Showing posts with label public art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label public art. Show all posts
Lumina Alley
Mini doco about last Saturday night at the Batemans Bay International Fringe Festival. Many thanks and much respect to Abre Ojos for the organisation and the opportunity to be part of this, and to Drew Belk for the vision to get the whole Festival thing happening. And huge thanks to the artists that provided their creations for Road to the Absolute, and to the fringe dwellers that came out on the night.
Road to the Absolute
Road to the Absolute is a program of surrealistic and experimental short films to be held in Lumina Alley at 7pm on Saturday 24th September 2016 as part of the Batemans Bay International Fringe Festival. The Program includes video artists ohmzutt (Australia), Nick Moore (Australia), Fabio Di Donato (Italy), Denitsa Dikova (Bulgaria), Glòria Ros (Spain) and anonymous waves aka Bob Georgeson (Australia) with associated soundworks by Hidden Tribe (St Petersburg), Ann Key (Netherlands), The Implicit Order (USA), Alina Stefan (Romania), Vadim Kiselev (Astrakhan), Calling Sister Midnight (USA) and the artists themselves. Curated by Bob Georgeson. More information about the Festival can be found here: http://www.bbfringe.com/
Self portrait on top of the scrap-heap
I love going to the tip. Not only the satisfaction of offloading a ute load of rubbish, usually gardening prunings, that earn me a couple of brownie points for a few days (believe me not that easy!), but I also get to admire and photograph the mangled piles of human detritus that would for the want of a few simple tools be turned into accommodation in the poorer cities of the world. There aren't too many favelas in Bermagui, so the piles build until crushed by machines or torched by delinquents.
The staff at the tip often get suspicious seeing someone taking photographs, thinking it must be going to end up a negative reflection of their work practices splashed across the front page of the Daily Telegraph so I am always excessively polite in asking their permission and explaining that I am artist who uses this imagery in my artwork. "What do you do?" asked the attendant at my last visit. She looked a little apprehensive when I explained I worked in photomedia and video art and am involved in online collaborative projects, but when I added that over the past two years that my subject matter had changed from erotica to an interest in decay, disorder and social disintegration I could visibly sense the relief in her eyes...
Self portrait as toxic waste
Bob Georgeson, Self portrait as toxic waste, 2015, Intervention at Bermagui Rubbish Tip (destroyed by crushing 23/03/2015)
The last broadcast
Bob Georgeson, The last broadcast, 2015, Mixed media
Apocalyptic perhaps? Video to follow soon. An ending you would
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.
Kaspar's mantelpiece (for Arp)
Bob Georgeson, Kaspar's mantelpiece (for Arp), 2014, Mixed media, 12m x 3m
Virtual versus reality?
Too often new technology is about itself, so I was pleased to see this virtual orchestra providing not only entertainment and education but challenging the historical conservatism of the classical music field. While remixing and electronic experimentation has become commonplace in contemporary music, the classics have largely remained 'untouchable'. Purists may be horrified, Mendelssohn may roll over in his grave, but I say pump up the volume!
The story of how this was created can be found here...
Mendelssohn Effektorium - Virtual orchestra for Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Museum Leipzig from WHITEvoid on Vimeo.
The story of how this was created can be found here...
Mendelssohn Effektorium - Virtual orchestra for Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Museum Leipzig from WHITEvoid on Vimeo.
Projection experiment #1
With the recent collaboration between Griet, Denitsa and myself and the new multidimensional art space in Bega fresh in my mind it has been timely to be able to experiment for a few hours with a borrowed data projector. The experiments revolved around departing from the static single projection on to a screen to exploring uneven surfaces, back projection and transparent 'curtains'. A long way to go yet, but it's a start...
Seeing how long one can hold one arm up before collapsing in pain!
Giving the neighbours a show. They all think we are strange anyway...
The star in these three pics is Pinot, the cat. Singularly unimpressed with the human's feeble attempt at creativity...
...and special thanks to Joy for helping out.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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...
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...
ReArtVision
Well...it had to happen eventually. Bega catching up with the rest of the world that is. If not quite there yet with aesthetically pleasing architecture then at least the germ of a creative 'movement' that has been propelled by the current (and inaugural) Festival of the Face, an offshoot of the now national, and lucrative Shirley Hannan Portrait Award. And a major part of the transformation has been the 'occupation' of the old Retravision electrical retail store into a multidimensional art space.
Saturday night saw an 'event', hopefully among the first of many, where the pictures on walls concept was augmented by performance, films and music. And an opportunity for me to have some of my videos projected on the 'big' screen. Many thanks to Richard Maude and Tony Dean for making it all happen...
Saturday night saw an 'event', hopefully among the first of many, where the pictures on walls concept was augmented by performance, films and music. And an opportunity for me to have some of my videos projected on the 'big' screen. Many thanks to Richard Maude and Tony Dean for making it all happen...
The space transformed
Musician Dr Chris Korvin at the 'operating' table
Some of my photomontages
Still from 'Black Red White'
Still from 'Black Red White'
Still from 'Broken'
You can follow Festival of the Face on Facebook here...
