FILM AUSTRALIA PRESENTS
The Art of War
From World War One to the “war on terror”, Betty Churcher brings her unique
perspective to a series on Australian art inspired by a century of conflict.
7.30pm Saturday April 23, 2005 on SBS Television -- Episodes 1 & 2
7.30pm Sunday April 24, 2005 on SBS Television – Episodes 3 & 4
Writer/presenter Betty Churcher
Director John Hughes
Producers John Hughes, Betty Churcher
Executive Producer Anna Grieve
Duration 4 x 26 minutes
A Film Australia National Interest Program in association with Early Works. Produced with the support of
the Australian War Memorial and in association with SBS Independent.
Film Australia © 2005
AN AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT OWNED COMPANY, FILM AUSTRALIA IS A LEADING
PRODUCER AND DISTRIBUTOR OF TELEVISION DOCUMENTARIES AND EDUCATIONAL
PROGRAMS.
www.filmaust.com.au
THE ART OF WAR • A FILM AUSTRALIA NATIONAL INTEREST PROGRAM
Synopses
Series synopsis
In The Art of War, Betty Churcher brings her unique perspective to a series on
Australian art inspired or provoked by our involvement in conflicts over the past
century. From the First World War to the “war on terror”, it reveals how dramatically
attitudes to war have changed, and how radically the trauma of war has changed art
itself.
The Art of War is a personal exploration of art rather than a comprehensive history.
With images from official war artists, soldiers on the frontline or in POW camps,
civilians in concentration camps and those on the homefront, it is a story of unknown
artists and famous names such as George Lambert, Nora Heysen, Wendy Sharpe
and Sidney Nolan.
The range and diversity of the works is remarkable, from dramatic battlefield
panoramas to pencil-on-paper sketches of individuals. Some were created to
encourage patriotic sentiment; others protest a senseless loss of life. Almost all
capture something of the Australian identity - our humour, courage and endurance.
Episode 1 synopsis: Birth of a Legend
Although there were no “official” war artists to record that most significant moment in
our nation’s history - the landing at Gallipoli in 1915 - there was ample artistic talent
among the servicemen who fought in World War One. These soldier-artists left us
eyewitness accounts, from Turkey and North Africa to Palestine and the Western
Front. This episode looks at their legacy and that of CEW Bean, the inspiration
behind the Australian War Memorial and Australia’s official war artist scheme. In
particular, it explores the work of two government-appointed war artists: George
Lambert - who depicted the heroics of great battles won and lost - and Will Dyson who focused on the horror of trench warfare.
2
THE ART OF WAR • A FILM AUSTRALIA NATIONAL INTEREST PROGRAM
Episode 2 synopsis: The Human Tragedy
Extraordinary changes took place in European art as a result of World War One, with
the development of a visual language to express internal trauma and mental anguish.
Australian artists such as Albert Tucker drew on this in their responses to the Second
World War. One of those who documented the 1939-1945 conflict was official war
artist Ivor Hele. His epic pictures of the Middle Eastern and North African campaigns
and dark images of New Guinea can be seen in this episode alongside the work of
Academy Award winning cinematographer Damien Parer and drawings by
concentration camp survivor Bernard Slawik.
Episode 3 synopsis: Far From the Frontline
In World War Two women such as Sybil Craig, Stella Bowen and Nora Heysen were
recruited for the first time as official war artists, recording in particular the contribution
of women to the war effort. On the homefront, Margaret Preston and John Brack
along with Sydney trio William Dobell, Donald Friend and Russell Drysdale provided
a different perspective of the war experience. Later, other artists would explore in
their paintings legendary stories of courage and endurance that survive through the
decades: with Sydney Nolan starting his Gallipoli series in 1955 and Jan Senbergs
revisiting the 1942 sinking of HMAS Armidale nearly half a century later.
Episode 4 synopsis: Cold Wars and Conflagrations
The conflicts that have followed World War Two could not be viewed with the same
lofty idealism as earlier wars. In looking at the work of Ray Beattie and Ian Howard,
this episode considers the search for new symbols and the development of protest
art. Beginning with the wars in Korea and Vietnam, Betty Churcher then talks to
some of the artists - including Jan Senbergs, Kevin Connor, Rick Amor, Wendy
Sharpe, Gordon Bennett and her own son Peter Churcher - who have created works
in response to the First Gulf War, peacekeeping in East Timor, the 9/11 attacks and
the “war against terror”.
