| Description |
1 online resource (streaming video file) (27 min. 41 sec.) ; 166027866 bytes |
| Series |
Family Confidential ; Series 3, Episode 6 |
| Summary |
Charles Blackman is the unlikely kid from the wrong side of the tracks who today is one of Australia's most famous living artists. Rescued from a life of poverty and hardship by art and love, he would blaze an extraordinary creative trail around the globe. And his DNA is deeply imprinted in his progeny. At 85, Charles Blackman is a shadow of his former self. He lives in a modest cottage, in one of Sydney's genteel blue-ribbon harbourside suburbs, surrounded by his art. But the paintings here are all reproductions. The originals have long gone in three divorce settlements and the cost of his care.Charles suffers from the ravages of a series of strokes and Korsakoff's syndrome, a form of dementia brought on by a lifetime of heavy drinking. It's the legacy not only of his life as an artist but perhaps of his inheritance as the only son of an alcoholic father who abandoned the family when Charles was very young. But from the age of three, Charles found a refuge in art. He never looked back.Charles's greatest inspiration in all his work would be the women in his life. His wives were his muse - beginning with his first and longest relationship, Barbara. The couple had three children who grew up immersed in their father's creativity. But right from the start, Charles's other muse was alcohol. And this, along with his passions and ego, would be the family's undoing.For the last 20 years, all the Blackman children have had to confront the devastation Charles's addiction has wrought. But what endures, despite it all, is their bond to a father they adore - and their devotion to his creative legacy.PRODUCTION DETAILS:A Southern Pictures production. Executive Producer: Laurie Critchley. ABC Commissioning Editor: Anita Brown |
| Event |
Broadcast 2014-03-11 at 20:00:00 |
| Notes |
Classification: G |
| Subject |
Blackman, Charles, 1928-.
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Artists -- Family relationships.
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Painters -- Biography.
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Painting -- Exhibitions.
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Painting, Australian.
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Women in art.
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Australia.
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| Form |
Streaming video
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| Author |
Young, Brendan, director
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Killeen, Gretel, cast
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Blackman, Auguste, contributor
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Blackman, Barbara, contributor
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Blackman, Barnaby, contributor
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Blackman, Bertie, contributor
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Blackman, Charles, contributor
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Blackman, Christabel, contributor
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de Couvreur, Genevieve, contributor
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