A conversation with Madonna Staunton
It has been six years since the work of one of Queensland's most reticent and elusive artists was surveyed in an exhibition curated by Stephen Rainbird and covering the period from 1966 to 1993. Recognised primarily as a collagist of intimately scaled images made from fragments of urban waste and similarly of assemblages which bring poetry to discarded objects, the exhibition confirmed Madonna Staunton's importance as a singular talent in Australia. At the time, Michele Helmrich instructively marshalled observations on this artist's practice which remain consistent to the present. For example, the 'bitter' edge Staunton gives to imagery which could otherwise be seen as merely domestic or nostalgic. Her disciplined minimalist approach to art making; the way it has been informed by Zen Buddhism. Also, the debt to Kurt Schwitters and Joseph Cornell; to the innovations of Dada visual text and the playfulness of the Fluxus 'movement'. To these historical touchstones, Helmrich distinguished Staunton as an artist who '…invariably defines a psychological tension in terms of the materials themselves and their everyday associations'.1
I interviewed Madonna Staunton in August 1999 at her home in Brisbane, shortly before she travelled to Verona to collaborate with Francesco Conz, well known for his activities as a Fluxus publisher and collector of visual poetry.
Anne Kirker Madonna, I am interested in talking about the way your work has developed since 1994 when your survey exhibition was shown at the Queensland Art Gallery and the Perc Tucker Regional Gallery in Townsville. One of the strongest features has been your use of clothing, in large collages and prints. Why the motif based on women's cotton vests, for example?
Madonna Staunton Going... The rest of this article is available to subscribers of Eyeline