3
THE ART OF WAR • A FILM AUSTRALIA NATIONAL INTEREST PROGRAM
About the making of the series
Betty Churcher brings a unique perspective to The Art of War – a perspective both
personal and professional.
Betty’s father fought at Flanders, her first teenage kiss was from a returning soldier
and now her son, Peter Churcher, is a war artist. Professionally, Betty has been an
art educator and gallery professional, best known as a former director of the National
Gallery of Australia.
“My father was there at that first great war,” she says in the opening scenes of The
Art of War. “And although I longed to hear his story, to hear how he’d been gassed
and actually left for dead on a battlefield in Flanders, he’d never speak about it. He
was a very private and really fastidious man and everything about trench warfare
turned out to be repugnant to him.
“Whenever I see that tiny picture of Grace Cossington Smith’s – of soldiers marching
down the street in Sydney – I think of Dad, because he could have been one of
them.”
The Art of War brings the personal and professional together at locations including
the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, Victoria’s Heide Museum of Modern Art
and the studio of Betty’s son, Peter Churcher, in Melbourne.
Director of The Art of War, John Hughes, who also worked on Betty Churcher’s Take
5 series, says “one of the great pleasures in working with Betty is to observe and
learn from her exceptional collaborative skills.”
“A lot of our work was in public galleries in the War Memorial. With Betty’s guidance,
we grew to appreciate the depth and breadth of the AWM’s extraordinary collection,”
says Hughes. ”And because we had to be out of the galleries when they opened to
visitors at 10am, the crisp dawn of mid-winter Canberra mornings are an enduring
memory.”
4
THE ART OF WAR • A FILM AUSTRALIA NATIONAL INTEREST PROGRAM
About the filmmakers
Betty Churcher – Writer/presenter/producer
Betty Churcher, Adjunct Professor for the Centre for Cross-Cultural Research,
Australian National University, was awarded Member of the Order of Australia in
1990 and Officer of the Order of Australia in 1996. In 1997 she was The Australian
newspaper’s Australian of the Year.
Betty was educated in London, first at the Royal College of Art and then at the
Courtauld Institute of Fine Arts, University of London.
Betty began her career as a Lecturer at Kelvin Grove CAE, Brisbane. She then
became a Senior Lecturer at Preston Institute of Technology. Following this she was
Principal Lecturer, and then Dean, School of Art at the Phillips Institute of
Technology, Victoria. Betty then moved from teaching into the world of galleries and
was from 1987-90 the Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Art Gallery of
Western Australia and from 1990-97, the Director and Chief Executive Officer of the
National Gallery of Australia.
Betty Churcher’s art programs, The Proud Possessors, which she wrote and
presented, were shown on ABC-TV. She also wrote and presented two series of
Take 5 – micro-docs on art and artists – for the ABC. Betty Churcher was the subject
of an Australian Biography program for Film Australia, first broadcast on SBS in
January 2004.
John Hughes—Producer/director
John Hughes is a film producer, writer and director based in Melbourne who has
worked in documentary (River of Dreams, After Mabo), drama features (What I Have
Written) and television (the first series of Betty Churcher’s Take 5). He was
commissioning editor, documentary, with SBS Independent from 1998 to 2001, and
has taught cinema studies, documentary and television studies with the Department
of Visual Arts, Monash University (1990-94).
5
THE ART OF WAR • A FILM AUSTRALIA NATIONAL INTEREST PROGRAM
Paul Grabowsky - Composer
Paul Grabowsky is a pianist, composer and conductor of international renown, with
credits for film and television scores including Empire Falls, Human Touch,
Innocence, Jessica, The Jungle Book 2 and Last Orders.
He has won three ARIA awards, an AFI award, a Helpmann award and was Sidney
Myer Performing Artist of the Year in 2000. Paul was Commissioning Editor for ABC
Television Arts and Entertainment (1996-98). In 1994, he founded the Australian Art
Orchestra. Paul is on the board of the Australian Film Commission.
Paul says that The Art of War allowed him to use music to bring together two of his
passions – a long-held interest in military history and a love of art history.
