Peter Benjamin Graham

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New Epoch Notation Painting
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Peter Graham
Melbourne, Australia

Peter Benjamin Graham (4 June 1925 – 15 April 1987) was an Australian visual artist, printer, and art theorist.

In 1954, Graham began to explore native Australian wildlife (notably Kangaroos) and themes associated with Aboriginal culture, using the visual languages of European figurative modernism and, later, geometric abstraction.

He began developing a new form of visual geometry related to

Chaos Theory from 1960, eventually called Thematic Orchestration. The new visual language enabled the 2D deconstruction
and synthesis of an observed subject, in a way fundamentally different from traditional abstraction. Thematic Orchestration allows the artist to 'grow' an image, producing almost infinite conscious invention.

In 1964, Graham began developing what he called a high level visual notation system for pure visual imagery, which he first named "Notation Painting" and later "New Epoch Art".[citation needed]

Graham became a pioneer of the Australian artist-run initiative movement and running The Queensberry Street Gallery in association with Victorian Printmakers' Group from 1973 until 1978.

In 2006, Graham's 1945 painting

Eureka Stockade. This painting is also featured in Riot or Revolution,[1] a dramatized history documentary on the Eureka Stockade directed by Don Parham[2] and produced by Parham Media Productions in association with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
in 2005.

Early years

Peter Lalor Addressing the Miners Before Eureka by Peter Graham, Oil On Canvas 1945
Head Of A Woman by Peter Graham 1949, Ink and pastel on paper 52 × 38.5 cm
Graham at The Abby Arts Centre, England 1947 with his painting Old Age And Youth
The Blind Fiddler by Peter Graham 1947, Oil On Canvas 81 × 51 cm

Peter Graham was born 4 June 1925 and raised in the

lithographic plates – 24 sheet positives, etc.) between 1940 and 1941. Graham transferred his indenture to PhotoGravures Pty Ltd. in 1941. There, he was trained by master craftsmen in facsimile reproduction and pre-press Rotogravure
techniques during the war years. He received his Certificate of Completion of Apprenticeship in 1946.

Between 1941 and 1946, Graham studied fine art with

Melbourne Technical College
– figure and portraiture.

In 1945, Graham joined the

, Frank Andrew, and Nutta Buzzacott. He exhibited regularly at the Victorian Artists Society until 1947.

In 1946, he was awarded the Ferntree Gully Art Prize for best watercolour, 'Back Streets of Hawthorn', a year later he was awarded The Herald prize for best drawing, 'The Smokers'. He left for England with Grahame King in August 1947.

England

Between 1947 and 1949, Graham lived and painted at

Gerald Dillon who lived nearby, and who introduced Graham to the visual languages of Picasso and Matisse. He exhibited in group shows at William Ohly's Berkeley Galleries, and the Contemporary Artists' Society in London.[4]

In 1948, Graham studied drawing under

Odhams Press. He specialized in the inverted half-tone Dultgen
process and masked colour separation until 1950.

In 1950, Graham traveled through France and Italy before returning to Sydney under a three-year contract to

Australian Consolidated Press
working as a specialist in colour separation.

Sydney

Between 1951 and 1953, Graham exhibited paintings in various group shows in Sydney, including the Inaugural

Blake Prize for Religious Art
.

Alice Springs

Graham test riding his BSA 500 motorcycle in Melbourne, just before heading off to Alice Springs.

In 1954, Graham rode a BSA 500 motorcycle non-stop from Sydney to Melbourne. After rebuilding the bike, he headed across to Adelaide then rode solo up along the route of what is now the Stuart Highway to Alice Springs over five days. There he worked as a builder's laborer for 18 months while painting on the side, until the end of 1955. During this time he worked and painted alongside Aboriginal artists, Adolf Inkamala and the Pareroultja Brothers. He helped build the John Flynn Memorial Church[5] and government housing at Hermannsburg Mission. At Hermannsburg, Graham met anthropologist Ted Strehlow, who transformed his way of seeing the Australian landscape and Aboriginal culture.

Fiji

Graham spent six months in Fiji painting and drawing in 1956.

  • Fijian String Band by Peter Graham 1956 W/C and ink on paper 43 x 39 cm
    Fijian String Band by Peter Graham 1956 W/C and ink on paper 43 x 39 cm
  • Dream Of The Big Fish by Peter Graham 1956 W/C, ink and pencil on paper 42 x 39 cm
    Dream Of The Big Fish by Peter Graham 1956 W/C, ink and pencil on paper 42 x 39 cm

Gallery A (Melbourne)

1956–1960: Graham returned to Melbourne, rejoined PhotoGravures Pty Ltd. Shared a studio with

Klee and Mondrian. Painted a series of abstract works based on his Central Australian experience. These were exhibited at Gallery A (Melbourne) in 1960, founded in the same year by Max Hutchinson and Clement Meadmore
.

