Queensland Art Gallery Presscuttings Book 3 : Presscuttings, Sept 1959 - Sept 1967

Melboume, Vic. '(,l(;,t. 7 I Brlsb.ne, O. Two • 22 JUN 1961 views of anatomy In two exhibitions this week the fleshi– ness or the body fig– ures form as the cen t ral preocc upa– tion. rn Ron Upton's sculp– ture (Strincs , !lcsh 1~ trcn lt'd wi th n r h1lled sc11 - •un11Ly, bu t at G allery A's 1;)J 11~tox::•~r/ri'i~il ll ~X~l~~.ll~?~:j can sport with Amnryl11s In the shade Lo your hcnrt's cont,c,nt. Uoton·s nttitudcs Lo the nr~h are rcni:-l rkably cm– hl\'alent. In a piece like Voyeur the organic forms - nre soft and spon~y. with· out a trnc., of sensuality. 'l'he floppy brcnsts nnd bulbous limbs have the limpness or a plasticine Improvisation. . But In two larger pieces, Upton copes wilh the problem of limpness in organic forms much more Interestingly. One becomes aware or the blocky weight of the sculpture more timn Its fluidity. At certain ~~nt~u':: 1 ~r;,hr;,,a~r;~~R~ forms and returns n den– sity to the sculpture. The sloppiness of the organic forms tti:hten into a new fi rmness ·und Lhe sculpture becomes lees nrnllenble and more interesting. Generally Upton becomes much more arresting the further he 11:et.s away from the flesh. The gritty tex– t.ures or the two heads (7 nnd 8> create n much more formidnble presence than the oily smoothness or his organic forms. One suspects that the two elements arc a con– lrndlction in his work that has yet to be resolved. When he nttcmpts to run them together. as in Little Blue Anne Blume. they , meet rnthcr than unite. An unexpected tu rn In Upton's w o r k Is his sculpted object, Vase of Flowers Including Mod– rtnn's Tulip. which moves nway frmn an organic con .. ce/>t ol sculpture. We gl mpsc a wit that t.he lumbering burlesque or the other pieces obscured. In 011 exhibition that repudi• ntes excitement this work alone s t t r s one's en– thusiasm. * Busty nnd buttocky beauties thrust them– selves upon one at every turn In Gallery A"s · review of the Australian Nude. Quite what differenti– ates the nubile Aussie nude from any other, Is not made abundantly clear In an exhibition where Just about everything else ls. The t h r e e photo- graphers, Wesley Stace,\', ORry Shcnd H.nd David Stlven. nil pmtest their liberation and cnndor. Their aclu11i photographs fnil Into t.hree rou~·h cntc– ~orles : the drtc rrn inrrily frnnk, the wistfully sent 1- men tnl nnrt the phot.o– grnph modelled frn111 n patnth1~. The IR!Lcr cnt.,~nry is omnipresent t h r ou~houL t.hc "Xhlbit,ion. Tmf'\rcss1011- n5111, hits or s11rrrr l1s111 nnri even a touch of an older plein-nlrlsm can he clPiarly seen at numcrou~ po 11 ~"· Part or their nmbit.ion s 10 brenk nwny from the Plnylloy l'ICW . of the fcmoi · nude. which is fair rn~~f,~\-u 1 l1lrso; one flnds It c:rcrp111t; bnck 111to sight u~ Ilic Jlgurcs recline ;icrn~s rnch or stubbly 1,!1':tM, HIid hu:,h, CXl)O.'ill H( 011ly the clrarrst signs o UH' II' fomrnhllt~•. The ol1J \'nlurs die hnrcl, ii would sc~i11nt surprlsc!i one most nh0u1 th1.; <•:<hil>trion :~ how po~1•d illld I\OW prr~. m l'rlll.at.r-rl C\'cry1hlng 1:;. 