The author of books including "Inside the Art Market: Australia's Galleries, A History" (Thames & Hudson), "A Quiet Revolution: The Rise of Australian Art 1946-68" (Text Publishing), "A Quest for Enlightenment: The Art of Roger Kemp" (Macmillan), "Defining the Modern Australian Landscape: Russell Drysdale" (Wakefield Press), "Discovering Dobell" (Wakefield Press), "The Compassion of Captain Cook" (Connor Court); and contributing author of "Australian Painting 1788-2000" (Oxford University Press).
Review(s) of: Rick Amor, by Gavin Fry, Beagle Press, 216 pp, $120 rrp. Includes endnotes. Include... more Review(s) of: Rick Amor, by Gavin Fry, Beagle Press, 216 pp, $120 rrp. Includes endnotes. Includes photos.
Over several weeks in June-July 1952, Sidney Nolan made a long trip through the Northern Territor... more Over several weeks in June-July 1952, Sidney Nolan made a long trip through the Northern Territory and outback Queensland. He was there to record for a Brisbane newspaper the effects of the then worst drought in memory.
The article discusses how at times he stopped making drawings and took photographs instead, mostly of the desicated carcasses of dead cattle and horses. Strongly indebted to Picasso's wartime still-lives featuring bull and goat skulls, and also human remains he had see when visiting archeological excavations at Pompeii, Nolan employed photography to explore and press emphatically existentialist themes.
This is a discussion and appraisal of a pilot program, in a govt school in NSW, designed to deter... more This is a discussion and appraisal of a pilot program, in a govt school in NSW, designed to deter young children from adopting racist values. Running for two weeks, the program was filmed throughout by ABC television. The discussion points out the program is politically motivated, and was designed with no reference to child psychology. In particular, ideas were forced upon young children who were not developmentally mature enough to deal with such matters (students were confused, distressed, some crying). The discussion chiefly focusses on divergences between the politically oriented classroom tasks and educational psychology, highlighting where the program contravened approved teaching practice in Australia. It is pointed out that the program has been developed by social psychologists who work entirely with adults, not children; likewise most tasks are copied from adult programs, and are not suitable for young children. It also points to how many of the tasks given to the primary-school aged students are already used in secondary education, were youngsters are mature enough to handle the material and issues. And also that the program was itself racially prejudiced, making false social assumptions about white students. The author refers here to his experiences teaching in urban areas of significant disadvantage. The discussion stresses that educational psychologists and professional educators need to be brought in on all aspects of planning, design and implementation before any such program is introduced into Australian schools.
The man walked over and smashed the winning sculpture. Quite deliberately, then and there in the ... more The man walked over and smashed the winning sculpture. Quite deliberately, then and there in the Tate Gallery. He struck it, then pushed it from the pedestal, raising his voice and, in fractured English, abusing the exhibition's organisers. It was March 16, 1953, in the first week of an international art prize honouring victims of political oppression.
They swung into hushed action in early morning a few months ago, just before 1.30 a.m. on Monday,... more They swung into hushed action in early morning a few months ago, just before 1.30 a.m. on Monday, April 24. A large contingent of New Orleans police barricaded off Iberville Street and Canal Place, temporary lighting was set up, and police snipers were stationed on a parking garage and other buildings with a clear view overlooking the Battle of Liberty Place monument.
The article examines the Still Life paintings of the major Australian artist John Brack (1920-199... more The article examines the Still Life paintings of the major Australian artist John Brack (1920-1999), specifically his "battle" series. It explains how we can understand these strange modernist pictures - which depict groups of pencils, pens and playing cards gathered on table tops - as signifying battles. Several specific paintings are analysed. Noting Brack's reference in conversation to Tolstoy, the discussion sets the paintings against the Russian novelist's explanation (in an article on "War & Peace") of how an artist or writer can represent something as complex as a battle. Especial attention is focussed on the still life painting based on a diagram of the Battle of Waterloo. The last part of the discussion probes the potential meaning of the later "Battle" still-life paintings, where the playing cards spell out words. A potential allusion here to Richard Hoggart's "The Uses of Literacy" is tested. pp8.
