradoxes inherent in such explorations. Neither sculpture nor theatre, unable to be purchased or sold, transitory and ephemeral , these art forms undermined orthodox art museum attitudes to permanence and durability. However, in a bizarre bond, such avant-garde practices relied on, and were sustained by, the very ideologies and structures they sought to critique (Taylor, 1995). Artists continually experimented with different media and forms throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Continuing the tradition of Dada, Surrealism and Pop Art, contemporary art practice sought to attenuate the values of art and its fetishized materials and meanings. Artists turned to synthetic and mass-produced materials, even detritus, to convey meanings, often ironically inflected, about the human condition, art and art museums. During the 1970s and 1980s art became more overtly political in the meanings it conveyed. In response to social conditions and experiences art was affected by, and simultaneously contributed to, the political activism which characterised the 1970s and the discourse about cultural difference which marked the 1980s. From the latter grew distinct efforts to reassess and legitimise the art practices of those marginalised by the art system through gender, race, ethnicity and sexual orientation. The growing consciousness of cultural plurality was especially important to Australia, a country struggling to manage the legacies of its colonial past in addition to its multi-cultural present. Public interest in contemporary art also grew and developed during the 1970s and 1980s. Contemporary art lost some of its 'avant-garde esotericism' with Pop Art, becoming both more visible and accessible (Beaucamp in Gubbels & Van Hemel, 1993: 126). Arguably, some of that interest was inspired by the sensationalism of art practice, and where buyers were concerned, it was often speculative. With the media eagerly reporting the most outlandish and controversial aspects of current art practices and bolstered by rising values in the art market, contemporary art ' ' 4 Introduction increasingly transmitted an infectious energy and vitality in stark contrast to the dour economic forecasting which dominated daily life in the 1980s. Art museums, public funding, corporate collectors and art dealers fuelled the interest in contemporary art interest in several ways. From the 1970s national survey exhibitions, some with international credibility, featured prominently on Australia ' s calendar of art events staged by, or with assistance from, leading art museums. As the art world internationalised, more Australian artists contributed to mainstream exhibitions and symposia held overseas. The escalation of exhibitions domestically and internationally, provided opportunities for curators to diversify their professional practice. While curators based in Australia never acquired the same prestige as their high-profile European, American and, more recently, Japanese counterparts, their acumen was highly regarded as was the organisational support provided to them by public art museums. Importantly, these major exhibitions provided opportunities for curators to promote the work of select Australian artists. Inclusion in Australian Perspecta, the Biennale of Sydney or any one of a half dozen prestigious international exhibitions was an indication that artists were ' accepted' and ensured that those artists were well supported by public institutions in Australia. 2 In part, the move by art museums to collect contemporary work was also a response to the premium prices commanded by historical Australian art. Without significant cash reserves rare, early works were often beyond the reach of public institutions. Although it brought risks of a different kind, collecting contemporary art allowed art museums to develop new strengths and to buy ahead of the market without hefty financial outlays. Art museums also recognised that contemporary art could become a draw-card for new, younger audiences engaged by contemporary art 's polemic or by its trend-setting aura. Contemporary art was certainly lively, experimental and contentious. Within the art world, and even more broadly, it was a considered a ' hot item'. How art museums accommodated the 'heat' of contemporary art's volatility and different aesthetic within the scope of their existing collecting framework, and whether art museums succeeded in doing so, are underlying questions for this thesis. 2 There were few exceptions. One, Lynda! Jones, a multimedia and video artist, selected to represent Australia at the 2001 Venice Biennale is not represented by such works in any public art museums. She is quoted as saying: "In the past it was considered ephemeral but now with DVD, it's a very stable art form and much more feasible". (Georgina Safe, "Modem Choice for Venice", The Australian, April 20, 2001: 12). Introduction 5 In the broadest sense, art museum collections are selections of artworks which reflect contemporaneous values and concerns particular to time and place. The resulting collection has an intrinsic history and pattern of development which represents the art museum's deliberate intention to create relationships between real things. A core curatorial responsibility is the decision to select particular works for public collections. This decision depends on connoisseurship - the exercise of thorough knowledge and critical judgements. Curators of contemporary art argue that in addition to connoisseurship further skills and attributes are required to cope with the special circumstances of contemporary collecting. They suggest that part of their role is to engage the contemporary world with curiosity, depth and attention to its varied structures, issues and cultural forms, and to retrieve evidence of the ideas and values which condition the production of the art object (Murphy, 1993:140; Barr quoted in Varnedoe, l 995). Those responsible for acquisitions of contemporary art need 'a Janus-headed attunement to the claims of both the past and the future always negotiating the potential of both across the unfolding territory of the present' (Murphy, 1993: 139). Given the dynamic nature of contemporary art practice, the claims of the future are less certain than is the case when dealing with historical works where the passage of time has allowed critical judgements to develop and mature. In this precarious position curators seek direction from the acquisition policy. This should provide vision, guidance, structure and priority for collection development. In that policy lies evidence of the art museum's intentions. The outcome of the art museum 's intentions is the result of acquisition practices, revealed through its collections. However, those outcomes may not be transcriptions of policy. As T. S. Eliot so eloquently reminds us: ... Between the idea And the reality Between the motion And the act Falls the Shadow ... Because acquisition activity is often contingent on resources and circumstances, and, at the point of decision-making, is always subjective, analysis of collections will 6 Introduction reveal the shadows, the disjunction and anomalies between acquisition policy and practice. The contingent nature of acquisition activity has both institutional and political dimensions. The discussion of institutional practice presented in this thesis is framed, therefore, by consideration of government arts and cultural policy development which itself underwent ideological transformations in this period. Government patronage of the arts has been a feature of Australian political and social life since Federation, although the methods and extent of that support has varied over time. Statutory patronage, essentially forms of state subsidy to support mainstream arts organisations and foster cultural development, has characterised government patronage in Australia since the 1970s. Generally, both Commonwealth and State Governments have justified their intervention in the arts in terms of the public good. It is seen as appropriate for governments to support that which improves the quality of life, validates and legitimates social values, and fosters a sense of national identity for the whole community. Art museums have received government funding because they are considered integral to public education. Accordingly, art collections, regarded