Dr Daniel Palmer

Position title

Senior Lecturer, Theory of Art & Design

Qualifications

BA(Hons) W.Aust,

PhD Melb

Statement

Daniel Palmer’s research and professional practice focuses on contemporary art and cultural theory, with a particular emphasis on photography and digital media. Prior to joining the Faculty of Art & Design in 2005, Palmer worked as a curator at the Centre for Contemporary Photography – where he is now a Board Member. A prolific writer and commentator, Palmer has published over forty catalogue essays and fifty art reviews since 1997. He is a regular contributor to Australian and international art journals including Photofile, Art & Australia, Real Time, Broadsheet and Frieze. His current research is focused around the ARC funded project ‘Genealogies of Digital Light’, and the question of art criticism in the post-medium condition.

Research/Professional activities

Selected Recent Publications (last 5 years)

Twelve Australian Photo-Artists (Sydney: Piper Press, 2009) (with Blair French)

Participatory Media: Visual Culture in Real Time (Saarbrücken: VDM Verlag, 2008) 250pp.

'Darren Sylvester: In Step with the Real World', Reading Room: A Journal of Art & Culture, Issue 2, 2008, 86–105.

'Shaun Gladwell', frieze, Issue 114, April 2008, 185.

Traces and Imaginings: Contemporary Australian Photo-Artists (Sydney: Piper Press, forthcoming 2008) (with Blair French)

‘Gavin Hipkins: Empire and Other Children’s Stories’ in Empire (Auckland: Rim Books, forthcoming 2008).

‘Contemplative Immersion: Benjamin, Adorno & Media Art Criticism’ in Transformations, Special Issue on ‘Walter Benjamin and the Virtual: Politics, Art and Mediation in the Age of Global Culture’, Issue 15, November 2007.

‘Guggenheim Ga Ga’, Art & Australia, 45.2, Summer 2007, p. 291.

‘David Stephenson’ in John Stringer (ed.), Cross Currents: Focus on Contemporary Australian Art, exh. cat. (Sydney: Museum of Contemporary Art, 2007), pp. 106–107.

‘Venice Biennale: Asia and Australasia’, Frieze, 109, September 2007, pp. 132–133.

‘Reinventing Interactivity’, Experimenta Playground: International Biennial of Media Arts, exh. cat. (Melbourne: Experimenta Media Arts, 2007).

‘Jennie Lang & Geoff Robinson: An Arrangement to Span the Distance Between’, exh. cat. (Melbourne: Heide Museum of Modern Art, July 2007).

‘The Object of Things: Daniel von Sturmer at the 2007 Venice Biennale’, Broadsheet, 36.2, June 2007, pp. 79–81.

‘The Art of Self Display: On Anne Zahalka’s Portraiture’ in Hall of Mirrors: Anne Zahalka Portraits 1987–2007, exh. cat. (Melbourne: Centre for Contemporary Photography, February 2007), pp. 3–8.

‘Simryn Gill: 32 Volumes’, exh. cat. (Melbourne: Centre for Contemporary Photography & Maitland Regional Art Gallery, October 2006).

‘Nike Savvas, Atomic: Full of love, full of wonder’, in Adventures with Form in Space: The Fourth Balnaves Foundation Sculpture Project 2006, exh. cat. (Sydney: Art Gallery of New South Wales, 2006), pp. 58–59.

‘Daniel von Sturmer’ in 21st Century Modern: 2006 Adelaide Biennale of Australian Art, exh. cat. (Adelaide: Art Galley of South Australia, 2006), pp. 66–67.

‘White Noise’, frieze, 97, March 2006, p. 162.

‘Tracing the Origins of Australian Fashion Photography, The La Trobe Journal, No. 76, Spring 2005, pp. 87–103.

(ed.) Photogenic: Essays/Images/CCP 2000-2004 (Centre for Contemporary Photography, 2005).

‘Nicolas Bourriaud Interviewed’, Broadsheet 34.3, September–October 2005, pp. 166–167 (with Anthony Gardner).

