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Australian News

FEATURED AUSTRALIA ART REPORT: How most controversial painting came to Brisbane – and when it might return

Nothling’s Modern Fiction has a distinct air of Jackson Pollock, whose Blue Poles once visited Brisbane and may do again before too long.

AceNewsDesk – Visual Art: Brisbane artist Stephen Nothling’s latest exhibition recalls the time Jackson Pollock’s Blue Poles visited Brisbane.

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Ace Press News From Cutting Room Floor: Published: Nov.11: 2023: This article is republished from InReview under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article: Stephen Nothling – Mostly Fine in the South East, until December 2, Woolloongabba Art Gallery, 613 Stanley St, Woolloongabba wag.com.au TELEGRAM Ace Daily News Link https://t.me/+PuI36tlDsM7GpOJe

Nothling’s Modern Fiction has a distinct air of Jackson Pollock, whose Blue Poles once visited Brisbane and may do again before too long.

Painting Brisbane with a Jackson Pollock sky is something perhaps only local artist Stephen Nothling could pull off. Nothling is much loved for his floral paintings and for his gorgeous evocations of suburban Highgate Hill and other inner suburbs.

And although he is a figurative painter,  Nothling is a big fan of the famed American artist Jackson Pollock (an abstract expressionist) and he loves Pollock’s classic work Blue Poles. That’s the vast mural-sized painting that caused all the fuss when Gough Whitlam bought it for the National Gallery of Australia in 1973 at a cost of $1.3million. People were outraged at the time.

But it has been a pretty good investment and is now worth around $500 million.

Of course, we have to go to Canberra to see it, but when I interviewed NGA director Nick Mitzevich on a visit to the national capital just before Covid hit he hinted to me that he was thinking of taking Blue Poles on a national tour and last year that possibility was mentioned again as the NGA embarks on a campaign of lending works to the nation. Fingers crossed.

I thought it would be so good to see it here in Brisbane, but here’s the thing I didn’t know – it has been here before, as Nothling recalls in his latest show at Woolloongabba Art Gallery.

The exhibition is called  Mostly Fine in the South East, a reference to weather reports on the ABC which he is often glued to since his daughter Lily is a journalist with the national broadcaster.

And there is a lovely painting titled Mostly Fine in the South East, a Brisbane skyline with a gorgeous blue sky, a few fluffy clouds and two humungous roses floating along with the clouds. This is classic Nothling.

But the hero piece of the exhibition, which includes streetscapes and portraits and some retro goodies, is Modern Fiction.

This is the vision splendid: Brisbane’s iconic modernist apartment building, Torbreck on Dornoch Terrace, Highgate Hill, which Nothling has painted many times before,  but never like this, with a Jackson Pollock sky as the backdrop.

It’s a sky inspired by his love of Pollock and his discovery that, well, actually Blue Poles has already been to Brisbane.

Nothling discovered this and some retro posters about the event (which he has used in a painting) by looking at historical information on the NGA website.

“I discovered that the painting toured Australia and was displayed at Brisbane City Hall from June 7 until August 2 in 1974,” he says. “Having some of my own work in the same building some 50 years later created a tenuous link.” (Nothling had a stunning exhibition at the Museum of Brisbane in 2015 called The Last Street in Highgate Hill.)

He created Modern Fiction as a memorial to Pollock’s work and the visit to Brisbane of Blue Poles, although he points out that his Pollock sky is not an attempt to replicate Blue Poles but aims to evoke Pollock and memorialise the painting and the Brisbane he loves to paint.

“I have painted this view of Torbreck several times and thought it would  be good to add this Pollock-inspired background instead of the sky,” Nothling says.

“I’ve stood before a few Jackson Pollock paintings, including some in the US, and find them as timelessly unfathomable as the sky. It took me a lot longer than I thought it would and I threw my back out doing it.”

That’s because he did it Pollock-style, with the painting on the ground while he slung mural paint at it. The effect is impressive and it’s a nice homage to what is arguably Australia’s most famous painting.