as part of society's cultural capital, are pivotal in fulfilling that duty. Since the 1980s there has been prolonged debate about governments' role in arts funding and cultural development. While many of the issues, such as funding levels, funding structures and funding emphases, remain constant points of debate, a significant ideological shift has occurred which increasingly emphasises economic returns rather than social benefits. In a period of economic restraint, and also because of changes in economic ideology, governments are disinclined to subsidise the difference between the real cost of arts production and what the market will pay. Instead, in an effort to reduce arts expenditure, governments have encouraged art museums to increase revenue through commercial enterprise, sponsorships and broadening market appeal. Government cultural policies, developed since the early 1990s, reflect this ethos and have been framed to support elite producers in 'cultural industries' which disseminate cultural commodities to consumers in a market economy. Figure 1, below, illustrates the shift in cultural policy and the tensions which arise between cultural and economic capital. This thesis will demonstrate this ideological shift and will argue that the pre-eminence of economic capital and Introduction 7 political circumstances assist the art museum to maintain its traditional position and values. Government policy Economic resources __ ____,..,. Art production ~ / Art Museum Art Museum Collection Policy 'The Art of Collecting" - (Why? I How?) professional expertise Art Museum Practice "The Collecting of Art" (What?) economic capital collections as commodity art as export cultural capital collections as knowledge & heritage art as public good: values, education national identity cultural tourism art market prestige of art & art museum Figure 1: The shift in cultural policy 1980 - 1995. The application of market principles to art museums treats collections in two ways. Firstly, as assets to be harnessed to increase revenue derived from rising numbers of visitors - in the new enterprise culture now referred to as clients or customers - and secondly, collections are used as 'trading capital' for the advancement of cultural tourism. It is consistent with this view, that collections must be filled with 'treasures' and 'masterpieces', their quality, rarity and distinction unparalleled and uncontested. This philosophy encourages competition for market share not only between art museums and other leisure industries but also between art 8 Introduction museums. In this climate of heightened competition for funding, sponsorship, audiences and prestige, there is also competition for acquisitions. It is a climate inimical to artistic or curatorial experimentation, a climate more likely to foster market tested and approved practice. That practice could advantage 'consecrated' or high art forms which command premium prices through rarity and distinction. It could also include more populist works which command celebrity status and where success is determined by economic return. Either way, the more that economic capital comes to dominate cultural policy, so the influence of cultural capital or symbolic capital diminishes. Research objectives This thesis examines acquisitions policies and practices in order to understand their impacts on the formation of public collections. It identifies and analyses the composition of four major public collections of contemporary Australian art developed over a fifteen-year period to determine comparative trends and goes on to consider such directions in the broader context of ideological changes in government cultural policy. In a very real sense because of their resources, prestige and political influence, the four art museums surveyed are the major force in the Australian art world. Together, they command the dominant position for Australian art acquisitions. The purpose of the research is to examine three related premises. Firstly, that contemporary art acquisition policies and practices are constructed to systematically credential , regulate and sustain core assumptions about the traditional values of art history. Secondly, that art museums reproduce particular elite forms of cultural representations which, in tum, are fostered by government policies. And thirdly, that the capacity of the art museum to adapt to shifts in the nation's political economy ensures the longevity of the art museum and binds it to the ideology of the state. The examination of these premises entailed four steps. The research began with a review of literature concerning contemporary collecting, the role of the art museum and theories of cultural reproduction. This was followed by a review of selected government documents and the records of the four art museums which are the subjects of this study. A database of acquisitions was developed. Raw data was Introduction 9 then assessed and statistical analyses prepared. Finally, comparative case study material was developed. The collections database formed for this pro jeer A database has been designed expressly to support the research project and to provide the means to analyse the quantitative data assembled. The database comprises basic acquisition data provided in text fom1at by each of the institutions as out! ined in the initial brie f for the database design (See Appendix l ). The four institutions supplied al l the data requested but three art museums withheld financial details. The Queensland Art Gallery agreed to provide financial data re lated to acquis itions provided that analysis of it was presented in aggregate form . The database wa<> created to convert text-based records to Delphi fi les, to allow manual input of additional data. to query the resulting data set, via SQL queries, and produce text files which could be imported into Excel. or othe r packages, capable of producing and representing graph ics. Simplified technical documentation about the database can be found in Appendix 2. The database compri ses 24,068 records of artworks and 3, 946 a11ists. Limitations There are several practical and methodological limitations to thi s project. Unforeseen problems were encounte red in establi shing the database. Data con tributed by the fo ur institutions were incompatible and an interface capab il ity had to be programmed. Major cataloguing inconsistenc ies within the data sets also had to be resolved. The most common error related to the orthography of artists' names and recording birth and/or death dates. This issue was most acute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists where linguistic conventions affect the rendering of tribal names and, in the absence of o fficial documents, some uncertainty remains about dates of birth and death. The list of authorities used to standardi se the data entries appears on page xv. Data had to be checked entry by entry and then verified - a painstaking, time­ consuming and often frustrating process taking many months. Extensive checks for duplicates were made, but despite thi s, some inconsistencies remain. The final rate of error, estimated to be less than I% of all artists, is acceptable and does not adversely effect the statistical analysis. 