Artwrite Issue 52

This semester I took a course about Writing for Art and Design, which culminated in the publishing of an issue of Artwrite. Artwrite is a magazine that has been produced by COFA students since 1992, and focuses on the exploration, discussion and critique of art. I had the pleasure of being a co-editor for this issue, and wrote a feature interview with my very talented friend, and artist, Jasmine Poole. Hope you enjoy the issue!

I Exist, I Insist

Artist Alexander Poulet with his artwork in his exhibition I Exist, I Insist currently on at Kudos Gallery

What inspires you? New experiences. Coming across new things and trying to enjoy everything that there is to be enjoyed.

I ♡ Sydney Festival

This years Sydney Festival First Night transformed the city into an incredible melting pot of arts, culture, experiments and crowds (lots and lots of them)! The annual festival opening really became somewhat of a phenomenon this year being busier than I can ever remember or could ever imagine. The enticing lineup (including Washington and Gurrumul in the Domain) obviously sparked widespread interest and definitely made an exciting kick start to the cultural shenanigans of the month to come. 

Crowds gathering in the Domain

Strawberries and ice cream from Berry Delicious

Flamenco guitar played by David Holberton at the AGNSW

Even more crowds!

Tangle by Polyglot in Hyde Park

Washington

In the Domain, stage light and moonlight

The Sydney Festival

The Rocks Village Bizarre

❝ The Rocks’ Markets by Moonlight has had a freaky and fabulous facelift and transformed into Village Bizarre - a Friday night festival of secrets alleys and hidden rooms hosting experimental arts, poetry slams, silent discos, bespoke tailoring and burlesque gyrations, hula hoop classes and intimate laneway concerts… all on the colourful cobblestones of Sydney’s oldest neighbourhood. ❞ 

- Time Out Sydney

Hula Hooping with HMAS Heidi Hoops | a very colourful information guide

Beautiful and quirky things from the past are in abundance around the Rocks 

Miranda balancing books as part of Applespiel's 'Awful Literature is Still Literature, I Guess' | delicious smells coming from Jack Mundey Pl.

Awful Literature is Still Literature, I Guess | Art History in a Red Velvet Tent with Dr Alan Krell

Ukelele street performances 

MOHS Hair and Beauty Bar | The Glitter Militia

☾ The Rocks Village Bizarre ☾

Rafael Lozano-Hemmer: Recorders

A Review in Rhyme

The MCA this summer,

reopens some of their doors,

to an exhibition that could not be better -

or funner for that matter - 

than Rafael Lozano-Hemmer.

With lightglobes that pulse 

to your heart beat;

and a seismoscope which draws 

to the the vibrations of your feet;

the exhibition is not only to look and see,

but full of touch and feel and audiences' creativity.

However -

With scanners that copy your bag's contents;

and video cameras which record the way you prance;

And fingertip scanners like at American airports;

'Recorders' is an exhibition to challenge your thoughts. 

Is our culture of surveillance something to fear?

Or something to play with; to open up and into peer?

Go along to the exhibition (it's free, mon ami) to judge it for yourself,

record some memories and distort one's self.

Listen to the voices of visitors long gone,

and leave a message for the ones yet to come. 

Be part of the artwork
and you may be surprised
to experience yourself back
through a machine's eyes. 

Rafael Lozano-Hemmer: Recorders

MCA, Sydney

16th December 2011 - 12th February 2012

10am-5pm

Free

Under construction: the MCA

From the outside it looks like a very sophisticated and sleek addition which enhances, without overpowering, the authority and beauty of the historic base. I imagine that there is a lot of excitement hatching inside! I can't wait to get a first glimpse of the renovations when visiting the Rafael Lozano-Hemmer: Recorders exhibition!

The OUTPOST Project

| NEXT by T-World exhibition - featuring over 1500 t-shirts curated by Eddie Zammit |

The OUTPOST Project is a collaboration between the curators of the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust, aMBUSH gallery and over 150 artists to transform Cockatoo Island into a display of global street art culture. Amidst the industrial remains of previous prison/shipyard/reformatory buildings and machinery are installations, pastemodernism, tshirts (a highly extensive collection), sculptures, paintings, graffiti art (spray cans and stencils) and even an opportunity for 'cup rocking.' 

Some very windy rides on the ferry to and from Cockatoo Island!

"KID ZOOM: HOME - A scale reproduction of the artist's childhood home recreated from early adolescent memory and documentation of the destruction of three Holden Commodores." 

Works through the tunnel | 'The Ecosystem of Moon Titan' by Ghostpatrol

Gemma with Will Coles' artwork 'Untitled (mermaid)'

Cup rocking | NEXT by T-World exhibition

NEXT by T-World exhibition

Abandoned building | 'Bullion Bar (Bitten)' by Paul Insect in the 'Oi You!' Collection

Artwork in the Mays: The May Lane Street Art Project

Concrete sculptures by Will Coles | Marilyn Monroe-style portrait of Kate Moss by Banksy in the 'Oi You!' collection

✰ The OUTPOST Project ✰ 

Joshua Sofaer

Joshua Sofaer is an artist based in the UK, particularly acting as a curator, producer and director of many large scale projects and events which explore the ideas of collaboration, public participation, and that of the artist as a leader and leadership as change. Sofaer is currently an artist fellow on the Clore Leadership Programme and is the first and current Thinker in Residnece at Carriageworks.

