Australia’s Most Controversial Public Artwork - ‘Yellow Peril’
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 ก.ค. 2024
- It’s been called ‘Yellow Peril’, and officially, Vault, this sculpture was so controversial the city of Melbourne had no new public art for a decade. It looks harmless, so why was this artwork so controversial, and how has it shaped the city?
Mary McGillivray makes great videos exploring art history - How MICHELANGELO & BANKSY Are The Same: • How MICHELANGELO & BAN...
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Thanks for having me on the show Julian! An amazing and insightful video as always - can’t believe I hadn’t see that archival footage before.
In the Netherlands we don’t have much statues of historical people. So it was very difficult for the BLM movement to find one to take down.
Yeah the "offensive" men you're complaining about built the world you live comfortably in and complain about. Learn to say "thanks" next time.
as a art historian, I thought you'd have something more intellectual to add to the video, instead we just got some BLM advertisement
@@AudioDriver As a music producer I thought you would have something more creative than the reactionary Trumpian feedback you've provided.
yes, we need more Mary! phwoar
My mum did all the mathematical calculations to turn the Vault concept art into a real, structurally sound sculpture. One of her first engineering jobs after finishing university. I've always had a soft spot for it.
That is so cool. You must be proud of your mother.
That's what always annoys me when artists are know for large sculptures.
The artist probably just doodles a vague shape and then people like your mum tell them that what they've drawn literally can't be made. Then they work with the artist to come up with a shape that's possible.
Then an engineering firm makes it.
That might not be the case here, but it usually is.
We have a sculpture in the UK "The Angel of the North" which is the epitome of this.
Antony Gormley's concept art showed a tall thin figure.
The final piece is a much more substantial figure, because the massive (c.50m) outstretched wings would have twisted the skinny legs off in a strong wind if it'd been built as the artist wanted.
They're alway a collaboration, but only one person gets the credit...and they did the least work.
That's really cool 😀 ignore the person above me
@@_Piers_ Of course engineers are very important for the practical aspect of the piece but it's a bold claim to say the artist did the least work. Art starts with concept and ideas that drive the emotions felt by the public so I think they're pretty essential for a piece to be meaningful.
@@ksiorze plus, artists generally have a lot of studying to get the design in the first place. How can somebody who does ‘the least work’ be absolutely vital to the end product, despite that vitality not being shared?
It's pretty cool to see all the works that were inspired by it, not something I would have ever picked up on! 🧀
ur here too 😅
That was my fave part of the story.
wow.
Indeed, what about Federation Square, its colour isn't the same but its form is.
May be it’s a new art school.
Regardless of how you feel about it, can we all at least agree that steelhenge is a brilliant nickname
Correct.
Whilst lacking any characteristics of a henge.
A brilliant nickname but doesn't fit Vault at all IMO
An insult to Stonehenge 😂
If they added a few high-viz CAT stripes to it, and throw tank style back-hoe tracks under it, you could probaby just call it the Killdozer.
I have lived in Melbourne all my life and I am still learning about the place every day. This channel is also a great help
Happy to help!
Ditto! Most recently, a lot is from Julian's videos lol
Here in Brisbane, Ron Robertson-Swann has a public piece of art called 'Leviathan Play' right outside of the Cultural Centre. It's been here ever since I was born and every single time I walk past it I see a small child using it as a slide. It's gotten to the point where the council had to put a lil fence up around it, but the Brisbane City Council does not stand a chance against small children.
Just Googled it - I dig it.
The yellow peril is also perfect for children to play with, it was my second thought when I saw it this morning. Why does the council have a problem with that? It’s in the name of the artwork. Demonic sea snake: play!
And it also look like that.
@@jannetteberends8730 The Vault*
oh my god i remember climbing on that as a little kid!!
