The Lighter Note

Smart stylin’

The New York-style launch of Jeffrey Smart’s collection of works went off with the expected levels of enthusiasm this week following plenty of pre-event hype generated by the exhibition’s major benefactor, Nigel Satterley.

The property developer’s Swansea Gallery is holding the exhibition, hosted by Hawaiian in its building at 235 St Georges Terrace.

Perth families or corporate citizens own some of the works on display but there are plenty of items for sale, up to as much as a cool $850,000. The Pylon was not far off that sum.

An operative of The Note was amazed at how up-close and personal the opening crowd was allowed to get to such expensive works. Clearly that is how it’s done in New York.

With so many works on display it was easy to see why Mr Satterley reckons they’ll appeal to the Perth crowd. Anyone with mining or construction experience will feel comfortable with the industrial settings.

While there are not any mine sites pictured, The Note heard Hamersley Iron did try to commission Mr Smart in the 1960s but he turned the offer down.

Survival of the fittest

The Note was interested to discover some information on why an inordinately large number of businesses fail within a year of being established.

It seems many of these failures have been started by people who may be considered a few sandwiches short of a picnic.

This was the conclusion that The Note arrived at when it received a note from the federal government’s business.gov.au agency, which is a whole-of-government service providing essential information on planning, starting and growing your business.

The website revealed that it had feedback that people consulting this service could not tell the difference between registering for an Australian Business Number and a business name. Believers in economic Darwinism would probably suggest that people who can’t work this out ought not go into business in the first place.