The article traces the start of a shift in mainstream crime movies over 1967-71, looking beyond c... more The article traces the start of a shift in mainstream crime movies over 1967-71, looking beyond customary fixation on plot and character, in order to highlight links with social change, and new developments in the justice system and policing. Examining in sequence 'Bullitt', 'Get Carter', 'The French Connection' and 'Dirty Harry', initial stress is placed upon how the respective films were shot and how camera crews handled scenes. The article starts with how the directors of the four films consciously rejected the received conventions of 1960s crime movies, and embraced cinema verite. It briefly shows how 'Bullitt' introduced/pioneered a new approach to film even as it invoked plot formulas lingering from Hollywood cowboy movies. 'Get Carter' and 'The French Connection' are shown to have subsequently pioneered a new mature, 'gritty', socially-alert urban realism. Scenes in both films are unpicked to reveal strong subtexts propelling the story, and the view of urban life it presses. The article then foregrounds the turbulent events of 1967-68, especially in San Francisco, as well as how the US Supreme Court forced changes in the practice of policing. It then explores how 'Dirty Harry' initially aimed to respond to these factors by showing an old-style policeman hampered by the new regulations that had just been introduced. The article finishes by indicating how crime movies then quickly undermined these breakthroughs by settling into a new set of safe conventions. 11 pp.
Mueck Brothers, a pair of model-makers cum sculptors had a workshop called the Fantasy Workshop i... more Mueck Brothers, a pair of model-makers cum sculptors had a workshop called the Fantasy Workshop in Melbourne. They were extremely famous and creative for making different items like puppets, alien masks and costumes. Their work and different ventures are discussed in the article.
In December 1873 the Victorian goldmining town of Clunes, about thirty kilometres north of Ballar... more In December 1873 the Victorian goldmining town of Clunes, about thirty kilometres north of Ballarat, was the scene for what is remembered as a major uprising against Chinese miners. This event is cited in assorted histories of Australian society in the nineteenth century, often being placed in terms of size and violence close behind the riots at Lambing Flat in 1861 and Buckland River in 1857.
The article explores the manifestly allegorical nature of Kurosawa's controversial 1950 f... more The article explores the manifestly allegorical nature of Kurosawa's controversial 1950 film Rashomon, and how it was directly responding to the dishonesty of individuals called before recent war crimes trials (1946-48). After noting the overt symbolism of the film's opening setting, which manifestly alludes to the plight of Japan, the trials which dominated the nation's media in the late 1940s are also discussed (it notes 29 employees of the film company had been purged). As is stated at the film's onset, the community was distressed because it was evident that lies were being told and the truth concealed: similarly, in post-war Japan no one knew who to believe about war atrocities. Testimony is compromised, Rashomon shows, because the guilty seek to hide their misdeeds. A direct comparison is made with Clouzot's film from the Nazi-Occupation Period, Le Corbeau of 1943, which told a story of village life to likewise highlight dishonesty and betrayal in time of war. As with Rashomon, there was a local backlash against the film due to the plain, if uncomfortable contemporary message it delivered. Kurosawa's use of a medieval setting/story to moralise, again, about post-war Japan in his later samurai films, 'Seven Samurai' and 'Yojimbo', is considered; although, as is pointed out, his allegorical purpose was completely lacking in the popular Western versions of these films, 'The Magnificent Seven' and 'A Fistful of Dollars'. (Another cowboy film, 'High Noon', is praised in passing and likened to Kurosawa's approach.) Rashomon's seeming influence on Ingmar Bergman's 'The Seventh Seal', another allegorical tale of ethics and personal conduct against a medieval war setting, is also highlighted. 5pp
It was shortly after the Second World War and Wolfgang Sievers had landed a photoshoot of a busy ... more It was shortly after the Second World War and Wolfgang Sievers had landed a photoshoot of a busy Melbourne factory. The company wanted photographs for publicity purposes: 'He wandered all over the place, taking shots of what interested him,' recalls Ross Heathcote, in those days a young engineer with the suburban firm. However, there was consternation in the office when the prints were later delivered. In his pursuit of visually stimulating compositions, Sievers featured unfinished and blemished products. 'They were beaut photos,' my father continues, 'but not what was needed. It looked like we were manufacturing with shoddy steel, so the owner just binned a pile of Wolf 's prints.'
