Ben Apfelbaum

GRAPHIC IDENTITIES @ POWERHOUSE MUSEUM

The Powerhouse Museum has come out of lockdown seeking to lure the public back with a discreet number of extremely stimulating and thought provoking exhibitions. One of these is identitled GRAPHIC IDENTITIES.

It presents eight designers who were pivotal in shaping visual communication in 20th century Australia which have been drawn from the archives of the Powerhouse collection.

Across the disciplines of textile design, typography, publishing, illustration, print making and spatial design touch all aspects of modern life. These works offer a glimpse into their highly advanced technical skills produced in the pre-digital era. 

Influenced by the European avant-garde and modernist movements these artists were prolific and multi-disciplinary in their practice. 

Collectively they contributed to the evolution of an Australian visual aesthetic and the professionalisation of the local design industry.

The eight artists on show are Douglas Annand (1903-1976), Frances Burke (1904-1994), Dahl Collings (1909- 1988), Alistair Morrison (1911-1988), Gordon Andrews (1914- 2001), Pieter Huveneers (1925- 2017), Shirley De Vocht (1929-2003), and Arthur Leydin (1932-2010).

This exhibition at the Powerhouse is free to the public.

Article and photos by Ben Apfelbaum

 

 

 

Published by Ben Apfelbaum

My photography began when my father handed me the proverbial brownie box camera as a child. As cameras developed I went through Fujica and Olympus range finders graduating to my first single lens reflex camera, the Minolta SRT101, the latter being the greatest facilitator to my growth as a photographer. Digital photography has only added to this. I was a regular contributor to Camera Craft magazine (Australian Camera ) for over three years. During Australia’s Bicentennial year (1988) I made it a personal project to document the celebrations. This culminated in the creation of a book of my photos which was published in 1989. The book was called CELEBRATING AUSTRALIA and came with an accompanying calendar. My works have appeared in a number of publications including the coffee book entitled MY AUSTRALIA (1989), publisher Robertsbridge Severn. This book had a preface by the then Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke. I was a co-photographer on a book entitled SYDNEY- DISCOVER THE CITY with text written by Robert Treborland. Major Mitchell Press was the publisher. Also for two years I was the photographer for calendars celebrating Sydney’s multicultural communities. The two calendars were entitled MULTICULTURAL SYDNEY. My work appeared in a group exhibition held at Sydney’s Town Hall pertaining to the diversity of life in South America to raise money for orphanages there. I have over one hundred photos stored in the New South Wales State Library archive. I had a solo exhibition held in 2007 entitled Ben’s Lens at the Sydney Jewish Museum which celebrated the vibrancy of the Sydney Jewish community. Some of these photos are on the Museum’s permanent display. I have exhibited internationally firstly at the Spruill Gallery in Atlanta Georgia, united states, and in an exhibition entitled Kosher and Co at the Jewish Museum in Berlin. Currently I am a regular contributor to J-Wire and this esteemed publication.