Queensland Art Gallery Presscuttings Book 10 : Record of press coverage, March 1982 - May 1984

'1'1 e Cou r ier - Mail 1 S pt mber 1982 Gallery director defends his new 'house' By BOB JOHNSON "It's like moving into a new house," Raoul Mellish said. "You never find things 100 percent right." Mr Mellish, the Queensland Art Gal– lery director, was commenting on criti– cism by some visitors of the new gallery in the Queensland Cultural Centre. "We welcome people letting us know how we can make things better," he 5aid. "Ninety-nine point nine percent of the visitors go away delighted but if we receive complaints we deal with them." Here arc some of the complainu and what has been done, or is being done: • Name tags painted on the noor: They arc now up beside the works. • Floor-level pools into which some people have stepped: The accidents hap– "Cncd when the pools were still bul when 1hcir surfaces were activated, which is normal, there were no more wet feel. • Lack of signs, particularly in the car park: Some more signs have been put up recently, but there arc still not enough. Mr Mellish admitted this and described the car park as "a bit of a maze". Out– side signs arc also minimal, bul a build– ing like the Cultural Centre should not be over-signposted. • The library has only six books acces– sible to the public: This one hurt Mr Mellish because the library has just bought JOO books from Sydnc~ "When you get this sort of criticism it 0 cls a bit below the belt," he said. • Hard for disabled people to move around: Mr Mellish said that all parts of the gallery v.·crc accessible by ramps or lifts. Two more lift drivers would be em– ployed to help with this. Mr Mellish said that the gallery was also criticised for not having cno~gh of its own collection on show and for plac– ing 100 much emphasis on craft. He said the gallery, which was now only in its third month of operation, wu in unusual circumstances. "We have had five major exhibitions since the opening," Mr Mellish said . "Not many galleries can claim that. Bui we have had a selection from our perma– nent collection on show too." The gallery had been made the venue for the visual arts section of Festival 82, the cultural festival being held in con– Junction with the Commonwealth Games, Mr Mellish said. "As well as showing the best of our permanent collection we will have nine specical exhibitions," he said. Mr Mellish said the gallery would have to be closed fromSeptember 6 to 19 10 set ,t up for the festival. Replying to the criticism that there wa, too much craft on show, Mr Mellish 11d "There " a predominance of craft :11present We arranged to have anexhi– b111on of the best Australia n craft of the la,t two years on show for Fc,11val d1 " - . - . - RENT RISE FORCES RELOCATION OF MODERN ART HOME By KATHY DAVIS The ln1titvte of Modern Art ha, t-n forced by rent in– creaMI to move from Market St in Bri1bane to an unrenovated building oppoaite the Community Arta Centre in Edward St. The move oould not have come at a wone time ror the lnatltute, which la troubled with !ln&nc1&1 worries despite ualatance rrom the Vlaual Art.II Board of the Austral.la CounclJ and the State Government. tend to oover the ooet of llAn acreen p_pni, pn,ae.n– electr!cal worlt. noor oov- -aa bilb~~CQundl.Jll ertnp and palntln(. ~uaLral!,._ fQ!_~ILlV&l....:a:I. . ana!JieolllclaJ ope nln ir la To Mid, t.o the IMA I pro- Wednesday, September lb. blema. It I one ol the wont The move has lo be done umea or the year t.o have by October 1 _ to IDAl<e euch • move. The lKA haa been at l4 The lnaUtute la plannlng Market Street alnoe lta ln– &n elthlbtUon or Auatra- oeptlon In 11718 and Crom thJa oen tre has exhibited and promoted oontempo– rary AUlll'allan and lor– elirn art. Committee prelldent. Royce Pertina, haa called for aponaorahlp from prl· vate buatneM t.o meet V coet or ronovatlnr 108,' ward St. The budl1!t will not ea- The Sunday Mail 19 September 198 2 PETER TRAVIS HANGS HIS KITES FROM THE CEILING OF THE QUEENSLAND ART GALLERY By TESS LIVINGSTONE SYDNEY artist Peter Trnis's labor of love ls·over, He has just seen the rewards or well over 1500 hours of painstaking work assembled above the water mall or the Queensland Art Gal• lery. Ills creation, whkh ls about 36 m long. consists or nine multl-colored kites. Mr Truls, hnd ctramlcs leetum 11 the Oty Art Institute In Sydney, wu commissioned by the Gallrry lo dtsign 1ad make 1hr kiln last year. He btsln dyeln11 the coHoa oo the day • fltt Boxlna Day and alMt lbta has speat from about 7 p.m. lo l 1.m. A painstaking labor of. love nery night (lacludl11t1, bt 11rflltd, Euler and New Yeu bolld1y1) ,.o,klng on the project, He 111lned DO ptnonal finaMl1l bmdlt from tht work, btclme, he aid, pricini tbt tabor Ml lmpoal• ble. Funds for lbt matrrtals were pnmded by lht Quetnsland Art Gal– kry Society. A tnH wbo • dmlla lo bflns a ptr– f ecllonlst, Mr Tn,11 aald 11111 many parts wrre made o,tt and ottr 1g1ln •Iii ht wu satlsned be could do no btHer. I • his mind, tbt kites, with their mpltndrnl colon, hint •• human ..a11y, whlcb CHltt tbtm lo P•– ... loolt 11 llitlr reflections as they fly Ottt the ,..,er. The waur, In turn, cryst • IISH lbtm, boldln& their ref\ectlons fom- er.