Richard Larter
Star Type, 1979
Richard Larter’s tapestry Star Type is a vibrant and provocative work that reflects his long engagement with pop culture, celebrity, and social critique. Although often associated with Pop Art, Larter himself resisted such categorisation, often returning to bold colours, intricate patterns, and playful textures—including tiny flecks of glitter thread—to challenge notions of taste and artistic value.
The work features images of ‘star types,’ including performance artist Pat Larter—the artist’s long-term collaborator, muse, and wife—whose presence highlights themes of agency, representation, and gender in art. By including these women, the work explores the ways female bodies are commodified, idolised, and scrutinised in both the media and art. Larter also invites his viewers to question societal values, prompting audiences to consider why they might react strongly to certain taboos, like nudity, in the face of endless global atrocity. Nearly half a century after its creation, Star Type remains relevant, prompting reflection on the ever-present tensions between personal expression, media culture, and morality.
- Artist / Maker
- Richard Larter (1929—2014)
- Creation Date
- 1979
- Place created
- Australia
- Collection
- University Art Collection
- Subjects
- Art and design - textiles - art
- Materials used
- cotton and wool
- Dimensions
(H x W x D) - 94.5 x 216.5 cm
- Credit line
- The University of Melbourne Art Collection. Commissioned by the Resource Centre of the State College of Victoria, Hawthorn, 1979
- Accession number
- 1980.0228.000.000
- Copyright
- © Richard Larter/Copyright Agency, 2025 Request Access