When Is A Door Not A Door?

Exhibition review Birds Have Fled
Angela Valamanesh
Univsersity of South Australia Art Museum
7 September - 2 October 1995

Published December 1995

Mary MacKillop Kitsch

I confess to a feeling of great affection for Mary MacKillop (1842 - 1909), vernacular culture and kitsch, and great enthusiasm for the idea of an Australian Vatican - an extravagant museum which is also a major site of pilgrimage.

Published December 1995

Artrave

Published December 1995

The Taste Factor

When I was an art critic, I quickly grew to dislike the word 'taste'. It was a convenient tool used to dismiss reviews by people who didn't like what I had to say. Whenever I delivered a negative crit upon a widely revered artist, or a positive crit on a very minor figure, they complained that I was allowing my taste to undermine my professionalism.

Published December 1995

Inflecting the Museum

Exhibition review Litteraria
Simryn Gill and Robert MacPherson
Artists in residence at the South Australian Museum
16 September - 31 December 1995

Published December 1995

The Black Swan of Western Australian-ness

Since 1829, the inhabitants of the western third of Australia have identified more closely with the black swan than the kangaroo. The swan was and is to be found on a wide range of items from buildings to letterheads and furry toys. It crosses class boundaries...

Published December 1995

Ethereal Days

Exhibition review Defrosting Familiar Tales
Jo Crawford, Bev Hogg
Jam Factory Gallery
Adelaide South Australia
7 July - 27 August 1995

Published December 1995

Motor-Cross Dressing

Issues of stereo-typing, conforming behaviour and fun and practicality are looked at in an observation of an MG driver.

Published December 1995

Image Bank

Collection of images with artists statements. Artists featured: Katanya Shanzy, Anne Graham, Geoffrey Seelander, Simon Duncan, Pierre Cavalan, Stefan Szonyi, Cliff Burt, Andrea McNamara, Karen Ferguson, Constanze Zikos, Jandee Amar Leddar, Leon Pericles, Meryn Jones, Annie Taylor, Ex de Medici and Ian Mowbray.

Published December 1995

Worms and Roses

The first Australian garden books put vegetables first but by the mid 19th century the language of flowers was in vogue. Gardens, flowers and art...

Published December 1995

Not Afraid of Flying: Fairies and Femocrats

Are gossamer wings set to supplant shoulder pads as signifiers of feminist power? Shopping malls in middle class suburbs are now sprouting fairy shops where, for only a few dollars, little girls and grown-up ones too, can sprout fairy wings that temporarily release them from the masculine world around them.

Published December 1995

Pretty Baby

Collecting and making dolls grows in popularity in Australia, but members of Australia's arts industry are relatively under-represented in the ranks of doll collectors. Original dolls speak of the culture that produces them.

Published December 1995