The capacity of art to communicate my concern regarding the extinction of plant life in Tasmania is the subject of my investigation. Extinct plants distil and foreshadow my broader concerns for the future of all living entities. The plants that are lost due to extinction are often the silent victims of our land use practices. Making nature: Extinct Tasmanian plants, is an installation of art works that commemorate the extinction of twenty two Tasmanian plants. The art works take the form of embroidered wreaths, funeral urns and a memorial board. My aim in creating the art work is to encourage reflection regarding the role that members of our society have played in the loss of these plants. We may unwittingly be contributing to extinction and thereby ‘making nature’ in the process. A part of my motivation for creating this body of work has been to highlight the grief I feel when I learn that a plant species has been extinguished. My objective has been to represent the extinct plants in a manner that may elicit an experience of beauty amongst the viewers of my art. Beauty has the potential to arouse meaningful connections between the viewer and the plants, whereas, extinction eradicates that possibility and destroys the prospect of relationships between living things. Therefore, my use of beauty in the art work is subversive, because I am not seeking to provide pleasure; I have sought, instead, to generate a sense of anguish due to the loss of these plants. My investigative work draws associations with the art of Andy Warhol, Gregory Pryor, Janet Laurence, Fiona Hall and Christian Boltanski. Significant aspects of their work are discussed in relation to issues that I have examined in my art, including extinction, beauty and loss. Theories that examine the idea of beauty, including the reasons why it matters to us and how it affects us are explored. I argue that in the presence of beauty we can be moved to critical reflection. Such aesthetic and cognitive judgements surrounding beauty may lead to a greater awareness of the human impact on the natural environment. The project makes a contribution to the field of visual art through the theoretical examination of beauty in the context of contemporary arts practice. This visual work makes a contribution to knowledge by testing the capacity of art to create a commemorative site for reflection about the impact of extinction in Tasmania.

Internationally, museums have increasingly come under review since Bourdieu's (1969) research focused on art gallery visiting patterns and cultural codes. Museums exist within a post-modern milieu that demands a more democratic approach to defining their cultural and educational role within society. Over the last decade in particular, art museums, criticised for being elitist and insular within their communities, have been challenged to be more inclusive, accessible and relevant to their local communities.The literature suggests that a review of the core mission and the culture of museums is required to provide the catalyst for change. However, there is little evidence or few models offered as to how such re-visioning could be implemented. New Zealand art museums have been slow in responding to the issues, or to conducting research involving either their visitors or their communities. These emergent issues provided the context for this study, which is focused on the creation and reception of a community based exhibition within a contemporary regional art museum.This exhibition project brought together community participants and established artists, and the study evaluates the responses of the exhibition creators and the exhibition audience. In line with action research methodology, evaluation surveys and observational data were collected during the distinct phases of the project and resulted in a number of findings that have implications for regional art museums.The findings from this present study indicate that curators working alongside the community with an action research methodology, while developing exhibition projects, can produce positive outcomes for the participants, the audience and the museum. Creative partnerships can be established that enhance life-long-learning opportunities and contribute to the relevance of museums within their communities.The present study also proposes that museums re-vision their mission to become 'learning organisations' (Senge, 1994, 2000) and provides a model that could be appropriate for museums intent on enriching their organisational culture and enhancing their significance and profile within their community.