10 Introduction In addition to these practical issues, there are also methodological limitations. Data checking imposed constraints on the overall project, particularly the lack of further resources, and time, to undertake any qualitative research. Accordingly, a systematic methodological analysis of the acquisition process from policy development through to its implementation could not be attempted at this time. For pragmatic reasons then this project remains a quantitative assessment of collections augmented by reliance on archival research. No matter how compelling the data may be, statistics need to be used cautiously and interpretations framed to accurately reflect the complexities of institutional behaviour. Quantitative analysis also flattens and blurs important distinctions. To take an obvious example: for more than three decades art critics have referred to the 'death of painting' following the upsurge of less traditional art forms and new media such as video, multimedia and performance art (Hoorn, 2000). The statistical analysis for this thesis indicates that ' flat art ' - pictorial art including painting - is still the dominant force in collections. What the statistics cannot indicate is that there are considerable differences in style and content within the range of paintings and that much 'flat art' is experimental within the oeuvre. In such instances the statistical analysis has been interpreted with appropriate caveats. Even so, combining quantitative and qualitative research methods certainly would have strengthened the thesis. Most limiting of all: the narrative has no actors. In the 'de­ peopled' landscape of quantitative analysis the personalities of art museum staff, artists and policy makers remain hidden and recognition of their efforts and achievements obscured. The thesis set out with the express aim of only exploring its collecting function. There are, of course, many different ways that the art museum can accommodate non-traditional art forms within its exhibition and interpretative functions. Preview of chapters and key arguments Despite these limitations the quantitative data provide considerable information about what contemporary art has been collected recently by public art museums and point to some national trends. Gaps in those collections are also identified. Introduction 11 Also, the thesis highlights the disjunction between the rhetoric within the art museum and its actual practice. The rhetoric declares that art museums have opportunities and obligations to be supporters, advocates and interpreters of the new in art, and yet the record of acquisitions demonstrates a predisposition to collect in the name of 'museum quality' and to canonise a particular history of Australian art. The thesis has been organised to move from the general to the particular: from the broad context of government policy, to consideration of institutional policies, and then, on to a more focused investigation of two particular collecting areas. Chapter One provides an overview of Australia 's political economy. The chapter outlines the radical transformation in the ideology of the state in the period 1980 - 1995 and charts the impact of these changes on cultural policy particularly as they affect government involvement in art museums. The chapter explains that by the time the Commonwealth Government launched its first comprehensive cultural policy document, Creative Nation (1994), cultural policy was closely aligned with Australia's economic interests. The view of creativity and excellence expressed in Creative Nation , and pursued through the vision of a cultural industry, honours the talented few at the expense of the many. The thesis asserts that such notions, embedded in policy, encourage elite forms of cultural construction to dominate and proliferate. For the art museum these political and economic circumstances assist it in maintaining its traditional position and values. Chapter Two describes the evolution of collecting policies and practices within the four art museums being studied and presents evidence of what has been collected by them between 1980 and 1995. The tensions between policy and practice, between rhetoric and reality become apparent. On the one hand formalist concepts of Modernism prevail. Collecting is impelled by traditional concepts of aesthetic merit and professional expertise - referred to by one art museum director as, the ' resolute distinction of quality from mediocrity' and the quest to achieve 'curatorial brilliance'. On the other hand, art museums advocate support for new art, knowing that judgements about it are contingent. Nevertheless, unwilling and with insufficient resources to collect comprehensively, art museums resort to formalist criteria to select and acquire contemporary works. The resulting disjunctions are demonstrated in this chapter and the principal argument of the thesis is presented. The chapter concludes with a case study of the Tax Incentives for the Arts Scheme 12 Introduction which demonstrates that the State, through its instantiation of its economic ideology in cultural policy, participates in the reproduction of a conservative aesthetic. Of all the major reassessments which have occurred in the visual arts over the last three decades the most significant have been those made in relation to gender and race. Chapters Three and Four examine the premise that women 's a1t and the art of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, have occasioned revisions to the canon and to art museum practices. Chapter Three examines the under-representation of women's art in public collections. Empirical data provides evidence of the extent and nature of the disparities which persist in these collections. The chapter, framed by the discourse of feminist art historians, argues that despite prolonged attempts, the canon has not been modified. Attempts to 'difference the canon ' have succeeded to the extent that some women artists have been admitted but then only according to existing values. The chapter argues that their inclusion does not breech the values of the existing system. Chapter Four addresses the acquisition of works made by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists. In this case empirical evidence shows that contemporary Aboriginal art has moved from a position of relative obscurity to one which proclaims that it is Australia's most important contemporary art movement. The data indicate that rapid increases in acquisitions occurred after 1988. The chapter argues that, at first glance, the success of contemporary Aboriginal art might be accepted as a revision to the canon. However, the thesis will argue that the revision to the canon is illusory. Finally, the canon cannot accommodate the complexities, nuances and ambiguities of cultural difference except through appropriation and aesthetic reassignment into a Western-based knowledge system. The chapter concludes that contemporary Aboriginal art's valorisation within revisionist Australian art history, and as a symbol of national identity, restores the credibility of the art museum which was lost when it ignored the resurgence of Aboriginal art in the 1970s. While the presentation of the thesis is discursive, the underlying arguments and assertions, together with the empirical data, will pointedly indicate the consistency of cultural formations and cultural reproduction. The thesis does not seek to explain its cause, but instead aims to describe and identify characteristics of the disjunction between rhetoric and reality, appearance and essence, policy and practice. In one sense the exclusions which will be identified within the art museum Introduction 13 and seen to be supported by the State, suggest the 'grinding inevitability of cultural representations and reproduction'. Bourdieu 's substantial contributions to critical analysis of cultural reproduction, in particular his concepts of the 'cultural field', 'cultural capital' and 'habitus' through which he so clearly elucidates the transmission, investment and reinvestment of cultural distinctions and discriminations, allow us to recognise these characteristics within the practices of the art museum (Bourdieu, 1993; 1991). It is an invitation to be alert to what lies beneath the surface of the judgements made daily within art museums. In another sense contemporary art ' s vitality and continuing critical engagement with society suggests that cultural representations as they are exemplified in the permanent collections of the art museum, can be remediated through rigorously and continuously destabilising and deconstructing existing fields of knowledge. CHAPTER ONE Government and Cultural Policy This chapter outlines the role that Australian governments play in the arts and cultural policy development. It has two objectives: firstly, to present an overview of the transformation in the ideology of the state in the period 1980 to 1995 and secondly, to chart the impact of these transformations on cultural policy. The goal of the narrative is to reveal the emergence of the cultural industry model and to suggest how it affects collection development in art museums. This last theme will be explored in detail in chapter two. This chapter is divided into three parts: firstly , an overview of Australia 's political economy; secondly, a discussion about the changing approach to arts and cultural policy development and, lastly, a consideration of cultural policies established after 1990. While this account draws on previous studies of cultural policy development in Australia (Stephenson, 2000; Mcdonnell , 1992 and Rowse, 1985), its focus on art museums presents new material and perspectives. The view expressed in this chapter is that cultural policy, driven by the economic rationalist agenda, advantages elitism, produces conservative outlooks within art museums, and constrains innovative collecting practice. Instead of realising the vision of the 'clever country' , with Australians confident of their creativity and proud of their cultural achievements, economic rationalism's effect on cultural policy has been to categorise citizens into consumers and producers, to link cultural and economic value in ways which favour particular forms of cultural production and reception, to advance certain images of national identity and to promote economic returns from cultural tourism and private sponsorship. 