@@inari.28 i feel like every brisbane kid has a memory of climbing on it, it's almost a right of passage
Absolutely AMAZING to see it referenced in so many different ways in Melbourne (and other places) - it's one thing for a fellow artist to reference it for a typical 'art space' like a university foyer (Storey Hall) or a public sculpture (Cheese Stick), but to see it integrated into such functional, practical, everyday objects such as tram stops, storefronts and building facades, I think that goes to show how important it is to Melbourne culture and to the contemporary art movement, especially on a more nuanced and/or subconscious level. It took the long way round to get there, but I think the end result is that Ron Robertson-Swann has achieved more respect and recognition via this path than he might have ever received if they had simply 'accepted' it back in the day. Additionally, it gives me much pleasure to know this was achieved during the artist's lifetime so that he could see the fruits of his labor. Thank you Ron!
Great comment. Agreed.
I thought that it was officially called the ‘Yellow Peril’. And that is why I thought people hated it, because it was an offensive name. Oh well, I just learned something new. I remember walking around the thing in the city square as a teenager trying to figure out what it was supposed to mean…. Clearly I was overthinking it. That was when they had the graffiti wall and encouraged people to write something…. Didn’t take long for the graffiti to migrate to the yellow thang.
People at the time hated it because it was (in my opinion, anyway) ugly and pretentious. I didn't even realise the name, "yellow peril" had another (older) meaning until about 20 years later. Maybe people older than me got the connection but the nickname was a reflection of people not liking it, not the other way around.
@@maddyg3208 I think it's kinda dumb to be offended by a geometric shape honestly, like I'm pretty sure even impressionists and Jackson Pollock paintings didn't literally offend people. Even if you don't like a piece, it has a right to exist and be shown and, to be honest, it was the exact opposite of pretentious. He made it not for some gallery to have, and it really wasn't like a banana taped to the wall or a literal invisible sculpture, it was an abstract piece of art. That's...like literally nothing compared to what I've seen
@@monophone903 Part of the problem was its awkward positioning in the City Square. Was never a really great fan of it, but wasn't offended by it. (Got in the way of some performances in the City Square.) What did offend at the time was the price tag, given Melbourne was having a shortage of funds to help look after homeless people. I remember some homeless people trying to use it as shelter, as a form of protest.
I feel ignorant as hell, when he first said "yellow peril" I thought that was a good name because how it's a dangerous pointy shape. Then he said the connotation attached to it and straight away I thought "that's a terrible name" lol
I didn't even know it was an offensive term until watching this video - amazing what you you learn. All I thought Yellow = Colour, Peril = Disorganized/Random/Dangerous looking.
I remember seeing vault back in its original location in the old city square, it’s a part of Melbourne, and I have a certain affection for it. I think it would be perfectly fine being moved back outside the new station. Maybe it was ahead of it’s time then, but it certainly fits in with the now.
It needs a place where children come. It’s such a perfect artwork for playing with.
@@jannetteberends8730 exactly! as a child i loved big sculptures like that in parks cause it's fun to play hide and seek in or play tag in!
Nah Queen Lizzie was right. The colour is awful. It demands your attention and then jars you with its hard edges.
Affection for sheet metal spray painted. Ok.
@@xr6lad no imagination
This channel is def one of the only channels on TH-cam that I am legitimately interested in what he’ll put out next
Great to have you!
I have grown up with Vault. each year (the 80's) our school would have an excursion to Melbourne, looking though the art gallery and other stuff
while as a teenager, I did not understand it, now that I have grown up I appreciate it as being the first piece of art that was placed in a public place, this appreciation grew during the Kennett years as more pieces of art were placed around Melbourne streets
Art needs to be accessible, not locked away, not sitting under a railway bridge
This comment put a big smile on my face. So true. I’m from the Netherlands, and it’s in our national identity that “nobody should think he/she is better than others, because it isn’t”. That results in have hardly no statues of famous people. In my city I could find one famous people statue, and it’s a man standing in the grass. That resulted is a culture of street art. And art slipping in normal things like benches and waste bins.
But this kind of robust sculptures I didn’t see here in the Netherlands. Maybe it turns out to be an Australian school. I love it, feel so enthusiastic about it.
It's sad that they did not give this art installation a proper location and function. It could have become so beloved if it had been placed near a library or park, or if that square had actually been a lively public space. And if people had been more inclined to interact with those pieces. Imagine spending your lunch near or even under it, or having your kids play there. Maybe by yourself, maybe briefly meeting some new strangers.
