#post modern frame

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Centennial, Bi-Centennial

1   commemorative postcard for...Federation Pavilion (1901)

A    maas.museum     ...construction of the Federation pavilion in Centennial Park. It was in there that the Commonwealth of Australia was inaugurated on January 1 1901. Designed by NSW Government Architect WL Vernon, the white marble-like pavilion had a dramatic impact upon those who witnessed the ceremony. The Sydney Morning Herald described its ‘pure whiteness and chaste beauty’ at length. The pavilion’s ‘simple purity and graceful elegance of outline, its exquisite modellings designed to symbolise the arts and crafts of the Commonwealth stood incomparably above all other inanimate displays of the day.’ (Sydney Morning Herald 02/01/1901) ...

Built only of fibrous plaster and wood, the pavilion was dismantled after 3 years. The frame was reputedly relocated in Cabarita Park but nothing of the original plaster-work is known to have survived. However as it was extensively photographed and filmed on the day of inauguration, the pavilion has remained the most instantly recognisable icon of Australia’s Federation.

2   Federation Pavilion (1985-87) architect: Alexander Tzannes (b.1950) Australian. Constructed for the 1988 bicentennial of European settlement, on the site of the 1901 Federation Pavilion.

READ  tzannes.com.au/projects/federation-pavilion

inscription: MAMMON OR MILLENNIAL EDEN

3 - 4  lmants Tillers (b. 1950) Australia  1,440 vitreous enameled steel panels, interior of pavilion dome

The main artwork has a mix of European and Aboriginal elements. The dominant figure suggests many ideas in the one image - convict origins, heroic rural settler clearing the land, and many others. It is taken from the work of German painter George Baselitz, hence the initials 'GB' at the base of the figure.

Beside the figure is a contrasting image taken from the mural designed for the forecourt of Parliament House by Aboriginal artist Michael Tjakamarra. The colours reflect those of the Australian outback and the symbols are commonly used in Aboriginal art. The target-like circular patterns represents a shield, 'dE' represents animals, the 'E' people and the wavy lines represent the movement of people and places from one place to another. Tjakamarra's design is repeated beside the dominant artwork but is very faint and merges into the adjoining white pan.     centennialparklands.com.au

5  Michael Nelson Jagamara (b.1945) Luritja/Warlpiri peoples, Australia. Possum and Wallaby Dreaming (1986-87)   (Forecourt Mosaic Pavement), Parliament House, Canberra.

Fabricated by William McIntosh, Aldo Rossi and Franco Colussi,  Over 90,000 granite pieces in cement, 196 square metres.   © The artist, licensed by Aboriginal Artists’ Agency Ltd.

The mosaic is a contemporary interpretation of the sand-painting tradition of the Warlpiri people, and has complex layers of meaning known only to Warlpiri elders.

The mosaic symbolises the deep spiritual relationship between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and their ancestral land.  

Jagamara is a Warlpiri Elder from Papunya, west of Alice Springs. He is one of the foremost proponents of Western Desert painting, one of the first contemporary Indigenous art movements.     aph.gov.au

6  Michael Nelson Jagamara (b.1945) Luritja/Warlpiri peoples, Australia.  Michael Nelson Jagamara (born 1945) Luritja/Warlpiri peoples, Possum and Wallaby Dreaming (1985), synthetic polymer paint on canvas, Parliament House Art Collection, Canberra.  © The artist, licensed by Aboriginal Artists’ Agency Ltd.

Possum and Wallaby Dreaming...describes a gathering of a large group of people from the kangaroo, wallaby and goanna ancestors. The groups are meeting to talk and to enact ceremonial obligations.     aph.gov.au

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Shusaku Takaoka (born    ) Japan

A    boredpanda.com        What if the Mona Lisa got tired of her old silk robes and decided to trade them in for a trendy jumpsuit? That's exactly the kind of scenario Japanese graphic designer Shusaku Takaoka specialises in bringing to life, and he does it with pure wit.

