Podcast appearances and mentions of Arthur Boyd

Robert Andrew's artwork features simple robotic machines, with a stylus that impulsively draws or leaves a trace; not so much artificial intelligence as incidental happenstance. Although he works with technology, Andrew has always been deeply inspired by country. So it made sense that he was invited to make work for a new group exhibition at Bundanon, the timeless yet scarred landscape that figured in the paintings of its previous owner, Arthur Boyd.Robert and Daniel chat about wombats, watercourses, and the mother of all road-trips.

Above photo of Jan Senbergs by Riste Andrievski Click play for my podcast introduction to this interview and scroll down for the transcript. Podcast listeners click here and scroll down for transcript. Watch the YouTube video of Jan Senbergs' studio and work here Links Jan Senbergs' website Jan Senbergs on Instagram Jan Senbergs at Niagara Galleries Talking with Painters YouTube channel Talking with Painters on Instagram Talking with Painters on Facebook Subscribe to the TWP newsletter PDF version  of transcript for tablet/desktop  With over six decades of work as a painter, printmaker and draughtsman, leading artist Jan Senbergs has exhibited in over 50 solo shows and has been the subject of three survey shows including a major retrospective curated by the National Gallery of Victoria in 2016. A rare accomplishment. His art evolved from early masterly screenprints to large scale paintings and with subject matter as varied as urban and natural landscapes, industrial themes, surreal structures and forms and aerial map-like works. This episode has been a long time coming. Covid threw out our plans for an early 2020 meeting but two years later we met in Jan's inspirational studio in Melbourne. His voice has been affected by some health issues and so this episode is coming to you by way of transcript (below) and an intro on the podcast. As I was setting up my audio equipment on the day of the interview, Jan and I chatted about the time he had spent in London in his 20s. We talked about other Australian artists who were there at that time. That's where the recording of the interview began. Jan Senbergs I was the younger artist who came into that area and I didn't know anybody. I didn't want to bother the local Antipodeans (laughs) so I usually went out by myself. I headed for the National Gallery on one occasion and ran into Arthur Boyd heading there too. We travelled together on the bus from Pimlico to Trafalgar Square. It was very nice because we walked through the Gallery making comments. It's lovely to do that with another painter. We walked past one room and Arthur stopped and said, 'There's a good painting in this room.' It was a big dog watching over a dying nymph, by Piero di Cosimo. He was such an interesting painter. Afterwards, Arthur suggested we go and have a drink, so we went across the road and had a couple of beers and then he said 'You'll have to excuse me, but I've got to go back home. I've got a few duties there.' We shook hands and I never saw him again.  Maria Stoljar You never saw him again? JS No, but what was nice about it was the generosity of the older person to somebody younger who had just arrived.  MS How lovely. But you knew a lot of famous Australian artists like Fred Williams, for example. He was a friend of yours, wasn't he? JS Yeah, I knew Fred. When I first started showing around, I mixed with some of the older artists. At that time there were hardly any younger artists around. And because I hadn't gone to an art school, I was very isolated. It's quite different for artists today. Now there are thousands of young people trying very hard to make good art after their schooling. It's a different atmosphere. Schools pump out all these people with hopes and ambitions. That's the reason it's good to know some of the older painters. MS Yes. Like John Brack? JS Yes, John Brack was one … Len Crawford, Fred, Roger Kemp – these were heavy-duty Melbourne blokes. MS It's amazing that you, in your early 20s, were hanging out with those people. JS Yeah, it was actually. Because I couldn't get into art school so I'd started working in a silkscreen printing company, which was a terrible bloody job (laughs). ‘Modern monument in colour ‘ 1975, Colour screenprint, 56.6 x 81.2cm (image)National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne MS Why? Was it heavy work or just dirty work? JS Dirty work.

