Decoding dress 
Arts of Asia 2009 

Tuesdays 17 March - 27 October 2009
1 - 2pm
Domain Theatre, Lower Level 3  

You may be able to tell a sari from a sarong or a kimono from a cheongsam, but how much do you know about the stories behind these unique forms of Asian dress? Throughout history enormous attention has been lavished on the construction of garments and accessories and the significance attached to colour, materials and symbolism. The course covers the sartorial splendour of traditional Asian dress in Term 1, and in Term 2 considers the modern era when many Asian countries reinvented dress as a statement of national identity.

Bookings >

Prices
Non-members, full year $430.00
Members, full year $300.00
Non-members, single term $225.00
Members, single term $175.00
Non-members, single lecture $25.00
Members, single lecture $18.00

Full program
Term 1: Traditional

• 17 March Did fashion begin in Asia?
  Peter McNeil, professor of design history, School of Design, University of Technology, Sydney and professor of fashion studies, Stockholm University, Sweden
   
• 24 March Vested interests:  the robe of honour in Asian art and culture
  Susan Scollay, eastern and historic textile specialist  
   
• 31 March Saluting the gods in silken splendour: ritualistic make up and costumes in Indian dance
  Tara Rajkumar, OAM, Director, Natya Sudha Dance Company and School; Adjunct Research Fellow, Monash Asia Institute, Monash University
   
• 7 April  Dress of Joseon dynasty Korea
  Jackie Menzies, head curator of Asian art, Art Gallery of New South Wales
   
• 21 April Fashion in Japanese screen painting
  Haruki Yoshida, independent researcher, Chinese and Japanese art
   
• 28 April It’s only skin deep: tattooing in Japan’s floating world
  Amy Newland, Japanese woodblock print specialist
   
• 5 May Wearing the Universe: The court dress of Java
  Maria Wronska-Friend, Adjunct Senior Lecturer in Anthropology, James Cook University, Cairns 
   
• 12 May Chic in China – sartorial fads from ancient times to the present
   Linda Jaivin, author and China specialist 
   
• 19 May Who’s who at the Qing dynasty court of Imperial China: identifying rank through dress
  Judith Rutherford, Chinese textile specialist
   
• 26 May Clothing as a political tool in the Ottoman empire: two miniature paintings from a sixteenth century illustrated history of Süleyman the Magnificent (1520 -1566)
  Susan Scollay, eastern and historic textile specialist 
   
• 2 June Evolution of dress in Central Asia
  Christina Sumner, senior curator, international decorative arts and design, Powerhouse Museum, Sydney 
   
• 9 June Term 1 Revision
  Ann MacArthur, senior coordinator of Asian Programs, Art Gallery of New South Wales
   
• 16 June Term 1 Slide Test

Term 2: Modern

• 28 July Barbarian and Chinese: Dress as difference in Chinese art
  Antonia Finnane, professor of history, School of Historical Studies, University of Melbourne
   
• 4 August Dressing for power: Scholar’s robes, school uniforms and military attire in China
  Louise Edwards, director, UTS China Research Centre and convenor, Australian Research Council’s Asia Pacific Futures Research Network
   
• 11 August Dress, undress and colonialism in India
  Kama MacClean, senior lecturer, School of History and Philosophy, University of New South Wales
   
• 18 August The scandalous modern girl and the politics of dress in early 20th century Japan
  Vera Mackie, ARC professorial fellow, School of Historical Studies, University of Melbourne
   
• 25 August The cutting edge: fashion from Japan
  Louise Mitchell, former curator of decorative arts and design, Powerhouse Museum and textile and dress specialist
   
• 1 September Situating dress: the representation of women in Taiwan art from the Japanese occupation period to the present
  Natalie Seiz, assistant curator, Asian art, Art Gallery of New South Wales
   
• 8 September Gender, nation and the politics of dress in 20th century Philippines
  Mina Roces, senior lecturer, School of History and Philosophy, University of New South Wales
   
• 15 September Covering the Indonesian body: interactions of regional traditions with Chinese, Christian and Muslim clothing conventions
  Jean GelmanTaylor, associate professor of History, University of New South Wales
   
• 22 September Vests, jackets, blouses, kemben and kebayas: the incorporation of upper body garments in island Southeast Asia
  Joanna Barrkman, curator, Southeast Asian art and material culture, Museum and Art Gallery Northern Territory
   
• 29 September Tom boys, ladyboys, dees and hijras: Queer style in contemporary Asia
  Vicki Karaminas, senior lecturer in fashion theory and design studies, School of Design, University of Technology Sydney
   
• 13 October Shuang Xi/Shuang Bei: The use of costume in the work of Greg Kwok Keung Leong
  Greg Leong, artist and director, Burnie Regional Art Gallery, Tasmania
   
• 20 October Revision
  Ann MacArthur senior coordinator of Asian Programs, Art Gallery of New South Wales
   
• 27 October Term 2 Slide Test