Good Night & Good Luck

As the ArtExpress 2009 Exhibition winds to a conclusion I thought I would post my last blog entry. To end I thought I would leave you with a few tips/pointers which may help in future HSC artworks but also hopefully help you to think outside the square. So you can see where I'm coming from my statement can be found here: http://www.insideartexpress.com.au/artists/hardwick but keep in mind that the artwork was much more than the one panel (with books, polaroids, canvases & stockings-stretched to make mix-media canvases)

My Work:

Those tips/pointers:

1. Experiment: Despite what I say in the Gretel Killeen interview (part of 'Art After Hours' program my work) the concept and physical art evolved as the year progressed. I think it was 2001 when the HSC syllabus was revised for Visual Art, a notable change was the shift from 'Major Work' to 'Body of Work'. I would encourage you all to understand what a Body of Work includes and mean -don't be limited by the traditional view of art making, contemporary art practice of many artists is no longer linear (in the sense of materials explored) and neither should your work-. My concept was driven by the physical experiments which I did. Often you will find that these experiments will be:
   

a)integral in the foundation/formation of your body of work

b)not included in the end product but you will have used skills/materials that will be

There is never a point in your practice which experimentation should stop, right down to how you assemble and present your work.

Examples of the experiments I did which were then turned into a two books (not displayed):

2. Use the world around you. Artists, like many creative professions, do not exist in a void of artistic practice or knowledge. Draw on artists that you like. For instance I love the presentation of Janet Laurence's translucent artworks, thus I investigated how she assembled her work and adapted it to my own need and concepts. I also followed the practice of environment/time based artist Andy Goldsworthy. Just because an artist/musician/architect/graphic designer may not be exploring your concept their skills and the tools that they have used in the creation of their work may be of use and interest to you. Don't re-invent the wheel, the HSC is stressful enough without personal pressures of grander and ground breaking techniques and concepts.

3. Visit galleries & view art. As a student of Architecture I am beginning to appreciate how important it is to view buildings, objects & artworks in the flesh. I don't think the trend of some galleries (the Brisbane Art Gallery is of note within Australia) towards virtual galleries and virtual exhibitions of physical works is the future for art galleries. There are a number or reasons why not:

a) The rendering/appearance of these spaces are not to a high enough quality. Computer games have higher graphics than many of the simulations being used ... so why aren't galleries using computer game editors to create their environments?

b) Galleries can/have been able to successfully break down the stereotype of 'the art galley' and intern make them more accessible to the public. The success of the Tate Modern in Britain is proof of this fact. Yes we have a smaller population in Australia but more money spent on engaging social design of our buildings and artistic programs (ie satellite galleries/gallery franchises so that works and exhibitions can be accessed and viewed outside the city) would be more worthwhile & exciting than online exhibitions. Of course electronic & video art is a separate issue and with some effort could work online but I haven't seen any efforts on a large scale in Australia to make this work. 

To bring this rant back to the point there is nothing like seeing art and the detail/technical skill which artists put into their work. The visual library of images & techniques which you will build will last you a lifetime if you keep an interest in art. Its all very well talking about how brilliant the Sydney Opera House is but its another thing to actually experience the space. 

All in all I hope that the exhibition (and even more hopefully my work) gave you a few new insights into how to produce your body of work. Remember this is one of the vessels where you can vent your imagination so don't waist the opportunity to do something a little left of field (be this in your concept or materials or presentation etc). Its a repeated cliche but enjoy the year.

Stay creative and never sell out!

Just passing on some nice comments from an English visitor

I just wanted to say how glad I am that I came down to level 3 in the Art Gallery of NSW. I have looked around most of the gallery this morning and have to say that this exhibition has been the most inspiring part of my trip and has shown some exceptional talent. I have to say I prefer the work here to some of the more contemporary pieces in the main galleries by a long way!!
Look forward to seeing some of the names from this exhibition in the galleries in the future.
I would be grateful if you could forward this on to those involved.

Helen Morris, London, UK.

Greetings ArtExpress blog fans

Greetings ArtExpress blog fans I’m artist number 48, if you are wanting to take a closer look at my art work and its statement you can find me on the website. My works title is: “Fear Only to Stand Still” ( I assure you it’s not as foreboding as it sounds!) If you did or didn’t manage to acquaint or familiarise yourself with my work, it has been assembled with the aid of street billboard posters on display with photographic images below to document the process of placing the posters in their final form, in situ.

Skim read if you want. I got a little carried away...

I can guess most of you would have had difficulties trying to decipher the concept of my work until you read the statement which would have assisted you to get a vague idea of the overall concept, which is the juxtaposition between terror and beauty. When I noticed a pattern from the selection of images, which I found from a variety of sources to use as collage and paint application, it all came down to beauty and terror. The only worry I did have was due to the large size of my work thinking all the images may bombard the brain and create to many conflicting ideas, which is when my teacher introduced me with the term ‘cognitive dissonance’, and there I found myself staring absent minded at her. Cognitive dissonance can be described as the feeling of uncomfortable tension which results from two conflicting thoughts in the mind, which increases with the significance of the subject and the inability to rationalize and explain away the conflicting ideas. This dissonance is often associated with personal beliefs, so why not de-code the work yourself?