In my country, there are many abstract pieces like this, and unfortunately many of the older ones are placed on roundabouts or next to highways. They look ugly and weathered and are just a big thing that you pass from a distance. A commission that can be checked off a list, never to be interacted with again.
In contrast, more recent artworks are better integrated into our daily lives. We have an abstract art piece in front of the library in our very average neighbourhood, and we build so many memories around it because of those very interactions.
If I had seen in next to a road I would vaguely notice it and wonder if it was supposed to be a dinosaur or a snake. But now I adore it. All the kids climb it and run around it.
I've seen it in all kinds of weather and lighting conditions, in different moods, in different phases of my life. I've touched it when it was wet from the rain and when it was hot from the sun.
I've helped my daughter climb it when she was tiny, cheered her on when she got bigger and could climb it herself, anxiously estimated the danger of new antics, and still giggle when she of course steps in a puddle while running around it.
I have to wonder if those were the hopes and dreams of the artist who created Vault. And it makes me feel his pain all the more when he looks at his tarnished and discarded vision, that tried to brighten up a lonely, egotistical, cynical era, to bring people together outside, out of the rain or the shade, for free, with a pop of colour. Only to be hated and ridiculed and carelessly almost literally tossed to the side. Only to be replaced for years and years by a noise-cancelling shed that prevents people from even being in that public space.
Thank you very much for this video. It really touched my heart and made me realize how much I love that weird brassy dinosnake lump in front of our library.
You can’t say that if someone hates it “they don’t understand art”. The whole point of abstract art is that everyone sees something different, hatred is their own valid interpretation
The art world always finds a way to be elitist and arrogant.
Good point!
I like this piece of Art. A couple of years ago I went to do a Pokemon Go raid in Southbank. It was a really hot day, and my clothes were sticking to my skin.
But Vault was there providing me and my group with shade while we were raiding.
Thanks for making the video :)
It's so interesting to see how one sculpture has so influenced the design and ascetic of Melbourne, to the point that Vault now looks more Melbourne than the old exhibition building and ngv international.
It's not really something you'd notice if you don't think about it, but quite a lot of structures in Melbourne post 90s really do have the same style of angular and irregular form - and of course the yellow.
What a shame how we purposefully make our cities more ugly. We europeans had the war, americans atleast did it for roads. But you do it for no reason atall.
I'm a Melbournian who now lives in Perth, and your videos make me so homesick. I once stayed in an apartment in the Eureka tower and they had the original (not to scale) proof of concept model of it.
Loved this video. These graphic triangle designs feel very melbourne to me as it's all I've known. Super interesting to see the original artwork that inspired it.
Thanks, mate!
always nice to see the creator having a sense of humour after the fact
Artist seems chill.
I'd forgotten about city square even existing, it's been an acoustic shed for years now
Yours is by far my favourite channel , mostly because your talking to all the things I’m passionate about and interested in, but I’m genuine excited to click play on your videos now.
Love them all !
It’s not bad but perhaps a bit too similar to what my dad calls “plonk art” that you’ll commonly find at the entries of new housing estates and other such places
I will say though, if the Queen doesn’t like it, I like it more
Not really an art lover, your dad.
@@jannetteberends8730 on the contrary 😆 but if you’ve seen the oddities they put there because they need a random sculpture, it makes sense why he calls it that
@@theonlyenekoeneko Sorry, today I saw it for the first time and was totally blown so away by it, that I don’t get it when somebody else don’t see it the same way.
I like the term 'plonk art'.. I think I'll use that.
your content is next level. i hope you never stop
Love your channel, can't get enough.
WOW. Thanks so much, Julian. This has opened my eyes up to so much more information about the city and the design. Brilliant video.
Greetings from Finland. That thing looks like an eyesore. Strangely though australians seem to have a theme of hating things and then flipping the opinion some decades later if I remember a story correctly about Sydney opera house.
Also Federation Square in Melbourne.
