POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

Notes

Cover designs by Alistair Morrison Alistair Ardoch Morrison (psuedonym "Professor" Afferback Lauder), born 21 September 1911, died 15 March, 1998, Australian graphic designer, author and abstract painter. Morrison's graphic design incorporated sophisticated early use of abstraction, for example, in the designs for the covers of the Contemporary Art Society exhibition catalogues of 1944 and 1945. In the late 1930s, he worked and exhibited in London. He was employed with fellow Australian designer, Dahl Collings in 1936 by the Bauhaus teacher Laszlo Moholy Nagy to work on the new Simpson Picadilly department store project. His work was published in several European design journals including 'Art and Industry', October 1938. In the early 1950s, he was commissioned to design a business card and furniture label for the abstract Australian sculptor, Robert Klippel. At that time, Morrison was considered one of Australia's most accomplished typographers. He became Chairman of the Currency Note Design Group set up as an advisory committee to assist with the design of the new Australian decimal banknotes of 1966. As an author, he coined the term 'strine' (for the Australian language) in 1964. A compilation of his well known 'strine' publications was published by Ure Smith in 1969 titled 'Frauffly Strine Everything'. In 1981, Al Morrison did the layout and typography for the 'Ampira Festival - Artists for Aboriginal Land Rights' poster of 1981, a project co-ordinated by his brother Guy Morrison, the journalist and playwright. References: Whos Who in Australia 1968; Obituary, SMH April 6, 1998; 'Design in Australia 1880-1970', Michael Bogle (Craftsman House, 1998), Woman's Day and Home, June 1, 1953 p35; 'A fine Line', Geoffrey Caban (Hale & Iremonger); Encyclopedia of Australian Art, A. McCulloch; note also designer's curatorial research file.