rays thriller artlink.

images from my trusty scanner and
of course the source
"Artlink vol.26 #1 2005"

hello there sculpturizers of the future.......
I was looking in Artlink and i came across this review of an exhibition called Stars of track and Field.
that was on at the Campbelltown Arts center 10 dec.2005 to feb. 5th 2006.
the venue if you call it that in art sounds rather horrid and hard to exhibit in,it was described as a dowdy
function room that is also a bit huge that most of the artworks look like dwarfs.One work that did display well and also was of the most interest to me ( partly because its the only one pictured and i dunno about you but descriptions of art kinda miss the boat for me) was called "The sound before you make it" a collaboration between David Lawrey and Jaki Middleton.
In a dark room a motorized circular platform is set up with rows of mini zombie figures. Each one striking a Michael Jackson "Thriller" pose from the dance sequences. As people come in the platform spins complete with strobe light and beats from the song and it looks like the zombies are dancing which seems to delight viewers so much they squeal.I think if i could of seen this i may of squealled too. Nothing like a bit of pop culture complete with mini zombies and Michael Jackson dance sequences. Sounds like a really fun piece to see. Its so frustrating sometimes reading about all this great art and not being able to see it. waaaaaaaaaa.
poor poor us.

jim (as in me) finds a legend public sign carrier

Sharon hayes, 'in the near future', at Art in General. somewhere in NYC. I found this last week. Sharon pretty much did our last project. Over the period of 9 days she exibited diferent signs 4 4 hour periods in different locations around NYC. shes abit of a legend hope the "i am a man " pic came through. another favourite "actions are louder than words" written on a sign which (spel?) she is passively displaying. good stuff, im continuously amused by the strangley invisible void between action and intention. All time favourite sign "nothing will be as before". displayed sort of hanging around her neck straight faced. funny funny.

Art in america p51-53 (woops i forgot the issu no.)down in the high demand

celeste jose talks about Kathe Burkhart yo!

Fuckdoll 2

well this was just an ad that caught my eye for artist Kathe Burkhart. It said 'Hardcore!' and was an obscure photo of a big blow up doll in bondage in this room filled with shiney things and i said 'oooo! shiney things!!! oooo avoiding essay writing, mmm review time, mmm'

so i looked her up and by golly it wasn't easy to get information on who she is. turns out the ad was for her first solo exhibition. it's a exhibition of all photos giving an explicit sneek peek into the prono worls and the bric-a-brac associated with that. it's all been shot in amsterdam.

Apparently Burkhart is "known" for her portrayals of ELIZABETH TAYLOR CAUGHT IN COMPROMISING MOMENTS INCLUDING:
1. EATING SHIT
2. SCREAMING OBSCENITIES
3. MAKING TABLOID ESQUE PRONOUNCEMENTS LIKE "I DON'T HAVE AIDS!"


santa and the easter bunny


I Don't Have AIDS (Tabloid Shot)


Eat Shit: from the Liz Taylor Series (After Weegee)


Pussy: from the Liz Taylor Series (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?)

celeste jose talks about Ronnie Van Hout

Artlink New Zealand volume 26 no2, pages 24 and 25

"Ronnie van Hout is an artist who is similarly attracted to the period between childhood and adulthood, as a zone in which a certain degree of failure is almost a given. Recently van Hout has taken to representing larger issues (such as wars and potential alien invasions) with the paraphenalia of play. An over-grown child, van Hout uses models and miniatures to convey his adult paranoias."
- http://www.physicsroom.org.nz/gallery/1997/vanhout/

Pretty much couldn't sum it up better. REading through the article about him I get the feeling his upbringing (in New Zealand) and the strong heritage and tradition they have there (story telling and mysticism (heavy mysticism)) totally influence his work. The image that caught my eye initially i couldn't ind on the internet BUT I will explain what i looks like so here goes. hmm hmm...

it is a sculpture of a rough looking man's face. it is rotting snd decayed with the tip of it's nose gone and it's lips rot away, it is decapitated. on it sits this lil' spooky owl just kind of hanging out. etc. cool.

other works by Hout include:


Sick Chimp



Hello, Goodbye


i guess i lose

photos like...




he's done some cool and very ecceltic stuff. i think a lot of his more recent stuff is very autobiographical and he seems to be in a lot of it, in different guises doing odd things (like craddling birds in his hand)...

