Archives
Beyond Spectacle: At the NGV Triennial
Feb 5th, 2021 | Dr Nick Gordon
A single note plays in a darkened room – a C tone. It is then repeated, short + long, long + short, until you hear an unfortunately familiar pattern: short short short, long long long, short short short. It’s a distress call from a violin on a spaceship that has...
The 1%: African American artists in US institutions
Oct 2nd, 2020 | Dr Nick Gordon
In 2018 Amy Sherald’s Portrait of Michelle Obama and Kehinde Wiley’s Portrait of Barack Obama were unveiled at The National Portrait Gallery. The museum contains 23,000 works in its collections, from the official portraits of presidents to the great men and women of the arts, sciences and public life in...
Where art meets science: Restoring masterpieces by Nelli, Rembrandt, Pollock and Van Gogh
Jun 12th, 2020 | Dr Nick Gordon
Most of the art you see in galleries and museums has survived because of restoration and conservation work. This work is absolutely necessary because a work of art is subject to quite complex chemical, physical and mechanical processes that degrade the materials from which it is made. In this article,...
On the art of stealing art
Apr 2nd, 2020 | Dr Nick Gordon
30 March 2020 – all is quiet in The Hague, and a Van Gogh painting is stolen from the Singer Laren museum. The alarm system is triggered, but the thieves have got away before the police arrive, with a painting estimated to be worth more than 6 million euros. Another...
The making of Victoria: From Sullivan Bay to the Gold Boom
Mar 20th, 2020 | Dr Nick Gordon
The discovery of gold in Victoria in the 1850s brought people from across the world, pushing the newly formed colony to develop rapidly, throwing some curious characters into the spot light, and ultimately shaping Victoria to this day. In this article, Dr Nick Gordon looks at the history of Victoria,...
