Bohemian Rhapsody

Bohemian Rhapsody looks at the artistic movements, social networks and historical change that touch on groups of artists, rather than profile individuals. However particular painters, writers, essayists and critics stand out. Sydney's Roaring Twenties Norman Lindsay Kenneth Slessor Dulcie Deamer Joe Lynch Elizabeth Riddell Joan Lindsay The Southern Avant-Garde 1930s and 1940s Albert Tucker Vic O'Connor Max Harris Geoffrey Dutton Mirca Mora The Sydney Push 1950s and 1960s John Anderson Margaret Fink Paddy McGuiness Robert Hughes Jack Gulley Young Turks of the 1990s Justine Ettler Edward Berridge Catharine Lumby McKenzie Wark Chris Mikul Barbara Karpinski Eddie Greenaway Ian Haig Aviva Gulley Guy Rundle Barry Divola Rick Tanaka Santo Cilauro Commentators Peter Kirkpatrick Michael Heyward return to top Sydney's Roaring Twenties Norman Lindsay Painter, writer, cartoonist, sculptor. His best visual work is pen and ink and complex etchings, and his comic writing shows real comic genius. Lindsay spearheaded a movement from the 1920s for an Australian renaissance based on Nietzchean philosophy, classical antiquity and pagan imagery - outlined in Creative Effort (1920) and the journal Vision, edited by his son Jack and Kenneth Slessor. As well as outraging the so-called religious 'wowsers' with his Dionysian paintings he opposed new 'modernist' art movements coming out of Europe and through his informal 'salon' at Springwood in Sydney's Blue Mountains influenced a generation of Australian writers, particularly Kenneth Slessor and Douglas Stewart. Kenneth Slessor Poet and journalist. Famous pioneer of modern urban poetry and humorous light verse in the 1920s and 1930s. Slessor managed to cross back and forth between high and popular culture, writing light verse and modern urban journalism while developing a new modernist poetic medium. His master work, Five Bells, is featured in Bohemian Rhapsody along with segments from a rare recently discovered ABC interview. Kenneth Slessor : Poetry, Essays, War Despatches, War Diaries, Journalism, Autobiographical Material and Letters is edited by Dennis Haskell. Dulcie Deamer An overnight sensation as a writer of popular romance by the age of 17, New Zealand born Deamer was also an actor, journalist, wife and mother. Living at Kings Cross, she leavened her freelance poverty with irrepressible high spirits and was crowned "Queen of Bohemia " in 1925. Deamer was a personality in Sydney's literary scene into the 1960s. Her autobiography, The Golden Decade will be published in 1998. Joe Lynch Famous black and white cartoonist, wild party boy and admitted nihilist. His death by drowning after falling from the Mosman Ferry into Sydney harbour is the subject of Kenneth Slessor's most famous poem Five Bells (featured in the documentary) Elizabeth Riddell Female journalist on Smith's Weekly ( a 'sob sister' in the slang of the day. Later became a noted poet and reviewer of film and literature. Joan Lindsay Wife of Norman Lindsay's son Ray and party girl. Survived the notorious Artists Balls that scandalised Sydney into the 1950s. Later involved in the fashion industry through David Jones. return to top The Southern Avant-Garde 1930s and 1940s Albert Tucker Pioneer of modernist painting in Australia and part of a self conscious avant-garde living in Melbourne in the 1930s and 1940s. Influential expressionist who captured the dark side of war time urban Australia and the American occupation in his series Images of Modern Evil. Tucker was a founder of the Contemporary Art Society which fought for modernism in conservative inter-war Australia and contributed to aesthetic and political debate through the seminal modernist journal Angry Penguins. He left Australia after the war to paint in Paris. Now in his 80s he has returned to Australia and continues to paint and talk about the politics of art. Vic O'Connor Social Realist painter and communist who led the left wing of the Contemporary Art Society in the 1940s. He exhibited overseas in the 1940s and 1950s and continues to paint the life of inner city Melbourne. Max Harris Poet, essayist and publisher who burst onto the Australian literary scene as a precocious young 'genius' preaching the modernist cause in the late 30s. A "John the Baptist" of surrealism and anarchism calling for a cultural revolution through his radical journal Angry Penguins. Denounced by conservatives for his surrealist novel The Vegetative Eye, Max was discredited by his adulation and publication of "surrealist" poems concocted in an afternoon by two conservative poets pretending to be a mythical antipodean T S Eliot called Ern Malley. The disclosure of the hoax unleashed a media frenzy and conservative backlash that undermined the modernist cause in Australia for a generation. Ern Malley's poems are now celebrated in Australia and taught in schools. Geoffrey Dutton Poet, publisher and long time writer on Australian culture. As a young student in Adelaide he was a contributor to Max