The inimitable Mr Meek : Re-discovering a lost art
- Authors: Luxemburg, Joan
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: James McKain Meek was a Victorian-era graphic artist, miniature calligrapher and colonial eccentric with polymathic interests, who fell into obscurity at the end of the nineteenth century. This research re-discovers, re-presents and re-evaluates his body of graphic art. A single lithograph by Meek held in the Art Gallery of Ballarat’s collection generated the research which uncovered a significant body of work in Australia and overseas. Inspired by this re-discovered oeuvre, an exhibition was curated to mark Meek’s bicentenary, returning him to public view. An illustrated companion catalogue, the first scholarly commentary on Meek’s oeuvre, presented a series of essays exploring Meek’s works and situating them in their Victorian context and within a longer tradition of prints. The exegesis, the final element of this project, reflects on the research design, addresses curatorial and related issues, and deepens the examination of Meek’s output. An analysis of key works informed by Word and Image Studies explores his trademark verbal and visual interplay. Valuable research outcomes discussed include the ongoing conservation of works, contextualisation of material held in collections around the world, Meek’s place in the larger narrative of Australian art history, and his legacy. This tri-partite PhD thesis is comprised of exhibition, catalogue and exegesis: these components are complementary and designed to be considered together. The catalogue addresses an educated lay readership and the exegesis is an overarching academic commentary. The exegesis extends and references the catalogue, and both are grounded in Meek’s works, in particular, key works displayed in the exhibition. This research contends that Meek’s work is singular and argues for his re-instatement in the Australian graphic arts canon. His highly individual style and the fact he is local (in his special links with Ballarat and his Trans-Tasman career), make him of particular interest in the Victorian and Australasian contexts.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
The inimitable Mr Meek
- Authors: Luxemburg, Joan
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Book
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: James McKain Meek was one of nineteenth-century Australia's great eccentrics. Arriving in the colonies in the 1830s, he ran a sly grog operation on the Ballarat goldfields, set up a cured fish business at Warrnambool, and managed a spa resort in New Zealand, but he is memorable today for the enormous, intricate drawings he produced throughout his career. A skilled draughtsman, he delighted in exercising his skill in miniature penmanship to produce a series of massive commemorative wall hangings and tables, celebrating aspects of local or colonial history or the achievements of particular families. He turned the production of printed versions of these drawings into a business operation, with varying success. This exhibition is curated by Joan Luxemburg, who is writing a PhD thesis on the life and work of this fascinating artist, and is accompanied by an illustrated scholarly catalogue.