Spring 2008 - Art Gallery of Western Australia

artifactsr magazine of the friends of the art gallery of western australia
Spring 2008
PRINT POST APPROVED PP665002/00118

ARTIFACTS is published
quarterly by the Friends of the
Art Gallery of Western Australia (Inc.)
Start your week with an ADFAS adventure
Telephone: (08) 9492 6750
Facsimile: (08) 9492 6755
Email: friends@artgallery.wa.gov.au
Post: PO Box 48, Northbridge 6865
EDITOR
Rebecca Bird
Contributors
Craig Ingrey, David Dolan, Lorna White,
Rosita Valladares
GRAPHIC DESIGN
Johanna Standish-Hansen
printing
Barry Green
Account Manager, Lamb Print
Telephone (08) 9427 3500
paper
Graham Cole – Sales Executive,
Spicers Paper
Telephone (08) 9376 9150
ARTIFACTS ADVERTISING
Advertisers are welcome – contact the Friends office for
further details. Publication of an advertisement does
not necessarily imply endorsement by the Friends of the Art
Gallery of Western Australia (Inc)
Peggy Griffiths
Jinamoom 2008 140 x 100 cm
Natural ochre on canvas
Courtesy of the artist, Waringarri Aboriginal Arts
& Seva Frangos Art
I recently joined with other Friends to
see a new play: Portraits of Modern
Evil – Albert Tucker: Painter,
Visionary, Acquaintance of a Killer
Playwright Robert Reid takes a free
approach to Tucker’s story, which got
me thinking about how artists’
reputations are constructed during
and after their lifetime.
There are some amazing stories in
circulation about the antics of various
artists, past and present. In the 20th
century, Jackson Pollock probably
had the worst reputation, but
precedents include John Hamilton
Mortimer: the wild man of English
18th century art.
Albert Tucker is among the most
interesting 20th century Australian
artists, represented in the ‘Home’
theme of Wonderlust at our Gallery.
I recently came across his name
linked to those of Arthur Boyd who is
also in Wonderlust along with Charles
Blackman whose Triptych Alice was
a gift from the Friends in 1988.
I was enjoying reading Mixed Dozen:
The Story Of Australian Winemaking
Since 1788 by Charles Gent. It
includes the story of Samuel Wynn
who migrated to Australia in 1913
and established himself as a supplier
to and partner in various Melbourne
wine bars and restaurants. We read:
“The [Café] Florentino became a
haunt of artists (Arthur Boyd, Albert
Tucker and Charles Blackman were
regulars by the 1930s)…”.
Something worried me about this bit
of bohemian mythologising. Boyd,
born in 1920, was an impoverished
student and under the legal drinking
age during the 1930s. Tucker, born
1914, struggled through the great
Double your discount at the Gallery Shop
Friends will receive 20% off all purchases during
November and December.
And get them gift wrapped ready for Christmas!
Just present your membership card when you pay.
From the President
Depression in Melbourne and is
unlikely to have been a regular at
Florentino. We can’t check with
them, as both died in 1999.
Blackman is 80 this year, but we
needn’t bother him. He grew up in
Sydney and moved to Melbourne in
1950. Born 1928, he was two years
old at the start of the 1930s and
eleven when the decade ended in
1939. So, whatever Tucker was doing
in Melbourne in the 1930s, he wasn’t
drinking with Blackman at Florentino.
Many of us are occasionally
confronted with fantasised or
exaggerated stories of youthful
adventures and excesses – as if the
truth wasn’t bad enough! It helps to
remember that the ancient Greek
stoic philosophers identified
reputation as one of those things you
must accept as ultimately beyond
your control.
The image of Tucker, Boyd and
Blackman propping up the bar at
Florentino when they should have
been in school may be part of
Australian folklore, but it is not
reliable art history. Fortunately for us,
they are together, we might even say
re-united, in our Gallery’s Collection
and exhibitions, where we can all join
them for a quiet think if not a drink.
DAVID DOLAN
Please note: The Friends' office will be
closed from 19 December to 27 January.
Thank you to Graham and Carol Baker from
For the Coffee Table, purveyors of gourmet
biscuits in Floreat, for their delicious
support of Alice in Wonderlust. The tarts
were a hit!