Just posted a comment with two examples of the same proces happening in my city in the Netherlands. So I don’t think it’s typical Australian, it’s an universal thing. People need time to get used to new art. Especially when they are mathematically a bit more complicated like this one.
Unless you’re a mathematician of course, they must have liked it right away. (Would be a nice subject for some research paper)
@@jannetteberends8730 Well, my life revolves around math and I see no art in it.
@@justskip4595 for me it’s close to the art of Escher. But I’m an econometrician, by default modeling patterns. So now we have a sample of 2.
isn't kotka also full of this stuff?
Awesome video. As a non Victorian living in Melbourne for 14 years this stuff is super cool to know. You're our very own Tom Scott. Keep it up!
Thanks Kieran!
Thanks for that Julian. Have been looking forward to that one. Excellent as usual.
Yayyy you heard my video suggestion and actually made it, awesome!
Your videos educate so much about what I see in Melbourne everyday, It always seems like a coincidence that you are standing, making videos where I have been strolling in the past week! Keep up the inspiring work, I'm sure I'll bump into you one day.
How amazing is that! Full circle nearly, with inspiration along the way. I think the yellow is lovely and happy. This was great Julian!
Great video Julian!
I really look forward to your video drops. Keep them coming.
i like it. looks like oragami and brightens up the view. Not every piece of art has to have some extremely deep meaning or be exquisite in detail. Sometimes it's enough just to provide some vibes.
Except it doesn't look like origami. It looks like some over paid pillock got some sheets of scrap metal, welded them together then conned a local government out of tax payers money for a pile of painted scrap metal. It's a disgrace and an eye sore and the farthest thing from art since some moron cut a cow in half.
My first reaction was: that’s magnificent. It is so interesting. Not only how it looks, but how it behaves in space. And how interacts with the people observing it. And imagine how children could play with it.
Not when the taxpayer pays for it and not when there are far more worthy causes councils should be spending money on. Public art in Australia is atrocious and generally forced on the public. All the arty set complain of course but who cares, stick to your galleries and stop forcing us to look at hideous pieces such as this. It's ugly. If you want vibes go get em.
I remember seeing Vault at its second location when I was quite young.
I was exploring it and when I came around one side there was a homeless person that was not in a good place physically and mentally set up underneath it.
At that age I hadn't seen a homeless person before and certainly didn't understand the complexities of mental health, social economics, substance abuse etc and because they snarled at me I was frightened of homeless people right up until early adulthood. (My Dad went around to investigate and said there was syringes on the ground and we had to leave immediately)
But it also put a negative association of Vault in my end and even after watching this video and giving me a better understanding of its history I still think of it negatively, which is unfortunate.
Thanks for the video though.
I can sympathise, my exposure to homelessness as a kid was similar. In your case, it demonstrates how inappropriate a location it was for Vault.
that could have been me, I have slept at this site for years. (but not a drug user) I did an interview with the ABC at the sculpture a few years ago about my connection. I always found that the sculpture and I had similarites that we both became outcasts but at the end being important part of the Melbourne landscape. Matte Infoguy of Melbourne.
When did City Square become so shallow?! It lost so much space when it was redeveloped...
Great video! Very interesting
Awesome video Julian!
Great to know about this!
Cheers mate!
What a delight! Thank you!
YesSiRr!! Very interesting stuff Mate!!
Thanks for the video Julian!
Thanks, mate!
Great video Julian
I love Vault and always have. It's also such a welcome shelter in that barren area between the VCA and ACCA.
The artwork on the metro tunnel sound shed is Emma Coulter's 'spatial deconstruction number 23 (resilience)' if anyone is interested. Her work is popping up all over the place in Melbourne it seems :) I love some brightly coloured hard edge/geometric abstraction
Another banger Julian, well done.
Cheers, mate!
This looks like a big friendly sort of structure with the colour to match the sun and raise people's mood. Interesting how it was perceived different back then.
Love your shows x
My mother loved that sculpture. It was her favourite piece of public artwork. Named my car Victorian ex-taxi Vault. My mother was thrilled about that and would ask me about him everytime I visited. My mother is no longer with us.
Your mother must have been an interesting woman.
@@jannetteberends8730 She was. Thanks for that.
