Industrial Cathedral

Industrial Cathedral
"Industrial Cathedral" charcoal on paper 131 x 131 cm Jane Bennett. Finalist in 1998 Dobell Drawing Prize Art Gallery of NSW Finalist 1998 Blake Prize Winner 1998 Hunter's Hill Open Art Prize

About Me

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Sydney, NSW, Australia
I'm an Industrial Heritage Artist who paints "en plein air".If it's damaged, derelict, doomed and about to disappear, I'll be there to paint it.
Showing posts with label State Library. Show all posts
Showing posts with label State Library. Show all posts

Friday 24 July 2020

A last look around the Harbour Control Tower

Today's painting on the deck gallery is a view of the much maligned and now demolished Harbour Control Tower.

Plein air oil painting of the Harbour Control Tower from the East Darling Harbour Wharf, now Barangaroo painted by Jane Bennett
BAR54 'Tower of Power' 2010
oil on canvas 61 x 61cm
Enquiries
It had many sarcastic nicknames : the "Pill" (controlling the berths in the Harbour, the "concrete mushroom", and even "the hypodermic in God's bum"!
But I think that the viewer of my canvas can find the same stern monumental dignity  that attracted me to it as a subject.

Plein air oil painting of the Harbour Control Tower from the East Darling Harbour Wharf, now Barangaroo painted by Jane Bennett
BAR54 'Tower of Power' 2010
oil on canvas 61 x 61cm
Enquiries
The Sydney Harbour Control Tower, which lingered for a while at the northern end of Barangaroo, was demolished over a period of eight months starting in March 2016.
Consisting of an 87m high concrete column topped by an observation room with utterly breath-taking views, it gave the Harbour Master and Port Operations officers an ideal position from which to oversee shipping movements around Sydney Harbour.
The tower was designed in 1972 after two ships collided in the shipping channel off the knuckle of the wharf at Millers Point.
It stood sentinel over Sydney Harbour from 1974-2011 giving continual supervision of shipping movements.
Sydney Ports relocated its harbour control operations to Port Botany in April 2011, leaving the tower to gather dust for 5 years.
Plein air oil painting of the Harbour Control Tower from the East Darling Harbour Wharf, now Barangaroo painted by Jane Bennett
DH159 The empty wharf
2007 oil on canvas 61 x 91cm
Enquiries
I am naturally biased - I had the run of the Harbour Control Tower as a studio for nearly a decade.
As well as painting spectacular views of Sydney from the top floor and the amenities level, I used it as a sort of exclamation point in many landscapes of the wharf and Millers point. This canvas of the empty wharf has the strange melancholy of a de Chirico and the light poles marching steadily toward the Tower echo rows of classical columns.
As a pictorial device, the Tower would give an otherwise mundane streetscape an extra frisson. The feeling of someone potentially observing the scene from above from those green angled windows gave an almost sinister dimension.

Plein air oil painting of the Harbour Control Tower from Dalgety road Millers Point painted by Jane Bennett
MP5 Harbour Tower & Dalgety Terrace 2
2014 acrylic on canvas 18 x 13cm
The decision to remove the tower was controversial.
The developers of Barangaroo had considered it an eyesore as the surrounding development transformed the former port into a millionaire’s playground.
Former Prime Minister Paul Keating, self-appointed Baron Haussman of Sydney, and never one to shy away from an argument, stated with his customary belligerence that the tower did not have a "shred of heritage about it" and that calls to keep it were "rancid reactionism".
But he would, wouldn't he.
With his nearly pathological hatred of industrial heritage, that sits oddly with his working class background, he was grimly determined to get rid of it and pitched relentlessly into anyone with a good word to say about the former wharf.

This article written in November 2014 in the Sydney Morning Herald has a photo of me 'en plein air', painting the Harbour Tower Paul Keating so despised.

The Office of Environment and Heritage had previously described the tower as being of state significance “for its pre-eminent role in the history and maritime operation of the Port of Sydney.The Tower demonstrates 35 years of 24/7 operation in the Port of Sydney from 1974-2009 as the Port Operations and Communications Centre providing supervisory control over the many thousands of shipping movements in Sydney Harbour every year,” the Office said in its previous listing of the tower as a heritage site.
After the Heritage Minister decided not to list the tower on the State Heritage Register, the NSW Government approved a development application from the Barangaroo Delivery Authority to remove the former Harbour Control Tower . In their words : 'in order to achieve a naturalistic form and character for the reserve that is consistent with the site’s concept plan'.
I can't think of anything less naturalistic than Barangaroo. For some reason it brings to mind a poem called aptly "Poetry" by Marianne Moore about an imaginary garden that had real toads in it.
But as in the poem, the developers and their cheerleaders have little time for anything that doesn't fit their very narrow definition of what is "useful". Certainly nothing as useless as heritage.


