Doyle, Adrian (2021) Using Blender Studios as a Point of Reference to Examine the Intersection of Fine Art and Street Art. PhD thesis, Victoria University.

Abstract

Blender Studios is a hybrid cultural and commercial hub for Australian street art and fine art, operating both as a collaborative studio space for artists and as a base for a range of collective art endeavours. Utilising ‘Blender Studios’ as a case study, this research is based on the proposition that it has played a pivotal role in establishing a new aesthetic through the rise of street art. The practice-based creative component of the project takes the form of an exhibition and installation. The research period is inclusive of a two-year corporate residency undertaken at The District shopping centre in Melbourne’s Docklands precinct. This corporate residency, and other Blender activities, raise questions such as: Does the radical street artist in a corporate/commercialised structure become, utilising Berlin-based writer Elvia Wilk’s term, like an ‘artist as consultant’? The research undertaken for this project will highlight the paradigms and tensions between notions of both the urban art aesthetic and fine art frameworks. Furthermore, the research will reveal the manner in which cultural activity is sustained and valued through the lens of ‘the Blender’ and provide a potential blueprint for artistic endeavour of the future.

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