A REMARKABLE SATURDAY MORNING

Last Saturday morning, Marg's latest exhibition of art work commenced, opened by our friend Bev Campbell. With nearly 100 people gathered in the North Carlton gallery, Artastic, Bev spoke the following words.....











The lines of life are varied,
as are roads, and as are the boundaries of mountains.
Whatever we are here, a god can complement there
with harmony and perpetual reward and peace.
Friederich Hölderlin

It’s my great pleasure to welcome you all here this morning, on behalf of Mac, and particularly Marg. We’re here in support of them and to honour not only the art that surrounds you, but also Marg as artist.

I want to begin with a story about a German poet called Friederich Hölderlin. He lived from 1770-1843 and has been described as the greatest German romantic poet. In a town called Tübingen in the south-west corner of Germany there is a building in the old part of town called Hölderlin’s Turm or Hölderlin’s Tower. Hölderlin had a difficult adult life with health and money problems and in 1805, after various other events, he was taken in by the Zimmer family and given a room in the tower. Although he had river views he was actually kept prisoner in this tower for thirty-six years. But the amazing thing about his incarceration was that his creative spirit was not defeated and he continued to write poetry for the rest of his life.

Living with illness is a bit like living in Hölderlin’s Tower. Marg has been living with illness for some time and it has restricted her movements and limited her lifestyle. But, amazingly, like Hölderlin, this metaphorical prison has not limited her artistic endeavours or her creativity; today’s exhibition is testament to that.

Any artistic pursuit is a mysterious combination of talent and discipline. Artists of all kinds need both these in good measure to succeed as artists. Marg’s work shows that she is able to bring these two gifts together to produce work of great artistic competence and creativity. The art that you see here today also shows that, in times of personal adversity, Marg is prepared to take risks as an artist and experiment with new genres. There is a risk in exhibiting one’s paintings, or in going public with any creative endeavour, and there is an even bigger risk in moving out of one’s comfort zone to try new things. These paintings reflect Marg’s true artistic nature as an artist - her willingness to put her work on public display and her readiness to try new styles.

One of Holderlin’s poems begins with the lines:
The lines of life are varied,
as are roads, and as are the boundaries of mountains.
The lines of Marg’s artistic life are indeed varied. The familiar and much loved lines of Marg’s creative achievements are here in this exhibition, in the colours and forms of her flower studies, in her fruit and vegetable scapes, in the light and shade of her city streetscapes and her landscapes. But you will also find in paintings such as Martha’s Garden lines reminiscent of the naïve tradition. In paintings like Ancient Door with Cat Flap, the lines are mere fragments, poetic hints of places and possibilities waiting to be explored. And there is a move in paintings such as Birdsong of the Heavens of new, untried lines And in the four large paintings, with names such as Uncreated, Formlessness and Unmanifested, Marg has taken a different direction in the lines of her artistic life. The paintings in this exhibition represent a diverse range of styles and lines.

We are pleased to be here to celebrate with Marg today. Thanks to Kate and Paul for mounting the exhibition and for hosting us this morning. Thanks to Mac for his work in bringing this exhibition to fruition. We know that behind every great woman there’s a great man. And especially to Marg, thank you for your artistic gifts. Congratulations on the body of work exhibited here on these walls.

Beverley Campbell August 2010