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

~~ The Sunday Mall NOVEM~ER 17 ,--.:=19=6,;;;;8;;;;-;:;.N ,-,1...0VEMBER 17, 1968 ne 1urgot The arts don't have a rreat deal of e1111011r– ,:a1ement In Queens– land, as a report on pare 5 today shows. Painting and •culpture hR\e an old and decrepit head– quarters. So does nn~slc. There ls no lull-time pro• lesslonal theat,re or crea– Uve cinema. There ls some ballet, and a verv rew creative wrtteu, "'ho. I •uspect, choose to live here for reasons qull.e re– moved from their prof••· inon. 'l'hc Q11eensla11d D111siou of the Arts Council. oerhaos the most ellec1lve of all oraa.ntsatlons foslel'lng the arts, Is In desperate fln1mclal trouble. Por this sorrv slate ol RI • fairs the Sta te Govern– ment tends to get most or the blame. This Is not quite fair. The , CommonweRIUt Gov– ernment, as Mr. Whlllam, In his entertRlnlng A LLRck on Australia's neglect, of Its culture, has rlnted rgthe~~~ld do a lo more And so could you and I, the Indifferent public. Mr. Whlt!Rm was right when he Rttacked th~ ~~ru~~~ul>iielll~fbo~·h~~r "r;,:; rathor than lucre." Art.Isis. In !Rct. are Important to society and have every right to expect proper re– w·ard Puollc uninteresl, In the Rl'IS manllest.s tt.elf In two ways : In not attending ru~.~~rt~r~~f,.es,a~~ulpL~~! or books, and In not put– ting pre~s.,ure on politic– ians to mRke monev avRil· able. · I suspect LhRt Brisbane people. and Queenslanders enerally, are no worse. nd ptobRbly better. than ost cornparable com– unltles, l\'hen It comes n !i:J'/i~~~;g the arts as 9..1hen lt comr.s to con- P~~~Jl ~tf1c "g;~~~~nf h~ re definite fRllures. And ven more so when 11 omes to direct private oney-ralstng. rt from the quiet work I the rew dedicated pat· ~ne, there's nol, much mmuntly fund-raising o~ the arts going on In hlai l!!ta~. A d until I.here Is, It',< not uch use complaining hat the Government t 't doing tts part. l n·t know whether Mr alk's Announcement ,hat he has set up an 1n- J stJ11atlon Into the fu1.t1re r the Art GAiiery means hat tJ1e Government tght bp 11nln~ In piny tt.s nrl.. can only wRlt anct see .. and hope. to resent art winner By FREDERIC ROGERS In Bri1ba••• 1968 will be remembered as the year everybody wal 10 busy joi•i•g i• the ,haul– ing OYer the Richardt Memorial Pri • e judge'• slop al the Queen1land Art G • llery that they for– tot to resent hi, choice of the winner. nu1 . "·" rrorrs:,;or Ber– nard Smith sug~rsted In "lv1n~ hts Jur\J!nH•nt, IhP. 1:;copP or Il\f' co11tt•s1 ,·on– ctl1 Ion,; \: nnw $0 \\ 1 :ctP · RIW ~ubJcr1 tn nn\' medium - · 11\111 11 ,s ,•1·l1mlly lm – pu...,sible for nny Juct~e to make an awnrc1 that will w!n unl\'rrsnl apprnvul. This yrur Roy Chur• ' her·~ "OrUlbC'r 6R" or e1·1i Mnttlwws· ··Expami – ni;z Structur,. ·RB" or 1rl'\'\'n Mortnrt\ 1 ·.s •'PRlnl.– , 'I No. 8" , for exnmple - •Hch of which Professor mith highly praised - hal'e, beside the fac1 ol their all usln~ paint, ndthln~ 111 common with Michael Smllllrrs· l\'ln– nln~ "The Colander." Nr,·r.:rthclrs~. I found the uhlhllion ,ttmulal• In~ In II• rllver.lty nl n1111rnnrh and well up lo, If nnt sur11as.rdni::. stan• dard1 of prulous yean . Space lack However. In view of the ~~cko~fy •g~c~r'\1/;~h2fJ!~;)',i paintings to be hung, In– terest would hnve been added by substituting some of the rejectrd p!eces - severaI of them by artists of hl~h standlnR - fo,• the 13 duplications of artists' l\•ork now on the walls. Al the llesltrn Arts Centre (167 Elizabeth Streeti , David Fowler Is enhaneln~ h!• reputation In a showing of 35 oils. wat,ercolours and washed sket.ches. Moreloirtl~ai{Gallery 'hanging' I consider the explanation offered by the Director of our State Art Gallery, through your column• to Daphne Mayo, profe11ionolly very poor. Thr rC'.'