The 80s are back exhibition walkthrough

Exhibition walkthrough

This exhibition walkthrough provides an overview of the:

• Physical layout and exhibition sections • Key objects (click on the underlined numbers to go to the Museum’s online collection)• Audiovisuals and interactives• Relevant online teaching and learning resources

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Exhibition entrance

The 80s are back

Museum entrance

The exhibitionexplores Australian life and popular culture during this formative decade of social, cultural, economic and political change.

The 80s are back exhibition entrance, level 3

Objects:1. Entrance - Multi-media tunnel 2. Community constructed exhibition title wall

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Objects:1. Guard’s uniform from TV series Prisoner2. Simon Townsend and his dog Woodrow3. Betamax video cassette recorder

Audiovisuals (AV):4. Miniseries: excerpts from Bodyline, All the Rivers

Return to Eden (9mins)5. Neighbours: Scott proposes to Charlene (2mins)

AV

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1. On the screenThis section looks at some of the large and small screen stories of the decade. From Mad Max to Neighbours, Crocodile Dundee to Prisoner, Australian stories were making an impact on international screens.

Objects:1. Apple ii2. Tandy TRS-80

3. IBM PC4. Commodore C64 computer

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2. Video and computer gamesThe 80s were the golden age of video games.

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Objects:1. Sega Master System2. Game & Watch

3. Game Boy4. Nintendo NES

This section looks at some of the classics - Space Invaders, Pac-Man, Frogger, Donkey Kong!

Objects:1. Arcade Games2. Atari games3. Mattel Intellivision

4. Apple Mac 1285. IBM PC

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By the middle of the decade personal computers had moved games out of the arcade and into the home, introducing a generation of kids to cyberspace and setting the scene for the digital era.

Days of vinyl

3. MusicThis section looks at the good, the bad and the ugly of the 80s music scene.

Objects:1. Yellow dress worn by Kylie Minogue2. School uniform worn on stage

by Divinlys’ Christina Amphlett

3. Culture Club4. Michael Jackson

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First there was post-punk and new wave … then there was Madonna, Michael and MTV!

Subcultures:1. Goth2. Rockabilly

3. Skinheads4. Mod

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5. Heavy Metal 6. Punk

7. Hip Hop

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4. SubculturesThe decade saw a burst of subcultures, with clothing, music and venue the distinctive ‘badges’ of the different urban tribes.

Goths & Rockabilly

Objects:1. Rockabilly outfit2. Goth dress

View Audiovisuals Online:3. Goths (11 mins)4. Rockabilly (7 mins)

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Skinheads & Mod

Objects:1. Men’s mod outfit2. Motor scooter

View Audiovisuals Online:5. Skinhead (6 mins)6. Mod (9 mins)

3. Women’s mod outfit4. Skinhead outfit

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Heavy metal, Punk & Hip Hop

Objects:1. Sharp boombox2. Punk outfit3. Outfit - Wayne Campbell

View Audiovisuals Online:4. Hip Hop: Rosana Martinez (8 mins)5. Hip Hop: Spice (6 mins)

6. Punk (8 mins)7. Heavy Metal (6 mins)

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Objects:1. Mardi Gras2. RAT party3. Sweatbox dance party

4. Drugs & alcohol:’just say no’5. Nightclubs6. Music cube

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5. PartyingThe 1980s have been remembered as one big party. And it’s true there were a lot of them.

As the decade progressed music fans began deserting live venues for the more sophisticated pleasures of dance parties and nightclubs.

Objects:1. Music cube featuring:

RAT party: New Year’s EveSevered Heads

Sweatbox = SweatboxDJ Stephen Ferris 80s mix

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By the end of the decade Sydney was recognised as the dance capital of the world.

Objects:1. RAT party T-shirts2. Inflation’s Silver Lady3. Overalls handpainted in fluoro colours

4. Trousers & tail coat5. Waistcoat & trousers6. SupeRATural banner

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Objects:1. Projection of the AIDS Memorial quilt2. AIDS memorial quilt project

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6. The AIDS crisisIn the early 1980s news reports surfaced of a deadly disease that became known as Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS).

Objects:1. AIDS education

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Australia led the world in AIDS prevention, with the gay community in particular rallying to educate people about the virus.

Objects:1. Dressing for success2. Interpreting celebrity style3. ‘New age Business suit’

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7. FashionThe 80s saw as many fashion styles and statements as there were parties, boardrooms and protest marches where you could wear them.

This section looks at a few of these fashion statements and what they tell us about the decade.

Objects:1. Aerobics outfit2. ‘Gold lame evening dress’3. ‘Stay Alive in 85’ T-shirt

4. Wedding dress inspired by Princess Diana’s gowns5. Silver & black gown

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One of the styles that emerged in Australia was the ‘art clothes’. Artists and fashion designers created garments that combined art, craft and fashion.