0110 woulc1 1111\'c thoui:ht t.hcy \\'0lliti ha\'e expioltccl the i11formal1 ty n11d rap1cl• 11.y or lmnsc thut tho cnmcrn can give. But all three cxhih11ors keep tho ll'hoic t h I n g "terribly art1st1c" anct make the exhib1tio11 slnguluriy nrch. The at tltudinisin~ of their nudes results In some mighty iongeurs. The nude ns child or nature would hardly seem n fresh thou~t,t but we never i:et away from it here. Not.h– h1" rivals Oary Shead's haimlity o! a nymph Rwnith1~ the dawn/dusk 1 w, which would p&.s5 m11st.cr in the salon ot tRfii without, a stir. The whole exhibition exudes a nen·ous boldncs9 a11rl \lrirldcs with n self• consc ous emancipation. * James Wlgley's ex- hlblllon registers a new note of guarded opllmlsm (Austra– lian) . Buxom saloon girls replace the tor– tured, spectral figures who haunted hlR earlier paintings, His new figures are far from Jovial but one finds a seedy, faded sense ot life In them. Certainly they are no lonµer tortured souls and Wlglcv regards them with a nostalgic compassion. Nostai~ia nits many of these pamtfngs. A Dicken– sian fog shrouds the streets (3) or a bright dustfng of . coior briefly enlivens his own home t21, he regards both with a noslOlglc warmth that , stops short of complete confic1e11cc In his new– found powers or relaxa– tion. With these pictures one SCllSCS that Wigley is only at the begin11ing of a new period. His explorations arc sttil LCutnU\'e Rt tl\is stage. One hopes that he will ~•thcr his cousider• uhic paint.cri,I' t.alr.11ts to• f, clher nncl advance ,oltiiy into this new area which he no more than indicates here. N,rt:ohu1s Seflerltt's la– mnmtcd metal sculpture occuliies the other gallery nt 11e Australian. Aft.er w,~tev·s unconfident but sc•nslth·r stt•ps towards a ~IC\~. hc1,!lnn1ng. SefTerln's pie<'r.s look perfunctory 1 nnc1 ornnmc11tnl. His Rni– rnilis luck l'itallty and fol'ce. yicirih1~ neither crnftsin1ti,~ht/, 11or cxnres– ,c:;l\'r powers 11 their mak• 1111,:. Geoffrey Stocks' exhibition Is both thorough and pains– taking (Argus), His fascination with sub– terranean forms and the Inner and outer forms of landscape provide him with a substantial but not compelling theme, At his best he cnn de• velop an easy, rhythmic manner of abstractfon (2J 3!, spare In Its means anu nuthoritatlve In Its tones. But there a.re other worry• ing lapses into a co11vcn– t1011ai modernity. such M the lurid Cruciflxior. or the facile St.m·m Centre. Stocks' real qualities sl iow 111 his less arduous pieces. such ns the fastfdl– ous drawings, espec1nliy the three Landsca1ies in Section. or the glowing but restrained textures of De• sert Heat. They have a resonance and an Inward• ness on the artist's part that one misses in the windy rhetoric or hll Burled Temple and City. One would like to be more enthusiastic about this careful and sensltl\'e painter but his work lacks the verve of the fresh dis• CO\'CJ"Y. * Bernard Hesllng's enamel panels (Gal– lery 99) make good table tops but tedl· ous pictures. What ca 11 be glimpsed with reasonable pleasure as one put:s t he coffee tray down on top ot It, becomes Irrita– tingly trivial and re– len tlesslv petty when hung on· the wall. J Plan to lift standard of art gallery heads . A · tion of Australia I A S President of the Art Galleries uoc•:in from the recent hove experienced both pleoGulj ondo:d the public con– events ot the Queensland Art o e': troversy which has stemmed from t em. I am naturally pleased hat the conduct of a pu h- ie art gallery should be en properly as a matter f deep public concern. But at the same time I am distressed that ques– ttonable decisions have ap- arently been taken and so l:iany disingenuous, not 1 ~o sRV mlsleadlnR, thlnRs aa . In the last • 10 years the number or public galleries in Australia has increased very considerably and the profes'slona/ standards or thosa work ng In them have st~/~Y it'~~ilon has been In part responslbl~ for c~lt Ing Into belnR the r oailertes Association, whlc~i, as Its main aim, has