Anne Zahalka

Structured essay questions
Question
Look at the artworks by Zahalka. Choose 2 artworks to Abe part of an exhibition to travel to Europe.
  a) Refer to ways this section of artworks communicates particular ideas about Australian art and artists
  b) Refer to the way the artworks provides a variety of significant interpretations of Australian culture
  c) Explain how these artworks reflect traditions in art by artists from other countries
Anne Zahalka has held many solo and group exhibitions in Australia and internationally in 1986 and 1990. She challenges the viewers to investigate the role of the artist in representing the contemporary age with such issues as gender, class and multiculturalism. This is shown by her nostalgic photographs in the ‘Resemblance’ and ‘Bondi: Playground of the Pacific’ series. Her subjects within the artworks are placed accordingly to how she wants it, settings are specifically structured, and the breaking traditions of truth are shown.
The ‘Resemblance’ series consist of appropriated images of the European culture. It includes the works The cook, The card players, The reader, The cleaner, The Dutch painter and The chess players. The cleaner, 1987 is an artwork that references contemporary life with a parody shot of the past European culture. If it was compared to the artwork ‘the cleaner’ which was made by _______, there would be a similar resemblance. The cleaners subject wore clothes that had a vintage fashion sense, whereas to ‘the cleaner’ wore clothes that traditional to the Europeans. Although the posture of both subjects is slightly different, people could still say that there is a resemblance to both artworks made to show the changes in culture. The black and white checkers tiled floor is also similar, as well as the still life image of the fruits on the table.
The icebergs, 1989, located from the ‘Bondi: Playground of the Pacific’ series, shows six elderly men posed in front of a beach (Bondi beach with three men...