Robert Rooney

Tony Woods Estate

From the Homefront: Robert Rooney - Works 1953-1988, retrospective exhibition, Monash University Gallery, 19 October - 28 November, 1988, no. 70

Jenepher Duncan, From the Homefront: Robert Rooney - Works 1953-1988, retrospective exhibition catalogue, Monash University Gallery, 1988, as above

In 1971 Rooney undertook what would appear to be the most astonishing programme in his life.

"[He] takes up weightlifting and converts [his] studio into a gym, ... to document changes in his physique, biceps: weight lifting/training as art activity which he notes as "repetition, sets, routines, monotony. Artist altered physically by art process"." (1) The only two surviving works by Rooney were of himself - Pullovers - and the above 10.8 miles.. of Robert Hunter on the studio exercise bike. History may record whether Rooney's biceps or Hunter's thighs and calves expanded but in the latter's case it's highly unlikely as he cycled everywhere - and was probably the only artist of the Pinacotheca stable fit enough to carry it off. Those keen on statistics may find illuminating the Rooney archive at the State Library of Victoria.
For those that knew Rooney, the notion of him attempting to turn himself into the Charles Atlas of East Hawthorn would be seen as absurd, ludicrous, laughable - and incredible. And it is; but it was also characteristic of his wry and dry sense of humour, and of his ability to juggle multiple levels of interpreting his work - including, in this case, as an early example of the performance art that took off over the next few years. And it's not hard to imagine him playing a role there, with queues along Waltham Place waiting to see how many press-ups he could do in a morning, or how many "miles" he could ride in a day. But this was not to be: as Duncan notes laconically
"Project abandoned". (1)