Brought to Light Australian Art 1850-1965

CAREERS IN COUNTERPOINT Carl McConnell &David and Hermia Boyd Glenn Cooke I he work of Carl McConnell and of David and Hermia Boyd provides » two distinct strands in the appreciation and development of pottery in Brisbane during the 1950s and 1960s. In the early years of McConnell's career, sculpture was his principal focus, demonstrated by the marble Head of Christ (Archbishop's House, Brisbane) commissioned by Archbishop Duhig in 1949, and by several ceramic portrait busts produced during the 1950s. His focus then shifted exclusively to pottery in the following decades. McConnell's representation in the Queensland Art Gallery Collection was substantially enriched by the potter after his survey exhibition 'Carl McConnell: Master Potter', held at the Gallery in 1986. This large group of works validates his reputation as Queensland's most significant potter, and makes a claim for broader Australian significance in the tradition established by the English potter Bernard Leach in the post-Second World War period.1 The career of the husband-and-wife team Hermia and David Boyd in Brisbane was quite different to that of McConnell. Their interest in functional ceramics achieved its highest profile in the 1950s, with five successful exhibitions at the city's Johnstone Gallery from 1956 to 1961, but they gradually became more concerned with sculptural effects. Their careers further evolved when they returned to London after their 1961 showing, with David devoting himself exclusively to painting and Hermia focusing on sculpture.2 Agroup of their works, strongly influenced by the European tradition, entered the Facing page Carl McConnell Australia b.1926 Handled vase c.1960-61 Stoneware, thrown brown clay with lug handles and bronze- green tea-dust glaze 18.5x13.5x13cm Purchased 1961 Queensland Art Gallery Queensland Art Gallery Collection by both purchase and gift. The acceptance of these two styles of pottery in Brisbane is a study of opposites and shifting emphasis. Although Brian Johnstone promoted craft works as well as paintings in his years as Queensland's leading art dealer, he exhibited McConnell's ceramics only in a group exhibition at the Marodian Gallery in Brisbane in 1950.3In those early years, McConnell was developing his own style as a potter and produced pieces inspired by contemporary European styles. Even in later years Johnstone was unresponsive to McConnell's Chinese-inspired stoneware pieces, which were — in absolute terms — as finely crafted and realised as those of the Boyds. The local potter whom Johnstone chose to promote, with seven solo exhibitions from 1959 to 1971, was Milton Moon. Moon's pottery was the antithesis of that produced by McConnell, roughly thrown and vigorously glazed so that it became an expressive vehicle. By 1958 McConnell had established his pottery in the outer Brisbane suburb of Pinjarra Hills, but as venues for exhibiting pottery were very limited during the 1950s and 1960s, his periods of teaching pottery and sculpture at the Central Technical College (1958-63 and 1971-74) were vital to him. His solo-exhibiting career began substantially in 1961, just after Moon was appointed to the position of Senior Pottery Instructor at the College over McConnell, and culminated in 1964 after McConnell's departure from the College. In that year he held solo exhibitions in Brisbane, Melbourne, and Port Macquarie, NSW, and joint exhibitions in Adelaide, and Newcastle, NSW. Subsequently his career emphasised his local connections, although he held solo exhibitions in Sydney in 1966 and 1977 and was included in major group exhibitions. There is considerable diversity in McConnell's output, but without exception all his works are impeccably crafted and, reflecting his early concerns, have a strong volumetric presence. His work during the 1960s, such as Handled vase c.1960-61 (Queensland Art Gallery) was imbued with the feeling of Chinese ceramics.4 The intense yellowish green tea-dust glaze of this vase reflects that produced during the Ch'ien Lung period (1736-96), but it is a glaze of McConnell's own devising, being composed of red clay and wood ash. McConnell was fascinated with the alchemy of glazes and firings, and as he assayed and succeeded in each experimentation, he proceeded to the next. Consequently, there are only a limited number of pieces showing specific glaze effects. McConnell ceased production in 1983, but the celadons he produced in the early 1980s are amongst his finest and most monumental pieces. As the 1960s progressed and contacts with Japan strengthened both commercially and artistically, McConnell's work increasingly mirrored Japanese styles. The Japanese potter Shoji Hamada visited Australia in 1965 and, following his example, slip-trailed decoration (actually a traditional form of English ceramic decoration) in a calligraphic style began to appear in McConnell's work. McConnell 266 BROUGHT TO LIGHT: Australian Art 1850-1965