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

Editedl:J)t GERALDINE PASCALL Mlnoda u~s pi•n(·ll on pH.pc:. Mlnod u':, 'l'oltrl' pyrnmid wit.h lb unclutL1•rL'd lllrt·l't llt::i.>, :;,•n ,,u;11iLy o f touch - uud 11111tcrlal 111ake-s this work un ! of Lhc lll;;t mcli\'u t wo-d1meu • s1onul works 111 the exhth\ttu·1. (-AR-1 - -~ 1 ' BETTY j 1CHUACHEA I Working wonders in wood ALTHOUGH many of the works purport to be conceptual in inten– tion, a more memorable aspect of the works of some young Japanese artists now on show at the Queensland art gal– lery is their use of materials and the produc– tion and presentation of the'work. · Unlike the concept ,this ls quite singular, and peculiar to the Japanese scnsH>!Uty. · Woo:! o.nd paper, oolh L""1l – llonally assoclat<!d with Japan. ara u~ed m0&t, in this Trends In Today's Japaneu Art ~•– hlblUon, mounted by u,e Japanese Art Festival and now touring Aust.ralla and New Zealand. K.omuro ln Relation and ReoognlUon 2 shreds all buL one end or a long wooden beam Into unbelievably Cine strl11s. The sh1•.!dded beam ls then forced back on lL6elf· lnto a t.nut curve and braced on to Uh1 uncut. end. lie hllll awe-inspiring respect for wood. Impeccable crafts· manahlp an:I control. Kadonaga exhibits what In HorsP ancl l!:sroh, f'Ukudu r.uve~ llcroiti a \\ 1 ooden cuhe ll ch:cp 111111.:c of a horse, Lim Lnai;~ rcverstnM on · lllt! sld,• · foe,•; 0 1 t.h.! cul>f•. 'l'hlb work n·mlnJcd nw of the J alnt..ed wo:::cten fh;ures of A,astrnlla 's Pole r Klng::Lon, hul v.•lUlJUl Kingston·• levity. M any ol t,he L\\!O•ttimens'.011 • Al work:i m nk~ use of 1>hOW· gra ph s . &,me, although technically urllllant, ha vu nc: hll\11 new LO orrcr r rmally or ccncc1>Lually. Ot.heu sucJ, os 1.nu, ie use the pho.Dgrnphed image to crea.L~ uwu.reness of everyday o:Joot.,. Morlok1L's J)hoto silk-screen or Where the Man Is shows on n l(rlLLY surf11Ce an empll' choir on a crumbling, shUUnll mound or sand. For t.hose who SllW tha s1>lcndld Japanese mm women or the Dune,, tht; sllk-s~reen print wlll re– mind them UK~ll, of tMLstole saaa of man confronting na– u1re. Yamazukt and Mortt.a bolh use tradlllonal cnlllgruphlc marks, 1buL c{eatc new 11\d unhun llur symbols. A3 ,.,1Lh the wrlt.L<!n sign. not only the bru, ~ stroke, but rne c~pacltY ol the ink, un-:t the entire spBCe l>ecome cuughl up ht t.he vlbrnnL and ten,_, Ille or -the painted gc..Lure v amnzukl alms Lo rtpresent the cont 1lned signl!lcan,e or the calll~ropl\lc character and talks or "cat.chlng tJw bright• ness" within the mark. In . Phoenix Fluttering he tr11p, the light in the empW ,pace within and about. the gost.ure, seems at first glance to be a sizeable log or wood. However, this Jog ht.> ueen horizontally slicked Into wood wafers. paper-thin, which are stacked on top or each other I.I> re– rom1 the original log. It ts strange to be able to leaf throu11h a 101 or wood. Th• a~tlst Is Interested In the shift which occurs between the ap1>tchenslon or a real image and a v1tl.lilll image: that tnllntteslmal dis– placement which !lrst arouses suspicion when looking at the log. "~-e1aa• Tea provided a Several other works are con– cerned with breaking down and reforming. In Okamura', Scra11 and Crack III, parts ol a television are set (the screen vertlcnlly and the compl, x s\ 1 stem or valve; nnd wire;; liorlzontally, into II smooth. trnnspnrent cube or clear polyester. All that extraordinary com· plcxlty, capable in life of producing on lmnge, but here s11s1iencted in Umc by polycst,cr, oml to my non-clrct,rlcnlly– educot~d eye, mystrrlous bt.·– yond belief. Tiu~ bulance of µo\l •r - tlh' rrstrlcllons, rcpulslo1,.i, ttm– slons, pressu~•s and releases which "Influence us ns 11,11g as we ll\'e" are nclcd out. on ob– jects in several or the works. Tnnnkn uo;;cs wood and wov~n strips. Hnynshl nn extra – nrlllnnry structure or pllprr c:allell A Straight. LlllP Cut In 1.hc Phystcnl Ol1•.•t·1lon, n11d Thursday night at the Queens– land Art Gallery saw a Japanese tea ceremony that has remained the same for fifteen generations nothing has changed except the tea leaves. · That. coupletl with on t r•xhlbltlon of 1·11 lll~rn1>h)' ar nnet the 100-plflt'I' col- h •,·t 1011 uf nn. l:1 11nchetl I h<' new show ctllh•d '1'1·f•11cb In T,x111r·s J iq,– .1,,.. ...,, A r l "jr, II ml l'Olllt' S 111 u~ from i\ll'JUm11·nr· on 1.h r 10\l r 4•11T11it. 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