Entrance of the Virtual Gallery Wing where the LIBRARY is located.  These shelves contain a lot of background information. 

Pull up a chair, make yourself comfortable and explore some of this information. The notebooks and booklets are in PDF format which could also be downloaded to be read at your leisure. Once loaded into your PDF reader set the percentage readable area to fill your browser and click the "page down" button to skim through the book. It will feel like flicking through the pages of the actual book.

When you are ready you may want to check out one of the other galleries. Just click the appropriate button below.

library
medium shelf access commentary

 

Notebooks


1966 - 67, print records

1976
1977
1978
1979 I
1979 II
1980
1981 I
1981 II
1982
1983
1985, 6, 7
1988
1989
1990


 

 

Booklets


Berliner Notizen 1984


Transformer: Fields of Change 1988

Arthur Wicks: Works 1989 - 92

Ahead of the Field



 
Essays &
General Articles


Exhibition Danny McDonald and Arthur Wicks, Warrnambool Art Gallery, 1983
Sand, David Hansen, review and comments from that exhibition, Warrnambool, 1983

Alternativa Performance Event, Almada, Portugal, August 1983
Alternative without Ambiguities, Egidio Alvaro commentary, Portugal, 1983

Berlin 1983-84
: Berliner Notizen booklet
Introductory essay (English), Michael Haerdter, Berlin, 1983, Notizen
Introductory essay (German), Michael Haerdter, Berlin, 1983, Notizen

Perspecta '85 (1985)
Is the Gallery Really Necessary?, 
Celia Winter-Irving, Perspecta '85
Arthur Wicks,
  (Survival Boat and Tent),   Celia Winter-Irving, Perspecta '85
Art's Courts Jester Seeks to Taunt and Tantalise
Chris Ashton, SMH, Perspecta '85
Outposts of Perspecta 85Elwyn Lynn, Australian, Perspecta '85
Footnote to the Perspecta 85 performance, Celia Winter-Irving, Harare Herald, Zimbabwe, 2007


Transformer: Fields of Change 1988 (touring exhibition)
Introductory Essay,  Tony Bond AM, Transformer: Fields of Change 1988,
Gesture is All
,   Rosemary Adams, Transformer: Fields of Change 1988,
Essay on Three Legs, David Hansen, Transformer: Fields of Change 1988,
Thoughts from Wilgie Mia,
   Arthur Wicks, Transformer: Fields of Change 1988,
Arthur Wicks an Example to Regional Artists,   Geoff Levitus, Periphery, August 1990

General Relating to Regional Arts Practice
Extract from 'Australia  Performance' p9', Rob la Frenais Performance (UK) July 1986
Arthur Wicks - an Example to Regional Artists, Geoff Levitus, Periphery,  Issue No. 4 August 1990
Beyond Neglect and the Divide ..., Michael Denholm, Periphery, August 1996

Sydney Biennale, 1990
X Marks the Spot, David Hansen, catalogue emtry to Arthur Wicks contribution, 1990

Machina: Persona, Art Gallery of New South Wales 1991
What Culture Means for Our Politicians,  Christopher Allen, SMH,  March 1991
All Aboard for the Trip Nowhere,  Elwyn Lynn, the Weekend Australian, February 1991
The Last Time I Saw Arthur Wicks..,  Pat Hoffie, Art Monthly Australia, March 1991
Machine as Metaphor,   Wendy Symonds,  AG of NSW Magazine Look, February 1991


Proposals; a group of maquettes shown in several venues in Eastern Australia (several included in the Machina: Persona exhibition at the AGNSW).
Proposals, George Hirst, published Arthur Wicks, Works 1989/92 booklet
Master of Anxious Object... , Sasha Grishin, Canberra Times August 1991*
Creation of Alternative Visual Puns, Robert Macklin, the Canberra Times, August 21, 1991

Peace Car through Europe, 1990
At the Edge of Time, Thomas Wulffen, Berlin, published Arthur Wicks, Works 1989/92 booklet
Enigmatic Campaigns of the Solstice Voyeur, Adrian Wintle, Daily Advertiser, Wagga 1991*

