DESIGN BY DISCIPLINE

The studio has produced a 256 page publication to document the Venice Biennale New Australian Pavilion: Di Stasio Ideas Competition.

The publication showcases the short list of 56 projects, 37 professional and 19 pre-professional with a further coverage of the 11 finalists including the winners, Davide Marchetti and SPF15+. There are essays from Andrew Mackenzie, editor of AR and Norman Day, chair of judging.

The publication is available for purchase for AUS$30.00 from Café Di Stasio, Heide Museum of Modern Art, Avenue Bookstore or via downloadable order form at the Di Stasio website.

Hinterlands: Albert Tucker’s landscapes 1960-1975
28 June 2008—22 February 2009
Heide Museum of Modern Art

Hinterlands examines Albert Tucker’s new vision of his homeland, with particular emphasis on works depicting the bush around his property in rural Hurstbridge on Melbourne’s fringes; the distinctive Gippsland landscape off the coast of south-east Victoria; and the spectacular Barmah Forest in the north of the state.

The catalogue for this exhibition is the 5th in the Tucker series and moves to a landscape format with slipcase, to reflect the landscape orientation of this body of work. The project was supported by Spicers Paper, with the catalogue being printed on their new recycled coated stock, Hello and the slip case being printed on the new Stephen Spicy White. An additional customised run of these catalogues were produced for Spicers Paper for the promotion of these new stocks.

The studio has been responsible for the creative direction of the Venice Biennale New Australian Pavilion: Di Stasio Ideas Competition for their client Rinaldo di Stasio to celebrate his 20th anniversary of Café di Stasio in St Kilda. The ideas competition involved an open brief to design a new Australian Pavilion in the Giardini Della Biennale in Venice to replace the temporary structure design by Philip Cox in 1988.

The competition attracted over 450 registrations of interest from architects and students from 51 countries around the world, with 170 entries being finally submitted. A judging panel lead by architect and critic Norman Day and including photographer John Gollings, artist Callum Morton and City of Sydney architect Bridget Smyth devised a short list of 56 projects, 37 professional and 19 pre-professional. A subsequent list of 11 finalists has been selected, with the winners in each category being announced on Monday 28 July 2008. For a full list of finalists visit the di Stasio website.

To celebrate the competition, the studio has designed an exhibition featuring all of the short listed entries at Heide Museum of Modern Art, the exhibition will be on view until 3 August 2008. A 256 page publication is currently in production and will be available from Heide Museum of Modern Art or through Café di Stasio.

Click here to listen to Alan Saunders interview with competition judges Norman Day and Callum Morton on Radio National’s By Design program from Saturday 28 June 2008.

Simon Pemberton, past National President of AGDA, has embarked on a documentary of 13 of Australia’s design icons. On 9-10 May 2008, Ken Cato, Mimmo Cozzolino, Garry Emery, Trevor Flett, Myriam Kin-Yee, David Lancashire, John Nowland, Brian Sadgrove, John Spatchurst, Neil Turner and Harry Williamson spent two days in Melbourne discussing the stories behind their work and the ideas and inspirations that frame the way they think (Ian Kidd and Barrie Tucker will be filmed in Adelaide to complete the group of 13). The documentary will bring to life an extraordinary body of work much of which helps define us as a nation and influence how we live our lives.

The filming has been supported by Swinburne University Film and Television School and the still photography by David Pidgeon and Andrew Ashton.

The project still needs financial support to enable the production of the final documentary and book. If you would like to support the documentation of Australia’s design history, please email Simon Pemberton at simon@graffiti.net.au

Publication of recent work for photographer John Gollings which explores his approach to documenting both ancient and modern buildings.