Return of an icon
Few images can evoke Australia - or perhaps more
accurately, what it is to be Australian, than Sidney Nolan's Ned
Kelly series. These iconic images form as much a part of our nation's
shared narrative as the legendary figure that is their subject.
But Nolan was far more than a one-trick pony, as the Art Gallery
of NSW seeks to illustrate through its exhibition, Sidney
Nolan: A New Retrospective.
This will be the first major retrospective of Nolan’s
paintings since his death in 1992. The rather remarkable speed
of his execution and his prolific output – estimated to
be many thousands of paintings – has always proven a dilemma
for the many retrospectives during his lifetime, the last being
organised by the National Gallery of Victoria in 1987 for the
artist’s 70th birthday.
The exhibition features many of Nolan’s finest
masterpieces; some 120 paintings gathered from public and private
collections in Australia, London, the United States and France.
Many have rarely been seen in public, which the gallery hopes
will thereby contribute to a fresh experience for a younger generation,
and perhaps rediscovery for those who feel they are already familiar
with the artist.
As Barry Pearce, curator of the exhibition, puts it:
‘Painting was the outer skin of Nolan’s
thought process, formed with an often disconcerting momentum
which revealed flashes of sheer genius. Inventiveness, lyricism
and a strong sense of the theatrical; these are the keys to
this survey, concentrating on the peaks of excellence.’
The paintings will be displayed in strict chronological
order, designed to underline the evolution of Nolan’s vision
from its genesis in Melbourne during the late 1930s to the UK
some 50 years later. Each critical phase is represented, from
the St Kilda and Wimmera themes, through the first Ned Kelly series,
Central and Northern Australian landscapes and explorer subjects,
African, Antarctic and European paintings, to Chinese and Australian-inspired
abstractions.
The AGNSW has placed an emphasis on the late, spray-painted,
Chinese landscapes and abstractions, which in some ways are an
echo of how Nolan began in the highly charged years of his adolescence.
Beneath the originality of his approach to landscape, nature and
history themes over more than 50 years, there was an enduring
passion for the purely formal possibilities of painting.
‘...
my initial idea as a boy was that abstract painting was the way
I wanted to express myself... But with things like Ned Kelly...
I saw an opportunity to use my knowledge of abstraction in that
cause... The Kelly paintings, really, are as abstract as they
are anecdotal.’ - Sidney Nolan
Driven forward at velocity by a powerful instinct,
Nolan was aware of the bewilderment felt by critics at his diversity
of styles and subject.
It helps to remember in this regard the most consistent
influences which inspired him constantly to challenge conventional
boundaries and go beyond them: the poets Rimbaud, Blake and Rilke.
His faith in their ideas fed his impulse to travel
to all corners of the planet with an insatiable curiosity to discover
the extent of the unknown that his painting might encompass.
Some of Nolan’s most famous paintings are
included, such as Boy and the moon 1939-40, the iconic Kelly masterpiece
First class marksman 1946, Pretty polly mine 1948, Burke and Wills
leaving Melbourne 1950, The temptation of St Anthony 1952 and
Rimbaud at Harar 1963.
The epicentre of the retrospective however, is the
historic conjoining in two semi-circles – echoing Monet’s
famous waterlilies murals in Paris – of the multi-panel
paintings Riverbend I 1964-65 and Riverbend II 1965-66, where
we may become immersed in Nolan’s dreamlike return to the
inner landscape of his childhood, made indelible long before he
gained a reputation as one of Australia’s greatest artists.
Riverbend I and II evoke the place where the artist’s grandfather
struggled on the land, and as a policeman pursued the Kelly gang,
embedding at once in Nolan’s psyche the refrain of a violent
past and a deep love of the Australian bush.
'Although this discovery of truth about Australia
is an important element in his work, I think it can be overstated.
For Nolan is not at all a factual artist. He is, on the contrary,
a man of active and disquieting imagination, and one of the fascinating
things about his work is its unpredictability.' - Kenneth
Clark, 1961
A fully illustrated catalogue will accompany the
exhibition. Published by Beagle Press, the catalogue includes
a major essay by the curator Barry Pearce and contributions by
Edmund Capon, Frances Lindsay and Lou Klepac, with Nolan’s
own eloquent words woven throughout. The AGNSW has also designed
a series of events to complement the exhibition. Details are:
EXHIBITION TOURS
Daily guided tours 12pm and 2pm, Wednesdays 7.15pm
Short film - Nolan in his own words Free daily screenings
Audio tour $6, $5 members/conc.
LECTURE
SERIES
Dreamers: Australian Painters and the Poetic Imagination
From 16 September for six weeks - Sundays 10.30am - 1pm
The Art Gallery Society of New South Wales is host an exciting
new lecture series in the lead-up to the Sidney Nolan retrospective.
