MICHAEL
DOOLAN
EDUCATION
RESOURCE
CONTENTS
Introduction
2
Artist’s statement
3
For teachers: Education notes
5
For teachers: About Michael Doolan
6
For students: VCE Art, Studio Arts and F–10 curriculum focus questions and worksheets
12
INTRODUCTION
A major public artwork by Melbourne artist Michael Doolan is on display at the rear of Bendigo Art
Gallery, next to the extension completed in 2014.
Happy Ending? is a large-scale, shimmering dark (blue black) fibre-glass sculpture depicting a
teddy bear gazing in the direction of a small bird that appears to have fallen from a tree. The bear
is covering his eyes as if to cry, but, as with most of Michael Doolan’s sculptures which capture a
turning point or key moment in an undisclosed narrative the outcome of the bird’s fall is unclear.
‘Can the observer bring this troubling scenario to its rightful conclusion?,’ Doolan says.
Happy Ending? relates to a series of artworks in which Doolan explores the hidden, often dark
meaning behind popular children’s fairy tales. His works resemble stills from animated films,
capturing a critical moment in a story, but the ending is always unresolved and left for the
audience to decide.
Dr Michael Doolan lives in Melbourne and lectures at the Sydney College of the Arts. Previous solo
exhibitions include, most notably, Once Upon A Time (2010) at Federation Square, and Forever
Now (2008) at the Depot Gallery, Sydney.
Happy Ending? Was principally funded by the Victorian Government’s Public Sculpture Fund with
additional funds from the Bendigo Art Gallery Board and supported by the City of Greater Bendigo.
It was officially launched by the Victorian Arts Minister, the Hon. Heidi Victoria on Monday 28 April
2014.
Michael Doolan Australia 1959 Happy Ending? 2014
fibre glass, wood, steel and automotive enamel
2
HAPPY ENDING?
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
A bird lays prostrate at the foot of an anthropomorphised tree. We somehow recognise it as a
tree, although it doesn’t resemble the usual, heavily branched representational cliché discovered
amongst the well-established cartoon ecosystem. Atop its steadfast and solid trunk which happily
resides amongst a modest earthy landmass, there remains scant evidence of branch or leaf, but
only a massive, glowing, puffy orb that reflects both the viewer and its immediate surroundings
as if they were under moonlight. Depending on the focus of our gaze, the calamitous events that
appear to be unfolding beneath are both exaggerated and understated at the same moment.
Our focus shifts to the bird: hard or soft, dead or alive, fallen or about to take flight. Its position
beneath the tree suggests some kind of dilemma as the tree magnifies everything that surrounds
it, but its contradictory state of being and questionable materiality is intended to interrogate our
immediate instincts. Is this a bird from the realm of the fairy tale?
Amidst this unfolding scenario and standing almost as tall as the tree, an enormous humanised
bear looks on. The bear appears to be gazing down in the direction of the bird. The high gloss
surface clashes with his surroundings. He reflects both the bird and tree as they, in turn, mirror his
presence, merging this puzzling scenario and its participants into a hall of mirrors as their reflections
‘play’ between the folds and creases of their plush exteriors. Head down, the bear’s body-language
typifies sorrow or perhaps a state of mourning, but without question provides indisputable proof
to both the focus of his attention and state of mind. This is an undeniably sad occasion, but why
is he hiding his eyes? Perhaps the events unfolding are much too difficult to comprehend. Or
is he mourning the sudden loss of a woodland companion, or lamenting his protagonists failed
attempt to regain flight? This scene and its highly charged colouration presents an overwhelming
feeling of ‘now’. Its immediacy is like the single cell from a stop action movie suddenly arrested at
its key junction or an illustration by Gustave Doré setting the keynote for the fairy tale. However,
Happy Ending’s fairy tale remains intact. It invokes its own fiction as it immerses the viewer in an
abundance of readings. Can the observer bring this troubling scenario to its rightful conclusion? Will
they become bear, bird or tree and if so who will utter this transitional narrative’s opening lines?
