Theses and Dissertations

Permanent URI for this collection

https://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/296

Browse

Browsing Theses and Dissertations by Author "Abasa, Susan"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Policies, practices, public pedagogy : two case studies of art museum educators in Aotearoa New Zealand : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Museum Studies, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2014) Abasa, Susan
    This is the first in-depth study of art museum educators in Aotearoa New Zealand. It seeks to understand and explain their practices, philosophies and pedagogies. It begins by revealing the history of art museum education in Aotearoa New Zealand in general, and more specifically at the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki and the Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu. Using inductive processes, historical methods, grounded theory methods and ethnographic approaches, in particular, direct observation, semi-structured and unstructured interviews, and auto-ethnography, the research observes, documents, and analyses the practices of educators, the policy context and the politics of pedagogy in the two sites. The study identifies three main features which together constitute art museum educators’ praxis: typologies of pedagogical practice; the prevalence of signature pedagogies; and two discourses – one which affirms and reproduces the authority of the art museum; the other, a transformative and critical pedagogy that opens new spaces for art museum education practices. Paradoxically, although the transformative discourses and critical pedagogies are ephemeral, fragile and rare they are apparent only in the presence of signature pedagogies. The study also examines the complex nature of resistant and constructive forms of art museum educators’ agency. It maintains that signature pedagogies and the logic of practice have deep historical associations that continue to support the political economy of the art museum. The study posits that it is possible to work within the tensions of different pedagogical epistemologies and ontologies if a new concept of public pedagogy is invoked. Understanding public pedagogy merely as educational activities in informal, institutionalised spaces does not account for the complexities revealed in this research. Therefore, the thesis suggests that public pedagogy in the art museum is a dialectic space that keeps both signature and critical pedagogies in a series of dynamic, emancipatory relationships where transformation can be contemplated and, eventually, enacted. Conceptualising public pedagogy thus suggests that awareness of predominant and transformative discourses and how pedagogical practices are interrelated with them is crucial to both practitioners and policy-makers. Understanding – and activating – the concept of public pedagogy provides both the practical means and a theoretical construct to ensure that art museum educators can deepen the community’s understanding of, and critical engagement with, art and art museums more effectively.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    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
    (Massey University, 2001) Abasa, Susan
    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 élite 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 élite 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.