Vew from the chair: Speeches of Richard WL Austin

7 000 KILOMETRES FOR DISPLAY AT TOWNSVILLE, ROCKHAMPTON, LONGREACH, BLACKWATER, SPRINGSURE, STANTHORPE, WARWICK, IPSWICH, BUNDABERG, GLADSTONE, MACKAY, MOUNT ISA, INNISFAIL CAIRNS, THE GOLD COAST AND NOOSA. On behalf of the Trustees of the Gallery, I thank you, Mr Oakes Ash, for addressing us in such a helpful and positive fashion and I thank your Company, Boral Limited, for its generous support for this exhibition, 'Into Space: The Language of Sculpture'. Your Company has, for many years, been a strong supporter of the arts and other community activities, including the Australian Opera, the Sydney Theatre Company, the Duke of Edinburgh Awards and this Gallery. At the beginning of the Expo year, the Company made it possible for us to show one of the most significant exhibitions ever seen in this State-and, indeed, the most comprehensive of Australian art ever brought together anywhere-'The Great Australian Art Exhibition'. And now Boral is sponsoring this touring exhibition of sculpture, which will give a wide spectrum of Queenslanders much to enjoy and much about which to ponder. Since sculpture is the art of forming and constructing a range of materials within what we might call 'real space', it is somehow appropriate that a company involved in the manufacture of construction materials of many kinds should be prepared to do this. Sculpture has been acclaimed over the ages as one of the noblest of art forms. The English philosopher Herbert Spencer put it on an equal footing with architecture, painting, music and poetry as, in his words, 'the efflorescence of civilised life'. Indeed, in terms of the first basic artistic gesture, sculpture historically came before any other. I can think of only one man who had the mistaken temerity to denigrate sculpture as an art form, and that was the French poet Charles Baudelaire. In 1846 he wrote a critical essay entitled 'Why sculpture is a bore'. Perhaps the French Salon sculpture of the day was unimaginative-as was much French painting-but to stigmatise all sculpture as boring was going too far. Had he seen this exhibition, he would surely have eaten his words; for one can see in it, on all sides, examples of the sculptor's determination to explore new concepts and establish new means of communication with the viewer. This exhibition is many things, but boring it certainly is not. I am sure the Premier will agree with me when he addresses us. · I thank you, Sir, for finding time to be with us this evening to launch this tour. It is a further indication of the support you and your Government give to the arts in general and to this Gallery in particular, and for that we are most appreciative. And now, ladies and gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure to invite the Premier to address us and to launch the exhibition 'Into Space: The Language of Sculpture'. 9 Speech to thank the Sponsors of the exhibition 'Diverse Visions: Twelve Australian Mid to Late Career Artists', 18 March 1991 NOTE: THIS EXHIBITION, SHOWN FROM 19 MARCH TO 19 MAY 1991, WAS SPONSORED BY ARCO COAL AUSTRALIA INC. AND SUPPORTED BY SHERATON BRISBANE HOTEL AND TOWERS. IT INCLUDED WORK BY CHARLES BLACKMAN, MIKE BROWN, RAY CROOKE, 70