#mattarbuckle

[olivialaita]

Congrats Matt Arbuckle on another awesome solo exhibition! Nice shirt too! | E toe avatu fo'i iā oe Mataio le fa'amalō i ou atavali matagofie! Malō le galue....Toe seki fo'i ma le ofu tino a le tamāloa 😎

[theopencuratorialstudio]

Matt Arbuckle: A Conversation // A film. 

Matt Arbuckle: Wrestling Posters Cause Fights

at Fontanelle until 19April, 2015

---

A Film?

Matt is from New Zealand. Matt lives in Melbourne. Matt couldn't be here to hang out and chat with us about his work during the exhibition but that’s okay. This is even better. What a great way to close the show.

Instead of asking Matt to hold an artists talk, I thought it might be interesting to get to know Matt as the artist, the person, from a different angle. Ultimately all artists and their work are informed in-part by their own lives, interests, the places they have lived, been, seen, experienced etc. even if vicariously. I asked Matt for something he would like to share with people. And Matt wanted to share this:

SIX DOLLAR FIFTY MAN

---

 A conversation?

Matt’s paintings are big. They are bold strokes, blocks of colour and flicks of seemingly random, yet purposefully placed paint.  Do they tell a story? Do the titles inform the work? In many ways, the works speak for themselves. The titles might hint to the viewer of allegory or meaning, but they might obscure them further too. The photos nestled subtly yet intentionally in Wrestling Posters Cause Fights are an interesting additional contextualization. I still want to keep a bit of mystery around it all though, and in particular it’s the titles that intrigue me, keep me guessing. What is the “Six dollar fifty man” all about for example?

Matt tells me most of his titles don’t relate too much too his work. They are not imbued with meaning, nor even attached at all in some cases. It might be a quote from a book, or a line movie he’s watched. Just something that catches his attention.

 I get that.

Just as we might not always know what a work ‘means’ or where it has evolved from, Matt makes the point that “Six Dollar Fifty Man” (directed by Mark Albiston and Louis Sutherland) is simply just one of his favourite films. It does remind him of living in New Zealand, and of the trials of being an artist living in New Zealand. You can read into that or not.  But do watch the film. It’s short, and it’s great.

---

Matt Arbuckle

http://www.mattarbuckle.com/

Six dollar fifty man

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5K4ZVQ7LsQ

C�P$��