Not all innovations are gears and coding. Some are a cultural awareness and, always, an ability to use what you have to improve the situation.

Between the Wars, Ethel Anderson was bringing visibility to a new art movement that was being overlooked by those in charge of the nation's galleries and newspapers. She supported artists to ensure that Australia had a Modern voice that would endure. Artists like Grace Cossington-Smith, who has the crown of producing Australia's first post-impressionist painting (The Sock Knitter, 1915), were producing a new visual identity for what was happening in Australia. Ethel new this new work was important. She made sure these artists had space and visibility to take the place of the heralded (and dated) pastoral landscapes of "the Australian frontier".

Dr Victoria Souliman is an art historian at the University of Sydney. Her research focuses on issues of national identity, expatriatism, and women’s agency in the artistic exchanges between Australia, France, and Britain in the early 20th century. She introduces star of the modernist movement in Australia, Ethel Anderson, to comedian Tori Crisp, who has purposefully avoided the history of art all her life.

We also get to learn how much Rachel hates the work of Paul Gauguin, and how easily she can offend those in the field.

Visit the website for pictures of the paintings mentioned in this episode.

Transcript

Credits

Producer: Rachel Rayner, Science Explainer

Guests: Victoria Souliman, Tori Crisp

Music: Michelle Cashman

Editing: Harry Hughes

Made possible through Meta Australia Journalism Fund, administered by the Walkley Foundation, with support from Comedy Victoria.

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