Australian modernism

Modernism reached Australia significantly later than in Europe and America. The high art scene in Australia in the late 19th century and early 20th century predominantly included pastoral paintings, which refer to art which depicts the landscapes and farms of Australia.[2] It wasn't until the early 1900s when there was an influx of female artists who joined their male counterparts to study art in Paris that Modernist ideologies begin to reach Australia.[5] In 1913 the Sydney artist Norah Simpson returned from Europe where she had been studying art in Paris and London at the Westminster School of Art[6] she brought reproductions of leading modernists artists works such as Henri Matisse, Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Cézanne, etc.[7] She shows these works to her art teacher Antionio Dattilo-Rubbo as well as her fellow pupils at his art school which include notably Australian Modernists such as Grace Cossington-Smith.[7]

Antonio Dattilo-Rubbo was an Italian-born artist and teacher. In 1906 he also studied art in Europe including England, France and Italy, observing art exhibitions and art schools which developed his passion for modern art.[8] Dattilo-Rubbons, passion for modern art and the reproductions brought by Simpson significantly contributed to the development of Modernism in Australia.[1] Notably, as the first Australian Modernist painting, The Sock Knitter by 1914 was created out of Dattilo-Rubbons art school by Norah Simpson's fellow pupil Grace Cossington-Smith.[7]

In Melbourne and opposed to both Impressionism and modernism were the Tonalists, identified, and ridiculed by the mainstream, as 'misty moderns,' led by Max Meldrum from 1916, who propounded a 'scientific' method. One of his disciples Clarice Beckett, abandoned his strictures to give prominence to colour in form, and through the 1920s and early 1930s, independently practiced a reductionism verging on abstraction now recognised as early examples in Victoria of the Modern.[9][10]

After the initial introduction of modernism in Australia in 1914, the movement steadily grew in popularity, with more artists adopting the skills and techniques of Modernism. In the 1920s and 1930s more artists alike Norah Simpson travelled overseas namely to Paris to study. These artists were exposed to an arrange of art teachers who taught them about various new art styles. These artists who travelled to Europe at this time included Grace Cossington-Smith, Anne Dangar and Dorrit Black, who learnt about Cubist theories and methods by their teacher Andre Lhote.[11] These female modernists learnt about cubism in France and brought back these techniques and employed these techniques to the Australian context, For example Dorriet Black's 1932 lino print, Noctornal depicts the Sydney street Wynyard with simplistic forms that are indicative of cubism. Many more art styles and movements emerged from the 1920s and 1930s. Modernism was expressed and accepted differently in different capitals cities of Australia. There were a higher portion of Modernist artists living and working in Sydney, including Margaret Preston and Grace Crowley, so Sydney was a hotspot of Modern art. The key art style and element, however, was design. In Melbourne art was significantly more conceptual and focused on moral panic. The environment in Melbourne at this time was less accepting of Modern art. Adelaide however, approached Modernism completely differently again. Surrealism was a key element of art that came out of Adelaide.[4]

In the 1930s across the world including Australia there was increased political and economic uncertainty due to the end of the first World War and the growing tensions that would eventually lead to the Second World War. This social uncertainty meant that the growing Modernist movement became increasingly more appealing to artists which caused an increase in popularity. As the popularity of Modernism steadily continued tensions between the conservative and modern school of thoughts began. However, naturalism (also known as realism) remained the dominant high art culture of Australia.[2]

The end of the World Wars contributed to further acceptance of this movement. In between the first and second World Wars there was a lot of uncertainty social and political unrest which fuelled many modernist artists. Naturalistic art prospered as the national image until the end of the Second World War where even more social and political unrest existed.[2]

