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

The Daily Sun 13 May 1 9 83 GO GUIDE Culture galore but THI Art Gallery in tt.. new Cultural Centre I South Brisbane ha • pla,-ed ho • t to 50,000 •iii- !~:.~ ::."!'c..:~r:::: a 0 !.:.cer:r7u:.. ::r~ n O· par S e Y Ing their Yl • it ta th" wondorou • Chlne • e lntom- becl Warriors Exhibition. With a Btau, building of this slr.e and Importance It would have been pleasing to find a display of our dla– tlnctlve troplca.1 local cul– alne. What an Idea.I oppor– tunity to show off our fresh produce, seafood and Queenaland Ideas to a captive audience. Many gallertes and museulll8 a1I over the world seem to be doing Just this In their eating areas Just now. The style of food available In the Art Gallery Cafeterta Is llmlted and indefinable but somewhere around 1954 school tuck-shop or factory fare. It Is ade- uatel cooked, lain, maaa-produced, self-aer– vtce food In functional, clean surroundings. The entrance to the caf– eteria Is down the escala– tor, under the hanging red lanterns and past the shlmmertng water floor with Its red and whlte water llllles. The wa!III are hung, gal– lery style. with glOBSy food posters depicting glor1ous luscloua fruits In a tropical extravagance. A ~– color dazzle of pasalon– frult, avocados, k.Jwlfrult and strawben1ts, which are then represented In miniature on the front glass doors. However, the abundance EATING OUT AROUND t·~WN of fresh fruit Inside cona– lsts of a small brown bowl containing six little red apples. Surprlalngly enough after a.11 this beauty on the wa.lla there Is no fresh aalad available of any kind, not even a let.– tuce leaf or a spr1g of PIU'II· ley, The menu on the back wa.11, the kind with pin-on white letters, carries only one sentence: "Hot meals available $2.60". Indisputa– bly the prtces are very modest and who's com– plaining, but thla la the Art Gallery of Queens– land, not a soup kitchen. There Is no dispute that people will pay more to get more, whether It be In qua.ltlty or choice. Service The serves are on oval plates about a hand acrosa and the choice can be from a slice of quiche, a bowl of soup, a wholeme~ pie, a Greek pastry or. a.1- tematlvely, the ubiquitous stew of beef and mush– rooms or shredded chicken In tomato paste. Bole accompaniments are a spoonful of hot, pre-fro– un. mixed watery vegeta– bles served from a hot water unit with white rice. Like the quiche and the , pie, a rout beef bun can be .heated In a microwave oven If you wlah. The lack of menu guidance on the be.ck wall does not extend to the cali:es - there are pteaux. atrudelll, tortes and crumbles aplenty and allcea of vanilla rolls, Jam rolls . pl.keleta, scones and aand'wtchea. all In well drellled. plutlc overcoat.,, at under Sl.80. Tea. coffee, hot chocolo– te, cappuocino, fruit Juices and mineral water range betWND eot and eoe. There la even alcohol available. The wine 11st conalata of one rleaHng, one moaelle and one red wine of the same brand. pr1ced at $1.40 for a 250ml bottle. Choice There are two beers XXXX at $1.20 and choice Oold Top at Sl.50. All the cold drinks come from a self-service refr1gerator at the head of the food dlstr1- butlon area. Queues shuffle past the stainless steel unit end– leSBly, loading their food on to trays as they go, and the big Italian coffee ma– chine does sterling service, but causes a bit of a bot.– tie-neck before one gets to the cutlery and the cash reg!ater. White plastic tables must first be cleared of the last oocupant's litter before seating and the pleasant lady behind the tlll can provide you wt th a cloth to mop up the old tea-puddles If asked. She also dispenses the servtet.– tes, but the sugar bowl and the most essential salt and pepper shakers must be foraged for from around the surrounding tables. The chairs are brown tweed and very comforta– ble as well as decorative. l They and the weeping fig tress and the posters are the beat things In the I place, There i., more seat- I Ing outlllde In the garden which gives the opportu– nity t(!; appreciate the new sculptures and the Uttle I dandelion fountains. How- , ever In the hot afternoon sun It could do with a few umbrellas or leafy shade for greater patron comfort and pleasure. The Inherent problems In running this establlah– ment are many. The ac– ceaa for delivery Is diffi– cult, the air-conditioning I units muat not take strong cooking &mf!lla as they will circulate through the en– tire gallery. AH forms of display and customer com– munication must be In keeping with the rest of the gallery and the pricing · structure must suit a diversified public - achool children groups, as many u 10,000 In one day, the large staff, vtaitor-3 from all over the world. a wide local population and the one-off Sunday stroller. Success With ao much success, enthusiasm and excel– lence In the rest of ~ Art Gallery of which we are Inordinately proud. the cateterta could afford to expand a little In Its Ideas. No wonder all the War– riors have their bacb·tur– ned to this comer In th~ nearby tunnelll. They have obviously seen It all before In their 2000 yean of changing ~tea. • Art GallerJ, Cofetma: Hours of opent119: 10.JOam - 4.JOpm. 7.30 on Frlda11 ntghu. Sunda111 1pm to 4.JOpm. Parkfng In carpark down., tatra. Seat., 6<J In.ride, JOO and more 01't.ffiu. Run 01/ Stewa7:t., Houl Group. I . .