Category Archives: Australia

APHK PHOTOGRAPHY – July 2020: Retrospective

05 Wednesday Aug 2020

Posted by in 21st CENTURY ART, abstracts, Adelaide, ANIMALS, ART, ART GALLERIES, Australia, Australian Art, AUSTRALIAN FILM, AUSTRALIAN HISTORY, BEACHES, BLACK & WHITES, HISTORY, IMPRESSIONISM, PARKS & GARDENS, PEOPLE, PHOTOGRAPHY, POLITICS, PUBLIC ART, SALA, SOUTH AUSTRALIAN ART GALLERY, STREET ART, TONY'S TOURS - Travel Journal, TRAVEL, TRAVELING IN AUSTRALIA, TREES, Uncategorized, VINEYARDS

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ABSTRACTS - CROSSES IN THE SEACrucifixes – Rapid Bay, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

INTRODUCTION – JULY 2020

July is mid-Winter in Australia; it also the 7th month that we all having been dealing with the various challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic. Subsequently, many of the following photographs are reflections of these times. This July retrospect is divided into number of seperate categories; these include – ‘Abstracts’, ‘Black & White’, ‘Landscapes’, ‘Night’, ‘Seascapes’, and ‘Sunsets’. It also includes selected photographs from on-going series – ‘Pareidolia’ and ‘In the Time of Self-Isolation’. As always, behind each photography is my desire ‘to make the ordinary “Extraordinary”!’

ABSTRACTS

ABSTRACT - WalpurgisnachtWalpurgisnacht – Windy Peak, Adelaide Hills, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

This was taken one wild, windy, and rainy night at Windy Peak in the Adelaide Hills. The photograph is associated with my ‘Pareidolia’ series in that the wooden posts and the trees seemed to become in this cold weather strange spectral creatures, coming together as if to celebrate ‘Walpurgisnacht’.

IMPRESSIONISM - After KlimtReflections – Adelaide Botanic Gardens, Adelaide, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

This was taken in the Adelaide Botanic Gardens and is of the reflection of a canopy of leaves from willow trees overhanging one of the ponds in the garden. There is a deliberate ‘impressionism’ influence, particularly Monet, but also a ‘post-impressionism’ feel as one finds in some of the works by Klimt.

ABSTRCTS - SHEET METAL 1Sheet-Metal Wall in a Sunset Light – Penny’s Hill Vineyard, McLaren Vale, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

This striking ‘detail’ of a section of the sheet-metal wall of the Penny’s Hill Vineyard Cellar-door took on a golden radiance and sheen under a setting winter sun.

IMPRESSIONISM - Behind the LinesBehind the Lines – Adelaide Botanic Gardens, Adelaide, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

Following a theme and subject matter of ‘lines’, this is a detail of a section of glass fountain in the Adelaide Botanic Gardens. The reflection in the glass is from the water in front of this sheet of corrugated glass, which in turn reflects the cloud in the sky above. These multiple reflections give and added depth to the image; in the centre there is a kind of ‘pareidolia’ with a figure that seems to be peeping through the curtain of glass.

ABSTRACTS - THROUGH A WINDOW - The ChildThrough a Window: The Child – Adelaide Botanic Gardens, Adelaide, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

This photograph was taken at the same glass fountain in the Adelaide Botanic Gardens. It is also part of the on-going series – ‘Through a Window’. These ‘windows’ are portals; when one gazes through these ‘windows’ one can see and imagine a number of imaginative possibilities.

HOPE - THE RAINBOWThe Rainbow – Port Willunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

The rainbow is a symbol of Hope, which is what is vitally needed in these challenging times.

ABSTRACTS -Two PolesBPoles Apart – Rapid Bay, South Australia (Sony LICE-7)

These two poles are part of the old ruined jetty at Rapid Bay. Whilst beautiful in themselves there is a relatively tragic dimension. It is as if these two poles are lovers who yearn to be together but will be forever apart, able to see each other but never to touch.

ABSTRACT - Sniffing out Out LeadsModern Times: Sniffing out Leads – Windy Peak, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

This ‘abstract’ is a satiric metaphor of modern business. With virtually everything moving to be on-line the relative ‘positivism’ and optimism of modern business from a certain perspective seems to have become rather desperate in sniffing out potential leads and ways to make money, at a time when most people don’t have much money to spare.

BLACK & WHITE

PEOPLE - DancingIn the Time of ‘Self-Isolation’: The Dancer – Port Willunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

On one of my walks around Port Willunga, from the cliffs above I glanced down to the beach below and saw this young woman. She was dancing in the surf with the setting sun – an expression of freedom in this time of ‘self-isolation’.

_1210271aIn the Time of ‘Self-Isolation’: On the Phone – Port Willunga (Sony ILCE-7)

How many times during these challenging days have we seen this? A person sitting alone on their mobile phone. I saw this young man on his mobile phone and also noticed how his surrounding, particularly the iron fence seemed to box him in, adding to the sense of ‘isolation’.

Little Hampton School 2The Old School House – Littlehampton, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

On a day trip to the small South Australian rural town of Littlehampton we stopped to visit the old sandstone Schoolhouse, which had been built in the 1860s. At one time this country school had over 60 students all crammed into this tiny school house. It has been beautifully preserved and restored by the local community.

AUSTRALIAN ROMANTICISM 1 - The Winter TreeThe Winter Tree – Adelaide Botanic Gardens, Adelaide, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

This marvellous old tree sits on a little island in the middle of one of the ponds in the garden. It has a ‘pareidolia’ aspect that is perhaps more noticeable in Winter when all its leaves are gone – a fantastical tree creature.

AUSTRALAIN ROMANTICISM - Murdoch AvenueMurdoch Avenue – Adelaide Botanic Gardens, Adelaide, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

‘Murdoch Avenue’ is one of the most magical parts of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens. I have deliberately put a sepia filter over this photograph to complement the charming nature of this location.

LANDSCAPES

PENNY HILL'SVINEYARDPenny’s Hill Vineyard – McLaren Vale, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

‘Penny’s Hill Vineyard’ in the McLaren Vale is about 1hrs drive south of Adelaide. It is one of the oldest vineyards in the region and is very ‘English’. This is exemplified by the old sandstone Georgian main-house, as well as these ‘black-faced’ Suffolk sheep.

NIGHT

AUSTRALIAN ROMANTICISM - Adelaide 2Adelaide @ Night – Adelaide Hills, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

This was taken one cold July at Mt. Observation in the Adelaide Hills, which gives one a wonderful view of the Adelaide Plain and the Adelaide CBD. It is a very ‘romantic’ view of Adelaide, yet also one that has resonance with photos of Los Angeles.