16 Government and Cultural Policy Part One - Transformations: An Overview of Australia's Political Economy "In many respects it is an age of ruins ... in which selfishness and pride, the idols ofa corrupt heart , demand our homage and worship." Cardinal Moran, 1890. Leading historians and political commentators have variously characterised the two decades from 1970 as an "age of ruins" (Clarke, 1985), a period of "reinventing Australia" (Mcintyre, 1999; Mackay, 1993) and the "end of certainty" (Kelly, 1992). All recognise that the period saw the remaking of the Australian political tradition in ways unparalleled since the 1890s. It was once possible to ask the question, "What kind of society should Australia become?" and receive answers which referred to the enduring verities of the past - social justice, egalitarianism, paternalistic and interventionist government, and British traditions. By the 1980s persistent concerns about Australia's endemic declining economic situation saw all the old verities under siege. It was a period of questioning and widespread change. Significant ideas such as White Australia, Industry Protection, Wages Arbitration, State Paternalism and Imperial Benevolence that had constituted a compact referred to as the 'domestic defence model ' (Bell, 1997:45) or 'Australian Settlement' were repudiated (Kelly, 1992: 1-5; Capling and Galligan, 1992; Castles, 1988). In place of this compact came multiculturalism, a free market economy, enterprise bargaining, economic rationalism and republicanism. The vision for the new Australia was one based on accountability, competition, privatisation, de-regulation and globalisation. The government believed that economic prosperity could be found by trading competitively in de-regulated, tariff-free economic zones, and by encouraging foreign investment to an even greater range of privatised commercial activities. Despite increasing demands for leadership by the State in matters related to social justice, wealth re-distribution and cultural reconciliation, it sought opportunities to withdraw from service provision, choosing instead to operate in management mode, engaging in debate over policy and efficiency in policy outcomes. What le~d to these dramatic and far-reaching changes? Government and Cultural Policy 17 Egalitarianism, Utilitarianism and Paternalistic Intervention Australian political culture is founded on two predominant assumptions, egalitarianism and utilitarianism. The adoption of these assumptions as principles has conditioned the development of its political institutions and activities as well as the national psyche since its foundation as a modern State. Mateship ', and a 'fair go ', appeared early in the newly founded colony. Unfamiliar and inhospitable terrain and 'the tyranny of distance' (Ward: 1992) as well as the lack of a rigid class system provided a context which forced settlers to accept hard work, ability and tenacity as the foundation for advancement rather than social position alone. As the Emigrant's Guide to Australia stated in 1853, " ... the equality system here would stun even a Yankee" (Capper, 1973). Egalitarianism was cemented further by the experiences of the outback frontier and wartime - both contributing to anti-establishment attitudes - and was reinforced by social democratic ideals. In the two decades after World War II new industries and a buoyant export market sustained full employment. This ensured that the 'Australian Way of Life', once described as a house, a car and the quarter acre block, was reali sed for most people, including the many European migrants accepted after 1946. Few were prepared to admit that the "White Australi a Policy", a racial supremacist policy that denied basic democratic rights to Aboriginal peoples and excluded non-European migrants, undercut this egalitarianism. 1 The State played a leading role in the provi sion of public works and from the Depress ion of the 1890s sought means to insulate and protect the country from international economic fluctuations. Protection for Australian exports became a key factor in that platform and was seen as a means to secure the economic well being of its citizens. While debates between free-traders and protectionists raged prior to Federation and resurfaced from time-to-time thereafter, Australia remained committed to trade protection for its exports until the 1980s. Paternalistic intervention by the State ensured that from its inception, Australia was to foster political and economic rights of its citizens in progressive ways unknown and untested in few other politically developed nations at that time. In many respects Australia was 'born modern' becoming a social lighthouse for the 1 Adopted by the Labor Party's founding conference in 1905 and gradually disestablished between 1958 and 1966 (Macintyre, 2000: 143, 229). 18 Government and Cultural Policy world (Pusey, 1991:1). Thus, Australia espoused universal suffrage between 1894 and 1908 2 - well before Britain and the USA. Its advances in social democracy - a minimum wage, wages arbitration, social security and education - together with a buoyant export economy based on agriculture and minerals, created a high standard of living and won Australia a reputation as the lucky country' (Home: 1965). While the social critique from the mid 1960s began to expose the 'lucky country' as racist, masculinist, conservative and anti-intellectual, the egalitarian ethos remained a powerful symbol and a dominant value in Australian society. In Australia, utilitarianism underpinned a particular form of state paternalism or interventionism which was etched on the functions of government from its foundation. Alfred Deakin, the 'father' of Australian Federation, wrote: "Instead of the State being regarded ... as an object of hostility to the labourer, it should now become identified with an interest in his works, and in all workers, extending to them its sympathy and protection, and watching over their welfare and prosperity" (Deakin, 1890 in Pusey, 1991 ). From the first convict settlements, state intervention became synonymous with public works and social welfare. The earliest roads, buildings and utilities were developed and maintained by government, not individual entrepreneurs. Colonial governments and, after Federation, successive Commonwealth governments, continued to underpin economic development (Butlin 1983: 82). It was not until 1930 that private investment outstripped public investment in the national economy (Bell, 1997: 65). The historian Keith Hancock observed more trenchantly in 1930: "Australians have come to look upon the state as a vast public utility whose duty it is to provide the greatest happiness for the greatest number" (Hancock, 1930: 69). Post World War II and Keynesianism 1940 - 1970 Until the mid 1970s, the result has been an enduring belief that the State plays a leading role in fostering the material and social welfare of its citizens. While this ethos was established prior to Federation, it gained further credence through the implementation of Keynesian philosophies and practices post World War II. These philosophies gave priority to full employment as a right of citizens and ensured that this would be delivered through state-managed public works, state control over 2 Nomadic aboriginal peoples were provided with the right to vote in 1962 (Macintyre, 2000: 229). Government and Cultural Policy 19 financial institutions and markets and public ownership of industries. As the dominant social, political and economic ideology Keynesianism was an effective force for more than three decades. The New Paradigm In the post war period Keynesian economics had been challenged from time to time, but it underwent renewed attack and began to lose its hold in the late 1970s particularly in western economies (Bell, 1997; Pusey, 1991 ). Keynesian economics was destabilised and, ultimately, replaced by important economic changes: deregulation of international finances , low growth rates and high inflation levels coupled with persistently high unemployment. The latter phenomenon, in particular, undermined social cohesion and consensus in Australia. 