Tracey Moffatt Calls

As the Director of the Gallery of Modern Art, Queensland Art Gallery, says, Tracey Moffatt is arguably the most prominent Australian artist exhibiting in Australia and around the world today.  The work of this beautiful and vivacious Australian visual artist is held in major repositories -- including the Guggenheim -- and featured in major exhibits.

Accordingly, I was overwhelmed to be suddenly accosted, first by a barrage of emails and then with phone calls, by this hugely enthusiastic and talented artist, who asked me for a brief interview for her planned TV show, ART CALLS.  Two minutes, she said . . . and somehow it extended into an hour.

A thoroughly enjoyable hour, I might add.  You can watch the pilot of the show HERE. It gives a good idea of what it is going to be like -- Tracey calls artists and writers all over the world, talking to some, Skyping some, and the result is edited into a show that is not just highly entertaining but also does something rare and wonderful -- it promotes artists and the arts.

Then I had the pleasure of meeting Tracey herself in Sydney.  She drove us around her cherished part of that beautiful and vibrant city, and walked us to a special place, an ancient Aboriginal petrograph of a whale.  (I blogged about it HERE.)  We lunched, we talked, we walked, and we laughed.  Great memories were all I expected when we flew home, but no, Tracey always manages the wonderfully unexpected.  A book arrived, featuring Tracey's latest body of work, "Spirit Landscapes."

"Spirit Landscapes," currently on display at the Queensland Art Galley, Gallery of Modern Art, comprises five photographic series in which the artist explores human relationships. Typical is this amazing study of a woman with a baby. Being a writer, I love an image that tells a story, and this one certainly does that.

Tracey tells me it is one of the "Up in the Sky" photo series, which is exhibited internationally.

The rest of the works are just as evocative.  If you are in Brisbane in the next few weeks, don't miss a visit to the Gallery of Modern Art.