PAREIDOLIA

‘Pareidolia’ is that unique aspect of the human imagination in which one sees faces in natural and man-made objects. The following photographs are part of an on-going series devoted to the human phenomena of ‘pareidolia’, which is something we all share in common – a thing that unites us as human beings rather than divides us.

peeping truckThe peeping truck – Port Adelaide, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

It is as if this truck is peeping at you as it passes over a concrete bridge in Port Adelaide. This photograph has been deliberately manipulated to give it a kind of ‘pop art’ feeling and tone.

DSC00749bCrocodile Logs – Old Noarlunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

These two logs sit in the Onkaparinga River near Old Noarlunga, a small rural town about 40 minutes south of Adelaide. Crossing the pedestrian suspension bridge over the Onkaparinga River I noticed these two logs. They looked like two crocodiles lying in the shallow water, which reflected the hills towering above the river.

P1110377HThe grumpy rock – Christies Beach, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

This is part of a spectacular cliff face at Christies Beach on the Gulf St. Vincent, South Australia. It struck me that this particular section looked like a grumpy old man – hence the title – ‘the grumpy rock’.

ELEPHANT ROCKaElephant Rock – Port Willunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

This rock face at the base of a cliff at the northern end of Port Willunga beach struck as looking a bit like and old elephant.

PEOPLE: In the Time of ‘Self-Isolation’

The following photographs are part of an on-going series entitled In the Time of ‘Self-Isolation’. This is an attempt to chronicle as well as express the sense of bafflement and isolation that is very much a part of the challenges of these days when confronted with the Covid-19 pandemic.

IN THE TIME OF SELF-ISOLATION - MemeIn the Time of ‘Self-Isolation’: Meme – Port Willunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

This a photograph of my friend Meme with whom I often go for morning walks along Port Willunga beach and other locations in the region.

P1110442DIn the Time of ‘Self-Isolation’: The Walker – Christies Beach, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

At times the effect of living with the Covid-19 pandemic seems rather surreal. Despite the very real threat and with certain restrictions, nonetheless, here in South Australia we are relatively safe and free to move around – and in such a beautiful place even in mid-Winter.

P1110389In the Time of ‘Self-Isolation’: Searching the Sands – Port Willunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

I saw this young girl searching the sands on the Port Willunga beach one sunset. I don’t know what she was searching for but she was quite focused if rather frantic. It struck me as rather metaphoric and symbolic of how we are all trying to find answers but finding it all rather baffling – searching for answers in the sand.

DSC01048In the Time of ‘Self-Isolation’: Red Hoody and Stormy Seas – Rapid Bay, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

On a rather wild and stormy day I went to Rapid Bay, which is about a 90 minutes drive south of Adelaide. At the end of the pier there was this young boy looking out on the rather turbulent sea. This also struck me a rather metaphorical and emblematic of these times. Gazing out to sea may bring some solace sometimes, but it can also express our bafflement and anxiety in these stormy days.

SEASCAPES

The following photographs are part of an on-going series of ‘Seascapes’, primarily from the Onkaparinga region. This includes Aldinga Beach, Port Willunga, Maslin Beach, Port Noarlunga, and Christies Beach – and more.

PORT WILLUNGA - WINTER SUNRISEThe Morning Walk – Port Willunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

DSC00834On a Winter’s Day #1 – Port Willunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

PORT WILLUNGA - WINTER.jpgOn a Winter’s Day #2 – Port Willunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

PORT WILLUNGA - The FishermenFishing – Port Willunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

DSC00855oCormorant and Ruins – Port Willunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

DSC00965 2A Foggy Day – Port Willunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

DSC01128 copyRapid Bay – Fleurieu Peninsular, Gulf St. Vincent, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

SUNSETS

It somehow seems appropriate with the ending of mid-Winter and also the seeming end of so much that we may have taken for granted due to the Covid-19 pandemic that this July 2020 retrospective fishes with ‘Sunsets’. These are from a number of locations, including Mt Observation, Port Willunga, and Penny’s Hill Vineyard.

BarrelaThe Barrel – Penny’s Hill Vineyard, McLaren Vale (Sony ILCE-7)

after rothko 2aSunset (after Rothko #1) – Port Willunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

AFTER ROTHKO - Port Adelaide.jpgSunset – Port Adelaide, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

AFTER ROTHKO - AdelaideSunset (after Rothko #2) – Adelaide, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

If you have come this far – THANK YOU.

Just one more, which is a bit of a self-portrait. I saw this piece of ‘Street Art’ at Christies Beach where I was picking up some medication for the local chemist for my tinnitus. I wasn’t feeling the best, not just because of the tinnitus, which is just annoying, but for the fact that after applying for numerous jobs I didn’t get any – only one interview and that wasn’t very pleasant.  I connected with this torn and damaged piece of ‘street art’. I took a photo of a section and then later played around with it – this is the result.

UnknownIn the Time of ‘Self-Isolation’: Torn & Twisted Self-Reflection – Christies Beach, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

Tony Knight – July 2020 (c.)

APHK PHOTOGRAPHY – SALA 2020: Australian Romanticism

02 Sunday Aug 2020

Posted by in 17TH CENTURY ART, 21st CENTURY ART, abstracts, Adelaide, ANIMALS, ART, ART GALLERIES, Australia, Australian Art, BEACHES, BLACK & WHITES, FILM, Film Noir, HISTORY, IMPRESSIONISM, PEOPLE, PHOTOGRAPHY, SALA, South Australia, TONY'S TOURS - Travel Journal, TRAVEL, TRAVEL JOURNEY, TRAVELING IN AUSTRALIA, TREES, Uncategorized, USA, VINEYARDS

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IN THE TIME OF 'SELF-ISOLATION' - DRIVE-IN1. In the Time of ‘Self-Isolation’: At the Drive-In – Adelaide Hills, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

INTRODUCTION

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic I was unable to hold my annual photographic exhibition for this years South Australian Living Artists Festival (SALA). Subsequently I will present my exhibition via my WordPress website as well as other social media; all 18 photographs in this collection are available for sale via my Bluethumb.com site.

The overall theme for this exhibition is Australian Romanticism. The collection includes ‘Landscapes’, ‘Seascapes’, ‘Sunsets’, ‘Night’, and ‘Abstracts’, as well as photographs from on-going series, namely ‘Adelaide Noir’, ‘Through a Window’, ‘Pareidolia’, and ‘In the Time of Self-Isolation’. This later series, exemplified by the above photograph, is an attempt to express the surreal nature of these current times in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic.

The sources for inspiration behind this collection are numerous. They include the natural extraordinary beauty of the Australian countryside, as well as influences of major artists; this includes early colonial artists John Glover, German ‘romantic’ artist Caspar David Friedrich, and American ‘abstract’ artist Mark Rothko.

