THE COURIER MAIL
BRISBANE,
AUSTRALIA,
SATURDAY, JANUARY 25,
1992
ARTIST TO FINE TUNE THE RELEVANCE OF
ART
By Sonia Ulliana
in Townsville
ARTIST Ture Sjolander will spend $10.000 of
taxpayers' money raising the ire of north Queenslanders.
Mr Sjolander, of Townsville, a Swedish
expatriate, says he will expose the harsh realities of the social issues
affecting the area i a series of two-minutes segments of "electronic art" to be
aired weekly on television.
he will buy the air-time with a State
Government arts grant.
"This is not a paint brush, it is a power
tool," Mr Sjolander said.
"I will criticise all the things that
people ignore or don't want to think about to make them aware through art. "So
much art doesn't touch people anymore, or has no
relevance."
Mr Sjolander, a passionate and outspoken
man, has been involved in art from painting to videoproduction, since
1962.
He has written several internationally
published books, including Garbo, a pictorial biography of movie star
Greta Garbo, and was commissioned by the 70s Swedish rock phenomenon
Abba to create a tapestry.
Mr Sjolander was also commissioned by
silent screen star Charlie Chaplin to produce an art
portfolio.
In Townsville he is seen as a controversial
figure.
He recently held a public competition to
create a new name for the combination Townsville city and Thuringgova shire
under the Electorial and Administrative Review Committee's amalgamation
recomendations.
The winner was Don Talbot, who received
$500 for his suggestion of "QUEENSLAND CITY".
The competition provoked debate around the
town.
With the help of his Creative Development Grant, Mr Sjolander hopes to
tackle a host of controversial issues; Townsville General Hospital's Ward 10B -
subject of the Carter inquiry into the treatment of mentally ill patients,
violence among Aborigines on Palm
Island, X-rated videos, tattoos, politics and
religion.
"These are all the things that happen in
this area and they should be expressed in art to reflect the area," Mr Sjolander
said.
He believes art in the modern world should
be expressed using technology and says that paintings are
out-dated.
He has even devised a plan to exhibit art
on the walls of Townsville Airport terminal "for all the world to
see".
The large vacant walls in the terminal
should be used to hanf paintings and tapestries, and sculptures could adorn the
flight deck, the first-class lounge and the departure lounge, he
said.
His proposal suggest that the artworks be
acquired on a six-montly basis and artists may have them on for
sale.
"So there is no limit to what you can
do."