Queensland Art Gallery Presscuttings Book 4 : Presscuttings, November 1967 - June 1972

"TELEGRAPH" Brisbane, Old. ,111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111 TALl(IN(; TO I\IEN: No. :i in a se1·i•·" IN the 12 months since his appointment os Director of the Queensland Art Gallery, Mr. Jomes Wieneke has had little time to lflOre. Uul a position entail- 111q- Ml much work coi1 • 11N·l{'d with art ls not h· 111~ 11f'W 10 Mr. \V1enrke - lib KPIJOllllll1£'1lt di· r1•, 101 --a 111e u,.c. 1l1•· cul - 111mnt1011 or a cnrerr h 11III ul'OUl\cl 01'1 ~I r \Vif'111•ke was horn In 1J1111dnht•r~. and fillH.1- i••cl nl't nt 1hc Ul'l:,hurm 'l'Pd 111icnl Collrgc. Ul'forc Uh uppolnuncnt ns Di– rector of the Quecnslnnd Art Onllcry, he wns DI – rector or the Moreton Art Galleries. \A condition or Mr. ~s~~k\fe ~~oln~~ner~ Se11tember last yenr, .,,as that he dlsJ)Ofie ol the Moreton Gnllcrles. He Mr. Jan1es W ieneke, Dir– ector of the Queen•land Art Gallery, with one of the Aubunon tap– estries now on •haw. still has not found a IJUl'Cr for !,hem.I Mr. w,cneke's wife An· : 1i't!~·i rd~~ 1 ::~hr~~ln1cn~t\': t•r111c, 8. nlrcody 1s l\ lmd· dl11g artlsl. There nrr not W\1~!fe:~'tdi~~!;~~. tt~~ ~:i'~ Is po1> art.. Duties are many Art is life work of gallery chief ncsidc5 his con~tant i11Ll'n°:,l in art, Mr. \V1cn– r kt: 11bo 1111d.s plenty of l1u-1::o come lo light each day which doubly ln– ,-r~ase his aln,orplion 111 his work. "l think pop art ls " phnse peo1>lc arc go111g lhrough. and we must be broad In our lastes and accept It," he added. During the past IQ years Mr. Wieneke pol11ts out lhat there has been a fi';?~\'t'~b~;~ rtf,\s 1~nr,~[y to bett er meons or com· rnt111lcnt lon - ln partkll· lnr television - which hn.s 11u·rr a.sccl lntcrrst in 111 o II y things, omon;; them art.. As Director ol the Q11ecnsl1111d Gallery, Mr. Wieneke ofle11 f111ds even l11s lunch ls taken, "with u. 1>c11cll in one hand and o. suntlwlch in the other." Mr. Wieneke has Lo su– pervise work on the prc-– scn ·ut,1011 of paintings, the adminbt.rntlon nnd ~11;1Lk{~~ o~fu I ~-!be a~,~nc.:l~ counts. nnd supervise re– productio11s of palnllnss lor catalo~ues. ..ll'S work hcl1t11d • the • scenes mu.inly, ll:oi tur I\S the p uhlic Whlt'h \'1<.,lt."I the gallen · ls co11cer1tcd," l\:lr. Wlc1lrl-:t> snid. Per• haps the 1110-.t 11111c - consuming ol nil Mr. Wienrke"s werk • to • week work i~ nctunlly nr• ~~~,~~\C\"ll'~~::~~-t IOI\:, for public, and tho palnLlngs t~~~~~!"fo !~r!~ 1 ; uf,~t~t?~ to make way for the new cxhtbition. Then the rol· lccllon tor display 1 · hu11g, with Mr. \Vir nt'kc on the spot 011 Lhc u11u! lo see that the tlaint l11µ:-, nre hung in the 1110. t ,ut - ..-n11tnccous posit.ions. u,~v:~11::.~ccgB1\; 1 ,~ 11 ~~0~ 1 ~ R~C In the attic, they nre much easier to cure for. a., u result or one of Mr. W1c11ekc's achicvemc11t.~ a., director. Hr has re-arranged thr storaj.{C space In the attic 11110 wire cmnpartmen t.~ u11d shelves so that. a const1ml check mnY he kc•pt. on the condi1i0n Pr I.he 1ialnth,fls he has lined the walls Wlt.ll plU.!-oll'I". anrl plnns arc unclcrwny ror the installation 01 an air - co11ditlonlng unit in thr Cl'illnJ! to p1·l'..-c11t ct~– terlornllon or the pal11t - ~!fdutt rouch heat or h u- S ince he took m·rr t hr dircctorshi1>, l\lr. \\'ir1·– ckc hl\S also uctdcct 1·<111· sldcrably to the numbrr of books In the gnllcry·– llbrary of brn11 Ll full)' - ii · lust,rated art hooks. b11t Lltc arhl c ,· c m ent o l which he ts \1rrhnp.s Ihe 1 1roudcst. ls 1is par t In ,:wing the H. C. R irh – o.rds prl1.r for nrtlst~ in – crca.srd to S 1000. f-fr. \Vicncke is not jot-:t n mnn with a cnrccr In art, he also pnlnls. al– lhouch he now dC'sr rlh<'s himself as 0 011ly a wt.-ek– end painter." Brisbane, Q. Po1nung to the beau• tlful Aubusson tapestries :;1\~~;~1l~~,n~f~'.1c,,!ph~: tnJ>t.'btrlrs were ru11nt11g Rround 1n paddocks in 1.l11:-. co1111tn• n rf!w years aHo." He then explal11ed t.ltnt the French tf\pi:.-.- 1.r1cs nrr mndc from A1t$– trnlia11 WCM)t l Mr. Wieneke's pla11s for the Quccnslnnd Art Galler)' hove only Just t>cgu11 to be 1·cnliscd. bul nlrcndy he can feel proud of his achlC\"Cl11Cl1lS dur– ing his 1i months as di– rector.