Queensland Art Gallery Presscuttings Book 5 : Presscuttings, June 1972 - November 1976

"COURIER MAIL" Brisbane, Old. 6 s[ p \~1lt Ma1nificent • tapestries MAGNIFICENT end resplendent ore the words to describe the effect of Jean Lurcat's tapestries, which for a brief time are adorn– ing St. John's Cathe– dral. We are rather for– tunate that our pro– visional art gallery In the M.I.M. Building was neither available, nor suitable, to ac– commodate the exhl• bltlon. * The Important t,hlng about tapestry Is th11t it has a special role • to flll on the archi– tectural scale, In St. John's Cathedral It has been possible to fulfil this role much better than In most galleries. Furthermore, the tapestries, as In the Middle Ages, give warmth to the cold atone ,vans. On entering Cathedral, o n e I s transported Into Lur– cat'a magical cosmo– geny of suns and stars, man, beasts and plants. Everything radiates with Lurcat's passion– ate worship of all life. Of course, Lurcat Is the glan~ of modern tapestry. * It is largely his LURCAT's magnificent "Tout feu, tout flamme", hung above the alt •rat St. John's Cathedral. genius and dedication which restored the ancient craft to It~ true roots after the long decay Into which It had fallen - a de– cay brought about by reducing the weavers to mere skilled copy- ists of paintings never Intended for tapes– tries. Since the age of 20, Lurcat embarked on long studies of the craft of weaving and its technical possibili– ties, which resulted In a return to the splen– did tradition of the Middle Ages, with the famous tapestry series, the 14th-Century Apo– calypse of Angers, as his greatest inspira– tion. Thus, tapestry was restored to Its archl– t t ural function - to complete co-opera– tion between cartoon– designer and .weaver, the use of sturdy wool and robust texture, clear design, a few - but living - colors, and, Inasmuch as Lur– cat was concerned, a universally significant content as Important as the decorative qualities. Lurcat, who died In 1966, was most proli– fic. More than 1000 of his cartoons were woven by the wonder– ful weavers of Aubus– son. The 27 tapestries which span more than two decades of his creative life and bear the stamp of his fec– und poetic Imagination and artistic genius, will be on view until September 30 for seven days a week from 9 a .m. to 5 p.m. One Is indebted In– deed to The Peter St uyvesant Trust for affording u s o n c e more a rare feast. L 12 ,'i,74- nt( AUST11AllAN Tl,vndav Se,temver 17t .., J /' i tr . / /;._~«f: , · / Arts centre gets push .. sn-: t- Ji l ~J\., 11111.11\11 1,"I' Nt\l))JN I Plu't'Y and 8 wh\l~h hup,m I I nm~,· ~1nll""r ~1til thfo Qur...,_· ~u.1•rti~la11\.1'1!i pn,v,1.•Pd hrnd I 15"hl Op,rrn Cum- ne-w fUU l'f-nll r- ~ rl"tl llty \Jl.lnY 'A\\...~ rnn11M1 Ul l\rl~llf' I ,11w-r r \\ Ill Ill\ t t e f' yF-Sl rrdn~· 11wn1hcr.• 1ndude tla: ·" r"1tu, 1,-,1"". ..)1Htilt y I m rt•, 1or or th«· Quee11g- ~1~-t~;i1 1~~t1 \~~\'r\~· -~-:~; I ~~t~t1 ,\~.:~:t·•~~~~?'-'~~ ,,,-,,:•f' -d rn1ri nA11 1~ Mr rhn , ·1or uf thf' Queens • ~t tk t" F vu.n..-. 11w Sttt.tr lw.1,d Yonth OrchellC.ra.. uf t1u• l Mr Juhn Curro, ~,n\1 lhe .-.. 11vllca n !Y"',H\ ,If Hrt~– t.1,t: Dt-u,J1 tun Ot"Of'fJf' Tht> Stot.t: uov~nrnent ts !()Ok tnc tnLo th,· puss\· The Queensland Art Gallery Society has invited the public to attend a function to be held In St. John's Cathedral on Thurs– day, September 19, at 8 p.m. The president of the .,oclety, Dr. Gertrude Langer, will give a short talk on the his• tory of tapestry, which will be followed by two Lurcat films . _/