Roar : a Melbourne phenomenon / Denise Morgan.

Abstract

In late 1981 shared ideas about art and the Melbourne art world drew a group of neo-expressionist artists together. Most were still in art school. Plans to open their own gallery attracted other artists who, although they had different art styles, shared a vision of an independent artist run gallery and studios. Together they opened Roar Studios in June 1982. At the time the Western art world was returning to regionalised subjective art, particularly painting. Melbourne commentators therefore focussed on the expressionist artists of Roar Studios —Wayne Eager, Sarah Faulkner, Andrew Ferguson, Peter Ferguson, Pasquale Giardino, Karan Hay man, Mark Howson, David Larwill, Karl Morkel, Mike Nicholls, Jill Noble, Mark Schaller and Judi Singleton — and, when these artists left Roar Studios, the Roar name and the Roar myth went with them. The group's composition was identified and reinforced by Sydney art collector and dealer, Chandler Coventry, and James Mollison, Director of the Australian National Gallery, both of whom sought out and showed their work. The Roar myth is comprised of elements associated with youthful enthusiasm; a style of art that is colourful, deliberately not theoretically based, quickly executed, and highly subjective; shown in an independent art gallery forever on the brink of financial ruin; wild parties and fundraisers to remedy that situation; and a reckless lifestyle to nourish the muse. The Roar myth is complex and rich. It includes influences of abstraction, minimalism and the constructivism of Torres-Garcia as well as the work of Australian artists — Booth, Kemp, Whisson and Olsen among them. Roar's strong foundations in the influence of naive art allowed it to negotiate a post-colonial shift away from primitivism — a driver that formed part of its artistic habitus of modernism — while maintaining the integrity of its own trajectory. Roar's engagement with Australia's indigenous culture, both the people and the art, helped negotiate a path away from primitivism's objectifying discourse and introduced new technical and spiritual elements to the work of the Roar artists. Show more