Rudolf Steiner's Impact on Contemporary Australian Art

Rudolf Steiner, the architect and social reformer, also known for his pedagogy, possesses a little-known yet noteworthy place of influence in modern art. His extensive and diverse lectures on art history, colour theory, and artistic expression engaged prominent artists such as Wassily Kandinsky and Hilma af Klint. His effect on modern artists has been documented, as has his influence on postmodern artist Joseph Beuys. In Australia, no research has attempted to objectively piece together how Rudolf Steiner and Anthroposophy has impacted on Australian artists, both modern and contemporary. This research sought to address this gap.
Divided into two parts, the research examines Rudolf Steiner’s broad-ranging influences on artists throughout history before then demonstrating how Rudolf Steiner has made an impact on contemporary Australian art. Part one provides a detailed account of Steiner’s influence on Modernist artists, from Kandinsky through to Australian artists in Sydney and Melbourne, using a study of art historical literature together with archival research and visual analysis. Steiner’s influence on Australian Modernist art echoes his influence on European Modernist art: artists used Steiner’s ideas as a framework to support their investigation of the immaterial, applied his ideas on colour and form, and shadowed his belief that art could change society.
Part two examines in detail a select group of twenty Australian contemporary artists who have been influenced by Steiner and whose work represents a range of approaches to creative practice. Each artist’s work has been thoroughly examined. The impacts of Steiner’s philosophy and pedagogy have been explored through an analysis of qualitative interviews conducted with the artists. The results reveal that Rudolf Steiner’s impact on Australian contemporary artists has manifested in four main ways: (1) in encouragement towards a creative career; (2) on the individual artist’s artistic process, particularly their understanding of colour; (3) on the creative practice techniques of each artist, chiefly their meditative practices; and (4) on the conceptual background informing the artist’s work, principally a sense of social and environmental responsibility. The research confirms that artists continue to be absorbed by and intrigued by Rudolf Steiner’s ideas, as they were over a hundred years ago.