3 It was also a period which witnessed political upheaval with intense, often acrimonious debate within and between political parties as the ideologies of the Left and the Right were tested and then compromised by neo-classical economic theory. Keynes' economic philosophy was supplanted by a new paradigm which relied on neo-classical economic rationalism centred on a methodological individualism. This new paradigm viewed the economy and markets as paramount and looked sceptically at the State as an economic manager. As Bell and others point out, one of the greatest ironies of modem political economy is that "Governments are judged by economic performance over which their control is limited" (Bell 1997: 5; Markoff and Montecinos 1993: 42; Kelly, 1992; Pusey, 1991 ). Economic policy since the late 1970s has attempted to restructure economic development in such a way to improve business profitability, to control labour and wages, and to remodel the State into forms compatible with the private sector (Bell , 1997: 3). Economic rationalism, a term coined in Australia by Michael Pusey (1991), was distinguished by its ability to enter and dominate every aspect of social life and organisation. A vocabulary, practice and philosophy, it became the new and only logic of the marketplace (Macintyre, 1999: 239-40). 3 Unemployment rates rose steadily from 1970 at l.5 %, 1975 - 5.2%; 1980 - 6%; 1985 - 10%; and topped l l.2% in 1993. Some downward trends were experienced as a result of Labor's s Accord with unions and employers operating 1982-85. During the same period inflation fluctuated to reach almost 16% in 1975 (ABS Cat. Nos. 6204.0 & 6401.0; Bell, 1997: chapter 7 & 8) 20 Government and Cultural Policy In Australia, public sector reforms compatible with the tenets of neo-liberal economics were instigated by the conservative Liberal-National Party Coalition between 1975 and 1983, and enacted by successive social democratic Labor governments thereafter. The implementation of such reforms indicates a bipartisan consensus based on minimal electoral opposition to such policy shifts (Pusey, 1991: 3). Political and economic liberals strongly supported what was regarded as a fonn of utopianism seeking to radically change the fabric and culture of Australian society (Macintyre, 1999; Melleuish, 1998; Pusey, 1991 ). There was little dissent or public debate to counteract this position. While the Labor Party and the Liberal-National Coalition espoused economic rationalism to different degrees and argued about the speed of change, at the end of the J980s the 'old order was finished' (Kelly, l 993:661). Both Parties eagerly embraced free market economic approaches, and agreed to cede State involvement in public works to the private sector and privatise State ownership of public resources.4 Throughout this period of economic restructuring the old patterns of egalitarianism, enacted through the benevolent Corporatist State, were significantly redefined. One indicator of the change was the attitude to social welfare taxes. In 1979, 62% of Australians believed taxes should be reduced and less spent on social welfare. By 1987 this had risen to 81 % of the population (Australian National Political Attitudes Survey 1967, 1979 and 1987). The compact of ' Australian Settlement' - a strong State to protect living standards - was dismantled. Strategies to 'fight inflation first' were maintained throughout the 1980s. But, one by one, these strategies were shown to be ineffective in controlling the domestic economy. Tightening monetarist policies resulted in high interest rates; attempts to control wages resulted in volatile confrontations in the industrial relations arena, including within the Arbitration Commission; raising foreign exchange rates hurt manufacturing industries and the private sector could not expand when commodity prices fell. By the mid 1980s Ausu-alians were more economically polarised than ever before. Between 1982 and 1994 the top 10% of income earners had gained an increase of $100 per week, the lowest J 0%, assisted by welfare, had gained $11 per week, but the real earnings of the remaining 80% declined (Macintyre, 1999: 253). Unemployment continued to rise throughout the 1980s and peaked at 11.2% in 1993 4 Government enterprises (airlines, shipping, telecommunications) were partially privatised from 1990 and tariffs reduced progressively from the same period. Government and Cultural Policy 21 (ABS Cat. 6204.0). Amongst the hardest hit were young school leavers and those people working in deregulated manufacturing industries and the rural sector. As Stuart Macintyre puts it: "Deregulation swept away the fixtures of economic life, smaller government removed the mechanisms of public support, the maxim of user­ pays eroded the ethos of the fair go" (Macintyre, 1999: 265). The implementation of neo-liberal economic policy brought considerable change, uncertainty and dislocation within Australia. Gregory Melleuish argues that one response to such change is to develop a series of 'packages' designed to create order and restore self worth. Just as "Australian Settlement" itself was a "package", contemporary Australia now sought 'the magic bullet' in new "packages" such as "the clever country", "multiculturalism", and "republicanism" which offered the promise to regain control , and the dignity to realise individual potential (Melleuish, 1999: 14 ). During the late 1980s and early 1990s governments promoted these "packages". As Michael James ( 1991) notes, just as government cultivated a "hands-off' approach to markets, so it became more interventionist in civil and cultural life. Melleuish's concept of the "packaging of Australia" offers an important perspective on how economic rationalism, lhe arts and cultural development became closely aligned, first in government rhetoric between 1990 and 1993, and then in policy after 1994. Initially, economic rationalism was envisioned as a renovation of the economy, allowing Australia to become more efficient and competitive and better able to operate within global markets. Gradually, it was also seen as a way to change the behaviour of individuals, revitalise national values and purpose, and restore national cohesion. But if the arts were to be aligned, economic rationalism could not achieve this without recourse to another "package". That "package" was the "clever country". The Knowledge Economy and the "Clever Country" The concept of the "clever country" aimed to overturn another of Australia's failings, its anti-intellectualism. For Donald Home, instigator of the National Ideas for a Clever Country Summit held in 1990, an alliance of Australia's intelligentsia could promote "the clever country" and a "creative nation" and restore national pride in cultural achievements. Thus, scientific and cultural goods, the products of the knowledge economy, could be regarded as export commodities, assets in the nation's 22 Government and Cultural Policy current account. The concept was quickly adopted. The Summit marked an extraordinary beginning to the Federal Election campaign that year. Just eight days after the Summit, the Prime Minister's policy speech, called for Australia to cast aside the idea of being a "lucky country" - an earlier Home epithet - and instead, embrace the concept of the "clever country" (Ideas for a Clever Country; 1990: 5). Economic rationalism could overturn Australia's poor performance in international markets and it could also position artists and scientists to achieve recognition and prosperity for the nation. That ideas and creative expression could be harnessed for cultural