Poles apart

Gough Whitlam’s time in government symbolises the monumental shift in Australia from a country that was culturally bereft to one that blossomed, distancing itself from England for the first time to discover it’s cultural independence. Whitlam’s time in government was also marked by a number of initiatives of which some remain today like the establishing of the high court of Australia, reversal of conscription, changes to censorship laws, establishing the Australia Council, free tertiary education and a budget to purchase exemplary artworks for the country. Jackson Pollock’s ‘Blue Poles’ was the first and the most controversial of the purchased artworks. The symbolic purchase catapulted the sleepy Canberra onto the world stage declaring that Australia had arrived. This documentary with interviews, anecdotes and archival footage traces the history of the purchase of Blue Poles, but more significantly explores the profundity of it’s implications to Australian culture and society. Speakers include (the acerbic and witty) Gough Whitlam, (the youthful and articulate) James Mollison director of the NGA who purchased the work, Phillip Adams, Kirk Vernedoe (M.O.M.A.), Ben Heller (art dealer, N.Y.), Richard Feigan (art dealer, N.Y.), Lionel Bowen, Harry M. Millar, Frank Moorehouse, Lee Krasner, Frank Watters and Jack Mundey.