Snack Bar painting: Right decision, wrong reason

Date:

9/13/2016

Time:

10:50:21

Author:

l Gompertz

Source:

BBC News

Content:

Heres why the Aussies decided Herbert Badhams oil painting, Snack Bar (1944) should not be allowed to leave the country to hang on a wall in its owners London pad. "The subject matter, which graphically records the interaction of different races, associating in congenial circumstances at a time of great danger for Australia is deeply impressive." Does it? There doesnt appear to be much "interaction" to me. The Americans are depicted as either lecherous chancers (see the facial expression on the woman being chatted up by the seated sailor), or crashing bores (the well-to-do gent at the table makes plain his low opinion of the sailor to his right). And what do they mean by "races"? Are they talking about Americans and Australians, or the depiction of a single black GI? If its the latter, the welcome seems decidedly frosty to me. Hes on the outer margins of the room, the girl he is hitting on looks like she wishes hed go away, and most of the rest of the room has its back to him. The true unifying element is suggested by the packed snack bar: the food and drink down at the Hasty Tasty in Kings Cross were pretty decent back in 1944, which is fine up to a point - congenial, even - but hardly cause for a chest-puffing expression of national pride. As a piece of socio-political art, its hardly Guernica. Nor is it on a par with the early 20th century paintings of Walter Sickert, whose depictions of Camden Towns more "colourful" characters informed, in part, Herbert Badhams realist aesthetic. Sickert was doing with paint what Dickens had done with words: that is chronicling the underbelly of London life. Badhams take on Sydneys urban interior was nothing like as dark. He had a similar interest for the everyday, in the bars, and shops, and street-scenes of the city, but where Sickerts paintings contained a sense of menace, Badhams presented a largely benign, sometimes jolly world. But that doesnt mean they arent worth of our attention or respect. The way in which he groups his characters in Snack Bar is impressive. As is his confidant handling of light and form, and sense of rhythm. Which is why, I imagine, the painting sold for around four times its estimate at auction last year. Its a decent work of art by a largely underappreciated Australian artist whose slightly naïve take on modernist realism has aged well. I dont think Snack Bar merits a national export ban on the basis of its narrative content, but I do think it should remain in the country for its technical and aesthetic qualities.

Orignial Link :

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-37356227

crawlTime:

9/13/2016 1:36:13 PM