As the above photograph also exemplifies there is often a romantic ‘theatrical’ aspect to my work. Behind all my work is my motto and attempt ‘to make the ordinary “Extraordinary”!’ Hope you enjoy this collection.

LANDSCAPES

28. THROUGH A WINDOW - SILVERTON2. Through a Window: Ruined House, Silverton, New South Wales (Sony ILCE-7)

The old mining town of Silverton is about 25kms north of Broken Hill in the north-western corner of New South Wales. It has often been used as a location for Australian films, including George Miller’s Mad Max series. This photograph is part of the on-going series ‘Through a Window; gazing through a window one can see and imagine numerous possibilities.

'SUGARLOAF' - HALLET COVED3. ‘The Sugarloaf’ – Hallet Cove Conservation Park, Hallet Cove, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

‘The Sugarloaf’ is one of the most distinctive features of the Hallet Cove Conservation Park, about 21kms south of Adelaide on the Gulf St. Vincent. This extraordinary formation is part of the remnants of an old pre-historic glacier; white sand replaced the ice as the glacier slowly melted 15,000 years ago. Early colonial settlers called it ‘The Sugarloaf’ due to its resemblance to a ‘loaf’ of hardened white sugar.

12. AUTUMN - MT LOFTY 14. Autumn 2020 – Mt. Lofty Botanic Gardens, Mt. Lofty, Adelaide Hills, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

Autumn in the Adelaide Hills is simply spectacular! The Mt. Lofty Botanic Gardens is a terrific place were one can see this colourful spectacle. Unfortunately, the gardens were closed for most of this Autumn due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, it re-opened for the final week of Autumn 2020 and I drove up immediately and found this tree that seemed ablaze with Autumn colour.

DSC00599a5. Penny’s Hill Vineyard – McLaren Vale, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

Penny’s Hill Vineyard is one of the most charming and picturesque established vineyards  in the McLaren Vale, approximately 35kms south of Adelaide on the Fleurieu Peninsular. There is a strong sense of old England at Penny Hill’s Vineyard, with its sandstone Georgian two-storey main house, as well as these Suffolk ‘black-faced’ sheep.

SEASCAPES

14. SEASCAPES - MASLIN BEACH 36. Maslin Beach, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

Maslin Beach is one of the ‘best beaches’ in Australia. It was also the first nudist beach in Australia, which is at the southern end of the beach. You can just see the small sign on the left of this photograph that states that this is the ‘Unclad’ section of the beach. I took this photograph one cold and stormy Winter’s day. I waited for a break in the cloud, a ‘decisive moment’, when the sun burst through the clouds and lit up the cliff face. Extraordinary.

IN THE TIMES OF 'SELF-ISOLATION'in the time of 'self-isolation7. In the Time of ‘Self-Isolation’: The Walker – Port Willunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

This photograph was taken one early Winter morning at Port Willunga, about 35kms south of Adelaide on the the Gulf St. Vincent. It is part of the on-going series ‘In the Time of “Self-Isolation”‘, and can be seen metaphorically as a reflection of these current times. The cliff face can be representative of the almost overwhelming nature of the Covid-19 pandemic, with the female walker standing tall but alone against this formidable force.

CONFERENCE OF THE BIRDS - PORT NOARLUNGA8. The Conference of the Birds – Port Noarlunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

This photograph was taken from the Port Noarlunga jetty on a cold early Winter’s day. It looked like this flock of seagulls were debating certain issues; such as, in the case of the Covid-19 pandemic – ‘Where have all the humans gone? Where are out chips?’. Subsequently, in order to find food they would need to brave the cold sea and debating, ‘Well – who’s going in first?’

PAREIDOLIA

‘Pareidolia’ is that unique aspect of the human imagination that sees faces in natural and man-made objects.  The following photograph is part of my on-going series devoted to this wonderful human phenomena, which is something that unites rather than divides us. Nonetheless, the faces and creatures that one may see in these photographs is up to you.

WHAT LIES BENEATH?9. Pareidolia: ‘What Lies Beneath?’ – Port Noarlunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

‘What Lies Beneath?’ – some see a serpent, some see a crocodile, some see a turtle, and some see a ram with a golden fleece – what do you see?

ABSTRACTS

22. ABSTRACTS - BRAVE NEW WORLD 1-210. ‘Brave New World’ – Austinmer, New South Wales (Sony ILCE-7)

This photograph was taken in January 2020 during the height of the Australian Summer Bushfires. Whilst it may seem that this photograph has been ‘doctored’ in some way in actual fact I did very little re post-production. The unique and relatively disturbing colours were due to the continual haze that hung over Austinmer, a beach town on the South Coast of New South Wales, for days and days and days.

10. ABSTRACTS - RIPLES - After H. R. Giger -211. Ripples – Christies Beach, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

This was taken one Winter morning on Christies Beach, which is about 20kms south of Adelaide. The ripples across the sad reminded me of the work of German illustrator H. R. Giger who created the ‘Alien’ for Ridley Scott.

SUNSETS

18. SUNSET - PORT WILLUNGA12. Sunset #1 – Port Willunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

This photograph and the two following were all taken at respective sunsets at Port Willunga. They are all very different in their own ways, inspired by different artists. The one above is influenced, particularly in terms of colour and tone, by the early Australian colonial artist John Glover.

9. SUNSETS - AUTUMN LIGHT13. Sunset #2 – Port Willunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

This photograph was taken on Autumn 2020 sunset. This photograph and the one following were influenced by the American ‘abstract’ artist Mark Rothko. They are specifically designed and crafted to encourage and support meditation and reflection, particularly during these challenging times.

SUNSETS - BATHER - PORT WILLUNGA 114. The Bather – Port Willunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

This photograph was also taken one Autumn 2020 sunset. The young woman in the photograph swims every day and in every season the considerable distance from the ruined jetty at the southern end of the Port Willunga beach to the northern headland. As with the previous photograph this is specifically created and designed for meditation and reflection.

9. SUNSETS - BOWRAL 215. Bowral ‘Bushfires’ Sunset – Bowral, New South Wales (Sony ILCE-7)

This photograph was taken one January 2020 sunset at a friend’s place in Bowral, in the Southern Highlands in New South Wales. Whilst all may seem relatively calm and peaceful, nonetheless, this was taken during the height of the catastrophic bushfires that dominated the Australian Summer. The orange glow in the distance is not from the setting sun but from a relatively nearby fire. As my friend and I gazed out over this landscape water helicopters continually flew by and over us.

