Queensland Art Gallery Presscuttings Book 8 : Pressclippings, 1977-1981

Cultural uec11sland's standard ol living 11\lows many people to use !heir lo1surc 111no for cultural act1v1t1es A 11 ,u1t1 -n11llion dollar cultural complex bei nc built on the south city bank of the B1isbane River 111d1cates the strong community 1nte1 st ,n c11 ltur~I life . The omplex will house the Oueenslnnd A,t Gi!llery. the Queensland Museum. the State L1b1mv and n pedo11111119 arts centre. S11rnlarly, theaues, conce, t h,,lls and a rt galle,ies a,e be,nn ,~eluded 111 new c ,v,c centres m m;iny reg1onnl c111cs ond towns. They me popular vem,us lo r shows sponso,ed by the Ou e ns land Arts Council, a body wl11cl1 Ol'(J'l111 ses f,equ e nt tow s of country arer1s by n vr111ety o f al't1sts and cultu, JI groups. Oucenslnnd 1s 11ch ln '1 cul1u,nl he11tclge IJased on life "' the " bL1sl1 " ancl 111 11 0 burgeoning 111cs of e.11 l1er ye,HS Llternture, poc!ly. drnnlil r1 nd 1nus,c refl ecti ng these 0119111s retai n a popular a e, I The Queensland Youth rchestra raws talent from 25 community youth orchestras throughout the Srnte. The§ ;1~~1:fr~ ~~t~t~1~i~~r~e~l1~~l~r~;~~~~~~r~~ ' $ the arts. j State financial assistance is given to c ultural bodies through the Director of Cultu ral Activities. The Federal Government assists through ,he Australia Council. Queensland offers a wealth of film locations ancl a number of ma101 mo11on pictures have been shot 111 the State ,n recent years. F111ance. transport concessions and logistic support are available to film makers through the Queensland Film Cmporation. Festivals, workshops and vacation schools 111 the arts are popular throughout the State. Oueenslnncl supports several professional perform111\J companies. 111clucling the (Queensland) Ballet. Opera Company. Symphony Orchostrn. Theatrn Company and Theatre Orchestra and the Twelfth N1g lll Theatre Inc An exhibition of 52 Oenpelli Aboriginal paintir.gs on bark opens today at the Queensland Art Gallery, M.I .M. Building, Ann Street, Brisbane. Ocn11elll Is a small se l• Land. tlcnm1I near the Alligator For the Abortglnnl nr• llivcr In weslem Arnhem lists, works or art are an essential link between man and Urn anccstorJI spirits. Each painting has a special meaning and story which has Its roots In belier and legend. X-ray paintings, mnges or spirit ancestors nnd delicate paintings ol the tiny Mimi spirits predumi11atc In this co!lcctlon, The term X-ray Is used because many al the o enpclll pictures rovcnl Internal organs as we!! as external features. Spirit paintings nre usu• ally clearly painted on plain backgrounds or Cl!· led with cross-hatching. Mimis arc shown as thin spirit creatures In various postl!ons which reflect their ag!!lly. For U1cso Ocnpelll pain!!ngs, a sullab!e sec• tton ol bark, lrce from knots and Imperfections, Is selected lrom the stl'!ng·ybark eucalyptus tree. 'l'he artist ~uts Lht'OUgh the bark and tears oft a rectangular piece which Is al first curled, but must be smoothed and Clattcnetl. The ouler layer Is hacked of! with an axe and the bark Is scraped until smooth. It ls placed 01•cr a fire Lo cure and uncurl and later weighted for a few days, and sticks are bounc'. with hand-spun string to each end to les– sen the posslb!!lly of warping, FOUR COLOURS The painting Is then be• gun. About lour basic colours are used - red, black, yellow and while. Reds and yello)'{s come from a variety or ochres, White ls generally gypsum or ptpeelay, and black ts made from manganese ore or charcoal. The pigments are ground l!nely and mixed wtlh water and vegetable fixatives •uch as gum or resin from locnl trees. Brushes are made from human hair, chewed twigs, feathers or leaf spines. • PICTURED arc nn Aboriginal removing bark from a tree, and an ex• ample ol Lhc paintings - "Kangaroo or Ka!kberd" where the kangaroo Is In• terpretcd In a bold design tncorpornllng diamonds and stripes In the drama– tic body patthrn. Elements or X-rny art, the tnlcs– Unn! canal and s11tnnl column, are ntso !ncorpor– n!cd In the ovcr.\11 1mt– tem here. This exhibit ion cont in– ues unl!! February 28. l',IC..