The 2009 lecture series from the Association
of Decorative and Fine Arts Societies will
whisk you away to distant continents and
long-gone eras. Join us we discover Sickert’s
secrets, revel in 18th century England’s
elegance and lust after Lalique’s exquisite
Art Nouveau jewellery.
Pietro da Cortona The Golden Age
Monday 23 February
The Mystery & Splendour of Golden
Ages in the Arts
Mrs Patricia Wright BA (Hons)
ARICS (rtd) NADFAS
What makes a particular place at
a particular time suddenly become
so creative that its influence echoes
down the ages And how strange that
such lightning-strikes of splendour
rarely recur in the same place ever
again. This wide-ranging lecture
explores both the fascination of
some past Golden Ages and tries to
identify just a few of the factors which
triggered them.
Walter Sickert
Mornington Crescent Nude, contre-jour 1907
Monday 27 April
Sickert and the Camden Town Group
Mrs Sandra Pollard BA MA NADFAS
The common image of Edwardian
England is that of elegant parties in
country houses as reflected in John
Singer Sargent’s paintings. However,
this lecture looks at the works of the
Camden Town Group, which showed
an alternative view of society. Music
halls, north London bedsitters,
new suburbs and commuter towns
were painted in a lively and often
colourful style. The group’s leader
Walter Sickert was no stranger to
controversy with his paintings of a
well-known murder at the time giving
a new dimension to the meaning of
Mornington Crescent!
Monday 29 June
René Lalique – Master of Art
Nouveau Jewellery and Art
Deco Glass
Dr Anne Anderson BA PhD FSA
NADFAS
Although Lalique is best known for
his Art Deco glass of the inter-war
years, his career began in the early
1890s as the designer of the finest
Art Nouveau jewellery. His jewels
were about design and craftsmanship
rather than vulgar ostentation
or flashy diamonds. As his fame
spread his style was copied and
debased until Lalique felt that he had
exhausted the potential of jewellery.
A fortuitous commission led to the
creation of the first customised
perfume bottle, which marked the
start of his affair with glass.
Monday 27 July
Exotic Encounters: Indo-European
furniture from South Asia (India
and Sri Lanka) during the 18th and
19th centuries
Dr Robin Jones BA (Hons) PhD
NADFAS
We will explore the tradition of
furniture making by South Asian
wood workers for Europeans,
who were resident in the Indian
Subcontinent from the 17th century
onwards. Before European contact
socialising typically took place at floor
level, seated cross-legged on textiles
or mats. This lecture addresses
the gradual introduction of western
furniture forms into the east and
examines the furniture produced at
key centres in India and Sri Lanka.
SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE!
Monday 24 August
Manners and Music: Life in 18th
Century England
Ms Jeanne Dolmetsch LRAM
NADFAS
Manners and Music transports
us back to the 18th century to an
age of elegance and taste, wit and
satire, extravagant fashions and a
complex code of manners. Daniel
Defoe takes us to the magnificent
Palladian Palace of Cannons, and
we eavesdrop with Jane Austen on
a musical evening at Netherfield.
We behold the fantastic toilette of
the lady of fashion in Pope’s Rape
of the Lock and are reminded by
Lord Chesterfield of the importance
of dancing the Minuet with a good
grace and air. These and other vivid
accounts will be complemented by
the music of the period.
Monday 28 September
The Alderley Edge Project
Prof John Prag MA Dip Class Arch
DPhil (Oxon) FSA NADFAS
In 1992 a 4000 year old wooden
shovel reappeared, first discovered
in 1875 at Alderley Edge in Cheshire
and then lost. Three years later
a hoard of 550 Roman coins was
unearthed at the top of an old
mine-shaft and the Alderley Edge
Landscape Project was born. Alderley
Edge has a rich, complex history of
geology, archaeology, early mining
and social history. Take a journey
with project coordinator John Prag as
he unearths the physical and human
landscape of Alderley.
6 lecture membership card $120.00 ($20 per lecture)
5 lecture membership card $110.00 ($22 per lecture)*
* lectures for this option must be nominated when booking.
The single ticket price is $30 for members and $40 for guests.
Alexander Library Auditorium, Perth Cultural Centre.
