Shadow Chase

Sometime in the latter half of last year Ana Cordeiro Reis (Hyaena Fierling) had asked me if I was interested in providing her with a half-an-hour of video footage that she could then compose to with a view to it being used in a live performance in the UK. Naturally the chance to work with her was all the motivation needed, and so we began discussions on the what, the where and the how.

I had recently had my work projected publicly for the first time (as opposed to being shown on a flat-screen TV in a gallery setting) and was thinking about the need to tailor the work to the environment in which it was to be shown, so my first questions were about where Ana was planning to perform. Locations in Birmingham and possibly The Gregson Institute in Liverpool were mentioned and I spent some time researching the type of places these were and the type of performances held in them, as well as looking at Ana's other recorded live performances on YouTube and Vimeo.

The spaces were fairly small and intimate (as opposed to stadium type) and the projection would not be on a huge scale. I had to consider peripheral lighting, possible people movement and that Ana would be weaving her magic against a backdrop of my imagery. To produce a narrative or anything too subtle seemed pointless, so the challenge was to make something visually interesting in such a setting over the space of half-an-hour as well as maintaining some continuity and having some alignment, if not meaning, with Ana's aesthetic.

We discussed via Skype a theme. Dreams, journeys, imaginary landscapes, juxtapositions...

Ana sent some footage via WeTransfer of road movies she had taken in Portugal and also some still images from her vast collection. I had also been working on footage from unrelated sources, so it was a matter of trying to find a balance between her suggestions and what I needed to maintain my interest and enthusiasm.

I had never made a video of this length before (10 minutes being the previous max). I also was used to working to a soundtrack, not in silence. I was not comfortable with using still images (seemed like a slide show) so I began merging the road movies with dream like snippets. At this point the combined footage ran for less than 20 minutes. I thought that to have some footage of Ana herself might be a nice touch, so that the audience could see that the film was specifically about her as opposed to some random imagery.

Over a few months life and work get in the way of the best laid plans. Other little projects crop up, ideas get modified, directions change. I was doing long road trips from one end of the state to the other, Ana was in UK one day, Portugal the next. Occasionally snippets would arrive, we continued our Skype discussions and I continued to try to build the film without really knowing what the soundtrack would be. I must admit at this time I was really struggling to maintain continuity, so when some more footage arrived of Ana dancing it became the catalyst to start bringing it all together. I compiled the film out to around 28 minutes and sent a rough cut back. I had called it 'The Dreams of Ana'.

It was only a matter of a few days when a 10 minute soundscape came back with the title of 'shadow chase'. From here on it gave me the direction I needed to start pulling it all together, and so began the tightening up and working out the colour harmonies and 'flow'. Also Ana sent some more footage of her hands and shadows which helped me to resolve issues I was having with the start and end. I got to a point where I thought that this was about as good as it is going to get, so sent off the second draft. She continued with finishing the composition, and so Shadow Chase was born...

The soundtrack will be released as part of an EP, and we will let you know when the live performances are likely to take place. 

You can download the film from the Internet Archive here...

Our other collaborations have been:

Why is this happening?

The Illusion of Freedom

I forget you

Ana's website is: akousmata

end game

Following on from the last post Denitsa had sent me some footage that she had edited down from the workshop with Griet in Sofia last June. For some reason when I first saw it chess came to mind, and so this mashup is the result...although at times one could easily find some similarities between the game and the collaborative process. Your move...

Morphogenesis - the sculpture of Joy Georgeson

Nourishing the soul

Joy Georgeson studied the Higher Diploma of Teaching Secondary Arts and Crafts course with an extraordinary group of lecturers at Melbourne State College (MSC) in the early 1970's. The Sculpture and Ceramics Department were on the same floor next to each other and ideas and friendships flowed between both. John Teschendorff, Noel Flood and Don Wordsworth were the dynamic teachers at that time who nurtured an environment of experimentation, daring, excitement and professionalism. They were all practicing artists who communicated their love of the medium but embraced other disciplines and unusual methods of solving problems.

In 1975 Agi Yoeli, an Israeli ceramic sculptor who was Artist-In-Residence introduced Joy to the technique of hollow hand-building that inspired her to create a life size Giant Anteater, much to the delight of the lecturers. More animals followed, often based on observations made at Melbourne Zoo where her husband worked, and on the cats that roamed her studio. After moving to a bush block in southern NSW in 1980 her work became less literal as she explored visual metaphors inspired by Australian native mammals like squirrel gliders and marsupial mice.