This episode is about Arthur Boyd the Australian painter known for his use of symbols from mythology to express his philosophical views. My guest this week was Matthew Bliss, a podcaster and producer. Check out his work at https://matthewbliss.net/from-my-home-to-yours Check out my other podcast Art Smart | Rainbow Puppy Science Lab Who ARTed is an Airwave Media Podcast. If you are interested in advertising on this or any other Airwave Media show, email: advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's scriptures: Numbers 20: 1–13 Psalm 71 Matthew 13: 1–9, 18–23 Cover Art is Moses Striking the Stone by Arthur Boyd

Lorna Crane is the real deal. She's a mixed media artist who has been exhibiting for 40 years and has been a practising artist her entire life, whilst working in between. Fibre has been a big part of her work for a long time and “even in my earlier paintings I would collage in a piece of jute or hessian or a bit of cloth as well, because for me, cloth holds a memory, it's something that, when we're born, we get snuggled into a piece of cloth and it comforts us…”. Lorna started making her own brushes after a residency in Venice with Allison B. Cooke, and then became known as “the brush maker”. The urge to make brushes goes back to her art school days, when she saw a documentary on Arthur Boyd's work and processes. She was inspired by his huge canvases and that he was using his own handmade brushes - the splashing motions being particularly inspiring.As her career progressed, Lorna found that artist residencies became increasingly crucial to her, with her preference being self funded residencies, where there is more freedom and autonomy.If you take anything from our chat with Lorna, we hope it's the inspiration to colour outside the lines and absolutely break the rules. Find us @whatartistseat on Instagram and our website www.whatartistseat.com.auLinks to Lorna's work and anything else we chatted about:LORNA'S WEBSITELORNA'S INSTAGRAMLORNA'S COURSETHE CHURCHILL TRUSTBUNDANON RESIDENCYSHIELA HICKS ARTISTALLISON B COOKE ARTIST Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Arthur Boyd drew a lot of inspiration from religion, mythology and his own personal experiences. In the painting of Nebuchadnezzar on Fire Falling Over a Waterfall, he draws parallels between the biblical figure and Icarus who flew too close to the sun, then he set the scene in the Australian bush. Boyd has said that this work was partly a way of grappling with his trauma of having born witness to a person self-immolating in protest of the Vietnam war. In 1993, Boyd gifted Bundanon to Australia. It was his former home and studio, now an arts organization and trust with a collection of generations of Boyd artists among others. It is a museum, offers classes to artists of all ages and has artist in residence programs. It is absolutely massive (2,700 acres) dedicated not only to the arts, but also environmental preservation. He was an artist and activist to the very end. Arthur Boyd gave all he had in service of improving the environment, his homeland and the world more broadly. Network Survey (fill it out for a chance to win a $500 Amazon gift card) www.surveymonkey.com/r/airwave Arts Madness Tournament links: Check out the Brackets Tell me which artist you think will win this year's tournament Give a shoutout to your favorite teacher (the teacher who gets the most shoutouts on this form by Feb 27 will get a $50 Amazon gift card) Who ARTed is an Airwave Media Podcast. Connect with me: Website | Twitter | Instagram | Tiktok Support the show: Merch from TeePublic | Make a Donation As always you can find images of the work being discussed at www.WhoARTedPodcast.com and of course, please leave a rating or review on your favorite podcast app. You might hear it read out on the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is about Arthur Boyd the Australian painter known for his use of symbols from mythology to express his philosophical views. The Boyd family is an artistic dynasty in Australia producing half a dozen prominent artists. The specific work we focused on here was his painting Nebuchadnezzar on Fire Falling over a Waterfall from 1966-68. My guest this week was Matthew Bliss, an Australian teacher and podcaster. Matthew hosts Teacher Culture Cast, a podcast for and about teachers, as well as The Dead Drop, a video game podcast. Here are the places where you can find Matthew and his work: Twitter: @mattblisspod Podcasts: Teaching Culture Cast podcast: Website  ||  Spotify  ||  Apple Podcasts The Dead Drop (Video Game News): Website  ||  Spotify  ||  Apple Podcasts   As always you can find an image of the work on my website www.WhoARTedPodcast.com While you are there, take a moment and vote in the final round of Arts Madness.   Who ARTed is a part of the Airwave Media podcast network.

