'The shock of such irreverence': 2nd biennale of Sydney 1976: Recent international forms in art

Opening at the Art Gallery of NSW on Friday 12 November, one day and one year after the sacking of the Whitlam Labor Government, the 2nd Biennale of Sydney in 1976 secured extensive press coverage because of the controversy generated by having the Liberal Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser officially launch the event. The Australian newspaper splashed its headline across the front page: 'Nation in chaos: 300 jeer Fraser at art show'. Although embarrassed by the mass walk-out and demonstration by artists at the opening, McCullough was not averse to using controversy as a means to engage interest; he had certainly used it to his advantage in the national promotion of the Mildura Sculpture Triennials.