Queensland Art Gallery Presscuttings Book 9 : Construction of the cultural centre, 1977-1981

, The National Times week ending 26 May 1979 SILVER JUBILEE FOUNTAIN. QE2. Model of Brisbane's multi-million-dollar cult_ural centre on the south side of the Brisbane River. BRISBANE'S FLOWERI• OF ' . THE VISUAL ARIS GOOD news is no news, or so it seems to the beleaguered citizens of Brisbane. When the Belle Vue Hotel was bull– dozed, the story was flashed around Australia, Yet, over the 70s, unpublicised in the Deep South, much has been hap– pening to transform the city into a centre of the visual arts. Fifty-odd pllerica (of which more later) offer everything from the gumtree lundsca~ \O inter– national avant-garde. A huge, multl-nnlhon dol– lar cultural centre Is a-building to hou!iC the Q"~ensland ·Art Gallery, Auditorium, Per– forming Artl Centre, Museum and State Libr– ary. A new College of Art has replactd the grim old Tech, where formerly the worst of nineteenth century academic Ideas were kept alive (but only ··• just). . The changing spirit of the times, new avenues for employment (including teaching at the college and new art departments at the CAEs) and new venues for showing are attracting artists from interstate and overseas, willing a1 long last to give Brisbane a serious go. It's been a long haul, with much further still to travel . .. From its foundation as a penal colony in 1824, Brisbane has been gcogrnphically isola,ed and historically victimised, inhibited by mong con– servative attitudes which have made it hard to shuke off ils provincial slrnt·kles. Pre-World War II, it wus basically a large agrarian town, concerned primarily wi1h supply– ing the needs or the rural community. The war brought an influ~ of 1hou,ancls of troops. They tore the old town apart and left_ a legacy of suspicion and fear of ,1r:111gc new opm- • ions nnd ideas from a more ,oplli11il-n1ed outside world, The 50s and 60s were a period of rccon 1ruc- 1ion, when lost moral and cul1t1rnl values were re· discovered, as it were, in the rubble. A grO\ ing populn1ion concentrated its energies on building a place for itsdf. Local artists hnd three choices: 10 embrat·e pre-war cliches, and thus be nc cp1ed; 10 seek an ouile1 for their 1alcnts in exile; or 10 join the small bohemian group which evolved during this time. Indeed, while the present upswing in the art scene owes much to the re~-cnt financial boom, ii owes even more to those dedicated artists and individuals of the 50s and 60s, whose struggles arc finally paying off. By DAVID SEIBERT" The studio in St Mary's at Kangaroo Point be· came the powerhouse of new ideas, creatin& among young artists an understanding of post– war trends, through classes conducted first by lohn Rigby, then Jon Molvig, then Roy Chur• cher. In 1950, Brian Johnstone opened a gallery which developed into one of the liveliest and most important commercial venues in Australia. He encouraged young painters of the time, like Clifton Puah, Lawrence Daws, Jon Molvig und John Rigby with ,one-man shows, a, well as established artists like Sidney Nolan, Arthur Boyd, Donald Friend and John Pcrceval. At one point, his gallery was the largest in Australia. But local dealings were minimal. Only 20 per cent of sales were in Queensland; the rcsl interstate or overseas. His expertise and example. hi, .it·u1c bu,iness sense and lack of compromise haw mntributed greatly to the high standard a11J prc,cnt M1cccss of the galleries which h11vc opened ,i11w he closed his doors in 1972. Unfortunately, over the years, the Queensland Art Gallery played a markedly minor role. Never given adequate housing or budget ~ince it was founded in 1895, with its limited spal'C and racili• ties and hotchpotch t-ollcction. it looked mQre like a prissy boutique than a Stale gallery. From t!M9, it tried the spiri1s of some fine di– rectors. In nine difficult years, Robert 1-laines (ought for a new g~ll~ry on a site adjoining the Botanic Gardens. He even promoted an annual arts ball to help raise the funds. These drag dances came to rank high in the Brisbane social calendar, but the Gallery stayed on in the cheaply-converted concert hall which had been i1s home ~ince 1931, In 1961, the late Laurie Thomas entered the fray, Given his wide experience in am udmini• stration that was bold, innovative and highly informed, he wus a marvellous choil.-c as dln.:Cto, But neither the trustees nor the Government wa, enthused by expert advit-e from an outsider. ~k resigned six years luter. The gallery has not ,ince ri~kcd an appoint • ment of that calibre. The new buildin&, however, Is finally under way, if only because the old was literally falling down, threatening the safety of patrons and the Stale t-ollection. It's hoped it will be finished by 1982. The vacuum crca1cd by all this has been partly filled in the 70s by a number of publicly sup– ported institutions; including the Institute ol Modern Art, the Qul'Cnsland University Art Mu– seum and the Brisbane Cil'ic Art Gallery and Museum. Even St John's Cnthedral has weighed in with major exhibi1ions of such artists as Syd• ney Ball, John Coburn and John Olsen. The private scc1or is even busier, i( not over• blown. Some of the numy galleries or the city are little more than frame shops. Four in particular, all named for their directors, stand out for their high professionalism and individuality. The Ray Hughes is 1hc oldest, opened in 1972; showing the works of local and interstate artists who arc in the vanguard of rr.\lional and inter• m11ional trends. This is a young person's g.1llcry, catering 10 collectors in1cres1ed in exciting 1ew ideas. Verlie Just's Town Gallen seems to have something for almo~t every ne. Though its colourful owner-dircc1or clnims that it's non, commercial, i1·, obviously profitable, judging by its vast size and huge sioc·k. Viewing raciliuc, :11 1he l'hilip Bacon Galleries arc the mo" luvi,h an<l sophi11ica1ed, Bretl Whiteley, Sam Fullbrook, Ray Crooke and other cstabli,hed ,1r1i,1s ,how there. The Victor Mncc Fine Art Gallery Is the youngest (founded 1975) and 1hows the work of well-known southerners like Inge King, Michael Shannon, Ju11a Feclderson, and a selection of local nr1 i~1,, incllKiing the sculptors Len and Kath Shillum. All four galkric, owe much to the persistence and prorcs1ionalism of Brian Johnstone, just as Brisbane i11cl[ owe a ddJt to its post-war arts pioneers. It's still early dt1)1, with much lo be done. But on the threshold or the 80s, and southern canards notwithstanding, Brisbane is a good place to practise and enjoy the visual arts. ,