The bird is devoid of the ability to communicate. His sweet, lyrical tune has fallen silent. His eyes
are shut and he no longer draws breath.
The bear pleads mournfully to his woodland companion to once again take flight as this
troubling scenario appears to have reached its ultimate conclusion.
‘Please fly again small bird,’ whispers the deeply sombre bear as he peers despondently
between his large raised paws at his silent, lifeless companion.
‘Please fly again.’
Once more, there is silence.
Then without as much as a sound; the resolute and steadfast tree gently motions in the bird’s
direction as if unexpectedly stirred by a strong, but quiet breath of wind. As the tree bends towards
the bird, its glowing, puffy orb appears to be gazing directly into the fallen creature’s eyes as it
flawlessly mirrors him in his perfect, silent and motionless state.
Has it suddenly started raining? Two drops of water appear to have fallen gently upon the bird. The
small transparent volumes glisten like two minute organic, convex screens transmitting the tree
and bear in gleaming miniature. However, there is no evidence of rain.
3
Are these tears falling from the tree’s luminous, now mournful orb adding a morbid sense of gravity
to this already patently sombre occasion?
Is the once resolute and steadfast tree now weeping in utter despair?
As the tears disappear amongst the bird’s reflective corpulence there is movement.
The beautiful bird opens his eyes!
He flaps his wings and his once absent lyrical tune magically returns!
It appears the tree’s tears have granted the bird new life.
‘Kywitt! Kywitt!’
Is this the ‘Happy Ending’ we are all wishing for?
Happy Ending? is inspired by the Grimms’ cautionary tale The Juniper Tree, also known as The
Almond Tree (1884): which charts the story of a dead child who is reincarnated as a beautiful bird.
Dr Michael Doolan
4
FOR TEACHERS:
EDUCATION NOTES
The inclusion of Happy Ending? into Bendigo Art Gallery’s permanent collection provides students
and teachers with a large-scale, eye-catching artwork that can be viewed and discussed outside the
traditional walls of the gallery. It also delivers many educational references with which to explore art
that may not have previously been possible. As the Victorian curriculum moves towards emphasising
the understanding of contemporary art, a visit to Happy Ending? provides an ideal focus.
Public art
Within a study of Ideas and Styles In Artworks, VCE Studio Arts Unit 2 students learn about Copyright,
Moral Rights, Appropriation and exceptions to some of the laws such as Fair Use. They learn that the
public is free to photograph and reproduce works of public (or outdoor) art without the traditional
need to seek permission. Happy Ending? is a perfect example of a public art project which can be
viewed and photographed from many different angles by the public. It also attracts new audiences to
enjoy and experience art, audiences which may not traditionally visit the gallery, through its location
on the edge of Rosalind Park.
Postmodernism
One of the features of this style or movement is the use of subject matter usually confined to
popular or low culture, such as toys. Doolan recontextualises the use of the toy by using it as a
metaphor for childhood memories and adult fears, exploring the psychology of how we perceive
ourselves in the adult world. So, although on the surface, the artwork appears to be childlike and
have a sense of fun, by looking more deeply, the viewer can see that there are darker undertones
such as a fallen character and faceless figures.
Relational aesthetics
Another feature of contemporary art explored by artists is the requirement for audience
participation to complete the artwork. To maximise the effect on the viewer Happy Ending? should
be viewed firsthand. Doolan is interested in the notion of reflexivity – the fact that you might
see yourself reflected in the work; therefore, you become part of the work. Doolan’s idea is for
the viewer to complete the story – this is consistent with the current art concept of Relational
Aesthetics which requires the viewer to participate with the artwork, often in a physical sense.
Viewing Happy Ending? in reproduction would only provide a limited experience and there would
be no participatory viewing the reflection.
