Cultural Productions_Conceptual

Christo

Known for his environmental installations, Christo was born Christo Vladimirov Javacheff, in Bulgaria in 1935, he moved to America in 1963 with his partner, Jeanne-Claude. Prior to that they had their first collaboration, Dockside Packages in Cologne in 1961, which was also their first temporary outdoor structure.

In 1962, in Paris another ‘wrap’ was of 240 barrels. Height: 4. 3 meters (14 feet). Width: 3. 8 meters (13 feet). Depth: 1. 7 meters (5 feet 6 inch).Duration: 8 hours. Titled Iron Curtain-Wall of Oil Barrels it was placed in the Rue Visconti.
They went on to wrap several public buildings and even some islands in Florida. Called ‘Surrounding Islands,’ it involved floating bright pink fabric on booms to allow for the tide, around several small islands.

In 1969 they came to Australia and wrapped Little Bay on Sydney’s North Shore.

They are still working together and currently are working towards covering part of the Arkansas River in Colorado, USA. The working drawings and technical data are available for purchase and this helps to fund the projects.

I enjoy the enormity of their projects, however I have always wondered what happened to the little creatures and insects during the duration of the project. Their later projects have required environmental impact studies before permission has been granted. Permission is still pending for the next proposed work.


Reference:
http://christojeanneclaude.net/dp.html
Iron Curtain-Wall of Oil Barrels, Rue Visconti, Paris, 1961-62
http://christojeanneclaude.net/wc.html

It Must Be So Relaxing**?!!*!!**

A potter's lot is not an easy one. These pots were for one of my Cultural Production works. They should have been black and white HOWEVER the glaze reacted with the slip and the result was mauve and pink!!!!

Cultural Production - Albert Namatjira

Albert Namatjira

1902 - 1959

The first nationally and internationally recognised Aboriginal artist, Albert Namatjira spent most of his life around the Hermannsburg Lutheran Mission, the area of his Traditional Tribal Lands. He was born a full-blooded member of the Western Aranda (Arunta) tribe and was initiated into the sacred tribal ways.

His watercolours portray his home and Dreamtime country of the McDonnell Ranges. Largely self taught in the European watercolour style, he had just a few months tuition by artist Rex Battarbee in return for guiding Battarbee to painting sites in the Ranges.

His paintings were always popular with the public though it was some time before Art Galleries acknowledged his talent. The clash of traditional and European cultures and the lack of standing of Aboriginal people at that time led to many personal and family problems. As was the case with all tribal aborigines at the time, he was legally considered to be a ward of state until 1957 when he was granted Australian Citizenship.

Albert taught many of his relatives to use watercolour paints in the same style. His landscapes capture the essence of the Australian Outback and prints of his work were a popular home decorator item of the 1950’s.

I have chosen to make a plaque using stoneware paper clay and underglazes which I hope will capture the feeling and colours of his works.

Reference:
Albert Namatjira 1902-1959
A Biographical Sketch
By Andrew Mackenzie; Oz Publishing Brisbane 1988

Cultural Productions - Cubism

Cubism - Anne Dangar
I looked at Cubism in my previous module - Art History 1750 to 1920.This time I am looking more at the experiences of Anne Dangar, an Australian who lived and studied in France. Here is a photo of a jug I am making which is inspired by her designs.

She took up residence at Moly-Sabata where Albert Gleizes ran an artists' cooperative, so that she could study his theories. She had to support herself and so learned pottery which she decorated in the Abstract Cubist style to sell. She also taught art to the local village children. In 1939 she was invited to Fez (Morocco) by the French government to teach the local potters who were loosing their skills. She gave lessons in design attuned to their own heritage.Dangar wrote continuously to Grace Crowley in Sydney throughout her years of exile. She wrote explaining Gleizes theories and encouraged Crowley to embrace them in her own work. Dangar never returned to Australia. A late starter as a potter, she devoted her life to her art.

Reference:
Book: Earth, Fire, Water, Air Anne Dangar's Letters to Grace Crowley 1930-1953)
Web: http://www.nga.gov.au/dangar/index.cfm

Cultural Productions - War Artists

As part of my Diploma assessment I need to produce seven art works representing seven artists or events from the timeline 1920 to 1960.
The first one I have chosen is War Artists and the events are the First World War, Second World War and the Vietnam War. I have chosen to produce a triptych which represents my family’s experiences of these wars and using art works that represent my families experience in each war.

My thanks to the Australian War Memorial (www.awm.gov.au)for their help in gaining permission to reproduce the three works I have used in this piece.

Here is a photo of the finished montage:





I have used works by: H. Septimus Power, Sybil Craig and Ken McFadden, to represent
WW1, WW2 & Vietnam in the form of a montage (1918, 1940’s, 1960’s)

1. Power (ART 19842) First Australian Artillery going into the 3rd battle of Ypres. Painted in England 1919. Trained in Melbourne and Paris. Made an Honorary Lieutenant as war artist to cover events on the Western Front. Already well known for his skill in painting animals, he produced great heroic paintings during WW1. Against Modernism he believed it saw “good artists being ruined”.


2. Craig (ART 23507) Girls working in Container Production Room (Cartridge Bundling Section, Commonwealth explosives factory, Maribyrnong) Painted in 1945. Women became the most predominate workforce in munitions factories during WW2. They wore protective clothing which in dangerous areas was devoid of all metal such as buttons or zips. Craig was one of three women appointed as official war artists during WW2. Along with Donald Friend and Sali Herman she was appointed due to her Modernist style. An only child, she worked from her parent’s home using public transport to complete her works, a duty to the war effort.


3. McFadyen (ART40746) Chopper Lift-out. Painted in 1967. Studied under William Dargie. One of only two artists appointed to record the Vietnam War. Required to undertake jungle training prior to going, he accompanied soldiers into the field. He uses deep shadows and stark highlights to capture the tropical climate. He covered the 3 services and produced sketches, portraits, quick studies as well as oil paintings. The importance of machines and technology is shown in most of his large works. His subjects also included the local people.

Reference: Artists in Action from the collection of the Australian War Memorial – Lola Wilkins (Editor) Australian War Memorial 2003
Website: www.awm.gov.au

Woodfired and My First Electric Firing

The vessel below left was the one in the last posted photo of the woodfire kiln.

The vessels above on the right are my first attempt at firing a kiln load with minimal supervision. I'm fairly pleased with both results :)

Second Woodfiring

This is the Woodfire Kiln at Gymea TAFE College. My pot is the second tallest one on the left. I'll post a photo later of the finished product if it turns out OK.

Cultural Production _ One

I have been researching Australian War Artists and must admit to getting bogged down following my grandfather's WW1 experience. It seems he spent a lot of time in Sutton Veny in England and was lucky to escape the influenza epidemic of 1919.

I have decided to undertake a mixed media triolgy in which I hope to capture some of the emotion of the times and the impact on Australia and my family. I will be illustrating those experiences of WW1, WW2 and Vietnam.

I am posting a working sketch of the first part of the trilolgy.

Art History Notes

These photos are of the posters I made as class notes. The period we are covering is from 1920 to 1960. I have missed some classes and some classes didn't require this type of class note.

Exhibition Reviews

I have created an additional blog on which I am posting my write ups of exhibitions I have attended. These reviews are a requirement of my Diploma in Ceramics. To see these reviews please go to http://annasreviews.blogspot.com