Pamela Irving
Encyclopedia
Pamela Irving is a prominent Australia
n Visual artist specialising in bronze
, ceramic
and mosaic
sculptures as well as printmaking
and copper etchings
. In addition to her extensive art work, Irving has lectured in art and ceramics at Monash University
, the Melbourne
College of Advanced Education
, the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT)
and the Chisholm Institute of Technology
. She also worked as an art critic for the Geelong Advertiser
and was a councillor on the Craft Council of Victoria.
, Australia
, Irving was formally educated at the Melbourne State College (1979–1982) where she undertook a Bachelor of Education (Art/Craft) and at the University of Melbourne
, Victorian College of Arts (1984–1989) where she completed a Master of Arts degree by research. Irving was one of the first two candidates to be approved to undertake the Master of Arts Degree in Visual Arts in what was, at that time, the Melbourne CAE.
Irving's thesis for her Master's degree examined 'the reasons and meaning behind the presence and mythology imagery in the works of Arthur Boyd, John Perceval and Mirka Mora (those artists being nominated because of the relevance to my own work)'.
Irving's early art was influenced by artists including Arthur Boyd
, John Brack
, Noel Connihan, Mirka Mora
, Sidney Nolan
and John Perceval
. In recent years, Irving has been influenced ″by the honest and direct expressiveness of ‘outsider art
’ (the art of self taught or ‘naive artists’) and the craft of ‘memoryware’″ Significantly, this interest grew following Irving's visit to Nek Chand's
Rock Garden in Chandigarh, India.
Irving's most famous work is the bronze sculpture of Larry La Trobe
, commissioned in 1992 as a part of the Swanston Street redevelopment in Melbourne
, and stolen by a thief or thieves unknown during 1995. The resulting media
attention rallied significant public support for the recovery of the sculpture. Although never recovered, the statue was recast by the foundry owner, Peter Kolliner, with some minor changes by Irving and was replaced in September 1996. The Larry sculpture is located at the corner of Swanston Street and Collins Street
, Melbourne.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n Visual artist specialising in bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
, ceramic
Ceramic art
In art history, ceramics and ceramic art mean art objects such as figures, tiles, and tableware made from clay and other raw materials by the process of pottery. Some ceramic products are regarded as fine art, while others are regarded as decorative, industrial or applied art objects, or as...
and mosaic
Mosaic
Mosaic is the art of creating images with an assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials. It may be a technique of decorative art, an aspect of interior decoration, or of cultural and spiritual significance as in a cathedral...
sculptures as well as printmaking
Printmaking
Printmaking is the process of making artworks by printing, normally on paper. Printmaking normally covers only the process of creating prints with an element of originality, rather than just being a photographic reproduction of a painting. Except in the case of monotyping, the process is capable...
and copper etchings
Etching
Etching is the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio in the metal...
. In addition to her extensive art work, Irving has lectured in art and ceramics at Monash University
Monash University
Monash University is a public university based in Melbourne, Victoria. It was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. Monash is a member of Australia's Group of Eight and the ASAIHL....
, the Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
College of Advanced Education
College of Advanced Education
The College of Advanced Education was a class of Australian tertiary education institution that existed from 1967 until the early 1990s. They ranked below universities, but above Colleges of Technical and Further Education which offer trade qualification...
, the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT)
RMIT University
RMIT University is an Australian public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. It has two branches, referred to as RMIT University in Australia and RMIT International University in Vietnam....
and the Chisholm Institute of Technology
Monash University, Caulfield campus
Monash University, Caulfield campus is a campus of Monash University located in Caulfield, which is a suburb of Melbourne, Australia, in the state of Victoria. The university comprises 13,400 students of which 52.8% are female and 57.1% of students are enrolled in undergraduate courses...
. She also worked as an art critic for the Geelong Advertiser
Geelong Advertiser
The Geelong Advertiser is a daily newspaper servicing Geelong, Victoria, Australia, the Bellarine Peninsula and surrounding areas. The Geelong Advertiser is the oldest newspaper title in Victoria and the second oldest in Australia, and was first published on 21 November 1840. The newspaper is...
and was a councillor on the Craft Council of Victoria.