Nestled in the bush on the banks of the Shoalhaven River, Bundanon is a gift, literally, made to the Australian people by artist Arthur Boyd and his wife Yvonne in 1993. Featuring a homestead, an education centre designed by Glenn Murcutt and a multi-million dollar collection of artworks by Boyd and contemporaries such as Charles Blackman and Sidney Nolan, the place has to date been mostly used for artist residencies and occasional open days. Now however, thanks to a new $33 million building designed by Melbourne architect Kirstin Thompson, it will be open a lot more often to a lot more of us, as Boyd initially intended.  Senior Good Weekend writer Amanda Hooton and Bundanon CEO Deborah Ely discuss the new gallery, the risks of fire and flood that it attempts to mitigate, Boyd's legacy and dream, and the role regional galleries can play in a COVID-constrained world. Read the story here. Become a subscriber: our supporters power our newsrooms and are critical for the sustainability of news coverage. Becoming a subscriber also gets you exclusive behind-the-scenes content and invitations to special events. Click on the links to subscribe https://subscribe.theage.com.au/ or https://subscribe.smh.com.au/   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We had a great chat with James McGrath in his studio In Sydney, a former textile warehouse,  he shares with his architect wife, Catherine. We spoke to James about his art world upbringing, (his mum Is art critic and author Sandra McGrath), his time spent with Arthur Boyd and baroque painter Patrick Betaudier, his video Installation work and much more. James Is a very generous and candid person who we could have talked to all day about all art matters, let's hope we can catch up again soon and listen to another of James' anecdotes! James Is represented by  Olsen Gallery In Sydney. Take a look at his amazing and varied body of work here. Thanks so much for talking to us James, we so enjoyed meeting you and your wife and taking a tour of your very cool studio. 

Show notes:The Villisca axe murders occurred between the evening of June 9, 1912, and the early morning of June 1, between the hours of 10PM and 5AM, or so it is thought. The six members of the Moore family and two house guests were found bludgeoned in the Moore residence. The Moore family consisted of parents Josiah B. (aged 43), Sarah (née Montgomery) (39), and their four children: Herman Montgomery (11), Mary Katherine (10), Arthur Boyd (7), and Paul Vernon (5). and the house guests were, Ina Mae (8) and Lena Gertrude Stillinger (12).All eight victims, including six children, had severe head wounds from an axe. several suspects came to light, and one was tried twice. The first trial ended in a hung jury and the second ended in an acquittal. the suspects were as follows:Andrew SawyerReverend George KellyFrank F. JonesWilliam MansfieldHenry Lee Moore (no relation)Sam MoyerPaul MuellerThe crime remains unsolved.References:https://www.villiscaiowa.com/history.phphttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-ax-murderer-who-got-away-117037374/https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=SRPD19130509.2.12&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN--------1http://www.villiscaiowa.com/https://roadtrippers.com/magazine/villisca-ax-murder-house-iowa/Photographs and additional reading.https://www.desmoinesregister.com/picture-gallery/life/2013/12/06/photos-inside-the-villisca-ax-murder-house/3898221/Resources:https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/mentalhealth/Pages/contact-service.aspx#24-hourhttps://www.beyondblue.org.auhttps://www.betterhelp.comThanks for listening : we are eager to hear your stories, so if you have any listener stories for the show, please email us at podcast@solvedunsolvedorspooky.comFind us at:Twitter: #OrsolvedInstagram: SolvedunsolvedorspookyFacebook: Solvedunsolvedorspooky Email us at: podcast@solvedunsolvedorspooky.comSupport the show at: https://pod.fan/solved-unsolved-or-spookySupport the show (https://pod.fan/solved-unsolved-or-spooky)

L'opera di uno degli artisti più acclamati in Australia difficilmente potrà essere rivenduta; rimane quindi il dubbio sulle ragioni del furto.

