ACU (Australian Catholic University)

Dr Victoria Carruthers - Nat Sch of Arts (Faculty of Education and Arts)

Fully accredited supervisor - Can supervise as principal supervisor

My research areas are primarily focused on modern and contemporary art history and theory. I also have an interest in the intersections between visual cultures and politics, literature, music and philosophy. I completed an Honours degree at the College of Fine Arts (UNSW) and then traveled on a scholarship to the UK where I completed a PhD at the University of Essex, awarded in 2012. My doctoral thesis focused on the art of the late American surrealist Dorothea Tanning with whom I worked in New York before her death in 2012. Before studying art history, I completed a BA in literature and philosophy and a Masters by thesis on Shakespeare's late plays, both at the University of Sydney.

My research interests have been broad and reflect my education in the Humanities and my personal interest in the history of music. For this reason, I would consider my research practices genuinely interdisciplinary with a grounding in feminist practice and ideology. I have a growing interest in the metaphysics of death, dying and creativity, reflected in collaborative research with academics at the University of Sydney.

My publications include essays on Tanning's work and its relationship to music, gothic literature and mermaid imagery. I have also published on surrealist poetry, Young British Artists, the surrealist Czech artist Emila Medkova and have recently published the first critical monograph on Dorothea Tanning.