http://www.art-newzealand.com/Issue108/vanhout.htm

Fiona Hall

Danielle Fattori

There was an article I found in the Art & Australia magazine (vol 27, 2005, page 14) on Fiona Hall. Ever since I was younger her work has managed to stand out from many others. My favourite of Fiona's work would have to be her sardine cans and the amazing detail gone into creating something organic out of them (e.g. trees, mushrooms). Work of hers that I really like is the sea creatures and flowers made from millions and millions of beads. Although I know that she doesn't personally make them herself the ideas, colours and links between the man-made worlds are unique. I also like the way Fiona Hall has thought of unusual materials to make her sculptures out of.

According to Kate Davidson, the author of the article she describes Fiona Hall's work as an "extraordinary array of interests, ideas and practices."

Images from: http://www.arttowermito.or.jp/gif98jan/lvhall.gif

ray (as in chel) loves yoshitiomo nara.

images from www.icaphila.org.
art asia pacific no.39 winter 2004
This article was obviously about Yoshitoma Nara one of my most favouritest artist. And some works from an exhibition of his called Nothing ever happens.(if you read the fine print at the end of the article)
If you don't know him he's from Japan and he always draws,paints,sculpts these child like simple really cute yet also rebelious
kinda punky kids, mainly girls from what i've seen and dogs.I read recently in this excellent book Art Now of contemporary artists that even if he trys to draw something different it always comes out this way. Anyway the article its self i found a bit pretentious and seemed to be more about the guy who wrote it wanting to wax lyrical and not so much about the fabulous art. it annoyed me really but when i saw the picture i went bing bing bing. There is so much good stuff of his out there,you should check it out if you like the look of whats here.

Mimicry and Men: Raza Aramesh

article by Sara Raza
Pg.54, Art Asia Pacific Summer 2004 No.41

alix: I found Aramesh's works particularly interesting due to the way he explores his culture and Islam in a world that is so afraid of the muslim population. The exploration of these ideas through his work have typecasted him as a political artist, although the idea of being one is highly amusing. Aramesh has used photographs of a past show he did "Picture This" in 2002 still have the same controversial aura as they would have five years ago. The images of the Middle Eastern men, some wearing balaklavas, are still the same images that instill fear into the hearts of many westerners around the globe. However, having the one man not wearing the mask is what clues us in to the others being of Middle Eastern decent and proving that when we now see people dressed like this we are automated to this 'Oh, he must be muslim!'. But this piece isn't all serious. Aramesh has staged a mockery based upon the current social and political climate. Aramesh's photographs and installations have made him a cult figure in the art world, especially among those who long for a connection to exotic reveries and the longing to be apart of a different culture. I personally like Aramesh's works as they are truely shocking without using any sort of gore but by only using an 'evil' character highly revered by Western society.



Image from: http://www.loushy.com/EXHIBITIONS/gewalt/RezaAramesh2.jpg

Moving Parts, Damian Ortega

Jock Walker

Looking in the Frieze magazine issue 98 April 2006 pg 146-151 i came across an interesting intallation, video performance extreme artist Damian Ortega. Double page spread of a work of his called Cosmetic thing, which is a car , old volts wagon Beetle completely Dissenabled hanging from the looks like an instruction mannual showing the mechanic of the car but in 3d. Really like this work because of the simplicity of the idea but its still got a massive wow facter. Hanging a car in a gallery, the massive factory looking space its in works well. Other works explained video of towing people behind a vdub using rope and a greased floor, sounds fun.And a super 8 road movie of a beetle driving to its own funeral, lowered into a grave covered with earth until only the wheels were showing like squishy stones.
Heaps of his work on google images having trouble downloading images

Anthony McCall in Art Monthly

Sally:
'Art Monthly', May, No. 296
I discovered Anthony McCall in Art Monthly, 'You and I' is a touching art work which makes me feel comfortably sick inside. This installation; a burning field, visually war-like without the dead bodies, may be a relationship between two people in a metaphorical sense. I think the flames are demonstrating the fact that nothing lasts forever, and if it does there’s always some kind of destruction along the way.