The article assesses a controversial interpretation of Arthur Boyd’s 1950s “Bride” paintings, and... more The article assesses a controversial interpretation of Arthur Boyd’s 1950s “Bride” paintings, and their relationship to Aboriginal issues, which has been advanced by Anna Haebich of Curtin University, Ann McGrath of the Australian National University, and Kendrah Morgan of the Heide Museum of Modern Art. Having scrutinised their arguments - closely rechecking evidence, consulting sources, testing analytical rigor, and setting claims against the paintings concerned - the article finds significant deficiencies in the respective authors' claims. Among other shortcomings, all three authors refer to fictitious works of art. One of them is also shown to use invented evidence to make her case. The article ends by asking whether Australian art history is being redacted so as to make it conform to current politically correct agendas. 10pp.
Fort Apache is set in the aftermath of the US Civil War. The American west should be at peace, bu... more Fort Apache is set in the aftermath of the US Civil War. The American west should be at peace, but it is treacherously unstable because the Indian nations are restless. John Ford's 1948 film follows the friction between two men against this background. There is the skilled and well-liked Indian fighter, Captain Kirby York (John Wayne), who has been passed over for command. His rival, Lieutenant-Colonel Owen Thursday (Henry Fonda), is a prickly West Point poodle assigned an outpost he considers uncouth and beneath him. The film culminates in Fonda ignoring Wayne's expert counsel and leading a large cavalry unit into what will be a massacre by the Indians-afterwards, the same bloody victors will merge with Crazy Horse's force and storm into battle at Little Bighorn. The premise of Fort Apache seems pregnant with significance, because there are such intriguing parallels between Ford's film and political tensions of its day. War is over, but peace is tenuous; the fort is...
The visual and technical excellence evident in Jeffrey Smart's paintings, displayed in an exh... more The visual and technical excellence evident in Jeffrey Smart's paintings, displayed in an exhibition of his works at Australian Galleries, Sydney, is analysed. The compositional geometry employed in his paintings such as 'King of the Castle', 'The Red Box?' and 'Arezzo Station II', which combine depicted objects, shapes and colours in an interdependent manner to form a whole work, is discussed.
The article provides a new perspective on John Brack's paintings, particularly Collins Street... more The article provides a new perspective on John Brack's paintings, particularly Collins Street, 5.00 pm.
Review(s) of: Rick Amor, by Gavin Fry, Beagle Press, 216 pp, $120 rrp. Includes endnotes. Include... more Review(s) of: Rick Amor, by Gavin Fry, Beagle Press, 216 pp, $120 rrp. Includes endnotes. Includes photos.
Over several weeks in June-July 1952, Sidney Nolan made a long trip through the Northern Territor... more Over several weeks in June-July 1952, Sidney Nolan made a long trip through the Northern Territory and outback Queensland. He was there to record for a Brisbane newspaper the effects of the then worst drought in memory.
The article discusses how at times he stopped making drawings and took photographs instead, mostly of the desicated carcasses of dead cattle and horses. Strongly indebted to Picasso's wartime still-lives featuring bull and goat skulls, and also human remains he had see when visiting archeological excavations at Pompeii, Nolan employed photography to explore and press emphatically existentialist themes.