Christian and Monisha are joined over-the-phone by curator Diane Soumilas about Glen Eira City Council Gallery's latest exhibition Stories in Clay, featuring the pottery of renowned Australian artist Arthur Boyd. Stories in Clay will be displayed until Sunday, December 15th. More information can be found on the official Glen Eira City Council website. Segment originally aired Wednesday, December 4th. Produced by Tom Parry; image courtesy of Glen Eira City Council.

The Moore family consisted of parents Josiah B. (aged 43 , Sarah (née Montgomery) (39), and their four children: Herman Montgomery (11), Mary Katherine (10), Arthur Boyd (7), and Paul Vernon (5). An affluent family, the Moores were well-known and well-liked in their community. On June 10, 1912, Mary Katherine Moore invited Ina Mae (8) and Lena Gertrude Stillinger (12) to spend the night at the Moore residence. That evening, the visiting girls and the Moore family attended the Presbyterian church where they participated in the Children's Day Program, which Sarah Moore had coordinated. After the program ended at 9:30 p.m., the Moores and the Stillinger sisters walked to the Moores' house, arriving between 9:45 and 10 p.m. At 7 a.m. the next day, Mary Peckham, the Moores' neighbour, became concerned after she noticed that the Moore family had not come out to do their morning chores. Peckham knocked on the Moores' door. When nobody answered, she tried to open the door and discovered that it was locked. Peckham let the Moores' chickens out and called Ross Moore, Josiah Moore's brother. Like Peckham, Moore received no response when he knocked on the door and shouted. What do You think happened? Follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/InsanityForeverofficial/ Follow us on instagram https://www.instagram.com/InsanityForeverofficial/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/insanityforever/message

Richard talks to Iain Grandage, the artistic director from the Perth Festival, about the 2020 program. Iain is the first Perth local to hold this position and has brought a strong Indigenous focus to the program. Next up is writer/director Krystalla Pearce and writer Maja Amanita discussing the new show She Is Vigilante. This is a series of short plays put on by Theatre Works. The show had an open call for both writers and actors with the aim of opening up the theatre to new practitioners and audiences. The theme She Is Vigilante was chosen with the aim of providing complex roles for women.Finally Richard talks to curator Diane Soumilas and author Colin Smith regarding Stories in clay: Arthur Merric Boyd Pottery at Glen Eira City Council’s Gallery. Arthur Boyd is described as an artist who was ahead of his time and was continually reinventing and expressing himself in extraordinary ways.

In this episode, listen to insightful and often candid reflections of Gough Whitlam's impact on the Arts in Australia, delivered by a number of speakers on the opening night of Dedicated to the Dedicated: Whitlam, the Arts and Democracy. The exhibition features the first public display of a collection of artworks that was gifted to Gough and Margaret Whitlam in 1979 in recognition of their landmark support for the Arts in Australia. The ‘Whitlams’ Folio’ includes works by John Olsen, Brett Whiteley, Lloyd Rees, John Coburn, Arthur Boyd and more, and is inscribed with a message of thanks to Gough and Margaret Whitlam for ‘the marks they have made on the Australian canvas’. Opened on 6 June 2019, at the Margaret Whitlam Galleries, Whitlam Institute within Western Sydney University.

Wendy Whiteley and director Kim Carpenter on Brett & Wendy... A Love Story Bound by Art at Sydney Festival, Gabriella Coslovich on Mona Foma in Launceston, a political debate over Sydney's Powerhouse Museum in arts news with Claire Nichols, and curator Barry Pearce on the national touring exhibition Arthur Boyd: Landscape of the Soul.

Wendy Whiteley and director Kim Carpenter on Brett & Wendy... A Love Story Bound by Art at Sydney Festival, Gabriella Coslovich on Mona Foma in Launceston, a political debate over Sydney's Powerhouse Museum in arts news with Claire Nichols, and curator Barry Pearce on the national touring exhibition Arthur Boyd: Landscape of the Soul.

