There is a compelling quote on the Australian Centre for Photography's website, on the page dedicated to this exhibition of works by Australians Denis Montalbetti and Gay Campbell. "If Botticelli were alive today he'd be working for Vogue," it reads, citing the great Peter Ustinov as the source, and one can certainly see its relevance. Harnessing the latest digital technology, Montalbetti and Campbell create highly detailed, highly sensual images that often appear like a cross between reproductions from an art history book—with baroque and neo-classical styles dominant—and full-page ads from an off-the-rack glossy. But as one walks around the gallery, one can't help but feel that the latter of these forms is unfortunately the more prevalent: in the end, the photographers' work shares more in common with overblown advertisements for energy drinks and pre-mixers, or with PETA's recent, rather tacky campaign featuring a naked Joanna Krupa holding a strategically placed crucifix over her modesty, than they do with a David or a Rubens. Their work may be more refined and technically adroit than these examples, of course, but still one is reminded of another quote, whispered by Kipling's Devil from behind the leaves: "It's pretty, but is it Art?"

The Australian, 22 December 2009