touched



This extraordinary 122-track album featuring some of the world's greatest and most forward-thinking artists (including emptywhale) has just been released with the purpose of raising funds for UK based Macmillan Cancer Support. For 6 quid you can't go wrong...through Bandcamp. Happy holiday listening...when you get sick of listening to Bing sing "I'm dreaming of a..."

Joseph entertaining the baby Jesus

Bob Georgeson, Joseph entertaining the baby Jesus, Date ?, Photomontage

I have never been a great fan of Joseph Beuys, or Jesus for that matter. For me there are similarities in that perhaps both have tried to 'pull the wool' (felt?) over people's eyes. Beuys's claims to be an art 'shaman' is not reflected in the self indulgent drabness of his art, while the pomp and ceremony of the church does not really 'deliver us from evil' or offer any salvation...perhaps the library (archives?) in the background are a better path to enlightenment...

Other titles for this work are 'Religious Cymbalism' or 'The Immaculate Conceptual'. OK...I will stop! Enough is enough...apologies to van Eyck. Merry Christmas...

black red white



Realization: anonymous waves
Sound: 'Complete' by The Implicit Order

You can download the HD files here...

'Complete' by The Implicit Order is taken from the extraordinary compilation album Classwar Karaoke - 0024 Survey curated by suRRism-Phonoethics and available as a free download from the Free Music Archive here...

More The Implicit Order soundscapes are available on Bandcamp here...

Bride of Christ

Bob Georgeson, Bride of Christ, 2009, Photomontage

Let's kick off the festive season with appropriate cynicism...

kaspar is dead



You can download the (higher definition) files here: https://archive.org/details/KasparIsDead

You can view all the videos on the Internet Archive here...

Prelude (to a dream)

Bob Georgeson, Prelude, 2013, Photomontage

Now if you were to seriously ask me what the dream was about I would have to say "You must be joking!"

The Hand of Isis

Bob Georgeson, The Hand of Isis, 2009, Photomontage

The Origins of Life


Video mashup where contemporary dance meets the denizens of the deep in a visual poem about creativity and the emergence of life in the sea, and the womb...

You can download the files here...

Little pictures



Bob Georgeson, Untitled Mini Series, 2005?, Photomontage

These earlier ones were done in reaction to a curator telling me I should work 'big'. My (very predictable) response was to go in the other direction. Not quite postage stamp size, but you get the general idea...

Patently pumping

Baron Adolph de Meyer, Fashion picture, Date ?, Photograph

One of the Baron's lesser known pics. Nice shoes, nice stockings, nice length on the outfit, nice pose, nice chair, nice parquetry floor, just nice...

Frequency hopping



You can watch an interview with Elyse Singer, writer and director of 'Frequency Hopping' here...

The Apocalyptic Apostle

Bob Georgeson, The Apocalyptic Apostle, 2013, Photograph

Mark Chiles - Reverence For Life

Mark Chiles, Reverence For Life, 2013, Bronze, 45cm x 29cm x 10cm, $9000 AUD

Was pleased to see old mate Mark Chiles as a finalist in this years Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize. I suspect the origins of this work go back a while, maybe even to the hallowed corridors and lockers of the National Gallery of Victoria Art School, but Mark imbues all he touches with acute observation and sly humour, and of course the reverence not only for life, but form and ART!

The Nuptial Contract

Bob Georgeson, The Nuptial Contract, 200?, Photomontage

An early one that has never seen the light of day before. Was one of the precursors of 'The Brides of Christ' series when I was 'doing a job' on bridal couture magazines. I don't think it requires any further explanation...

Louise Brooks

It was love at first sight when I first encountered Louise in the bookshelves of the Dickson Library back around 1989. Like many I was at once intrigued and then captivated by this iconographic star, or, as the book that I discovered called her, an 'anti-star'. Her story has been well documented and there are numerous devotional sites out there, and I am not about to join their ranks. Search if you don't know the story. Louise remained a very erudite and beautiful woman, and a cat lover, into her later life.




I was fascinated coming across the documentary below of her time in Europe working with the great director G.W. Pabst. Titled 'Lulu in Berlin' it offers an animated and honest insight into the making of 'Pandora's Box' and subsequent films, as well as Berlin in the 20's...