export and to advance national identity, were not new concepts or practices. Indeed, from the mid 1980s State Galleries regularly sent exhibitions of Australian art to China and Japan as a diplomatic gesture of goodwill and to cement trade relations with those countries. However, coupling national economic and cultural development to increase economic efficiency took existing policies in new directions. Such thinking overturned accepted principles of government involvement in arts funding. Earlier, the prevailing assumption had been that all citizens were entitled to access the arts but that markets would not pay the real cost of cultural goods. Now, it was argued, a market-led economy could recognise and reward the outputs of creative expression and cultural consumers, not the State, would pay to sustain artistic forms. It followed then , that 'excellence' in art was that which the market endorsed. The Prime Minister's 1993 address to the screenwriters and playwrights guild linked economic and cultural values: And good hearts and minds I think will recognise that to solve our social and economic problems we 11 need a renewed sense of national purpose and new levels of national cohesion. To go successfully in the Asia-Pacific and the rest of the world we 11 need new levels of confidence and mature self-esteem . ... if we are to make those economic, political and social advances I have just spoken of, we have to make a parallel cultural advance . ... our cultural development cannot be left to merely follow in the wake of the nation 's economic progress ... The economic imperative and the cultural one are not capable of separation - they have the same conclusion. We need to make things. And we need to export them ... We need to send these things of excellence out into the world with our imprint on them ... There is no doubt that we can get back to economic growth and general prosperity. But the prosperity will be more secure .. .if we also realise our culture is tied in with it and becomes part of it (Keating, 1993: 3-4). Government and Cultural Policy 23 These concepts and even particular phrases of this speech found their way into Creative Nation, the country's first written cultural policy announced late the following year. The Prime Minister was "not simply talking about image, but about income" (Keating, 1993: 8) suggesting that two objectives - excellence and revenue generation - cannot be separated. When cultural value and commercial value are aligned in this way and promoted by government and if such endorsement is accepted by organisations such as art museums, this becomes a monopolising assertion of symbolic value. The circularity of endorsement between government, art museums and the marketplace is a self-perpetuating affirmation of cultural distinction. Part Two - Transformations: Changing Approaches to Cultural Policy This section aims to chart the transformations in cultural policy which occurred between I 980 and 1995. This period was marked by prolonged debate about governments' role in arts funding and cultural development. The following discussion will highlight the significant tensions stemming from ideological shifts which emphasised the economic returns from cultural heritage over the social benefits which accrue to society. Government Patronage of the Arts and Cultural Development Government patronage of the arts has been a feature of Australian political and social life since Federation, though the methods and extent of support have varied over time. In Australia, State patronage of the arts generally takes two forms: direct support through the provision of finance and government services, and indirect support comprising regulation through legislative measures and programmes which encourage public and some private sector involvement in the arts (Lewis, 1994; Schuster, 1996; Battersby, 1980). In 1985 Tim Rowse proposed a typology of arts funding which identified three shifts in government policy from the 1930s to the mid 1980s (Rowse, 1985: 6- 30; Stevenson, 2000:23). This typology identified the first period of "voluntary entrepreneurship" from 1930 to the mid 1970s, a second period of "statutory patronage" from the late 1960s to the mid 1980s, and a third, more radical period, of 24 Government and Cultural Policy "decentralised patronage" commencing in the mid 1980s. A fourth period of "the cultural industry model" from the late 1980s to 1995 can now be added. See Figure 2 (below). The period of "voluntary entrepreneurship" c.1930 - c. 7968 This period saw elites promoting particular forms of high culture through quas1- government agencies such as the Commonwealth Art Advisory Board, established in 1912, and semi-commercial ventures such as the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust, founded in 1953 (Macdonnell , 1992; Rowse, 1985; Battersby, 1980). Government funding was provided to these agencies to support art acquisitions or the performing arts but the funding system failed to meet the needs of visual artists, other art forms or heritage preservation. By the late 1960s board members of these agencies finally persuaded governments, particularly the Commonwealth government, to establish structures to fairly distribute government subsidies for arts development. "Statutory patronage" - c. 1968 to the present The period of statutory patronage saw the Commonwealth Government establish formal mechanisms to provide project funding and advice to government. The Australian Council for the Arts, the principal conduit for arts development, was established in 19685 and the Australian Heritage Commission a statutory authority to oversee the built and natural environment was establi shed in 1975. The States also developed mechanisms to distribute funding to the arts. Queensland appointed the country's first Minister for Cultural Affairs in 1968, quickly followed by the first Director of Cultural Activities to advise that government on grants distribution to the performing arts (Macdonnell, 1992:28; Arts Committee, 1991 : 35). The Report of the Committee of Inquiry on Museums and National Collections (1975) recommended the establishment of the Australian Museums Commission, a statutory authority to co-ordinate government expenditure on museums and foster the development and preservation of their collections (Pigott Report, 1975: 3). However, this recommendation was rejected by the incoming Coalition Government. 5 Later created under the Australia Council Act ( 1975) as a statutory authority. 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1975 Liberal Coalition Labor Liberal Coalition Figure 2: A typology of arts funding (aj;er Rowse 1985) 1980 1985 1990 1995 Labor a 0 < 3 3 (1) ::i ..... ~ ::i 0.. n c -..... c ""'! ~ -'"O 0 -(=) ' '-< N Vl 26 Government and Cultural Policy The characteristics of statutory patronage for the arts and cultural heritage development were established from the outset and maintained through to the present. The State provides ' arm's length' funding to arts organisations and individuals to support 'excellence' and to reward certain forms of artistic production and distribution. The recipients of funding continue to include the largest and most prominent organisations such as the Australian Opera, the Australian Ballet and the Australian National Gallery. It is these organisations which represent and confirm "national life" and through which its values, customs and ethos are advanced (Home, 1989; Rowse, 1985; Bourdieu, J 991 ). The assumptions which underpin this type of government patronage is a type of cultural noblesse oblige. The more cultivated are custodians of cultural values for the less cultivated; the less cultivated may become more cultivated given knowledge through access to those particular and sanctioned forms of cultural production. Under "statutory patronage" Australian governments generally justified their support for arts funding in terms of the "public good". Economic arguments, while important, were secondary. Thus, the main "public good" justification for government intervention in cultural heritage is the provision of public collections of "a high standard which provide an intellectual resource and stimulate consciousness of collective identity" (Dept. of Finance, 1989:27). Economic benefits include direct and indirect spin-offs like cultural tourism and research based on