Daniel Thomas : Newspaper writings

evyr4.4.244.-1,40 Art Deco show By DANIEL THOMAS "The Age of Art Deco," at Knox Gram- mar. Wahroonga, is one of those exhibitions which helps define a whole new visual world, even though the objects are not of the highest quality. Art Deco is a recently coined term for the inter- national decorative style of the 1920s and 1931)s. The style was launched at an exhibition of "Art Decoratif" in Paris in 1925. Everybody knows the great art of any period, but the recent past is always a blind spot for minor, decorative arts like furniture, metalwork, glass, ceramics, textiles, graphic design and so on. If it's your parents generation you might think it hideous; if it's your grandparents,' then you might think it quaint and fascinating. In fact, there are two Art Deco styles. In the 1920s colourful, luxu- riously crafted objects, with plumply curved, often floral ornament; in the 1930s a denial of colour for black and white and silver, ,a machine look, jazzy zigzags, and stream- lining. T h e most -favoured decorative motifs were fountains, leaping deer, blonde goddesses and sun - rays. Not surprisingly, these outdoor , health -and - strength images took on very well in Australia. The Anzac military badge is an Art Deco sunray. Sunrays also exist on the Bondi lifesavers' costume, on much architectural orna- ment and o!d advertising material. Art Deco arcViecture as good as any in the world is to be found in Australia - the Anzac Memorial is the masterpiece - though locally made domestic ob- jects of high quality are few. Nevertheless, it is the Australian material which makes the trip to Wah- roonga so fascinating. There are architects' origi- nal drawings, photographs of the original condition of "The Futurist Room," a 1929 women's lavatory in the State Theatre. Posters and magazine covers by such well known artists as Frank Hinder keep company with his paint- ings, and others by Marga. ret Preston (geometrical banksia), and Charles Meere (prancing god- desses). There is one Australian tube -steel and glass table. Though most of the Australian material is from the hygienic, mechanised 1930s, there are some vivid batik panels by Byram Mansell in the Russian Ballet taste of the 1920s. NEW EXHIBITIONS Villiers: Relief paintings by Shin Kuno. Workshop Arts Centre: Paintings and prints by Joyce Allen. Saints: Paintings by Pam Milhourn. alosmao: Paintings and drawings by Isto Jakola. Prouds: Paintings by Colin Parker. John Clark Chamber, University of NSW Union: Photographs by Victor ViCal. Aladdin; Arts of borneo; Annamese pottery (tomorrow). I don't know where all the material came from, but I presume part of it was found by schoolboys sent rummaging in their parents' homes. It must have been an eyeopener for parents and children, and seems a highly creat- ive exercise in involvement 14 the Knox Grammar art teacher. It's also fascinat- ing for the general visitor. Open daily 10 am to 9.31) pm, closes Saturday eve- ning. Admission 50c. * * * Shin Kuno, a Japanese artist with a one-man show at Villiers, at first seems just another case of ringing the changes on cubism. If this seems late in the day - well, he's not young, and artists usually are wise to keep to the style of their formative years. Wasn't there al Scandinavian painter I called Mortensen whose) work was like this? However, the change - ringing is extremely inter- esting. The surface is stainless steel plates, and the "drawing" is the dark gaps between the plates. Since any good art should allow you to fanta- sise, one is at liberty to see the angled fragmenta- tion as images of nn earth- quake, or of a military ex- plosion. As always with Japan- ese art, the craftsmanship is as important as the idea, and this artist -as -steel- worker makes luxurious decorations ideal for the boardrooms of the mili- tary-industrial complex. Priced $800 to $1,600. He will be seen again in the big exhibition of contem- norary Japanese art at the Art Gallery of NSW in September. * * * Drawings, by just about every Australian of interest who does them have been gathered together by the Holdsworth Galleries, Do-, bell, Drysdale, Whiteley.' Rees arc not unfamiliar, hut Robert Klippel's elec- tric collages are too seldom seen, and Albert Tucker's recent return to some. of his 1940s images have not been seen here before. * * Photographs. A reminder that in Sydney photography has conspicuously launched itself as a serious art form over the past year. Sud- denly there are lots of exhibitions of photographs. Victor Vidal's opens at the University of NSW Union tonight. Meanwhile, I strongly recommend the exhibition of six photographers at the Kirk Gallery, Cleveland Street, Surry Hills (evenings and weekends only). There is still some of the senti- mental "human interest" photography, the portraits of sweet Md drunks and deadbeats which have given photography a had name, but there are also properly sober, deadpan observations of the surprising reality of people and things. The best is Roger Scott, who roams Sydney at weekends. Prices for photographs are $12 to $25. firm "MORNING HERALD" Sydney, N.S.W. lit 7 JUN