Queensland Art Gallery Annual Report

28 QUEENSLAND ART GALLERY ANNUAL REPORT 05/06 / exhibitions and audiences also explored the many incarnations of the ‘Beauty and the Beast’ tale in art and film. French artist Emmanuel Frémiet’s Gorilla carrying off a woman 1887 and the highly charged image of Fay Wray in the arms of Kong, from the 1933 King Kong film, were key works from the exhibition. Installed in Gallery 4, the Gallery’s single-largest exhibition space, the exhibition presented more than 100 works. The sophisticated exhibition design incorporated rear-projection screening rooms and multiple small screens for the display of films and film excerpts, alongside display cases for rare books, prints, posters, drawings and objects. The extensive audiovisual displays in the exhibition were conceived and installed in-house by the Gallery’s workshop, exhibitions and curatorial staff. FILM PROGRAM Held from 18 to 27 November, the ‘Kiss of the Beast’ film program explored the origins of the 1933 film King Kong at a time when the latest re-make of this classic movie (by Oscar- winning director Peter Jackson) was about to hit the big screens. It offered some rarely seen gems of cinema, including early shorts and animations, groundbreaking documentaries from ‘exotic’ locations, iconic monster movies from the 1930s to 1950s, and remakes of King Kong from Japan and Hong Kong. Rare prints shown in their original format included recent restorations of The Lost World (1925), and Jean Renoir’s Sur un air de Charleston (1927). Silent film presentations featured specially commissioned live musical accompaniment. Over ten days, more than 30 films were screened in the Gallery’s Lecture Theatre and at South Bank Cinemas, South Brisbane. The film program then travelled to the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, Melbourne (9–18 December 2005), where it was complemented by a free forum featuring presentations by the curators and Adrian Martin, acclaimed author, film critic and curator. focus: kiss of the beast / QUEENSLAND ART GALLERY ANNUAL REPORT 05/06 29 FOCUS: KISS OF THE BEAST One of the Queensland Art Gallery’s major undertakings for the year was the official launch of the Gallery of Modern Art’s Australian Cinémathèque and the presentation of its premiere program, ‘Kiss of the Beast’. The launch marked the beginning of a significant new direction in programming for the Gallery in terms of the collection, conservation and presentation of key works from the history of cinema. The Australian Cinémathèque will present and interpret film as an integral part of contemporary visual culture and make a significant contribution to the state’s screen culture. AUSTRALIAN CINÉMATHÈQUE The Honourable Rod Welford, MP , Minister for Education and Minister for the Arts, officially launched the Australian Cinémathèque on 15 November as part of the opening of the ‘Kiss of the Beast’ exhibition and film program. The launch included an audiovisual presentation and music by Sydney-based performers Sub Bass Snarl and Superlight. The launch was supported by the release of a 28-page booklet on the Cinémathèque’s facilities, future programming and collecting focus. With two cinemas and a dedicated media gallery, the Australian Cinémathèque is the first of its kind in an Australian art museum. Building on the success of ‘Kiss of the Beast’, the Cinémathèque’s programming will include retrospective and thematic film programs and exhibitions, showing the work of influential filmmakers and artists. Forthcoming programs include significant Asian and Pacific film directors and video artists — including Asia’s highest profile actor–director, Jackie Chan — to be showcased during ‘The 5th Asia–Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art’; Andy Warhol’s film and video works will be central to Australia’s first major exhibition of his work at the Gallery of Modern Art in 2007; and the Cinémathèque will celebrate the 50th anniversary of French New Wave cinema in 2007. EXHIBITION The ‘Kiss of the Beast’ exhibition explored imagery of gorillas, wild beasts and monsters in art, film, science, literature and popular culture from the late nineteenth century to the present day. Curated by Kathryn Weir, Head of Cinema, Queensland Art Gallery, and Dr Ted Gott, Senior Curator of International Art, National Gallery of Victoria, the exhibition traced depictions of the gorilla after its discovery by Western naturalists in the mid nineteenth century. ‘Kiss of the Beast’ during the year featured artist presentations by Philip Brophy, Susan Norrie, Daniel Mafé and Marian Drew. REGIONAL EXHIBITIONS The Gallery’s commitment to providing a quality program of travelling exhibitions and related support services continued during the year. In February 2006 the travelling exhibition ‘Queensland Live: Contemporary Art on Tour’ commenced its eight-venue regional tour. A snapshot of the excellence, diversity and achievement found in the visual arts in Queensland today, the exhibition is the first regional Queensland activity to celebrate the opening of the Gallery of Modern Art. ‘Queensland Live’ features the work of 11 of the state’s leading artists: Vernon Ah Kee, Richard Bell, Gordon Bennett, Eugene Carchesio, Gwyn Hanssen Pigott, Tracey Moffatt, Scott Redford, Luke Roberts, Anne Wallace, Judy Watson and Judith Wright. ‘Streeton: Works from the Queensland Art Gallery Collection’ continued its tour, with showings in Gladstone, Noosa, Hervey Bay, Miles, Toowoomba and Stanthorpe. Streeton’s works remain relevant for audiences today, providing an opportunity to investigate the complex, and sometimes ambivalent, relationship Australians have with their landscape and with artistic and cultural centres abroad. EXHIBITIONS IN DEVELOPMENT Work towards ‘The 5th Asia–Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art’ (APT5) — the opening exhibition for the Gallery as a two-site institution on 2 December 2006 — gained considerable momentum during the year. The selection of artists was completed with a total of 37 artists and two multi- artist projects confirmed for inclusion. In June, preparations for the launch of the first stage of the APT5 website, at <www.asiapacifictriennial.com >, were well underway. Cross-disciplinary teams of Gallery staff continued to progress the major aspects of APT5, including the opening celebrations and performance programs, the exhibition publication, Kids’ APT, and the Australian Cinémathèque screening programs. The Gallery also welcomed visits by artists Tsuyoshi Ozawa from Japan, Ai Weiwei from China, and curator Lu Jie of China’s Long March Project, as part of APT5 preparations. Significant work was also completed on preparations for major new interpretations and displays of Collection works for both the Queensland Art Gallery and the Gallery of Modern Art. New displays at the Queensland Art Gallery will include the Fairweather Room, Queensland Heritage Gallery, Historical Asian Gallery, and new displays of the Gallery’s pre-1970 international art collection. A booklet profiling these displays was produced and distributed in mid June to ensure audience anticipation remains high not only for the new building, but also for the refurbishment of the existing building. Collection displays at GoMA will allow audiences to experience some of the major contemporary works acquired in recent years across the Gallery’s Australian, Indigenous Australian, Asian, Pacific and international collections. Exhibitions for presentation at the Queensland Art Gallery and the Gallery of Modern Art in 2007, 2008 and 2009 continued to be progressed. GoMA projects include a major exhibition of the work of Andy Warhol, a significant survey exhibition of contemporary Californian art, and an exhibition of Indigenous fibre art, while Queensland Art Gallery projects include exhibitions of the work of Kenneth Macqueen, Josephine Muntz-Adams and Sidney Nolan, as well as an exhibition and publication that will bring together some of the most iconic images of Australian colonial life. FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: Students attending a tertiary preview of the exhibition ‘Barbara Heath: Jeweller to the Lost’. Wayne Goss, Chair of the Queensland Art Gallery Board of Trustees, discusses a student’s art work at the opening of the ‘Education Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Art’ on 16 March 2006. Jonathan Jones , winner of the inaugural ‘Xstrata Coal Emerging Indigenous Art Award’, installing his work lumination fall wall weave 2004/2006.