contemporary art
TRANSCRIPT
Alan Warren
By James Dixon
History
Born in 1919 in Victoria Studied drawing and painting at the National Gallery of Victoria Art
School during 1937-38 Served in the camouflage corps during most of the war, and was
responsible for disguising the perimeter defence system at Darwin which was subject to continual air raids by Japanese bombers
Director of Myer Gallery during 1946-47. Focused his artwork mainly on graphic design and painting.
History Continued
Involved in the graphic design Thoroughly enjoyed painting Taught art Concentrated on still life and the landscape. Wrote on art Work has been included in two survey exhibitions of Australian art, the
Jubilee Exhibition of Australian Art 1951 and the National Gallery of Victoria's 'Landfall' Captain Cook Bi-Centenary Exhibition Art 1970.
most of his paintings (even the landscapes) were composed at home in his garage-studio
History Continued
His pictures remained surprisingly consistent His paintings re adjusted the world in line with his sense of
structural harmony Won the Bendigo Prize in 1955, the Perth prize in 1956, and the
Ballarat Fine Art Gallery's prestigious Crouch Prize in 1958. During his later years Warren continued to be heavily involved in art
through managing art galleries and teaching students about the concept of conceptual art.
History Continued
Taking a semi-abstract approach, Warren tended to emphasise geographical contours and pictorial structure, while reducing colour to an unmodulated fill.
RepresentedVictoriaNational Gallery of Victoria, Bendigo Art GalleryBallarat Fine Art Gallery, Castlemaine Art Gallery,Geelong Art Gallery
Western AustraliaArt Gallery of Western Australia
CanberraAustralian National Gallery
QueenslandQueensland Art Gallery
Warren’s Artworks
Activity:
Create a painting in a similar fashion to that of Alan Warren.
Look closely at his designs and try to replicate this in your own work
How do you think he has created his artwork?
Discussion
Do you think the use of technology may have changed the way Warren worked?
Do you believe that technology has changed contemporary art for the better or the worse?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqKdBptYbVM
Use this youtube clip to back up your opinion
Artwork
Photoshop
Try and create your own version of ‘Sunshine Coast’ using Photoshop
Compare this with the painting you painted and comment on which one you found easier/harder.
Why?
Questions
Why do you think Warren painted the way he did?
Comment on his use of colour and line. If you could change anything about his
paintings what would you change?
References
Heathcote, C (2008). Alan Warren http://www.facebook.com/search/?q=boblong+john&init=quick#/?ref=logo [Accessed 30th January 2010]
www.youtube.com Art Net, (2009). Alan Warren
http://www.artnet.com/artist/646577/alan-warren.html [Accessed 30th January 2010].