Daniel Thomas : Newspaper writings

how MAPL elrraw "TELEGRAP 2 7 SEP 1964 vt ydney, N.S.W. England's HOWEVER valuable the British con- nection with Australia might be in these post-colonial days, it is the connection in the visual arts that one would have thought most needed breaking. British painting has had few great individuals- Gainsborough, Turner, Blake-but as a whole it has .been a provincial source for further provin- cialism of our own (the literary arts are s different matter from the visual ones: from the former there will always be end- less nourishment. Now in Sydney In the martin of Britain's biggest trade fair ever, are the usual cultural swents and exhibitions by courtesy of the British Council and others. And we are re- minded that after all in the field of visual design as distinct from visual art -that. is in the world of taste as distinct front the world of creative imagina- tion-England has always done pretty well. There are two exhibi- tions of ancient and mod- ern silver at the Art Gal- lery of New South Wales and at David Jones to prove it. Ks for art, the British Council's group of six youn British painters. also g at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, con- founds us utterly by being for once completely unpro- vincial. True, Gillian Ayres is weak, and Joe Tilson's brave old world AND HER STRONG NEW ONE, TOO giant collage of neatly car- pentered planks conies close to arts and crafts tastefulness. But the other four, Harold Cohen, Robyn Denny, Jonn Hoyland and Richard Smith have the tough strong look of art that's out in front. Only compare them with the romantic evasions of Vaughan, Wynter, Frost and Hilton in our previous look at British painting (1959). Or with some of the 12 paintings added by the Art Gallery from vari- ous Australian collections to the British Council's current offering in order no doubt to sugar the new pill. LUSCIOUS Philip Sutton's sugar (luscious nudes and nym- phets, gorgeous color) is the sweetest and all the better for being frank about it; Henry Mundy seems too elegant; and what on earth was all that fuss about Bratby, Middle - ditch and Jack Smith 10 years ago? Alan Davie ad- mittedly still looks great. There is however one painting by Hockney to il- lustrate pop art, the other principal new wave in Brit- ish painting: he is literary, imaginative intensely per- sonal. Cohen, Denny, Hoyland and Richard Smith are abstract-"hard-edge." flat, and coloristic, except that with Smith the edges get a feathery softness, and flataess lurches off into deep space. But although they are abstract they seem to be doing just what pop art theory requires. That la, to take a chunk of the fam- iliar visual mould that has not got into art much up till now; tame it, elevate it into art, get control of it before it gets control of you. Richard Smith's picture, called "Package," and Harold Cohen's take their forms from commercial art, and transmute them into real art. Hoyland and Denny are doing something rattier different. It 15 not com- mercial art: probaly it is an equally heathen visual world that they are ab- sorbing into the empire of art-the world of science and machinery Denny's mysterious door (or win- dow) may be a scientific box, the control board of a computer. Hoyland's wavy bands could be dia- grams of couno waves, or .1 microscopic botany sec- tions. Whatever they're about one feels sure that its something real, and some- thing relevant to the life we live today. No art of importance is escapist or artificial. * * * THE English silver exist- bition at the Art Gal- lery is really the week's most important event. Arranged by the Victoria and Albert Museum from its own possessions, from the Earl of Lonadale's the Marquess of Ormondes, the Duke of Wellington's, the Corporation of Lon- don's and the Skinner's Company's it contains 102 items dating from 1660 to 1910. FAMOUS histories and textbooks on silver, as for example the "Connoisseur Guide to An- tique English Silver and Plate." The exhibition has been selected with great intel- ligence, it is displayed so that the development of silver design can be easily traced, and with the very informative catalogue (lav- ishly illustrated), a whole area of knowledge can be acquired almost effort- lessly. This is a once -in -a - lifetime opportunity of learning Just about all there is to know about British domestic sliVer, and from works of supreme quality. Of course some of the objects are amazingly unfunctional and showy, for some were intended solely as statics symbols. Others however, especially the late Stuart, the Queen Anne, the neo-cla.s.sical, and the late Victorian, are plain useful, and beautiful tit is strange to see the Victorian and Art Nouveau Many of the objects are periods, from Pugin on- ' wards, are really much world famous-some were better than the mid - once in the Royal collec- Georgian and the Reg- tion; many occur as illus- ency). trations in the standard And although this is an exhibition of design, not of art, one of the elements of art is isolated very clearly, namely style. We see for example the jug over the centuries becom- ing straight, curly, globu- lar, angutar, Greek, Gothic, or Japanese. Why? Social cultural ant; economic his- tory provide some answers, so does silver technology, but ultimately it is ft mys- tery. The more striking when seen as here, isolated front distracting consider- ;Akins of the maker's per- sonality, and of the real world, as in creative art. What's on this week TODAY AND Naas WICK Art Coles, .1 N.S.W.-speo lel ea &Woo,: Foshan Silver from the V & A Mum.. 1000-1910. English ArttO.Penlorts 1913.1960, Young IOWA Point. en, Hatene Roiled -OM Trawl. ling Art ScholOshlp. Newusthe City An Gellery.-i Special exhibitions: Cann...owe ary Australian Pointing) Smart. can crafts (nosing Wednesday), Vol Boteurh, Neerwille. Pesscod oinnlingS. NEXT WEEK Tarry Clune.-RobertRoom?. painting& Rudy Retch no, dreian.ngs, watercolor,. I er6;;.00 ortny g12:,.0: ISSI:17 Jones. - Antigua and modern Erliieh diver and ti):011%, from the Goldsmith's Deperenwat.-Acy An Sochiw Annual Emhibition closing Thursday). Artlevers, Arternion.-Roneld Slimed. paintings. OPENING TUESDAY Hungry Home. .- Ern. /tad Roll, Penning, Owninion.-Normen Lindsey. Little Gliery.-Roneld Wed- dell, pointing! nd print. Crane. Well g.- igudt- this pe.ntIngsi Sansuineill sculpture. OPINING WEDNESDAY Meowed*. - Elmbn hen Theatre Trust siege Odom OPEN THURSDAY Commonwealth Swings Bank. Commonwealth Savings Rank. Marlin Plete.-Elake Prim for Religion Art. Workshop Aria Contra, - Trudl Alfred. Julie . Pottery. NEXT WEEKEND Mud, Prensharn, Milt Annual ubslon of trail.. Pottery and furniture. MONDA TV LECTURE ANN 3.-TY he Lively Arts, p.m.t John Olean. by Leurio Thome& Michael S h whose work I greatly admire, is not quite my top artist. Last week one small word droped out: he is my top pop artist. J