What inspires you?
Lots of things, really. I think one of the things that really inspires me is the sense of satisfaction that you get when people are understanding what you're doing. And I'm working towards feeling that feeling, I suppose. Actually, everything in life inspires me.

What was the first thing that made you realise that, wow, I really want to do this? 
I don't know if there's any one origin point but I've always been kind of doing stuff like this. My initial training was in theatre and then I went to art college afterwards. I had both a kind of training in performance and training in fine arts. And I think my work's kind of come together somewhere in between the two.

What has been the most exciting project so far? What project are you most proud of? 
The things that I'm most proud of are the people that have participated. It's them that makes me proud. But in a selfish way, the most exciting thing was working on this project [SFMOMA Scavengers, 2006], in the Museum of Modern Art in San Francisco when we finished the scavenger hunt and at midnight we had to start installing the exhibition and the whole technical team was there overnight, for the entire night, making the exhibition. And it just felt like everything was coming together. That was a very exciting moment.

Why was it important to make the prize giving at the end of the scavenger hunt so vulgar? 
I wanted to get some kind of edge in it. It wasn't just about people enjoying themselves. There's no critical state if people are just enjoying themselves - there's no movement. So, by creating a spectacle where you're giving one person, or one group of people, a cash prize (£2000) and everyone else gets nothing, it is vulgar. So, it's a kind of a comment.

The idea of a name has been explored significantly throughout history and by artists (such as Sofaer's Name in Lights, 2007 and Rooted in the Earth, 2009), does your name have a particular meaning?
My name, Joshua, has the same derivation as the name Jesus so it means 'Saviour.' And my name Sofaer is a very specific family name, it's an English transliteration of an Arabic pronunciation of a Hebrew word that means 'Scribe.'

| Joshua Sofaer |

Primavera 2011

| artwork: Hiromi Hotel by Hiromi Tango |

As the MCA is currently under some very exciting renovations its annual Primavera exhibition, which showcases young Australian artists, went offsite this year. Scattered around the Rocks precinct, the exhibition featured some highly intriguing works including videos, installations, illustrations and posters. However with works placed in obscure places and little signage, it was very hard to navigate and in actuality turned out to be more of a wild goose hunt even with a map in hand. Perhaps next time to ensure that people don't miss out on seeing the works, a chalk/sticker route on the footpath, or signs that say "Look up, artwork above you," or "artwork down this lane" would be a helpful idea.

 

Day 173: Art After Hours

Every Wednesday night, the Art Gallery of NSW extends its hours to 9pm and hosts an array of talks, film and music. This week, Miranda and I saw The Poetry of Drawing: Pre-Raphaelite designs, studies and watercolours accompanied with a talk by the curator, Dr Colin Cruise; Brendan Cowell's very entertaining talk on the Archibald; dinner + Microwave Jenny; and the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes. 

Art After Hours at AGNSW

Day 141: post LBL brunch + AGNSW Open Weekend

Went to Live Below the Line brunch - not used to being allowed to have such an abundance of delicious foods! It's quite weird to try and shift back to prior ways about thinking of eating - now I consider if it is really worth it, can it wait, am I actually hungry, do I need this sugar or should I instead get some protein? After living below the poverty line, it hard to grasp just how immensely lucky I really am. 

Then I went to the Art Gallery of NSW's Open Weekend in celebration of the new contemporary galleries, including the John Kaldor Family Gallery, which currently holds the family's collection and will next year be combined with that of the gallery. I loved the buzz of the gallery! Activities everywhere you turned, people up for conversation, the sound of The Rescue Ships filtering through levels; what a great vibe. I watched the film 'I Shot Andy Warhol' (it was the first time I'd been in the gallery's fantastic cinema - and it will definitely not be my last!), joined in on the Zoetrope Workshop (run by Ricky Subritzky), joined the Architect's tour of the new contemporary galleries (led by with Andrew Andersons and Anne Flanagan) and attended Tracey Moffat's talk. 

The new contemporary galleries are vast, as Anne mentioned, many people were surprised that such a space existed under the galleries and was so easily converted for public viewing. The Kaldor Family Gallery is exactly that, a gallery. Its own comprehensive unit with a collection rather astounding. This new gallery, and the renovations/extensions of pre-existing sections of the same level, adds a whole new 'level' of excitement to the AGNSW - it's not just an exhibition, it is a completely new space - a new era to be filled. Walking through it for the first time - seeing not only the works but the gallery itself - was like opening an early Christmas present. Where my eyes once quickly scanned a wall of Picasso before heading down the escalator, there is now a deep gallery filled with Koons, Chrsito, and one of my favourite of Bill Viola's. I look very forward to spending some quality time with Lower Level 2. 

Open Weekend 2011 :: AGNSW

*This also makes me really excited for the MCA's new galleries