David Moore fell in love with the gradually emerging forms of the Opera House and as it steadily came into being, he photographed it frequently – entranced by the sculptural quality of Jorn Utzon’s extraordinary design.
Sydney Opera House on completion of podium I, 1962, by David Moore.
David Moore: Capturing the Creation of the Sydney Opera House
1 November 2013 – 26 January 2014
Curated by Lisa Moore
Presented by Sydney Opera House and Lisa Moore
Customs House
Level 2 Library, 31 Alfred Street Circular Quay, Sydney NSW
www.sydneycustomshouse.com.au/whatsOn
www.davidmoorephotography.com.au
A year or so before David Moore and his young wife returned to Sydney following a seven-year stint in London, Danish architect Jorn Utzon’s scheme number 218 had been announced winner of the international competition for a national opera house design. Moore’s photographic career had taken off spectacularly in London but it would take several years to re-establish himself in Sydney. However, by 1962 when he began photographing the Opera House construction process, the work was coming in steadily and his reputation would lead again to commissions from such prestigious publications as Sports Illustrated and National Geographic.
Moore was a superb documentary photographer, but what set him apart from many of his contemporaries was his lateral, often abstract approach to assignments. He fell in love with the gradually emerging forms of the Opera House and as it steadily came into being, he photographed it frequently – entranced by the sculptural quality of Utzon’s extraordinary design.
Sydney Opera House shadows, 1962, by David Moore.
In assembling the exhibition, his daughter Lisa told an interviewer ‘At first I wanted to focus mostly on images that were almost pure abstraction ““ the ones where David was making his own artistic expression and an interrelationship of abstract forms and the play of light on the structural forms within the composition. There is a bigger story however and I felt that the human endeavor and daring needed to be illustrated as well. So the images are a combination of these two ideas and include the images that David felt were his best.’
This free exhibition runs until 26 January 2014 and is not to be missed.
Lifting roof section over Sydney Cove, 1967, by David Moore.
Opera House roof geometry, 1966, by David Moore.
Additional images have been published in Photo Review Mag app December issue, courtesy of Lisa Moore.