Dreamers: Australian Painters and the Poetic Imagination draws
together a diverse group of speakers – academics and curators,
painters, poets and composers – to reveal the poetic sources
and aspirations which have nourished individual creators in Australia.
Beginning and ending with talks and performances devoted to the
remarkable imagination of Sidney Nolan, each week brings a particular
focus to the work of a different artist central to the rich and
varied narrative landscape of modern Australian painting. Each
session commences with a keynote lecture and ,after a morning
coffee break, the session resumes with a diverse program of panel
discussions, literary readings and musical recordings.
Full program and booking details
SIDNEY NOLAN SYMPOSIUM
Saturday 3 November 10am - 3pm
Considers such themes as Nolan's poetic and philosophical sources,
his time at Heide in the company of the Reeds, and his relations
with the wider Australian avant-garde. This symposium provides
a fascinating context for the deeper understanding of this remarkable
exhibition.
Speakers: Edmund Capon, director, Art Gallery of New South Wales,
Barry Pearce, head curator of Australian art, Art Gallery of New
South Wales, Dr Janine Bourke, art historian, Dr Richard Haese,
senior lecturer in art history, La Trobe University.
Cost $60 / $50 members, includes lunch and exhibition entry
Bookings: Art Gallery Society of New South Wales
tel (02) 9225 1878 or email bookings@artgallerysociety.org.au
ART AFTER HOURS
Every Wednesday the Gallery and the Sidney Nolan
exhibition are open until 9pm
Exhibition talks 5.30pm
7 Nov Barry Pearce
14 Nov Lou Klepac
21 Nov Deborah Edwards
28 Nov Natalie Wilson
5 Dec DiVerse poetry reading
12 Dec DiVerse poetry reading
Celebrity talks 6.30pm
7 Nov Warren Fahey, folklore collector, author, broadcaster and
performer. Australian bush songs and rare bushranger ballads
14 Nov Libbi Gorr, comedian, broadcaster and TV presenter. Nolan,
Ned and Naughty
21 Nov Paul Kelly via video presentation. Thoughts on Nolan and
new film clip
28 Nov Stuart Purves, director Australian Galleries. Memories
of an art dealer
5 Dec Paul McDermott and Flacco,stars of ABC TV’s The Sideshow.
Flacco discusses Much ado about Nolan and Paul responds with Nolan:
beyond the wordplay and simplistic puns
12 Dec Sydney Gay & Lesbian Choir singing Australian carols
and folksongs
19 Dec Kim Cunio & Heather Lee perform the music of Hildegard
von Bingen
2 Jan Marty Murphy, writer and comedian. Is that a bucket on your
head?
9 Jan Patricia Lovell with cinematographer John Seale. Australian
landscape in film
16 Jan David Marr, author and journalist. Walking the Art Gallery
of New South Wales with Sid Nolan and Patrick White
23 Jan Wendy Whiteley Australian artists abroad and other stories,
including meeting Sidney Nolan
30 Jan Moffatt Oxenbould, former artistic director of Opera Australia.
Nolan in the Opera House
Lectures 7.30pm
Centenary Auditorium. Learn about the historical context and personal
history of Sidney Nolan.
14 Nov Sheona White – Angry Feet
21 Nov Ursula Prunster – The Ern Malley affair
28 Nov Nancy Underhill – Nolan and the British Establishment
5 Dec Jethro Lyne – Nolan and the theology of painting
FILM PROGRAM
Westerns: Outlaws and Outsiders
Wednesdays 2pm & 7.15pm, Sundays 2pm (plus additional screenings)
The myth-haunted, arid landscapes of Sidney Nolan have parallels
in the Western film genre. With stories that centre on the life
of semi-nomadic wanderers, outlaws and outsiders, Westerns often
depict the discordance of the land, people, history and mythology.
This series presents a rare opportunity to view Westerns as they
were intended to be seen – on the big screen. Highlights
include High noon (dir: Fred Zinnemann 1952), A Fistful of Dollars
(dir: Sergio Leone 1964) and The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
(Dir: Tommy Lee Jones 2005).
FOR FAMILIES
Children’s Trail (also available online)
An activity trail through the exhibition for children aged 6–12
years.
Free with exhibition entry.
Australian Folklore Performance
14–18 Jan, 1.30pm
Using stories and music Gerard Cafe brings Australian legends
and heroes to life in this interactive performance.
Children’s Holiday Workshops
7–18 January 08
Painting and Mixed Media workshops.
For bookings and information:
(02) 9225 1740 or pp@ag.nsw.gov.au
www.gallerykids.com.au
David Edwards