Yoshihiro Suda

Images from www.mattress.org, www.recirca.com, www.wohnmaschine.de

Jess:
While flicking through a copy of Object No. 43 the work of Tokyo based artist Yoshihiro Suda caught my eye. He began as a graphic designer but threw that in and started carving plants out of wood. He makes site specific installations with the aim of combining contemporary art practice with the traditional beauty of handicraft, which appeals to the Japanese appreciation of cultural traditions. He carves lifelike flowers and weeds out of wood and then places them in the cracks of the floor, or growing out of a wall. He once said that for him, "his work is closer to a Mercedes car than to nature, as it demonstrates the beauty that human hands can make possible"
I have a huge admiration for his ability to carve the wood in such a way, but what I love most about his work is it's subtleness. He uses areas of the space that would normally be looked over - the corners of the room, cracks in the floor, window sills, walls and areas above head height. Imagine walking into a gallery that is seemingly empty, and then slowly discovering that the room is actully full. I love that Suda has obviously thought a lot about where each piece is placed and has shown a consideration for the whole experience surrounding the work and not just the object that makes up the work. He says "when one sees something, there is no way that he can eliminate the space around it." Although the works are small, I would imagine that they would leave a big impression on the viewer. I think that the work would have possibilities outside a traditional gallery, too. In an industrial space for instance, amongst all the concrete and metal, where something like this would be so unlikely, a small piece of organic life would bring the space alive.

Dannii Sutton

"The Idolaters' Revenge", new Los Angeles Sculpture... by Christopher Miles

This article from Flash Art magazine, discusses a range of different sculpture artists whose works were exhibited in 2004 by graduates of South California Art schools. these new artists are said to be emerging into the age of 'postmodernisms' wake, toward stylistic, cultural and historical promiscuirty, and in the case of sculpture, away from the non-referential gestalt of the minimalist practice'. these young artists are interested in the relationships between the elements within the work.

Seeing the images with the article really inspire me to push the boundaries and try experimenting with way more crazy and strange materials to create something equally obsure...

Paul McCarthy's more seious side

Polly: This week I was checking out the reviews section of Frieze and came across a man you have all have heard of, Paul McCarthy. You might remember his work 'Blockhead' a massive square headed black doll that he plonked out the front of the TATE Modern in 2003. It seems I've found McCarthy's more serious side..
I was reading about the 4th Berlin Biennial, which featured various artists but his installation strung the heart chords for me. Although 'Bang-Bang Room' was one of his earlier works (1992) it couldn't have been more appropriate for such an exhibition venue. In The former Jewish School for Girls, which was re-opened for the first time in ten years to showcase McCarthy's work. A set of four walls all of which open and close freely, with doors set in the centre that swing open and close. A simple motorised mechanism - dead basic - and yet this conceptual artwork doesn't fail to put a chill down my spine in the eerie reference to the history behind the building it stands and the idea of brutal/organised/cold-blooded destruction. Adding to this there were infact metal detectors at the entrance of the school, a reminder of how charged the place still is.

Frieze [May 2006] pg 165

Josie: hello fellow artists to be and any others reading this....I just got home from Sydney!! It was alot of fun...I went to the Museum of Contemporary Arts...it was so big and exciting, for those that have never been, its right at Circular Quay...great location...I really do recommend a big class excursion with you all...it would be great fun!!..No...seriously.!! so anyway, I'll stop rambling and get on with the journal article...
I was reading Sculpture (April 2006, vol. 25, no. 3, page 37) and came across the article on Sunil Gawde. I looked at the abstract images and flicked forward to the next article because this one I found was very unappealing...honestly I didnt read it much, I just looked at the pictures and knew I didnt like it. So I went back and read about the artist Sunil Gawde, although a lot of this article was giving his childhood, history, when he left home and why......and I was thinking it was all a little boring and irrelevant to what I wanted to know about his work....so after reading through a few paragraphs of this, it got on to his abstraction and minimal approach to his work as an artist. His work is very gestural, and the elements he incorporates; colour, geometry etc are obviously very deliberate and reflective of his mindstate. Here is an image of one of his works Untitled, 2005. I know so many forms of art are promoted these days, and that obviously people out there like his work,it just seems really dull to me. I just do not really understand how this brown thing that can be adjusted to look like a caterpillar of sorts can be so incredibly appealing???!! Maybe there is a major concept I'm missing here...I don't know!!!!!!! Next week i'll find an artist that I actually like, then I won't bag him/her so much..
have a great week all!!!!
over and out....


