IN PASSING – In Memoriam, Anton Hart
A poem by Ken Bolton
Anton Hart was a treasured member of Adelaide’s contemporary art scene, working as a painter, multimedia and installation artist, public sculptor, curator, and a teacher at the SA School of Art, University of SA. He was also a long-time board member of the Contemporary Art Centre of SA, a predecessor institution of ACE. Anton is remembered as an outstanding and exemplary artist, as an inspired collaborator, as a supporter of generations of younger artists, and for his empathy, enthusiasm, and generosity of spirit. These all made him a much-loved mainstay of Adelaide’s art world, and his sudden loss is felt keenly by those who knew him. The following poem by Ken Bolton, ‘In passing’, gives a personal recollection of Anton and the milieu of which he was an indispensable part from the 1980s onwards. —Michael Newall, 2023
People in this poem—chiefly, Anton Hart, Adelaide artist, a painter for the most part; Vivienne Miller, also principally a painter, based in Melbourne; Michael Fitzjames, Sydney painter and illustrator; Ben Sando, Adelaide artist. George Popperwell, artist. T.J. Clark is mentioned and his book on Cezanne & modernism—& Hal Foster's LRB review of it. Francesca da Rimini, an Adelaide artist, activist & writer. The photographers—guessed at—Paul Hewson? Alan Cruickshank? Billie Justice: Adelaide artist, & her mother, Tubby, a singer. Also me, my partner Cath, & work-friends Mikey & Alex. —Ken Bolton, 2023