And the funny thing is that at the exhibition opening, Nothling spoke to a couple of people who had seen Blue Poles in Brisbane in 1974. And while I was at the gallery interviewing another artist, Hollie, (she has always been known professionally by a singular moniker) came in to view the show and reported she had seen it, too,  on a school excursion.

I wasn’t even aware it had been here but, then again, I was a teenage surfie attending Miami State High School on the Gold Coast at the time and culture wasn’t high on the agenda.

But I wonder how many readers saw it back then? Quite a few of you, I imagine.

It’s nice to think it might tour again. In the meantime, we have Stephen Nothling’s exhibition and it is a delight.

Poles apart: How Australia’s most controversial painting came to Brisbane – and when it might return

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Australian News

FEATURED AUSTRALIA REPORT: Exhibition of artists’ books at Clifton School of Arts draws on ‘edgy work’ made with paper

Photo depicts the Clifton School of Arts building in the 1900s. A few people stand outside.
“This is the fringe dwellers’ edgy work of the art world.”The Clifton School of Arts was built by coal miners in 1880 and remains in community hands.(Supplied: Wollongong City Council)

AceNewsDesk – As a child Judy Bourke knew she wanted to make art, but growing up in a tent on the beachfront of Woonona near Wollongong she had few options to do so.

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Ace Press News From Cutting Room Floor: Published: Nov.10: 2023: ABC Illawarra News: Prelude: Artists’ Books Now closes November 12 & And another exhibition, Pandemic Days Artists Books, is on at the Art Gallery of NSW until December: TELEGRAM Ace Daily News Link https://t.me/+PuI36tlDsM7GpOJe

“I never really had access to pencils or paper that didn’t have something printed on it, like plain paper. It was a long time before I had access to plain paper,” Judy said.

Over the years, and after raising children and studying at various institutions, she developed a passion for artists’ books — artworks in the form of a book.

Judy spent decades making them and is now sharing her passion by co-curating a new exhibition.

Two women stand in a gallery space surrounded by art works.
Artists Kathryn Orton and Liz Jeneid stand in the exhibition space at Clifton School of Arts.(ABC Illawarra: Sarah Moss)

Mini books to scrollsThe exhibition Prelude: Artists’ Books Now has opened at the Clifton School of Arts on the New South Wales south coast.

The show features artworks such as concertina books, codex books which are pages bound to a spine, scrolls and miniature books.

Judy, along with co-curators Lucia Parrella, Liz Jeneid and Kathryn Orton, selected 37 artists to present more than 50 works.

“Clifton is on a cliff, the gallery is on a cliff, and this is edgy work,” Judy said.

Photo depicts the Clifton School of Arts building in the 1900s. A few people stand outside.
“This is the fringe dwellers’ edgy work of the art world.”The Clifton School of Arts was built by coal miners in 1880 and remains in community hands.(Supplied: Wollongong City Council)

Defining artists’ books

So what is an artists’ book exactly?

“Sometimes people will say it’s a book made by an artist, not a book about art,” Judy said.

“Most artists have no idea what an artists’ book is. Most library people, even in the highest echelons of library management, don’t know what an artists’ book is.”

Each book is unique, although some artists create editions of their work.

“Artists’ books bring together people who have skills in printmaking, bookbinding, in leather craft and sculpture,” Judy said.

“And sometimes they didn’t make the book, they are rearranging someone else’s book.”

A woman sits in front of her artwork
Lucia Parrella’s tunnel book, Before the Sybil’s Cave, was inspired by a place in southern Italy.(ABC Illawarra: Sarah Moss)

The exhibition introduces people to an eclectic range of books made by Australian artists.

“We are creating an opportunity to educate the community in the art world, the cultural community, and the collector’s community as to what an artists’ book is,” Judy said.

“Come and see the exhibition for yourself, then you can decide.'”

