The Art Newspaper: If you could live with just one piece of art, what would it be?
Beatrice Graton: Daughter (1957), a work by Australian modernist artist Joy Hester, in the collection of the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. I like its simplicity and tenderness.
What cultural experience changed the way you see the world?
In 1988, my father took me to see The Aboriginal Memorial at Pier 2/3 on Sydney Harbor as part of the 7th Biennale of Sydney. The 200 grave posts, made by artists from central Arnhem Land, were surrounded by red dirt and there was a path for you to walk through the facility. I remember the old pier creaking with the bustle of the harbor and a sense of being close to water, land and sky all at once. I was 10 years old and this experience opened a door to the beauty and power of Australia’s First Nations culture.
Which writer do you come back to the most?
by Jonas Mekas I had nowhere to go is a book that I love. Mekas’ insight into the human condition in the face of hardship combined with his absurd sense of humor is terrific. The small life of certain chairs: a table or two: and other inanimate creatures of our knowledge by Barbara Blackman is also one of my favorites. I have a first edition that I found at a flea market years ago. Barbara writes with such warmth; she gives lifeless things with a soul.
What music or other audio do you listen to while you work?
When I’m writing or working at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, I don’t listen to anything because I’m going to be distracted. When I work at Brett Whiteley Studio in Surry Hills, Sydney, I listen to a playlist of the over 600 records and CDs that Whiteley owned. The playlist moves through all sorts of great artists and genres, including Nina Simone, Bob Dylan, and Mozart.
What do you watch, listen to or follow that you would recommend?
I really like NPR All songs considered Tiny Desk podcast and gigs. I got really into gigs in 2020 during lockdown when I was living in the US with my husband and our two little kids and we couldn’t go out much; they were a lifesaver.
What is art for?
To help us make sense of the world.
• Beatrice Gralton is one of the four curators of The National 4: Australian Art Now, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Campbelltown Arts Centre, Carriageworks and Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, March 24-July 23; she is senior curator of the Brett Whiteley Studio at the Art Gallery of New South Wales
