Bob Georgeson, Playing with Jeffrey's balls, 200?, photomontage
Another forgotten one from the archive. I guess you have to know your Australian artists to get the sordid twist inherent here...
Playing with Jeffrey's balls
Another forgotten one from the archive. I guess you have to know your Australian artists to get the sordid twist inherent here...
Truth or Dare?
Bob Georgeson, Truth or Dare?, 2013, Digital photography
It's a worry...old style arcade game next to automatic teller machines. Try your luck?
lost friends
greater the distances grow
between us
loyalty unknown
after brotherhood sown
closed emotion
friendships grow with years
and sink with tears
when respect turns to fear
Funky Bunny
Max Robinson used to spend a lot of time out in the shed in the back yard in Canberra. The shed was not only my son's bedroom but a gathering place and hang out for all the young crew in the Inner North. Among many unmentionable practices there was always a jam session going on. Max was one of those likeable young men, a little lost in direction but a great bass player, and always friendly, polite and appreciative of some home cooked spaghetti bolognese. He moved down to Melbourne, decided that having a regular job was not his thing and hit the centre of town as a street performer. The rest is history...
You can follow him on Facebook, and there are a number of other videos on YouTube. He has also been featured in an article published in The Australian newspaper weekend edition. Good on ya Max! So, nothing left to do but get down with da wabbit!
You can follow him on Facebook, and there are a number of other videos on YouTube. He has also been featured in an article published in The Australian newspaper weekend edition. Good on ya Max! So, nothing left to do but get down with da wabbit!
Gyges and the Lydian Queen
Bob Georgeson, Gyges and the Lydian Queen, 2009, Photomontage
What better way to start the merry month of May with the sordid little tale of Gyges and the Lydian Queen. According to Herodotus in his 'Histories' (c. 5th century B.C.) Gyges was right hand man to Candaules, king of Lydia, which sat in present day western Turkey. Candaules was enamoured of his wife's beauty, so much so that he insisted on Gyges seeing her naked. Gyges was reluctant, but the king insisted, so he arranged for Gyges to sneak into her boudoir to watch her undress. She spotted him in his moment of voyeurism, caught between reality and desire, and compromised him with the request that he kill the king and become her lover and usurp the throne, or she would have him killed. He reluctantly (?) chose to live and carried out the queen's wishes, banishing her sons to present day Cyprus. They grew into men and returned to Lydia, killing Gyges and their mother to reclaim the throne, and everybody lived happily ever after...
There are variations of this story but I like Herodotus's version in his tales of the Persians wars with the Greeks. It is interesting that Herodotus puts the cause of these wars as conflicts arising over a woman...
Point Danger
A visit to the far North coast and the co-joined twin towns of Tweed Heads and Coolangatta could not be deemed complete without visiting the iconic surfing breaks of D'bar and Snapper Rocks. Breeding grounds for many Aussie surfing legends and host to some of the biggest competitions in the world these two places flank Point Danger, named by Captain James Cook in 1770 after his ship the 'Endeavour' was forced further out to sea by shallow reefs.
Grommets head to the breaks while the Mt Warning National Park can just be seen in the distance behind the high-rise holiday apartments in Cooly...
Grommets head to the breaks while the Mt Warning National Park can just be seen in the distance behind the high-rise holiday apartments in Cooly...
D'bar to the south on a beautiful autumn Saturday morning. A fairly small swell but that didn't deter 50 or 60 to go out. All of them seemed under 20 years old and all of them hot riders, with most probably starting surfing when they were 6 or 7. Crowded but still a little room to move, unlike...
Snapper Rocks where there was an insanely large crowd all vying for position along the formation known as the 'superbank'. Not only dangerous, but downright unpleasant. Late take-offs frighteningly close to the rocks were the order of the day, and if you were lucky enough to find yourself in the groove then threading your way through the crowd was nightmarish. Personally I thought something had gone terribly wrong here. The idea of surfing as being at one with nature and having a spiritual element had been lost. This was more akin to dodgem cars at sideshow alley. The less said about my local break on the far South coast, where 8 out is starting to seem like a crowd, the better.
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...
I am no ghost
anonymous waves, Self portrait in Tocumwal, late March 2013, digital photograph
This one is just a little visual joke for some people I know in the ambient music field...
