Staff Profiles

On a .6 position Pam currently teaches all levels in the Art Department, from first year to Honours and Postgraduate supervision.  She is also the Unit Coordinator of the Fashion and Textile Design units in the Department of Art, which is a joint course with the Department of Design. In addition, Pam also intermittently contributes to the art theory units with lectures on  “Beauty” and “Art & Fashion” in the Visual Culture program.

Until the recent faculty re-structure Pam has played an active role in the international aspects of the Art Department, including the recruitment of students, liaison person for on-shore international students, and teaching in the off-shore course in Singapore.

Pam has always been interested and involved with Equal Opportunity issues in the Department of Art and the broader University environment. In 1995 she developed, facilitated and coordinated a confidential Harassment and Discrimination survey to all staff and students in the School of Art that became an annual survey until the new BEAD Faculty structure. She is currently the Deans Representative on the Divisional Ethics Equity and Social Justice (EESJ) Committee. In 1998 Pam was the recipient of a “Vice Chancellor’s Award for Excellence” for her EEO, International and other contributions to the former School of Art.

As a practicing artist, Pam has held 8 solo exhibitions, been in numerous national and international group exhibitions. She has received a considerable number of grants from state and commonwealth funding bodies, and has undertaken several commissions. Her work is in several local and national collections, and also in Germany. She is currently working on an international commission for a music centre in England. Pam has given numerous public lectures about her practice – both nationally and internationally, and published two monographs. In 1998 Pam was awarded a four month Australia Council artist-in-residency in Milan. During this time she made contact with Anna Daneri, the coordinator of Foundation Antonio Ratti seminar/workshops, Como, Italy. This led to students in the Department of Art at Curtin University being invited to apply for the prestigious Antonio Ratti Foundation (FAR) workshops. On selection, the experience in Italy allows Curtin students to work for a month with a high profile international artist (such as Anish Kapoor, Hamish Fulton, Marina Ambromovich, Ilya Kabakov etc.) alongside 10 Italian students and 20 international students.

Pam is a current member of NAVA, PICA and the ArtsWA Fashion Designer Selection Panel. She is also a past board member of ARX (Artist’s Regional Exchange), and a member of the IOCC (Indian Ocean Cultural Council).

 Web site: Galerie Dusseldorf.
 

Pam has received three Curtin University Seeding grants, two of which are for collaborative projects with Annette Seeman. These include a grant to research into resist-fulling on wool (2003) and two grants to develop the W.A. Women’s Art Register (1993 and 1994) - an educational database documenting WA women artists/designers. The register produced an extensive educational resource in the Department of Art for students and researchers. It is maintained by students enrolled in Professional Practicum units and supervised by Pam. The impact from the seed funding for the Wool Research into Resist Fulling Processes is significant for the Fashion and Textiles students who have benefited from this knowledge and research.
Pam’s art practice explores the relationship between art, architecture and the decorative. The research for her Master of Art Theory thesis underpins much of the work in Pam’s art practice and also feeds into her teaching programs in both Art and in Fashion. The title of the thesis is “The Decorative In Twentieth Century Art: A Story of Decline and Resurgence”.
The innovative approach Pam has developed between architecture and ornament is evidenced in her recent solo exhibitions New Works (1999) and Floribunda (2003), and in the artwork commission with Donaldson & Warn architects, for the WAEC, Bold Park. For the past twenty years Pam has consistently attempted to stretch the parameters of accepted norms in her art practice. This has been achieved through conceptual and material research and in the past seven years, through liaison and research with various local industries. This art/industry research nexus, which assist in aspects of the production of her art practice, engages in creative solutions to problems in her endeavours to achieve results that have not been previously attempted by industry. (These processes include: laser cutting, high pressure jet water cutting, die cutting, large scale digital printing, industrial anodising, industrial etching and sandblasting, new glass technology, industrial routing and flocking etc.) These collaborative efforts require significant liaison, research, negotiation and effective communication and Pam has plans to contribute to future new dialogues in this area.
Current research includes a New Works grant from the VACB of the Australia Council for a project entitled Off the Wall, a large collaborative commission with Marco Marcon for artwork for a Homeswest inner city residential building with Donaldson & Warn architects, an international commission for artywork for a music centre in Bristol, England, and on-going research into opportunities offered by the relationship between Art/Architecture/Fashion.

