Art Essays
Midnight Oil: The Hardest Line
Tuesday, June 18th, 2024 Chinese Art, Film Reviews,When a rock band enjoys a career of 45 years and sells more than 20 million albums, they probably qualify as legends. They may also be overdue for a documentary, an omission that has now been supplied by director, Paul Clarke, who has spent the past seven years making Midnight Oil: the Hardest Line, which […]
Newsletter 282
Monday, April 15th, 2019 Art Essays, Newsletter,This week began in Canberra where I went to see The Historical Expression of Chinese Art at the National Museum of Australia. A deadly title (and not in the indigenous sense), but a pretty good show, it’s also the subject of this week’s art column. The title was a reminder of the way China is […]
Newsletter 280
Saturday, March 30th, 2019 Art Essays, Newsletter,Well it’s all over bar the blood-letting, and that will be strictly on one side of the fence after the NSW Labor Party crashed and burned in the last week of the state election campaign. With pinpoint timing the Coalition released a video of Labor leader, Michael Daley, making a foolish statement about “Asians with […]
Newsletter 279
Saturday, March 23rd, 2019 Art Essays, Newsletter,It’s the NSW State elections this weekend and the arts lobby has finally been baring its teeth, although in political terms you should think hamster rather than tiger. We’re always hearing what great communicators the arts people are, but for the most part the conversations occur within small cliques, not in the public arena. For me, […]
BOOKS. An Introduction
Friday, March 22nd, 2019 Art Essays, Books,To keep writing criticism and commentary one has to keep reading. This occasional column is intended to list the books I receive that I may or may not be able to deal with at greater length. The aim is to acknowledge books and authors rather than let them slip past invisibly. This has been on […]
Benediction
Friday, March 22nd, 2019 Art Essays, Books,BOOKS READ: Benediction By Kent Haruf Alfred A. Knopf, New York Hardback, 2013, 258 pp. Bill Henson put me onto Kent Haruf (1943-2014) a couple of years ago and I’ve been steadily working my way through his books. Benediction is the third part of a trilogy, following Plainsong (1999) and Eventide (2004). All Haruf’s […]
The I Ching
Wednesday, March 20th, 2019 Art Essays, Books,BOOKS READ: The I Ching, or Book of Changes Translated into German by Richard Wilhelm, and from the German by Cary Baynes Princeton U.P., New Jersey Hardback, 1997 (orig. 1950), 740 pp It’s not every day you finish reading the I Ching. It’s probably a peculiar thing to read it from cover to […]
Janet Laurence: After Nature
Tuesday, March 19th, 2019 Art Essays, Books,BOOKS RECEIVED: Janet Laurence: After Nature Rachel Kent ed. Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney Hardback, 2019, 264 pp I’ve got my reservations about Janet Laurence’s exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art, but there’s no disputing the quality of the catalogue. The designer, Claire Orrell, should win some sort of award for a book […]
Newsletter 278
Saturday, March 16th, 2019 Art Essays, Newsletter,After a week in New York I feel like I’ve been away for a month. Perhaps it’s the result of going from heat to cold and back to the heat – and first day back was really hot. It might also be due to my rather desperate NY gallery-going, as I tried to see everything of […]
How to Win an Election
Friday, March 15th, 2019 Art Essays, Books,BOOKS READ: How to Win an Election: An Ancient Guide for Modern Politicians By Quintus Tullius Cicero Princeton U.P. Hardback, 2012, 99 pp. With state elections looming in New South Wales, and Federal elections only two months away, this little book is the ideal gift for the aspiring politician who hasn’t quite mastered […]