Jubilee exhibition of Australian art

C O N T E M P O R A R Y ART By Roland Wakelin N Y O N E COMPARING G E N E R A L L Y the works o f the earlier Australian artists with those o f ou r contemporaries will b e struck b y the considerable change in outlook a n d method which has taken place i n the last twenty o r thirty years. This change ma y be stated broadly as one o f emphasis. I n the earlier work the emphasis is o n the subject matter. Composition a n d arrangement there ma y be, but they are in most cases kept subservient to the portrayal o f the chosen subject. I n the con- temporary work this emphasis is in the ma i n reversed. Formal unity a n d the arrange- me n t o f shapes a n d colours have become far more important a n d the representation of nature secondary. I n Stove Theme, for instance, Eric Wilson, so far from portraying a stove as the average person sees it, has taken various features o f a stove and re-arranged them to make a pictorial design. I n another way the contemporary artist places far more im- portance o n the expression o f a n emotion o r sensation aroused by a particular subject than on correctly depicting the subject itself. Thus, Lloyd Rees' landscapes o f the Ome g a Hills are no t accurate portrayals o f the Saddleback Mountains which inspired them, b u t r a t he r a romantic vision in design and chiaroscuro imposed upon wh a t to the average spectator would b e a commonplace scene. I t is such imaginative vision t ha t produces works o f art. This change, which has come about i n Australian a r t during the past 20 years is a reflection o f a movement which revolutionised European a r t i n the latter h a l f o f the nineteenth century. T h e influence upon Australian a r t o f this revolution which was known as the "modern movement" dates back to 1914, although any obvious signs t ha t such revolutionary trends were i n existence were no t manifest i n a general way until ma n y years later. T h e a r t loving public a nd the critics treated with contempt any experimental efforts on the p a r t o f young painters. Nevertheless, there was, as early as 1914, a very small group o f enthusiastic students attending classes conducted by A. Datillo Rubbo , who h a d come in contact with reproductions o f such masters as Cezanne, Gauguin, V a n Gogh, a n d whose experiments with colour a nd design horrified the older generation. Datillo Rubbo, it must always be remembered to his credit, encouraged these young painters in their attempts to break away from the prevailing academic standards a n d to work ou t their own salvation. This group included Grace Cossington Smith, Roi de Mestre a n d myself. Occasionally some o f ou r works would appe a r on the walls o f the Royal Ar t Society's exhibitions, only to be greeted with derision by the critics. I n 1919, d e Mestre a n d I collaborated i n a n idea involving the analogy o f colour and music a n d held a joint exhibition o f these pictures (which bore titles such as Snchromie in Blue) a t Gayfield Shaw's Gallery. A lecture was given on the opening night, a t which the late Sydney U r e Smith presided, a n d J u l i an Ashton, Hen r i Verbrugghen, J o h n Young (always a n ardent supporter), a n d many other notable people were in evidence. A well- known critic o f the day described the exhibition as 'elaborate a nd pretentious bosh,' and 128 WILLIAM DO BELL. Woman in Cafe. Oil many lean years followed for these young painters. I n 1926, George Lambe r t a n d T h e a Proctor, who were disgusted with the lack of 16 1 17