Materials
Although it is still relevant for students to study traditional art materials, it is also important for
them to understand how artists may use new materials or work collaboratively with others to
execute larger-scale artworks. Despite their slick finish, Doolan’s smaller works are usually modelled
in clay using the traditional hand-building techniques of coil, slip and score. The larger pieces, such
as Happy Ending? require multiple technologies and may be made from vinyl, polyurethane or
fibreglass. Happy Ending? has been cast in fibreglass and was realised in large scale through the
employment of Computer Numerical Controlled Machinery (CNC). Doolan needed to outsource the
production to a team of specialists including an engineer, an automotive painter, a fabricator and a
3D scanner. This differs from the traditional idea of an artist working in isolation producing by hand
every part of the process of an artwork and challenges the notion of the artist as creator.
5
FOR TEACHERS:
ABOUT MICHAEL DOOLAN
Ideas, themes and subject matter
Doolan’s main choice of subject matter is the toy. Drawn from popular culture, he uses the toy to
prompt childhood memories and make the viewer consider the way we behave in the adult world.
Some of the subject matter he has explored over the past 20 years has included nursery rhymes,
teddy bears, Gumby and Pokey dolls, Pokémons, Lego figures and more recently, woodland
creatures and characters inspired by Grimms’ Fairy Tales. Happy Ending? is the largest work he
has produced within the woodland series and is site specific within its environment of the edge of
Rosalind Park, Bendigo with a backdrop of trees, parkland and a nineteenth century mining poppet
head.
The subject matter of toys can be seen as metaphors for exploring duality, good and evil and the
transition from childhood to adult life.
The artworks created by Doolan explore ‘good and evil devices and narrative structure’ (Thorpe,
A. 2001 ‘Shaped by a Moral Imperative,’ The Australian, 14 June, 2001.)
‘at first glance the work evokes warm fuzzy feelings. However, Doolan’s creations are about the
loss of innocence as they carry a cargo of adult themes within their folds’ (Davies, T. ‘Whistling
up Trojan Horses,’ Ceramics Technical Issue #19.)
‘I am always aiming to disarm the viewer, to make them consider the loss of their childhood and,
in doing so, remove them from the baggage of adult life, of consumerism and financial drive and
all that stuff that adults take on’ (Bellamy, L. 2005 ‘Figures of fun tell a toy story,’ The Age, 2 April,
2005.)
Memories of childhood
Doolan cites happy memories of his upbringing. His childhood in suburban Glen Waverley was, he
remembers, a gentle one, with his spare time spent drawing, painting and reading Mad ‘because I
had a secret belief that I, too, could become Alfred E Newman’ (author of this celebrated magazine).
Doolan intends to prompt forgotten memories of childhood and question the way we perceive
ourselves in the adult world, providing a new pathway for understanding the impact and influence
of our childhoods on our adult behaviour.
Anthropomorphism
Doolan is interested in different readings of well-known fairy tales such as Little Red Riding Hood,
Bluebeard and others. For example, in the original Little Red Riding Hood tale, the wolf was actually
a werewolf and had human characteristics. He is interested in the theme of Anthropomorphism –
humans with animal qualities, such as the 1619 version of the Grandmother from Red Riding Hood.
He considers that in the original Red Riding Hood, she may have been a prostitute rather than the
innocent girl usually portrayed. Doolan has considered that Puss in Boots and Felix the Cat are also
interesting characters as the cat can change himself into things. Another series of sculptures focuses
on Pokémon figures; Doolan was interested in their morphing qualities.
6
Cautionary tales/ allegory
Many of his works are presented as tableaux of figures at a particular stage of an event that has
occurred; sometimes there is violence implied. The idea of the Cautionary tale, derived from
folklore, is an ongoing theme in his work. In Happy Ending? it could be construed that the bird tried
to fly too early in its life, despite warnings. It now has to suffer the consequences of injury or worse
it becomes flightless.
