Friday 23 December 1988

Raw bronze bird puzzles passers-by, Sydney Morning Herald, 23 December, 1988..



FROM AN ARTS WEBSITE


Raw bronze bird puzzles passers-by

The Sydney Morning Herald, 23 December 1988

The raw and primitave amid the realms of high commerse; that is the intention of a sculpture unveiled in the city yesterday.
Bird Toten, said to be the largest bronze sculpture in Australia, stands outside the National Australia Bank building in George Street.
It was commisioned by the AMP, which ownes the building, for $150,00.
"Because the associated buildings were sofisticated 20th-centuary designs I wanted to balance that with the raw primitave qualities of the totamic form, which can stir something in the human unconscious,"
"The piece is not just big for the sake of being big. The scale of the surrounding buildings and plaza is very large. I didn't want to battle the archetecture of the place and at the same time I didn't want it to be so small that the form was no longer effective."

John Stapleton, 1988

http://www.studiomauriks.com/critical/raw-bronze-bird-puzzles-passers-by-by-john-stapleton/

Friday 9 December 1988

Where teacher's aids are friends in need, Sydney Morning Herald, 9 December, 1988 Picture by Bruce Miller

ActivePaper ArchiveSydney Morning Herald, 9/12/1988
This story caused a storm and was read out word for word on talkback radio. By 11am that same day NSW Premier at the time Nick Greiner had overturned the decision of his Education Minister Dr Metherell as a direct result. The much reviled Metherell was seen as a member of the lunar right and ultimately was forced out of the position. His press secretary Mark Scott first went on to The Sydney Morning Herald before being appointed by former Prime Minister John Howard to head the Australian Broadcasting Commission, where he remained for a decade, He subsequently returned to head the department for which he had once been a lowly press officer. The background to this story is described in the book Hunting the Famous.

  
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