Takaoka is an expert at turning history into hipster. His works hilariously transform some of the classical art world's most iconic faces into modern city slickers, and we actually wouldn't be surprised if we saw any of these made-over canvas characters chilling on the subway, or strutting the latest trends on Broadway. But Takaoka didn't stop there - he's also re-imagined them as movie stars, magazine covers, and even baristas.

These photo mashups could be meant to make a statement on the influence of antiquity on modern society - or they might just be totally for fun. We'll let you decide as you have a scroll through them below.

B    fubiz.net       ...a  Japanese graphic designer author of these witty and surprising illustrations. The artist is inspired by our modern society to juxtapose visuals who form a funny set and sometimes denouncing aspects of an ultra-consumer[ism] and [our] over-connected world.

C   Erin Cook, harpersbazaar.com      Takaoka posts mash ups of Renaissance, Baroque and Modernist portraits, mixed with contemporary fashion photography. Picture the Mona Lisa–except, in Takaoka’s version, she’s reclining on the subway in a lace jumpsuit. Or Vermeer’s Girl With A Pear Earring walking her dog down the street, wearing a turtleneck and cuffed jeans.

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Alick Tipoti  (born 1975)  Kala Lagaw Ya people, Waiben (Thursday Island),  Torres Straight Islands, Queensland, Australia

1 Tipoti’s work installed on roof of Oceanographic Museum of Monaco

2 the museum

3 Wadth Zigin Ar Kusikus (2008)    linocut print   112x200cm

A    australianartnetwork.com.au         Alick Tipoti is a Torres Strait Islander who is guided by the traditional cultural practices of his people. He believes in the Zugubal who were spoken about for many years by his ancestors. He is most diligent about what he sees as his responsibility to document the stories, genealogies, songs and other aspects of his culture so that it is available for future generations to learn, understand and practice.

He speaks his native language, Kala Lagaw Ya of the Maluilgal nation of Zenadh Kes. Alick believes that language is the vital ingredient that binds all cultures in the world today.

‘Without your language you become a foreigner, lost in another persons culture. One of my favourite English word is analyse. In my language we call it Ses Tham or Thapul. Singing and dancing are forms of art that branch out from the centrepiece called language. Everything you do, traditionally or culturally, evolves from a language. When you know the language, you know your culture.’

Alick has researched the genealogy of Zenadh Kes. He says that when you practice something about your culture, it is important to know your roots and your identity as this will help you choose your path in life.

He has been given the traditional name of ZUGUB which enables him to relate to the spirits of his ancestors, the ZUGUBAL. This provides him the insight and ability to translate the words of these ancestors into the beautifully delicate and complex imagery of his linocuts.

‘When I work late at night carving traditional designs, I can sense the presence of the spirits who I verbally acknowledge and thank in language for their guidance and help in visualising the words they have given me. I vividly remember an unusual event late one evening where I was guided to resketch and change the interperation of a block I was about to carve. This was just one of the many occasions when I have connected with the Zugubal who have instructed me on the proper ways of our cultural traditions.’

“In my life I have come to a level of understanding that I pray to the Zugubal of my culture”

B     alicktipoti.com     His work depicts many meaningful symbols about the Land Sea & Sky of his country through traditional Melanesian patterns.

Alick translates & interprets images of his spiritual ancestors and their totems. Through his work he also shares & educates general ancient knowledge about Torres Strait Islander culture for he is guided by the ancient traditional practices of his people.

Most of his works are accompanied by traditional chants, songs & dance.

He is one of very few people today who speaks his Language of Kala Lagaw Ya fluently for this is the center reason for his art practice. His work is in collections throughout some of the most prestigious galleries & museums all over the world.