Whether from the contemporary Japanese Pokémon characters or characters from traditional
storytelling, Doolan is interested in the narrative. Throughout his PhD research, he was interested
in the fact that in the past stories were told verbally rather than read because most people were
illiterate. Therefore elders might modify the stories, especially folkloric stories. His communication
of the narrative is not intended to be literal however, and the viewer is encouraged to be involved
through viewing their own reflection in the shiny surface.
Influences
Artistic influences
Doolan’s artistic influences are mostly contemporary and are wide and eclectic. Takashi Murakami
and Yoshitimo Nara are both Japanese artists who, while referencing anime and cuteness also
show the sinister side of society. Murakami is inspired by Otaku, a kind of underground culture
based around virtual images, Nihon-ga painting, a traditional Japanese painting style around in
the late nineteenth century, Andy Warhol and Pop Art. Murakami’s large artworks often transgress
the line between art and commercial product with bright patterns wallpapered to walls. He works
in sculpture, painting and other art forms and has teams of artisans creating his artwork in a
similar manner to Andy Warhol and Jeff Koons. In Yoshitimo Nara’s two and three dimensional
young figures the cute roundedness often seen in Japanese anime figures is ruptured with angry
expressions and frequent inclusion of weapons. In Murakami’s and Nara’s artworks the appealing
brightness of colour and roundness of form belies the possibility of evil undertones, much like
Doolan’s sculpture.
German born Katharina Frisch (b.1956) creates extra-large figurative sculptures of animals such as
rats and elephants and human figures such as a yellow Madonna and a room-sized table around
which eerily identical men sit. The objects often resemble mass produced goods found in shops.
A particular influence on Doolan is Fritsch’s The Rat King. This artwork, created in 1993, features a
circle of large black rats, nine feet tall, made from polyester with tails tied at the back. The subject
matter references the story of a cryptozoological phenomenon said to arise when a number of rats
become intertwined at their tails, which become stuck together with blood, dirt, and excrement.
The animals consequently grow together while joined at the tails, which are often broken. The
phenomenon is particularly associated with Germany, where the majority of instances have been
reported. Early illustrative artists often portrayed this subject when rat kings were often seen as a
bad omen, particularly associated with plagues. Doolan’s more recent work references the large
scale and use of single hue in Frisch’s sculptures. Both artists subvert the use of bright flat colours
in toys by choosing black as a colour, which is moreover a symbol of evil.
A clear influence seen in Doolan’s highly reflective Pokémon series, but also Happy Ending? is the
sculpture of America’s Jeff Koons. Renowned for his Pop-influenced subjects which eschew good
taste, Koons celebrates the kitsch and questions value systems. As critic Christopher Knight has
written; ‘He turns the traditional cliché of the work of art inside out: Rather than embodying a
7
spiritual or expressive essence of a highly individuated artist, art here is composed from a distinctly
American set of conventional middle-class values.’ (Knight, C. 2014 ‘Whitney Museum prepares
for massive Koons retrospective exhibition,’ Artlyst.com). One of his renowned sculptures Rabbit
is an icon of art in the 1980s. Cast in highly polished stainless steel from an inflatable Easter bunny
novelty, the sculpture’s reflective surfaces have the eerie effect of including the viewer in its cool
reflection from any angle approached. Doolan has referenced Koon’s use of relational aesthetics
in many of his later sculptures including Happy Ending? Viewers can become part of the work by
viewing their distorted reflection in the surface of the painted fibreglass.
Writers and sources of folkloric stories such as the Brothers Grimm are highly influential on the
subject matter and meaning of Doolan’s artwork. Happy Ending? is said by Doolan to be inspired
by the Grimms’ tale of the Juniper Tree.
Influences from popular culture
‘Being a child of the sixties, I spent too many hours in front of the television or engrossed in
comic books. As an adult looking back on my early childhood days, the television programs,
advertisements, cartoons or comics I remember best are the ones that use some sort of
character. Their vibrant colours, soft user friendly features, large eyes and smiling faces remain
with me as icons, and still to this day are amongst my strongest influences’ (Michael Doolan,
MA documentation 2001, Monash University, Caulfield, in Bywaters, M 2005, Never Ever Land,
exhibition catalogue, Academy Gallery, University of Tasmania, Launceston).