Harris' Angry Penguins magazine. Mirca Mora French artist who immigrated to Melbourne in the 1950s where she became the centre of a bohemian salon and with her husband founded the Mora Gallery. Friend of John and Sunday Reed and a regular at Heide. return to top The Sydney Push 1950s and 1960s John Anderson Maverick Professor of Philosophy at the University of Sydney from the late 1920s into the 1960s, who attracted controversy through his ideas about 'freethought' and exposure of what he saw as 'illusions' eg religion and communism. Anderson's libertarianism, pluralism and criticism of the status quo inspired generations of students and contributed to the genesis of the Sydney Push. Margaret Fink Film Producer and member of the Push, a seminal Sydney bohemian group of the 1950s and 1960s that boasted among its membership Germaine Greer, Clive James and Frank Moorhouse. Paddy McGuiness Journalist, essayist and part of the Push. Once left wing, now right wing and always a stirrer, he describes himself as a non-utopian anarchist. Robert Hughes Art critic, essayist and documentary maker. Featured in his youth in ABC studios (1959) with other Sydney Push identities discussing Beatniks. Jack Gulley Enrolled in philosophy at Sydney University on his discharge from the British Paratroopers at the end of World War 2. Became a student of Prof. John Anderson member of the Push. Later became a journalist and executive in ABC news and current affairs. return to top Young Turks of the 1990s Justine Ettler So called "grunge porn" writer who has captured the imagination of younger female readers with her first novel The River Ophelia, a postmodern homage to De Sade, Shakespeare and inner city Sydney. Edward Berridge Author of book of short stories The Lives of the Saints which owes a little to the style and amorality spearheaded by Tarantino. But these stories are quintessentially Australian, though obsessed with the countries underbelly. Edward is an Angry Young man in his late 20s influenced by punk and pop culture. Catharine Lumby Journalist and Harkness scholar in her early 30s who has just written a book re-assessing feminism for her generation entitled Bad Girls : the Media, Sex and Feminism in the90s, Catharine approached issues of sexuality, censorship, fashion and pornography from a libertarian and postmodern perspective. She writes a regular column for the Sydney Morning Herald. McKenzie Wark Academic, journalist and postmodern polemicist in his mid 30s. His last book, Virtual Geography examined the impact on younger audiences of growing up in a world wide media landscapes. McKenzie is a well known commentator in Australia, writing a regular column for the Australian and famous for his fresh perspectives on controversial issues. His latest book is called The Virtual Republic?, and examines some of Australia's recent cultural wars, discussed in Bohemian Rhapsody. Chris Mikul Thirty-something "Zine" publisher and writer on popular culture and the history of culture. His zine is called Bizzarism and looks at weird cults and eccentrics. Barbara Karpinski Performance artist and veteran of the early Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parades. Eddie Greenaway Eddie and his partner Angela are the publishers of the legendary Eddie Zine - a very 'punk', 'in your face' platform for young writers, artists, humorists and music heads. Ian Haig Digital artist in his mid 20s who has exhibited in London and New York. Ian's work is influenced by Warner Brothers cartoons and manga comic book illustration. Aviva Gulley Aviva is a law student at the university of Sydney and environmental activist. Guy Rundle Guy is co- editor of Arena Magazine, a journal of ideas and critical perspectives. He combines his interest in left-wing politics with a career as a comedy writer, most notably with Max Gilles and the Comedy Company. Barry Divola Journalist and critic who loves American TV and "trash" culture generally. He currently reviews for Who Weekly. Rick Tanaka Rick is writer and cultural facilitator who promotes cultural exchange across national boundaries. He manages Nick Cave in the Asia/Pacific region and has co-written Higher Than Heaven, a book about Japan, politics, popular culture and the Second World War. Santo Cilauro Santo is famous for his pioneering comedy with the D-Generation and has gone on to be part of the team who write and direct Frontline, Funky Squad and The Castle. return to top Commentators Peter Kirkpatrick Peter is the author of the definitive study of 1920s bohemians entitles The Seacoast of Bohemia : Literary Life in Sydney's Roaring Twenties. He teaches in the Humanities Faculty at the University of Western Sydney, Nepean Kingsford campus. Michael Heyward Michael is the author of The Ern Malley Affair, which tells the story of the great Australian literary hoax against the backdrop of the cultural wars of the 1930s and 40s. He is the publisher of Text Media in Melbourne. return to top
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