Gina Kalabishis's work is about relationships and connection; connecting with nature and connecting with each other. Her recent show at Flinders Lane Gallery, 'Bundanon Floor to Sky', drew on her time spent within the landscape of Bundanon, the gift that artist Arthur Boyd and his wife Yvonne gave to the Australian people. Bundanon is a property of over 1000 hectares on the Shoalhaven river in NSW which offers residencies to artists and writers, an extensive education program and much more. From her time at Bundanon, Kalabishis has produced an astonishing body of work. Her triptych 'Bundanon Floor to Sky - You are always a part of me now (after Van Morrison)', which is over three and a half metres long, immerses the viewer into that lush landscape from the roots of the trees to the sky above. Other works in the series, too, explore the area from the ground all the way up to the troposphere, far above the landscape. Kalabishis also combines ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arrangement, with native Australian plants, taking them out of the domestic setting into the landscape. Bones and shells also form part of the imagery which she creates through a combination of sculpture and digital technology. Last year she was awarded the Eutick Memorial Still Life Award and has won many other awards including the Rick Amor drawing prize. She has exhibited in 18 solo shows and her work is held in the National Gallery of Australia and many other institutions and private collections. Kalabishis grew up in Melbourne - her parents were Greek migrants - and this conversation starts with her memories of work experience at the National Gallery of Victoria when she was 16.  It was 1985 and the ‘Golden Summers’ exhibition was showing  at the gallery. The exhibition was very popular at the time and included works by Australian impressionists of the Heidelberg school including Arthur Streeton and Tom Roberts. Kalabashis talks about her recent exhibition and generously reveals much about her process which takes advantage of 21st century technology. To hear Maria Stoljar's conversation with Gina Kalabishis press 'play' under the feature photo above. Recent exhibition 'Bundanon Floor to Sky', Flinders Lane Gallery, 17 July - 11 August 2018 Show notes Gina Kalabishis Gina Kalabishis at Flinders Lane Gallery Gina Kalabishis on Instagram Eutick Memorial Still Life Award Bundanon Trust Arthur Streeton Tom Roberts Eugene Von Guerard Van Morrison Norman Sparnon Michael Kiwanuka Nick Cave Else Torp Lost by Frederick McCubbin Irene Hanenbergh Bundanon Siteworks 2018 Anya Mckee Art Spectrum Luke Istomin on Instagram https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gCFCuYbiWM    

Where’s your creative space? Is it in a place filled with movement and noise, a quite retreat away from everything, or do you have random moments of creativity whilst out surfing? In this episode, we talk with Mary Preece, Education Manager for Bundanon Trust, Arthur Boyd’s former property nestled on the banks of the Shoalhaven River. The Trust was set

Peter Porter is considered one of the greatest later twentieth century poets. Expatriate in London since 1951, his reputation was established by his inclusion in the 1961 second volume of the Penguin Modern Poets anthology series. His elegiac poetry following the sudden death in 1974 of his wife Jannice, has been compared to Hardy. Porter was awarded many honours, including the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry and the Gold Medal of the Association for the Study of Australian Literature. In Britain he was considered an Australian poet, in Australia he was sometimes considered British, although he often returned for visits, and the series of radio dialogues with his fellow expatriate poet Clive James, was broadcast regularly on ABC radio. The National Library first acquired papers from Peter Porter in 1982, with some small, later additions, also mainly of drafts and notebooks for his writing. The bulk of the papers of Peter Porter were acquired after his death in 2010, and are an astonishing record of Australian cultural and artistic life from the 1970s. Peter was a prolific correspondent and the more than 69 boxes of letters within the papers are ‘who’s who’ of distinguished literary, artistic and cultural figures, with letters from significant artists such as John Olsen and Arthur Boyd, musical figures like Roger Covell and Don Banks, and many other writers, including Les Murray, Shirley Hazzard, Tom Shapcott, David Malouf. The correspondence reveals Peter’s great encouragement and generosity towards many Australian poets - including Chris Wallace-Crabbe, Gig Ryan, Peter Goldsworthy, Craig Sherborne and Adrian Caesar, who speak at the symposium. Peter’s widow Christine, and his daughters Katherine and Jane, were present at the symposium, which concluded with a moving tribute by his friend Clive James. Supported by the Ray Mathew and Eva Kollsman Trust

