Wednesday, 17 August 2011

Reading Response 6: The Arts and Crafts of Parliament House

Reading Response 6:
The Arts and Crafts of Parliament House – Carl Andrew

“In every civilization of the world for several thousand years, the language of art and architecture have been spoken in unison – sculpture and painting being as essential to communication as architectural forms and spaces.

Romaldo Giurgola, very much the product of his Italian heritage, was determined that Australia’s Parliament House would be rich in works of art in all media and that these would contribute vitally to the philosophical concept of the building and to its functions.

At the earliest stages of designing the building, the architects prepared a major report which specified all the potential locations for works of art and craft and gave notional descriptions of what they might be, with priority ratings and notes on their functional and aesthetic purposes.

They reflect the changes in human values which occurred during the slow forging of a complex sense of Australian identity among its people. The unique character of the Australian land or continent has been a major, decisive factor in the transformation of those values and hence the qualities of the Australian land form an important and rich source of departure for works of art within that historical sequence of spaces in the building.

The Parliament Collection, comprising some 3,000 works acquired during the construction phase, contributes to the building’s unified architectural expression.... Each of the works purchased, which include paintings sculpture, and craft objects in various media, was chosen to add to the character and meaning of individual spaces.... and extend the broadly narrative themes which unfold along the professional and Parliamentary axis of the complex.

The success or otherwise of the Parliament House art works programme cannot be judges by the extent to which it represents contemporary Australian art and craft. Parliament House was never intended to be a public gallery of Australian art. The architects made it clear from the start that the programme would require the most judicious selection of art works, using very specific criteria related to the architectural philosophy of the building and to the particular demands of its character and its spaces. Constraints of location, of size, of character and mood, of subject matter, of durability and accessibility applied to almost every work commissioned or purchased for this building.

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