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

Ceurier Mail Taking a practical look The arts of archi– tecture and environ– mental planning hardly ever get an exhibition in our galleries. Griffin'• career crag, where he WH in full stretched . over three control, embodies his continents: America, then regard for the nature of Australi~ (1913-35) and the site, the natural Oora, ART REVIEW by Or Gertrude Langer finally, India, where he community life. econ- that his original conccp- Arts, Unil·crs i1 y of designed an extraordinary omical construclion, and lion did not materialise. Sydney, has researched number of ins pi red con11ct wilh 1he Neverlheless, some of thoroughly this little- But now the exhibition "Walter Burley Griffin" haa arrived at the Queensland Art Gallery. projects within a short landscape. his ideu remain, and known chapter or Aus- period of IS months before The Griffins had their when the lake was crealcd tralian art history, and it is his death of peritonitis at home in Castlecrag for years after Grifffn's death her too, who inttiated the the age of 58. . some years before they left everyone could 1cc how exhibition and wrote the Griffin w11 a highly for India. right he had been with informative catalogue. creative pel'IOllllity and he * that idea. The main interest of this The aclcctcd works or the man who contributed 10 much to • n:hitectural and environmental design In Auatr • li • • re not just shown in photographs but in SO superb drawings and watercolon, executed by Griffin's wire, Marion, who was a trained architect, but is mainly famed for the extraor– dinarily beautirul rendi– tions she did, first for Frank Lloyd Wright,.and after her marriage to Griffin for her husband. brought to hi• P,TOfeaion In recommendins this collection of euly well balanced pl11loeophl~. But long before that w11 exhibition one must not portraill of course, is H• ·wu architect, the Canberra affair. omit praising the Amer• aocio-historical. town. .~nner and lands• or coune,• winnin1 the ican scholar Donald Leslie From a purely artistic cape architect, and thae tint tirlze in the Johnson (Flindera Unlver- point of view one can only activities for him were not competition ror the design slty, S.A.) who conceived expect the mixture it is, of separate, but closely of the national capital was · the exhibition and who professional polish, interrelated. the reason for Griffin's wrote tlje highly interest- conventioJlalism, some He took Into account arrival in Australia in ing book o~ Waller Burley more robust observation, a the whole of man, his 1913. Griffin, available at the deal of amateurish physical, 1ocial a~d Even the I= informed gallery. gaucherie, and some either spiritual necd11, and this among us are vaguely ·co11currently 1howl•1 touching or amusing applies to all his work aware of the inlriguu, also at Ille pllery is tile primitivism. from lnrge scale projects jealousies, interferences, exhibition AUAtralia • Most or the sillers look to small, low-~osl ho~m. and even persecutions Colonial Portraits. very seri,ous, conscious of In Australia, Griffin's Griffin had to suffer over Eve Buscombe of the their 1mror1ance, or development of Castle- bis Canberra plan, and J>owcr Institute of Fina ele1ance. The Sunday Mail May 20th, 1979 Reviewed - FROOIC ROGEiS overcome WHEN the Queensland Art Gallery was obliged to desert the deteriorating Gregory Terrace building for quarters In Ann Street, U was In some respects a move from the frying pan Into the fire, Makesh I ft as the old building was and, for many years had been - lack of space and of fa– cilities for the proper display of the collection we re o b v Io u s dls– ad\'antages - Its new, a I be It temporary <for se\'eraJ years) home did little to ameliorate con– ditions. We II-designed. and removable, partitioning worked wonders In ach– ieving a maximum or dts11Iay space In a still limited floor area which remains Inadequate for comprehensive exhibition of the many treasures held In store. That the new gallery was sltuat.ed on the fifth f Io or of a high-rise , building Introduced an– other dtsadmntage In the necessity for visitors to take a lift trip and In the fire authorities• llml• tntlon, for safety rcasoni, of the number or people to be a•:commodated at the one time, Directorial polle:, of presentlnr a suceesslon of speclall•ed. relatlvcl:, small e:11hlbltlons appears to have successfully over• come all of these dis• advantaires, for observa– llon Indicates that there Is a stead:, flow of vis• lion