Shimmer
ArtTM
ART
BY
'TOTAL
ART' AT TOWNSVILLE. Townsville's new gallery
director Ross Searle has shown the flag with his first home-curated
show of works by young artist Ranna Hale [artist's former last name].
Though the public may
have a bit to chew on with this uncompromising kind of art, the choice
was a lucky one: it combines a consistent and demanding concept with
excellent graphic draftsmanship. The show was officially
opened by Senator Margaret Reynolds, who, as former chairman of the
Townsville City Council's Community and Cultural Development Committee,
expressed her personal relationship to the venue, as well as to the
artist. This goes back to the time when artist Ranna Hale [artist's
former last name] worked as the town's community arts officer, in
between her studies at the Queensland College of Art and Townsville
College of TAFE. PHOTOGRAPH FROM REVIEW,
Colin Analogue to the composition
principle in atonal music, these intersections form the equivalent of
a visual scale, thus providing the building material for future work. The paintings explore
the body feeling of the different body parts in the experience of the
artist. A cosmological dimension is suggested by relating the body feelings
to the moods of the four seasons of the year (each subdivided into three),
the fours elements, and the 12 signs of the zodiac. The drawings are based
on images taken from an anatomical atlas, and on life studies, but are
also abstracted and monumentalised to achieve an epic quality. Though
the images also determine the forms in the paintings, the colours, textures,
and (controlled) gestural movement show expressive heaviness, as if
seeking a counterpart to the lofty concept. ... The visual display
is accompanied by a tape of (12) natural sounds, which are set in atonal
arrangements. The integration of music
and vision both in the presentation and the underlying concept follow
the European tradition of Total Art, which appeared in many guises from
Wagner to Beuys, currently experiencing a (frightening?) revival in
young urban art practice, stimulated by new French philosophy. It is of interest in
this context that Anton Schoenberg, the inventor of Dodekaphonie, and
Wassily Kandinsky corresponded over a Total Art colour system. Schoenberg
himself was a hauntingly expressive painter. The exhibit will be
on display until June 14. Anna Bock, in Courier
Mail, Saturday May 31, 1986, Brisbane, Australia. [ABRIDGED] REVIEW
OF SHIMMER INSTALLATION Extended
list of reviews, publications, exhibitions This
site is devoted to Ranna's work from 1977 - 2000. Ranna
® is an international trademark registered with the
U.S. Patents and Trademarks Office. Work
by Ranna ® exhibited at any location is provided by
Ranna ® Arts Incorporated (LLC). OTHER:
Ranna ® & Tai
Chi & Movement Site optimized
for monitor setting of 800x600.
Campbell, Townsville Bulletin, The Arts,
May 17, 1986, p. 18.
Photo: Ranna with Shoulders, Arms, Lungs
(1985) from Myth, Woman, Song 1985-86
The exhibition consists of 12 large drawings in charcoal, ink, pastels
and paint on paper, and a corresponding set of 12 paintings in polytex,
acrylic and metallic paint on heavy jute, as well as a smaller quartet
of studies to the paintings. Common theme of all works is the female
body, intersected into twelve parts, so to speak from toe to tip.
_________
For Ranna's work 2000 - present,
click here.
RANNA® ARTS INCORPORATED (LLC)
PO Box 971, Stephens City,
VA 22655, U.S.A
www.ranna.com
Site: Winchester
Art Management.