Queensland Art Gallery Presscuttings Book 6 : Debate on New Art Gallery and Cultural Centre 1963-1970

,t.~,,.t.~QJ,H.~.rY.. ,111,S:h~.~.r..m.iin.: ...... ~.~.~1~.r..~!,,~. . ·· IF ever 1 a part of the world . , desperately needed a modern ad gallery, that p~ace is Queens- lcind. I have believed 10 for a long time, ancl after retuming from • world tour, I beJieve it even more 1troagly. It .ii tragic to tliink ~00~~~ t paintings worth bun• . espera e ' dredl of pound• are put · ln a • toreroom because . ::ft':~~ . • pac:e to ex- . ·, · . . · Alld 1ll our bot and humid cltmale there ii no alr- •• R .. d." . ·, -~~··- - ---- ~g1~1::.' to pniveot de- u I ne ooncUtlonlng &nd a.re hou.sed 8 lawyer to see lawyers and I in out-of-date and poorly so on. It did not work. of 1",!~· =- sV!-&e ~~ . ........................ llt buildings. Of course, there were the •- If bo i t-rhe1 didn't JOOlt excited I to • nd &ha& Chlcqe few larp donors who simply ~ ~ f,• • a 9# stimulated llr what tbey almo5i alone hu IOI~ hired peopl' to buv palnt- :i. 1 1 111 9 ~• to ;:,'!;. aw. They only looked tired, the proble 11111• or a mod- Inga so that their names with t.be b. · dejected, and disinterested. em ar1 pllery Thll re- would be perpetuated, or to what kind ot gall ln any capital city, feW' markable centre hu all gain popularity with the The ery pe_ople visit their caUenea the an91t'US We In oovernment. and. especlaUy• doM"': =t?abroad allowed other than on a.,ranged Queen • land can learn a with ·the Income tax depart. me to study major p.Uerles tours. or 88 IJ1'0UPII of ~• lot from lb 1ucce • s ment. and al't muaeuma. u has children who are there atm- 1 · f 11' convinced me more tll!m ply_ becallle they are com• It IA quite a gallery: A 'So ~se •... • _ , 1 peuecS to go collect.Ion worth more than IYeJI w,- an art , ... ar:,1 Pop and 'abltraClt art- r $250 r Wion with 128 per- alone will not attract the a,eelally pep art _ haH fecUy- 1i raDerles to dis- ....... • .. • ......... • .......... peoDle. rained .._any pllerles the play It, a $4 mllllon an- 'Yet there were not toO 'l'hey mlgbt come orir.e: famou • Tate Gallerj In nual budget with _less than many or these wealthy they a.re unllkelJ t.o come London amonr them. 10 per cent o! 1t coming people 1n Chicago. Most were baClt .. aln. People do not understand from semi - government In New York. And here we 11,Vari•ety'' the work ahown there, nor aourcea. fan a1 n3 n00ua0001 t.ttendd· have J 111mllarl1ty with 'T'· approve of the bearded ance o , . , an Queensland's prob em. Beatnik typea who support thouaand4! or cltlunA con• There are more wealthy 1 .......................... It. trlbutlng to lts funda . people living In southern We mlllt have not ma:a!y The normal person re- Nlnety-!lve per cent of State11 than In ours. an art pl)ery, but a ~:al- gardll them and their so- r Its gallerlea are air-condl- , So Chic go switched to tonal cenve. for this wn; caUed art u a revolt aicalnat I t1oned - ·- -=-- attract tbe people - people normal atandarda of be- ' Ana U ha.,c that nrlety 11, "aort/>·.u, " programme, of varying Interest.a. peop:e bavlour. u I t d meaning ~u.at It went about. of varying opinions, LIie Tbla ls hardlv ~urprl8lni • o euen • 0 a mo ern subtly n,a 1 "1ng more people, . people Who make up our when so many of these cultural centre. K Sta,te. people "re contemptuous of There la a t heatre and especially of the medium · Now, la us not argul'! normt 1tandarda, lncludlnK drama school, one or the and lower income groups, about the meaning of II Chrl.llty and morality. world's largest professional intcreSled In the gallery. cultural centre. I am apeak- 1 If wants to show the schools of fine and lndus- JL employed a full-time Ing In bl'Old tenna wheu I I ntri pop or abstract trial art.a, film shows a sales expert who now runs say th&t ,. gallery which wor . they should be nut va.st art 11.nd a.rchlteclure his own d r.nrtment with a provide~ Interest. and a1:1- In a 1eparate room where library, displays or rurn1- separat.e r.nance commit- I enltles other than the view- tb011e wlshlni to see them ture, china. rugs and other u e. Ing pf paintings will be may do 110. art works.