C    www.2m.com.au    The Oceanographic Museum, as part of the Oceanographic Institute, Foundation Albert I, Prince of Monaco, is committed to enhancing the knowledge of the richness and fragility of the oceans, and promoting their sustainable management as well as their rational and efficient protection. It upholds and shares its mission, following the wish of its founder, Prince Albert I of Monaco (1848-1922): ‘knowing, loving and protecting the oceans’.

The Oceanographic Museum plays a key role in the diffusion of Contemporary Art. Every year since 2010, major contemporary artists have been invited to present works responding to a same theme: the protection of oceans and marine biodiversity. Thus the artists Damien Hirst, Mark Dion, Marc Quinn and Huang Yong Ping have already exhibited within its walls. This six months exhibition will contribute to this dynamic and will be the major summer 2016 event at the Oceanographic Museum.

The background of the full project refers to the deep and early interest that H.S.H. Prince Albert I of Monaco had towards indigenous people he met, and primitive arts that he collected. The Prince has gathered at the Oceanographic Museum all familiar and precious objects which he considered to be related to ocean life and that he was eager to acquire during his many travels.

Furthermore, Indigenous People of Australia and from the Pacific region are dealing in their daily lives with the effects of global warming and pollution, in particular by macro-waste such as discarded fishing nets. For this exhibition, we wish to give voice to Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists through the works they will create relating to these phenomena affecting the oceans. Our concern was to search for artworks linked with the sea and which are consistent with the protection of the oceans policy conducted by the Oceanographic Institute.

It is an ambitious project to be realised within a very short time frame but certainly a unique occasion for Australia, and for Queensland in particular, to present with us a project of excellence.

search @     nma.gov.au      artcollector.net.au     nga.gov.au

WATCH  www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_lhccrX5dA   

 Alick Tipoti, Torres Strait Islander artist printing Girelal, the world's largest linocut.

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re-visiting Lisa

1 Leonardo da Vinci (c1503-1506/ 1519) oil on poplar-wood panel  77x53cm

2 artist/designer unknown

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Greg Semu (born 1971) New Zealand; lives and works in Australia; identifies as Samoan.

1     Auto Portrait with 12 Disciples  (2010)  (detail from the series The Last Cannibal Supper, ‘Cause Tomorrow We Become Christians) 

2    Battle of the Noble Savage 1 (2007)     image: 120 x 180 cm; lightbox: 126 x 186 x 9 cmblack 2pac LED archival Lightbox with remote control light dimmeredition of 10  © Musée Quai Branly & Greg Semu 2015

5    Auto Portrait with Faux Diamond Eyelash (2015)

3    Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) Republic of Florence                            Last Supper (1498) tempera and oil on plaster 460cm×880cm

4    Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825) France   Napoleon Crossing the Alps (1801) oil on canvas   261×221cm

A  Allison Chan, November 2016,   www.australiaplus.com  Greg Semu is a visual artist of Samoan ancestry. Born and raised in New Zealand, he has lived in Paris, New York and London, and moved to Sydney five years ago. His photographic works explore the themes of displacement, belonging and colonial contact in the Pacific. A retrospective exhibition of Greg’s work is currently showing at the Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation in Sydney.

Named after the American actor, Gregory Peck, Greg Semu dreamt of becoming an actor and describes his childhood as “pretty happy”.

“But there was always this sense of displacement - like you don’t belong anywhere.”

This sense of displacement and search for belonging is a significant theme in Greg’s life and, consequently, his work.

“I was displaced on multiple levels. I was raised in a different family to the one I was born to. My ‘parents’ were my grandparents. But I didn’t know that they were my grandparents. I discovered this at the age of 16. It was quite a revelation that altered my life forever.”

Greg’s parents and grandparents were born in Samoa and had moved to New Zealand for “a better life”. He was exposed to Samoan culture and values, like respecting your elders, through “osmosis.”

“Even though my parents had moved to New Zealand and tried to assimilate - genetically and culturally - it’s very difficult to rewrite the program. You can take the boy out the jungle but you can’t take the jungle out the boy.”