6.15pm light refreshments / 6.45pm lecture starts.

New Gallery Director
Coming Up at the Friends
Dr Stefano Carboni joins the Gallery
in October as its new Director. He
comes to us from New York’s
Metropolitan Museum of Art, where
he was the Curator and Administrator
of the Department of Islamic Art.
With an outstanding curatorial,
academic and teaching background
Dr Carboni has an extensive record
of exhibitions and publications as
well as broad lecturing experience
Exhibition
Gordon Bennett
Since his first major solo exhibition in
1989, Gordon Bennett has achieved
international critical acclaim for the
complex ways in which his work
engages with historical and
contemporary questions of cultural
and personal identity, with a specific
focus on Australia’s colonial past and
its postcolonial present.
Bennett’s idiosyncratic art is founded
on his critical enquiry into the power
and effects of language to structure
ideologies, and social and cultural
systems. His work has been guided
by a postmodernist aesthetic that has
enabled him to deconstruct and
represent the histories and politics
that determine identities and the
national and international social
landscapes in which, through his
work, he seeks to locate a place
for himself.
Presenting 20 years of Bennett’s
work this exhibition will bring
together many of the Notes to
Basquiat paintings and selected
works from the Home Décor series.
throughout Europe, Asia and the
United States.
His exhibition Venice and the Islamic
World 828 – 1797 was ranked as
one of the five best of the year for
2007 by the Wall Street Journal and
the catalogue of his exhibition The
Legacy of Genghis Khan, Art and
Culture in Western Asia 1258 – 1356
won the prestigious Alfred H Barr
Prize in 2002.
Dr Carboni takes an active role in
international art issues. He was a key
member of the team of directors,
curators and conservators who
proposed actions to be taken to stem
the looting of Iraq’s artistic heritage
and its dispersal after the occupation
of that country by the allied forces
led by the United States in 2003.
“Dr Carboni will bring a fresh and
truly international perspective and
vision to the Gallery and the WA arts
The exhibition will examine the
manner in which Bennett’s focus on
the disenfranchisement of
colonialism resonates globally
beyond his specifically Australian
context, and the challenge his work
makes to political conservatism and
social complacency.
Please be advised that some artwork in this
exhibition contains graphic material that may not
be suitable for all audiences.
20 December 2008 – 22 March 2009
A National Gallery of Victoria Touring Exhibition
community, building on the
significant strengths of our staff and
curatorial team,” said AGWA Chair
Helen Cook.
“Importantly, with internationally
acclaimed credentials from the
Universities of London and Venice,
Dr Carboni has a deep
understanding of cherishing and
fostering art heritage and will bring
this discipline to the future
development of the Gallery as an
institution that celebrates and
collects significant contemporary,
historical and Indigenous art.”
Dr Carboni’s vision for his new role
includes encouraging more touring
exhibitions to Perth, firming up plans
to redevelop the main gallery
building, growing the State Art
Collection through the new
acquisition fund, and continuing to
engage young people in the visual
arts through the Gallery.
Check out your State Art
Collection online
In September, the Gallery opened a
virtual door to its Collection. As part
of the Gordon Darling Digitisation
Project art lovers can now view 225
paintings, sculptures and design
objects from the State Art Collection
as well as interpretive texts online.
To view the online collection visit
www.artgallery.wa.gov.au and click
on ‘Search the Collection’ on the
‘Collections’ page.
Gordon Bennett
Born Australia 1955
Camouflage #2 2003
synthetic polymer paint on canvas
182.5 x 182.5 cm
Collection Gene and Brian Sherman, Sydney
Photography: John O’Brien
© Courtesy of the artist
Butterfly dreaming with
Peggy Griffiths
Wednesday 12 November
This November the Friends will
celebrate the opening of Peggy
Griffiths' new exhibition at Seva
Frangos Art in Subiaco.
Peggy was the first Indigenous artist
to win the Fremantle Print Award
in 1995.
This long awaited exhibition depicts
Peggy’s traditional country within the
Keep River National Park, located
along the Northern Territory and
Western Australian border.