Louise Brooks

It was love at first sight when I first encountered Louise in the bookshelves of the Dickson Library back around 1989. Like many I was at once intrigued and then captivated by this iconographic star, or, as the book that I discovered called her, an 'anti-star'. Her story has been well documented and there are numerous devotional sites out there, and I am not about to join their ranks. Search if you don't know the story. Louise remained a very erudite and beautiful woman, and a cat lover, into her later life.




I was fascinated coming across the documentary below of her time in Europe working with the great director G.W. Pabst. Titled 'Lulu in Berlin' it offers an animated and honest insight into the making of 'Pandora's Box' and subsequent films, as well as Berlin in the 20's...

Yellow bird

Bob Georgeson, Yellow bird, 2013, Photomontage

Violette



An audio-visual tribute to author Violette Leduc...

soundscape: Cousin Silas and emptywhale
eyescape: anonymous waves

'Mapping the Void' by Cousin Silas and emptywhale is taken from the album Silas and Friends Volume 1 released on the weareallghosts label. You can find it on the Archive here... 

For the HD downloadable video files go to its page on the Archive here...

Rose


This is the press photo that triggered the whole 'Brides of Christ' series. It was not the sordid context that inspired me. If you want that then check the Wikipedia entry for Rose Porteus. What I saw was a woman (described by the media as a 'socialite') dressed in virginal white and heels with a nice set of pins framed by the pews as she strode down the aisle to "pray for her dead husband". Along with my obsession with Luis Bunuel's Viridiana...

Crime of Passion

Bob Georgeson, Crime of Passion, 2007, Photomontage

An earlier one where I was playing around with some cruciform shaped cut ups...also relates to recent post 'Crime Scene' in sentiment...

'Australia' at the Royal Academy

Well, I didn't get selected to represent Australia in the blockbuster at the Royal Academy in London (guess I am not 'landscapey' enough) but I did manage to snap a pic of Harriet, wife of the Australian High Commissioner, when she fell over drunk on the dance floor at the reception...

anonymous waves, Harriet fell over drunk on the dance floor, 2013, Photomontage

Cindy

 

soundscape: The Implicit Order
eyescape: anonymous waves

This mashup was inspired by the track Cindy (Model Unit One) Drone Disco Remix by The Implicit Order, a prolific experimental artist hailing from the USA. I had done a review of his disturbing album 'Drifters' in an earlier post. You can check out The Implicit Order here...

For the HD downloadable files of the video go to it's page on The Internet Archive here...
For all my videos on the Archive go here...
You can follow anonymous waves on Twitter here...
If you want to collaborate email surrealdada@gmail.com

Griet Menschaert has a new website...


...and it's a ripper. Moving away from the blogroll, we are now able to see Griet's oeuvre in a more 'exhibition' like format, and in doing so her brilliance and originality shine through. Ranging from her intricate works on paper and mixed media through to the enigmatic self-portraits, site specific works, collaborations and the conceptual, we see an artist who imbues all she touches with a quiet elegance and gentle humility. Well worth a look. Click on the image above and Griet will take you for a tour...

Through a Garden Darkly

anonymous waves, Through a Garden Darkly, 2013, Photomontage

clenched fingers

anonymous waves, clenched fingers, 2013, photomontage

object obscure
the path
infinity's breath
a clouded
horizon
clenched fingers
flesh

Birds of Christ

No, I am not starting a new series...excuse the pun...

anonymous waves, Birds of Christ, 2013, Photomontage

Clothed men and naked women...

...is a classic (some might argue puerile) male erotic fantasy.Three of my favourites...

Edouard Manet,  Le déjeuner sur l'herbe ("Luncheon on the Grass"), 1862-63, Musee d'Orsay, Paris

Manet's masterpiece, the female figure in the foreground a combination of Victorine Meurent's face and Manet's wife Suzanne Leenhoff's body. But it is not the nudity that interests us here, but Manet's genius, not only as a painter, but in his capacity in his great works to engage and involve the audience. Emile Zola said "Painters, especially Édouard Manet, who is an analytic painter, do not have this preoccupation with the subject which torments the crowd above all; the subject, for them, is merely a pretext to paint, while for the crowd, the subject alone exists."

Julian Wasser, Marcel Duchamp and Eve Babitz at his retrospective at the Pasadena Museum of Art, 1963, Photograph

Well, we can allow the sublime Marcel his little jokes as he sits in front of The Large Glass contemplating his next move. After all, he considered most of his art an "amusement". For an analysis of his chess ability see Jennifer Shahade, who is a two time US chess champion. Jennifer has also turned the tables on Duchamp with her own video of her playing a naked male opponent while commenting on aspects of Duchamp's game. She said of the video "I guess being naked, cold and in a doomed chess position took away some of his natural cheer." The video can be found on the same page...

