Tom Bass - Totem Maker

Tom Bass decided to follow the unconventional path in the second half of the 20th Century - to make sculpture which has meaning for people and communities, when most of his contemporaries choose to make sculpture which was self expressive and determined by a growing gallery system and an acquisitive art market. Coming from an impoverished background Bass becomes the most sought after sculptor of commissioned works in Australia during the 50's and 60's. He laid the foundations in the post WWII frontier of sculpture that changed the face of Public Sculpture. He brought together the possibility of great works of art in a world isolated from the lively European traditions of monumental art. At the peak of his professional proficiency, Bass finds himself in the midst of a serious midlife crisis when his totemic sculptures seemed no longer to be needed. With Harris Smart's guiding hand, Tom Bass tells his story like his mother used to `spin a yarn' - in his own words, through a series of many vignettes which unfold into the story of a long life which, with the affect of time, allows some ultimate resolution.