Pemberton, September 5 – 25 2009
I found Helen Grey-Smith’s retrospective in Pemberton inspiring and enlightening. Her works amassed the sort of insight and energy that generates a cascading sense of wonder and deep reflection while her artist-narrative and context left me with a deep burning sensation in my chest. I am quite sure there is a pointed effort made by most writers about Helen's work not to mention the elephant in the gallery (her husband) out of respect and admiration for her and her work. However, as a feminist, I cannot help but be desperately intrigued by her life circumstance to ponder the influences in her art in order to tease out her artistic ambition aside from the context within which it was created.
Formally trained in London in the late 30’s and mid 50’s Helen’s work is represented in state and national galleries as well as numerous significant collections. It is no small wonder then, why it has fallen to a small art collective in regional Western Australia to draw together a series of her works as a means to confirm her reputation and status in the Western Australian art narrative. The little town of Pemberton, it seems, is in keeping with international art trends of a newly evolved feminist revivial. Lets hope the rest of WA catches on before it's a decade past us again!
She was quite happy to create in her own space and time without great ambition or desire for her work. Interesting. This is where I wonder, how much were attitudes to women artists - artists who were also mothers - responsibile for her choosing to languish in the shadow of her husband? It is artists like Helen, working with the feminine (read less valued) media of paper collage, fabric and print to paint subject matter that has no political or lofty ambition other than to please, to exist, to cause no trouble, to be attractive - that highlight for us the 'moral' (read guilt) restrictions placed upon women artists-mothers until only recently. Only her work to me is so much more than Helen had planned. Her work exists within a context, that context is characterised by conservativism and commercialism rather than ideas, debate and discussion. Did Helen have a choice to paint anything other than? How do we determine self-will or autonomy aside from the machinations of society and culture?
Born in 1916, Helen Grey-Smith is sadly more often regarded as the wife of Guy Grey-Smith than a talented artist in her own right despite the fact that she was the one to introduce and nurture GGS's artistic sensibility. Mark Grey-Smith told me she sent him art supplies and books when he was prisoner of war which fostered his creative spirit. Fortuitous perhaps, as GGS is considered a demi-god looming large on the Western Australian art scene.
Helen's story as the other half lingering in the shadows of one of Western Australia’s canonical heroes of the art scene is repeated for many ‘lesser’ female artists the world over, viewed as supporting muse or mimic of ‘the great master’ they attended to (The guerrilla girls bedside companion to the History of Western Art is a good place to start on this). We need more female artist from regional WA success stories to inspire and encourage our next generation of artists. GGS, Brian McKay et al struggled along with the dinosaurs to bring modernsim to Australia. Unfortunately, modernism is now a bit like patterson's curse - it is thriving so much now it threatens to strangle and kill off any other fragile growth.