A woman and her artwork in a gallery
Kathryn Orton’s concertina book Village depicts Hill End, a former gold mining town in NSW.(ABC Illawarra: Sarah Moss)

The bookmaker’s passion

Judy was introduced to artists’ books by Adele Outteridge at a textile fibre forum in Alice Springs in the early 1990s.

Adele, a book artist and printmaker in Brisbane, has been creating handmade books since the 1980s.

She says the idea of what an artists’ book can be is very subjective.

“I can define artists’ book in seven words … a work of art in book form. The book is the work of art itself,” Adele said.

Two miniature books and a case for them
Adele Outteridge’s books are often sewn together. (Supplied: Adele Outteridge)

She believes artists’ books have been around ever since books were invented.

“Others may say it came about in the early 20th century, it’s very hard to define when it started,” she said.

“I’ve made books from perspex, leaves, bark, all sorts of things and it’s often a great challenge.

Multiple images of a watercolour artwork on paper folded in concertina.
“There is nothing I love more than sitting down and sewing up a beautiful book.”A concertina book made by Judy.(Supplied: Judy Bourke)

Judy takes a homemade book with her wherever she goes.

“I have these teensy books that I glue together and put a backing cardboard on,” she said.

“I call them my bus stop books, so if ever I am waiting on public transport I do small line drawings with a graphite pen and I have one in every bag.”

Hand made books are curated to display a fine assortment.
Prelude: Artists’ Books Now remains open until November 12 at Clifton School of Arts.(ABC Illawarra: Sarah Moss)

Made with paper

Print Council of Australia president and curator of the Sydney Contemporary Art Fair’s paper section, Akky Van Ogtrop, is opening the exhibition in Clifton.

“I specialise in works on paper and as such I love printmaking, artists’ books, and zines. Everything that is made on paper,” Akky said.

A woman stands in front of art on the wall.
Akky Van Ogtrop specialises in artworks on paper.(Supplied: Akky Van Ogtrop)

Akky, who has hundreds of artists’ books in her collection, said it was difficult to define the genre.

She views it as a medium of artistic expression inspired by books.

“The trouble with artists’ books is that everyone seems to have a slightly different idea as to what constitutes an artists’ book,” Akky said.

A woman stands beside her handmade book on display.
It can be two-dimensional or three-dimensional, but it has to be done by an artist.Liz Jeneid is exhibiting her book, Cast Shadows, a linocut made in response to time spent in Mexico.(ABC Illawarra: Sarah Moss)

Akky collects books made by Australian artists but also by international artists, and has several pieces from artists included in Prelude.

“I think it’s wonderful the exhibition is on in such a beautiful, old building, plus it’s a great way to interact with the artists and curators who are minding the exhibition during the week,” she said.

A woman holds a book she made with photographs of familiar objects.
Lesley Goldacre with a book she made photographing historical family objects.(ABC Illawarra: Sarah Moss)

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Australian News

AUSTRALIA CLIMATE CHANGE REPORT: Miwatj Yolngu art exhibition tackling truth-telling and global warming

A close up shot of dots and diamond patterns on a natural coloured bark painting
Traditional bark paintings by the late Ms N Marawili.(ABC News: Billy Cooper)

AceNewsDesk – Standing in an art gallery more than 4,000 kilometres from home, Yolngu artist Rosalee Pearson-Grimes feels a sense of pride.

Ace Press News From Cutting Room Floor: Published: Nov.10: 2023: The ABC was accommodated at Bundanon Art Museum for this story: TELEGRAM Ace Daily News Link https://t.me/+PuI36tlDsM7GpOJe

Rosalee is smiling wearing a blak zip up jumper. Behind her is two bark paintings with earthy tones and bright pink paint
Rosalee Pearson-Grimes says Yolngu art is like an encyclopedia.(ABC News: Billy Cooper)none

She is surrounded by giant bark paintings with designs created in earthy ochre tones.

To the untrained eye, it is a beautiful combination of shapes and lines, but for Yolngu artists, it captures a deeper story.

