Art in the Barbershop: Visual Arts, Audiences and Australasian Post

ABSTRACT This article analyses coverage of the visual arts in the Australian “barbershop” magazine Australasian Post. It traces the function and position of art history and the visual arts in the magazine, exploring how they were communicated to audiences by a publication that self-consciously negotiated a delicate balance between “highbrow” and “lowbrow” content and style. The article focuses on the contributions of the magazine’s most significant art critics, including Alan McCulloch in the mid-1940s and, in most detail, Arnold Shore in the early 1950s. It considers how the visual arts articles changed in style over this period and the multiple ways the magazine addressed its audiences. By analysing other features of the magazine, especially its letters from readers, I make clear that not only were audiences engaged with the arts content, but they also sought to influence its approach. In this way, Australasian Post provides a case study for how the arts have been presented to broad audiences and how art-historical knowledge can be communicated to increase audiences’ understanding and visual literacy. With recent sector research showing that the arts are still perceived as elitist for significant portions of Australian society, understanding accessible communication strategies is more important than ever.