Margaret Dodd (b. 1941), sculptor, graduated from the University of California in 1968, having taken classes with Robert Arneson, a proponent of quirky and satirical ceramic sculptures that came to be known as 'Funk art'. Dodd exhibited in California, Sydney and Brisbane in the early 1970s and became a key figure in a loose movement of Adelaide ceramicists producing 'Skangaroovian funk'. Over that decade, she made a series of small sculptures of cars, notably Holdens, with personifying elements such as lipstick surfboards and bridal veils, which explored notions of national and gender identity. At the time, Dodd described the Holden, Australian-manufactured but American-owned, as the 'Trojan horse of American imperialism'. The National Gallery, the National Gallery of Victoria and the Art Gallery of South Australia all have examples of her many ceramic vehicles, as do various institutions in the US and Canada. In 2008 Dodd held her first solo exhibition in fifteen years, collaborating with three other artists to revisit and reinvigorate themes from her past work, especially the Holdens, her 'own' art car.
Greg Weight photographed Dodd with her cement sculpture The Fossil, which she built over a period of eighteen months in the grounds of the National Motor Museum in Birdwood, South Australia.
Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2004. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
© Gregory Weight/Copyright Agency, 2024
Patrick Corrigan AM (130 portraits)
On one level The Companion talks about the most famous and frontline Australians, but on another it tells us about ourselves.
Greg Weight on working with Jiawei Shen, and starting out as a photographer.
Portraits of philanthropists in the collection honour their contributions to Australia and acknowledge their support of the National Portrait Gallery.
