Stephanie G. Mathis I still remember my first blockbuster art exhibition. Two Decades of American Painting was brought to Australia by the New York Museum of Modern Art.
Art lovers across Australia can choose from a variety of blockbuster exhibits this summer. Pop art lovers can visit the Art Gallery of NSW. The Art Gallery of NSW has a variety of shows, including a fashion show, an international tour that stops in Australia, and a mind-blowing exhibition dedicated to American artist Matthew Barney.
The 1967 exhibition dedicated to American paintings was huge, raw, and modern. On Sunday, it was so crowded that my family waited in the hot sun to get inside. The following week, I skipped school to see it without all the people.
There was also the entrance. The Art Gallery of NSW did not have any storage space before it was rebuilt in the early 1970s. Traveling crates, therefore, were stacked up on the entrance. The visitors entered the building through a sea of blue boxes, all marked with an exotic MOMA stamp.
Art Gallery of NSW, 1967. Crates for transporting Two Decades of American Painting. Courtesy of Art Gallery New South Wales in Sydney
The International Council of MOMA made a bold decision to send this magnificent art to a place where no local art museum had air conditioning. The National Gallery of Victoria, St Kilda Road building opened in 1968. The quality of the exhibit (including the catalog) has no doubt inspired a new generation of artists and curators.
The country has changed a lot since it was a provincial destination. Art can be seen in every city, including state capitals and regional centers. Canberra’s National Gallery of Australia has some very impressive collections.
The audience for art is growing at a much faster rate than the population, largely due to the efforts made by bodies like the Australia Council. The summer is when most Australians go on holiday, which is why art museums are increasingly self-funded.
Art is a great sponsorship opportunity, and marketing departments and tourism authorities are always looking for a grand concept ticketed exhibit that will result in long lines and overcrowding.
The blockbuster movie means full flights between states, busy hotels, and restaurants. Despite an increase in foreign tourists, the majority of culture tourists is domestic travel.
Marketers believe that Australians are willing to travel abroad for exhibitions from other cultures but not their own. Therefore, Australian art is left out of the schedule. The popular scholarly Australian exhibitions such as Golden Summers, which toured Australia from 1985 to 1988, and Sydney Moderns last year are viewed as an anomaly.
There are some exceptions. The National Gallery of Australia exhibited the first National Indigenous Art Triennial during the summer of 2007. However, the schedule for the second was not repeated.
This blind faith in imports backfired spectacularly on Destinations NSW last year when America: painting a Nation was a summer dud, and visitor numbers were lower. A lesson could have been learned.
This year Tourism NSW sponsored two major exhibitions. Chuck Close, at the Museum of Contemporary Art was a local revamp of an exhibition by the American photographer. Pop To Popism took place at the Art Gallery of NSW.
“International” has finally been used to describe a thing that transcends nationalities instead of the cringe-worthy “from outside Australia.” Pop to Popism is a collection of major works by artists from the UK, USA, and Europe. Wayne Tunnicliffe is the curator and head of Australian art for the Art Gallery of NSW, so this exhibition is a 100% local production.
Some states are still stuck with the traveling show. The Art Gallery of Western Australia, under pressure to attract more visitors, has acquired Treasures of Venice’s Jewish Ghetto. This is not likely to be popular. The individual pieces are beautiful, and it is a comfort to be able to see art without crowds.
South Australia, Melbourne, and Queensland have all embraced the idea of clothing as an art form. The National Gallery of Australia is returning to the fin de siecle allure of France with Impressions of the Paris, which it balances with the avant-garde James Turrell’s retrospect.
The Turrell is a thoughtful and meditative exhibition. It’s a better experience than the one mind-blowing blockbuster of the season.
Hobart’s Mona presents Matthew Barney’s baroque extravaganza, River of Fundament. David Walsh’s Egyptian Collection is displayed alongside the artifacts used in the epic film. This is a perfect cultural match, as Walsh and Barney share a common interest in sex and death.
Visitors to Hobart and MONA come to be shocked and stimulated. The Tasmanian tourism authorities are thrilled that they’ll be able to offer both this year.
