ART
BY A
review of Ranna's early figurative work discussing her integration
of the figure, cosmology, atonal music theory, and actual musical
sounds in an exhibition of figurative work. (Anna
Bock, Brisbane Courier Mail: TOTAL ART AT TOWNSVILLE,
May 31, 1986.) 'TOTAL
ART' AT TOWNSVILLE. Townsville's
[Perc Tucker Gallery's] 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 ADDITIONAL REVIEW by Colin Campbell, Townsville Bulletin,
"The Arts", May 17, 1986, p. 18. Photo: Ranna with Shoulders,
Arms, Lungs (1985) from Myth, Woman, Song 1985-86 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. (By
Anna Bock, in Courier Mail, Saturday May 31, 1986, Brisbane,
Australia. [ABRIDGED]) REVIEW
OF SHIMMER INSTALLATION Extended
list of reviews, publications, exhibitions Catalogue,
Washington D.C. 2000
Ranna's work since 2000 is at www.ranna.com Site:
Winchester Art Management.
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.
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