Whilst he calls Samoa his ancestral and spiritual home, he doesn’t feel a sense of belonging in Samoa. “Going there, I felt alienated and isolated. It’s clear to Samoans born in Samoa that I’m not a native born, son of Samoa.”

Despite this conflicted relationship, Greg is an initiated Samoan man and has gone through the practice of Samoan ta tau, or tattoo, from the waist to the knee. “It’s a 3000 - 5000 year old practice that we’ve never lost. It’s one of the very living authentic traditions that we have - that predates pre-colonial contact.”

“It’s hammer and chisel. People think it’s all about beauty but the number one priority about the Samoan initiation process is the pain. The pain was unbelievable - it was this burning sensation. When the hammer hits the chisel, it vibrates through your whole body. You’re carving and traumatising the human body.”

Greg regularly includes himself in his photographs, which offer conversations about cultural and colonial displacement. His work, The Last Cannibal Supper, Cause Tomorrow We Become Christians, is a re-enactment of Leonardo da Vinci’s The Lord’s Supper with Greg as the figure of Christ.

“I’ve hijacked an iconic religious image. The title is a joke but it’s also a dialogue about religious colonisation of Indigenous people globally."

"My ancestors were cannibals and I’m also linking that with the cannibalistic metaphor of the covenant of Christ. Drinking water and eating bread that is symbolic of the body and blood of Christ,” says Greg.

His work, Battle of the Noble Savage, which was produced during a residency in Paris has a similar approach. “I was interested in the colonial history of New Zealand and the Maori land wars. [The people in the image are] descendants of the Maori race and ambassadors in their own communities. Here I’ve hijacked Napoleon Bonaparte. The French people know Maori people as a Mickey Mouse caricature - when you say NZ Maori, they start imitating the traditional war dance, the haka...By hijacking Napoleon Bonaparte - taking an icon they know so well and turning him into a Maori - it gave them a reference point. So now I say ‘do you know the Napoleonic Wars? At the same time he was waging wars in Europe, NZ Maori were battling against British for their sovereignty.’ We’re giving them a historical reference point. I hijack iconic imagery that’s deeply entrenched in European history.”

“Art is a visual language - to talk about grievances, politics, culture, religion. Art is a great medium where we can have these really sensitive conversations with people.”  

Now living in Sydney, Greg is keen to explore how his approach to artmaking is relevant to Australian history and the country’s diverse communities.

“I do feel a sense of purpose here in Australia - working with indigenous communities, greater Australia and ethnic minorities. It’s about building dialogue and evolving the conversation. It’s clear that one group of people has been disempowered. The work is about self-empowerment and storytelling.” 

search @ johnmcdonald.net.au

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pixellations:

caused by displaying a bitmap or a section of a bitmap at such a large size that individual pixels, small single-colored square display elements that comprise the bitmap, are visible. definition courtesy of the wikipedia

1  Theofania – Elvis Pixel Post-it Note (2014)

Post-it note stickers, in the window of the Argo Café, Adelaide

2 Elvis, publicity shot  (c1957)

A   Christine Judith Nicholls,    theconversation.com.au

Held annually in venues all over South Australia for the entirety of August, SALA’s magnitude and reach, its extraordinary range of exhibition venues, both conventional and left-of-field, make it unique. SALA’s high level of artistic participation, community engagement and its backing by businesses of all stripes are all part of this heady mix. Akin to artistic triffids, every year in the month of August, SALA exhibitions take over art – and other – spaces from Adelaide’s CBD to the outreaches of rural South Australia.

Artworks in every conceivable medium are exhibited, and sometimes in unlikely media, too. In SALA 2014, two gargantuan installations of Elvis Presley went on show in the shopfront windows of the Adelaide Advertiser and Adelaide’s Argo Café.