· The irnllc ry purchased au~S:,~f·gallerv on Its own I 'S I • b' c f ~~~ u~~erby ~r t!~1s!~~~ 1 !'i~etrt, There muat be a es JO a e who wlr.h lo contact the If the Brlllbane exhibition ,...................................., ..................., widest or even t he narrow- bad one sideshow or one I The v.•ealthv people who It hu a modern and em- ' eB t public. exhibit, not many people can help art icallerles are clent care. It produced a smnll would atte nd · 1 Jtnow 1 moetlv middle-aged or older. Ther" Ls every facili ty fo r mon th ly publfcatlon re~– wouldn't. The:v do not react. read11y to -t he fr '1) and provision for duclng ~ome of th e t The sad tact Is that only chanRe and, or course, they al . 11 pRlnllngs nnd lnte t acquls- a small minority of people have their own priorities for ~/·I! '· pop and modern ltlons and sent It to people has much Interest In srt· charities. The~ ue hun- art " 1 t a mlnlmum. t.he on th e IISls. To the average citizen, the dreds or worthy causes In best ,I.to i t Is dlsplnyed with No mention was made o r art galleries of the world the world. gre ;' Imagination and wnntln g these ~pie to are places to be seen once Yet these people can be dran iilc effect In sepfl.l'nte and no more. attracted to art tr It Is done u J I watched people overaeas In the correct way. It ls 8 ga 91 es. going through galleries on highly technical and dlf- The public, I found, dld conducted tours, Including a flcult sales lob not t11lto the pop work serl- groQp on a Russian trip o.d- Almo.,t every gallery ln ously - perhaps the artist.A vertlsed ea a cultural visit. the world Ls In cllff!culties did - but they enjoyed It or one kind or another. In a fJJ)lrlt of fun. They liked Most are able to exh!bl havlnir their legs pulled. onlv one- fi fth or one-six h The way Chlearo 1et1 of their Rcqu1.5itlnns. Its revenue provides a Most nre wltho11 t air. le111on tbai eould be ap• piled. to a • mailer extent, In Queenslanll. join the gallery, It WU something for , 1)(1thlna. The listed peoDle "were Invited to visit tlie pllery at any time and were ultea nlong to any qiecla1 1&1- Jery runctlona. Then, after aeveral months, they ~ lllvited to join the pllery " a member for a JllOd.– amount. Sl2 a ,ear. Often a lllt Ill eampllld for Special Areu wllire lllCJlt resident.a have a & IOCial o~ financial -auch as all people Ji Ascot, Clayfield, or II, liliila. To them go requeai fot ·• special donatlona far -.. pro1ects. The fees from__ -• bers well outweillll'IIN& of circulars aDd .,-- Chlcaro alll='= hl1hly ,...,.. lnrs-for•hlN tllll& could bi ....... • lr Queen • lan._ Site nie·a ···-············· People rent, ~~ either becallle Of a 1111ume. Interest in al1 o, lO 11111P up with the JoneNI. But flrat thl~ ftra - the sooner we a die for our new art g llrJ,.or cul– tural centre, the llenlr. spe1:11t1c recommenE alreadJ bave betn m to the QUeenaland Art trustees 10 that we can pt moving towards the nJWcb-~– lerY we so very mu . -· About 14 years 11,go, the museum tried to ral~e money bv a "hard-sell" method- THE cnL•D•tR - UAII TIIHD4Y NOV 15 19'•