2016 saw the deaths of many talented and inspiring people including two of the world’s most successful musicians – David Bowie and Leonard Cohen, prominent sculptor Inge King and renowned printmaker Betty Rooney. We salute them all.
Visual Arts
Malcolm Robertson, 1933 – 2016
Robertson barely made it into 2016. The much-loved artists, activist and, mentor died on 1 Janaury. He is remembered for his commitment to supporting emerging artists, evident in his support of Asialink’s Arts Residency Program through the Malcolm Robertson Foundation. From 2007 – 2016, the Malcolm Robertson Foundation generously supported arts residencies to Asia for 12 emerging writers.
Elisabeth (Betty) Rooney, 1929 – 2016
Printmaker Betty Rooney was an important figure in the revival of printmaking in the post-war period and was a founding member of the Sydney Printmakers group. Rooney was also passionate about heritage and urban conservation, and her ‘comparison prints’ created with re-worked etching plates reveal the impact of development in Sydney and Newcastle.
Kerrie Lester, 1953 – 2016
Painter Kerrie Lester was a Archibald finalist 23 times, though never a winner, a record that earned her the tag “The Archibald Bridesmaid”. She first painted friend, songwriter and performer Warren Fahey in 1988. A decade later she painted herself as that “bridesmaid”, taking the Packer’s Prize that year. She is the only artist to have been hung four times simultaneously in the Wynne, Sulman and Archibald Prizes.
Read: Sad news too soon: Kerrie Lester
Lady Mary Nolan, 1926 – 2016
Lady Mary Nolan is known for her careful preservation of her late husband, Sidney Nolan, estate. She passed away at age 89 in her home in Wales, UK. ‘Mary Nolan was a huge supporter of the arts trust that her husband, the great painter Sir Sidney Nolan, set up at The Rodd near Presteigne in 1985. The Trustees hope to honour her memory as well as his as it prepares to mark next year’s centenary of Sidney’s birth,’ said The Lord Lipsey, Chair of the Sidney Nolan Trust.
Inge King, 1915 – 2016
Moving to Australia in 1951, Inge King found the country ‘almost Victorian’, describing it as being like ‘a can of flat beer’. It took her some time to adjust, but emerging from that period she produced some of Australia’s great public sculptures including Forward Surge (1974) at the Melbourne Arts Centre (now listed by the National Trust of Australia), and her 13-metre tall work Sentinel (2000) located on Melbourne’s Eastern Freeway. A significant figure in Australian public sculpture, King died at age 100.
Read: Vale Inge King
Robert Foster, 1963 – 2016
The Australian design community was rocked by the tragic death of F!NK + Co founder and designer Robert Foster. Founder of the Queanbeyan based design firm, Foster was best known for his iconic F!NK Water Jug, which bought his work international acclaim. Today, the anodized hollowware form with its sloping spout is considered an icon of Australian design.
He has been described as a maverick, a luminary, and a generous mentor.
Read: Value Robert Foster
Peter Travis, 1929 – 2016
Ceramic artist, teacher, designer, kite-maker and creator of the iconic male brief Speedo swimming costume, Peter Travis AM is a well known figure. In 2008 he was made a Member of the Order of Australia for his service to the arts and to innovative visual design.
Klaus Moje, 1936 – 2016
Klaus Moje was considered a legend not only within the Australian glass scene, but internationally. His art was central to making Canberra Australia’s glass centre and putting Australia on the international map. He has been described as ‘painting with glass’, particularly in his later work which gravitated to two-dimensional panels that from a distance could be mistaken as painting. In an interview Moje described himself: ‘As an artist I’m there; I’m a sponge. I transform what I see into my work. I am an artist living in my time.’
Read: Vale to Australia’s father of glass
John Demos
John Demos proved that art can create bridges and promote acceptance, and will be remembered as one of Australia’s great artists. He will be remember for inspiring a younger generation of artists with disability, his collaboration with Big Fag Press and exhibitions accepted into”the mainstrea,”.
