Archive for the ‘Geoffrey J. Wallis’ Category

Peril in the Square – The sculpture that challenged a city

Sunday, August 5th, 2007

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The newspaper headline of July 29th 1980, ‘Yellow Peril to go’, said it all.

After barely three months of holding centre stage in Melbourne’s new City Square amidst a barrage of abuse, the bright yellow sculpture was carted off to be re-erected at Batman Park in a rather neglected corner of the city. Here Vault, as the sculpture was eventually named by its creator, Ron Robertson-Swann, remained until …

Peril in the Square follows the highs and lows of Vault, Ron Robertson-Swann’s bright yellow abstract sculpture dubbed by its detractors as the ‘Yellow Peril’. Vault was the catalyst for the most furious debate over the rights and wrongs of art in public places ever witnessed in Australia.

Richly illustrated with nearly 100 photographs, most of them in colour, ‘Peril in the Square’ will give readers the full story of Melbourne’s best-known public art work, from its beginnings as a maquette that shocked the city council in the late 1970s, all the way to its present ‘resurrection’ at Southbank.

May 2004, 152pp
Paperback 260 x 210 mm
Non-Fiction – Arts history and criticism
1st edition
ISBN: 1 92078700 3
RRP $aud 49-95
ISBN-13 9781920787004

Beautifully illustrated in colour

The Author
With formal qualifications in fine arts and teaching, Geoffrey Wallis has been a lecturer in Art History and Theory since 1971. He has recently retired from the Arts Academy, University of Ballarat.

He has curated and written essays for numerous exhibitions including:
Just Sculpture Ballarat Fine Art Gallery
UnPeeled Art Ballarat Fine Art Gallery
Outside Art Inside Ballarat Fine Art Gallery (Travelling exhibition)
Street Art Swan Hill, Regional Art Gallery, Loris Button Ararat Gallery, Ken Searle Ballarat Fine Art Gallery

Geoffrey has also exhibited work in group exhibitions in a number of galleries.