Savill Row Averted In The Nick (of Time, That Is)
The Age
Tuesday July 8, 2008
WITH the latest "is it art or porn?" debate sparking a philosophical disconnect between PM Kev and Age art critic Robert Nelson, Diary can reveal that the larger-than-life art dealer Denis Savill (below) almost got caught in the crossfire at the weekend. Just to recap: A Sydney gallery triggered a national argument in May when it displayed pubescent teens as photographed by Bill Henson. Just one problem, said objectors - these kids are naked and exposed. To "restore some dignity" to the debate, the July edition of Art Monthly Australia features a 2003 photo of Nelson's daughter, Olympia, in the nude. Debate flares again, with words such as "context", "pedophiles" and "artistic integrity" flung from trenches. But what is known to very few is that Savill planned to show three of Henson's controversial photos at his latest Melbourne exhibition, which opened on Saturday. A former Age education editor and keen follower of art auctions, Geoff Maslen, says Savill was dissuaded by Bonhams and Goodman, whose Malvern auction rooms he had hired. Savill confided to Maslen that he did not want to subject his gracious Malvern hosts to bomb threats and unwanted scrutiny, so he agreed to withdraw the Henson pics. As Maslen points out, Savill's long career is marked by good fortune, though anyone who knows Savill's ebullient nature and work ethic would not attribute this to mere luck. Still, you have to marvel. "A Melbourne collector happened to be passing while the exhibition was being mounted last week," Maslen says. "He spotted a Fred Williams painting, a 1972 oil of Yan Yean, and bought it for $365,000." Where's Greer? BEST of luck to performer Patrick Flynn, who launches his one-week-only show, A Hollow Trophy, at Fitzroy North's Glitch Bar-Cinema tomorrow night. He might need it, considering he portrays The Man, "a hotshot AFL star with more dollars than sense". According to advance publicity, The Man admires Sam Newman, loves his Hummer, and reckons feminism has gone too far. Regular Neighbours viewers might recognise Flynn as Constable Mike Watt, so could be a little taken aback by The Man's sentiments, which include: "Fat chicks just don't really do it for me" and "What's so hard about having an abortion?" The play is described as a dark comedy about life in the world of sporting stardom, but Diary detects more than a little dollop of confronting irony. Road hogs BIG ad in yesterday's papers trumpets the State Government's Keeping Melbourne Moving campaign, citing improved planning and monitoring as key instruments in ameliorating traffic disruption caused by roadworks. There will even be road patrols to shut down works and other activities that don't meet minimum-disruption requirements. Diary is begging: can they please start by reopening the left lane, southbound, of Spencer Street, between La Trobe and Little Lonsdale? Damn thing has been effectively shut for about three years while adjacent buildings are demolished or erected. Debacle, and not just in peak hour. And as for those traffic "monitors" in orange safety vests, wielding slow/stop lollipops, it seems only the US President has broader discretionary powers. This just in . . . AND now an update from the goat tracks of outback Mongolia, where Ron Barassi, Simon Crean, John Bertrand and the rest of the Once Were Worriers crew are cycling the nomad trails on their latest bonding project. As Diary reported (30/6), the hot topic at their farewell dinner was chafing, and the remedial measures that would be required should smearings of Nivea cream not do the trick. (Way too intimate for our hardy lads.) Carrier pigeon yesterday landed on the front porch of our source, bearing news from Peter Gadd, one of our Cheerful Chafers. Gadd says the cycling has been challenging, made tougher by gale-force winds and heat, but the countryside is magnificent and there have been no disturbances (unlike in the capital, Ulan Bator). On Sunday they came across a restaurant run by an English guy, so the Chafers chowed down on hamburgers and cappuccinos. Intrepid stuff! Being a fan of fly fishing, Gadd is casting a line whenever they come across a river. The other day he caught enough fish for the chef to whip up a gourmet dinner. That's more like it. Hold the tonic NEWS that the memorabilia of William Tallon, loyal servant of the Queen Mother (below), had raised almost a mill at auction unearthed a lovely anecdote. Tallon served the royal household for 51 years, retiring when the Queen Mum died in 2002. He was known as Backstairs Billy, presumably because his final role was steward and page of "the backstairs". BB's long-time partner, Reginald Wilcock, was an underbutler (not literally, it's just a title) and it seems Billy and Reg were having a frightful spat downstairs one night, drawing this reproach from the Queen Mum: "When you two old queens down there are finished squabbling, this old queen up here wants a gin." CONTACT LAWRENCE MONEY 9601 2116 lmoney@theage.com.au STEVE WALDON 9601 2422 swaldon@theage.com.au Fax 9601 2327
© 2008 The Age
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