Image from: (http://www.sculpture.org/documents/scmag06/april_06/gawde/gawde.shtml

SUNIL GAWDE-minimal approach, maximal impact

Josie: hello fellow artists to be and any others reading this....I just got home from Sydney!! It was alot of fun...I went to the Museum of Contemporary Arts...it was so big and exciting, for those that have never been, its right at Circular Quay...great location...I really do recommend a big class excursion with you all...it would be great fun!!..No...seriously.!! so anyway, I'll stop rambling and get on with the journal article...
I was reading Sculpture (April 2006, vol. 25, no. 3, page 37) and came across the article on Sunil Gawde. I looked at the abstract images and flicked forward to the next article because this one I found was very unappealing...honestly I didnt read it much, I just looked at the pictures and knew I didnt like it. So I went back and read about the artist Sunil Gawde, although a lot of this article was giving his childhood, history, when he left home and why......and I was thinking it was all a little boring and irrelevant to what I wanted to know about his work....so after reading through a few paragraphs of this, it got on to his abstraction and minimal approach to his work as an artist. His work is very gestural, and the elements he incorporates; colour, geometry etc are obviously very deliberate and reflective of his mindstate. Here is an image of one of his works Untitled, 2005. I know so many forms of art are promoted these days, and that obviously people out there like his work,it just seems really dull to me. I just do not really understand how this brown thing that can be adjusted to look like a caterpillar of sorts can be so incredibly appealing???!! Maybe there is a major concept I'm missing here...I don't know!!!!!!! Next week i'll find an artist that I actually like, then I won't bag him/her so much..
have a great week all!!!!
over and out....

Image from: (http://www.sculpture.org/documents/scmag06/april_06/gawde/gawde.shtml)

SIM - dead animals in Mexico by damien hirst

one of my favourite artists is Damien Hirst, so i thought id hunt down and find an article about him. i was introduced to his art last semester.

the article i found was in the "Contemporary" art journal (issue no 81, 2006 pg 30 - 33) and it talks about his move to Mexico and his latest exhibition "The death of God towards a better understanding of life without God aboard the ship of fools" which takes its place in a grand old building in the oldest part of Mexico city. The influence of the mexican culture on his art shows through, with a greater emphasis on the religious side of things, and as always with Hirst, death.

once again Hirst has displayed a series of formaldihyded animals in religious and biblical poses. Like the dead praying sheep with rosary beads around its hoofs - which i really enjoy for its colours. Like most of Hirst's work, this exhibition draws a lot of attention and contraversy mainly because of the religious themes to it and his exploration into depicting art works that represent God.

Damien Hirst is definitely one of the most important and influential contemporary artists of the last 2 decades, as well as for me.


(PRETTY PICTURES) http://metamedia.stanford.edu/imagebin/Hirst-resurrection-02.jpg
http://www.palabrasmalditas.net/portada/images/stories/infierno/damien06.jpg
http://www.palabrasmalditas.net/portada/images/stories/infierno/damien02.jpg


END.
SIM.

Olaf Breuning by Bradley Deane Lay.

Hello Everybody.

Found an Article in Parkett 71 2004 (pge 32) about Olaf Breuning. Actually there was a couple of articles on him in there plus some writing a language that I could read, but was not able to understand. Lots of words like "Gehful" and those little dots above the "u" that I can never work out how to type when I'm trying to type in a language I don't understand.

Anyway I think this person does interesting stuff. The thing that initially caught my eye was this photo of the Easter Island statues with badly superimposed grins and ears. The ears and mouths have been set up between the camera and the statues so that you can see the metal supports for them. Deliberately crap, and funny. Seems to be messing with the idea that these things were all about solemn worship and the power of idols.

His take on the art world: "It's like being stuck on a little island. Each time you realise it, you want to vomit." His view on his own art: "Sitting on an island and vomiting about my life."

There's quite a bit of stuff on the internet about this guy too.

I found this one called "I am Scared of the Chinese".