 
PUBLIC LECTURES:

• 2005    Floor-talk to ‘The Collectors Group’, Shelflife, exhibition, Galerie Düsseldorf, Perth;
• 2004    Guest speaker to open Eclipse, the Presbyterian Ladies College Student Art Exhibition and Fashion Show, featuring Years 7-12;
• 2002    Public floor-talk to coincide with the opening of the, International Textiles Biennale, Ormeau Baths Gallery, Belfast;
• 2002    College of Fine Art, UNSW, lecture to undergraduate students;
• 2001    Public lecture on my practice and floor talk on the work in the exhibition, to coincide with the opening of Lace: Contemporary Perspectives, Craftwest, Perth;
• 1999    Floor-talk at Object Gallery, Sydney;
• 1998    Public lecture on my practice, Textile Network Lecture Series, College of Fine Art, UNSW;
• 1997    Lecture on my practice to the WA Art Gallery Guides;
• 1995    “Australian Contemporary Textiles”, Indira Ghandi National Centre for the Arts (IGNACA), New Delhi, India;
• 1995    “Australian Contemporary Textiles”, public lecture at JJK, Jaipur, India;
• 1994    Lecture on my practice to Year 12 students, Year Twelve Seminar Day, Art Gallery of WA;
• 1994    Lecture on “Art & Industry” as part of MAMBO: Art Irritates Life public program, Art Gallery of WA;
• 1993    “Re(th)reading the Needle”, lecture to BA (Art) students, ECU;
• 1992    “Australian Textile Artists”, Indira Ghandi National Centre for the Arts (IGNACA), New Delhi, India;
• 1992    “Australian Contemporary Textile Artists”, National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad, India;
• 1992    “Australian Contemporary Textile Artists”, National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), New   Delhi, India;
• 1992    “Australian Contemporary Textile Artists”, School of Art & Design , Institut Teknologi Mara (ITM) Shah Alam, Malaysia.

Fully written papers (Refereed Conference proceedings)

• Gaunt, P. 2004. The (e)merging of the decorative in contemporary art. thespacebetween textiles_art_design_fashion, 01/04/2004. Western Australia: thespacebetween, Faculty BEAD.

Major Creative Works

• Gaunt, P. 2010. Artwork for A.K. Reserve Interpretive Pathway. Perth, Australia: Department of Housing and Works.
• Gaunt, P. 2010. Foundation Housing - Public Art. Midland, WA, Australia: Foundation Housing Ltd.
• Gaunt, P. 2009. Artwork for Perth College Girls School Extension. Perth, Australia: Perth College.
• Gaunt, P. 2006. Public Art for 'Homeswest' Subiaco. WA, Australia: Department of Housing & Works with Sharp & van Rhyn Architects.
• Gaunt, P. 2004. Public Art for the WA Ecology Centre. Perth, Australia: Donaldson & Warn Architects.

Minor Creative Works

• Gaunt, P. 2008. Top Protest Songs. Perth, WA, Australia: Hannah Matthews & Ben Riding.
• Gaunt, P. 2004. Pam Gaunt selected works 1997 - 2004. Western Australia: TBA.
• Gaunt, P. 2004. Pam Gaunt: selected works 1997 - 2004. Western Australia: TBA.

Individual Exhibition of Creative Works

• Gaunt, P. 2008. Pamela Gaunt. Perth, Australia: Pamela Gaunt.
• Gaunt, P. 2003. Floribunda. Western Australia: Galerie Dusseldorf.

Group Exhibition of Creative Works

• Gaunt, P. 2010. Errant Abstractions. Australia: John Curtin Gallery.
• Gaunt, P. 2010. Errant Abstractions 1, 2 & 3. WA, Australia: Perth College.
• Gaunt, P. 2007. Untitled 2006. Kyoto: Textile Exchange Project.
• Gaunt, P. 2006. Cut Roses 1 2006. Melbourne: Melbourne Art Fair 2006.
• Gaunt, P. 2006. Puckered. Curtin University of Technology: Curtin University of Technology.
• Gaunt, P. 2006. Untitled 2006. Curtin University of Technology: Textile Exchange Project & Curtin University of Technology.
• Gaunt, P. 2005. Shelf-Less Life. Western Australia: Galerie Dusseldorf.
• Gaunt, P. 2005. The Ornamental Playground. England: Creative Exhibitions Ltd.
• Gaunt, P. 2003. Material Whimsies. Belfast, UK: Ormea Baths Gallery.
• Gaunt, P. 2002. Contemporary Textile Art OBG International Biannual. Belfast: Ormeau Baths Gallery.

Curating an Exhibition

• Gaunt, P. 2009. Moore(s). Perth, Australia: Curtin University of Technology.