Peter Porter is considered one of the greatest later twentieth century poets. Expatriate in London since 1951, his reputation was established by his inclusion in the 1961 second volume of the Penguin Modern Poets anthology series. His elegiac poetry following the sudden death in 1974 of his wife Jannice, has been compared to Hardy. Porter was awarded many honours, including the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry and the Gold Medal of the Association for the Study of Australian Literature. In Britain he was considered an Australian poet, in Australia he was sometimes considered British, although he often returned for visits, and the series of radio dialogues with his fellow expatriate poet Clive James, was broadcast regularly on ABC radio. The National Library first acquired papers from Peter Porter in 1982, with some small, later additions, also mainly of drafts and notebooks for his writing. The bulk of the papers of Peter Porter were acquired after his death in 2010, and are an astonishing record of Australian cultural and artistic life from the 1970s. Peter was a prolific correspondent and the more than 69 boxes of letters within the papers are ‘who’s who’ of distinguished literary, artistic and cultural figures, with letters from significant artists such as John Olsen and Arthur Boyd, musical figures like Roger Covell and Don Banks, and many other writers, including Les Murray, Shirley Hazzard, Tom Shapcott, David Malouf. The correspondence reveals Peter’s great encouragement and generosity towards many Australian poets - including Chris Wallace-Crabbe, Gig Ryan, Peter Goldsworthy, Craig Sherborne and Adrian Caesar, who speak at the symposium. Peter’s widow Christine, and his daughters Katherine and Jane, were present at the symposium, which concluded with a moving tribute by his friend Clive James. Supported by the Ray Mathew and Eva Kollsman Trust

Peter Porter is considered one of the greatest later twentieth century poets. Expatriate in London since 1951, his reputation was established by his inclusion in the 1961 second volume of the Penguin Modern Poets anthology series. His elegiac poetry following the sudden death in 1974 of his wife Jannice, has been compared to Hardy. Porter was awarded many honours, including the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry and the Gold Medal of the Association for the Study of Australian Literature. In Britain he was considered an Australian poet, in Australia he was sometimes considered British, although he often returned for visits, and the series of radio dialogues with his fellow expatriate poet Clive James, was broadcast regularly on ABC radio. The National Library first acquired papers from Peter Porter in 1982, with some small, later additions, also mainly of drafts and notebooks for his writing. The bulk of the papers of Peter Porter were acquired after his death in 2010, and are an astonishing record of Australian cultural and artistic life from the 1970s. Peter was a prolific correspondent and the more than 69 boxes of letters within the papers are ‘who’s who’ of distinguished literary, artistic and cultural figures, with letters from significant artists such as John Olsen and Arthur Boyd, musical figures like Roger Covell and Don Banks, and many other writers, including Les Murray, Shirley Hazzard, Tom Shapcott, David Malouf. The correspondence reveals Peter’s great encouragement and generosity towards many Australian poets - including Chris Wallace-Crabbe, Gig Ryan, Peter Goldsworthy, Craig Sherborne and Adrian Caesar, who speak at the symposium. Peter’s widow Christine, and his daughters Katherine and Jane, were present at the symposium, which concluded with a moving tribute by his friend Clive James. Supported by the Ray Mathew and Eva Kollsman Trust