ADELAIDE NOIR

1. ADELAIDE NOIR - BEACON, TORRENS ISLAND 2-216. The Beacon – Dolphin Sanctuary, Port Adelaide, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

This photograph was taken at Port Adelaide at the end of Summer 2020. It can be seen as a metaphorical expression of ‘Hope’, referencing the old Australian Labor Party and Christian motto of ‘the beacon the hill’ being a light of hope in the surrounding darkness.

NIGHT – TOWN & COUNTRY

The following two photographs may be taken as continuing the ‘noir’ theme from the above section. However, these two photographs are from two radically different locations – one in a modern Australian city and one in a remote Australian country town.

sydney War memorial17. Sydney War Memorial – Hyde Park, Sydney, New South Wales (Sony ILCE-7)

The was taken one still and balmy Summer’s night in late December 2019 in Sydney. Whilst the city was surrounded by Bushfires there was a relatively strange peace and quiet in this place of memorial and reflection.

silverton dust storm18. ‘Municipal Chambers’ (in a Dust Storm) – Silverton, New South Wales (Sony ILCE-7)

This was taken one night in early December 2019, in Silverton, in the far north-west of New South Wales – during a furious dust storm. The taking of this photograph was a ‘decisive moment’ and more. I was driving very, very slowly through this dust storm when I noticed the way the ‘Municipal Chambers’ appeared under the respective lights from the moon and nearby lamp, both affected by the haze of the dust storm. With the wind, dust, and rocks whirling around me I positioned my car up against a wall on the opposite side of the street, and with my back against a wall to keep me steady and using the open car door for some protection I took this one shot – which in the end came out rather well – like a Russell Drysdale painting.

If you have read and gazed at all the above I hope you have enjoyed it. I feel I have grown considerably in my development and evolution as an artistic photographer. The future? Who knows – but I am more certain about my artistic eye and aesthetics, which is, unashamedly, ‘Romantic’.

Tony Knight – August 2020.

 

 

 

 

 

On this Day in History: 28 JUNE

28 Sunday Jun 2020

Posted by in 16th CENTURY ART, 17TH CENTURY ART, 18TH CENTURY ART, 19TH CENTURY ART, 20TH CENTURY ART, 21st CENTURY ART, ACTING, AMERICAN DRAMA, AMERICAN DRAMA IN THE 1950S, AMERICAN HISTORY, ART, Australia, AUSTRALIAN THEATRE, DIRECTORS, DRAMA, ENGLISH HISTORY, HISTORY, POLITICS, THEATRE, Uncategorized, UNITED KINGDOM, USA

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1edd92fa32b1c36b83c391913012ed6c

The 28th June is a rather unique day in regards to World History and in particular ‘Western’ History. It marks the anniversary as well as birthdays of certain events and people that had considerable impact on the future and the present. The following are just   some that occurred on 28 June.

1. Coronation of EDWARD IV (1442-1483), King of England – Westminster Abbey, London, 1461. The coronation of Edward IV, eldest son Richard, Duke of York, and brother to George, Duke of Clarence and Richard, Duke of Gloucester (later Richard III), marked the end of the first part of the so-called ‘Wars of the Roses’ between the Houses of York and Lancaster. Edward IV reigned from 1461-1470 until the Lancastrian forces rose in rebellion and re-instated Henry VI. The Battle of Tewksbury in 1471 saw the defeat of the House of Lancaster and Edward IV retook the crown, reigning until 1483.

2. The birth of HENRY VIII (1491-1547) – Placentia Palace, Greenwich, Kent. Henry VIII was the third child of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. His subsequent reign after his father’s death in 1509 was one of the most turbulent and influential in English history. Controversial not just because of his family – his six wives and father to Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I, but also because of the split with Rome and the Catholic Church and the creation of the Protestant Church of England.

3. The birth of CHARLES V (1519-1556) Holy Roman Emperor, King of Germany and Italy – Prinsenof, Ghent, Holy Roman Empire. One of the most dynamic and powerful rulers of Europe in the 16th Century, and the person who firmly established the House of Hapsburg as a major force in ‘World History’. Throughout his life Charles V fought many battles mainly on behalf of Catholicism. His enemies were not only the European Protestant states but also the Ottoman Turks.

4. The BATTLE OF NAGASHINO (1575) – Nagashino Castle, Mikawa, Honshu, Japan. The Battle of Nagashino was one of the decisive battles in the Sengoku period (1467-1615) between Okudaira Sadamasa of the Tokugawa Shogunate and Takeda Katsuyori of the Takeda clan. Okudaira Sadamasa managed to defend the Nagashino Castle from considerable attacks until relief arrived from the Tokugawa-Oda alliance.

5. The birth of SIR PETER PAUL RUBENS (1577-1640) – Siegen Nassau-Dillenburg, Holy Roman Empire. One of the most influential (and wealthiest) painters of the Baroque period of Art. Rubens worked as a painter as well as a diplomat. Most of his art work, however, is devoted to historical, mythical, and religious event and people.

6. The birth of JEAN-JACQUES ROUSSEAU (1712-1778) – Geneva, Republic of Geneva. Rousseau is on of the most influential philosophers of the 18th Century. His major works include Emile, or on Education (1762), The Social Contract, or Principles of Political Right (1762), and Confessions (1770). Rousseau’s work was considerably influential on the Jacobins during the French Revolution. His work and philosophy continues to be studied today. Always controversial, it was the British philosopher Bertrand Russell who stated, ‘Hitler is the outcome of Rousseau’.

7. Coronation of QUEEN VICTORIA (1812-1901) – Westminster Abbey, 1838.

8. The premier of the ballet GISELLE, or THE WILLIS by Adolph Adam, Theophile Gautier, Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges – in Paris, France 1841. Giselle is one of the most popular and enduring classical ‘romantic’ ballets. It was based on two sources – Heinrich Heine’s De I’Allemage and Victor Hugo’s ‘Fantomes’ (Les Orientales). The ballet was created for Carlotta Grisi, an Italian dancer and one of the most popular ‘stars’ of European ballet in 19th Century.

9. The death of ROBERT O’HARA BURKE (1821-1861) – Coopers Creek, Queensland, Australia, 1861. Burke’s death at Cooper’s Creek in 1861 marked the end of the disastrous and tragic ‘Burke and Wills Expedition’ whose aim was to cross the Australian continent from Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpentaria. Launched with much patriotic sentiment and celebration, departing from Melbourne 20 August 1860 with about 15,000 spectators, the expedition was a complete disaster. Despite Burke and his companions, including William John Wills, making it to the Gulf of Carpentaria they did not have enough provisions nor understanding of the harsh realities of the Australian outback. Burke and Wills and Dennis King made it back to Cooper’s Creek only to discover that their depot party had left the previous day. Burke and Wills died at Cooper’s Creek, however, King managed to survive thanks to the assistance of a local Indigenous tribe.

