Walking into the exhibition you can’t deny there is an immediate visual impact and WOW factor! Sharpe’s work IS instantly recognisable and from a truly brilliant and original mind.
The accompanying room brochure states this exhibition “shows discerning insight into the man, and social issues of our times...” but I’d disagree that merely hanging pictures ‘salon-style’ upon the walls does no more than illustrate how prolific the artist is, and reading the content of the pictures by themselves merely elaborates the personal taste and passion of the artist. Labels with basic catalogue information certainly do no more to unwrap the artist’s involvement in cultural and political contexts or present any deeper thinking about Sharpe’s involvement in other artistic causes such as the Yellow House.
Once I got over the initial frustration of the lack of interpretation, I could begin to appreciate the 120 paintings, posters and mixed media display for what they were. Perhaps this "art for art’s sake" approach was the basis of the curatorial brief? I did enjoy watching the audio visual of the Tiny Tim world record for professional non-stop singing; it was a classic Sharpe production, highly enjoyable, with 100% wit. Moving on, I came to acknowledge that Sharpe is indeed a Sydney talent worth dedicating and showcasing, but thought that perhaps the curator was hiding behind the glory and talents of this artistic master. In this case, there could have been so much more storytelling, than simply the idea of Sharpe’s work in terms of “the medium is the message”. Just because there was so much pop culture material and references surely doesn't mean it is not worthy of a few digestive words here or there? I felt that there was a certain amount of curatorial laziness in cobbling together a bunch of disparate media, that was this exhibition. Surely just delving into a couple of what may be hundreds of amazing personal stories about Martin Sharpe “the artist” could have brought a sense of life to this immense body of work.
Highlights included: Patrick White’s Signal Driver Belvoir st theatre poster 1980s, Sideshow in Burlesco, Nimrod theatre poster 1979, Eternity haymarket acrylic on board 1981 and David Gulpilil in The Thousand Dollar Bill painting 2002-2009, but overall the experience left me disappointed. If only the curator was as much a talented, artistic, individual thinker and activist as Martin Sharpe.
Ho-hum....
Museum of Sydney
Corner Bridge and Phillip St,
Sydney, NSW 2000
Saturday 31 October 2009 — Sunday 14 March 2010
9.30 – 5pm daily
$10 adults, $5, concession/child, family $20, members free
Thursday, February 4, 2010
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