Max Dupain, Stairwell, 1978, silver gelatin photograph, UTS Art Collection
Another new acquisition for the UTS Art Collection this year, and another Kuring-gai connection has been a set of three photographs by Max Dupain, taken by the photographer in 1978.
Max Dupain (1911-1992) was a pioneer of Modernist photography in Australia and probably best known for his iconic “Sunbather” images of Australian beach culture. He was also an enthusiast of Modern architecture, and much sought after to document new buildings in his own style.
Dupain’s unerring eye for form and light is clear in images such as the view of the stairwell (above), commissioned at the time Government Architect’s Office were awarded the 1978 Sulman Award for Architecture for the Kuring-gai College of Advanced Education (KCAE) buildings. In the 1980s, the Government Architects Office became the Architectural Division of the Department of Public Works, and KCAE became the Kuring-gai campus of the University of Technology, Sydney.
The three photographs are all darkroom prints, two printed by Eric Seirins of Max Dupain & Associates, from the original photographic negatives. The third photograph (pictured above) is a signed exhibition print by Dupain himself.
The Max Dupain photographs have been acquired as a part of the new refurbishment of the Kuring-gai campus public spaces, to be installed there later this month.
What do you think of the new spaces at Kuring-gai?
How does this compare to what was there before?