The exhibition specifically shows
Jinamoom, the Keep River, as it flows
through the gorges and where it is
joined by the many tributaries which
flow to capacity during the wet
season. The artworks also depict
Spinifex country and the movement
of the grass seeds in the wind across
the country, blanketing the country in
glorious colours.
Peggy has been painting Spinifex
country for the last five years and her
dreaming, the butterfly, is often
symbolised by a subtle butterfly
shape which can be discerned in
many of her paintings.
Special Friends' Screening
of Caravaggio
Saturday 25 October
As part of the 2008 Lavazza Italian
Film Festival, the good folk at
Cinema Paradiso have arranged a
special screening of Caravaggio for
the Friends, which coincides with the
only public screening of the film.
The movement of
the seeds, so
superbly captured
in Peggy’s
paintings, is also
symbolic of the
presence of the
Dreamtime Spirit
which is alive today
and moving
throughout the
country.
Peggy’s elegant and fluid paintings
are produced entirely with natural
ochres and pigments.
In her 60s, Peggy paints with the
Waringarri Aboriginal Art Centre in
Kununurra. She is a long-serving
chairperson of this centre, which is
wholly Aboriginal owned by the artist
community. Deeply committed to her
culture and heritage, Peggy is a
traditional performer and teaches
young students both painting
and dancing.
Caravaggio was the most innovative
painter of his time and one of the
greatest artists of any age.
Alessio Boni plays Michelangelo
"Michele" Merisi, born into a humble
family in the town of Caravaggio
(from which the future artist would
derive his professional moniker).
Cursed with a violent temper,
Michele becomes as well known for
his brawling as for his art,
frequenting the seamier side of
Rome and using its prostitutes and
thieves as models, even for his
religious paintings.
Eventually, his art creates a fervent
group of admirers, while his personal
life establishes an equally dedicated
battery of enemies.
See the Calendar of Events
for booking information.
Peggy Griffiths
Jinamoom and Water Lily
2008 140 x 100 cm
Natural ochre on canvas
Courtesy of the artist, Waringarri Aboriginal Arts & Seva Frangos Art
The whimsical world of Leon Pericles
Friday 24 October
We will join Leon in his studio, which his wife Moira
describes as ‘vibrant, warm and busy’, to explore his
artistic world. It is one that features intricate etchings,
screenprints and hand coloured collagraphs, which
often depict Leon’s absurdist view of landscape,
society and culture.
Leon is a story teller. His sharp satirical wit is ever
present in his work and his constant reinvention of
himself as an artist keeps his audience wondering
what will happen next.
Close mentor and friend Robert Juniper says of Leon,
“The outstanding quality of Pericles' work is
his youthful exuberance; smiling and witty,
his puckish humour touches all subjects.
Combined with a mastery of technique and
experimentation he manages to put laughter
on a higher plane.”

Snapshots
Alice in Wonderlust
1 2
3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10
11 12 13 14 15
1 Anastasia Stonehouse and Samantha
Coad-Ward
2 Alice and the White Rabbit
3 Jeffery Grey and Tammi and Gail Le Breton
4 Robert Gouldson and Jonnie Love
5 Melody West, Tanya Young, Nadine Redmond,
Emaly Black, Mariella Zanello and Dana Hodges
6 Renato Sansalone, Mark Lennard and
Ricky Arnold
7 France Smithson and David Stephens
8 Ashley and Kendra Frew and Maree Even
9 Davina Hannaford and Carmen Price-Tudor
10 Bec Bird and Gemma Jones
Art in Bloom allocation night
11 Kellie Morrow and Stephen McDonnell
12 Yolanda Stapleton and Eva Asmussen
13 Hannah Whiteman, Andrew Lim and
Didi Paolucci
14 Han Machielse and Rosita Valladares
15 Greg James, Janet Nixon and Ian de Souza
Gallery Guide
Exhibition Program
OCTOBER – DECEMBER
Culture Warriors:
National Indigenous Art Triennial
Finishes 23 November