This thesis examines the reputation the 1970s have as a renaissance era for New Zealand public art galleries.It does this by considering the formation and development of galleries in the period as well as their approaches. Public and community involvement, energy, innovation, activism, and engagement with contemporary New Zealand art are key areas of approach investigated since increases in each are associated with galleries in the seventies.The notion of a renaissance is also particularly associated with provincial galleries. In order to examine this idea in detail three "provincial" galleries are taken as case studies. They are the (then named) Dowse Art Gallery, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery and Manawatu Art Gallery.The seventies are revealed as a "culture change" era for public art galleries in New Zealand. New ones were founded, many were rebuilt or substantially altered, and there was a shift from the rule of the amateur to that of the professional. The majority of existing galleries went from being static institutions with few staff, neglected collections, and unchanging exhibitions, to become much more publicly oriented and professionally run operations. Moreover, while change occurred across nearly all institutions, it tended to be led from the provinces.Several reasons are suggested for the forward-looking nature of the three case study galleries. One is that they reflected the energy and flexibility that goes with new, small organisations. Another is that all three existed in cities with little appreciation of art and culture and so had to strenuously prove themselves to gain community acceptance and civic support.Other galleries, particularly the metropolitans, are shown to have followed the lead of the progressive focus institutions. Influencing factors on changes in all New Zealand galleries are therefore also sought. They include the growth in new, well educated, sophisticated, and internationally-aware audiences; greater production and public awareness of New Zealand art; interest in exploring a New Zealand identity; world-wide revolutionary social changes in the '60s and '70s; and increased government funding for building projects.The changes that took place in New Zealand art galleries in the 1970s are shown to sit within the wider contexts of increasing trends towards public orientation by museums internationally, both before and during the decade, and in New Zealand since the seventies. However, the very notion of public orientation is also suggested to be historically relative and, ultimately, politically driven.

The purpose of this thesis is to underline the importance of developing useful and mutually beneficial relationships between local iwi and museums, and to consider the subsequent implications for museum practice. The thesis assembles a variety of contemporary sources in order to document and construct a chronological narrative of events: minutes and communications; interviews with staff and key participants in the process of acquiring the Partington Collection by the Whanganui Regional Museum; media reports; and a survey of recent literature. The Partington Collection of Whanganui Maori photographs is integral to this examination because of its importance to both Whanganui iwi and the Whanganui Regional Museum. The situation of colonial photography in museums has changed over the century from being viewed as a factual reflection of the cultural imperatives of indigenous peoples, to being viewed as a colonial construct consigning indigenous peoples to their past. Because this Collection is the most comprehensive photographic documentary of Whanganui Maori from the turn of last century it adds immense value to the Museum’s existing collections. However to Whanganui iwi the photographs of their ancestors are taonga tuku iho: far more than just photographic images they are demonstrably and undeniably imbued with the mana of their tupuna. The public auction in 2001 of the Partington Collection created a catalyst for action and an opportunity for Whanganui iwi and the Museum to work together to ensure the return of the photographs to Whanganui, an outcome that was finally achieved in 2002. The thesis concludes that the successful return of the Partington Collection to Whanganui could not have been possible without the long term evolving relationship between iwi and the Museum and in particular the more recent emergence of a bi-cameral governance structure. Furthermore the maintenance of relationships and communication is crucial to the evolution of museum practice. This would suggest a reversal of the traditional perspective that museum practice and procedure is pre-eminent. Instead, this case study demonstrates that relationships are at the heart of museum practice.

Historical and contemporary views such as those held within Buddhist and Hindu religion support the idea that sound, colour and form in motion have the ability to alter physiological and psychological aspects of human function. Within these, religions, distinctive singing and meditation techniques can be used to aid concentration, calm and balance the mind, and soothe the body. A meditative technique adopted by Hindu and Buddhist practitioners is to draw the mind into a centred point of focus, blocking out external distractions that inhibit concentration. The sound based meditation Om, for example, is a most powerful mantra, capable of healing and elevating consciousness (Beck, 1995). Vocal sounding and chant as well as gazing at or visualising images are techniques that have been utilised in ancient religious practice to aid people to develop their natural capabilities to shift energy within body and mind. Contemporary neuroscientists are interested in the states of mind that Buddhist monks claim to enter into while sounding. Equipped with technology for analysing brainwave activity, experiments have revealed that electromagnetic stimuli such as sound, light and colour can have physical affect upon the practitioner’s brain. Researchers have developed new therapeutic tools and techniques to benefit the health and well-being of individuals from these findings. This thesis traces the therapeutic use of sound, light, colour and form in motion from ancient Hindu and Buddhist religion into its use in complementary therapy. Sound Vision is the name of the film which fulfils the practical component of this research. Inspired by the visual form and motion of sound, this thesis contemplates: if we could see sound, what would it look like and could those images function as a healing art form? Sound Vision translates ancient and contemporary techniques of therapy into a digital audio/visual medium to function as visual therapy and aid for meditation. The themes of this research are foremost to visualise sound and secondly to deduce aspects of sound and vision that have therapeutic qualities. Chapter Three of this thesis thematically outlines qualities of sound that have been found to be capable of exciting or calming its listener. The same process has been applied for vision, specifically how light and colour affect the viewer as well as for form in motion. An interim presentation of the preliminary film, Dance of Light, was exhibited in November 2008 and here formative feedback was gained through unobtrusive observation and discussions with viewers toward the development of Sound Vision. Aspects of the film were found to provoke feelings of unease and tension while other aspects incited focus and calm. Sound Vision, serves as a prototype apply healing using light therapy to create positive physical and psychological outcomes. From the research presented within this thesis, Sound Vision employs various digital methods and techniques which are recognised with ability towards healing. Explorations to further this thesis’ research may include Neurological brainwave analysis and patient testing to determine which kinds of video footage produce particular desirable results.