Unknown.jpeg10. The birth of LUIGI PIRANDELLO (1867-1936) – Girgenti (now, Agigento), Sicily, Italy. Pirandello is one of the masters and major influencers of 20th Century theatre. This includes his extraordinary plays – Right You Are, If You Think So (1917), The Rules of the Game (1918) Six Characters in Search of and Author (1921), and Henry IV (1922).

11. The capture of NED KELLY (1854-1880) – Glenrowan, Victoria, Australia, 1880. Ned Kelly remains one of the most iconic and controversial Australian ‘bushrangers’ of the 19th Century. The siege of the Glenrowan Inn, Glenrowan, involving Ned and his fellow gang members, as well as the Victorian police and locals was bloody affair. In the morning of 28 June 1880 Ned put on his iconic armour and left the Glenrowan Inn, leaving his companions behind. Ned Kelly confronted the police, which included journalist Tom Carrington who later wrote that when Ned Kelly appeared for the final confrontation it was like a ‘strange apparition’ – ‘With the steam rising from the ground it looked like for all the world like the ghost of Hamlet’s father….It was the most extraordinary sight I ever saw or read in my life, and I felt fairly spellbound with wonder, I could not stir or speak’.

11. The birth of RICHARD RODGERS (1902-1979) – Queens, New York City, USA. One of the masters of American Music Theatre, Richard Rodgers will collaborators Lorenz Hart and later Oscar Hammerstein II created some of the most popular and enduring American musicals of the 20th Century. This includes – (w. Lorenz Hart) On Your Toes (1936), Babes in Arms (1937), The Boys from Syracuse (1938), Pal Joey (1940-41); (w. Oscar Hammerstein II) Oklahoma (1943), Carousel (1945), South Pacific (1949), The King and I (1951), The Sound of Music (1959).

12. The Assassination of Arch Duke Ferdinand (1863-1914) and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenburg (1868-1914) – Sarajvo, Austria-Hungary, 1914. The assassination of ‘heir presumptive’ to the Austrian-Hungarian Empire, Arch Duke Ferdinand and his wife Sophie, is generally cited as the ’cause celeb’ that triggered a series of events that led to World War I.

13. The signing of the TREATY OF VERSAILLES – Versailles, France, 1919. The signing of the Treaty of Versailles on 28 June 1919 officially marked the end of World War I and hostilities between Germany and the Allied Powers of Great Britain, France, and the USA.

14. The birth of MEL BROOKS (1926- ) – Brooklyn, New York City, USA. One of the greatest American clowns, comedy writer and director of the 20th Century – who is still alive today. His many films include – The Producers (1967), Blazing Saddles (1974), and Young Frankenstein (1974). My favourite? The Producers (1967).

 

There is a lot more – but – ‘Here endeth the lesson’ – Happy 28 June.

Tony Knight – 28 June, 2020.

Gallery

NEW WORK by Tony Knight – SALA 2019

19 Monday Aug 2019

Posted by in 21st CENTURY ART, abstracts, Adelaide, ANIMALS, ART, Australia, Australian Art, BEACHES, BLACK & WHITES, festivals, HISTORY, IMPRESSIONISM, PHOTOGRAPHY, SALA, South Australia, TRAVEL, TRAVELING IN AUSTRALIA, Uncategorized

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This gallery contains 22 photos.

INTRODUCTION Welcome to NEW WORK – my photography exhibition for this year’s South Australian Living Artists (SALA) festival. My focus this past …

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2018 in Review – Theatre & Film: “It’s come to my attention that you don’t know who I am.”

30 Sunday Dec 2018

Posted by in 21st CENTURY ART, ACTING, ACTORS, Adelaide, ADELAIDE FESTIVAL CENTRE, ADELAIDE THEATRE, AMERICAN DRAMA, AMERICAN FILM AND CINEMA, ASIAN CINEMA, ASIAN THEATRE, Australia, AUSTRALIAN ACTORS, AUSTRALIAN FILM, AUSTRALIAN THEATRE, BRITISH DRAMA, BROADWAY, CHINESE CINEMA, CINEMA, DIRECTORS, DRAMA, ENGLISH DRAMA, ENGLISH THEATRE, festivals, FILM, Hollywood, LONDON, MOVIES, MUSICALS, OZ-ASIA, PLAYS, South Australia, THEATRE, Uncategorized, UNITED KINGDOM, USA

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“It’s come to my attention that you don’t know who I am” – is a line that Cate Blanchett delivers with deep and devastating effectiveness when she first enters THOR RAGNAROK. Could it be that she is referencing her old acting teachers, Kevin Jackson and myself? Not certain – but what this line does reflect is the subject of ‘identity politics’ that has come to dominate so much of modern theatre and film.

So – here we are – at the end of 2018 – that brief time in which we reflect on what we have seen and done over 2018, amidst the plethora of ‘Best of’ lists. I am not necessarily into the ‘Best of ’ etc. I have a fervent dislike of art becoming a kind of superficial competition, which is why I don’t watch a lot of TV. My lists are far more personal and revealing, reflective of those productions that affected me in one way or another, and have stayed with me for various reasons. I have my favourites, certainly, but they are not necessarily the “Best” of anything. I like the respective following works – because they moved me – that’s all.

I feel very fortunate to be living and working in Adelaide, partly because I am able to see a relatively vast range of national and international productions each year. This is primarily due to the respective festivals, such as the Adelaide Fringe Festival, the Adelaide Festival, the Adelaide Film Festival, the Adelaide Cabaret Festival, and (my favourite) the Oz-Asia Festival.

So – here we go. However, let me first state that I did not see any opera this year, nor did I see much dance and ballet, so these kind of productions are not on my list. All the theatre productions listed below were different in their own way, yet each profoundly moved me as well as enlightened and thrilled me.

THEATRE (in roughly chronological order)

JOHN BUCCHINO: IT’S ONLY LIFE – Davine Productions (USA/AUST. – Fringe Festival)

FLESH & BONE by Elliot Warren – Unpolished Theatre (UK – Fringe Festival)

KING JACK QUEEN by Baboab Tree Theatre Company (UK – Fringe Festival)

SMOKING WITH GRANDMA (Threewords Playwright (China – Fringe Festival)

KINGS OF WAR based on the ‘History’ plays by William Shakespeare – directed by Ivo von Hove and produced by Toneelgroep Amsterdam (Adelaide Festival)

US/THEM by Carly Wijs and BRONKS, Belgium (Adelaide Festival)

FLA.CO.MEN – Israel Galvan (Spain – Adelaide Festival)

MEMORIAL by Alice Oswald – directed by Chris Drummond with Helen Morse (Brink Productions) (Australia – Adelaide Festival)

PATTI LUPONE (USA – Cabaret Festival)

JOHN CAMERON MITCHELL (USA – Cabaret Festival)

NASSIM by Nassim Soleimanpour (Iran – Oz-Asia Festival

SECRET LOVE IN PEACH BLOSSOM LAND by Stan Lai (China – Oz-Asia Festival)

SUTRA by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui (Netherlands/China – Oz-Asia Festival)

FAITH HEALER by Brain Friel – directed by Judy Davis with Colin Friels, Alison Whyte and Paul Blackwell. (State Theatre of South Australia.)