A close up shot of dots and diamond patterns on a natural coloured bark painting
Traditional bark paintings by the late Ms N Marawili.(ABC News: Billy Cooper)

When you see a diamond, it isn’t just a diamond,” Ms Pearson-Grimes told the ABC.

“It’s a representation of the clan they come from, and you can almost geo point where they are and who they’re painting.

“It’s like an encyclopedia of knowledge and I love that moment when people look at the artwork and go away and learn a little bit more about Yolngu culture.”

There is also another message that lies within the heart of Yolngu art – and it relates to caring for country.

“All Yolngu art talks about the land and the country,” said senior Yolngu woman Merrkiyawuy Ganambarr-Stubbs, whose greatest concern is a world out of balance that she believes leads to “global warming.”

“Some clans talk about fire and renewal and the changes through the seasons and what needs to be done. It’s about maintaining the land and balancing the ecosystem.”

Hidden in a valley on Dharawal country, overlooking the Shoalhaven River is Bundanon Art Museum, just outside of Nowra in regional New South Wales.

It is where Ms Ganambarr-Stubbs, her daughter Ms Pearson-Grimes and other Yolngu artists have travelled, to celebrate the opening of the art exhibition of Miwatj Yolngu — Sunrise people.

The collection, originally from Yirrkala in north-east Arnhem Land, displays 140 different artworks from senior and emerging artists depicting ‘song spirals’ connected to the land, sea, and sky.

Uncle Gerry Moore, a Yuin elder from the Shoalhaven region, opened the event with a Welcome to Country, where he discussed the disappointment many are still feeling following the Voice referendum defeat last month.

Uncle Gerry has a long white beard and glasses and is wearing a bright red shirt. The shoalhaven river is behind him
Uncle Gerry Moore says art can be harnessed to get political messages across to the government.(ABC News: Billy Cooper)

I was originally hesitant to do a welcome today so soon after the referendum,” he told the audience.

“We have always been welcoming, generous and respectful. Ultimately, I decided I could not let my private sadness impact our visitors from Yirrkala today and our many allies who supported us through the referendum.”

Uncle Gerry is a former ATSIC commissioner, former board member of the national Congress of Australia’s First Peoples and a passionate advocate for a Voice to Parliament.

He spoke of the achievements those bodies delivered for First Nations communities over the years but “by the stroke of a pen, structures like that can be dismantled.”

Art as a political tool

Merrkiyawuy is looking at the camera wearing a white top with a white and red scarf. She has white ochre painted on her forehead
Merrkiyawuy Ganambarr-Stubbs is the principal at Yirrkala Community School and a proud Yolngu elder from north-east Arnhem land.(ABC News: Billy Cooper)

Over the years, messages from Arnhem Land have reached the chambers of parliament through art, says Ms Ganambarr-Stubbs.

The Yirrkala Bark Petitions, for example, was a call to the Australian government to reconsider its plans for a bauxite mine in the Gove Peninsula in the 1960s.

Despite the petition being ignored, it has become one of the first documents to bring together Commonwealth and Indigenous laws.

When asked if the Miwatj Yolngu exhibition was also a political tool to fight for Indigenous rights, Ms Ganambarr-Stubbs said:

“This is our stories, this is our history, this is us telling them (government) who we are, where we come from, how to live life on this earth … but it’s the Balanda or the government that has to sit and listen.”

The referendum defeat was a topic of discussion during the opening weekend of the art exhibition, with truth-telling marked as the way forward.

Arts Minister Tony Burke described the role of artists and the Miwatj Yolngu exhibition as an opportunity for “deep engagement in truth-telling”.

Minister Tony Bourke is bending down in front of a coolaman with leaves and smoke drifting upwards
Tony Burke is welcomed to the Miwatj Yolngu art exhibition on Dharawal Country.(ABC News: Tahnee Jash)

It will be artists who do a whole lot of that truth telling, and some of the stories will be hard. Some of the stories will be joyful, but all of them need to be told,” he told the ABC.

“The journey is going to be longer than what we had hoped but that doesn’t stop the journey.”