Influences from personal and childhood experiences
‘I was really frightened of the dark and the bogeyman. I always had to have my Noddy light on.’
(Morris, S. 2000 ‘Toys R Suss,’ Black and White, #45, September.)
Pepa (the artist’s daughter) was born prematurely and for Doolan and his partner this was
naturally a difficult time of sleepless nights and great worry. The ‘if’ of life that disrupts and brings
us into the world of family, love and friendship became all too real. Since Pepa’s birth, Doolan ‘has
used just about everything he trips over in her room as source material’. (Bellamy, L. 2005 ‘Figures
of fun tell a toy story’, The Age, 2 April, 2005.)
Aesthetics and style
Throughout Doolan’s body of work, texture, colour, scale and form are dominant elements of
design. Doolan often changes the scale or expected colours from that which you would normally
see with the toys with which they are based on. Teddy bears, usually brown, furry and able to
be cuddled, become hard, faceless and of gargantuan scale in Doolan’s hands. This is intended
to create an unsettling effect on the viewer. Happy Ending? is the largest sculpture Doolan has
produced to date and towers over the viewer at around three and a half metres high.
‘The work is on a scale that competes with the world.’ (Doolan)
Texture becomes an important part of Doolan’s art work and is sometimes used symbolically.
Another artwork of Doolan’s, Grandma’s House, is a smaller sculpture about the site of Red Riding
Hood. There is fabric cloaking the ceramic. He worked with an industrial fabricator to create these
pieces. The surface looks soft but it is hard underneath; this could be a metaphor for the wolf,
which appears furry but is evil in intent. Silver platinum glazes are often used for other smaller
pieces such as the Pokémon series and in more recent artworks such as A Cautionary Tale (chess
8
set), automotive paint is used. The shiny glazes and paints that create reflective surfaces show the
influence of American Pop artist Jeff Koons.
The colour and tone in Doolan’s sculptures is usually bright or flat, simulating the appealing
flatness of cartoon-like images. Many of his works subvert the expectation of bright or pastel
colours that are usually attributed to toys by using a solid black as the dominant hue. This may
show the influence of the German contemporary artist Katharina Frisch, who produces sculptures
that appear to be mass produced animals or figures in flat colours, usually black.
Doolan’s work traverses a number of art movements without being restricted to a single style. His
early work was largely made from clay and, with its colourful and figurative nature could be seen
as a slicker extension of the Funk Ceramics style of the 1960s and 1970s in USA and the 1980s in
Australia. His choice of recognisable or low culture subject matter such as toys recontextualised for
an adult audience can be seen as fitting in with the Pop Art style of the 1960s and the Postmodern
style of the late twentieth century.
Materials, techniques and processes
Most of Doolan’s earlier sculptures are constructed from clay using traditional construction
techniques of coil building, slipping and scoring. Belying their manufactured look, these pieces
showed a high level of skill and finish not usually possible with these techniques. As Doolan started
to experiment more with texture and scale, outsourcing of construction technique and the use
of non-ceramic glazes became necessary. Some of the works were painted with a platinum glaze
because, he says, platinum has ‘the innuendo of preciousness, like jewellery; like the stainlesssteel fridges and stoves that have replaced white goods; like the shiny cars we’re ear-bashed into
believing we must drive; like the mirrors we spend thousands of hours staring into in a lifetime’.
(Bellamy, L. 2005 ‘Figures of fun tell a toy story’, The Age, 2 April, 2005.) Doolan produced A
Cautionary Tale (Chess Set) for Bendigo Art Gallery after being selected to produce work for the
exhibition Your Move: Australian Artists Play Chess, shown at Bendigo Art Gallery in 2010–2011.
