The Gallery of WA's Exhibitions Lighting

Every time I visit one of the paid exhibitions at the Art Gallery of WA, I leave wondering why the Art Gallery people seem oblivious to what I call fatal flaws in an exhibition.

We leave in an isolated part of the world, off the beaten track for most cultural events. Now that our State's economy is booming, there is a demand for Art. More precisely, a demand for conventional traditional classic Art. Masters of the Past. Historical Pieces. Pieces exhibited in big Museums overseas. The problem with some of the paid exhibitions is that, many times, the material we get is the one other galleries want to lend us, not what we would like to see, or what is excellent. Still, this is better than nothing, and a sort of luxury we have to pay for.

Now, we have the flashy exhibition and the masterpieces, and what does the Gallery to exhibit them? Let me think. Hanging the pieces from the wall. Having paid information earphones. Having security people around. Controlling the access to the paid area...  

How many times have you seen the image of a bulb (or two) reflected on a canvas in a way that affected your viewing of it no matter how much you moved around it? This was the case in the last two paid exhibitions I have visited: the Picasso to Warhol exhibition, and the Picturing New York.

Both of them had the same problem. Lighting was bad. What I call bad? 
1/The lighting is not specifically adapted to the pieces exhibited, but the general one of the room with directional lights that are mediocre and work well for large format exhibition or rooms with a better layout. Therefore, the lighting reflects on the masterpiece, and it does not allow you to appreciate the colours, shapes, textures or images on display from a frontal point of view. 
2/ The glass used in the frames is not mate but glossy glass, so it reflects the lights, and the framed piece becomes a mirror where you see yourself (and the rest of the room) reflected. See, as an example, the image that accompanies this entry. Hello, me! Most of the photos hanging from the wall had the same problem, although some of them were less affected than others.

This would not be a problem, if were talking about an independent money-lacking exhibition or institution. However, this is the Art Gallery of Western Australia, and these are paid exhibitions. Our ticket should serve to have the pieces better exhibited, no? However, adjusting lighting and glass panels would cost more money and would take more effort. How is possible that the curators of the Gallery and the original owners of the pieces do not care about this? Perhaps because everybody seems to be content with the poor display, no matter the quality of the piece exhibited. Nobody seems to be complaining in Perth, Art critics, newspapers or the general public. So no one is making an effort to change it. My guess.

If I pay for an exhibition, I expect it to be exhibited in a way that honours the artists and pieces on display. Otherwise, I leave, as I did last time, feeling that I should have paid for the Catalogue; at least there the the pieces are beautifully photographed and can be appreciated properly. This is a bit sad, really. Especially because some of the pieces hanging from the walls are fantastic.

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Art Gallery of Western Australia (Perth WA)

47 James St
Perth Cultural Centre
Perth Western Australia 6000
(08) 9492 6600
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One of those places you must visit in Perth. Why? It is free! It is good!

The permanent exhibitions (colonial painting, classic painting and Aboriginal gallery) alternate with yearly free exhibitions, the Year-12 students being a must as it showcases the great talent of the emerging Perthian Artistic Community. 

Now and then, the gallery also holds International exhibitions showcasing overseas pieces, but they are somewhat downgraded, never the super-duper ones. Even the super-duper ones are somewhat adjusted to the gallery and never the whole thing you can see elsewhere. The last example being the Picasso to Warhol, with a uneven selection of pieces, the pices by Picasso, Matisse, Miro or Deschamps under-represented and being secondary pieces in general, not the super-duper ones. Even the guides of the exhibition were mediocre, but at least people had the recorded comment of the pieces, which is something.

Although you cannot compare this gallery to the interstate ones (I thought that Darwin's or Adelaide's were better! just to mention two little cities that are poorer than Perth), European or American ones, it is a good place to visit. If you are a  foreigner you will enjoy the Aboriginal area. The permanent collections are terrific, with wonderful pieces by Australian and International artists, that might surprise you. Some of the free exhibitions by local artists are also great, not so popular with the general public, perhaps, but at least the real thing. I still remember the terrific sculpture exhibition by Gabriella Piccini, that let me wow.

The gallery also has a mini-theatre where some functions are somewhat held, and artists talks. Check their website to see what is going on.

The AGWA is alive, that is a good thing. The bad thing is that it does not renovate or re-invent itself as much as it would be needed for the gallery to become a first-class gallery. All comes down to money and demand for Art exhibitions in Perth, and it seems that the new well-off people in Perth are more into designer-brands shops than into Art; they invest in the stock-market but they are not patrons of anything that is not themselves. If I was a millionaire I would be donating to the AGWA. Give me the millions! Each time I pass by the "Gucci Plasticucci" shop I think of this. All comes down to what the people or Perth want or are interested in, and the demand for true art in Perth seems limited, so our gallery is, how to put it? a bit parochial. Cultural and Education institutions do not promote free culture or free talks about Art, so the general knowledge is minimal or non-existing. People know big names, but do not know, understand or appreciate why they are masters or well known. This being so, they will rarely go beyond the obvious jewels of the past and show any interest on contemporary Art that is not conventional in forms or languages, and are satisfied with the "famous" artists and pieces of art, and not even with those if they are not "beautiful".

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