Joy Georgeson, Shadows in the Forest, 2014, Ceramic

After diagnosis of, and treatment for, breast cancer her work took on a new dimension based on a merging of carnivorous plants and female forms. These 'carnivorous women' represented a type of catharsis in response to the issues faced when dealing with a potentially life threatening disease.

Joy Georgeson, Fecund Fungi, 2006, Ceramic

More recently, Joy has returned to the animal sculptures that were her trademark. But after many years observing the decline in respect for the environment her sculptures have a stronger message concerning conservation and spirituality. Animals that once were decorated in earthy glazes with a highlight of gloss to represent texture are now embellished with stories telling of the origins of life on Earth and our relationship with them.

Joy Georgeson, Kookaburra Post (with dragonfly detail), 2015, Ceramic

The influence of the years at MSC has had a lifetime effect on the artist who went on to teach art in Victorian, NSW and ACT schools and colleges for 23 years as well as exhibiting her work. After retiring from teaching she joined the ACT's Strathnairn Arts Association as a studio holder, and then moved to Wallaga Lake near Bermagui in 2007 where she found new inspiration in the coastal and estuarine environment.

Joy Georgeson, Angelic Egret, 2007, Ceramic

Camel Rock is a distinctive formation of rocks and headland nestled in the shadow of Gulaga Mountain just north of the coastal village of Bermagui on the NSW far south coast. It is a place of great significance to the local Yuin aboriginal community. Home to sea eagles, terns, cormorants and reef herons it also provides Joy with inspiration for her most recent sculptures.

Joy says "When I visit Camel Rock, I am awed by the presence of rocks millions of years old and can see many creatures in their forms that remind me of fossils and our ancient evolutionary history. I wonder at the diversity, yet similarity between species and believe that through the process of evolution we are an integral part of Nature. It is said that the ancestor of every human was a fish, but I believe our lineage began with the first signs of life in the early history of the Earth. My art is about our great family history."

"My sculptures reflect my need for contact with natural phenomena such as the sea, animals, plants and the cycles of nature, which provide me with psychological and spiritual nourishment. I have developed my own 'creation stories' in the works, based on science and my imagination. The underlying message is to raise an awareness of the importance of conserving and valuing the balance and harmony between humans and nature."

Joy Georgeson, Out of the Ocean, 2015, Ceramic

For Joy, being in the natural environment is more than just a pleasant experience. It is an integral part of 'being'. An avid recorder she keeps journals, sketchbooks and photographs the natural world on a daily basis. Whether it is at the coast or in the forested and mountainous hinterland she seeks out the minute amongst the obvious and sees the connection between all. We might look at rocks and see geological formations. Joy looks at rocks and sees the history of the world.

Using hand building clays, fired to 1200 degrees Celsius in an electric kiln, she cuts slabs from the block and shapes hollow forms that are joined together into the basic structure using temporary supporting pillars made from clay. Then surface texture, animals and female forms are incorporated to finalise the piece before glazing. Large scale works, some over two metres high, are made in modules that slot together. She also loves the Raku process, or "Racooee" as she calls it, which is used on smaller works.

Joy has exhibited in many centres around Australia and has work in several public collections including the Victorian Ministry for the Arts, Geelong Art Gallery, Shepparton Art Gallery Collection of Australian Ceramics and Newcastle Regional Art Gallery. She was selected to represent Australia at the 38^thInternational Ceramics Exhibition in Faenza, Italy in 1980. She is a regular exhibitor at Bermagui's Sculpture on the Edge as well as the Hunter Valley's Sculpture in the Vineyards and Sculpture by the Lake festivals. Her most recent work has been exhibited at Artisans in the Garden in the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney and at Sculptures in the Garden at Roxby near Mudgee.

Her website can be found here...

3 points of a circle

Performance proposal: Griet Menschaert - sound; Denitsa Dicova - dance; Bob Georgeson - video

An earlier post Across a troubled world referred to a collaborative project I have been working on this year. We have decided to go public with some of the material, and below are the 5 video experiments in descending order from most recent to the earliest, plus the above performance proposal.