those collections. Governments judge that public subsidy is warranted because cultural heritage management cannot be provided in sufficient quantity or quality at costs that the market will sustain. Table 1 (below) indicates total government patronage for cultural facilities and services over the period 1986 to 1993. These outlays account for approximately 2.4% of all government outlays (ABS, 1994: 10). In general terms, the outlays by the Commonwealth and Local Government have shown little change in real terms in the six years between 1986 and 1991. State Government expenditure on cultural facilities and services peaked in 1987-88 and in 1992-93, due to capital works expenditures in Sydney (Darling Harbour) and Melbourne (Museum Victoria and the National Gallery of Victoria), respectively. In real terms State Government outlays have been reducing over the period. Commonwealth government expenditure on museums and art museums has increased in the same period (ABS - CMC, 1996:6; ABS, 1994: 13). Government and Cultural Policy 27 Table 1 Government outlays on cultural facilities and services 1986 - 1994 ($ million) Year C'wealth State Local Total Art Museums I Museums C'wealth State Local 1986 285 687 239 1,211 36 80 1 1987 273 880 276 1,429 30 92 1 1988 286 388 293 967 35 72 I 1989 202 492 265 959 40 64 1 1990 209 499 286 994 53 77 2 1991 208 562 294 1,064 46 71 I 1992 1,213 846 463 2,522 n/a n/a n/a 1993 1,261 996 n/a 2,257 67 152 n/a Sources: 1986-1991 Australian Bureau of Statistics ( 1994) and 1992-3 Cultural Ministers' Council, 1996. Notes: Figures for 1992 and 1993 include capital expenditure which has been included as a result of changes to Government reporting standards. All sums are provided at 1994 prices. "Decentralised patronage" - c.1985 De-centralised patronage occurs when government funds are allocated to sub-sets of the community to support programmes within a defined sector (Rowse, 1985). Instead of aiming to fill cultural voids (the cultured vs. uncultured dichotomy) , the aim is to make latent culture active, to ensure that different cultural values are an acknowledged part of cultural practice and Australia's cultural identity. Instead of concerning cultural disadvantage the issues of cultural difference and plurality are addressed in ways which challenge and oppose the culture of privileged elites (Hawkins, 1989; Horne, 1987; Rowse, 1985 & 1989). Throughout the 1980s, assisted by the Labor Party's Arts Platform, concerted attempts were made to shift State patronage into new "de-centralised" forms of community-based activity. One manifestation of this direction was the Art in Working Life Scheme partnered with the Australian Council of Trades Union, enacted through the Community Arts Board of the Australia Council. Despite some evidence that community-based programmes were implemented in mainstream cultural organisations, equivocation, tokenism and inconsistency at policy and funding level often stymied these efforts. In reality, "community arts" and "de-centralised patronage" became synonymous with forms of cultural remediation, art therapy for those excluded from the dominant cultural forms (Hawkins, 1989: 33-35). Eventually the drive to democratise culture and the focus 28 Government and Cultural Policy on different social values which underpinned "de-centralised patronage" was overrun by the emphasis on the economic returns from the arts. "The arts industry model" - c.1989 to the present Consistent with the neo-liberal economic reform agenda pursued from the late 1980s, governments' case for sustaining support for the arts shifted to encompass economic as well as public good arguments. Governments' aimed to "seek outcomes which gave improved heritage value for the taxpayer dollar" (Department of Finance, 1989: 2). In so doing, governments found it easier to justify expenditure on the arts and cultural development when such support was seen as instrumental in obtaining other government goals such as economic development or promoting national identity (Schuster, 1996). By the late 1980s the concept of "private good", defined as those benefits enjoyed more or less exclusively and which could be assigned to specific individuals or groups and which could be marketed in some form (Dept. of Finance, 1989: 27), was promoted by governments as a means to offset public expenditure. Despite the lack of clarity in defining public and private good benefits within museums, with at least one commentator calling the distinctions "incoherent and necessarily tendentious in (their) bearing on museum policy" (Bennett, 1989(b): 38), 'user pays' became a catchcry for the implementation of charges for museum services. A series of museum reviews instigated by both Commonwealth and State governments from 1986 sought to identify efficiency improvements within museums and demanded improvements in corporate planning, accountability and performance measurement from museums6 . However, it was the Department of Finance's report What Price Heritage? (1989), which forcefully brought home the realities of the government's economic rationalist agenda to all Australian museums. Previously regarded as being in a 'special position', the Report made it clear that museums were now considered by governments "subject to the same rigour in assessment of benefits and costs" as other activities of government (Dept. of Finance, 1989: 28). 6 For example the Joint Ministerial Review of Commonwealth Museums 1986-1988, the Victorian Auditor General's Review of Management of Heritage Collections, 1993 and the State Government 's review of the Queensland Art Gallery 1992-3. Government and Cultural Policy 29 The emphasis on public sector reform, including the implementation of business planning within museums, became a preoccupation of governments at all levels. Deep concerns were expressed on several levels from museum practitioners, from arts administrators, academics and accountants. The concerns were also hroad­ ranging. Many were cautious about the incompatibility of translating broad public sector reforms into museums and ahout the inappropriate use of performance indicators7 (Anderson, 1993: 33; Schuster, c. 1996; McKinley Douglas, 1995; Weil, 1995; Engli sh, 1990 & 1991 ). Others were wary about adopting commercial accounting measures in not-for-profit practice (Carnegie and Wolnizer, 1996 & 1995; Rentschler and Potter, 1996). Generally, the museum sector perceived governments ' aims to impose accountabi lity measures usually associated with business enterprise profit-seeking orientation as contrived, too restrictive and incompatible with the broader, non-financial aims of museums. And yet. there was agreement that improved strategic planning and reporting would assist in improving organisational performance. The majority of art museums agreed with Doug Hall, Director of the Queensland Art Gallery, when he said: ·' ... broad stateme nts of policy enable you to undertake things w ith a degree of confidence ... it serves both ways - as a way of managing down or thinking into programs, as well as protecting you from inappropria te proposals and ideas that come from outside ... (Hall in Anderson, 1993:3 1 ). At thi s time governments also renewed their bid to increase private sector support for the arts (DCA - McGauran, 1999; DCA - Alston, 1996; Australi a Counci l - Bourke, 1993). Despite strong indications that business support for all cultural activities declined in real terms over the pe1iod 1986 to 1996, there is ev idence suggesting that sponsorship of the creative arts, art museums and museums rose in the same period (Australia Council , 1993). Big business was most influential, contributing an average of 65% of all arts sponsorship (ABS, 1996; DCA, 1999 and 1996; Australia Council , 1993). While not directly explored in this thesis, research by Victoria Alexander suggests that the effect of business sponsorship on art museums in the USA results in populist programmes (Alexander, l 996a; l 996b). 7 Performance measures are defined as "statistics, ratios, costs and other forms of information which illuminate or measure progress in achieving the aims and objectives of an organisation as set out in its corporate plan" (Jackson, 1991 :51 ). The museum sector has been unable to agree on common standards and it is customary for individual museums to develop specific criteria to measure organisational performance. 