Objects:1. ‘Aboriginal paisley’ by Bronwyn Bancroft2. ‘Madame Lash’ costume3. ‘Je suis mod’ dress

4. ‘Bran cusi’ dress, by Katie Pye5. ‘Opal passion’ outfit, print by Jenny Kee

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Objects:1. Star Wars figurines2. The A-Team3. Knight Rider toys

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8. Fads and toysThe 1980s was of conspicuous consumption and ‘must have’ products for kids & adults alike.

Cashed-up parents were made easy targets for marketing techniques that made toys like Rubik’s Cubes essential items for Generation X kids.

Objects:1. Sylvanian Families2. Swatch Watch3. Trivial Pursuit board game

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4. Rubiks Cube5. Yo-yo

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This section looks at a few of these quintessential 80s items.

Objects:1. Garfield soft toy2. My Child doll3. Puggle in a bag soft toy

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See what a teenage girl bedroom would looked like in the 80s.

Objects:1. Teenage girl’s bedroom

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Objects:1. Xmas Day at Sans Souci2. ‘Blue Holden’3. 100% Mambo print

4. Optus Tower model5. ‘Carlton’ room divider

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9. DesignThis section looks at some of the memorable design statements of the decade.

The 80s were definitely the decade of excess. Minimalism was out and an irreverent exploration of colour and form was in.

Objects:1. ‘Sunset in New York’ sofa, Gaetano Pesce2. Monorail3. Pareo/ sarong, ‘Barrier Reef Garden’, by Ken Done

4. ‘Tree Tops’ floor lamp, Ettore Sottsass5. ‘Murmansk’ fruit stand, Ettore Sottsass

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Objects:1. Timeline

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10. Big eventsThis section includes a timeline and looks at some of the big events and movements that defined the decade.

The 80s may be remembered as one big party but around the world the decade was also a time of social upheaval and extremes …

Objects:1. Timeline

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… prosperity & recession, celebration & disaster, soaring salaries & unemployment, cold war rhetoric & perestroika.

Objects:1. ‘Anybank’2. The 1988 Bicentenary3. The Indigenous response

Audiovisuals (AVs):6. Bicentennial celebrations (5 mins)7. Indigenous response to Bicentennial (8 mins8. Migration story (5 mins)

4. Migration in the 1980s5. Protest movement

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AV

Alongside the ‘greed is good’ philosophy, concern about the environment, the threat of nuclear war and third world poverty galvanised public action and protest.

Objects:1. ‘Australia Day = Invasion Day’ poster2. ‘You are on Aboriginal Land’ poster 3. ‘We have survived ‘ poster

4. ‘Stop the drop’ T-shirt5. ‘Peace on where?’ poster6. Dr Bob Brown’s beanie

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Objects:1. Spod’s stage outfit2. Gallery Serpentine outfit3. Dangerfield outfit

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11. The Neo 80sHow far will the 80s revival go? Take a look at this section and find out.

Young bands are pushing the 80s pop into strange and compelling shape, and the striking shoulder pads are at the cutting edge of fashion.

Objects:1. The Presets costumes

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Online resources & related program materials 1. The 80s are back exhibition,

http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/the80sareback/2. The 80s are back exhibition teachers notes,

http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/pdf/education/teachersnotes/80s.pdf3. The 80s are back syllabus links,

http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/the80sareback/index.php/education/cu rriculum-links/

4. 80s memories: trivia & facts, film & TV, music, video games, fashion, subcultures, people and vox pops - http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/the80sareback/index.php/category/rem embering-the-80s/this-week-in-the-80s/

5. Q&As with notable 80s people http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/the80sareback/index.php/category/rem embering-the-80s/people-of-the-80s/

6. Vox Pops from the visitor kiosk, http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/the80sareback/index.php/category/rem embering-the-80s/vox-pops/

7. Australia in the 1980s Flickr Group, http://www.flickr.com/groups/australiainthe80s/

Image credit: All images used are from the Powerhouse Museum collection

Powerhouse Museum Learning

Related Powerhouse exhibitions & resources

1. Yinalung yenu: women’s journey, level 4

2. Inspired! Design across time, level 3

3. Ecologic: creating a sustainable future, level 1

4. Cyberworlds: computers and connections, level 1

8. Migration Heritage Centre, http://www.migrationheritage.nsw.gov.au/9. ABC’s 1980s timeline, http://www.abc.net.au/archives/timeline/1980s.htm10. Teaching Heritage NSW’s 1980s timeline,

http://www.teachingheritage.nsw.edu.au/2timelines/timefr.html11. Design Institute of Australia’s Design timeline,

http://www.dia.org.au/content.cfm?id=115

Exhibition walkthrough