Amid History2 photopainting (in Works from the collection)

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BACKGROUND The great cities of the world are vibrant creative centres in which the built environment is often as inspirational as the activities of its citizens. This exhibition, drawn from the collection of the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) by curator Susan van Wyk, considers various ways in which photographers have viewed cities. Images describe the physical attributes of cities, offer insights into the creative imaginations of architects and photographers and embody the zeitgeist of their times. CONTRIBUTION The work combines painting reflection and photography to address issues of history, time, value and perception. 'At the end of the 20th century a much cooler, more abstracted strain of photography emerged.' Placing this work with other examples of contemporary abstraction and photography reveals new understandings of time and its perception. The reflective surface activates the actual space and time the viewer is in front of or engages with the work. The photograph documents a past time and an historical site, raising questions of ethics and responsibility. At the same time the paint records the physical act and time of painting and thereby creates a new way of seeing the context of modern masters such as Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Steichen, Paul Strand and Berenice Abbott and one's personal relationship to cityscapes. SIGNIFICANCE Amid History 2, acquired through the Victorian Foundation for Living Australian Artists was shown alongside major international and national artists including Matteaus Gursky, Sean Scully and Jon Cattapan. The NGV has one of Australia's premier museum collections.