soug to establish proresalonal quailtlcatlons and attitudes throughout ·the gallery pro– fession In Australia. ·such standards will soon given concrete recognl– ion when courses for a dlP• oma in art gallery admlnls• ration and ,curatorshlp are stabllshed. • Wide experience There are certain basic onslderatlons that ate greed upon 1n this field n •civilised, countries. h Id A• man or woman I ou ot be appointed to a aen– or position unless he or he h&a 'had wfde exoerlence n ,the Rpeclal requirements r the public 11allery. These reaulrements are fundamentally different r~om th01e. needet\ In such areas as art criticism or art de~~ngt'n the Art Galleries Association are dlstresaed that these necesaary basic 'considerations do notod . seem to have been understo , - Eric w.. &brook, Prealden&1 Ar& Gallerlea Aasoel&Uon ° 1 Amlralla, Na&lonal Gallery of Vlclorla, Melbourne. i~to,, sHoW TOO MEAGRE 1'HE rxhibition of traditional and modern i\faori art at Farmers' Blaxland Gallery is too skimpy and meagre to do justice lo lhe field it attempts lo cover. Mo,1 of lhc contc111por. ary work is unsnlisfying. anll lhis is esp~ciully true.! of the contemporary sculp- tun~. Once the M11ori sculp– tor :1h:1ndom• his traditions he lcnll"' lo become lo!'>t among 1hc commonplaccs of the Western appr011ch. Oddly enough, the beau– tiful feeling for decorntinn lhal :1nirn:1ks the lr::1ll'i• tiunul .«ttlpturc is best prc"icrvcll in thl!> puinling" of ll11C·k Nin. In hh wor~ lhc rhythn11r, and pu11crns or the \VtH.H..I· c:ir\'cr arc rcslulcJ in f('rms nf paint unLI colour. llc ii, lhi: only one who has ,11cccli,f11II )' hridycd lhc gnr, hctwt•cn lh(.• pa,;;t anti the present. 'r IIE '"""' f11<ch111lln11 lhln• •hottf lhe ,•,hi, hlllun of Rul~urlun ,in,. phh· 1ir1 111 ll1e Arl G11llor,• of N.S,\I', 1., lhc lechnlcul sklll, It tlemon,trnlc.,. Th1.• ~ti pl'inls 11rnk.c 11,c nf C\'cr kind of yraphic ll'l'hllitJllt• fi nd in nrnny 1.·mc, ltl'c lhc re~1111 or u Ct1111b!nu1io11 of SC\'cr:il dif. fc1e111 h'l.'llnit!IIC"i. ART BY JAMES GLEESON l·fowl!vcr, the exhibition fuiis to produce much rc– srnn~e on the ncslhclic level. TluH1gh the lec:hniquc'i nre •~iiful!i· 11,ed, the finilJ rc't11l1" )\ii\' nothing lltar ha,; 11111 hl'l'n .,aid a thum– and liml.'s before. Then~ are no c~rcl'i- 1111.ml 'i in pure nh~lra1.·1ion, allhough ~umc nwurcncss nf ii~ pntenli:tlilil.''i iii dcm– on..;fr:i ll.'J h1 1 n numhcr ol a111hiy11011"' works li~l.' f11111:1io1m,\ "Nc1,.'' in \\ hkh nhvinu"' lil.'li1tlil in :il1, 11 :,c1 ,hare~ i, ~·a;d ·ullv di,gui,t.•tf a" rt•:ili'lim hy a fc\\ wcll -rh1l'1.•d :tl'('l.'fll, On lhl.' whnlc lhl.' cxliihi. lion is more likely lo in– lcrcst rhc craftsman lhe arlisl FOR lhoso who, llke my,l'lf, h11ve nn•r been v,ry pro Pro Hurt, hl.t cur– rcnl nhlhlllon at lhe lhirry Stern G11ll•ry ,wlll pro•l1le no ocu,lon fffl' l'l1u11gln11 on••• opinion. It is true thnt there ar two or three work8 in 11 col/ci:1ion lhal nre r:ithe helter thon any1hing h has done before. Hi, enormously enlarg cJ studies of dragonftic:~ and his "Swngmun No. 2" urc nol without 1race11 o 1;cn~ilivi1r, hut Ute overal imprcs,,ion is still one of slirk facility and sttperfici. 11lit)', If :1nylhi11!!, lhL·~c quali– lil.'~ have hn·o111c rnnrc- ap. P!ll't'lll a11 he v1.•11111re~ into largl•r and more a111hitious WOl'kli. Had the)' heen painted Uli fill}' vigrtL"llci lhey would 1101 ha,·c- hct.·n \Vi1h. 0111 a rcnain naive r h11r111, hu1 " hen rhcr nre in01111:t1 111 lhdr prt.•,c111 S(."Ulc, Iheir 1mvcn1• 1111d emr,1i1it.• ,;; l.1c– O\'t."r\\ ltd111 i11gJ~ ,,