Josef Breitenbach, Dr. Riegler and J. Greno, Munich, 1933, Photograph

Arguably one of the most mysterious and therefore erotic photographs ever taken. All we know about it is that Riegler was Breitenbach's best friend and a journalist. There are several other pics from the same session if you feel like searching. What, you're leaving already?

Victorine Meurent

Victorine-Louise Meurent, c.1865, from the collection of Edouard Manet

I came across this recently on the Wikipedia entry for Victorine, who (as you know I am sure) was the model for Edouard Manet's Olympia and Le déjeuner sur l'herbe. Olympia remains one of my all time favourite works of art. I had written a much earlier post on this painting called "Its odd, I always thought I made men uneasy", and had inadvertently included a photo of Mme Ernestine Nadar...thankfully a reader was quick to point out the error. Nice to know someone's looking! The above picture was taken around the same time that Olympia created a scandal when first shown in Paris...

Crime Scene

anonymous waves, Crime Scene, 2013, photomontage

I have always liked alleyways. The paradox of escape or entrapment. What secrets do they hold? This work began with some snapshots taken while walking along the 'avenue of consumerism' that is the main street of Burleigh Heads on Australia's Gold Coast. A young skater weaving down the street with mobile phone glued to his ear was the inspiration for the poem 'APPology' a few posts back...

The street is largely made up of cafes and boutiques, the cafe clientele often looking as if they had stepped straight out of the shop windows as they order their flat whites. The second paradox: the unadorned alleyways intersecting with the manicured world of display and desire.

But there is an even more sinister side to this work that was prompted by the publicity surrounding the Jill Meagher tragedy (for my overseas readers a young woman on her way home from a work 'do' was dragged into an alleyway, raped and murdered. Her attacker, a serial offender, in hindsight should never have been walking the streets).

It struck me that the desire to be something other than ourselves that is at the heart of the cliched world of fashion marketing, and the implied objectification of women ultimately creates the environment that breeds the kind of person who knows the difference between right and wrong, but simply doesn't care. Fashion victim? Dressed to kill? She was asking for it? Think about it next time you pass a boutique, or an alleyway...

No Reason



soundscape: emptywhale
eyescape: anonymous waves

You can watch and download from the Internet Archive here (MPEG2 file and full screen recommended)...

...and the full set of videos can be found here...

Picabia's keys

anonymous waves, Picabia's keys, 2013, colllage

This one is a little tribute to Francis Picabia, whose 1918 poem 'Anecdote' is the inspiration for the anonymous waves project, which at the moment is languishing somewhat, and possibly somewhere, in the Tasman Sea on a rudderless boat...

Star Poem #1

anonymous waves, Star Poem #1, 2013, mixed media

38

anonymous waves, 38, Photomontage, 2013

Beginning a series of newer 'conceptual' works and appropriations...

O Come, All Ye Faithful

Bob Georgeson, O Come, All Ye Faithful, 2012, Photomontage

One of the last (I can hear the sighs of relief!) from The Brides of Christ series...

Drinking from the same cup

It is inevitable in the public domain that at some point in time artists and filmmakers will draw inspiration from the same sources. So, it was without surprise that I recently stumbled on the captivating face of Candace Hilligos featured in an article on UK zine Aesthetica's blog. The article referred to a film by Sara Brannan that had been shortlisted for the prestigious Aesthetica Art Prize in 2012. The film is called Mary, after the role that Candace plays in the wonderful 1962 cult 'horror' classic Carnival of Souls. The article can be found here...the video below:
  


I too had been entranced by Candace (and the film) and had used parts of it/her in my humble effort called The Lunar Machine, published online in October 2012. As a fledgling filmmaker the film had been something of a watershed for me, opening a door that I continue to walk through in working in the public domain and collaboratively (particularly with the brilliant dark ambient creations of UK muso emptywhale). Background to The Lunar Machine can be found here...the video below:



I had originally discovered The Internet Archive more by accident than design. A growing interest in video and film had been hampered somewhat by only owning a crappy little digital camera which took crappy little videos. I was searching for footage that I could experiment with, came across the Archive and discovered that there were plenty of people out there doing the same. I also discovered (via UbuWeb) the work of Vicki Bennett (aka People Like Us) who had been working in the public domain as early as 1991 and who continues to be an inspiration. Vicki's archive can be found here...