30 Government and Cultural Policy However, the increased levels of non-government revenue generated after 1988 by the four art museums investigated in this study, particularly through the development of their Art Foundations, is consistent with increases in business support (See Appendix 3). Governments also promoted the economic benefits of cultural tourism, nationally and internationally. Research conducted on behalf of the Australia Council between 1986 and 1992 and by the Bureau of Tourism Research after 1993 concerning the economic impacts of cultural tourism was one indication of this interest (Australia Council 1995, 1992, 1991(a) & 1991 (b)). However, analysis of that material shows that while the number of visitors to cultural attractions and their spending rose, the proportion of tourists visiting museums and art museums between 1986 and 1992 fell (Australia Council, 1995). 8 As long as revenue from tourists visiting museums continued to rise, an actual downturn in overall market share did not appear to concern governments or museums. Cultural exports and exchanges, particularly with countries m South-East Asia, were also encouraged and incentives were offered to achieve this9 . Linking the Commonwealth Arts and Tourism portfolios, a move sometimes imitated by State Governments, and amalgamating the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade were indications of these new directions in economic development and cultural diplomacy. While these directions were aimed at consolidating Australia ' s regional trade initiatives, they were also a part of the wider discussion about the country's place in the Asia-Pacific Region and issues of national identity. The inherent tension between crafting national identity and the notion of a market-driven arts and heritage industry is particularly evident in the appropriation of the economic jargon of the 90s used to assure taxpayers that the arts "are big business" (Stephenson, 2000; Moody, 1994). Research developed by the Cultural Ministers' Council, the Australia Council and the Australian Bureau of Statistics indicated that the arts industry earned more than the high-ranking traditional export earners of meat, wool and wheat combined. Such statistical evidence was frequently quoted in support of the economic viability of the arts (Australia Council 1998; 8 BTR attributes this to trends away from visiting friends and relatives (interpreted as an absence of direct information about cultural sources) and direct competition from other tourist attractions (Australia Council, 1995). Government and Cultural Policy 31 Keating - ALP, Cultural Policy, 1993; CMC, Statistical Advisory Group, 1991 ). In his election address in 1993, the Prime Minister referred to the arts as the new "sunrise industries because they are in the business of information and ideas and design and innovation; they are export earners ... with vast potential for growth in Asia and elsewhere. That is why we propose an industry policy for the arts" (Keating, 1993). Such rhetoric became a mantra: the annual government arts subsidy of $2.7 billion was an 'investment' which employed about 330,000 people and yielded a $13 billion return. lpse dixit - "Culture creates wealth". Part Three - Cultural Policy Development after 1990 Introduction Prior to 1990 arts funding was, de facto, cultural policy. Broad principles consistent with public good interests existed and were the basis for arts funding and cultural development. In some instances, such as in New South Wales, arts funding was developed in response to political party platform of the government of the day (Kenny, personal communication, 2000). Australian governments describe the purpose of cultural policies in various ways. Among the most frequently cited purposes are creating an appreciation of the country's diverse culture, creating a sense of community, common endeavour and achievement, meeting the cultural needs and protecting the cultural rights of individuals, and contributing to national prosperity (Commonwealth of Australia, 1994; Government of Victoria, 1991 ). Cultural policy development has also been defined as a set of guidelines informed by ideology through particular consultation (Radbourne: 1997: 281 ). It is consistent with the pursuit of neo-liberal economic ideology that once governments viewed the arts as an industry, it was imperative to outline and co­ ordinate priorities for that industry and to establish ways to measure the outcomes of policies and programmes. 9 The Australia Council announced a shift in its international cultural relations policy in 1990-91 towards programmes in the Asia-Pacific Region and aimed to increase its spending in this portfolio to 50% of budget, approximately $3m annually (Australia Council, Annual Report, 1993-94). 32 Government and Cultural Policy By briefly investigating the content of cultural policies formulated by the major political parties, and by State and Commonwealth Governments after 1990, my aim is to reveal the factors which have impacted on such policy development. Through an analysis of these factors I go on to suggest that cultural policy assists art museums to pursue and maintain a conservative approach to collecting. The ALP and Coalition Parties and their Arts Policies 1980 - 1995 In the absence of formal government cultural policies the arts platforms of major political parties provide some indication of policy intentions. These policies reveal more similarities than differences, despite the distinctive ideologies of the Parties involved (see Appendix 4). The factors influencing the arts platform of these political parties remam consistent over time. Broadly, these factors fall into three categories. Firstly, recognition of public good benefits generated by the arts including the fundamental role in articulating and transmitting concepts of national identity. Secondly, the economic impact of the arts on national prosperity and, thirdly, social justice issues concerning access to, and participation in the arts. There is also agreement on several strategies to support policy. These include, backing major cultural organisations, expanding non-government support for the arts, the development of new technologies to promote greater access to the arts and the shared responsibility of Commonwealth and State Governments to provide and maintain cultural facilities. The ALP and Coalition policies differed markedly in just two areas: firstly, in their attitudes to the Australia Council and, secondly, towards a national policy for museums. The ALP always regarded the Australia Council as a statutory authority accountable to government with autonomy over artistic assessment and the provision of assistance to applicants (ALP, 1988: 10). The Coalition sought greater control and from time-to-time considered replacing it with a Ministry for the Arts (Coalition, 1988). Thus, the Coalition's tum-around immediately prior to the 1993 federal election, and its pledge to maintain the Council, appears more about political expediency than consistent policy-making (Liberal Party, 1997; 1996: 11; 1994: 36). Attitudes to national policy for museums were more fragmented both within the individual political parties and between them. Following the ALP's electoral success in 1984, the Party moved to implement the findings of the Pigott Report (1975). It was committed to the establishment of a "national museums authority Government and Cultural Policy 33 charged with the conservation, preservation and presentation of the nation's heritage" (ALP, 1986: 11 -12). By 1988, due to continuing economic constraints, a national museums authority was no longer deemed viable or politically expedient and the ALP amended its policy to "support national co-ordination ... of the nation's heritage found in museums'' (ALP, 1988: 11). In sharp contrast, the Coalition remained consistently silent on the matter of a Museums Authority. As early as 1983, Senator Chris Puplick refused to be drawn into a debate with Brian Morris, the Chairman of the Museums and Galleries Commission (UK) at the Annual Australian Museums Conference. It was a sign that the Coalition's priorities were more firmly focussed on issues such as capital development of the National Gallery of Australia and the National Museum of Australia. Close a