throuirhout the da:,. Even when the exhlbl• tlons would seem to have restricted public •P– al: witness the current Australian Colonial Por– traits and a Walter Bur– ley Griffin exhibition. Full Interest In the Po rt ra I t s would, or course, necessitate an In– timate knowledge or Aus– tralia's early social his– tory, but there remains a diversity of styles and approaches to attract the atw,ntlon of the unin– formed In that depart– ment. Not ror' tlle painters or the colony·s early years was the portrait that es– sayed to look beneath the surfnce or Its subject. De– tail, dellcate detail, and t r II l y representational work was the ob, 1 ious aim. A suspicion or a twinkle In the eye, a smile lurking on the lips were the llmlt to huma– nisation or the work; possibly as much the re– sponslblllty of the sub• jects, who almost In• variably seem to take themselves and the occa– sion very seriously, as of the artist. But It ls all very Interesting. So, too, Is the showing or examples of the work of archlW?ct, landscaper, to1111-ptanner and patent– ly humanist Walter Bur– ley Orlrrtn. The diversity of his work, the finesse, the af– finity with the work In hand provide a key lo the natun, and person• allt:, of the man who won the competition for the deslg·n of Canberra and wns so disappointed with its Interpretation. Flve years ago, Oary Baker, then an 18-year– oid, experienced an open– Ing day sell-out of his first solo exhibition Jn Sydney. He repented the per– formance with his first Brisbane showing In 1075; now he Is showing again here (Town Gallery, 77 Queen Street, 2nd level) With work that cannot fall to endear him still further to h is enviably numerous public. Since his Inst showing, he has acquired great confidence In U1e use of his color, subtly e:11- presslng atmosphere with a minimum or effort. His style hns developed Into an elegant lmpres– stonlsm executed wtt.h a sure hand ; he has ex– tended his lnterc,;t to etchings In which he haa evoked recollection of the be.st or the genre In his de 11 c ate ly introduced nunnc<-. In short, Gary Baker hll!t "arrived"; but not lo stay, He ls assuredly heading- for a higher des– llnatlon. And, with as yet but 23 yean of life behind him, there seems to be no rea– son for doubt I.hat the sky lnl\Y well be his limit, ,~f!,'!!~~l!~ S1 AUSTRALIAN COLONIAL lhl Eii.hibition is JWesen1er1 by lhe AustJ 1, Counc.tf with 11isl51itllC8 hnm lhtt V1su;t1 Australia Coone" n, con,orlthC'ltl w11h t~ and Att G.-; ,nd w~I be on show until fr,e Public Leet, Mi•• 'Eve • Yecombe of the Pov..· Arts, Svdnev who devised the E-.h,1 lectu,1 at ttu, Gallery, lunciay 20 May, WALTER BURLEY G A 51.-vey hhib1tl0t'I ot pholO(J'IP!IS, pl,l Ameocan AtcMec;t who pract1std in Auim, winning IM lnlflfn&lional Planning Comp, t c..-.. in 1912: 11 Mey - 10 J..,. F0ttht.om,11g Free Pub/IC Lecutre: "Ularinr My M hporionce• O•-" by Dr. --, 21 Moy, 2.30 pm. Hours: Monday - Satwd • y 1 Swlday 2 pm • I pm ADMISSION FR The Courier Mail May 21st, 1979 A cata ogu at last for art gallery A $ 27 ,000 grant from the Utah Foundation haa enabled the Quae111land Art. Ga.llery to begin compiling a catalogue In which ttl com– plete collection will be li1ted. The Art Gallery haa It would Include 1500 already t,egun the mam- colored and black and moth task that haa been white photographs, he put off since 1895 but &aid, now must be completed The manuscript WII within a year. expected lo 10 to the The Ustlng on paper prtnten nHt :,ear In tor the flrat time wlll In• time for the pller:,'1 et u de 3000 palntlnga, move lo Ill new, per• drawtnga and graphlca u manent home In the cat• well aa sculpture, I&• tun! centre betnr ballt pestrlea and ceramics. at South Brisbane. The Culture Mlnlater (Mr. Newbery> said yes– t er d a y the catalogue .., utd be of 400 ea. "The move la timed for !ORI and the gallery ta due to open for the Com– mon we a Ith Games In t9R2," Mr. Newbery said. The Art Gallery's di– rector (Mr. Raoul Mel– ll•h> anld the grant rrom tl.e Utah Foundation, &part from mnklng the entAlo,ue pos.slble, was a al~n or lncrea.stng private •upnort for the gallery's work. Items to be Illustrated In the catalogue would Include paintings by Pl– rasso, Dr.aas, Renoir and Turner. he said. Works bv leadln~ Aus• t,rallan nrt.ist, and sculn– ture bv Rodin. Bourdell~ and F.p~telr, also would be Included. T~P. T!toh Ff'••n~•tlnn was formed In 1075 by the Amer I can r.nntrnllcd ut!Lh Develonment mln• Ing group to promote the arts, sr.lentlflr. research and social welfare proJ• ects.