Public Art Public Art
Richard Goodwin's monumental work "The
Well"
Richard Goodwin "The Well"
Bronwyn Oliver "Seed Fountain"
Bert Flugelman "Federation Arch"
"The Well" 1992 by Richard Goodwin
"The Well" was commissioned by Orange Regional Gallery in 1992.
The sculptor, Richard Goodwin was asked to create a large work incorporating local stone, that would say something of the history and aspirations of the Orange district.
The work was to be sited near the Gallery, the winner of the 1986 Sulman Award for Architecture, so the sculpture was to complement the exterior of the building.
In order to fulfil this difficult brief, the artist has created an architectonic work that is a departure from his previous figurative works, but which also utilises old clothing and materials the artist sees as a potent symbol of memory and the passage of time.
"The Well" incorporates natural bluestone columns that are to be found in volcanic pipes of the extinct volcano Mt Canobolas near Orange.
A granite boulder also from the mountain is placed in simple balance on a steel truss with curvilinear sculptural elements between the two columns, which act as a gateway or frame for the diagonal balance truss.
Beneath the fulcrum of the truss is a glass topped, stainless steel, nitrogen filled well that contains old garments donated by a representation of local residents. A lace collar worn by many past Mayors of Orange is visible beneath the glass.
The sculpture is intended to remind the viewer, through many different associations, of the precarious balance between man and his natural environment - so crucial to the agriculture and development of this district.
The monolithic stone columns remind us that Orange owes its wealth to its rich volcanic soils, and also allude to the long occupation of this area by man.
The natural formations are cut and reconstructed, evidencing man's ability to manipulate his environment. The 'high-tech' steel truss is evocative of many things - visitors have mentioned an animal skeleton, an airplane, a bird, a compass needle, agricultural equipment, the communications tower atop Mt Canobolas.
The geometry of the truss reflects many of the architectural elements of the Gallery, in particular the square grid, the triangle and the circle.
The old, as symbolised by the stone, is forcefully contrasted with the new progressive nature of Orange. The well of old clothing represents the linkage of the two through the memory of its human inhabitants.
The artist
Richard Goodwin was born in 1953 in Sydney. He trained as an architect, gaining the University Medal in that discipline. He practised architecture in England and Australia for only two years before turning to full time artistic pursuits.
Goodwin now works primarily as a painter and sculptor, becoming well known for his draped figures constructed in various materials. He has often used cloth to symbolise memory, birth and death through its imaginative use in figurative sculpture.
"The Well" is Goodwin's first major sculpture showing a return to his interest in modern architecture, to the flow of space and its inter- relationship with industrial processes.
This is the first fountain to be made by prominent Australian sculptor Bronwyn Oliver (b. Inverell 1959, died 2006). It was funded jointly by the Friends of Orange Regional Gallery and the New South Wales Ministry for the Arts.
Seed was commissioned by the Friends in 1996 to mark the 150th anniversary of white settlement of Orange.
Seed is regarded as a seminal piece in the artist’s oeuvre, and has led to Bronwyn Oliver making further works involving water, as well as being the first of a more "symmetrical" style in her public art.
The artist has said that her intention "was to generate an interplay of the elements of the piece - a delicate and organic metal form, an irregular and gentle falling and dripping of water...and a dramatic shadow progression during each day - organic metal form, water, linear metal supports, light.
"Light will ‘fall’ through this form just as the water -each element responding to the form in a different way - light casting a slowly moving shadow and the flow of water creating another three dimensional element - semi transparent, and semi solid.
"In thinking about 150 years of growth I began with the idea of a cell, an elemental beginning which reaches out seeking what it needs - water and light - in order to expand and increase."
In front of the precise grids of the Gallery, the sculpture has a soft geometry - a simple circular form which complements the strong modernist geometries of the Sulman Award winning building.
Seed evokes the great importance of water to the economy and quality of life of the Orange district, with its "drawing up of the water of life" imagery. In its further imagery of the gentle giving back of this precious water to the land by the growing seed, it shows a developed ecological consciousness. The water used in Seed is recycled, further supporting the notion of the fragile continuity of natures cycles.
The sphere atop the solid straight copper rods is entirely hand manufactured by the artist in brazed solid copper. Bronwyn Oliver is known for her ability to form delicate "woven" patterns in copper, and Seed is a fine example of this highly skilled technique.
The tank below is 100% stainless steel, and the water flow is driven by a submersed high quality pump delivering 300 litres per minute. Special teflon washers have to be used to stop electrolysis between the differing metals, but stainless steel was chosen particularly to provide an additional contrast to the traditional use of copper in fountains, as well as for its strength and low maintenance durability.
The work was installed by the artist and by skilled staff of Orange City Council, and opened by Reg Livermore on 21 September 1997.
The Artist
Bronwyn Oliver was born in 1959 in Inverell, NSW. She holds a Bachelor of Education (Art) from Alexander Mackie CAE Sydney, and a Masters in Sculpture from Chelsea School of Art, London. She taught art at Cranbrook School in Sydney for over 16 years.