'same thing may be said for all of us—that we
do not admire what
we cannot understand.'

Excerpt from
"Poetry" by Marianne Moore

The National Trust  rejected a proposal by the Barangaroo Delivery Authority to demolish the tower while the City of Sydney council wanted it retained as an artwork or public lookout.

Some people suggested alternate uses for the empty tower: bungee jumping, abseiling, a viewing tower over Sydney Harbour, or a “pop-out” café.
However the Barangaroo Reserve project director Peter Funder said “We looked at a number of re-use options and it just wasn’t viable. It completes the vision we’re trying to deliver here of recreating the headland of Barangaroo.”
As for arguments about usefulness, you could also question what practical use does the Barangaroo Headland Park serve. It has allegedly been returned to the 1836 footprint, yet it is far from natural bushland, and the public certainly isn't permitted to hunt or fish there. So it is a construct - just as artificial as the concrete wharf it replaced.

This canvas painted in 2015 from the Stamford on Kent shows rows of lollipop like palm trees perched tier upon tier, as though on a giant wedding cake. The stairway to the top cuts through the cake like a knife cutting a slice out of the cake. Symmetrical and hierarchical, and as unlike real bushland as the horses on a carousel are from the living animals.


Plein air oil painting of the construction of Barangaroo Headland Park from the Stamford on Kent painted by Jane Bennett
MP45 Barangaroo Headland Park from the
Stamford on Kent 2015 oil on canvas 122 x 153cm
COLLECTION: MITCHELL LIBRARY, STATE LIBRARY OF NSW
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Its main function seems to be as a distraction from the scale of the southern end.
A spoonful of sugar to make the development go down.
A sort of 'Trojan park' under which is smuggled the true purpose of Barangaroo; to separate punters from their money.
It's a pity that almost all evidence of Sydney as an industrial port has been wiped away. I certainly found poetry in it.
I can't get used to the lack of Tower in the streetscapes of Millers Point - they look strangely empty now.

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Tuesday 14 July 2020

Millers Point from the top of the Harbour Control Tower

Before the inevitable demolition of the Harbour Control Tower, I wanted to paint a very large panorama of this amazing view.
I'd had the run of the top floor and the amenities level of the 87 metre high Harbour Control Tower from the early 2000s until port operations finished there in April 2011. Afterwards I had occasional access to create paintings of various stages of the construction of Barangaroo. 
I'd spent many unforgettable New Year’s Eves on the top floor, painting 360 degrees of the fireworks exploding underneath against the spectacular harbour view.
The perspective was very tricky, so I warmed up with a few smaller works first.
This is a small study of the rooftops of the heritage Miller's Point terraces and the former Bond stores of the Walsh Bay Wharves.
Plein air oil painting of Miller's Point  and Walsh Bay Wharves from top of the Harbour Control Tower painted by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
Work in progress " Miller's Point  and Walsh Bay Wharves
from top of the Harbour Control Tower "
2014 oil painting on canvas 36 x 46cm
.
There was such an overwhelming mass of tiny details that I needed to tackle this subject in a series of small works before risking getting bogged down in a huge oil painting. I wanted to understand the rhythm of the landscape.
The perspective is made more complex by the landbridges over the twisting streets winding their way from the angled rows of Walsh Bay Wharves up the hills.
The entire suburb of Miller's Point lies at my feet and the roads seem to curve towards the Opera House in the middle distance.
Plein air oil painting of Miller's Point  and Walsh Bay Wharves from top of the Harbour Control Tower painted by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
HCT47  'Millers Point from top of Harbour Tower'
oil on canvas 36 x 46cm



