From bark to mine signs

According to Yolngu lore, art must be created using materials from the land, says Ms Pearson-Grimes.

But as their homelands change, so does their art.

“There have been a lot of introductions of foreign things such as metal, ink paints and fishing hooks that are readily available. It’s representing in real time what’s happening back home,” she explained.

“Even though these are new mediums, we are still talking about the same stories and the same songs that have been happening for millennia.”‘

Four bright pink poles amde from tree trunks are standing on a white platform with three bark paintings behind them
Larrakitj’ (memorial poles) made from hollow stringybark trees painted in magenta pink using old ink cartridges by renowned artist, Ms N Marawili(ABC News: Billy Cooper)

Standing tall in the museum are large pink larrakitj (memorial poles) made from stringy bark trees painted magenta pink, a colour created from recycled ink cartridges — a tone not typically used by Yolngu artists.

Larrakitj were traditionally used to hold the bones of their ancestors. Today, they are only used ceremonially, and remain an important part of Yolngu culture.

Dance floor panels previously owned by Bangarra Dance Theatre have been recycled by one of Australia’s greatest art innovators, the late Ms N Marawili.

Ms N Marawili Artwork on danceboards
Baratjula by Ms N Marawili were painted on old dancefloors used by Indigenous dance company Bangarra Dance Theatre.(ABC News: Billy Cooper)

The decision to move from bark and earthy hues of ochre, required a change in Yolngu cultural lore – a decision that wasn’t taken lightly.

“It was deep conversation with a lot of artists and the coordinators at the art centre,” Ms Pearson-Grimes says.

One artist who pioneered the way is Gunybi Ganambarr.

He believed items found on the land – like scrap metal or signage from the mine – have become part of the land and therefore can be used.

With the endorsement of Yolngu Elders, it has now become an accepted art practice.

A common thread tying the exhibition together is climate and the ecosystem of north-east Arnhem Land.

Recycling scrap metals has become more than a material to create art, it comes back to Yolngu people’s responsibility to care for the land.

“There’s definitely a connection in trying to clean up our countries with these objects that are found,” Ms Pearson-Grimes said.

Miwatj Yolngu Sunrise People
Miwatj Yolngu art exhibition showing on the south coast of New South Wales is now open to the public over the summer holidays(ABC News: Billy Cooper)

The Miwatj Yolngu art exhibition forms part of a wider First Nations program on display until February 11, 2024.

The program is open to the public and includes poetry workshops, guest talks from artists and as well as exhibition tours.

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Merrkiyawuy is looking at the camera wearing a white top with a white and red scarf. She has white ochre painted on her forehead
Merrkiyawuy Ganambarr-Stubbs is the principal at Yirrkala Community School and a proud Yolngu elder from north-east Arnhem land.(ABC News: Billy Cooper)
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Categories
American History

OTD 1959: Guggenheim Museum of Modern & Contemporary Art Opened in NYC

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AceHistoryDesk – Today in History -The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum of modern and contemporary art opened in New York City on October 21, 1959. Designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright, the modern structure marked a bold departure from traditional museum design.

Ace Press News From Cutting Room Floor: Published: Oct.21: 2023: History Today News: TELEGRAM Ace Daily News Link https://t.me/+PuI36tlDsM7GpOJe

Guggenheim Museum, 88th St. & 5th Ave., New York City. Under Construction I. Gottscho-Schleisner, Inc., photographer, Nov. 12, 1957. Gottscho-Schleisner Collection. Prints & Photographs Division

Its exhibition space features a spiraling six-story ramp that encircles an open center space lit by a glass dome.

Solomon R. Guggenheim (1861-1949), son of Swiss immigrant and mining tycoon Meyer Guggenheim, began to compile a significant collection of modern art in the late 1920s, with the assistance of his art advisor Hilla Rebay, herself an artist, and an enthusiastic proponent of abstract painting.