Unfortunately, Bronwyn Oliver died by her own hand in 2006. This was a tragic loss to art in Australia, as her career had blossomed with many major national commissions since the Orange piece. She will be very much missed by her friends in the arts community.
She won numerous awards over the years, including the prestigious NSW Travelling Art Scholarship in 1981, and the Moet and Chandon Art Fellowship in 1994.She has held many solo exhibitions in Australia and New Zealand since 1986, and been represented in many group showings overseas, representing her country in Prospect 93 in Frankfurt. Her work is widely respected for the high quality of her craftsmanship and for her elegant, ambiguous, provocative forms.
Bert Flugelman – Federation Arch
A stainless steel Arch that many people regard as one of Bert Flugelman’s very best public sculptures has been built in the beautiful grounds of the Botanical Gardens in Orange NSW.
"Federation Arch" looks terrific in its site between a Monet like wooden bridge over the water and a fine bluestone causeway. It is reflected in water from most angles you approach it, and a tantalising view can be glimpsed from the Gardens buildings at the top of the hill.
Federation Arch was commissioned by The Orange Regional Arts Foundation, a philanthropic trust established to provide funding for cultural activities in Orange. Established in 1986 to assist the new cultural facilities built by Orange City Council, (the Regional Gallery opened the same year), the Orange Regional Arts Foundation has been a major funding source for many important local activities in literature, drama, music and visual arts.
This group is to be congratulated for a very significant commission from a senior and one of the most important makers of outdoor sculpture in this country. Flugelman is already a notable figure in our art history books, and this piece will further enhance his reputation.
The NSW Ministry for the Arts also gave an important grant towards the piece, reflecting the Carr Government’s commitment to Public Art west of the divide. The Ministry for the Arts has made big grants to the public sculpture erected in Orange in the last ten years, and many generations will have cause to thank Bob Carr and the NSW Visual Arts Advisory Committee for works by Richard Goodwin, Bronwyn Oliver and now Bert Flugelman.
Flugelman has presented a piece redolent with symbolism and art-historical reference. Many people think Federation Arch one of the best works from a long and productive career. Although he has work in prominent places in most capital cities, Orange is his first inland regional commission. It is not his biggest commission, but it is certainly among the most meaningful of any of his works, relying for its success upon frames of reference other than pure modernist formalism.
Federation Arch is about 10 feet high, and wide enough for three people to pass through abreast. As is his usual choice for public art, the piece is made of the highest-grade stainless steel for strength, beauty and resistance to weathering. Flugelman tells the story that when he made the conical forms for the National Gallery of Australia, he was asked by the Department of Works to provide an estimate of the expected life span of the sculpture. BHP, makers of the steel, replied that all their tests indicate the steel will last for 50,000 years! Eat your hearts out ye Ozymandian Pharaohs, oh ye makers of decrepit ephemera!
Indeed, Flugelman may have had echoes of such romantic notions in his mind when he based the proportions of his Arch on the Lion Gate of Mycaenae. There is more than a hint of this famous structure in Federation Arch, which gives a pleasing tension by way of contrast with the high tech steel construction.
Peter Andren MP, Independent Member for Calare, opening Federation Arch, pointed out the tradition of arch making and its connections to Federation in the Orange district. He said that the symbolism is about a new beginning, a confident striding through a strong structure with solid foundations. The Arch depends for its strength upon all its individual members, with no piece being less important than any other. Hence it is a fine symbol for Federation, but is also an ongoing symbol of the affirmative power of a new decision and a group action.
Alan Sisley, Director of Orange Regional Gallery and Board Member of the Orange Regional Arts Foundation says "I believe that wedding parties will certainly wish to be photographed under the shining Arch. This will be great for the Gardens, and for Orange, as wedding photos are sent far and wide to scattered relatives, and our possession of a piece by Flugelman will be broadcast abroad.
It has been suggested that the Council should adopt the symbolism so evident in the piece, and that new Mayors and Council be photographed moving under the Arch. Likewise, when important documents are signed that represent a significant new phase for the City, that these be signed under Federation Arch (weather permitting). Not only is it a beautiful location, but the gleaming Arch will impart a sense of solemnity and epiphany to any new beginning, and lead all taking part to value the experience."
Sisley says "Flugelman has invested his work with an apparent lightness that belies its great strength. The polished facets of the geometric steel structure, have, on all but the highly reflective inner surfaces, been lightly scored with circular markings, which serve to give an almost holographic three-dimensional look to the surface in certain lights. This not only adds a human touch - literally the markings made by the hand of the artist - but also provides a contrast to the inner surfaces, highly polished to reflect anyone walking through the arch. It is impossible to walk through this Arch and not be aware of yourself, and your role at that time.
The symbolism of a new beginning is reinforced by the colour of the gravel path beneath the Arch, which is white leading one way, but changes to ochre under the Arch."
The function to open the Arch was memorable, with about one hundred and fifty people enjoying a very hot evening in the Gardens.
Bert Flugelman’s Federation Arch seems to be causing exactly that reaction expected of challenging and important art...about fifty percent of people love it, the others hate it! I think that over time everyone will end up liking this piece, for it has many more good qualities than I have space to tell.
Notes © Alan Sisley