Education
Born in VictoriaVictoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Irving was formally educated at the Melbourne State College (1979–1982) where she undertook a Bachelor of Education (Art/Craft) and at the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
, Victorian College of Arts (1984–1989) where she completed a Master of Arts degree by research. Irving was one of the first two candidates to be approved to undertake the Master of Arts Degree in Visual Arts in what was, at that time, the Melbourne CAE.
Irving's thesis for her Master's degree examined 'the reasons and meaning behind the presence and mythology imagery in the works of Arthur Boyd, John Perceval and Mirka Mora (those artists being nominated because of the relevance to my own work)'.
Style and Influences
Pascoe observes that Irving's work is derived from 'a mixture of personal experience, myth and virulent imagination'. Hammond has described Irving's early ceramic work as 'humorous, figurative and cheerfully contemptuous of pottery traditions.Irving's early art was influenced by artists including Arthur Boyd
Arthur Boyd
Arthur Merric Bloomfield Boyd, AC, OBE was one of the leading Australian painters of the late 20th Century. A member of the prominent Boyd artistic dynasty in Australia, his relatives included painters, sculptors, architects or other arts professionals. His sister Mary Boyd married John Perceval,...
, John Brack
John Brack
John Brack was an Australian painter, and a member of the Antipodeans group.-Life:...
, Noel Connihan, Mirka Mora
Mirka Mora
Mirka Mora is a prominent French-born Australian Visual artist who has contributed significantly to the development of Contemporary Art in Australia. Her mediums include painting, sculpture and mosaics.- Early life :...
, Sidney Nolan
Sidney Nolan
Sir Sidney Robert Nolan OM, AC was one of Australia's best-known painters and printmakers.-Early life:Nolan was born in Carlton, a suburb of Melbourne, on 22 April 1917. He was the eldest of four children. His family later moved to St Kilda. Nolan attended the Brighton Road State School and...
and John Perceval
John Perceval
John de Burgh Perceval AO was a well-known Australian artist. Perceval was the last surviving member of a group known as the Angry Penguins who redefined Australian art in the 1940s...
. In recent years, Irving has been influenced ″by the honest and direct expressiveness of ‘outsider art
Outsider Art
The term outsider art was coined by art critic Roger Cardinal in 1972 as an English synonym for art brut , a label created by French artist Jean Dubuffet to describe art created outside the boundaries of official culture; Dubuffet focused particularly on art by insane-asylum inmates.While...
’ (the art of self taught or ‘naive artists’) and the craft of ‘memoryware’″ Significantly, this interest grew following Irving's visit to Nek Chand's
Nek Chand
Nek Chand Saini is an Indian self-taught artist, famous for building the Rock Garden of Chandigarh, an eighteen acre sculpture garden in the city of Chandigarh, India....
Rock Garden in Chandigarh, India.
Notable Work
Larry La Trobe
Larry La Trobe is the name given to a popular, cast bronze statue of a dog situated on the northern end of Melbourne’s City Square...
, commissioned in 1992 as a part of the Swanston Street redevelopment in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, and stolen by a thief or thieves unknown during 1995. The resulting media
News media
The news media are those elements of the mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public or a target public.These include print media , broadcast news , and more recently the Internet .-Etymology:A medium is a carrier of something...
attention rallied significant public support for the recovery of the sculpture. Although never recovered, the statue was recast by the foundry owner, Peter Kolliner, with some minor changes by Irving and was replaced in September 1996. The Larry sculpture is located at the corner of Swanston Street and Collins Street
Collins Street, Melbourne
Collins Street is a major street in the Melbourne central business district and runs approximately east to west.It is notable as Melbourne's traditional main street and best known street, is often regarded as Australia's premier street, with some of the country's finest Victorian era buildings.The...
, Melbourne.