These figurative renderings, demonstrating that Elvis had definitely not “left the building”, had been created by the exclusive use of thousands of coloured post-it-note stickers. Adelaide artist Theofania (aka Thea Fania) alternately describes her Elvises as urban guerrilla artwork or as “Elvis Pixel Post-it Note Art”.

SALA is not curated, at least not at any central managerial level. Any artist who wishes to contribute may do so, if s/he can get hold of a venue, and is able to pay the SALA participation fee, which varies depending on what kind of venue you secure.

WATCH Theofania install an earlier Elvis image in 2013. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdysIhJOC1Y

South Australia Living Artists Festival    www.salafestival.com/

3 pixillated version of 4

4 animator unknown

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Shepard Fairey (born 1970) USA ,   Michael Agazarian (born    ) Australia

1  Fairey’s Obama campaign poster

2  Fairey’s Fulbright/ Ridley poster

Shepard Fairey is the artist for the now famous Obama-Hope-Progress posters popularized during the election whose style has now been endlessly spoofed [imitated as a joke].   theformofmoney.blogharbor.com

 This image has become a pop cultural phenomenon and an important symbol in the political landscape of 2008 and beyond.

Fairey created an adaptation of the Obama HOPE poster for satirical Kentucky politician Honest Gil Fulbright . Frank L. Ridley, the actor who portrays Fulbright, is featured on the poster, along with the words "SOLD",  which refers to Fulbright's "honest" political message: "I'm only in this thing for the money, but at least I'm honest about it."   wikipedia

satirical:  critical, mocking another’s weaknesses or flaws; using humour, irony exaggeration to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in contemporary politics and other topical issues.

3  artist unknown

from an interview with Jessica Mindich:

Someone dies from gun violence every 16 minutes in America.

“We live in a country that has largely glamorized the myth of the armed hero who protects the powerless and saves the day.

The statistical facts demonstrate that the introduction of a gun into a household is far more likely to result in a death by accident, suicide, or homicide from a family member than it is to be used in a justifiable act of self defense.” Fairey

The artist explains his driving motivation: "The real message behind most of my work is 'question everything'." Fairey

4,  5   Michael Agzarian (born    ) Australia

reading A     signalexpress.com.au        Art can be used as a form of giving a message, making us think and look at different points of view. This artwork titled “Hopeless” is a bold political message.

This piece is inspired by an iconic image of “hope” used in the Obama 2008 elections. It shows an authoritarian image like 1984‘s Big Brother [written by George Orwell].

This all started a few months ago when a 4.5 metre tall poster was erected in Chippendale by the Sydney-based graphic designer Michael Agzarian and since then the image has been put up all around the country from Brisbane to Melbourne. Agzarian spent over $3000 dollars of his own money for this project. When asked why he did it by Fairfax Media he said “This is a government that is leaving a lot of people behind.” The poster cut-out is available free on Abbottsolutelynot.com and Agezarian has pushed the community to spread it around.

Tony Abbott’s name has been linked many things in recent months. Stopping the boats through unlawful ways, budgie smugglers and a strong opposition to gay marriage. So are the Australian people getting sick of him?

This image shows a powerful message to Prime Minister Tony Abbott that the website suggests reflects the feelings of countless Australians. The campaign has reached 10,000 likes on Facebook and thousands of posters put up around the country people seem to be backing Agzarian’s campaign. ”The response so far has been staggering. It’s great to see people tweeting about it and taking selfies in front of it,” he said to Fairfax “The only negative feedback I’m getting is that Tony would never be seen wearing a red tie.”

reading B   Sydney Outsider    spoke to Michael Agzarian, creator of the FIZZA campaign, which has captured the disillusionment felt by anyone hoping for a more progressive PM. The campaign was developed in collaboration with Agzarian’s colleagues Missy Dempsey, Jarrod Pickford and Alan Rowlands at his design agency, Advision.

Like many Australians I felt that with the removal of Tony Abbott there was an opportunity for the new leader to make fundamental changes to the ideological policies that Abbott had championed during his tenure.