Western Australian Premier’s
Indigenous Art Awards 2008
1 November – 11 January 2009
Gordon Bennett
20 December – 22 March 2009
Wonderlust
New journeys Your collection
Ongoing
WESFARMERS ARTS Walk-in Tours
Generously guided by Art Gallery
volunteer guides
OCTOBER
Sunday 5 at 2pm
Culture Warriors Artist Floor Talk
Julie Dowling
Sunday 26 at 2pm
Culture Warriors Artist Floor Talk
Destiny Deacon and Virginia Fraser
Monday 27 – Friday 31 at 12pm
(Seniors Week Tour)
Memories of years gone by
Tuesdays at 11am & 1pm
Wonderlust - Presence
Wednesdays at 11am & 1pm
Culture Warriors
Thursdays at 11am & 1pm
Wonderlust - Material Gesture
Friday Focus at 12.30pm
Kimberley landscape by Paddy
Tjamitji
Fridays at 2pm
Wonderlust - Story
Saturdays at 1pm
A tour of your Gallery
Sundays at 11am & 1pm
Culture Warriors
NOVEMBER
Thursday 6 & Friday 7 at 12pm
Seniors Week Tour
Memories of years gone by
Sunday 9 @ 2pm
Culture Warriors Artist Floor Talk
Chris Pease
Sunday 9 @ 2.30pm
Culture Warriors Artist Floor Talk
Vernon Ah Kee
Tuesdays at 11am & 1pm
Wonderlust – Home
Wednesdays at 11am & 1pm
Indigenous Art Awards
Thursdays at 11am & 1pm
A fresh look at pottery in the
Centenary Galleries
Friday Focus at 12.30pm
The great metaphysical interior
by Imants Tillers
Fridays at 2pm
Treasures from the WA Collection
Saturdays at 1pm
A tour of your collection
Sunday 2, 9, 16 & 23 at 11am
& 1pm
Culture Warriors
Sunday 30 at 11am & 1pm
A tour of your collection
DECEMBER
Tuesdays at 11am & 1pm
Wonderlust – Story
Wednesdays at 11am & 1pm
Wonderlust – Presence
Thursdays at 11am & 1pm
Wonderlust – Mapping
Friday Focus at 12.30pm
Tete de Denus by Renoir
Fridays at 2pm
Wonderlust – Material Gesture
Saturdays at 1pm
A tour of your State Collection
Sundays at 11am & 1pm
Indigenous Art Awards
Advertised tours may be subject to change.
We apologise for any inconvenience.
The Gallery will be closed on
Christmas Day. There will be
no tours on Boxing Day.
Art in Bloom 2008
The floral frenzy that is Art in Bloom has
settled for another year.
Like bees to the honey visitors swarmed to
see this year’s event. The Friends
welcomed around 14,000 people over the
three days of Art in Bloom.
The opening night was a triumph. Drawing
inspiration from Jean-Honoré Fragonard’s
Girl on a swing it featured a gob-smacking
burlesque trapeze against a back drop of
film noir images from throughout the ages.
With thousands of fresh and handmade
flowers on display, and creative genius
filling every nook and cranny the Gallery
was a spectacle to behold.
The People have spoken
Congratulations to the Art in Bloom
entrants who were voted best in show by
our visitors.
Taking out first place was Rebecca Grace
who created a sublime pastel orb
fashioned using delicate orchids
illuminated by a light box as a tribute to
Howard Taylor’s Day time moon.
Thank you to our generous Art in Bloom
sponsors for 2008.
Partner
Media Partner
We look forward to seeing you at the 10th
anniversary of Art in Bloom in 2010.
1st place
Rebecca Grace – Florist
Day time moon – Howard Taylor
Above: 2nd place
Kelly Canby – Floral designer
Old Waterwheel – Authur Boyd
Below: Honourable mention
Lovell Anstee-Brook – Artist
Untitled (Body painting) – Emily Kngwarreye
Above: 3rd place
Susan Shepherd – Florist/artist and Kaylene
Poon – Secretary, Chung Wah Association
La Robe Chinoise – Hilda Rix Nicholas
Below: Honourable mention
Tanya Lee and Jacqueline Ball –
Honors Art Students
The Seven Sisters – Angilya Mitchell
Honourable mention
Gary Giles – Interior designer
Looking towards Mornington Crescent
Station, Night – Frank Auerbach

Calendar of Events
ADFAS LECTURE
Worcester Porcelain with Royal Connections
Mr Harry Frost
Since the 1770s the Worcester factory has been
producing porcelain for the Royal family. This lecture will
be dripping with breathtaking porcelain examples
including some of the finest banqueting services ever
produced, ornamental items and presentation pieces.