  • Kangaroo Paddock by Peter Benjamin Graham 1957, Hand Ground Oil on Canvas, 1420mm × 2455mm.jpg
    Kangaroo Paddock by Peter Benjamin Graham 1957, Hand Ground Oil on Canvas, 1420mm × 2455mm.jpg
  • The Waters Of Lethe by Peter Benjamin Graham 1964 Oil on canvas, 1680mm × 2890mm
    The Waters Of Lethe by Peter Benjamin Graham 1964 Oil on canvas, 1680mm × 2890mm

Linear extension

  • 1961–1964 – Graham completed a new series of paintings referred to as Linear Extensions.
  • 1964–1973 – Graham conducted experimental studies based on a new concept of Notation Painting.
  • 1965 – Graham established his own photo-lithographic business, Photocraft Services.
  • In 1967 the Reverend Alfred M Dickie[6] married Graham and Cynthia Louis who went on to raise a family of three children: Philip, Michaela, and Euan Graham.

Peter Graham Gallery – Queensberry Street Gallery (Melbourne)

From 1971 to 1978, Graham created a series of experimental works using photographic and lithographic techniques and materials.

In 1971, Graham befriended artist Paul Cavell and collaborated with him on his Notation Paintings between 1974 and 1976.

In 1973, he opened the Peter Graham Gallery at 225 Queensberry Street, Carlton (6 April) supported by a photo-lithographic workshop in the same premises. Closed this gallery in 1974 and reopened it as the Queensberry Street Gallery in 1977.

Graham's Solo Exhibitions at the Queensberry Street Gallery:

  • 1973 Notation Drawings and Paintings from 1961 to 1973
  • Australian Watercolours from 1954, 1955 and 1973
  • 1974 Western Port Foreshores
  • 1977 Western Port Places – Notation Painting
  • 1978 Survey from 1947 to 1978

During 1977, Graham collaborated with Noela Hjorth[7] and the Victorian Printmakers' Group which at the time was lobbying for space in the Victorian Government's proposed Meatmarket Craft space. He was appointed to the Interim Committee in the formation stages of the Meatmarket Craft Centre[8] and helped to draw up a plan for the establishment of an access workshop for Printmakers at the Meatmarket. As part of his involvement, he set up a plate-graining service for artists and student Printmakers and became the manager of this facility.

Victorian Printmakers' Workshop group show opened at The Queensberry Street Gallery by Professor

Bernard Smith
26 July 1977.

Graham closed his gallery in 1978 and transferred his workshop to a home studio in Canterbury (Melbourne) at the end of the year.

Final years

Graham returned to development of Notation Painting in 1986 in collaboration with his son, Philip Mitchell Graham. Arranged with Jan Martin for a retrospective exhibition to be held at her gallery in Lyttleton Street, Castlemaine, Victoria.

Graham was admitted to the Hospital where he was diagnosed with

Cancer of the oesophagus
December 1986.

Graham died on 15 April 1987 at Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital, Melbourne.

A memorial exhibition for Graham opened at the Lyttleton Gallery, Castlemaine in central Victoria on 6 June 1987, two days after what would have been his 62nd birthday.

Awards won

  • Ferntree Gully Art Prize for best watercolour: Back Streets of Hawthorn 1946
  • The Herald prize for best drawing: The Smokers 1947

Publications

Collections

Sources

Primary source material publicly available

In 1989 Cynthia Graham was interviewed about her husband, Peter Graham.[16]

There are currently two tape recordings by Peter Graham available at the National Library of Australia, Petherick Oral History Reading Room:

  • Interview with Peter Graham by Paul Davis et al., 5 June 1977 Concentrates on his early years in England and gives some information on his notation research[citation needed]
  • Peter Graham reciting his memoir, Journal of a Small Journey. Recording by Philip Mitchell Graham, 10 April 1982. This memoir details his motorbike trip to Alice Springs in 1954 and his subsequent experiences in Central Australia over the following 18 months.[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ Parham-media.com
  2. ^ Parham-media.com
  3. ^ NGA.gov.au
  4. ^ "Contempart.org.uk". Archived from the original on 27 November 1999. Retrieved 17 May 2007.
  5. ^ NT.gov.au Archived 27 September 2006 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ Lib.unimelb.edu.au
  7. ^ Ardaddiction.net Archived 9 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ VWA.org Archived 5 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ Arena.org
  10. ^ CICD.org
  11. ^ "Peter Graham, Bush Lyric". Castlemaine Art Museum Collection Online. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  12. ^ Books.google.com
  13. ^ Parham-media.com
  14. ^ Parham-media.com
  15. ^ Theage.com.au
  16. ^ Blackman, Barbara (13 July 1989). "Cynthia Graham interviewed by Barbara Blackman [sound recording]". Retrieved 7 January 2019.