As you can see, my palette changed by the time I finished this work - one of the hazards of working 'en plein air'. I started early, but didn't finish for a few hours, so the clear pale yellows of the morning deepened to the burnt orange and rich purple shadows of the afternoon.
I had to stand on a chair to paint this, as the windows on the Amenities floor were a bit too high for me to see the terraces.
I'm only 5'1"- short, even for a woman.
Exactly the same height as Toulouse-Lautrec. Unfortunately I love painting canvases on an epic scale
.
The tower would sway in the wind, sometimes almost imperceptibly, and sometimes with a rolling motion that can induce seasickness which is distracting when trying to paint fine details.
In the far distance, you can see the silhouette of the half-demolished Hammerhead Crane on Garden Island, which was finally removed by October 2014. I had just finished a stint as 'Artist in Residence' on Garden Island painting this before the demolition started.
The demolition of the Harbour Control Tower would be next. However I did manage to finish a few large scale panoramas from the top floor, before I lost one of my best studios forever.
The State library now has several of these works in their collection.

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Monday 19 September 2011

A view from a Bridge

A reproduction of my painting of the 'Closing of the Gap' painted from the top of the Anzac Bridge is now the focus of the newly renovated Reading Room of the State Reference Library.
Here are some behind the scenes photos of the preparation :



painting by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett from the top of the Anzac Bridge, collection of the Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW
Workman preparing a reproduction of my painting of the 'Closing of the Gap' painted from the top of the Anzac Bridge which is now the focus of the newly renovated Reading Room of the State Reference Library.
painting by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett from the top of the Anzac Bridge, collection of the Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW
Workman preparing a reproduction of my painting of the 'Closing of the Gap' painted from the top of the Anzac Bridge which is now the focus of the newly renovated Reading Room of the State Reference Library.

Here a workman adds some finishing touches before the Reading Room is open to the public.
painting by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett from the top of the Anzac Bridge, collection of the Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW
I'm in front of a reproduction of my painting of the 'Closing of the Gap' painted from the top of the Anzac Bridge which is now the focus of the newly renovated Reading Room of the State Reference Library.
I couldn't resist a sneak peek at the massive reproduction of my painting, so I crept down the stairs for a preview before the official opening!


painting by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett from the top of the Anzac Bridge, collection of the Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW
I'm in front of a reproduction of my painting of the 'Closing of the Gap' painted from the top of the Anzac Bridge which is now the focus of the newly renovated Reading Room of the State Reference Library.

I'm used to seeing a little bit of construction debris around my paintings!


painting by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett from the top of the Anzac Bridge, collection of the Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW
I'm in front of a reproduction of my painting of the 'Closing of the Gap' painted from the top of the Anzac Bridge which is now the focus of the newly renovated Reading Room of the State Reference Library.

The image has been enlarged to take up the entire wall behind the copying desk. It must be at least 3 times as large as the original canvas.
I wish I could have taken a canvas this large up to the top of the bridge, but I would have ended up hang- gliding all the way to New Zealand if I had!

Alex Byrne, Director of the State Library
State Librarian Alex Byrne opening the newly renovated Reading Room of the State Reference Library.

State Librarian Alex Byrne opened the doors to officially declare  new-look State Reference Library (SRL) OPEN at 9am this morning.

The Library staff wait expectantly for the doors to be opened.



painting by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett from the top of the Anzac Bridge, collection of the Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW
I'm in front of a reproduction of my painting of the 'Closing of the Gap' painted from the top of the Anzac Bridge which is now the focus of the newly renovated Reading Room of the State Reference Library.

I was so thrilled that a reproduction of my painting 'Closing the Gap' is now displayed in the new look Reading Room!

painting by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett from the top of the Anzac Bridge, collection of the Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW
I'm in front of a reproduction of my painting of the 'Closing of the Gap' painted from the top of the Anzac Bridge which is now the focus of the newly renovated Reading Room of the State Reference Library.

painting by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett from the top of the Anzac Bridge, collection of the Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW
I'm in front of a reproduction of my painting of the 'Closing of the Gap' painted from the top of the Anzac Bridge which is now the focus of the newly renovated Reading Room of the State Reference Library.
The 'cats whiskers' of the cables radiate out from the pylons like open arms welcoming the visitors.
painting by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett from the top of the Anzac Bridge, collection of the Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW
I'm in front of a reproduction of my painting of the 'Closing of the Gap' painted from the top of the Anzac Bridge which is now the focus of the newly renovated Reading Room of the State Reference Library.