Read: Vale John Demos
Performing Arts
Peter Corrigan, 1941 – 2016
Architect and designer Professor Peter Corrigan, whose works for the stage spanned from the wild years of Carlton’s Pram Factory to the mainstages of the Melbourne Theatre Company and the Malthouse Theatre, died at age 75. He is remembered as a gifted artist, a great teacher, fiercely intelligent and richly imaginative.
Read: Vale Peter Corrigan
Derek Ives, 1968 – 2016
Derek Ives was only 47 when he died, leaving a deep legacy in the circus sector. Ives began creating contemporary circus and performance professionally in 1987, as a founder, performer, rigger and director of Rock’n’Roll Circus (now Circa). Ives worked with many artists, companies and production nationally and internationally throughout his career. Anni Davey, freelance director and Chair of the Australian Circus and Physical Theatre Association (ACAPTA) said ‘Derek Ives was a dreamer and an inspirer.’
Read: Vale Derek Ives
Russell Kiefel, 1951 – 2016
Russell Kiefel graduated from NIDA in 1974. His screen debut was Gillian Armstrong’s 52 minute film, The Singer and the Dancer, made in 1977 with Ruth Cracknell and Elisabeth Crosby in the key roles. He went on to appear in numerous other films including Neil Armfield’s Twelfth Night, telemovie The Leaving of Liverpool, and Children of the Revolution. He passed away after falling ill backstage during a performance at Darwin’s Brown’s Mart Theatre on Friday night.
Read: Vale Russell Kiefel
David Bowie, 1947 – 2016
Shortly after the release of his latest album, Blackstar, David Bowie passed away. Known for breaking musical ground, it seemed like the entire world mourned the passing of Ziggy Stardust. He died of cancer at the age of 69.
Leonard Cohen, 1934 – 2016
Singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen was a hugely influential figure. He died in his home in Los Angeles at the age of 82. Cohen was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1991 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008. In 2015 he began working on his final album, You Want It Darker.
Film and television
Jock Healey, – 2016
Sound recordist Jock Healey is an industry veteran, whose credits go back at least to Daryl Dellora’s short film in 1985, traversed so many early or key films of Melbourne people like David Swann, Anna Kokkinos, Stuart Macdonald, Jon Hewitt, Marc Gracie and Mark Hartley. In television he did 26 episodes of comedy The Wedge, and six years and 38 eps of The Saddle Club. He died suddenly in August after being hit by a tram.
Read: Vale Jock Healey
Writing and publishing
Anne Deveson, 1930 – 2016
Anne Deveson had a long career as an Australian broadcaster, writer and filmmaker. She was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1983 for services to the media and later, in 1993, she was elevated to the rank of Officer of the Order of Australia for her work in community health. In 2014 she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
Georgia Blain, 1964 – 2016
Georgia Blain was an Australian novelist and journalist. She was diagnosed with brain cancer and, after the diagnosis, immediately returned to working on her latest novel Between a Wolf and a Dog which won the 2016 Queensland Literary Fiction Award. Her first non-fiction work Births, Deaths and Marriages (2008) gave words to many of the taboo and difficult subjects that underlie family life. Blain died within three days of her mother, Anne Deveson.
Shirley Hazzard, 1931 – 2016
Internationally acclaimed author Shirley Hazzard died at the age of 85. Admired for her humour and wit, her first short story was published in 1961 in The New Yorker. The Transit of Venus is widely considered her breakthrough novel and won the 1980 National Book Critics Circle award. She passed away in her Manhattan home very recently, in December.
Cory Taylor, 1955 – 2016
After being diagnosed with melanoma, screenwriter Cory Taylor turned to fiction writing and published two books, the award-winning Me and Mr Booker (2012) and My Beautiful Enemy (2013), which was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award. In the final year of her life, she wrote her memoir within a few short weeks, Dying: A Memoir. She died on 5 July 2016, a couple of months after Dying: A Memoir was published.
