This thesis discusses some aspects of the exhibition designer's role in state museums and galleries. It draws on the author's experiences in Singapore and his observations as a student living in Sydney. Museum exhibition designers are servants of the state. They help create public culture and promote a version of history. But if one is to understand the ways in which designers create meaning (and serve their employer's interests) we need to identify the 'vocabulary' and 'grammar' that they have at their disposal. To this end, the thesis outlines the variables that they work with and argues that they need to understand their employer's ideologies and history. The design vocabulary and grammar that the exhibition designer works with to create meaning in bridging understanding needs to be commensurate with the knowledge of history and the primary ideologies of the state which he/she serves. Singapore's recent interest in arts and heritage museums as part of a larger desire for regional economic and cultural survival and pre-eminence needs to be identified with the evolution, interconnectedness and ambitions of Singapore's arts and cultural organisations. In conjunction, some of the implications of Singapore's Arts and Heritage Policy need to be unpacked. A brief but concise comparative history of Sydney, Australia is made for the arts, cultural and museum comparison between Australia and Singapore. The exhibition designer's vocabulary and grammar can then be used to evaluate four exhibitions in Sydney and Singapore. This dissertation addresses the issues of 'Asian-ness' , modernisation without westernisation and the state's desire to meet the challenges which global communication systems place upon Singapore citizen's welfare. The dissertation is very art focused. It discusses all display objects as though they were paintings and works of fine art / Master of Arts (Hons)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/235281 |
| Date | January 1997 |
| Creators | Sin Song-Chiew, James, University of Western Sydney, Faculty of Performance, Fine Arts and Design |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Source | THESIS_FPFAD_XXX_SinSongChiew_ J.xml |
Page generated in 0.0026 seconds