6
THE ART OF WAR • A FILM AUSTRALIA NATIONAL INTEREST PROGRAM
Credits
Production Accountant
Monika Gehrt
Writer & Presenter
Betty Churcher
Transcripts
Netanela Mizrahi
Producers
Betty Churcher, John Hughes
Post Production Scripts
Ann Marie Allan
Director
John Hughes
Post Production
Blue Rose - U&A Editing
Line Producer
Philippa Campey
Colourist
Stanley Lopuszanski
Cinematographer
Digital Pictures Melbourne
Joel Peterson
Sound Mix
Editor
Doron Kipen
Uri Mizrahi
Emma Bortington
Music and Effects
Music by
Paul Grabowsky
Series Title
Uri Mizrahi
Sound Recordist
Mark Tarpey
Music Supervisor
Yuri Worontschak
Additional Sound
Bronwyn Murphy, Rod Pascoe
Orchestra Manager
& Music Preparation
Camera Assistants
Estelle Pizer
Andrew McLeod, Jim Graham, Matt Bonner,
Andrew March
Musicians
Nick Schauble (Drums) Geoff Lierse (French
Horn)
Make-Up & Hair:
Peta Hastings, Toni Ffrench, Catherine Lamey
Rudy Osadnik (Violin) Isabel Morse (Viola)
Sarah Morse (Cello) Philip Rex (Double Bass)
Julien Wilson (Saxophones)
Stills Photography:
Marcus Fillinger, John Tsiavis
Film Australia Production Unit
7
THE ART OF WAR • A FILM AUSTRALIA NATIONAL INTEREST PROGRAM
Production Affairs Manager
Richard Brennan
Martien Coucke
Leanne Bennett
Ben Butcher
Production Assistant
Guy Bailey
Genevieve Derwent
Special thanks to
Program Promotions Manager
Alma Slawik
Kym Druitt
Jan Senbergs
Rick Amor, Gordon Bennett
Executive Producer’s Assistants
Peter Churcher, Kevin Connor
Aida Innocente
Professor Ian Howard
Michelle Clark
Wendy Sharpe
Thanks to
Detail from the Bayeux Tapestry
The Australian Centre
by special permission of
for Cross-Cultural Research
the City of Bayeux
The Art Gallery of South Australia
The National Gallery of Australia
Hannah Hoch
The National Gallery of Victoria
Cut With a Kitchen Knife (1919)
The Mitchell Library, NSW
with permission Staatliche Museen
The Art Gallery of NSW
zu Berlin PreuBischer
ACMI
Kulturbesitz, Nationalgalerie
Heidi Museum of Modern Art
Sir William Dobell Art Foundation
John Sinclair
Estate of Albert Tucker, courtesy
Heide From Above
Lauraine Diggins Fine Art
with permission Jean Langley
Sherman Galleries
Max Dupain
Thanks to
William Dobell, 1944
Ian Kelly, Betty Snowden
with permission Jill White
Ranee Buckle, Peter Burne
Alice Livingstone (AGNSW)
Margaret Preston
Ann Standish (MUP)
Tank Traps 1943
Rebecca Renshaw (Heide)
Gift of Dr and Mrs CB Christensen, 1978
Mick Counihan
Collection, Mornington Peninsula Regional
Jean Langley
Gallery
Zsuzsi Szucs (Screensound Australia)
Lynne Clarke
Masters of War written by Bob Dylan
Mary Nolan
Published by Special Rider Music
Yuri Shukhost (D.O.D.)
Sony/ATV Music Publishing
8
THE ART OF WAR • A FILM AUSTRALIA NATIONAL INTEREST PROGRAM
Executive Producer
Archival film
Anna Grieve
Or Forever Hold Your Peace (1970)
from the collection of
A National Interest Program
ScreenSound Australia:
Film Australia Ltd
the National Screen and Sound Archive
© MMV
www.filmaust.com.au
Night Vision
Australian Government
Department of Defence
Archival film
from the collection of
ScreenSound Australia:
the National Screen and Sound Archive
Artwork by Hans Heysen, George Grosz &
Otto Dix, Ian Howard, Jan Senbergs &
Margaret Preston
licensed by Viscopy
Artworks, stills & archival film
courtesy of the
Australian War Memorial
Produced with the support of
Australian War Memorial
Produced with the assistance of
SBS Independent
Commissioning Editors
Glenys Rowe & Jennifer Crone
A Film Australia Production
in association with
Early Works
9