This is a discussion and appraisal of a pilot program, in a govt school in NSW, designed to deter... more This is a discussion and appraisal of a pilot program, in a govt school in NSW, designed to deter young children from adopting racist values. Running for two weeks, the program was filmed throughout by ABC television. The discussion points out the program is politically motivated, and was designed with no reference to child psychology. In particular, ideas were forced upon young children who were not developmentally mature enough to deal with such matters (students were confused, distressed, some crying). The discussion chiefly focusses on divergences between the politically oriented classroom tasks and educational psychology, highlighting where the program contravened approved teaching practice in Australia. It is pointed out that the program has been developed by social psychologists who work entirely with adults, not children; likewise most tasks are copied from adult programs, and are not suitable for young children. It also points to how many of the tasks given to the primary-school aged students are already used in secondary education, were youngsters are mature enough to handle the material and issues. And also that the program was itself racially prejudiced, making false social assumptions about white students. The author refers here to his experiences teaching in urban areas of significant disadvantage. The discussion stresses that educational psychologists and professional educators need to be brought in on all aspects of planning, design and implementation before any such program is introduced into Australian schools.
The man walked over and smashed the winning sculpture. Quite deliberately, then and there in the ... more The man walked over and smashed the winning sculpture. Quite deliberately, then and there in the Tate Gallery. He struck it, then pushed it from the pedestal, raising his voice and, in fractured English, abusing the exhibition's organisers. It was March 16, 1953, in the first week of an international art prize honouring victims of political oppression.
They swung into hushed action in early morning a few months ago, just before 1.30 a.m. on Monday,... more They swung into hushed action in early morning a few months ago, just before 1.30 a.m. on Monday, April 24. A large contingent of New Orleans police barricaded off Iberville Street and Canal Place, temporary lighting was set up, and police snipers were stationed on a parking garage and other buildings with a clear view overlooking the Battle of Liberty Place monument.
The article examines the Still Life paintings of the major Australian artist John Brack (1920-199... more The article examines the Still Life paintings of the major Australian artist John Brack (1920-1999), specifically his "battle" series. It explains how we can understand these strange modernist pictures - which depict groups of pencils, pens and playing cards gathered on table tops - as signifying battles. Several specific paintings are analysed. Noting Brack's reference in conversation to Tolstoy, the discussion sets the paintings against the Russian novelist's explanation (in an article on "War & Peace") of how an artist or writer can represent something as complex as a battle. Especial attention is focussed on the still life painting based on a diagram of the Battle of Waterloo. The last part of the discussion probes the potential meaning of the later "Battle" still-life paintings, where the playing cards spell out words. A potential allusion here to Richard Hoggart's "The Uses of Literacy" is tested. pp8.
The article traces the start of a shift in mainstream crime movies over 1967-71, looking beyond c... more The article traces the start of a shift in mainstream crime movies over 1967-71, looking beyond customary fixation on plot and character, in order to highlight links with social change, and new developments in the justice system and policing. Examining in sequence 'Bullitt', 'Get Carter', 'The French Connection' and 'Dirty Harry', initial stress is placed upon how the respective films were shot and how camera crews handled scenes. The article starts with how the directors of the four films consciously rejected the received conventions of 1960s crime movies, and embraced cinema verite. It briefly shows how 'Bullitt' introduced/pioneered a new approach to film even as it invoked plot formulas lingering from Hollywood cowboy movies. 'Get Carter' and 'The French Connection' are shown to have subsequently pioneered a new mature, 'gritty', socially-alert urban realism. Scenes in both films are unpicked to reveal strong subtexts propelling the story, and the view of urban life it presses. The article then foregrounds the turbulent events of 1967-68, especially in San Francisco, as well as how the US Supreme Court forced changes in the practice of policing. It then explores how 'Dirty Harry' initially aimed to respond to these factors by showing an old-style policeman hampered by the new regulations that had just been introduced. The article finishes by indicating how crime movies then quickly undermined these breakthroughs by settling into a new set of safe conventions. 11 pp.
