Daniel Thomas : Newspaper writings

"TELEGRAPH" Sydney, N.S.W. 28 JUN 1964 The Week in Art by Daniel Thomas THERE has been loose talk of an Aust- ralian art boom in the post two or three years. I suppose this is based on is small measure of , Awareness granted our painting In London I but not in Paris .ir New York), 1.,11iiteudpo [hi isgohme phrigicehgly ppuabid- ithin Aetna,* (but not in other countries) NE a low Australian paintings. But those lances were paid for a very few, very well -established artists, and in any case price is a dif- 1 ferent matter from value. it depends sometimes on tlie capricious buying of one man only. such as the Late Major Rubin. And the ante artists that might be considered part of the ,boom were producing the .ante or better work long before any boom was re- ,agnised. if it Is rather unreal to speak of a recent art boom either in prices or in qual- ity of work, there is still one real boons: communi- cation between artist and public through the mass media has increased enor- mously in recent years. 'llus only reflects increased public interest: which in turn no doubt Is due to increasing art education In schools and of course. though with the normal lime -lag, to recognition that sonic of the art pro- duced here was pretty good anyway. So it Is worth inspecting some of the art-communi- cation machinery: flints on Australian art at the Sydney film festival earlier this month, and our only art =ghillie. "Art and Australia." after Its first year of existence. Most films have been made by the Elthann Com- pany in Melbourne, and by the Collings for Qantas in Sydney. None of the for- mer were shown at the Festival, but Collings an- tes followed their Drysdale, Dobell and Nolan films with two new ones, built on abo.iginal art. I missed the one on bark painting 128 minutest, but the other on rock painting 121 min- utes) had very beautiful te.m Land. photography done in Am - The camera was more reverent too than in the, previous films where it had had a restless fear of ever showing picture -frame or wall In its attempt to fit variously shaped paintings, into the standard shaped movie screen. Otherwise the familiar good profes- :Aonal standard was much as Iefmr, but there's still the same smooth narrator, a shade too reverent, fail- ing to communicate much belief In his subject, or excitement about it (their Nolan film had the advan- tage of Hod Mfigate's voice). The result is art made very Inoffensive, very easy, but I suppose excellent as art appreciation for abso- lute beginners. Ine only other film on Australian art, "Abstrac- tion, William Rose" by Patricia Ledford was not really a success at all, but simply by letting the painter himself speak, In- stead of a professional actor, far more was com- municated about the reali- ties of art. There were excellent films front England on Pop Art i"Pop goes the Easel." a 4b -minute BBC televi- sion effort: ABC please note), and on Francis Bacon ecumeraman David Muir, who made that Line "Approaoh to Sculpture", before he left Sydney two years ago). Both can be highly recommended to art schools. "Art and Australia" be- gins its second year of exis- tence with the -USW out, his week. Let us hope it's here to stay, for tile 21 -year absence of any art maga- zine between Its birth and "Art in Australia's" death was something of a dis- grace. All that existed were the slim quarterlies pub- lished by the Butte galler- ies in Adelaide. Melbourne. Sydney and Perth. "Art and' Australia" is admittedly a far more expensive quarter- ly than they (at 30, a copy, or - cheaper - 5 guineas a year), but con- sidering the large number of colorplates, worth every penny. Nearly all the plates are made at the magazine's expense too, not borrowed from dealers' catajogues is so common abroad. The oltly real fault is un- punctuality: the new Issue. like all the others so far. Is about a month late. Early issues seemed to threaten a safe -taste glossy, a mere coffee-table book. It is true that the picture surveys of recent exhibitions seldom risk a difficult young artist's work, but with the third issue and the first use of Robert Hughes as a writer thinga looked up. The last two have been excellent. for they have contained fiat criticism. based on detailed knowledge and considerable thought (sel- dom possible in newspaper reviews,, instead of uncriti- cal rhaaaaody or pure docu- mentation. Not that rhapsody isn't occasionally welcome: or that documentation isn't extremely valuable. The regular lists of all exhibi- tions held in Australia, of forthcoming competitions, of prize-winners, of state gallery acquisitions are an indispensable service, and will cause much gratitude in future years. So will the 1 occasional gallery and art, society histories. The mopping -up opera- tions, the surveys of the 20 loat ars between art magazines, were a -duty that is now completed, unless pottery IS to come. One occasional feature that I still think expend - WOOD SCULPTURE 1948 by Robert Klippel "Entities suspended from n Detector." a - WHAT'S ON TO 0/11, 000 T warn An Danny of NAN , . nn Prnt So.., (law dcd5; 'Rainatono ALL NEXT WEEK. Enda Known Jacob PA*. woodcuts An. Chad. areal Gould, and pagiota 0.0p 223 NT % fgagro EW Inlacanihr Craw, Worlonsomy: Jinni:or, Kb y 1.4lwan, LO*Ws, 04C. Dominion: eatAw, emeesres ttOnit' ret'Ammca. OPINING D.Wid Alma vwdotTopil'IcutouL, Cron mono, Loot,e, ger try lienwo, oddid.ara. atoffray brown, polnlinda and otetiinlin. =oyesCiso.:Iro'n1 112:ailair,'"nr"'NeoTT:iita able Iii the'- o aside Australia, e.g. from San Francisco or Paris. report- (tom Enjoyable as Ronald Mil -1 len's Paris reports are, sure- ly all readers of Art and Australia are already read- ers of the international magazines and don't need the same again. By far tile best things have been the presenta- tions of air artist', work in quantity, especially when virtually unpublished else- where, like Palraeather (the poor layout from which he suffered in the first Lssue wits quicker rem-' ediedi, French, Meter, or,. in the latest issue, the major revelation of KIM- pel by Robert Hughes. The magazine plays for safety by always accomp- anying such contempor- aries with a similar pres- entation or an early art - fat, Margaret Preston, Arthur Streeton, Tom Roberts. or Ursula Hoff's current offering of some delectable, newly discov- ered paintings by (kinder. The new issue also pres- ents some unfamiliar pain- tings by Roy De Maistre. but the accompanying text rehearses familiar facts from existing boots, or else la inaccurate. Then there is a contribution by John Olsen on naive painters, the usual boot reviews and letters, and exhibition commentary, and news from Paris. Hoarser, what will make the issue perm- anently valuable is Charles Conder's Austra- lia in the 1800s, an elegant Arcadia, painted with spirit, yet movingly touched by Inexperience the was 19 and 20 at the time). And secondly Robert :Hughes on Klippel, whose fnmillar poised and aristo- cratic Junk sculptures are Invested with potential aaj- gression in the light of the early, nerve -Jangling sur- real wood carvings illus trated here for the first time, He looks like an artist of world stature.