Don’t miss the opportunity to see and learn about the
services manufactured for the marriage of Queen
Elizabeth II in 1947.
Monday 6 October, Alexander Library Auditorium
6.15pm refreshments / 6.45pm lecture commences
$30 members / $40 guests
WELCOME MORNING FOR NEW MEMBERS
Meet some of the Councillors and fellow new members at
this informal morning tea in the Friends’ Room. It’s a great
opportunity to learn how to make the most of your
membership. The morning also includes a guided tour of
the Gallery.
Sunday 12 October and Sunday 23 November, 10.30am
Friends’ Room, Art Gallery of Western Australia
Free to new members / $5 existing members and guests
RSVP to 9492 6750
STUDIO VISIT: Leon Pericles
Leon Pericles opens his studio to the Friends for a fun
and thought-provoking evening. His works are detailed
and whimsical flights of artistic imagination. Join us as we
explore Leon’s rich tapestry of paintings, etchings and
collagraphs, while enjoying fine wine and canapés, and of
course entertaining company.
Friday 24 October
6.00pm – 8.00pm (address on ticket)
$20 members / $28 guests
SPECIAL FRIENDS’ SCREENING: Caravaggio
Caravaggio is a mesmerizing and beguiling new biopic
about the master Renaissance painter that captures the
man as well as his work.
As part of the 2008 Lavazza Italian Film Festival, our
friends at Cinema Paradiso have arranged this special
screening of Caravaggio for the Friends, coinciding with
the only public screening of the film. See page 5 for more
information.
Saturday 25 October, Cinema Paradiso
1.30pm afternoon tea / 2.15pm film screening
$21 members / $26 guests
If you would like to receive more information about
Friends events in our e-update please send your
email address to friends@artgallery.wa.gov.au
LUNCH AMIDST THE ROSES
Helen and John Hyde open their magnificent home and
grounds at Ellenbee Chidlow to the Friends. Enjoy a
delicious lunch surrounded by the classic splendour of
550 rose bushes bursting with blooms, encircled by the
raw beauty of native bushland. Then venture inside to view
the Hyde’s collection of Australian and European art and
etchings, including special pieces by their daughter Ros.
Sunday 2 November, noon at the venue
Address (with map) on ticket
$45 members / $55 guests (event only – self drive)
$72 members / $77 guests (event and bus transport –
departs Beaufort Street at 10.30am)
GALLERY VISIT: Seva Frangos Art
Join us at Seva Frangos’ Subiaco gallery to celebrate the
opening of Peggy Griffiths’ new exhibition which depicts
her traditional country within the Keep River National Park
in the East Kimberley. A sumptuous morning tea will be
served. See page 5 for more information.
Wednesday 12 November
10.00am - 11.30am (address on ticket)
$18 members / $25 guests
CHRISTMAS PARTY – Bubbles and baubles
on the Terrace
As we farewell another fun-filled year, we welcome the
Gallery’s new Director Dr Stefano Carboni, who will join
us to spread some festive cheer at the Friends
Christmas Party.
This stellar occasion will come with all the trimmings –
chilled champagne, fine wines and gourmet treats.
Sunday 7 December, Art Gallery of Western Australia
6.00pm – 8.00pm
$25 members / $35 guests
FILM MORNING: Kabbarli – a story of
Daisy Bates
Our film, Kabbarli (grandmother) explores the
extraordinary life of Daisy Bates and her passionate
involvement with Australian Aborigines. The film
interweaves fiction, biography, history and memory.
We’ll then head upstairs to view Monnop, a painting by
Christopher Pease. Monnop performed the last corroboree
in Perth in 1907 and Daisy included him in her writings.
Monday 15 December, Art Gallery Theatrette
10.00am morning tea / 10.30am film / 11.30am tour
$18 members / $23 guests
Peggy Griffiths
Jinamoom and
Water Lily (detail)
2008 140 x 100 cm
Natural ochre
on canvas
Courtesy of the artist,
Waringarri Aboriginal
Arts & Seva
Frangos Art
FOR BOOKINGS PHONE 9492 6750