News

New-York-based artist Anthony McCall, a key figure in the history of avant-garde cinema, is giving a lecture. McCall is in the history books for his 1973 film-installation Line Describing a Cone, where he projected, through hazed air, a film of a white circle slowly forming on a black ground, in the process generating a spectral sculptural 'cone'. Through the 1970s, McCall developed this idea in a seies of 'solid light' films.

As he explained in 1974, a solid light film 'exists only in the present: the moment of projection. It refers to nothing beyond this real time. It contains no illusion. It is a primary experience, not secondary: i.e., the space is real, not referential; the time is real, not referential. No longer is one viewing position as good as any other ... every viewing position presents a different aspect. The viewer therefore has a participatory role in apprehending the event: he or she can, indeed needs, to move around relative to the slowly emerging light form.'

At the end of the 1970s, McCall withdrew from art, but, over twenty years later, he has returned to the idea, using digital projectors rather than film ones. Come hear him talk. Thursday 11 March at 6pm. A joint project with OtherFilm. Thanks to Adam Art Gallery, Wellington.

Due to public demand—or outcry—we have decided to hold a forum on our current show Feminism Never Happened. It will be on the last day of the exhibition, Saturday 20 March, at 3pm. Panelists are Rex Butler (University of Queensland), Courtney Coombs (artist) Julie Ewington (Queensland Art Gallery), and Amanda Howell (Griffith University).

True to its name, this weekend's music festival The Lost Weekend was cancelled, leaving visiting acts stranded without a gig. We have grabbed this eleventh-hour opportunity to organise a concert with Melbourne art-hop renegades Curse Ov Dialect and Canadian laptoper Tim Hecker as part of our microMONO series, curated by Lawrence English (Room 40). Music Australia Guide described Curse Ov Dialect as 'tying traditional Middle Eastern and European folk, field recordings, and found sounds into a visceral, multilingual, and wildly experimental avant-hip-hop knot ... drawing from anything from psychedelic Turkish rock to Mandarin Opera'. The New York Times described Hecker's works as 'foreboding, abstract pieces in which static and sub-bass rumbles open up around slow moving notes and chords, like fissures in the earth waiting to swallow them whole'. Limited seating. First in, best dressed. Saturday 6 March at 7pm.

We are still hunting for our new Program Manager. Who will it be? We have extended the closing date for applications to Wednesday 17 March. This is an exciting, demanding job. The successful applicant will have experience in exhibition making and gallery management. They will be dynamic, well connected, passionate about contemporary art, and totally commited to the work of the organisation. They must be able to lead a small team and to take complete charge in the Director's absence. The full position description and selection criteria can be accessed here. Post your application addressing the selection criteria to 'Institute of Modern Art, PO Box 2176, Fortitude Valley BC QLD 4006, Australia', or email it to robert@ima.org.au.

In early February, Artspace, Sydney, and the IMA will host Lionel Bovier, a curator, writer, and editor, and head of the Zurich-based art-publishing house JRP|Ringier. In a mere five years, JRP|Ringier has become one of the world's leading contemporary art publishers, with over 400 titles in active distribution. JPR|Ringier works both as an independent publisher and as a publishing partner for artists, curators, galleries, and museums, and has built a network of associate editors in different countries. Recent titles include Hans Ulrich Obrist's A Brief History of Curating and volumes on Urs Fischer, Alberto Giacometti, Mike Kelley, and Michaelangelo Pistoletto. In Sydney, Bovier will conduct a workshop for artists who wish to self-publish, and, in Brisbane, a workshop for art publishers. His visit has been facilitated by the Australia Council's International Visitors Program.

We are looking for a new Program Manager. This is an exciting, demanding job. The successful applicant will have experience in exhibition making and gallery management. They will be dynamic, well connected, passionate about contemporary art, and totally commited to the work of the organisation. They must be able to lead a small team and to take complete charge in the Director's absence. The full position description and selection criteria can be accessed here. Post your application addressing the selection criteria to 'Institute of Modern Art, PO Box 2176, Fortitude Valley BC QLD 4006, Australia', or email it to robert@ima.org.au. Applications close Friday 25 December.

Dendy Cinemas Portside and Icon Films invite IMA people to a special preview screening of Nowhere Boy, a chronicle of John Lennon's childhood directed by British artist Sam Taylor-Wood. Imagine John Lennon’s childhood... A lonely teenager, curious and sharp, growing up in the shattered city of Liverpool. Two women clash for his love: Mimi, the formidable aunt who raised him, and Julia, the mother who gave him up. Yearning for a normal family, he escapes into music and finds a kindred spirit in the young Paul McCartney. But just as John's new life begins, the truth about his past leads to a tragedy he can never escape. Poignant and powerful, it's the untold story of the boy who created The Beatles. Starring Aaron Johnson, Kristin Scott-Thomas, and Anne-Marie Duff. Dendy Portside Cinemas, Portside Wharf, Remora Road, Hamilton. Wednesday 9 December at 6.30pm. To book email us. Seats are limited. Confirmations will be sent by email. No phone calls please. Thanks Dendy.

Our Annual Members Cocktail Party is on Friday, 7–10pm. It's for IMA members and invited guests. Those who want to come who are not current members or already invited will need to join online by Thursday. Invitations are not transferable, and you cannot bring additional people unless they are also members or also invited. We will not be signing up new members on Friday. Please come early. Peach Bellinis will be served on arrival at 7pm. The exhibition Mirror Mirror will be open until 8.30pm. Bob Log III will perform at 9pm. And thanks again to you—Akira, Blonde Venus, Clovely, Dendy, Dogstar, Nelson Molloy, The Outpost, Space Furniture, Ultra Suite, and The Zoo—for supplying all the fabulous door prizes. See you at the party.

Join online. There's still time. It's only $50. The Annual Members Cocktail Party is coming up. It's from 7pm to 10pm on Friday 4 December—the night before the big public opening of the Asia-Pacific Triennial at the Gallery of Modern Art. Entertainment includes degenerate American one-man band Bob Log III, artist-DJs Chris Bennie and Sebastian Moody, food from Caxton Street Catering, drinks from Clovely Estate, Tiro, and Splitrock, and choice door prizes. You have to be a specially invited guest or a member to attend. Don't miss out. 

Deputy Director Vanessa McRae is leaving the IMA team. She has just got a new job, as curator at QUT Art Museum. We will miss her, but we look forward to working with her in her new role. McRae came to us six years ago from Latrobe Regional Gallery, where she worked as Curator. She will be especially remembered for putting together Supercharged, our raunchy petrol-head show, in 2006. Featuring Bill Henson, Patricia Piccinini, Tracey Moffatt, and others, it addressed the car in contemporary Australian art and toured to eight venues. We are now looking for a new Exhibitions Manager/Deputy Director. We will be advertising the position soon. In the meantime, expressions of interest can be made to the Director.