I walk past this on my way to work and had no idea about any of this - thanks for sharing!
im sorry, BATMAN park??
Yes it was named after John Batman
my reaction when i first moved to melbourne. lol
Melbourne was once called Batmania. (not kidding)
That is very true
This was really fascinating - to think about how society sees and appreciates or dismisses art and how its function changes over time. Thank you, Julian.
I love learning about cultural shifts in perception like these. Thanks Julian!
I totally love the yellow peril. I worked across from it on the second floor and love$ the way it changed with the light
Nothing looked good in the 80s. The world was dark, dirty and dreary. The vault was way to bright for the times for most of the people. It prolly was the ultimate underbelly feeling back than. If the council would have stuck to its guns it would have become a thing of pride I’m sure.
are you kidding me? the 80s was full of bright colours and optimism
the 2020s are a time of a dark, dirty and dreary world
@@Lupi33z when the only way is up optimism is almost default. Were you an adult in the 80s? Ofcourse its all about perspective and yours isn’t mine.
@@noeraldinkabam I went to university in the 1980's. You can speak for yourself, but you can't speak for everybody. Most people would take the 1980's for the 2020's any day of the week.
@@Lupi33z 2020’s is just a baby. Covid may cloud judgements. Like I said perspectives differ. Fact is most cities today look 100 times better than in the 80s. Most air is cleaner in cities in the western world than it was in the 80s. Music was better in the 80s.
At the time Melbourne Council was seen as run by a bunch of stodgy idiots out of touch with the public.
Apparently famous for building a childrens playground next to a sewage outlet.
I love you- so cool learning about us
Neat video again. Strange how things (and tastes) change over time.
Abstract art such as this has always repulsed me, it just feels lazy and uninspired, it's one of the parts of Melbourne I could do without. That being said, the video was great, always impressed by your ever improving production skills Julian! It's amazing to hear all these more intimate stories about the place I live.
I never noticed the tram stop giving a nod to Vault! Thank you! I can use that next time I play tourist guide with visiting friends
Good vid!
I remember all this... shemozzle, from when I was a kid!
I quite like volt near the big red chimney. When I moved to Melbourne in 2019 I thought they were partners ❤️
I made a red chimney video. They do seem like friends.
and they were roommates
Hey Julian, I love your video's thusfar, digging into interesting anomalies in the world around you, even though I live on the opposite side of the planet. Keep it up!
I have seen it and I like it. I'm glad that the progress of the city has reestablished the understanding, beauty, uniqueness and diversity that sculpture shows.
Your channel has future, is fun, is dynamic and this interpretation of the vlog format is my favorite
Pd. Greetings from montevideo uruguay
Thanks, mate! Unknown Montevideo in the future…
@@JulianOShea there in melbourne exists theathers with a background story that can fit into your format?, because it can be interesting
Found your channel recently.
The bridge video was on the home page.
Then yesterday another video was there.
I've subscribed & going thru your content. I live in Wales, Britain.
Hello!
I love abstract art. This is a great piece.
Welcome aboard! Thanks, James
I've lived in Melbourne most of my life but I'm finding out new and interesting things that I didn't know of thanks to your great videos.
A work colleague took shelter under Vault (in the City Square) on the way home, he thought “at least it kept the rain off” then he saw that someone else had written this on the sculpture with a pencil.
When I worked in Rialto in 1987, Vault was over the road. In building evacuation instructions throughout the building it instructed staff on evacuation to meet at “The Yellow Peril” something instantly recognisable was used for safety.
This video is getting recommended to me every single time I refresh youtube home page for 5 days now. Just wanna let you know.
Great video Julian. I still have a photo my Mum took of 9 year old me in front of it just after it opened. Strangely enough I really liked it and always have. No doubt that it has influenced so many other modern buildings. Thanks for posting.
To be fair, the Museum of Modern Art, isn't a bad place to be sitting outside of... of course, I'm only a Canadian, so what do *I* know about art?
Thank you..❤☘
Nice video Julian
I’d forgotten all the controversy about that sculpture! I was a kid in country Victoria when it happened. I loved it then and love it more now! I didn’t realise all the references in current design around the city, but it’s wonderful! Public art is important.