I. CHALLENGE. YOU.

I deliberately chose images which portray current global issues which saturate the media, particularly the influence of the Iraq war which people neglect as they resort to beauty, which describes today’s people within the narcissistic modern world. When selecting the posters to use as the primary base, I chose ones which had strong visual appeal. One of the posters which stood out to me advertised the most recent Foo Fighters album with the atomic bomb as a main feature which constituted for my concept of “beauty and terror”. It became evident that through my art making process visual aspects were inspired by the original images or words visible on the original poster surfaces.

The other day being 20th February I took a day trip to the Art Gallery with seven of my friends and there I saw them familiarising themself with my work. Inquisitive, they said things along the lines of “ So what’s it about?” or “What do all the images mean?” and my first response was,” I want you to tell me what you think it’s about! I am interested to see if you have differing thoughts on the overall concept..” So obviously with all my friends being non-art students I told them to resort to the statement to better their understanding.

As I am sitting here at my desk at approximately 1am, words are becoming worse for wear so bear with me. I may as well spook all you current year 12’s out and say I think the art body of work is.......... a thrilling process, now that I am in Art Express 2009! If you are one of those student bogged down with major works there is hope for you too! I was also a design and technology student, so I created yet another major work with not one, but a few folios. Design Technology was a tedious and painful experience! I can tell you at this time last year in art I was lagging behind in terms of my works progress, and I can assure you my art teacher was slightly concerned. But I did have a seven metre long poster billboard sitting in my garage which was my promising medium. I deliberated whether or not to use these posters as a base, as the surface could go horribly wrong due to their fragile nature. To obtain the poster surface I went with my assistant (dad) on a scandalous midnight raid to a train underpass which is when we noticed the posters detaching themself from the brick wall.

12.45am on a school night, Ella and her assistant tear down the pacific highway in their 19 year old station wagon, note the inanimate object covering the entirety of the cars exterior.... This night marked the fun and humorous part of art making, stepping into the shoes of an artist.

Now I had my surface, the next challenge was to choose my concept. Being brought up with art as a first hand skill, I have been immersed in the art world my whole life thanks to dad and my grandma, practising artists themselves. I have always been creative and passionate about art, just to give you a taste; I ate paint at 2, made puppet people out of toilet paper rolls at 5, hammered bits of drift wood together to create abstract forms, attended art classes. Having sufficient knowledge about art and my preferred painting style, I didn’t find it difficult to make a work look appealing, although I struggled to think of underlying concepts for the basis of my HSC work. To help me in the idea generation of my works qualities I was inspired by artists Robert Rauschenberg for his potent bold images which have been collected from a range of sources to depict the cultural and political representations and aspect of America, where I was inspired by his use of painting, print and collage. I was also inspired by the founder of pop, minimalism and conceptual art, Jasper Johns with his iconic target which lead me to the resultant globes and target found within my work as a recurring motif along with the grenades. Whist in the middle of completing my BOW I attended the Frank Gohier exhibition in Surry Hills which made me laugh as I noticed a very similar style of painting in this artists work. I was also inspired by pseudo-anonymous British graffiti artist Banksy.

The six photographs displayed beneath the posters provide insight to the instillation approach to my work, as I thought it would be effective to put the posters back in their original context. I thought the addition of photographs would challenge the notion of high vs low art, as my work has been taken from the street to be viewed in a gallery space. The lighting in the photographs highlights the scandalous nature of my work, as myself and friends could be mistaken for graffiti artists, hence I used spray paint as a medium.

So what is it like having your work exhibited in the ART GALLERY OF NSW? It is rather surreal I suppose, never did I see myself making it this far. I can remember visiting ArtExpress in previous school years on numerous occasions, but when we went for an excursion last year all students and myself particularly was filled with trepidation, standing in front of works which were the epitome of having satisfied HSC markers expectations....with my mouth gaping at the sights of few works I had one thought in mind I. HAD. NO CHANCE...

All I can say to current year 12 students is be consistent and persist in the development of your work, don’t leave it for a long duration of time if you are the type of person who will grow apart from your work and get less motivated! You need to be passionate about your work and most of all enjoy the process! If you are having difficulties getting into it I strongly recommend using the art room in your lunch times or after school or to get the momentum going, find the closest power point and blast some tunes which is guaranteed to get you into the zone.

On a final note. Don’t underestimate the importance of the Visual Arts Process Diary aka (VAPD) It’s a necessity, the building foundation to help with the BOW’s development and it is a guide to clarify ideas.

If you have any questions I’d love to answer them....

Virtual walkthough

Hi All

the virtual walkthrough of the exhibition is now available. It gives another perspective on the exhibition experience and its layout. Tristan

Link to The Weekend Australian ARTEXPRESS Review

Hi everyone here is the link to The Weekend Australian's review. It's an interesting article that expands beyond the exhibition to discuss the teaching of art and the syllabus. Thanks for alerting us to it Tessa.

The Weekend Australian- Review

Has anyone read the article on ArtExpress in the Australian, "Teen Spirit"?
Slightly scathing.
Just like you all to know I think your works are a huge achievement,
whatever the journalists say (:

ARTEXPRESS 09: Some perspectives and a review of sorts

Hi All,

The Artlife blog has posted some perspectives and a review of sorts about this year's ARTEXPRESS exhibition at the Gallery. Check it out. See what you think.