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October 1, 2008
The Powerhouse Museum has an exhibition on the development of modernism in Australia. The physical exhibition is closed, but there is some architectural work and photography online.
There is an associated Flickr group. This is one of the images I've contributed along with others:
The story the exhibition tells is an upbeat one. It is an affirmation and celebration of modernism, which is understood as the shock of the new.
The story is how:
modernism transformed life in Australia across five tumultuous decades from 1917 to 1967. The exhibition traces for the first time the impact of modernism on all aspects of Australian culture — from art, design and architecture to advertising, photography, film and fashion. Modernism sought to build a better future in the aftermath of World War I. An international movement, modernism encapsulated the possibilities of the 20th century. It celebrated the romance of cities, the healthy body and the ideals of abstraction and functionalism in design. Modern times looks at how modernism defined a new cosmopolitan culture in Australia, highlighting stories of avant-garde experiments. The exhibition also explores the city and its skyscrapers, milk bars and swimming pools, where modernism profoundly reshaped Australian life.
It features paintings by Grace Cossington Smith, Sidney Nolan and Margaret Preston; photographs by Max Dupain, Wolfgang Sievers and Jeff Carter; designs by Clement Meadmore, Douglas Annand, Robert Klippel, and Grant and Mary Featherston; as well as models and designs by architects Harry Seidler, Robin Boyd, Roy Grounds and Jorn Utzon.
it is all very upbeat as there is little indication about the negative aspects of modernism of making a better world through the domination and exploitation of nature. The domination of nature is even more the problem that seeing life in terms of a functional machine as it has lead to devastated river systems and other environmental problems.
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Hi Gary
Actually the exhibition is still on. A slightly related exhibition at the State Library has finished but ours only opened in August!
It doesn't close until mid February 2009.
Come in and see it!
http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/exhibitions/modern_times.asp
Thanks for blogging!