The Solitary Watcher: Rick Amor And His Art

By Gary Catalano, Miegunyah/Melbourne University Press: 2001, , 199 pages, hardback, $89.95. Reviewed by David Dolan in the Dec 2001-Jan 2002 issue.

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The appearance of the first monograph devoted to an artist can be an important career milestone; indeed the writing and publication of any monograph intrinsically claims that the subject is worthy of serious individual attention. There are almost no exceptions to this: critics who wish to question or demolish an artist's reputation do so in reviews or occasionally in biographies, but not in illustrated monographs.

A hundred years after federation, Australian art still tends to be regional, in the sense that most artists are identified with their city or state of residence and only an elite minority enjoy a truly national reputation. This is definitely the story for Amor, whom Catalano describes as one of Melbourne's leading artists, but who passed his fiftieth birthday without having had solo exhibitions in several Australian capitals. That this is a common enough situation and thus carries no stigma is a result of the organisation of the art market and the structure of government involvement, which are dominated respectively by hometown dealers and regional mandates - hence the provincialism.

For this reviewer who has lived in Adelaide, Canberra, Sydney and Perth but never in Melbourne, Amor has been rather an unknown quantity, perceived on the basis of an unreasonably small sample of works encountered over the years to be a competent, dedicated but apparently largely derivative artist. Catalano's monograph was thus approached in the hope that it would demonstrate and persuade that Amor is a significant talent with solid artistic achievement to his credit. Far from minimising Amor's eclecticism, Catalano is almost exhaustive in identifying influences, citing many little-known in Australia as well as many that are obvious (although not Len French who sometimes seems to be reflected).

In all respects, Catalano has approached the first monographer's task of accreditation with exceptional diligence and conviction. He lists dozens of interviews over a decade, all taped or minuted. He even implies awareness that in the case of art criticism as in sub-atomic physics, the act of observation affects that which is being observed.

Many art monographs are just picture books with minimal text, more documents of record or aids for readers to make up their own minds, rather than thorough accounts of a career. This is certainly not the case with Catalano on Amor. We are introduced not only to the artist's parents, teachers, wives and children, but to grandparents, aunts and uncles, childhood playmates and fellow students. His (quite impressive) juvenilia, student opinions, and drinking habits are earnestly reported. Mercifully, Amor has an interesting family, and Catalano stops short of programmatic psycho-analysis, so this all makes relevant and engaging reading.

The critic seems determined to get into the artist's skin, perhaps challenged by the perception that he does not encourage intimacy. Perhaps this accounts for some observations which may be self-explanatory to Catalano but are not necessarily so to the reader. For example, when John Brack advised Amor that he could not go on painting outdoor nudes after (apparently) only a single venture into that genre 'Amor saw the point' (72). What point? Was it a bad painting, or is there something wrong with the subject? We can't hypothesise, as the relevant work is not illustrated. Similarly, perhaps, Catalano describes a portrait of the artist's daughter as 'moving' (136) while to less involved viewers it may seem straightforward and unemotional.

Although the title of the book uses the inclusive term 'art', the text concentrates on graphics and painting with only a couple of very brief passing mentions of the fact that Amor produces sculpture. It is not clear whether or not the implication is that Catalano considers Amor's sculpture of little importance compared to his painting, or so different that it constitutes a distinct practice. It is frustrating for the reader, who cannot even guess at an answer as no three-dimensional work is illustrated.

That said, it is undeniable that Catalano has done well by Amor. He interprets him as a complex character and artistic persona: engaged yet detached, grounded in the present but with a strong sense of the continuity of life, the power of shared and individual memory, and the importance of personal and community heritage. Amor is shown to have matured into an artist of integrity, substance, and quality - more profound than has generally been recognised by those who have had too few opportunities to see his art.

Citation

• David Dolan. 'Review: The Solitary Watcher: Rick Amor And His Art by Gary Catalano' [online]. Network Review of Books (Perth, Australian Public Intellectual Network), Dec 2001-Jan 2002. Availability: <please cite the web address here> ISSN 1833-0932. [accessed 19 May 2013].

Back Cover Blurb

• The Solitary Watcher is the first full-length work on Rick Amor. Gary Catalano writes of the landscapes of Amor's childhood that haunt his later paintings; of Amor's close friendship with Joan and Daryl Lindsay; his long relationship with the labour movement; and his professional attachment to older artists such as Clifton Pugh and Ian Armstrong.
  
  The main focus is on Amor's paintings, drawings, prints and sculptures. The Solitary Watcher offers a detailed and coherent examination of the development of Amor's art, from his earliest years as an artist to the present.
  
  Gary Catalano was born in Brisbane in 1947 and educated in Sydney. A well-known poet and critic, he has written widely on both Australian art and literature since the 1970s and worked as art critic on the Age from 1985 to 1990. His Selected Poems 1973-1992 was published in 1993.
  
  Catalano now lives at Cottles Bridge, where he is working on a volume of poems based on his residency at the Australia Council's Keesing Studio in Paris in 1997. The Solitary Watcher is his thirteenth book.

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