I was amazed at the clarity of the image - how vibrant the ultramarine blue of the harbour appears. It has been described as "Yves Klein blue", but to me it is the quintessential Sydney blue, the blue of Brett Whiteley's Lavender Bay. Ultramarine - literally "outre mer" - beyond the sea. Originally ground from a semi precious stone, lapis lazuli, ultramarine was the most regal and expensive colour, used only to paint heaven or the cloaks of saints. Now this pigment has been replaced by cheap synthetic alternatives but the colour retains its almost mystical aura.






painting by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett from the top of the Anzac Bridge, collection of the Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW
I'm in front of a reproduction of my painting of the 'Closing of the Gap' painted from the top of the Anzac Bridge which is now the focus of the newly renovated Reading Room of the State Reference Library.
One nice touch is that even though my signature should have been cropped and obscured by the skirting board holding the panel in place, the design team very thoughtfully added my signature to the image at the lower right corner. Visitors will also be able to use the QR sign on the wall to link with this blog.

painting by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett from the top of the Anzac Bridge, collection of the Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW
painting by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett from the top of the Anzac Bridge, collection of the Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW
I'm in front of a reproduction of my painting of the 'Closing of the Gap' painted from the top of the Anzac Bridge which is now the focus of the newly renovated Reading Room of the State Reference Library.
A quote from the website of the State Library :
 "Our love of Sydney is clear throughout the Library with some spectacular images from our world-renowned collection on show, including Jane Bennett’s stunning Closing the Gap (1995) and Thomas Woore’s Panorama of Sydney (1829)."


Monday 22 August 2011

Constant Reader

painting by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett from the top of the Anzac Bridge, collection of the Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW
"Closing the Gap" Painted from the top of the ANZAC Bridge
1995 oil on canvas 91x122cm  
SOLD 
COLLECTION: THE MITCHELL LIBRARY, STATE LIBRARY OF NSW
It's strange how when some paintings have been completed, they take on a life of their own.
One of my favourite art documentaries has always been the series "The Private Life of a Masterpiece" showing the weird and wonderful uses and occasionally abuses of various famous paintings. Paintings that were forgotten for centuries, suddenly rediscovered and revered, mocked for being cliches and sent up rotten by Monty Python, and then revered again.
My painting "Closing the Gap" has already had a very exciting afterlife indeed. It was completely ignored for nearly a decade,and spent some time cooling its heels behind a nameless gallery's photocopier, but I knew even when I was painting it that if I could hang out long enough, its time would come. I chose it as one of the images on my business cards, and noted that it was the most popular of all my cards. In fact a few people admitted that they had actually framed some of them as though they were miniatures! The actual canvas was exhibited for 2 years in the Powerhouse Museum, Ultimo, , in the exhibition : "Paradise,Purgatory and Hellhole-a history of Ultimo and Pyrmont". It made a brief visit to an exhibition in the funky Insa-dong gallery precinct of Seoul in South Korea a couple of years ago, and it was reproduced in an Asian art journal.
In 2009 it was acquired for the collection of the Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW.
In 2010 it featured in the exhibition - "ONE hundred"100 iconic objects from the permanent collection of the Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW, to celebrate the centenary of their founding in 1910, and a large image of it graced the back cover of the State Library Magazine.
In 2011, reproductions of it papered the boards covering the renovation work on the State Reference Library.
Now the State Library is going to hang a large reproduction of my work in the reading room of the redesigned State Reference Library. The display should be set up by the end of September, although the official launch of the renovations of the State Library won't be until Stage 2 has been completed, which would probably be in March 2012.
 "Closing the Gap" now seems to have become the iconic image of the western side of Sydney Harbour, just as Brett Whiteley's "Jacaranda Tree on Sydney Harbour"  is the iconic image for the eastern side. Lavender Bay symbolized the hedonistic lifestyle dream of Sydney in the 1960s and 70s as Pyrmont now embodies the ideal of the early 21st century. There may be free bookmarks, postcards and possibly even more merchandise to go with it. If I had a brain, I would have asked for royalties, but unfortunately I'm an artist and not an accountant, so I'll settle for fame and glory instead! The Library has said that they might even put my blog address on the main image at the copy desk. Apparently they can do a "QR code" so people can link to the blog with their mobile phones ... Considering that a bit over a year ago I didn't even know what a blog was, I'm impressed. I feel as though I have become as much a mascot for the State Library as "Trim" the cat!
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