Old stamping ground
The recent journey west culminated in another kind of journey with a visit to the Art Gallery of South Australia where I managed to catch up with some old friends and make some new ones as well. This beautiful institution is where my love of art started and many hours have been spent within it's galleries. One thing I like about being there is you 'feel' like you are in a great art gallery, and with the major Turner from the Tate show on at the time, in the presence of a great master. And what a knockout of a show, beautifully presented and lit, chronologically laid out, with the end result being that you are left in no doubt at all about Turner's place as one of the greatest painters ever. The works just shimmered off the walls. And a nice surprise to see a Turner from the National Gallery of Victoria as well. I have spent many hours admiring this work and trying to see it from the perspective that Turner did and when I finally did 'see it' it was a moment of enlightenment in the appreciation of art. This may be a garbled stream of consciousness but hey, it's been that sort of week...
J.M.W Turner, A mountain scene, Val d'Aosta, c.1845, oil on canvas, National Gallery of Victoria
On the way to the Turner an obligatory stop at the Dusan Marek wall to pay homage to the man who started me on the surrealist path, and to acknowledge the role my mum played in introducing me to him...
With my new interest in video, it was a timely reminder of the fact that Marek was experimenting with film way back during the 50's when I was still a toddler. More recent video work of Adelaide artist Bridgette Minuzzo was of interest...
Bridgette Minuzzo, Of light and clouds, 2013, Digital animation
Also spotted Tim Johnson, who would probably be arrested today for filming on the streets mini-skirted girls and women dealing with gusts of wind...
Tim Johnson, Public fitting, 1972, 16mm film
Particularly liked this work from Burma. Kinda drove it all home in a fatalistic way...
Death, Third of the Four Sights seen by Prince Siddharta, c.1900
Makes one wonder what the other three sights were...I am sure it wasn't the video nearby from Russian collective AES+F...
AES+F, Sacred allegory, 2010-11, 3 channel video
I have no idea at all what AES+F are up to in their work, either at this size or the giant installation tableaux at MONA in Hobart, but whatever it is, they do it technically very well, and certainly take this weeks prize for 'weirdness'...and then in the last gallery on the way out my favourite work when I was a child...
William Adolphe Bouguereau, Virgin and Child, 1888, oil on canvas
Now, I wonder where my interest in sex, death, the church and eroticism stems from?
Descent into Hell
Here's the cover to the new album...now all I need is some sounds and images to go with it...
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...
Realization
Bob Georgeson, Realization, 2011, Photomontage
Now really, you weren't expecting a female Pieta with lesbian overtones were you? No, this subject's far too serious for a cheap shot at the church. Forget the resurrection and join me in a loud guttural primal roar at the stupidity of mankind...we really are slow learners. Easter Sunday 2013...
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...
Magdalena
Bob Georgeson, Magdalena, 2013, Photomontage
Can't wait for the Resurrection! And after around 3000 kilometers I am back in the studio...all I can say is "Jesus! It's a big country..."
Griet Menschaert and Kasum Kasumov
If you are passing through Utrecht later this month check it out...
Moroccan Tape Stash
Came across this one thanks to UbuWeb: http://moroccantapestash.blogspot.com.au/ and a nice break from the intensity of the last few weeks...Great stuff! Enjoy...
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...
Lot and his daughters
Bob Georgeson, Lot and his daughters, 2010, Photomontage
One from the current show that sold today! Yay! Halfway to getting a HD camcorder I hope? And an interesting day with a lovely, and very pious lady who has had more than her fair share of troubles with a sick husband and two mentally ill sons in tears over my 'And all this shall be yours...'
We had a long and very fruitful conversation about what I was trying to achieve and her 'faith' and the strength it gave her as an individual in what is a very difficult situation. A little moment where the love of humanity overshadowed differences of opinion. Honoured, then humbled...
Sitting on the dock...
The view from the gallery door
And in the gallery the soundtracks from the looped videos play on. I have featured The Lunar Machine, Eye Candy, That Grey Place We Go and Sunk. With a total playtime of 15:50 and me sitting in the gallery around 6 hours a day that means I have listened over 100 times in the time the show has been on! And still another 5 days to go...fortunately Erik Satie, emptywhale and w.out are very listenable.
Response has generally been positive. Comments about the show being different from the usual spotted gums and coastal landscapes are frequent, as well as the topical papal succession and the issue of child abuse in the church. Most people laugh or are amused by the erotic/religious juxtapositions. A few walk out fairly quickly. One woman yesterday, without going into details made it known that she had personal experience of abuse in the church. I hope I do not trivialise the issue with my little surrealistic jokes. But the highlight so far has been the enthusiasm of Graham from the fish shop downstairs. Here is a man who has spent his whole life cleaning fish and who has little knowledge of art waxing lyrically that it is the best thing he has ever seen and insisting on bringing the other staff up to see it. Makes it all worthwhile...
Everything
Bob Georgeson, Everything, 2009, Photomontage
A sneak preview of one in the forthcoming exhibition...