Across a troubled world

In February of this year I began a collaboration with Griet Menschaert and Denitsa Dicova. Griet is a Belgian born fine artist, linguist, writer and performer who resides in the Netherlands and Denitsa is a contemporary dancer and photographer from Bulgaria. The story begins back in 2012 when I first started blogging and looked around at other people who shared similar interests. I came across Griet's work, liked what she did, followed her progress and did the odd blog post promoting her efforts.

Late in 2013 we exchanged a few emails mentioning possible collaboration. It all got caught up in the end of year madness, and early in 2014 Griet wrote asking for a 'starting point'. I did not have a specific project in mind but wrote back with some general thoughts about the direction I was heading in. From there she mentioned that she had just embarked on a project with Denitsa and would I be interested in joining in on a possible video component.

The project was loosely defined around the words "A performance in which (mother) language, the body, manipulation, time, organic / rational, concentration, aesthetics, purity and exchange are central." The idea, or at least my part in it, was to incorporate some kind of video element into a future performance in their respective homelands. We decided fairly early on in the piece that three way communication across the continents could be difficult, and for this project to work I would take on the role of a 'silent' partner rather than an active participant.

Griet and Denitsa began by sending me some footage they had shot of themselves, a series of short clips with a strong, hands, feet and graphics theme. And so began a series of five video experiments. This was the first time I had worked with 'supplied' footage as opposed to stuff I have selected myself, and that in itself was quite a challenge in terms of process. There were also technical issues to resolve with file transfers and types as well as video resolution differences.

Kitimas Akys, video still, 2014

The first experiment was Kitimas Akys (named after the soundtrack) and was a merge of Griet drawing on a window with Denitsa's hands 'dancing' in the background. I used some short footage of my own of storm clouds at the beginning and end and a slightly ominous public domain soundscape by Jaras Ramunas which gives the clip quite a melancholy mood.

Broken, video still, 2014

The second clip Broken was a bit of a throwaway experiment where I was trying some technical trickery using a grid of Denitsa's hand merged with footage of a woman 'riding' a man/woman? and having an orgasm. I was curious to see how my colleagues would react to an element of eroticism. The soundtrack was by VJ Memes and called 'I am Broken' and sourced from ccMixter.

 Cogitality, video still, 2014

In Cogitality I returned to a more 'pure' approach with merging the original footage on three levels, which gave the clip a more monotone look, with varying focal points occurring (I will admit somewhat randomly!). The soundtrack was my own mix of Brazilian jazz with spoken word from a Bulgarian National TV documentary.  

Across a troubled world, Griet's hands blue, video still, 2014

Across a troubled world, Denitsa's hands orange, video still, 2014

In Across a troubled world I reverted to the original footage, edited into short snippets, giving each individual alternating clip (first Denitsa, then Griet and so on) a strong contrasting colour. I was thinking about projection in a performance sense and how this approach might complement theatrical lighting. The soundtrack was 'Juno' by Harold Budd from his Pavilion of Dreams album and sourced through UbuWeb.

 Hands, feet, breath, video still, 2014

In the fifth experiment I used a soundscape built around a recording that Griet had sent me of her making 'noises'. I played around with a few effects and duplicated the track, reversed it and mixed the two together. The video was another 'random' merge but has some nice passages in it that warrant further exploration.

Thoughts on the process: Collaboration implies a certain suppression of one's ego. It is not just about me, and while musicians, actors, dancers etc. are used to working together as a matter of course it is not so common among visual artists. I find that collaboration takes me places creatively that I would not have considered going (or perhaps been courageous enough!) to if I just stayed working alone in the ivory tower of my mind living here in one of the most isolated parts of the planet.

Embracing different cultures, disciplines, language, experiences, personalities has (and continues to be) a great learning experience. However life can get in the way of the best laid plans and I have found that to maintain enthusiasm, momentum, continuity let alone concentration over a long period of time challenging. Reaching agreement/approval on output is also an interesting point. We could NOT agree on (my) choice of music for the clips, and it was only in the fifth experiment with Griet's manipulated 'noise' that we found common ground.

This project has also taken place over a time in the world of great conflict. Griet has worked in the Ukraine and has friends and colleagues there. Bulgaria sits at the opposite side of the Black Sea. It has been impossible to divorce oneself from the politics of the situation and our underlying concerns for humanity...hence the title of this post. And I have made friends out of two artists that I have a great deal of respect for.

