The Domestic Muse: Male Artists Reflect on Private Spaces

Domestic spaces have always been difficult for artists. Pioneered by the female presence and argued through late modernism by Clement Greenberg as beneath the concern of great painters such as Jackson Pollock, the domestic re-emerged internationally as a site for serious study by increasing numbers of artists. This book provides a succinct overview of the establishment of European domestic space; considers the theoretical arguments that move the space to the margins of artistic activity and more recently encouraged its return to the forefront of studio practice. Annette Seeman discusses the works of four leading Australian male artists who have chosen to work in contemporary domestic spaces. Drawing inspiration from settings as diverse as the fishing boat harbours that define the port of Fremantle to darker memories of a post war childhood in Melbourne, they consider the complexities of motherhood,relationships, domestic architecture, plastic containers, lawnmowers and a future virtual domestic . Over forty images illustrate an entertaining and informative text and the artists bio-data will be invaluable for students and researchers.