THE PURPLE LIST by Libby Pearson (UK – Feast Festival)

SEUSSICAL by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens– Northern Light Theatre Company

LINES by Pamela Carter (UK) – directed by Cory MacMahon (UK)

GODS OF STRANGERS by Elena Carapetis (State Theatre of South Australia)

Whilst this is really just shameless self-promotion, nonetheless, I am very proud of the productions that STARC the company I have formed with Stefannie Rossi and Marc Clement, produced in 2018. This includes TOYER by Gardner Mackay, TWO by Jim Cartwright, and REASONABLE DOUBT by Suzie Miller. Plus – there was Genet’s THE MAIDS.

Suzie Miller’s REASONABLE DOUBT, Elena Carapetis’ GODS OF STRANGERS, as well as Jada Alberts’ BROTHERS WRECK were the outstanding new Australian plays produced in Adelaide in 2018. I did see other new works in Sydney and Melbourne – but that’s another story, and none of them had the same impact on me as these three works. I may be biased re REASONABLE DOUBT but it was an honour and privilege to direct and produce the Australian premiere of this play.

FILM (not in any order of preference)

SHOPLIFTERS (2018) directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda (JAPAN)

CRAZY RICH ASIANS (2018) directed by Jon M. Chu (USA)

A STAR IS BORN (2018) directed by Bradley Cooper (USA)

BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY (2018) directed by Bryan Singer (USA.UK)

HEREDITARY (2018) directed by Ari Aster (USA)

GURRUMUL (2018 directed by Paul Damien Williams (AUSTRALIA)

Films released at the end of 2017 and seen in 2018

SWEET COUNTRY (2017) directed by Warwick Thornton (AUSTRALIA)

THE INSULT (2017) – directed by Ziad Doueiri (LEBANON)

A FANTASTIC WOMAN (2017) directed by Sebastian Lelio (CHILE)

CALL ME BY YOUR NAME (2017) directed by Luca Guadagnini (ITALY)

THOR – RAGNAROK (2017) directed by Taika Waititi (USA/NZ)

DARKEST HOUR (2017) directed by Joe Wright (UK/USA)

THE POST (2017) directed by Steven Spielberg (USA

THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI (2017) directed by Martin McDonagh (USA)

THE DISASTER ARTIST (2017) directed by James Franco (USA)

STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI (2017) directed by Rian Johnson (USA)

THE GREATEST SHOWMAN (2017) – directed by Michael Gracey (USA)

BLADERUNNER 2049 (2017) – directed by Denis Villeneuve (USA)

Rather an eclectic group – and there are others – but these are the ones that have stayed with me.

I was also very fortunate in representing the National Film and Sound Archive in presenting during the 2018 Adelaide Film Festival (which was excellent) the newly restored prints of Gillian Armstrong’s STARSTRUCK (1982) and John Duigan’s THE YEAR MY VOICE BROKE (1987). The latter, in particular, was very well received, and it was marvellous to see the very young Noah Taylor and Ben Mendelsohn who most certainly have gone on to have quite wonderful careers.

2018 also marked the 100th Anniversary of the Raymond Longford’s and Lotte Lyall’s THE SENTIMENTAL BLOKE (1918), which premiered in Adelaide on the 26 November 1918. I couldn’t attend the anniversary screening in Adelaide, so I watched this great Australian silent film classic at home.

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Re Australian films – I did see a number, including Stephan Elliot’s SWINGING SAFARI, Mark Grenfell’s THE MERGER, Chris Sun’s BOAR, Ben Howling’s CARGO, Marion Pilowsky’s THE FLIPSIDE, and Heath Davis’ BOOK WEEK. I also finally caught up with Simon Baker’s BREATH (2017) and Ben Young’s HOUNDS OF LOVE (2017). A number of these films I admit I watched at home as they either had a limited cinema release and/or went straight to Netflix.

So – a wacky combo of romantic comedies and horror. None of these films was ‘brilliant’, but they were OK; in fact, more than OK. I particularly liked and appreciated the romantic comedies, perhaps the most difficult of all film genres to successfully pull off.

 It was, however, Paul Damien Williams’ documentary GURRUMUL and Warwick Thornton’s SWEET COUNTRY that were the stand-outs – especially SWEET COUNTRY.

Warwick Thornton’s SWEET COUNTRY is terrific! And yet – I don’t know anyone who has seen it. Seriously. I saw it at the movies in Mitcham and I was one of three people in the session. Rather depressing – especially for such an excellent Australian film, but the reality is that it has been a bit of a disaster at the box-office, and continues to be an unknown despite good reviews etc.

SWEET COUNTRY, however, did trigger and inspired me to explore in more detail the nature of Australian ‘westerns’, and the ‘Western’ as a film genre in general.

The ‘Western’ is arguably the most common form of film in World Cinema, beginning with the Tait’s THE STORY OF THE KELLY GANG (1906), the first feature film in World Cinema, and the shorter THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY (1903).

Subsequently, it is possible to argue that it was the ‘Western’ that began cinema and feature film. There are so many sub-genres in regard to ‘Westerns’, including musicals, comedies, horror, and science-fiction. Virtually all major ‘stars’ have at least one ‘Western’ in their body of work – and often more than one. Nor is the ‘Western’ confined simply to US film – they are everywhere; for example, the influential Italian/ Spanish ‘spaghetti westerns’ of Sergio Leone. Australian ‘Westerns’ have the strange title of ‘meat-pie’ Westerns.

There is not the time nor space to elaborate on this wonderful conundrum (what does the ‘West’ mean? Etc), but SWEET COUNTRY certainly joins the pantheon of great Australian ‘Westerns’ that includes WAKE IN FRIGHT, THE MAN FROM SNOWY RIVER, THE TRACKER, THE PROPOSITION, MYSTERY ROAD, GOLDSTONE, as well as earlier films such as ROBBERY UNDER ARMS, BITTER SPRINGS and even JEDDAH.

 The ‘Western’ is also very much a part of contemporary US films. Here is a list of some of the modern US ‘Westerns’ that I have watched. John McLean’s SLOW WEST (2015) and Ti West’s IN A VALLEY OF VIOLENCE (2016) being two in particular that I enjoyed and would thoroughly recommend.