This work showed a transition between the use of clay and non-organic materials; the chess pieces
were created from clay while the large stump of the chess-board was outsourced and made from
polyurethane; the chess pieces themselves are made from clay.
Happy Ending? is the largest sculptural undertaking Doolan has worked on to date. As a result he
needed to consult a range of specialists in the areas of engineering, painting, steel fabrication, 3D
scanning. As a commissioned artwork, consultation regarding installation, freight and consideration
of the longevity of the artwork needed to occur with the Bendigo Art Gallery curators, collection
manager and the City of Greater Bendigo architect. Doolan also needed to submit quote estimates
for these costs as part of his submission. The piece was intended for the outdoor environment,
therefore it was important to consider the possible damage of the surface from UV rays and
accidental damage; this resulted in multiple layers of a UV resistant coating being applied over
the black paint. In designing the work, Doolan created a three dimensional maquette, which
was submitted to the gallery staff when he was shortlisted for the project. He used 3D scanning
and Computer Numerical Controlled Machinery (CNC) to design the work to enable it to be
increased to a larger than normal scale. As part of the overall installation, a number of specialist
tradespeople were involved. An electrician was employed to manage the lighting; a specialist
freight company were employed to safely transport the pieces and install them in location using
its inbuilt crane. Concrete footings and reinforced steel needed to be created to provide an
underground base for the work to securely attach to; this was designed to enable the grass to grow
over it and be able to be mown.
9
Stages in the installation of Happy Ending?
Top: The tree is about to be lowered onto the concrete base for measuring.
Bottom left: The tree is lowered onto the concrete base, supervised by the artist.
Bottom right: The Fashams staff member locks the sculpture into place onto the concrete and steel base.
10
Terminology
Funk ceramics
This is a style of ceramics that originated in the west coast of USA in the 1960s as a reaction to the
Modernist Aesthetic that was prevalent at the time in ceramics; ceramics produced at this time
was often functional and non-objective; that is, with no recognisable subject matter; simplicity
and form were encouraged, inspired by Asian ceramics. Inspired by Pop Art, Funk Ceramics
often included bright colours and figurative subject matter. These ideas spread to Australia with
artists such as Margaret Dodd producing a series of Holden Cars in the 1970s and Pamela Irving
appropriating paintings onto brightly painted coil forms in the 1990s.
Tableaux
A group of models or motionless figures representing a scene from a story or from history. It is
short for tableau vivant (from the French, literally; living picture).
Cautionary tale
A cautionary tale is a tale told in folklore, to warn its hearer of a danger. There are three essential
parts to a cautionary tale, though they can be introduced in a large variety of ways. First, a taboo
or prohibition is stated: some act, location, or thing is said to be dangerous. Then, the narrative
itself is told: someone disregarded the warning and performed the forbidden act. Finally, the
violator comes to an unpleasant fate, which is frequently related in expansive and grisly detail.
Allegory
A story or image in which the characters and events are symbols that stand for ideas about human
life or for a situation. In art, an allegory is sometimes a subject that represents different states of
mind such as love or envy or represents abstract concepts such as sight or beauty.
11
VCE ART, STUDIO ARTS
AND F-10 CURRICULUM
FOCUS QUESTIONS AND
WORKSHEETS
12
ART
Analytical frameworks
Structural framework
1.Michael Doolan uses the contemporary strategy of outsourcing to draw on the skills of other
practitioners who may have access to new technology he is unable to use on his own. This
enables him to produce large scale sculpture. Compare his use of outsourcing to others in the
Bendigo Art Gallery collection such as Patricia Piccinini, Rosemary Laing and Tracey Moffatt.
2.Analyse the use of the art elements texture, shape and form in Happy Ending?.
3.Explain how Doolan has referenced the styles of Pop Art and Postmodernism in Happy
Ending?. Investigate how artists such as Claus Oldenberg and Jeff Koons have interrogated the
elements of scale and texture in their sculpture to create unexpected effects.