It was time to move on from the mantra that Abbott repeated endlessly i.e. ‘we stopped the boats’ ‘we got rid of the mining tax’ and so on. At last, the nation was relieved that our embarrassing prime minister was finally gone. Turnbull came in hugely popular, intelligent and even god-like, nothing was in his way … except the right wing Abbott supporters who appeared still to control the government and its policies.

It was clear that while the driver had been replaced the destination was still same.

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Lee Mingwei  born 1964 Taiwan,  lives and works USA

1 Lee Mingwei  Guernica in Sand (2006/ 2016), mixed-media interactive installation; sand, wooden platform, lighting, 1300 x 643 cm.  re-created for the 20th Biennale of Sydney, 2016

A    biennaleofsydney.com.au

Lee Mingwei is known for creating poetic installations that connect artist and audience, and which change over time. Often taking form as open-ended scenarios, past projects have variously set up moments of cultural exchange, foregrounded gestures of trust, and cultivated dialogue between strangers. Lee has also presented a number of one-on one events, where visitors are invited to contemplate notions of self-awareness and intimacy by engaging in simple acts with the artist – sleeping, eating, walking, conversation, and other everyday activities.

For the 20th Biennale of Sydney, Lee presents a new iteration of Guernica in Sand, 2006/2016. The work takes Pablo Picasso’s Guernica, 1937 – a powerful political painting created in immediate response to the massacre of Basque civilians during the Spanish Civil War – as both a reference and a point of departure. Lee’s intention was to offer ‘a different view of the damage done when human beings are victimized. Instead of simply being critical of what happened in the Basque town of Guernica in 1937, I wanted to use the concept of impermanence as a lens for focusing on such violent events in terms of the ongoing phenomena of destruction and creation.’ [1]

To make this work, the artist recreates the exact lines of Picasso’s famous piece with sand and then, later, alters it. Guernica in Sand is allowed to rest, existing in a state of suspension, until it is first walked on by members of the public, and then swept with bamboo brooms, in a one-off performance that takes place over the course of a single day. This simultaneous act of obliteration and re-creation results in an altogether new work, where formerly precise lines are re-imagined as intuitive abstract and sweeping gestural forms. The performance is a reminder of the impermanence that inspired Lee to make this monumental work – a necessary characteristic of existence and an integral part of larger cycles of destruction and creation. As Lee says, sand has an inherent capacity to symbolise these processes: ‘… its “lifespan” includes being “born” from the erosion of rock by the action of water or wind, and being reformed into rock by the action of pressure or heat’. [2]

Ephemeral gestures are always nuanced within Lee’s works, and here the focus is directed towards ‘the creative power of transformation rather than to the pain caused by clinging to things as they are’. [3] A poignant reminder of passing time, the work is in a perpetual state of flux – and deliberately so; it never settles, much like the elaborate Tibetan sand mandalas destroyed by the same Buddhist monks who painstakingly create them, and which disappear in far less time than they take to make. With Guernica in Sand, Lee Mingwei draws our awareness to the interdependence that exists between all things, the temporal relationships of cause and effect, and to relationality and the in-between.

2 Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) Spain/ France  Guernica (1937) oil on canvas 349cm×776cm 

B     theartstory.org

Guernica was Picasso's response to the bombing of the Basque town of the same name on April 26, 1937 during the Spanish Civil War. Painted in one month - from May to June 1937 - it became the centerpiece of the Spanish pavilion at the Paris World's Fair later that year. While it was a sensation at the fair, it was consequently banned from exhibition in Spain until military dictator Francisco Franco fell from power in 1975. Much time has been spent trying to decode the symbolism of the picture, and some believe that the dying horse in the center of the painting alludes to the people of Spain. The minotaur may allude to bull fighting, a favorite national past-time in Spain, though it also had complex personal significance for the artist. Although Guernica is undoubtedly modern art's most famous response to war, critics have been divided on its success as a painting.