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Awesome! by Laura Murray Cree

This is an accessible snapshot of contemporary art in Australia aimed at kids aged 10-16.

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Published 9 January, 2002

This is an accessible snapshot of contemporary art in Australia aimed at kids aged 10-16. As the editor of Art and Australia magazine, Cree is well-placed to select and comment on a range of artists. More than 50 artists are featured; each one gets a double-page spread, with one page devoted to a reproduction of one of the artist's works, and the other page giving details about the work, as well as a few hundred words on the artist, their work, or how it might make us think. Some of these descriptions were informative and thought-provoking, while others seemed a bit contrived or self-consciously `cool for kids.' But this unevenness seems like a small quibble in such a good book. There is such a range of art and artists that I would think most kids could find something interesting-there's art by people from Indigenous, Anglo, and non-English-speaking backgrounds; there are paintings, photographs, installations, sculptures and video stills. The fact that each artwork is generously reproduced (the page size is 265x235mm) means that readers can engage with the art directly, and then look at the facing page for ideas or information if they want to. Ideal for arty kids, or those needing to do some research on art.

Mary Ellen Jordan is a Melbourne writer who also works at Metropolis Bookshop.

C. 2002 Thorpe-Bowker and contributors

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