Sydney thinks of itself as the centre of the country, the only part that matters, but in the lucrative art market, Sydney is subsidiary to the old moneyed city of the south -- Melbourne.
In the air, on the ground ( and water too). Sydney is undergoing an unprecedented interest in public art. Artists, curators, academics, contemporary art spaces, museums. commercial galleries, architects, urban designers, town planners, local government, arts councils and ministries - all are involved in varying degrees in making, discussing, supporting or promoting public art. Major fold out of William Yang's photographs.
Exhibition review Q. Would you recognise a Virtual Paradise? and other paintings
Suzanne Treister
Contemporary Art Centre
South Australia
29 March - 24 April 1994
Editorial by guest editor Joanna Mendelssohn. What after all is different about Sydney? I have tried to give some idea of the debates which are not always expressed in writing - the incestuous nature of the mighty arts organisations; the way that words influence or corrupt understandings of art; and the limits on public debate because of fear of the consequences.