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On September 30 I learnt of the tragic death of Ian Burn who drowned after saving the life of his daughter . .I was stunned for days. Ian was without doubt one of the most intelligent and unselfcentred artists I have ever known, and without doubt a leading pioneer of avant-gardism in Australian art. His enormous significance for contemporary Australian art was revealed in a recent retrospective exhibition of his work which was organised by the Art Gallery of Western Australia, and which toured to the Monash University Gallery, Melbourne, and the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney. It is most unfortunate that we were unable to see this landmark exhibition in Brisbane, but one can hope that in the wake of Ian's death the Art Gallery of Western Australia may retour the exhibition.
In spite of his stature as an artist Ian was always extremely willing to help others. In fact his primary dedication was not to being 'a great artist' but to contributing to the understanding and development of contemporary art in Australia. Here, in Queensland, there are many artists who owe a great deal to him.
Not only did Ian contribute to the development of Australian art in the role of mentor, he also did so through his historical and theoretical writings on the subject. He contributed greatly to creating a history and a theory of Australian art which is of practical significance to contemporary art production. The issues of national identity, provincialism, regionalism, and postcolonialism which he has tackled in such an intelligent and critical manner are highly relevant topics for any contemporary Australian artist. During the past few years I have been... The rest of this article is available to subscribers of Eyeline