THE HOMESMAN (2014) – directed by Tommy Lee Jones

SLOW WEST (2015) – directed by John McLean

BONE TOMAHAWK (2015) – S. Craig Zahler

THE HATEFUL EIGHT (2015) – Quentin Tarantino

IN A VALLEY OF VIOLENCE (2016) – Ti West

BRIMSTONE (2016) – Martin Koolhoven

Looking back – WOW – quite pleased with myself that I have actually seen so much.

Finally – did Ms Blanchett wickedly reference either Kevin Jackson or myself in THOR RAGNAROK?

I don’t really know – but it certainly has been suggested. No matter – but if and whenever I see this wonderful ex-student of ours I do intend to say to her in a rather deep voice – It has come to my attention that you don’t know who I am (Kevin), quickly followed by – Have you been listening to a word I’ve said!!! (Me)

Bring on 2019.

TK

 

 

 

 

Tony’s Top Australian Films: #8 – IT ISN’T DONE (1937)

22 Saturday Sep 2018

Posted by in ACTING, ACTORS, Australia, AUSTRALIAN FILM, AUSTRALIAN THEATRE, BLACK & WHITES, CINEMA, DIRECTORS, DRAMA, FILM, MOVIES, Uncategorized

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Ken G. Hall’s It Isn’t Done (1937) was one of the most successful Australian films of the 1930s. It was based on a story by Cecil Kellaway and written by Frank Harvey and Carl Dudley. Cecil Kellaway was a South African born actor who lived and worked in Australia during the 1920s and 1930s. He would eventually move to the USA where he would establish himself as a major character actor, featuring in such films as The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946), The Luck of the Irish (1948), and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967). This was also Shirley Ann Richard’s first feature film.

The story involves an Australian farmer called Hubert Blaydon (Cecil Kellaway) who suddenly inherits a baronet in the UK. He and his family travel to England to take up the inheritance but run up against British snobbery. Eventually, Hubert arranges to get rid of the inheritance, giving it to a young writer, Peter Ashton (John Longden), who has fallen in love with Hubert’s daughter, Patricia (Shirley Ann Richards). Hubert and his wife return to Australia leaving Patricia who marries Peter.

 

Whilst mostly set in the UK, the film was entirely shot in Australia, in the Cinesound Bondi studios. This is a truly delightful ‘comedy of manners’ contrasting contemporary Australian social ways and ethics with British ones. It was a big success in Australia as well as the UK and USA and is still as funny and engaging as it ever was.

Tony Knight

Tony’s Top Australian Films: #7 – THOROUGHBRED (1936)

21 Friday Sep 2018

Posted by in 20TH CENTURY ART, ACTING, ACTORS, Australia, AUSTRALIAN FILM, BLACK & WHITES, CINEMA, DIRECTORS, DRAMA, FILM, HISTORY, Hollywood, MOVIES, Uncategorized

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TONY’S TOP AUSTRALIAN FILMS: #7 – THOROUGHBRED (1936)

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Ken G. Hall’s Thoroughbred (1936) is a sometimes thrilling Australian film.  It is very loosely based on the story of one of Australia’s greatest racehorses, Phar Lap. Unfortunately, it has suffered from comparisons with other similar films, such as Frank Capra’s Broadway Bill (1934). However, it is a delightful film and is part of a small group or genre of Australian films that is about the popular Australian sport of horse racing. Furthermore, like virtually all the Australian horse racing films the climax is the famous Melbourne Cup – the Australian horse race ‘that stops the nation’.

thoroughbred_novelisationThe story centres on a horse called Stormalong who is owned and cared for by Joan, a young Canadian horse trainer living in Australia. She is helped by Tommy Dawson and together they start winning races. Eventually, Stormalong becomes a favourite to win the Melbourne Cup. However, a group of corrupt gambling syndicates plot to destroy Stormalong. First, they arrange for his stable to be burnt down; then they kidnap Tommy; and finally, at the Melbourne Cup whilst the race is on there is a life and death race to try and stop a sniper from shooting Stormalong. Helen_Twelvetrees_1934

In 1935 order to help finance the film and secure a US distribution Ken G. Hall traveled to the US and signed American actress Helen Twelvetrees to play Joan. Helen Twelvetrees, as well as Frank Leighton who plays Tommy, is terrific in the film. There is also a back-stage drama here as Helen Twelvetrees. She came to Australia with her 220px-Helen_Twelvetrees_during_filming_of__Thoroughbred_,_Sydney,_1936_Sam_Hoodhusband and child but had an affair with Frank Leighton who was playing Tommy. Her husband found out and threatened to kill Frank Leighton. Ken G. Hall had to hire detectives to help gently but firmly get the husband and child out of the country.

I thoroughly recommend this wonderful little gem in the Australian film canon.

Tony Knight

 

 

TONY’S TOP AUSTRALIAN FILMS: #6. THE SILENCE OF DEAN MAITLAND (1934)

16 Sunday Sep 2018

Posted by in 20TH CENTURY ART, ACTING, ACTORS, Australia, AUSTRALIAN ACTORS, AUSTRALIAN FILM, AUSTRALIAN THEATRE, BLACK & WHITES, CINEMA, DIRECTORS, DRAMA, FILM, HISTORY, MOVIES, PHOTOGRAPHY, PLAYS, THEATRE, Uncategorized

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Tony’ Top Australian Films: #6. THE SILENCE OF DEAN MAITLAND (1934)

Silence_of_Dean_MaitlandKen G. Hall’s The Silence of Dean Maitland (1934) is not a great film, but it has something rather intriguing about it that makes compulsive viewing. Furthermore, it throws a particular mirror up to its contemporary society with certain issues still relevant today.

The film is based on the romantic melodramatic novel of the same name by Maxwell Grey (a pseudonym for Mary Gleed Tuttiett) that was first published in 1886. It was a best-seller, adapted into a play, and later two silent films in 1914 and 1915. It involves a minister, Dean Maitland who is seduced by the local sex-pot, Alma Lee who becomes pregnant. Ben Lee, Alma’s father, when he finds out physically attacks Dean Maitland, who then accidentally kills Alma’s father. Rather than confess, Dean Maitland allows his best friend, Dr. Henery Everard to take the blame. Everard goes to jail for twenty years, whilst Dean Maitland enjoys a successful life. Eventually, however, all is revealed.thumb_1083_poster_small

There is a story that Ken G. Hall and his friend Stuart F. Doyle went to see a production of the play by The Rockdale Amateur Society in Sydney, and ended up in fits of giggles due to its overt melodramatic sentimentality. Nonetheless, Hall sensed there was something about this story that would appeal to contemporary audiences – and he was right. Despite reserved contemporary critical assessments, the respective film versions were popular successes, particularly Ken G. Hall’s 1934 film.