Humility
Bob Georgeson, Humility, 2010, Photomontage
With papal succession in the air what more appropriate time to bring this one out of the closet (sic). It will be part of the forthcoming exhibition mentioned last post, and will be for sale at a ridiculously cheap discount price considering the years of research that went into it's creation. You really have no idea of how many girlie magazines I had to look through to find that pair of legs! Brothers and sisters save my sole...a new Pope is coming! I might have to give up all this online crap and get out the scalpel and cutting mat again...
Exhibition coming up...
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
Sunk
I like this one that just seemed to evolve from one idea being explored and then another direction becoming apparent through chance encounters. w.out was active on the Archive circa 2004/5 which would make them one of the pioneers. What has happened since then I do not know, but if anyone does know, please let me know because I would be keen to explore new territories with them/him/her/it? And if you are interested in collaboration in the public domain please get in contact by emailing: surrealdada@gmail.com
You can get the HD and downloadable files here...http://archive.org/details/SunkPoem
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...
4 postcards from Bega
Now that the main holiday period has ended I thought I would do my bit to promote the advantages of off-peak travel to this beautiful part of the world. Don't be put off by the major development at the back of the private hotel. They don't work at night...just make sure you take a torch with you if you go to the bathroom. There are plenty of alleyways and discrete backs of buildings should you feel the need for a quick one. The town is wonderfully devoid of graffiti, and you won't be bothered by crowds at the many exclusive shopping areas...Bega awaits you!
coasts
The netlabel is evolving into collaborative projects combining art, music, poetry et al by creators who believe in the altruistic if not subversive nature of working in the public domain, and who have the desire to learn, expand and develop creative pursuits and products that present a unique experience for not only themselves but the audience. More on this soon...and if you want to be involved contact us: surrealdada@gmail.com
anonymous waves - new headquarters now open!
We are proud to open our new headquarters at 169 Carp Street in Bega. Opening hours are 10am to 4pm Monday to Friday. Homeless persons shelter operates from 7pm until 7am seven days a week. Feel free to drop in and meet the friendly staff. Take a seat at reception and someone will saw you shortly...experience free art, free music, free advice and freedom..
emptywhale and anonymous waves - a collaboration (of sorts)
For the HD version and downloadable files go here...
Apologia: This one represents the closest I (we?) have come to online collaboration, and the first video where I actively tried to work in with the music in terms of the atmosphere it creates, without wishing of course to make a music video per se. Art always comes first! In discussions with emptywhale about process we agree that once a creation is in the public domain one relinquishes control over how it might be used other than the Creative Commons licensing that stipulates it is not to be used for commercial gain, and acknowledges the original source. We agree that collaboration can lead to opening new doors that might not have previously been considered or explored. And there is no approval process in place, although in making this I have been very conscious of what emptywhale will think. Our desire for approval from others is a very strong emotion! The start point is mutual admiration for each other's creativity, and the desire to learn...
So, what exists remains...
anonymous waves comes from a line in the poem "Anecdote" penned by Francis Picabia in 1918. It reads:
You see, I am crazy to imagine it
I am a man with nimble fingers
Who wants to cut the threads of old pains
False folds in my anxious brain
History in arabesques memories
I am only happy on the open sea
Where one goes further
On anonymous waves.
I had done an earlier interactive visual poem with anonymous waves as it's title but have now decided to make this my new pseudonym, and the launch of an umbrella for new projects, including new media, public domain activities, online collaborations, interventions, the creation of a Netlabel and the gradual archiving and replacement of this blog. Time to move on...
Leg Show
Been working on another video lately using soundscapes by emptywhale but this one sort of popped out of the blue yesterday using some older footage that had remained dormant until now...
Tunnel vision
Bob Georgeson, Tunnel vision, 2013, Photomedia
I have been thinking about ambiance a bit lately and wondered if there was such a thing as ambient art, and reflected on many people's desire to use art as wall decoration or filler, and how we don't really interact with this on a daily basis. It is very much part of our surroundings...
So, did the obligatory Google search, and came across this company that call themselves Ambient Art (based in Australia I am sad to say). The blurb goes like this:
Have the view you have always dreamt of!
Hundreds of people everywhere are transforming their homes with the help of Ambient Art!
So what is Ambient Art?
- Ambient Art is a portable indoor/outdoor PVC mesh screen
- Filters the sun but still lets air flow through
- Hides unsightly views (like the garage shed or nosey neighbours!)
- Easily erected in just minutes
- Wide range of ready-to-go images for you to choose from
- Your design can be changed to suit your moods or seasons
- Customised images (your high quality photo) available by request
- Creates a unique ambience for your balcony/deck/entertainment setting
I am obviously in the wrong business...
