CANBERRA JUBILEE SALON 1951
By A.C. REDPATH
For the benefit of those many A.P.-R. readers who had a “personal interest” in the Jubilee International Salon and who were not able to come to Canberra to see the display, I am prompted to write this short survey.
When the Australian Constitution was adopted in January 1901, federating the six British colonies in the Pacific, provision was also contained for the establishment of a Federal Capital City. The establishment and development of photography as one of the arts in Australia, as throughout the world, has also taken place during the half-century of Federation, which Australia is now celebrating at this Jubilee. For this reason, it was most appropriate that the Canberra Photographic Society should conduct a special international salon in conjunction with the Australian Commonwealth Jubilee.
It was to be expected that a good response would be received from within our country; however, a very pleasing feature was the fact that a little over half of the seven hundred prints came from overseas sources, clearly showing that the importance of the Australian Jubilee was appreciated abroad. An interesting fact about the overseas entries was the large proportion from countries bordering the Pacific. A picture in a nutshell of the origin of the prints submitted may be gained from summary;
| COUNTRY | ENTRANTS | PRINTS ENTERED |
SUCCESSFUL ENTRANTS |
PRINTS ACCEPTED |
| Australia | 97 | 346 | 70 | 137 |
| Canada | 6 | 24 | 5 | 12 |
| Canton, China | 10 | 40 | 7 | 16 |
| Ceylon | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| Egypt | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 |
| England | 7 | 28 | 5 | 13 |
| France | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| Germany | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| India | 10 | 40 | 6 | 9 |
| Japan | 2 | 8 | 2 | 2 |
| Malaya | 1 | 4 | - | - |
| Netherlands | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 |
| New Zealand | 4 | 9 | 2 | 2 |
| Norway | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| South Africa | 4 | 16 | 4 | 9 |
| Spain | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| U.S.A. | 49 | 167 | 26 | 62 |
| TOTAL | 197 | 710 | 131 | 271 |
It will be noted that the judging panel, consisting of Messrs. Keast Burke ARPS, APSA, C.S. Christian and Clarence B. Young ARPS, APSA, accepted 271 prints, this including twenty-nine honors prints, of which nine were Australian.
OFFICIAL OPENING:
The Society called on Sir Robert Garran, one of the original “drafters” of the Australian Constitution and President of the Arts Council of the A.C.T., to invite the Prime Minister’s representative, Mr. Len Hamilton M.H.R., to declare the Salon open.
Mr. Hamilton pointed out that photographers throughout the world had a closer bond than artists in any other form of visual art. This is largely brought about by international salons similar to the Jubilee Salon. This common bond through photography would do much to foster international understanding. Other arts have their national “schools”, but this national individuality was not so clearly marked in photography. To illustrate this point, Mr. Hamilton suggested that one inspect the prints displayed and try to decide the country of origin of each print without first consulting the catalog.
Mr. Burke replied as representing Australian pictorial photography and thanked Mr. Hamilton on the Society’s behalf.
In all, the Salon was viewed by over eleven hundred people. The Society was pleased to welcome a number of well-known interstate photographers during the period the Salon was on exhibition. Those best known to readers of these columns included the Editor, J.P. Carney ARPS (Griffith), Kerry Dundas (Sydney), J.M. Joshua (Temora), J. Fitzpatrick (D. of I., Sydney), C.L. Leslie (formerly Maitland), Roy Manuel (Newcastle) and W.G. Nichols (Sydney), all of New South Wales; A.W. Briggs and Dr. L.A. Love, of Victoria and F.G. Crook-King ARPS, and Dr. L.T. Lloyd, of Queensland.
SALON “STICKER”:
The Salon Sticker has been the subject of quite a deal of favorable comment from its recipients. The circular format represents a “break-away” from the conventional square or rectangular style. The colors of green and gold are the Canberra colors. The principal symbolic objects are the growing branch on the right symbolizing “growth” and the Federal Parliament building representing “federation”. The regular acceptance sticker, of course, had the section containing the words “Honours Print” cut away. The Canberra coat-of-arms appears on the top of the catalog cover.
LABEL for ACCEPTED PRINTS
NOTE ON ORGANIZATION
This is published for the benefit of those who are interested in the organizational aspects of the Salon. Some 2,500 printed entry forms were distributed — about 2,000 going overseas. In addition, advance notices were furnished to each of the major photographic magazines, particularly those of the United States and Great Britain — these totaled fifteen in all. As is the case with the A.P.-R., these magazines will print salon notices just for the asking. Mailing of overseas entry forms was completed in May for the closing date of December, using addresses from The American Annual of Photography, 1950.
The Australian mailing proved not quite so straight forward, as no consolidated list of possible exhibitors has ever been published. The Canberra Society has prepared a list of addresses of Australian salon enthusiasts, based on experience with the Jubilee Salon, with the aim of providing some degree of assistance to other salon committees. Copies of this list may be obtained by responsible bodies gratis on request.
JUBILEE SALON FILM STRIP:
The Society has been successful in producing a film strip of a selected 100 of the accepted prints. Copies of the strip will be available shortly for circulation through clubs and societies.
Although we do not profess to be experts on salons, a few notes made during the course of the proceedings may be helpful.
1. If a salon print is to carry its weight on a wall amongst a group of others, it must possess good contrast — a really rich tonal range.
2. Prints of sizes larger than 10" x 8" tend to dominate their smaller brethren.
3. Colored mounts are hard to fit into an overall display, as they produce a “patchiness”. As ever, white and cream mounts are preferable.
4. While mere brown paper and string are not sufficient for protection through the post, there is also a limit to the “armor-plate” idea, too.
5. Some stout timber “packing cases” cost well over the five shillings entry fee for their return postage.
6. A special word of appreciation to the considerate folk who sent return postage as well as their fees.
7. The Society’s thanks also to everyone who helped to make the show really worthy of the occasion of the Jubilee.