‘Ian North: Canberra Suite with Coda’, Broadsheet 34.2, June-August 2005, pp. 108–111.

‘How Australian Photography Became Contemporary’ in Natalie King (ed.), Supernatural Artificial: Contemporary Photo-based Art from Australia, exh. cat. (Melbourne: Asialink, 2005), pp. 44–45. (A touring exhibition to the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography)

‘Pat Brassington’ in 2004 Biennale of Sydney – On Reason and Emotion, exh. cat (Sydney: Biennale of Sydney, 2004), p. 50.

‘Medium Without a Memory: Australian Video Art’, Broadsheet 33.3, September-November 2004, pp. 20–21.

‘Doing it for Themselves: Artist-Run Alternatives & Contemporary Australian Art’, in Face Up: Contemporary Art from Australia (Berlin: Hatje Cantz, 2003) (with Tessa Dwyer), pp. 44–55

‘Digital Art: A Rich Ecology’, In Repertoire: A Guide to Australian New Media Art (Sydney: Australia Council, August 2003), pp. 4-6.

Recent Conference Presentations

‘Photography in/as Public Sculpture’ at One Day Sculpture: An International Symposium on Art, Place and Time, School of Fine Arts, Massey University, Wellington New Zealand (in conjunction with Te Papa), March 26-28, 2009

'Voyeurism and Otherness: The Public Testimony of Cherine Fahd' at Alpha Alpha Alpha November Zulu, the 2008 Art Association of Australia and New Zealand Conference, Queensland College of Art, Griffith University, Brisbane, 4–6 December 2008.

'Cherine Fahd: The Privacy of the Public' at Out of Bounds: Art, Faith & Religiosity, Monash University, 20–23 August 2008.

'The Critical Ambivalence of Play', International Symposium on Electronic Art (ISEA), Singapore, 25-29 July 2008.

'Global Visions, Local Contemporaneity: Video Art in Australia' at CIHA Melbourne 2008: 32nd Congress of the International Committee of the History of Art (CIHA) 2008, University of Melbourne 18 January 2008.

‘Media Art and Its Critics in the Australian Context’ at re:place – Second International Conference on the Histories of Media Art, Science, and Technology, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, 15–18 November 2007.

‘Simryn Gill: Photography and the Ruins of Colonialism’, at Global Photographies: Histories, Theories, Practices, Institute of Art, Design & Technology, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin, Ireland, 27–29 June 2007.

‘Embodying Judgment: New Media and Art Criticism’ at CHArt – Fast Forward: Art history, Curation and Practice after Media, Birkbeck College, University of London, 9–10 November 2006.

‘Walter Benjamin, Photography and Art Criticism’ at Walter Benjamin and the Architecture of Modernity, University of Technology, Sydney, 17–19 August 2006.

‘Write to Exist’ at ‘Thinking the Future: Art, Design and Creativity’, The Australian Council of University Art & Design Schools, Faculty of Art & Design, Monash University, 27–29 September 2006.

‘Photography: The Democratic Witness?’ presented at Witness A Photography Symposium, The School of Art History, University of Melbourne, 20 September 2003.

‘The Paradox of User Control’ presented at the Digital Art and Culture conference, RMIT University, 22 May 2003.

External Grants

2008–2010 Australian Research Council, Discovery Project, ‘Genealogies of Digital Light’ (Chief Investigator with Professor Sean Cubitt and Dr Les Walkling)

2007 Australia Council, New Work, Visual Arts Board, ‘A Critical Account of Australian Art Criticism’

2004 Creative Fellowship, State Library of Victoria

2004 Australia Council, Professional Development, Visual Arts & Craft Board

Editorships

Editorial Advisory Board, Photographies

Contributing editor, Real Time 2001–7

Guest edited Photofile journal 2001 & 2004

Editor, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Art, 2005–6

Dr Daniel Palmer

Research/Professional activities

Supervisions

Links