But back to Sara Brannan. From Aesthetica: Sara's "work is based around the appropriation and manipulation of films in the public domain. Using them as a found object they are re-edited into short videos focusing on the female lead character. Only footage of the female alone in the frame is used; the rest of the film is removed and the images are edited together to run consecutively, following the chronological order of the original film. This re-editing interrupts the patriarchal narrative structure and makes visible the usually invisible editing that is demanded by realism. This restructuring provides the viewer with the opportunity to comprehend a new reality".

The precedent for this type of film making was set by American Surrealist Joseph Cornell back in 1936 with Rose Hobart, a film made from edits of the same named actress taken from an obscure 1931 B-movie called East of Borneo and coupled with an equally obscure soundtrack that Joseph found in a junk store. Of course Joseph edited by cutting and splicing real celluloid together, not enjoying the 'relative' ease of today's digital manipulation. The film is also famed for the story of its premiere where Salvador Dali reacted half way through screaming "bastard!' and overturning the projector, allegedly complaining later that Cornell had stolen the idea from his subconscious. A concept I am sure would be familiar to many artists! You can watch the film here...

Of course, working in the public domain one is always conscious of copyright issues, and public domain can mean different things in different countries. I note that the Creative Commons people are still working on definitive licensing, but still have the underlying principle of the freedom to share non-commercially. This raises all sorts of issues about not only appropriation but appropriate use of material. Like Sara Brannan (to a degree) I believe that in montage whether it be moving images or still, that the aim is to create a new reality through transformation of the original sources. As Max Ernst said, in talking about the very beginnings of photomontage in the Dada days, "It is something like the alchemy of the visual image. The miracle of total transfiguration of beings and objects with or without modification of their physical or anatomical appearance".

And the question of commercial or critical gain through working with and in the public domain?  Well, today the movement to work collaboratively, for free, in the spirit of a non-commercial Web and making art accessible to as many people as possible is growing globally. Perhaps the last word should be left to Candace, being interviewed about an atrocious sequel to Carnival of Souls, "The only thing that scared me was the fact that these people who made this movie thought that this would sell!"

Maybe a little parable for us all?

Sara Brannan's website can be found here...
Carnival of Souls can be found on the Internet Archive here...
My videos on the Internet Archive are here...
emptywhale can be listened to and downloaded here...

The Holy Fear

Bob Georgeson, The Holy Fear, 2009, Photomontage

Another one from The Brides of Christ series...

The Holy Fear

Bob Georgeson, The Holy Fear, 2009, Photomontage

Another one from The Brides of Christ series...

Sabine

Bob Georgeson, Staredown, 2011, Digital photography

Well, she may not have won Wimbledon, but she still wins my prize, especially now that poor Jelena no longer graces our screens. This one was from the Hopman Cup a few years back, and relates to some earlier posts Frowned objects (of desire) and Recent work...

APPology

Down the avenue of consumerism
He skates without fear
Weaving through the traffic
Watching life through his ear

He reads books made of faces
Has friends he's never met
Downloads links that fragment life
Passing the cliched cafe set

Life is expressed in symbols
But as long as you can be seen
Having coffee with your mobile
The plan costs more than your dream...

Eric Whitacre - When David Heard

Been listening to ABC Classical FM in the car recently and heard this work based on the biblical story of David and Absalom that moved me, not religiously, but musically, and as a parent...the thought of my children pre-deceasing me is unbearable.

From II Samuel, 18:33:
'When David heard that Absalom was slain he went up into his chamber over the gate and wept, my son, my son, O Absalom my son, would God I had died for thee!

A hauntingly beautiful work where the silences are as effective as the crescendos... 


Crucifix

Bob Georgeson, Crucifix, c.2005, Photomontage

The Hedonist

Bob Georgeson, The Hedonist, 2010, photomontage

Belonging

Photo taken by Joy Georgeson at Flynnes Beach, Port Macquarie, June 2013
 
Along the beach
I walk alone
The waves my family
Each grain of sand
My home

As good as it gets...