Mueck Brothers, a pair of model-makers cum sculptors had a workshop called the Fantasy Workshop i... more Mueck Brothers, a pair of model-makers cum sculptors had a workshop called the Fantasy Workshop in Melbourne. They were extremely famous and creative for making different items like puppets, alien masks and costumes. Their work and different ventures are discussed in the article.
In December 1873 the Victorian goldmining town of Clunes, about thirty kilometres north of Ballar... more In December 1873 the Victorian goldmining town of Clunes, about thirty kilometres north of Ballarat, was the scene for what is remembered as a major uprising against Chinese miners. This event is cited in assorted histories of Australian society in the nineteenth century, often being placed in terms of size and violence close behind the riots at Lambing Flat in 1861 and Buckland River in 1857.
The article explores the manifestly allegorical nature of Kurosawa's controversial 1950 f... more The article explores the manifestly allegorical nature of Kurosawa's controversial 1950 film Rashomon, and how it was directly responding to the dishonesty of individuals called before recent war crimes trials (1946-48). After noting the overt symbolism of the film's opening setting, which manifestly alludes to the plight of Japan, the trials which dominated the nation's media in the late 1940s are also discussed (it notes 29 employees of the film company had been purged). As is stated at the film's onset, the community was distressed because it was evident that lies were being told and the truth concealed: similarly, in post-war Japan no one knew who to believe about war atrocities. Testimony is compromised, Rashomon shows, because the guilty seek to hide their misdeeds. A direct comparison is made with Clouzot's film from the Nazi-Occupation Period, Le Corbeau of 1943, which told a story of village life to likewise highlight dishonesty and betrayal in time of war. As with Rashomon, there was a local backlash against the film due to the plain, if uncomfortable contemporary message it delivered. Kurosawa's use of a medieval setting/story to moralise, again, about post-war Japan in his later samurai films, 'Seven Samurai' and 'Yojimbo', is considered; although, as is pointed out, his allegorical purpose was completely lacking in the popular Western versions of these films, 'The Magnificent Seven' and 'A Fistful of Dollars'. (Another cowboy film, 'High Noon', is praised in passing and likened to Kurosawa's approach.) Rashomon's seeming influence on Ingmar Bergman's 'The Seventh Seal', another allegorical tale of ethics and personal conduct against a medieval war setting, is also highlighted. 5pp
It was shortly after the Second World War and Wolfgang Sievers had landed a photoshoot of a busy ... more It was shortly after the Second World War and Wolfgang Sievers had landed a photoshoot of a busy Melbourne factory. The company wanted photographs for publicity purposes: 'He wandered all over the place, taking shots of what interested him,' recalls Ross Heathcote, in those days a young engineer with the suburban firm. However, there was consternation in the office when the prints were later delivered. In his pursuit of visually stimulating compositions, Sievers featured unfinished and blemished products. 'They were beaut photos,' my father continues, 'but not what was needed. It looked like we were manufacturing with shoddy steel, so the owner just binned a pile of Wolf 's prints.'
The article assesses a controversial interpretation of Arthur Boyd’s 1950s “Bride” paintings, and... more The article assesses a controversial interpretation of Arthur Boyd’s 1950s “Bride” paintings, and their relationship to Aboriginal issues, which has been advanced by Anna Haebich of Curtin University, Ann McGrath of the Australian National University, and Kendrah Morgan of the Heide Museum of Modern Art. Having scrutinised their arguments - closely rechecking evidence, consulting sources, testing analytical rigor, and setting claims against the paintings concerned - the article finds significant deficiencies in the respective authors' claims. Among other shortcomings, all three authors refer to fictitious works of art. One of them is also shown to use invented evidence to make her case. The article ends by asking whether Australian art history is being redacted so as to make it conform to current politically correct agendas. 10pp.