4.Explain how Doolan uses toys as metaphors for exploring the adult world through childhood
memories. Explain how the use of popular culture or the ordinary object is a common feature
of Postmodern art.
Personal framework
1.How has Doolan’s experience of nearly losing his daughter due to her premature birth
influenced the way he views the world and his art?
2.How does his ‘gentle upbringing’ in Glen Waverley inform his art?
Cultural framework
1.Doolan grew up in Melbourne in the late twentieth century, studied visual art and recently
completed a PhD. How does his access to the international world including Melbourne
influence his knowledge of contemporary art and ancient folklore? How has used this
environment in his art?
Contemporary framework
1.How has Doolan incorporated contemporary ideas about art such as Relational Aesthetics in
Happy Ending?.
2.How does the presentation of Happy Ending? in an outdoor environment reflect or challenge
artistic or social traditions about public art?
13
STUDIO ARTS
Materials and techniques
1.Compare Doolan’s use of out sourcing in Happy Ending? to the practices of nineteenth
century marble sculptors seen in the Sculpture Annexe at Bendigo Art Gallery. How have
artists from both periods sought the assistance of others to complete their artwork?
2.Discuss the role of the maquette in sculpture commissions. Why was it necessary for Doolan
to present one to Bendigo Art Gallery prior to completion of the artwork for Happy Ending??
3.Use four descriptive terms to describe Doolan’s application of automotive paint in Happy Ending?.
Communication of ideas and meaning
1.How has Doolan conveyed a sense of horror and surprise in Happy Ending? How does this
compare with more traditional depictions of toys?
2.Doolan has indicated: ‘I’m always aiming to disarm the viewer, to make them consider the
loss of their childhood and, in so doing, remove them from the baggage of adult life, of
consumerism and financial drive and all that stuff that adults take on.’ Discuss how Doolan
disarms the viewer and prompts the viewer to consider their childhood in Happy Ending?.
(Bellamy, L. 2005 ‘Figures of fun tell a toy story’, The Age, 2 April, 2005.)
Influences
1.Compare Doolan’s use of scale and monochromatic tone with that of Katharina Frisch’s Rat
King, one of Doolan’s influences.
2.View a reproduction of Rabbit by Jeff Koons. Compare the surface with that of Happy Ending?.
Explain how Doolan has been influenced by the concept of reflexivity – the fact that you might
see yourself reflected in the work; therefore you are part of the work or a participant.
Historical/ Cultural Contexts
1.As an Australian artist, growing up in Melbourne and having access to tertiary study and
viewing of art in gallery context in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, what art
forms would Doolan have been exposed to?
2.Explain how the ‘western’ obsession with consumerism, which includes a desire for shiny
surfaces has impacted on his choice of the surface of Happy Ending?.
Elements and Principles of Design/ Aesthetic Qualities
1.Explain how Doolan’s use of organic form and monochromatic colour contributes to an
emotional or symbolic effect in Happy Ending?.
2.What aesthetic qualities are created through Doolan’s use of texture in Happy Ending?.
3.How does the element of light (natural or artificial) impact on the aesthetic qualities of Happy
Ending?.
4.Discuss Doolan’s choice of the toy as his major subject matter in Happy Ending? and other
artworks. As an object from popular culture, discuss this in the context of the style of
Postmodernism.
14
VCE ART
Name:
View Happy Ending? 2014
Use the contemporary analytical framework to interpret this artwork (installation) in terms of its
• presentation
• content/subject matter
Refer to http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Documents/exams/art/2015/art_assessrep15.pdf for high,
medium and low responses to a similar question from 2015 Art Exam.
Use the structural analytical framework to interpret Happy Ending? 2014; discuss techniques,
elements of design and symbolism.
15
View Michael Doolan’s Happy Ending? 2014 and Matt Calvert’s Peter Stared into the Vast Unknown
2010 (also outdoors, adjacent to Happy Ending?).
