Spiral Gallery - Past and present

Bob Georgeson, Burnt out cafe, Campbelltown, Tasmania, 2011

Last night Spiral Gallery in Bega celebrated 15 years in existence with the opening of Past and Present, a group show comprising the 54 members who had been involved with it since it's inception in 1997. The exhibition was opened by founding member Barb Crowden who paid tribute to the original vision of Alexandra Seddon in bringing the co-operative to life. The show, which runs until 29th February, includes some of the far south coast's finest artists, and is testament to the voluntary dedication of members and associates who believe in the Spiral aesthetic of a non elitist public art space. An honour to be exhibiting the above work in such company...

Bega to Cobargo after the party

Bob Georgeson, Bega to Cobargo after the party, 2012

I was going to enter this one in the Bega Valley Art Prize but when I saw who was judging it! Ooops...just joking...I actually couldn't afford to get it framed...which reminds me that all of my work in this site is for sale...

The series...

Etta James

Etta James passed away last month. She was a few weeks short of her 74th birthday. That she made it that far is something of a miracle, and the usual sensationalist media reports focused on her struggle with addiction rather than give her the credit she deserves as one of the greatest singers of the 20th century. Not possessed of a range like Flora Purim or the gospel clarity of Aretha Franklin, she more than made up for it with an honesty of expression that is rarely matched. The capacity to go from a guttural roar to the most delicate of tones virtually within a single word, let alone phrase is her trademark. When Etta sings "I'd rather go blind" you FEEL the pain of a failed relationship, and when she sings "All the way down" you know she's been ALL the way. Her version of Randy Newman's "God's Song (That's why I love mankind)" is spine chilling in the ferocity of its delivery. Where Randy sings it with his usual laconic cynicism, Etta is pure destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Effortlessly transcending genres she soars from rock'n'roll to blues to soul to funk to jazz with a total lack of pretence in delivery or stage presence. Much missed by those that like their music powerful and passionate...