Jonathan Seliger in Artforum

Jess Hancock
I really liked the work of Jonathon Seliger which was hown to bedisplayed at the Jack Shainman Gallery between May 25 and June 26 of this year. I thought this piece 'Between Cups' 2006 made from Acrylic and modelling paste on canvas was particularly effective. There are many artworks made about New York City and i thought this concept took this idea one step further. It includes icon of the city being the skyline, the I 'heart' New York and the statue of liberty but added a new aspect by displaying these icons through something else that is reflective of this fastpaced society; takeaway coffee cups. We see these items everyday but they are often associated with New York with coffee francises such as Starbucks and sitcoms such as Sex and the City regularly featuring takeaway cups. We also see New York a time pressured, bustling city and i find this way of diplaying the piece also reflects this well especially with the idea of 'between cups' as in between of coffee. There is a better picture at http://www.jackshainman.com/dynamic/artwork_display.asp?ArtworkID=551

Notes to Basquiat by Gordon Bennett

Danielle Fattori

I found an interesting artist named, Gordon Bennett in the 'Art Link' magazine (volume 23, pg 39, 2003). The series 'Notes to Basquait' in my opinion reflects political, social and cultural views that effect people worldwide. I think the images are really busy with plenty to look at. I think the roughness to the series add to their success. The paintings look kind of sad and give a depressing feel about them but yet for some bizarre reason I think they look pretty neat.

Image source: www.shermangalleries.com.au/.../index.html

Celeste talks about Matt Saunders yo!

Contemporary, issue 83, 2006, pages 96-99


The works of Matt Saunders combine the appropriation of other images (ala Warhol) with what would've been the growth of technology during his late teens (cool sentence hey? totally all about text i am...). His images echo ideas about our mental health today (post industrial times) through his use of photography and mark making. He is quite young (born 1975) and lives in berlin. i thought his work was pretty intersting and very 'hip' (which isn't necessarily cool). you'll see what i mean...


MATT SAUNDERS, Chandeliers, 2005, ink on mylar, two parts, each 90 x 61 cm


MATT SAUNDERS, Couples (Margit & Karl-Heinz, 2004, oil on mylar, 105 x 157 cm

images from http://213.239.234.147/gr2/index.php

Celeste talks about Marcel Dzama yo!

Contemporary, issue 83, 2006, pages 56-59

This works by Marcel Dzama didn't initially grab my attention because they were so dull in colour and didn't seem to be about anything intersting. But i realised that he uses this technique to disguis his subject matter, which includes murder, harm, troubling mystique, war crimes, fear etc etc.


Untitled, 2003. Ink and watercolour on paper. 27.9c x 35.6 cm. Courtesy of David Zwirner, New York , NY from the following website...
http://www.sobeyartaward.ca/news/images/Dzama_untitled1.jpg


Marcel Dzama, Untitled, 2003, Ink and watercolor on paper, 11 x 14 inches from the following website...
http://www.artfacts.net/exhibpics/14271.jpg

His work also has this real cutesy meets mystical charm too, which i am always a sucker for. It seems like something you'd find in an instruction booklet that's written in another language that, at first glance, is irrelevant imagery then after close inspection proves worthwhile.

he's also had a series of his images made into toys... as so many contemporary artists seem to do these days...


The Saddest Ghost Lamp and The Monsters of Winnipeg Folklore, Marcel Dzama, Canada (2004), taken from the following website...
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/images/photoessay/designertoys/designertoys7.jpg

You might also recognise his work from Beck's 'Guero' album cover sleeve...



and he's also worked with Spike Jonze in one of his films doing costume (in Sad Ghost which is due out this year and i don't think is out in Australia yet)... anyway Spike Jonze has made HEAPS of music videos and also ADAPTATION. And through this article I discovered that Spike Jonze is currently in writing / production of WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE which is due out in 2008, GET EXCITED CHILDHOOD FANTASIES COME TRUE. slightly irrelevant but if you consider my conclusion maybe not.

In conclusion turns out that Dzama is rad and everything he's done rocks.

the end.

Moon Plain by Matej Andraz Vogrincic

Danielle Fattori

I found a really great artist in Art & Australia (volume 41,Pg 72, 2004). I admire his work because it captures true Australian beauty. Although there were numerous images & art works amongst the article my favourite would have to be the series "Moon Plain". even though images were taken two years ago I thought that it was relevant to our farmer's current situation (droughts). Despite the images being simple, I thought that by taking photo's at different stages in the day really gave them a unique quality. I was really impressed how nice Vogrincic made Coober Pedy look. It could almost entice me to go there for something other than their opals.

Image from: www.artandindustry.org.nz/.../matej.htm

Matej Andraz Vogrincic,