Where this project goes from here is unknown. Whether it reaches a final performance or continues as an experiment, or not at all, is not the point. What is relevant is that it becomes a point of departure for future activities, and one that stretches the boundaries of countries as well as the imagination...

Griet Menschaert can be found here...

Denitsa Dicova here...

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...

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...

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...

Christina Amphlett 1959 - 2013

It is with sadness I note the death of Chrissy Amphlett last week. The curse of breast cancer. The Divinyls were one of the best Aussie exports, making us proud that we in the Antipodes could cut it with the rest of the world. Great rock and roll, with surprisingly honest and perceptive songwriting. Chrissy transcended all the shallow stereotypes of what a front woman should be. Not for her the New York art school untouchable Debbie Harry, the icy commercialism of Madonna or the "I wish she had stayed at home" embarrassment of Courtney Love. She just exuded a sexuality, if not an eroticism, that was dangerous, yet in control. It was always about the performance, but my God, she had it down pat. RIP...

Gabriella Cigana

Dropped in to the Raglan Gallery in Cooma on the way westward recently to see the 'Monaro Art Express' show by senior secondary school students from the region. There is always an element of freshness and originality in these shows where creative freedom is given reign without the fetters of too much knowledge or the corruption of a tertiary art school influence. Many budding young artists bode well for the future of the arts despite the best efforts of the present government to destroy them. Standout was the photography of Gabriella Cigana whose four works encompassed so much of the pain of growing into adulthood. Inspiring stuff...

Griet Menschaert and Kasum Kasumov

If you are passing through Utrecht later this month check it out...

More of Griet Menschaert

I had featured Griet's work a few posts back, but for those of you that didn't bookmark her site, she has just produced a brief portfolio stretching back over the last 3 years. A nice production using Scribd. If you click on the rectangle at the lower right hand corner you will get the full screen view.

Griet's work intrigues because of the contrast between her graphic works and her self portraits. While the former seem to have a life of their own and grow from the spaces they inhabit, the latter reflect a closed world of the privacy of the imagination. Perhaps the old dichotomy of the artist: introverted personalities that choose a public career in the most extroverted of worlds?

Griet Menschaert

Griet Menschaert, Landscape as Jewel, 2012, pencil on paper

Griet Menschaert is a Belgian born multi-disciplinary artist who lives and works in Eindhoven in the Netherlands. Eindhoven was rated in 2011 as the worlds most intelligent community, and if Griet's work is indicative of the population you can see why.

Griet Menschaert, Self Portrait, 2012

I came across her site while looking at other bloggers that list Hans Bellmer as an influence (seems that there are not that many of us!). I really like what she does, so thought I would share it with you...

Griet Menschaert, Drawing for 'Buiten de lijnen 02', 2012, graphite pencil and blue chalk on wall

I particularly like the quiet elegance and her capacity to work beyond the 'frame on wall of gallery' aesthetic, and her self portraits which are disarmingly painterly and self deprecating. Well worth a look, and personally very inspiring... 

Check her out at: http://grietmenschaert.blogspot.com

Contemporary Australia: Women

No problems with taking photographs at Brisbane's Gallery of Modern Art! Unlike the rather tired looking National Gallery in Canberra this institution has a vibrancy and excitement about it that is perhaps only rivalled by Hobart's MONA. And what a knockout exhibition within it's two giant display spaces. Here the artists are given ample room to produce site specific works, and let fly they do! Ones faith in the future of art is restored. Superbly curated by Julie Ewington the new breed (with a few old faces thrown in) of Oz women artists strut their stuff in a powerful show that demonstrates that contemporary art can be intelligent, fun, dynamic and accessible. And still deal with feminist issues. It's a big call, but why do I feel that women are leading the way in art at the moment? Well, unlike the blokes, they mostly avoid the wank factor...and nice touches like the explanations for kids about the works, thoughtfully hung at kid height, add to the embracing of humanity and the desire to promote art. No need to say more...let the pics do the talking...

Judith Wright, A wake, 2011, Mixed media installation.

Deborah Kelly, The Miracles, 2012, (detail), photographs

Deborah Kelly, The Miracles, 2012, photographs

Sandra Selig, prisms remember you, 2012, Spun polyester threads, nails, paint.

Justine Khamara, Watch me slip through these thin sheets, 2011, Mirrored panels, printed fabric.

Justene Williams, Your beat my scenic personality of space, 2010, Multi-screen video installation.