Daniel Thomas : Newspaper writings

"TELEGRAPH" Sydney, N.S.W The Week in Art by Daniel Thomas EVERY few weeks some country town in New South Wales holds an art competition. From Armi- dale to Bathurst to Tumut to Broken Hill there is constant activity. Il clearly Agonies a genuine and widespread Interest in the visual arts, for It is all sett - genera led. No encouragement cornea from outside; it la now eight years since the Gov- ernment's Travelling Art Exhibit ions Service was discontinued during some minor financial crisis. Fre- quent, well-chosen exhibi- tions were circulated with a lecturer-this was the important part-to accom- pany them and explain. It is a scandal that the Government, or the Edu- cation Department, which ran the scheme, has not yet revived it for the pur- pose of all present-day competitions is mainly educational too. The hard -Working com- mittees which organise them will typically contain local amateur painters and local schoolteachers. The painters seek the self -edu- cation of measuring their own work against work from the big city; the teachers seek the oppor- tunity of educating both young and old at least into an awareness that these forms of art exist, and can enlarge and enrich their experience. Rural show well run Recently I saw one of the country exhibitions, and even though It was long established and well run it didn't seem to :lave enough good work in it to fulfil its educational pur- pose. There are various rea- sons why less of the good painting might go out to the country than formerly. The prizerdoney Is usually £100 to £200, less enticing than It used to be now that there are so many city prizes at f..500 or more - especially if the prize is acquisitive and the picture remains the property of the prizegiver. Acquisitive prizes are greatly to be deplored on principle. and in any case the sort of pie- ture that the country towns would like to see, and Which would be worth add- ing to the town's own pub- lic collection, is likely to be worth more or to cost more than the prizemoney that Is offered. WHAT'S ON ALL NEXT WEEK m..vinans, 112 Carl It.; 10 Centuries of Eularn Scuisiture A, Keotim: Jon Motels Paintings and drawing,. T.,n, Chute: Sant Alyea. vulartelore. Dmlnlent Amerallan debiting., drawing. prints before 1000 Von Redman. Newcastle: %Adis Aboll w aaaaa elan. Crane. Wellongvng: Yvonne Praneart." Awn Snlerunint, CLOSING THURSDAY Farmers, VIteount cailacltan, "TIM Australian Sane." Haws Mane: Stan Saastaz, paintings. oratoN6 WEDNESDAY 4 lit IA let Pelee Kaiser. lam Sur.: Peter Freeman and Erik_ geoginan. OPENING THURSDAY David Janes: Fine and Appled Arts. OPENING SATURDAY An Gallery .1 fd.S.W.t N.S.W. Government TI11.11Ing An Sthellirship. So a lot of what goes to the country is usually low-priced; either the semi-commercial work by the prolific producers of what is better called "home decoration" than art, or if the work is good it is likely to be by someone young and unfamiliar, and maybe In a difficult new style which causes an uproar in the town. Understandably enough the "home decoration" is what gets bought, not only by private collectors bift also by the town councils (Maitland has been the worst offender In this way). Anyone's right to buy what is cheap and shoddy and vulgar for their own private drawing rooms must be respected; but once ratepayers' or tax- payers' money is involved there should be an attempt to buy what is good-what will provide lasting pleas- ure (and hence increase in money value), not pictures whose pleasure will wear out as rapidly as a pair of socks land become as valueless). Very tentatively I. would suggest that a different formula might be tried for country competitions. Re- tain the section for local artists of course, but let them compare their work with a metropolitan section greatly reduced in numbers -say two dozen pictures and greatly increased in 'quality. The educational purposes are more likely to function thus. Borrow- not buy One way of getting the good stuff would he to bor- row from deal,,rs' stock. Some Sydney %dialers have first rate paintings not necessarily for sale, but quietly maturing In value, and these might very well enjoy an airing in the country. And dealers also can take over the artists' secretarial problems-ob- taining the entry forms, delivering pictures to the carriers, and general hust- ling. Though perhaps this would be too much extra work for, the dealers, and o: course there is the pos- sibility of abuse by those who have nothing much good to send. It may be objected that there would be less oppor- tunity for many artists to exhibit but I think the obligation to support the artist should not go beyond the local level. The coun- try towns should do all they can for the artists of their own regions, but there is no reason why they should give amateurs from all over the thrill of public exhibi- tion, nor why they should give extra pocket money to the prosperous commercial artists in Sydney. Duty to educate The obligation of these country towns is chiefly to educate their own artists and their own public. So instead of struggling each year to increase the prizemoney to something that as still too small to attract established paint- ers, they might do Witter to keep actual prize; for their local sections only; to choose a small and very good exhibition - even to litre it-through the deal- ers. Then perhaps they might give up buying hap- hazardly for a future city collection until they have a proper museum with an experienced director, like Newcastle's Mr. Docking, to do It for them. They should agitate for a re- vived Travelling Art Ex- hibition service. And they should not loncern them- selves solely with those who want to learn to paint (hobby -painting need have no more spirituality, need not produce any more awareness of what art really is than knitting). By dramatising 'art from the consumer's point of view, they might provoke some of their local tycoons into becoming collectors. For It Is rather extra- ordinary that of all the many rich country people In New South -Wales there seem to be only two who have discovered the pleas- ures of art collecting. 1