'Beautiful' was the word that first came to mind when I first heard Some Hollow Lullabies, the third release from UK dark ambient outfit emptywhale. Subsequent listens have not changed my mind. The most integrated album to date shows this enigmatic artist at the height of his powers, defying classifications, and composing and producing a work of sublime beauty and intelligence. Meticulously crafted from start to finish it is quite simply 'as good as it gets'.

From the opening transportation of 'The Boy Who Could Hear Colours', the surprising introduction of melodic keyboard, to the closing fade and hints of where it all began we are left transfixed. Astute listeners may find it an interesting challenge to figure out these influences, but ultimately knowing this will not add to the appreciation because the emptywhale concept is precisely about the mystery. And the mystery ends up being what we (the listeners) experience as we listen...

I have said in the past that I find great humanism in the music of emptywhale. Here we have a man wandering through the British (if not world) landscape acutely aware of history and society and where the technological revolution had taken us, and the impact it has had on interpersonal communications (or lack thereof) . If there is 'darkness' in these soundscapes it is in this aspect of our lives that it is manifest...not through any contrived attempt at being different or trendy.

I must admit I have been critical of the ambient genre at times, finding the lack of individualism frustrating, but emptywhale takes it to a new level. At times orchestral, choral, hints of punk, even prog rock, sinister crackles, there are so many things happening here one is left in awe at the power of the meditative mix.

A track by track analysis is pointless in such a complete creation. All I can say is take 40 minutes out of your life and marvel and enjoy and wonder and appreciate that there are people in the world doing this for free...

And if you do feel compelled to part with some money emptywhale asks that you donate to cancer research...

An essential and permanent part of the collection of anyone seriously interested in contemporary music. The great Duke Ellington, once asked in interview about his composing methods, said "If it sounds good, it is good". Some Hollow Lullabies sounds very, very good...

You can download it here...

emptywhale - Some Hollow Lullabies


An absolutely beautiful work...

Review coming soon when I return to the studio...in the meantime you can enjoy it here...

http://www.weareallghosts.co.uk/

Gulaga


The mother mountain is about to give birth...

Red torso


 Bob Georgeson, Red torso, 2013, digital photography

What better way to celebrate the first day of winter than by the warm cozy glow of the wood fire...

Macedonian Madonna

Bob Georgeson, Macedonian Madonna, 2013, Digital photography

One from the 'Worlds in Collision' series...

Ecstasy

Bob Georgeson, Ecstasy, 2010, photomontage

The Lord does indeed move in mysterious waves. Waves? I must be stark waving mad! I should have said ways! No mystery in this one from 'The Brides of Christ' series...faith takes second place to desire...at least she's over 18...

The Implicit Order - Drifters

 
Senseless murder might not be a theme that many musicians would base a work on, but then The Implicit Order (I/O) is not exactly your average concept. Disdaining any attempt at classification I/O is both highly original and constantly defying preconceptions. The most recent album 'Drifters' is dedicated to a young homeless woman called Sherry, who had been befriended by I/O. She ended up being murdered after being picked up by a drifter. So, why put out an album on such a subject?

I/O describes the album as a "cautionary tale to anyone who is down on their luck and looking for a place to belong". Sombre but never morbid the album touches the heartstrings without ever becoming sensationalist. The opening track 'Missing Youth' sets the tone with evocations of children, our children, and then counterpoints with hints of unrest. "Daily Dull Lives" hints at the mentally disturbed among us. Other tracks such as 'Every Year 1000's of Young People Disappear' and 'Small Towns Hold The Biggest Secrets' paint a picture of the darkness inherent in our societies. And the 9 minute 'Sherry (Car Wheels On A Gravel Road)' confronts us with the sadness of the knowledge that all victims leave families behind them. It is their suffering we find it hard to endure...

This is not the sort of music that one would play at a party, it may not even sit comfortably with a second listen, but it certainly is worthy of one serious listen, even if it is to remind ourselves that the world we live in can still be an evil place, and that great art is not just about entertainment, but enlightenment. A courageous, yet sensitive masterwork. Highly recommended...

You can check out The Implicit Order here...

Playing with Jeffrey's balls

Bob Georgeson, Playing with Jeffrey's balls, 200?, photomontage

Another forgotten one from the archive. I guess you have to know your Australian artists to get the sordid twist inherent here...

Truth or Dare?

Bob Georgeson, Truth or Dare?, 2013, Digital photography

It's a worry...old style arcade game next to automatic teller machines. Try your luck?