The grass is always greener...perhaps...or is it perception?

Too easy to be tempted by trivia...not so easy to be tempted by purpose...

I posted this on Twitter and Facebook this morning after a few weeks of being busy with travel, interruptions, rejections, proposals and plans. Did I just say Facebook? Yes...I now have a presence so you can follow me on Twitter or like me on Facebook (links in the nav bar above). It is mildly interesting to see the difference between the two...could you possibly call Twitter more intelligent? and even though the belligerent layout and behaviour of FB still annoys the **** out of me, it was a matter of being able to access other's FB pages that drove me to such distractions...hence the opening line of this missive. Perhaps update might be a better word...

So, to recent activity. First sent off 25 minutes of footage (sans sound) to Hyaena Fierling as draft for possible composition and performance in UK. It has been the longest video I have worked on so far and quite a challenge for that reason, and the fact that I was working in silence without a soundtrack in mind is a departure from previous efforts, and trying to create diversity and interest while maintaining some continuity, as well as working with supplied footage!. She has sent back a 10 minute draft of composition, and I like, so on we go. Also have been submitting videos using her soundscapes for various international video festivals and prizes. The Illusion of Freedom didn't make the final cut in the Aesthetica Art Prize (UK) but did make the second round of judging, and Why is this Happening wasn't quite within the curatorial brief of Kyle Chung's Bright Shadow Exhibition (London) but we have agreed to do something together in the future. Also Hyaena has/is playing around with some words/sounds for a possible remix of I forget you. Her website is here...

 Hyaena Fierling in performance, Birmingham, UK, 2014

My other major project with Griet Menschaert and Denitsa Dicova (previously mentioned in the posts Across a Troubled World and 3 Points of a Circle) stumbled a little late last year but has now found some renewed vigour and direction. I can't let too much out of the bag yet, but there will be a website coming soon, and we are still hopeful of reaching the point of a performance in the future. Meanwhile these two very talented and hard working artists continue to inspire as they push into new directions at a fast pace. A couple of examples:

SkryfKiev from Griet Menschaert on Vimeo.

ToTheLast_ from Denitsa Dicova on Vimeo.

You can check out their websites here...Griet & Denitsa.

The blog is still chugging along as you can see. Over 57000 page views (equates to about 50 per day since February 2012). The direction has changed. There is not so much in the way of art reviews and commentary, and the focus now is on quality rather than quantity. I continue with my video experiments, and would dearly love to get into more projections, performance, interventions and installations but lack of equipment and money the eternal inhibitor. Over at the Internet Archive where I publish my videos there have been over 13000 downloads. (Just to explain this numerical diversion it was necessary in the information required by an ArtsNSW grant application!) I am not sure what this all means, but someone is looking at my work, which brings me to the local scene...

I had thought that I was cutting off my nose to spite my face by ignoring the local art world and focusing on the global, and so recently have made a number of forays to make local entities aware of my activities without much success. Whether it be a parochial defense of territory, a lack of interest in contemporary art, or they just think my work is crap is unknown, but the silence at times is deafening. It is curious that I have managed to engage with, and gain the respect of, highly credentialed overseas creators who value my work and yet in my own backyard I may as well not exist...but then at my age existence is always a tenuous proposition ;-)

And now it is time to get back to work...

Xanthorrhoea glauca

Xanthorrhoea glauca (grass trees) are endemic to Australia. These 'giants' occur in the Coolah Tops National Park, a special place of sublime beauty and primeval forests...

No entry

Bob Georgeson, No entry, 2015, Digital print

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...

The last broadcast (video)

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

...and to see all the videos go here...

The last broadcast

Bob Georgeson, The last broadcast, 2015, Mixed media

Apocalyptic perhaps? Video to follow soon. An ending you would not want to rather miss...

I forget you

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

The soundscape is by Hyaena Fierling from her album super flumina Babylonis, available on Bandcamp here...

You can visit her website here...

The woman is Brigitte Schiller, from Lutz Mommartz's Die Schiller.

With thanks to all those who work in the Creative Commons...