I came to your channel with St Kilda solar system. And of course unknown fact about Proxima Centauri. Then the evil bridge. 🙂 Can’t wait to watch your all previous videos. Appreciate your effort and enthusiastic to know more about the great city we live 😃
Thanks, Amila!
I'm glad the almighty algorithm brought your channel to my attention, I really enjoy your content. I lived on the same block as you in Cedj.
They criticised the Whitlam government for splashing out $1.3m on Jackson Pollock's 'Blue Poles' back in 1973 as well. Excellent video Julian, you really covered all aspects of a piece of art that was just way too ahead of its time for this city.
Having said that, I've never found Vault to be aesthetically pleasing. It's just too messy for my brain to enjoy. I still don't like it, but I get it.
The buildings referencing it is so lovely, they shouldn't become too many of course but it's nice, he is just one of the people that had a nice idea too early, and he even implemented it which is kinda cool
Fascinating seeing the nods to this thing in modern Melbourne!
Only thing it makes me contemplate is how low the standards are for what can be considered art. No rigid boundaries doesn't mean there are no boundaries...
I remember seeing the Cheese stick when I first game to Melbourne in 2013. It is the first memory I have of the place. I'd never seen or heard of Vault so I appreciate the context added to that memory now.
Vault was ahead of its time. It looks that we are ready to embrace it. So I hope it makes its return to the new City Square precinct.
Excellent video! You should do a video on The Cactus in Perth when the borders reopen.
1:11 - As an apprentice I was involved in fabricating that pipe trellis work in the background. 👷
Interesting and informative.
Great work Julian. Ceduna punching a few classes above, hey?
I visit Melbourne regularly to see my partner, last time we did the St Kilda scale model of the solar system walkway thanks to your video and now we'll have to go and check out this artwork!
OMG the city square, oh the memories. Oh and the peril was disgusting then and is still disgusting
Great video.
Thanks!
Lived in Melbourne since I was 4yo and never noticed this. Will go look for it now. The a things you learn about your own hometown 😊
This sculpture immediately reminded me of "Sirius" by Annemie Fontana, which was erected in 1972 in the city I grew up and live! It has a similar garish color, but I think because of that it helped a lot to break up the dark space it was located in under the Hardbrücke. Apparently, people hated it too, when it was new, but it's been there long before I was born. I like it. :)
I know the cheese stick as the yellow leany thing and every time I drive under it I pray it doesn't collapse.
‘The queen asked if it could be painted a more agreeable colour’
We’ve seen your clothes, Liz
I'm about to finish my degree at the VCA, and Vault is placed directly opposite the campus. Thank you for this incredibly informative video about something that has been in my life for the past 3 years that I knew nothing of
Really interesting ep. There also used to be canary yellow tram safety barriers that looked like ramps but they may have been removed now. Not sure if the colour of these was influenced also.
Fed square could be another example of the oblique angles on the buildings
I live in Melbourne but I still watch these videos. They are amazing keep up the good work
Awesome! Thank you!
I live just across the street from it's current location and it's a great piece of art. I often see people doing photoshoots next to it or using it as a backdrop for a k-pop dance routine.
Great to see Vault getting some more attention.
Please do a video on the horror that is the RMIT building on Swanston! I’d like to know the story behind it. I’ll still vehemently hate the building but at least maybe I’ll know what they were aiming for.
When I was a kid our next door neighbour had the smaller related sculpture "the red peril" in his front yard, which looked like a smaller version of Vault. I think he was friends with the artist.
"A yellow painted steel construction, large in size and brightly coloured." Truly inspired vision.
It’s influence was unknown to me when I last unknown to me but the shapes painted on buildings and facades are seared into my memory.
In Perth we have a cactus.
It looks like debris from a construction site that someone forgot to remove.
One of the great pieces of art in Melbourne, I live in South Melbourne, so would be sad to see it leave, but it would be such a fantastic statement if it was returned to the renewed city square post metro tunnel construction... Where do we start the lobbying?