~rcL or mRll.\', ln• Or Pcesenl- Rd 111int~1,rat 10 11. be-~ ro,·ert!d- by R tot Al erlu• cludinu rny~rlf when we .A.lthn11gh ch 1u mlngly h e cAt.imrn.1 progremme fll'SL petlt,1one<l lhe GO\'• SR)'' RII I.he exhibit ion, WP thl'OIIRh l•clures, !llms. etc. ernment, 1Rst veRr At the snw \,·ere with hl~ Rlld the fnr Adults - And v,n· time nf Mr. \Vlenckn ap- '!'rustres· "ap11r01·•t." all much so for chllrlren. pol nl,menl., ll'RS l,hAt. It In- exc,pl, on•. lhe Rubin col- HP !Inns I.he nurnber of rnlverl so m11rh personal lectlon . were exhlbltlnna work• suhmlt.ted for t.he A nimoslt.y - hnw WM 1l that to11rc<I through all Rlcharrls Prl7.e !or sntne possible 'fnr It to be other- .~ustrallnn St.Rl,e Gallel'IM. reMon lmpres.•ive. I Jurt~ect wise'/ 'i'hRt \\'P. mls.ed perhaps I.he CRlrns Prt,.~ recent.iy - The Rl'Jtlllllf'llt wns kP111,. the mo~t, lmt"Kll'Lnnt one. they beat you wllh :\!lO a~ rnr ns po."~lble. on n nA.mrly Two DernrtP.11 or ~ubmlttPd. Thc.v nlso. prnfesslonAI l~vcl whirh t\mf'rlcAn PRlntlnR", mnrle n eedless In sR,V, n,; \\'ll h the J\'1ls..c; MR~•o mRlnl.Rin(lfl 111 n\'er 100 pRlntcr~. ~1·11· Rlcharrt~. dirt not h1wr 111,, he!' rerentlv published lei - drnt.,. nnd Art lorers t.nkc "bl1t~est" n•me., perhAI!,<, trl' n week-end train •xorlu• to hut st.111. tr not. ~ualltv. 'l'he DlrPclor ,~ nn f'X· Syrinry. I.h en... 1.rPmf'ly l'f'SJ\flf'.lf'rl m nn Ill RIii, fills. In [All'llr~c.. \\'R.,;; _ 'fn flllOIP. ~;111_. ~lr. h i~ prHlknlnr Orlrl.. ,R.i. I RIil hi~r·R n se nf lhr !-ilze nf nt1r \Vlr.! 1f"kr . •.. ~111 : 1nr M!~~ '-\l l'P nrr nil thr lrw-11r,.~. uRll<'i)·. Thr .1,,£1l'lou~ rnult Is !\Tn~n nnrl /tr!Rln ~1 h~,~ . hul m\· lnc·nl b11t,·hrr l~whnt thr smllrt'\' Rrhlt'\'rshn,r 11() \\ t. h fol .,0111 1v~1 11rt•p~,;;nr1lv th,. hrst fnr lhP p ii hllr whrn \\'P On h~Ari ~ ~t. ,l~ 1 1i1M , thn'. p1 r.:~1~lr111 tor 1hr, .:\1rll• recri\'p t hr r xhlhlt lons. ~\·C~t.c.hR\ f'lf"'L!lrl nhl;'. PII• :'v1ntkP1illR, nnA rrl. lilt~ 1,.. nthrr , i,n n ltRn~ln thr ~0111 hf 'R.rl nn 1hr hlo,k Anri our rnmplAlnL ,•..;hlhl!"' onr R'Allrr,· ~,nkr!-: wr h :l\'f' hrrn hRnrlrrl ~om,, !\fn!--1 nf thr Plnl111:- nf no rnr.lhPr errnr't Rnrl rnl,llrr shnrn wrn 1n11!-. -· ,·tt,nlll,y And 0011111Rrlt y nf ruriher 'effort 1 !C; !C;fl .imporl· Roy Churrhf"r .1Sl:olr Ulf'.1. n11r SI Air <1Rl1Pr,v (lllOt.rrl ll\' An! In Qur.rn~lrltirl · Pr~hlrnl. f ontr.m.,nt~r,· the Dlrei•tm· art nnt ~nll r,[ ERch ex~lb.ltion . should ~;~r~~-~~~- Rr~~r~:••lr•II•. I HAVE Just returned from a vlslt. to the National Gallery, to pick up t hr ee traditional lnnc! sca p es that I entered for the exhibi– tion. After h nvlng " ~ood loo\t at the pictures on the wall, It wa.s ei·1dent that under t.he c01itrol ol Mr, W!!lnel<e, It ls \\'RSl,e ol time [or anY tmditional artist t,o eni.er for this competition, parttcularly II he pe.lnt,; landscapes. And It, must, be remem– bered that t,he Richa1·ds Competition wRs for land– scnpes north o( n. line run– nmg through Australia, which took in Grafton. Tona)' this competition Is run wholly for the amateur nrl lsts, who Indulge in " hn~e grotesque. l!nd bizarre. mR.nner, and arusts who a.re prepiired to paint with thelr wngue In their cheeks. The manner or Judging seems to be that the direr.– tor culls out what he want.s on the walls, and then a sks the. guest judge to award the prize to the plctnre he t.hlnks the best or thto bu nch. To his everlasting cre<!II,, Proressor Brn111rd Snut.h Rll'MOCd II, Ul the only l'eal– lstll' piru,re In t,he wholf bu11r.h on the walls.- S. , . Parker, Glzeh Slrttt, Enott· ,Z-<"ra..