Sydney Biennale satellite event, The Trilogy, The Performance Space, 1992
Man + Machine = Art, Vivienne Skinner, Sydney University Gazette, August 1992

Art Gallery of NSW Roof Occupation, 1992
Deus ex Machina, David Hansen, Australia Art Monthly June 1992

Volt 1996, the work: Moments of Inertia: Friction
Brisbane Festival, Volt, 1996,  Linda Carroli + Ceallaigh Norman, Eyeline 32, Summer 1996
Volt, the Brisbane Festival, Beth Jackson, Eyeline 32, Summer 1996
Prosthetics, the Castration Complex ....,  Ceallaigh Norman, Periphery, Spring 1997


Volt 1998, the work: Moments of Inertia: Degrees of Freedom
Brisbane Festival, Volt 1998,  Linda Carroli, Eyeline 38, Summer. 1998

NGA Canberra Sculpture Prize & Exhibition
Political Edges, Sasha Grishan review, Canberra Sunday Times, March 2003



 
Catalogues    
Media Reviews

Early Painted and Printed Works

Donald Brook Daramalan Canberra Times, September 1965

Donald Brook Daramalan Canberra Times, September 1966
Wallace Thornton SMH, October 1966
Donald Brook Nundah Canberra Times, November 1966
Gertrude Langer Courier Mail, March 1968
Rogers Sunday Mail, March 1968
Roin Wallace Crabbe Canberra Times, October 1968
Emmanuel Dickson Courier, December 1968
Margaret Armidale Art Gallery, February 1969
Robin Wallace Crabbe Canberra Times, April 1969
Cox Courier Mail, November 1969
Rogers Sunday Mail, November 1969
Grant Thompson, Canberra News, November 1970
Nigel Murray Harvey Sculpture Gallery Canberra Times, November 1970
James Gleeson Watters SMH, April 1971
Donald Brook Watters SMH, April 1971
Daniel Thomas Watters Telegraph, April 1971
Gray Smith Daramalan Canberra Times, September 1971

Later Works

Robert Rooney, Gerstman, the Age, March 1983
Wulffen Performance art Bethanian Tagesspiegel Berlin, June 1983
Berndt Lobowski, Man on Roof Hanburg Solstice, Hamburger Abendblatt, June 1983
Jutta Lauterbach Volksblatt, Kunsterhaus exhibition, February 1984
Pierre Restany, Domus Venice Biennale comment, July August 1985
John Mcdonald on Sydney biennale SMH, April 1990
Postma Dagblat Peace Car Hoorn Holland, Dagblat voor West-Friesland, October 1990
Denis Gregory Sun Herald sculpture on river bank, July 1997
Bruce James, SMH on Nagy show, October 1997
Lisa Logan, text for OzCo website, 2000
Peter Munro, Metropolitan SMH Nagy Globals, June 2002
Bruce James, SMH, on nagy globals, July 2002
Musa & Doherty Robotic cyclist, CMAG, December 2002
Tom Middlemost, Big River Riverine, Aust Art Review, March 2003
Ken Scarlett, Sculpture Magazine USA, 2004
Robert Nelson, Lempriere the Age, March 2004


 

These early media comments from various critics of that period illustrate the reaction that the new hard edge and colour field painted works evoked.
Several, such as Donald Brook applauded the shift that was taking place at the time but others were vehemently antagonistic.

Makes for interesting reading!

Notes relating to paiintings and prints from the 1960s

Paintings 1960s
Birdman
Blue Craze
Gemini 1
Hinge
Interdit
Orbital
Orbita; 3
Red Push
Slant
Thrust
Vortex
Wall Sentinel
Wedge


Prints 1960s
Assassination
Blue Craze
Blue Expandable
Bluebird
Collapsed Room
Echo
Full Speed
Gemini II
Hommage to the Bullet
Sliced Corner
Orbital 3
Pink Gothic
Study in Purple
Whisper



These notes were originially typed onto A4 sheets and kept as reference.

I think the reasoning behind this documentation revolved around the fact that the hard-edge and colour field images were a quantum leap from the prevailling aethetc sentiment at that time.
Keeping a running commentary of my thoughts and processes kept me anchored and focussed on how the works developed.

Correspondence    
Photo material    

 

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