Radwan Ghazi Moumneh & Malena Szlam Salazar - Jerusalem In My Heart
Came across this via Twitter (thanks Griet!) from the the wonderful Mindpirates group. In a world where audio-visual now seems synonymous with computers it is great to see an artist using celluloid strips and old projectors. Beautifully done...more on Mindpirates soon.
BTW you can follow us on Twitter here...
Chance Encounters
Third cultural stop was La Trobe University Visual Arts Centre in Bendigo where we 'did a job' on an installation by Bruce Mowson and Elliot Howard called 'The Listening vs Striles of Ming'. A series of different boxes, mostly on casters, sat randomly in the VAC Gallery. While reading through the 'artist's statement' (which incidentally was sending my blood pressure up around the 200/140 mark) the delightful Gail McNaulty (VAC Events and Admin Co-ordinator) explained the work was interactive and that the public was invited to 'move things around'. I asked if there was a sound and light component we could play with as well but sadly no.
But first to the health hazard of the 'artist's statement'. I quote:
"The sculptural products are the end result of an extended period of
collaborative studio work by Mowson and Howard. During this period
Mowson and Howard have developed a way of working that encompasses,
amongst other things, fabrication, discussion, design, critical
reflection, material selection and testing all of the above. There are
also other complex factors in play that may include the friction
produced between adjacent and slowly brewed subjectivities, the
disarming affective qualities of noise meeting cheek and the divining of
ephemeral political, libidinal and golden forces. Through the working
process they are pleased to have stumbled upon certain key effects that
include a favela-glance, a disco-touch and an amoeba-noise."
This was enough to set me off, in this rare opportunity to make some (what I call) easy art. So, five minutes later and we had rearranged the boxes into a wall that divided the gallery in half. I asked Gail if we could turn the lights off to 'complete the piece'. After some discussion with the Managing Curator Paul Northam the switch was found and turned off. Unfortunately skylights prevented the darkness I was hoping for. Paul commented that no one had done anything like this before to which I replied that "the wall represents the alienation that exists between much contemporary art and the public, and that the lame drape inside a 'cage' represented the burka and the alienation of asylum seekers and the status of women in some Muslim societies". The darkened room simply added to the overall theme. He, to his credit, saw the joke immediately and much fun and merriment was had by all, he appreciating the chance to talk art rather than administration for a few minutes.
Mowson, Howard and anonymous waves, The Wall, 2013, mixed media
Mowson, Howard and anonymous waves, The Wall, 2013, mixed media
In an atrium opposite the installation sat a site specific work by Phillipino artist Jan Leeroy New that I thought a nice contrast, if not relief, from what stood opposite. Lovely use of recycled materials into a form that had meaning...enough said...I am sure you are getting the idea by now.
Jan Leeroy New, Carapace, 2009, mixed media
And finally on the way out spotted ceramics by Vanessa Lucas. whose black jug has to be the sexiest jug ever conceived. Exclaiming "Vanessa's jug!" brought Paul and Gail out again who asked do you know Vanessa? "We should" I replied, "she was bridesmaid at our wedding!" Vanessa will be showing her meticulously crafted creations in Malmsbury, Victoria during May. More details on this later...
I did notice on the way out the lights had been switched back on...
Griet Menschaert and Kasum Kasumov
If you are passing through Utrecht later this month check it out...
Now what?
Bermagui harbour
All over bar the shouting now. The gallery is empty after a big week with around 650 visitors coming through, most of them positive and engaged by the work. And some great conversations and discussion and possibilities for future collaboration. I managed to stumble my way through the floor talk without making too much of a fool of myself. I shall miss the interaction of being part of the wharf community. But it is time to get the new project up and running, well, after a short break anyway. Actually short is not exactly the right word, after all driving a couple of thousand kilometers halfway across Australia to visit relatives is hardly 'short'. Brief break might be a better choice of words...
The Sculpture on the Edge event closed with the fire sculpture picnic on the headland, and what a great night of camaraderie between the artists and the public. Sculptures made by local school children were ritually torched, and the main piece by Chris Polglaze was spectacular. Using green bamboo as a frame the sculpture went off with loud bangs as the enclosed air pockets exploded like fire crackers as the sections burned. I feel privileged to live in such a creative and vibrant community, not to mention bloody beautiful as well.
The kid's sculptures go up
Chris Polglaze, Pyrotechnic sculptor and all round nice guy
Up she goes! 160 explosions!
So, what next? anonymous waves website is the first priority. And then continuing with the collaborative collusion. Eventually I would like to start bringing the work out of the virtual environment and back into public spaces, so light projections and multi-media events are the new challenges. After a few sales I can invest in a HD camcorder and start shooting some of my own footage. Generally I feel enervated and encouraged by the exercise. After a long and difficult period of self doubt and frustration, I now know that there are a few people out there who not only like my art, but understand it as well...to them I say thank you...