Showing posts with label 2012 artwork. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2012 artwork. Show all posts

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...

Exhibition coming up...


The exhibition is called anonymous waves: bob georgeson - past & present. Runs from Saturday 2nd March - Monday 11th March as part of the 2013 Sculpture on the Edge event. The venue is Shop 7 Art Space upstairs at the Fishermen's Cooperative Bermagui Wharf. Hours 10am til the Horse & Camel Wine Bar closes...

Here's the blurb: Firmly committed to the surrealist aesthetic Bob Georgeson uses subversive, sometimes controversial, and often humorous ideas, images and themes to explore the intersection between reality and desire. From working mainly in photomontage in the past he is now increasingly exploring new technologies, in particular video art, and working primarily and collaboratively online in the public domain.

There will be a floor talk on Wednesday 6th March at 11am called: Art in the digital domain 

 
Adult themes and nudity

12 months on...

Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoo

I realized the other day that it has been a year since I started this blog. What started out originally as wanting a web presence for my art and thinking that a blog might be marginally more interesting than a static image repository has transformed my whole way of thinking about art and how I want mine to be displayed. With a growing dissatisfaction with exhibiting in the physical world I have learned that there is new world out there of like minded people all pushing the boundaries of not only their own knowledge and skills, but also developing new relationships and interactions for audiences to experience.

So, from small beginnings with no expectations, over 9000 pageviews, 1000 profile views, 130 posts, 10 videos, 882 video views on the Internet Archives and the creation of the anonymous waves Netlabel what am I going to do to celebrate this evolutionary and revelatory year? By having an exhibition in a gallery...What! I kid you not...More on this soon...

PS Thought the photo a nice metaphor for what's going on in my life...

The Doors of Perversion

Bob Georgeson, The Doors of Perversion, 2012, Photomontage

Just to get into the festive spirit...time to hang out the stockings!

eye candy



This one is a mashup of footage of 60's glamour model Candy Earle and a documentary about mapping in Australia. Sourced from the Internet Archives (of course). It is the first film I have made using Adobe Premiere Elements (thanks Paulo).

Suzanne's right arm

Bob Georgeson, Suzanne's right arm, 2012, Digital photography

This time of the year life gets a little hectic, so I had shot this in a hurry in an effort to keep up the momentum of where I wanted to go with Suzanne. I am not sure why I used this setting because she can't read, she can't see, she can't hear. In fact there is not much she can do at all except dumbly stare into a space unknown to us all. It was only after I had looked at the shot more closely that I realised that I had made a terribly politically incorrect mistake. Wonder if anyone can pick what it is...

Split personality

Bob Georgeson, Split personality, 2012, Photomontage

Imaginary Landscape

Bob Georgeson, Imaginary Landscape, 2012, Acrylic on Panel

in the spirit of...

public domain art...

http://archive.org/details/TheLunarMachine

Suzanne's right hand

Bob Georgeson, Suzanne's right hand, 2012, Digital photography

Did you know that shunga literally means "spring drawings"? I didn't until the other day when I found this volume in a second hand bookshop for $10. Nice little addition to the collection. Now, if only Suzanne could turn the page...

la mariée mise à nu



This film is a mashup of a talk given by Marcel Duchamp in 1957 entitled 'The Creative Act', and footage of 60's glamour model Candy Earle. The visuals owe a lot to Brian Eno's 'Thursday Afternoon'. All of this can be sourced through The Internet Archives and UbuWeb...

In the studio

Bob Georgeson, In the studio, 2012, digital photography

I have put this up to remind myself that I really should take Suzanne out of the cupboard soon...

The Lunar Machine



The 5th of my video works...and as always, any feedback re quality, technical issues greatly appreciated.

And for those interested in the technical aspects click here...

The Magus

Bob Georgeson, The Magus, 2012, Photomontage

Tony's Taj

Bob Georgeson, Tony's Taj, 2012, Photomontage

Part six of the Bega deconstructed project, and the last in this series (at least for the moment). Next month we get back to more international themes...

Blue Grid

Bob Georgeson, Blue Grid, 2012, Photomontage

anonymous waves



UPDATE (March 1 2014) Since this article was first published the blog known as Bob Georgeson has been transformed into the anonymous waves website, therefore some of the ideas have been superseded and the links below may no longer work. The article has been left intact for archival reasons.

a visual poem inspired by Francis Picabia, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker and Thierry De Mey...

Just click on each image to take you through...

Images are a combination of my work and others sourced through the Wikimedia Commons website, and posted here under the GNU Free Documentation License and Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 license public domain 'copyleft' principles.

The Other Side


Bob Georgeson, Self Portrait at 62, 2012, Photomontage


Well, the medications finally kicked in and things seem OK. For those of you that are into self-medication I find a 2009 McLaren Vale Shiraz about as good as it's going to get. I have noticed a predisposition for artists to do self portraits lately, and have previously commented on the LARGER THAN LIFE SIZE sort, so here is my small offering...

PS The glasses I found in the Uniting Church Op shop in Narooma...had to find some excuse to use them...