After the World War II there was increased public concern about Modernity, industrialisation of modern life which caused increased associations with Modernist Ideas. There was also increased human movement and immigration to Australia due to the death and destruction caused by the Wars in Europe, as compared to Europe there was no damage to infrastructure, homes and towns in Australia. This changing the dynamic's of the Australian way of life. This human movement contributed to greater mixtures of people and life experience meant that the idea of nationalism changed and the image of identity changed this included the national art image. Therefore Modernism became more appealing and widely accepted in the 1940s.These international immigrants changed the dynamics of the Art world of Australia through the introduction of different styles of modern art. These styles included surrealism, social realism and expressionism.[12]

The Australian female Modernists employed avant-garde techniques and skill to their art however much of the subject matter was quite traditional and not provocative like their European counterparts.[13] This traditionalistic subject matter included Still life's and Interiors which often included objects that were found their own homes and gardens. Although, this kind of subject matter was somewhat repetitive and consequently limited was also quite fluid and free for these women. Australian society placed many restrictions on females as a result of intense patriarchal stereotypes, these Interiors and Still life paintings gave these woman a space to express their own experience which was given less priority in Society. Grace Cossington-Smith 1956 work The Window is an example of such Modernist interior paintings.
Additionally, it is suggested that homosexual men at this time valued from Modernist still lifes and interiors as the national pastoral paintings likewise excluded non-heterosexual men.[7]

The modernisation of technologies of the 20th century contributed to the development of new ways of producing and creating art through the use of advanced technologies such as etching and print making.[14] The Australian Modernists created multiple different forms of print making. These included coloured and black and white Etchings, Lino printing and relief painting. The artist Dorrit Black created these coloured and black and white lino prints which used cubist imagery of her surroundings.

The key and earliest cubists in Australia include Dorriet Black, Anne Dangar and Grace Crowley, who were all students of the French teacher Andre Lhote, who was a salon cubist.[15] Grace Crowley began a teacher in Sydney and taught her ideas of geometric cubist art to further generations and became a significant figure in the modernist and notably cubist style.[16]

Surrealism was first developed in France in the 1920s, and this style did not reach Australia until the 1930s. The international surrealist exhibition held in Burlington Galleries in London in 1936 is seemingly the cause for surrealism to reach Australia. Artist Peter Purves Smith was living in London at this time and attended this exhibition. The influence of this exhibition on his art practice is evident through the "strange figurative distortion"[17] that pervades his works including New York 1936.

In 1939 the first major exhibition that presented surrealist artists and works was showcased. This exhibition was held in the National Gallery of Victoria in 1939 by the Contemporary Art Society. This public received these works well due to the associated fear of the outbreak of war the images within these paintings resonated with the public.[17]

Albert Namatjira

Albert Namatjira is an Indigenous artist born in Hermannsburg in central Australia, who painted water-colour landscapes. He is one of the most well-known Modernist Indigenous artists in the western sense of the word.[3] His style was heavily influenced by the artists Rex Battarbee and John Gardner. His first exhibition in Melbourne in 1938 sold out, and his work became very popular. He continued his legacy by sharing his skills with other men who lived around him, inspiring a whole new generation of artists.

The Indigenous western acrylic desert art movement began approximately in 1971[22] in Papunya in the Australian outback. This town is home to multiple different groups of Aboriginal Australians who speak different languages, including Pintupi, Luritja, Warlpiri, Arrerrnte, and Anmatyerre, making up the Western Desert cultural bloc. This town was created as a result of an attempted assimilation project by the Government in the 1960s; the peoples had no cultural association with this land, being forcibly moved there. Geoffrey Bardon, a teacher who was sent to this town, helped the cultural dissonance that existed in this town. Initially, he began to teach the children to paint things that related to their world and then encouraged elders of the town to paint murals using acrylic of their dreamtime stories rather than in the desert sand.[23]

This style of art was used to mobilise Indigenous communities and protest for Indigenous rights by the Papunya people. They hoped that their art would showcase to wider society of their culture, connection and claim to the land. Their art gained a lot of attention by wider society, their art was bought, commissioned and showcased in exhibitions. This recognition meant that the Indigenous culture was placed in the forefront of mainstream society more than ever.[22]