In 1937, Guggenheim established the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation to promote art and art education, and began to explore the idea of creating a museum. He commissioned Wright to design a building, but Wright died before construction was completed in 1959.

The Guggenheim Museum’s collection of modern and contemporary art includes works by artists such as Constantin Brancusi (1876-1957), Alexander Calder (1898-1976), Marc Chagall (1887-1985), Paul Klee (1879-1940), and Pablo Picasso (1881-1973).

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Ace Breaking News

BREAKING U.S FBI REPORT: Missing Since World War II, Painting Repatriated to Bavarian Museum

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AceBreakingNews – It was then that the FBI received a referral from an international art recovery firm confirming they had been in negotiations with a Chicago resident about returning the painting. A member of the FBI Art Crime Team based in Chicago reached out to the citizen who immediately met with agents to return the painting that same day.

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Ace Press News From Cutting Room Floor: Published: Oct.21: 2023: FBI News: TELEGRAM Ace Daily News Link https://t.me/+PuI36tlDsM7GpOJe

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Robert W. Wheeler Jr., special agent in Charge of the FBI Chicago Field Office: “The FBI’s Art Crime Team has been bringing home stolen art for almost 20 years, and their dedication has led to the recovery of more than 20,000 artifacts valued at hundreds of millions of dollars. It is a pleasure to be able to return this painting to its rightful home at last, and we thank everyone who partnered with us to make this success possible.”

Michael Ahrens, consul general: “The Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany Chicago was happy to facilitate the exchange between FBI Chicago and Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen / Bavarian State Painting Collections, when it learnt about the restitution project. It is an honor to receive representatives from the FBI’s Art Crime Team and Bavarian State Painting Collections here in the German Consulate today on the occasion of the official handover of the painting.”

Markus Blume, the Bavarian State Minister for Science and Arts:

I am delighted that an art treasure that was believed to have been lost is coming back to Bavaria: the return of the painting by Johann Franz Nepomuk Lauterer to the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen is not only an act of historical justice but also an expression of the appreciation of our cultural heritage. In particular, I would like to thank the American FBI and all those who participated in the return of the painting on the American and German sides.”

Prof. Dr. Bernhard Maaz, director general of the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen:

First of all, I would like to thank the FBI for their tremendous support. I am very grateful for the work carried out by the law firms, especially Christopher Marinello, for his altruistic commitment and research to identify and restitute the work. The entire process owes much to his so very selfless, independent initiative and we are extremely pleased with the outcome. Further thanks are due to the German Foreign Office and to the Consulate General in Chicago, in particular, where this long story has found a happy end.”

Dr. Bernd Ebert, head of the Dutch and German Baroque Painting Collections: “The reuniting of Lauterer’s complementary landscapes is a real stroke of good fortune. A presentation of the restored companion works is planned for the near future.”

Christopher A. Marinello, CEO and founder of Art Recovery International: “This restitution would not have been possible without the swift action of the FBI Art Crime Team.”

FBI Art Crime Team

The FBI’s Art Crime Team, made up of special agents from across the country, was established in 2004 after the 2003 looting of the Iraqi National Museum. Conflict zones (i.e., war zones) have a large impact on cultural property; they breed environments that make it easy to lose cultural property. It’s the FBI’s mission to recover those works. The team assists in art-related investigations worldwide in cooperation with foreign law enforcement officials and FBI legal attaché offices.

Art and cultural property crime—which includes theft, fraud, looting, and trafficking across state and international lines—leads to billions of dollars in losses every year. The FBI relies on the good will of our citizens to assist us by keeping their eyes open for missing art. If you have information on a piece in the National Stolen Art File, we encourage you to submit a tip to the FBI at tips.fbi.gov.

The Painter and His Work

Johann Franz Nepomuk Adam Lauterer (1700–1733) was active in his native city of Vienna between about 1715 and 1733. “Landscape of Italian Character” is a counterpart to a painting on panel of the same dimensions with complementary motifs, depicting a landscape with travelers and shepherds at a ford in a river. Both paintings together form a broad panoramic landscape.

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