Professional Associations
Active in the development of ceramic and mosaic art in Australia, Irving served as a councillor on the Craft Council of Victoria during the 1980s and became Vice-President of the Mosaic Association of Australia and New Zealand in 2007.Exhibitions
Between 1981 and 2003, Irving took part in 18 solo exhibitions, 11 joint exhibitions and more than 80 group exhibitions.Museums and Galleries
- Museum VictoriaMuseum VictoriaMuseum Victoria is an organisation which operates three major state-owned museums in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; these are: the Melbourne Museum, the Immigration Museum and Scienceworks. It also manages the Royal Exhibition Building and a storage facility in Melbourne's City of Moreland.Museum...
- University of MelbourneUniversity of MelbourneThe University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
including Trinity CollegeTrinity College (University of Melbourne)Trinity College is the oldest college of the University of Melbourne. Founded in 1872 on a site granted to the Church of England, Trinity is unique among Australian university colleges in its diverse education programs... - Deakin UniversityDeakin UniversityDeakin University is an Australian public university with nearly 40,000 higher education students in 2010. It receives more than A$600 million in operating revenue annually, and controls more than A$1.3 billion in assets. It received more than A$35 million in research income in 2009 and had 835...
- Australian Catholic UniversityAustralian Catholic UniversityAustralian Catholic University is a national public university. It has six campuses and offers programs in five faculties throughout Australia.-History:...
- Burnie College of TAFE, TasmaniaTasmaniaTasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
- ArtbankArtbankArtbank is an art rental program established in 1980 by the Australian Government. It supports contemporary Australian artists and encourages a wider appreciation of their work by buying artworks which it then rents to public and private sector clients. It was modeled on the Canadian Art Bank,...
- Melbourne City Council
- Shepparton Art Gallery
- Bendigo Art GalleryBendigo Art GalleryBendigo Art Gallery in Bendigo, founded in 1887, is one of Australia’s oldest and largest regional art galleries. The Bendigo Art Gallery hosts Australia's richest open painting prize, the Arthur Guy Memorial Painting Prize, worth $50,000, which was launched in 2003.- Prizes :* Arthur Guy Memorial...
- Colac Otway ShireColac Otway ShireColac Otway Shire is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia. It is located in the south-western part of the state. It includes the towns of Apollo Bay and Colac. It has an area of 3,416 square kilometres. In 2006 it had a population of 20,295...
- FootscrayFootscray, VictoriaFootscray is a suburb 5 km west of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its Local Government Area is the City of Maribyrnong. At the 2006 Census, Footscray had a population of 11,401....
City Art Collection - Geelong Art GalleryGeelong Art GalleryThe Geelong Art Gallery is a major regional gallery in the city of Geelong in Victoria, Australia. The gallery has approximately 4,000 works of art in its collection...
- City of Glen EiraCity of Glen EiraThe City of Glen Eira is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia. It is located in the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne. It has an area of 38.4 square kilometres and has a estimated population of 136,354 people...
- City of HumeCity of HumeThe City of Hume is a Local Government Area located partially within the metropolitan area of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It includes outer north-western suburbs and a number of rural localities between 13 and 40 kilometres from the Melbourne city centre....
- Wangaratta Exhibitions Gallery
- City of WhitehorseCity of WhitehorseThe City of Whitehorse is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia. It is located in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. It has an area of and has a estimated population of 155,725 people....
- City of WyndhamCity of WyndhamThe City of Wyndham is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia, located in the outer south-western suburbs of Melbourne, between Melbourne and the regional city of Geelong. It has an area of and at the 2006 Census Wyndham had a population of 112,695....
Corporate and Private Collections
- ANZ Bank
- Art Horses Pty Ltd
- L’Oreal Australia
- Monash Medical CentreMonash Medical CentreMonash Medical Centres is a multicampus teaching hospital in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The Clayton campus is located in Clayton, whilst the Moorabbin Campus is at Bentleigh East...
, Clayton - Murray Goulburn Co-operative
- Northern Hospital
- Pacific Shopping Centres
- Polypacific
- Sushi King
- Yooralla Society
- Zart Art
- Private collections throughout Australia, the USA and Hong Kong including that of Germaine GreerGermaine GreerGermaine Greer is an Australian writer, academic, journalist and scholar of early modern English literature, widely regarded as one of the most significant feminist voices of the later 20th century....
, TuscanyTuscanyTuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
School Collections
- Abbotsleigh School for GirlsAbbotsleighAbbotsleigh School for Girls is an independent, Anglican, day and boarding school for girls, located in Wahroonga, on the Upper North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....
, Sydney - Camberwell Grammar SchoolCamberwell Grammar SchoolCamberwell Grammar School is an independent, Anglican, day school for boys, located in Canterbury, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
, Melbourne - Corio North High School
- Grimwade House, Melbourne Grammar SchoolMelbourne Grammar SchoolMelbourne Grammar School is an independent, Anglican, day and boarding school predominantly for boys, located in South Yarra and Caulfield, suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
- Kew High SchoolKew High SchoolKew High School is a co-educational school in suburban Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, for students in years 7–12. It has over 1,400 students from the neighbourhoods of Kew, Balwyn, Ivanhoe, East Ivanhoe, Alphington, Rosanna, Clifton Hill, Richmond, Abbotsford, Hawthorn and Bundoora, with waiting...
- Lara Lake Primary School
- Lilydale West Primary School
- Lowther Hall Anglican Grammar SchoolLowther Hall Anglican Grammar SchoolLowther Hall Anglican Grammar School, most often referred to simply as Lowther Hall, is an independent, Anglican, day school for girls, located in Essendon, an inner suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
- Mentone Girls Grammar School, Melbourne
- Mentone Grammar SchoolMentone Grammar SchoolMentone Grammar School is an independent, Anglican co-educational grammar school in Mentone, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.-History:...
, Melbourne - Merton Hall, Melbourne Girls Grammar SchoolMelbourne Girls Grammar SchoolMelbourne Girls Grammar School , is an independent, Anglican, day and boarding school for girls, located in South Yarra, an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
- Methodist Ladies' CollegeMethodist Ladies' College, MelbourneMethodist Ladies' College is an independent, non-selective, day and boarding school for girls, located in Kew, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia...
(MLC), Melbourne - Scotch College, MelbourneScotch College, MelbourneScotch College, Melbourne is an independent, Presbyterian, day and boarding school for boys, located in Hawthorn, an inner-eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
- Star of the Sea CollegeStar of the Sea CollegeStar of the Sea College is an Irish Catholic, secondary, day school for girls, located in Brighton, an inner south-eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
, Gardenvale - Tintern Girls' Grammar SchoolTintern Girls Grammar SchoolTintern Schools is an independent, Anglican day for girls and boys located in Ringwood East, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
, Melbourne - Wesley College, MelbourneWesley College, MelbourneWesley College, Melbourne is an independent, co-educational, Christian day school in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Established in 1866, the college is a school of the Uniting Church in Australia. Wesley is the largest school in Australia by enrolment, with 3,511 students and 564 full-time staff...
(Elsternwick Campus)
Awards and Grants
- 1981 Nominated Kamel Kiln Award
- 1985 Ceramic Prize, City of Box HillCity of Box HillThe City of Box Hill was a Local Government Area located about east of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The city covered an area of , and existed from 1927 until 1994.-History:...
- 1985 Ceramic Prize, City of FootscrayCity of FootscrayThe City of Footscray was a Local Government Area located about west of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The city covered an area of , and existed from 1859 until 1994.-History:...
- 1987 Ministry for the Arts and Ministry for Education Artist in Schools Project
- 1988 Australia Council Grant To Develop a Body of Ceramic Work.
- 1988 Ministry for Arts and Ministry for Education, Artist in Schools Project
- 1989 Tasmanian Arts Council Grant-Artist in Residency, Tasmania
- 1991 Pat Corrigan Artist Grant, N.A.V.A.
- 1994 Winner, Australia Day Ceramic Award Shepparton Arts Centre.
- 1995 City of Glen Eira Artist Award
- 1999 Artist and Designers in Schools Grant, resident artist at Kew High School
- 2005 Artist in School Grant, Ministry for the Arts and Education