Fort Apache is set in the aftermath of the US Civil War. The American west should be at peace, bu... more Fort Apache is set in the aftermath of the US Civil War. The American west should be at peace, but it is treacherously unstable because the Indian nations are restless. John Ford's 1948 film follows the friction between two men against this background. There is the skilled and well-liked Indian fighter, Captain Kirby York (John Wayne), who has been passed over for command. His rival, Lieutenant-Colonel Owen Thursday (Henry Fonda), is a prickly West Point poodle assigned an outpost he considers uncouth and beneath him. The film culminates in Fonda ignoring Wayne's expert counsel and leading a large cavalry unit into what will be a massacre by the Indians-afterwards, the same bloody victors will merge with Crazy Horse's force and storm into battle at Little Bighorn. The premise of Fort Apache seems pregnant with significance, because there are such intriguing parallels between Ford's film and political tensions of its day. War is over, but peace is tenuous; the fort is...
The visual and technical excellence evident in Jeffrey Smart's paintings, displayed in an exh... more The visual and technical excellence evident in Jeffrey Smart's paintings, displayed in an exhibition of his works at Australian Galleries, Sydney, is analysed. The compositional geometry employed in his paintings such as 'King of the Castle', 'The Red Box?' and 'Arezzo Station II', which combine depicted objects, shapes and colours in an interdependent manner to form a whole work, is discussed.
The article provides a new perspective on John Brack's paintings, particularly Collins Street... more The article provides a new perspective on John Brack's paintings, particularly Collins Street, 5.00 pm.
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Papers by Christopher Heathcote
The article discusses how at times he stopped making drawings and took photographs instead, mostly of the desicated carcasses of dead cattle and horses. Strongly indebted to Picasso's wartime still-lives featuring bull and goat skulls, and also human remains he had see when visiting archeological excavations at Pompeii, Nolan employed photography to explore and press emphatically existentialist themes.
The discussion points out the program is politically motivated, and was designed with no reference to child psychology. In particular, ideas were forced upon young children who were not developmentally mature enough to deal with such matters (students were confused, distressed, some crying). The discussion chiefly focusses on divergences between the politically oriented classroom tasks and educational psychology, highlighting where the program contravened approved teaching practice in Australia. It is pointed out that the program has been developed by social psychologists who work entirely with adults, not children; likewise most tasks are copied from adult programs, and are not suitable for young children.
It also points to how many of the tasks given to the primary-school aged students are already used in secondary education, were youngsters are mature enough to handle the material and issues. And also that the program was itself racially prejudiced, making false social assumptions about white students. The author refers here to his experiences teaching in urban areas of significant disadvantage.
The discussion stresses that educational psychologists and professional educators need to be brought in on all aspects of planning, design and implementation before any such program is introduced into Australian schools.
The article discusses how at times he stopped making drawings and took photographs instead, mostly of the desicated carcasses of dead cattle and horses. Strongly indebted to Picasso's wartime still-lives featuring bull and goat skulls, and also human remains he had see when visiting archeological excavations at Pompeii, Nolan employed photography to explore and press emphatically existentialist themes.
The discussion points out the program is politically motivated, and was designed with no reference to child psychology. In particular, ideas were forced upon young children who were not developmentally mature enough to deal with such matters (students were confused, distressed, some crying). The discussion chiefly focusses on divergences between the politically oriented classroom tasks and educational psychology, highlighting where the program contravened approved teaching practice in Australia. It is pointed out that the program has been developed by social psychologists who work entirely with adults, not children; likewise most tasks are copied from adult programs, and are not suitable for young children.
It also points to how many of the tasks given to the primary-school aged students are already used in secondary education, were youngsters are mature enough to handle the material and issues. And also that the program was itself racially prejudiced, making false social assumptions about white students. The author refers here to his experiences teaching in urban areas of significant disadvantage.
The discussion stresses that educational psychologists and professional educators need to be brought in on all aspects of planning, design and implementation before any such program is introduced into Australian schools.