Uni form is an exploration into the act of getting dressed. The act of dressing or assemblage of dress is negotiated and explores how personal identity is constructed. My design research contributes to a current understanding of self, dress and social identity. I begin with an analysis of wardrobe as a personal collection and I propose that, in our everyday dress, much of what we choose to wear constitutes a uni form of one sort or another. Focusing on the shirt dress as an ‘ordinary’ everyday style of generic dress, I set out to experience the wearing of a personal uniform. What emerges from this research is a proposal that a uni form – a metaphoric garment – can meet the needs of everyday life in the postmodern urban metropolis.

Uni form is an exploration into the act of getting dressed. The act of dressing or assemblage of dress is negotiated and explores how personal identity is constructed. My design research contributes to a current understanding of self, dress and social identity. I begin with an analysis of wardrobe as a personal collection and I propose that, in our everyday dress, much of what we choose to wear constitutes a uni form of one sort or another. Focusing on the shirt dress as an ‘ordinary’ everyday style of generic dress, I set out to experience the wearing of a personal uniform. What emerges from this research is a proposal that a uni form – a metaphoric garment – can meet the needs of everyday life in the postmodern urban metropolis.

Uni form is an exploration into the act of getting dressed. The act of dressing or assemblage of dress is negotiated and explores how personal identity is constructed. My design research contributes to a current understanding of self, dress and social identity. I begin with an analysis of wardrobe as a personal collection and I propose that, in our everyday dress, much of what we choose to wear constitutes a uni form of one sort or another. Focusing on the shirt dress as an ‘ordinary’ everyday style of generic dress, I set out to experience the wearing of a personal uniform. What emerges from this research is a proposal that a uni form – a metaphoric garment – can meet the needs of everyday life in the postmodern urban metropolis.

Uni form is an exploration into the act of getting dressed. The act of dressing or assemblage of dress is negotiated and explores how personal identity is constructed. My design research contributes to a current understanding of self, dress and social identity. I begin with an analysis of wardrobe as a personal collection and I propose that, in our everyday dress, much of what we choose to wear constitutes a uni form of one sort or another. Focusing on the shirt dress as an ‘ordinary’ everyday style of generic dress, I set out to experience the wearing of a personal uniform. What emerges from this research is a proposal that a uni form – a metaphoric garment – can meet the needs of everyday life in the postmodern urban metropolis.

Uni form is an exploration into the act of getting dressed. The act of dressing or assemblage of dress is negotiated and explores how personal identity is constructed. My design research contributes to a current understanding of self, dress and social identity. I begin with an analysis of wardrobe as a personal collection and I propose that, in our everyday dress, much of what we choose to wear constitutes a uni form of one sort or another. Focusing on the shirt dress as an ‘ordinary’ everyday style of generic dress, I set out to experience the wearing of a personal uniform. What emerges from this research is a proposal that a uni form – a metaphoric garment – can meet the needs of everyday life in the postmodern urban metropolis.