Images of Australian Musicians: Diversity, Identity, Status, Class

In this paper, the myth of Australia as a classless society is critically interrogated by examining the portrayal of musicians in Australia’s National Portrait Gallery. The collection (and its development) can be understood as a reflection of our national cultural identity, and its analysis raises issues of cultural hegemony and the cultural cringe, along with the impact of globalization. The institutional framing of musicians at a national level reveals the values that influence our culture and our artistic life. As it is through the visual that many ideas about music are communicated, the constitution of such a collection can mirror and reflect, but also distort and even block, the significance of individual achievement.

This paper considers the portraiture of classical musicians in relation to jazz, pop, experimental and indigenous musicians; issues such as gender, race and cultural identity are also considered. The specific research question is: what can we learn about the diversity, identity and status of musicians in Australia by studying their visual representation? Given the visual bias of contemporary society, the representation of music plays a powerful role in communicating ideas about music to the broader public. The larger question is: how can this study contribute to current discussions about class?