“Blessed are the meek,” Matthew 5:5, “for they shall inherit the earth”. A contemporary variation might read: “Blessed are the mediocre, for they shall inherit the media.”
For those who have been wondering what the Sydney Morning Herald will do to replace the dedicated art column that has been a feature of the weekend paper for decades, the answers are rolling in. Last weekend we had a piece by journo, Linda Morris, on Angelica Mesiti’s show at the Art Gallery of NSW. Presented in the same format as the recently cancelled art column, it was barely more than a press release.
In place of a critical evaluation of the show, Linda did the only thing she was capable of doing: ask the artist and the curator what it was all about. Naturally, they were only too happy to explain. The writer can’t add a single thought of her own, can’t analyse whether the artist’s intentions are realised in this installation, can’t compare it with any similar work, can’t say ‘good’ or ‘bad’. When a journo is writing about an exhbition from a position of near-total ignorance, all they can do is ask questions and write down the answers.
Yet even this is not strictly true, because a good journalist will seek a diversity of opinion. Ask the artist and the curator for their comments, but then ask more objective, knowledgeable observers what they think. This piece of writing was not criticism, it wasn’t even good journalism. It was propaganda – little more than an advertisement for the AGNSW.
The title alone, was enough to make anyone run wretching to the nearest bathroom: “Enjoy nightclubs? Try this monumental new art installation.”
I shan’t miss these imbecilic titles that some superbrain at SMH On-line sees as brilliant pieces of clickbait, but even by their standards this was absurd. Anybody going along expecting to find a “nightclub” would be horribly disappointed. What’s perhaps most remarkable is that when I went looking for this piece one week later, it had been taken down from the SMH website. Is this a reflection on its quality? On the number of hits it failed to score? Or is simply that the SMH couldn’t care less about the visual arts? Anything I’ve written is preserved in perpetuity on my website, but at the SMH today, exhibitions have an ephemeral lifespan.
This supremely bland bit of PR is a direct reflection of the gushing admiration that editor, Bevan Shields, has displayed for the AGNSW since his ascension to the top job. My criticisms of the gallery have often cut across this sycophantic approach but I’ve also been positive when the occasion demanded. Eventually, it seems, Bevan lost patience with my criticisms of his favourite things: AGNSW, NGA, APY Artists Collective, Powerhouse Museum… all entities that have received outrageous kid-gloves treatment in the SMH, when there have been many, many reasons to take a more sceptical line. Fanboy Bevan thinks I’m very “disrespectful” an “unprofessional”, but these are two-way streets. How respectful is it to continually censor and multilateral your critic’s copy without telling him what’s going to print under his name even week? How professional is it to print “supportive” stories when the topics are crying out for serious investigation?
It’s amusing whenever the SMH boasts about “our investigative reporter, Kate McClymont”. Not long ago, all journalists were investigative reporters! Now it seems Kate has the field to herself, while her colleagues rewrite press releases. In the arts, in particular, there is an imperative to be “supportive” at all costs – even if you are supporting dishonesty, laziness, incompetence, nepotism or full-scale cultural vandalism.
Because the SMH has received a considerable number of letters from local art dealers complaining about the cancelling of the art column, this week they had the brilliant idea of sending Michaela Boland around the commercial galleries to write a kind of children’s guide to buying art. I admired Michaela’s pluck when she was writing for The Australian, demanding answers from then-director, Ron Radford, over his purchases of looted Indian art, but this recent piece is, as Donald Trump would say, “sad”.
It seems to be written for people who have never set foot in a gallery, whereas I’ve always assumed the audience for the art column was a knowledgeable one. We get a fairy story about going into the long-defunct Ray Hughes Gallery, for a first magical taste of art, with Ray starring as a “gruff giant”. Next we travel to Paddington, “where, at any time, it’s possible to see more than half a dozen bespoke exhibitions.” Considerably more than half a dozen, I’d say. We learn when Martin Browne opened his gallery (1991), and how much it costs to buy a Sally Ross painting ($8-19k). Apparently these pictures would look lovely “in a large modern Australian home”.
Next we’re off to Australian Galleries for a couple of shows, “…best see them while you have the chance.” This is sage advice because it’s notoriously hard to see exhibitions when they’ve been taken down.
And on we go, to Wagner, Ros Oxley, Annette Larkin and Justin Miller, where prices are carefully listed, as part of this ongoing shopping guide. We also learn fun facts, such as: Justin used to work for Sothebys. Finally, it’s back to the late Ray Hughes, where we learn “the last” of his collection has just been sold through Shapiro’s. This, I can assure you, is very far from the truth.
Michaela! What on earth were you thinking? How much are they paying you to humiliate yourself like this???
This painful piece of writing is a transparent attempt to charm the disgruntled commercial galleries and show the SMH really cares about them. Let’s not get too upset about the paper declining to publish my piece on the Sydney Contemporary art fair, which was the biggest event of the year for most galleries. Let’s treat the galleries like idiots, and the readers like toddlers…
I defy Spectrum editor, Melanie Kembrey, or editor Bevan Shields, to say, with a straight face, that the past two weeks represents a big improvement on the art column they have cancelled. I knew it would be bad, but this is a comedy routine. What next? Gabi Coslovich to tell us more about the sufferings of Skye O’Meara and the APY crew? Lisa Havilah on her visionary plans to turn the Powerhouse Museum into a party venue?
The SMH strategy is drawn straight from Lisa’s playbook: say nothing, and hope it all blows over. Since I was ‘disappeared’ from the pages of Spectrum, there has not been a single word of explanation in the SMH. Of the hundreds of letters of complaint they have received, not one has made into print. In fact, an art dealer told me he received a phone call from the SMH, informing him “No letters on this subject will be published.”
The tactic is to maintain a strict silence and pretend it’s all good. I would ask, on my own behalf, and on behalf of those readers who have written so many letters, could we please have an official explanation for dumping the art column? I’d very much like Melanie Kembrey and Bevan Shields to tell everyone the reasons behind this decision. Cowardly silence should not be an option. I have nothing to hide, can they say the same?
As I’ve been busy negotiating my next move, I haven’t written a new art column for this week. The film review looks at My Old Ass and The Critic, two movies that don’t get out of the second rank – albeit for totally different reasons. A quick glance at the overall responses for My Old Ass shows that, as is often the case, I’m swimming against a tide of critical opinion that has decided this rather insipid feature is poignant, moving, sad and funny. Not for the first time, I find myself marvelling at the shallowness of critical standards in an age where we’re expected to like every dumb thing that’s put in front of us. Why race to embrace mediocrity? It’s already reached armpit level, and if the last fortnight’s SMH gives any indication, we’ll soon be completely submerged.
As in previous weeks, while the SMH pursues its ‘cone of silence’ approach, I encourage all readers who value a dedicted art column to make their feelings known to those listed below. Please cc. the whole bunch, as letters addressed to only one editor will almost certainly get quietly binned.
Bevan Shields, Editor, SMH
Melanie Kembrey, Spectrum editor
Luke McIlveen, Executive Editor, SMH
Tory Maguire, Managing Director, Publishing, NINE Media
Or the Board of NINE Media
https://www.nineforbrands.com.au/about/
Mailing address for all the above:
1 Denison Street, North Sydney, NSW, 2060
PO Box: Locked Bag 999, North Sydney, NSW 2059
T +61 2 9906 9999