Katherine Hattam is a multi award winning painter and printmaker whose works are held in most of Australia's major public collections including the National Gallery of Australia, National Gallery of Victoria and Art Gallery of NSW. She has exhibited in over 20 solo shows and many more group shows and has won numerous art prizes including the Banyule and Robert Jacks drawing prizes. In this conversation, Hattam begins by talking about the experience of growing up as the daughter of Melbourne art collectors and modern art patrons Hal and Kate Hattam.  Hal Hattam was a gynaecologist and later a successful painter in his own right and Kate Hattam was once reported to be the 'highest paid woman in Australia' in her job as the advertising manager of the upmarket Melbourne department store Georges. They held an extensive art collection of works of their artist friends which included Arthur Boyd, Fred Williams, John Brack, Clifton Pugh, Charles Blackman and Jan Senbergs. Portraits of her parents painted by Clifton Pugh and John Brack can be found in the National Portrait Gallery. Hattam's career initially focussed on drawing but her work eventually turned to painting and mixed media. In this interview she also talks about her techniques and preferred mediums, balancing motherhood and her art career and themes which arise in her paintings. See below for a list of current and upcoming exhibitions and scroll down further for links to people and things we talked about in the show. Current and upcoming exhibitions: 'Visiting Painting' - Horsham Regional Art Gallery - 16 July to 11 September 2016, Horsham, Victoria 'National Works on Paper' - Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery - 16 July to 11 September 2016,  Mornington Peninsula, Victoria '72 Derwents' - solo show - Arthouse Gallery - 12 August 2016, Rushcutters Bay, Sydney, NSW Bruny Island Art Prize - Bruny Island Arts - 24 September - 2 October 2016, Bruny Island, Tasmania 'Art of Parts' - Art Gallery of NSW - 17 September - 13 November 2016, Sydney, NSW   Show notes:  (links to people and things we talked about in the show) Katherine Hattam Portrait of Hal Hattam by Fred Williams Portrait of Kate Hattam by Clifton Pugh Fred Williams Charles Blackman John Perceval Arthur Boyd Jan Senbergs  

'The expulsion' completes Arthur Boyd’s cycle of biblical-themed paintings which he began in 1944. Based on the Old Testament story of Adam and Eve expelled by God from the Garden of Eden, the figures recall the work of 15th-century Florentine painter, Masaccio. Boyd transposes this early Renaissance pictorial idea into an Australian wilderness. The focus of 'The expulsion' is not so much the biblical narrative as a poignant depiction of Boyd’s concern for lovers denied privacy, which he had experienced when courting his future wife, Yvonne, after his conscription into the army. I see lovers as victims …They suffer from being unprivate, watched. Love becomes guilt because it is frustrated. Pictures with animals or another human figure watching lovers are intended to give the idea of spying, a disturbance, a breaking into the moment of privacy. Arthur Boyd, 1981

Arthur Boyd (1920-1999), Boat builders, Eden 1948. Painting, oil and egg tempera on composition board, 85.6 h x 101.7 w cm. Purchased 1977. Arthur Boyd's work reproduced with the permission of Bundanon Trust.

Arthur Boyd (1920-1999), Paintings in the studio: `Figure supporting back legs' and `Interior with black rabbit' 1973-74. Painting, oil on canvas, 313.5 h x 433.2 w cm. The Arthur Boyd Gift 1975. Reproduced with permission of Bundanon Trust.

Arthur Boyd’s paintings during the Second World War reflect the personal turmoil he experienced at the time and his deep opposition to violence. Boyd was conscripted into the army in May 1941 and discharged in March 1944. His paintings from the war years include expressionistic images of human dislocation and suffering; images of crippled, grotesque figures in the streets of St Kilda and South Melbourne. In 1944 he completed a series of dark, dramatic paintings of figures in the Australian bush. The landscapes in these paintings, including The hunter I, were inspired by places in Victoria that Boyd had visited while on leave from the army, including the upper reaches of the Yarra, Launching Place, Warburton and Woods Point.1 In The hunter I Boyd has used private symbols to create an image of personal despair and anxiety. He portrayed the hunter as an exposed and vulnerable figure, naked with closed eyes. As if trapped or lost in the dense, straggly bush the hunter appears to be both part of the landscape and alien within it. Approached by the horned ram (a symbol of lust and corruption in Boyd’s work) the hunter attempts to flee, his extended arm a seemingly futile gesture. 1 Barry Pearce, Arthur Boyd retrospective, Sydney: Art Gallery of New South Wales, 1993, p.16.