Inside view

The National Gallery of Australia's touring collection brings together a remarkable collection of works by the late John Brack. Far from being merely a smattering of his best work, the collection presents a representative cross section, allowing us to chart Brack's development as an artist over the years.

Brack was born in 1920 in Melbourne and the collection begins in earnest with his works from the 1950s. At this time, Brack was concerned with depicting the reality of life as he saw it. So we have pictures like Men's Wear (1953) in which a dour looking attendant waits patiently beside two blankly grinning store dummies, while someone (a customer?) is seen briefly in silhouette in a mirror. It captures not only the ordinariness of the shop scene, but also the futility of the situation.

Mens Wear

Brack was to take that one step further in one of his most famous works Latin American Grand Final (1969); a picture as an "analysis of folly". Painted in tones of red and black, it shows couples twirling on an oddly patterned dance floor, their smiles fixed, but their eyes never meeting. Meanwhile a man (probably a judge) looks on from the sidelines, although his face is indistinct, as if to not interfere with the perfection of those smiles.

From the 1970s onward, we see a movement in Brack's work towards a more surreal feeling. Instead of human figures, we see inanimate objects - walking frames, pencils, mannequins - taking the place of people in his pictures. This both depersonalises the work somewhat, but allowed Brack the scope to explore more fundamental questions, particularly about conflict.

In his noted The battle (1981-83), we see the Battle of Waterloo recreated using pencils. The dark blue "French" pencils are being engulfed by the red "British" pencils, while at the point where they meet, chaos reigns. Pencils have fallen, their marks suggesting blood. Close examination reveals pens interspersed among the pencils. They are a "higher" class of instrument - officers in effect. At the centre of the "British" pencils, we see two playing cards (another common motif in Brack's work), the ace and king of hearts. On the "French" side, we see the king of diamonds being held aloft, but its companion (presumably the ace) is facing away and torn in the middle; suggesting defeat.
The Battle

The collection also features Brack's nudes and otherfigurative works from the 1950s, together with some of his drawings. Even in these, we can see his movement away from the figure, as his subjects' limbs become more elongated and angular.

Latin American Grand Final

John Brack: inside and outside is a vibrant collection of works from a renowned Australian artist. For the breadth of its scope alone, the collection is worth seeing. But it is the exquisite work of the artist behind the work which makes it truly memorable.

David Edwards

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John Brack: inside and outside

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