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Tag: photography

Sydney Morning Herald Column

Edward Steichen & Art Deco Fashion

Saturday, February 1st, 2014 Sydney Morning Herald Column,

When Edward Steichen (1879-1973) accepted the job as Chief Photographer for Condé Nast publications in 1923 it was taken for granted he would work under a pseudonym. Already known as both a famous art photographer and a painter, his employer realised Steichen would probably not wish to be associated with the purely commercial work he […]

Sydney Morning Herald Column

Richard Avedon: People

Saturday, September 7th, 2013 Sydney Morning Herald Column,

“Youth never moves me,” said Richard Avedon (1923-2004). “I seldom see anything very beautiful in a young face.” This may sound strange, coming from one of the most celebrated fashion photographers of the twentieth century, but it pinpoints that quality which sets Avedon apart. He had a ‘hard’ definition of beauty, as opposed to the […]

Sydney Morning Herald Column

C.J.Pyle & J.D.'Ohai Ojeikere; Mary Tonkin; Six Artists, Seven Days

Saturday, August 24th, 2013 Sydney Morning Herald Column,

After many years of exile from the high church of contemporary art, Ray Hughes is now thinking maybe there is a God. His faith has been momentarily restored by a visit from Chris Dercon, the director of Tate Modern, London, who came to Australia last month to deliver a lecture sponsored by Kaldor Public Art […]

Sydney Morning Herald Column

Jeff Wall

Saturday, May 11th, 2013 Sydney Morning Herald Column,

Even in this age of digital revolution most people will accept that a painting or a sculpture demands to be seen at first hand. Photographs, however, are a different matter. Not only are the works of every great photographer viewable on-line, they often look better in a large-format book than on the gallery wall. Not […]

Sydney Morning Herald Column

South of no North

Saturday, April 6th, 2013 Sydney Morning Herald Column,

South of no North may seem an enigmatic title for an exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art, but a moment’s reflection provides clarity. The name of this show, which brings together the work of Laurence Aberhart, William Eggleston and Noel McKenna, is borrowed from a book of short stories by Charles Bukowski (1916-1994). This […]

Sydney Morning Herald Column

Perth Festival

Saturday, March 2nd, 2013 Sydney Morning Herald Column,

With the mercury touching 40 degrees for days on end, a major attraction of the art component this year’s Perth Festival was its display in air-conditioned rooms. ‘Light’ was the overarching theme of the festival shows, although it was a relief to get out of the glare of the sun into an environment where illumination […]

Sydney Morning Herald Column

Bill Henson

Saturday, September 15th, 2012 Sydney Morning Herald Column,

No living Australian artist has a higher international profile than Bill Henson, but the esteem in which he is held overseas has not been matched at home. For a large part of the population his name conjures up the darkest, most terrifying associations. Ever since the furore of 2008, when Henson was accused of child […]

Sydney Morning Herald Column

Atget

Saturday, September 15th, 2012 Sydney Morning Herald Column,

Eugène Atget (1857-1927) is often seen as a ‘primitive’ of the camera – photography’s equivalent to the Douanier Rousseau, but this is not a fair comparison. The Douanier was a simple soul, Atget was an equally lonely figure but also a sophisticated, skillful exponent of an art form still struggling for recognition. Although he never […]

Art Essays

Growing up with Goannas

Saturday, June 23rd, 2012 Australian Art, Blog, General Art Essays,

A few months ago I advised a friend not to labour over her blog, but to write smaller, more spontaneous pieces and publish more frequently. Unfortunately, it seems I’m completely incapable of following my own good advice. The perennial gap between theory and practice – or should that be good intentions and reality? – has begun […]

Film Reviews

Bill Cunningham New York

Saturday, November 12th, 2011 Film Reviews, Other Writing,

There are many occasions in this film when one begins to wonder: “Is Bill Cunningham actually, clinically, mad?” Never in the course of a human life-time has so much energy and enthusiasm been expended on a subject that many would regard as trivial, superficial or blatantly commercial – the fashion industry. After watching this documentary […]