Compare their use of the elements of colour, texture and shape
As an Australian artist growing up in the 1960s, Michael Doolan said that he spent ‘too many
hours in front of the television or engrossed in comic books. As an adult looking back on my early
childhood days, the television programs, advertisements, cartoons or comics I remember best are
the ones that use some sort of character.’ Explain how Doolan has used the cultural framework of
1960s popular culture in Happy Ending?.
16
VCE STUDIO ARTS
Name:
View Happy Ending? and discuss the ideas and meanings that could be communicated through the
depiction of specific subject matter.
Discuss how a curator at Bendigo Art Gallery may have prepared and presented this artwork for
public viewing. Consider the needs of the artforms of public sculpture and painted fibreglass in
your response.
17
Discuss how the artist has used two art elements and one art principle to create aesthetic
qualities in Happy Ending?.
How does the acquisition of Happy Ending? for its permanent collection by Bendigo Art Gallery
fulfil the role of a public gallery?
18
F-10 CURRICULUM
VISUAL ART LEVEL 9-10
Name:
Explore and Express and Respond and Interpret
View Happy Ending at Bendigo Art Gallery.
Discuss with a partner, why you think the artist has depicted the teddy bear in a state of sorrow?
Write your feelings about the artwork below:
What do you think of Doolan’s use of automotive paint to seal the surface of Happy Ending?
Discuss.
Discuss how the artist has used two art elements from line, shape, tone, texture or colour to
create mood and effect:
19
Discuss how Doolan has used one or more of the following principles of design to create a
distinctive style: unity, balance, harmony, distortion, abstraction, juxtaposition, contrast, space,
scale, symmetry/asymmetry, proportion or emphasis:
Draw three details of Happy Ending? in the spaces below:
20
F–10 CURRICULUM
VISUAL ART LEVEL 7–8
Name:
Explore and Express and Respond and Interpret
View Happy Ending?
What was your first reaction when you viewed this artwork?
Walk around the sculpture and view your own reflection in it. What happened to your reflection
when you stood in front of the teddy bear figure?
Look at the sculpture of a rabbit up on the hill. This piece is by Matt Calvert and is entitled Peter
Stared into the Vast Unknown. What are the similarities and differences between these two artworks?
21
Happy Ending?
SIMILARITIES
Peter Stared into the Vast Unknown
Why do you think Doolan used toy-like figures in this artwork?
How is this different from how toys are usually depicted in art?
Discuss Doolan’s use of shape and texture to create an effect or mood.
Draw Happy Ending? in the space below, concentrating on the shape and tone you can see:
22
Suggested references
Lisa Slade
Lecturer in Art History and Theory at the University of Newcastle
August 2007
If you go down to the woods today, you’re sure of a big surprise
http://kwgallery.com/cms/resources/EssayDoolanSlade2007.pdf
Michael Doolan
Caution and Reassurance
http://issuu.com/jackbett/docs/michael_doolan_caution_and_reassura
Stuart Koop
High Drama
Craft Victoria
August 2010
http://www.craft.org.au/Learn/Craft_Culture/high-drama/
The Art of Chess and Your Move: Australian Artists Play Chess Education Notes
Bendigo Art Gallery 2010
http://www.bendigoartgallery.com.au/files/50fd5a42-6d3d-4f27-a3b8-a0d200fad2fb/Art_of_
Chess_and_Your_Move_Education_Notes.pdf
Education bookings
General Education email [email protected]
Education Officers:
Margot Feast E: [email protected] T: 03 5434 6080
Helen Attrill E: [email protected] T: 03 5434 6082
Bendigo Art Gallery acknowledges the support of the
Department of Education and Training through the
Strategic Partnerships Program
Cover: Michael Doolan Australia 1959, Happy Ending? 2014
fibre glass, wood, steel and automotive enamel
23
This 2013 project was supported by the Victorian Government through
Creative Victoria and the Victorian Public Sculpture Fund, the Bendigo
Art Gallery Foundation and the City of Greater Bendigo