Today it is very awkward at times to watch, nonetheless, there is something about this story. Furthermore, despite all the melodramatic sentimentality The Silence of Dean Maitland had, and I think still has, the power and capacity to upset numerous people in religious communities and government institutions. Raymond Longford wrote and directed the 1914 film version, and ended up in court over distribution problems. It is perhaps the issue of decadence, hypocrisy, corruption, and betrayal by a supposed respected religious leader that is why The Silence of Dean Maitland has its appeal and fascination, and would, if re-made, probably be as successful and popular with Australian audiences as it has always been. A curiosity, perhaps, but there is something there….?

TONY KNIGHT

 

TONY’S TOP AUSTRALIAN FILMS: #5. THE SQUATTER’S DAUGHTER (1932)

13 Thursday Sep 2018

Posted by in 20TH CENTURY ART, ACTING, ACTORS, Australia, AUSTRALIAN ACTORS, Australian Art, AUSTRALIAN FILM, AUSTRALIAN HISTORY, AUSTRALIAN THEATRE, BLACK & WHITES, CINEMA, DIRECTORS, DRAMA, FILM, HISTORY, LITERATURE, MOVIES, PLAYS, THEATRE, Uncategorized

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TONY’S TOP AUSTRALIAN FILMS

#5. The Squatter’s Daughter (1932)

220px-The_Squatters_DaughterOne of the most popular Australian ‘melodramas’ in the first decades of the 20th Century was The Squatter’s Daughter (1907) by Bert Baily and Edward Duggan. The story essentially involves a dramatic love-triangle between two male rivals and the feisty heroine – Violet, the ‘Squatter’s Daughter’. Partly why this film is in my ‘Top Australian films’ is because it exemplifies the creation of a particular type of Australian female persona – the Aussie ‘shelia’.

These days, to call a woman a ‘shelia’ would be taken as a relatively derogatory label. That was not it’s original intention; rather the contrary, as it was a term that was essentially affectionate and complementary. The ‘shelia’ roles, such as Violet in The Squatter’s Daughter, were primarily masculine creations, nonetheless, the character was firmly embraced – feisty, independent, smart, beautiful, sometimes rich imagesand sometimes not – she was seen as the ideal companion to the idealized romantic persona of the contemporary Australian male. These characteristics are also found in Sybylla Mervyn in Miles Franklin’s My Brilliant Career (1901), who to a certain extent prefigures Violet in The Squatter’s Daughter (1907), and many others to follow – such as Barbara in Lawson Harris’ A Daughter of Australia (1922).

The success of the play led to Bert Bailey directing a silent-screen adaption in 1910. Unfortunately, there are no surviving copies and is now regarded as a ‘lost film’.

Squatters_Daughter_posterIt is, however, Ken G. Hall’s 1932 film version that perhaps gives the best glimpse of how thrilling contemporary Australain audiences found The Squatter’s Daughter. Hall’s film, however, although based on the original play, is considerably different. The characters have been renamed – Violet is now Joan – and certain characters and situations completely removed. For example, the sub-plot in the original play involving the bushranger Ben Hall has gone; its place is a sub-plot involving racism.

Another reason why this film is in my ‘Top Australian films’ is the spectacular and frightening bush-fire that is the climax of the film. Very impressive – and dangerous – film-making.

Tony Knight

 

 

TONY’S TOP AUSTRALIAN FILMS – #4 ON OUR SELECTION (1932)

07 Friday Sep 2018

Posted by in 20TH CENTURY ART, ACTING, ACTORS, Australia, AUSTRALIAN ACTORS, AUSTRALIAN FILM, AUSTRALIAN THEATRE, BLACK & WHITES, DIRECTORS, DRAMA, FILM, HISTORY, MOVIES, PLAYS, THEATRE, Uncategorized

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TONY’ TOP AUSTRALIAN FILMS

#4 ON OUR SELECTION (1932)

e000951h-01Steele Rudd’s On Our Selection (1899) was one of the most popular works in Australian fiction for nearly fifty years. It was a series of satiric ‘sketches’ involving a rural Australian family, the Rudds,  battling the elements, neighbours, politicians, and themselves. It marks the beginning of a number books by Steele Rudd about this lovable family of ‘country bumpkins’. The original group of ‘sketches’, On Our Selection, in 1912 became a highly successful play, written by Edmond Duggan and the then popular Australian actor Bert Bailey who also played the central character of Dad Rudd.

download-1The play became the basis for the 1920 silent film version as well as Charles Chauvel’s 1932 ‘talkie’ On Our Selection. This was the film that really launched Charles Chauvel’s career. He was initially reluctant to do it, considering it as ‘old-fashioned’, however, based on the success of the play and the 1920 film he was persuaded that it would be a big hit with the Australian public – and it was.

Bert Bailey co-wrote the screenplay as well as reprise the role he created, Dad Rudd. Bailey, and Fred MacDonald as Dave Rudd, as well as the film, were such an enormous hit that it subsequently triggered off a series of films – Grandad Rudd (1935), Dad and Dave Come to Town (1938), Dad Rudd MP (1940).  Whilst ‘film series’ are not unknown in the Australian film canon, nonetheless, the ‘Dad and Dave’ films are the most successful.

It is perhaps lamentable that the world and humour of On Our Selection and the ‘Dad and Dave’ films, in general, are relegated to the ‘old-fashioned’ dismissed bucket. However, Yes – they could be regarded as ‘old-fashioned’, but there is also an engaging whimsical charm, and they have moments that are genuinely funny. Furthermore, they do not shy away from social and political comment, and have more in common with the contemporary US films of Frank Capra and Preston Sturges than is generally credited – but with a uniquely ‘Australian’ voice.

This is partly exemplified in Dad and Dave Come to Town (which is my personal favourite) by the character of Mr. Ernstwhislte, played by Alec Kellaway. This character is what was called a ‘sissie’ role; in that, he is very effeminate and obviously ‘gay’. What makes this character and Alec Kellaway’s excellent performance important is that it is quite possibly the very first positive presentation of a homosexual man in ‘world cinema’, as opposed to being villainous, decadent, pathetic, psychopathic outcasts. Alec Kellaway’s Mr. Ernstwhistle is none of these, but is ‘good guy’ and helps Dad and Dave in their battle against the real villains in the film. Even more surprising, and a delightful paradox in regards to Australian audiences in comparison with English and US audiences, Mr. Ernstwhistle was so popular with the Australian public that he subsequently came back in later films.

These films may well be just of ‘historical interest’ now, however, I would argue that if viewed they would still garner laughs and be extremely popular.

Tony Knight