Quote of the day, yay!

"Our oppressive sense of the transience of everything is more acute since cameras gave us the means to 'fix' the fleeting moment."

-Susan Sontag

A Perfectly Corrupt blogosphere

New blog alert: perfectlycorrupt.blogspot.com

At the risk of being considered not only a shameless self-promoter, but one who shamelessly promotes all her friends' work as well, I am posting a link to Jerico Lee's brilliant new blog, Imperial Junk. I am doing this because I believe it is splendidly written and because, as with everything I put on this blog, I just believe in it - full stop.

Imperial Junk is in its early stages, but if the post 'Have you heard of Ryan Trecartin?' is anything to go by, this is most definitely a blog worth bookmarking. The article feels refreshing and relevant - something I've been craving - and, what's more, I actually want to finish reading it (you'll have to forgive my short attention-span, it's a symptom of the Image Age, but you know that only too well, I'm sure). That aside, perhaps this is a hint of what's to come from 'Gen Y' (Jerico's term) art writers in both style and content - if this be the case, I very much look forward to the future of art writing.

To be sure, I know we've all got a long way to go in terms of what, how and why we write. The dissemination of our writing is also a big issue now - how do we get people to read what we write? Does it matter if they do or don't? But the crucial task - for everyone who likes to string words together - is discovering what exactly it is we are trying to say. I wonder: What are we talking about when we write about 'art' or write as 'art', after all? Why do we bother?

I'm still figuring it out, but meantime I am excited and encouraged to read things like Imperial Junk. All is not lost - great writing exists, even in the Image Age. I am starting to realise that new and brilliant art words are emerging, and are coming from skilled and trustworthy ('young') hands.


Some other good words to check out (please send me more links!):

A Man Walks into a Bar...
reactional writing
The Brimstone Ballet

EDIT: Imperial Junk can now be found at imperialjunk.blogspot.com

Photo of the week, so to speak!

Layers and layers and layers ...

Duchamp and the boys - Screen grab (2009) by Owen G. Parry

RIGHT NOW nine

Brian Fuata is a performance artist. He uses words and movement to tell stories that are personal and impersonal, rational and irrational, about nothing and everything. Brian's presence is a force, he is charismatic and gentle, spontaneous and thoughtful, erratic and committed. His contribution to RIGHT NOW was four images and four texts made in collaboration with visual artist Pete Volich. The images were in colour, as were the texts. Now they are black and white.

I arranged them as a set of four on the page and overlayed them with the texts, also arranged in a set of four. I feel that collating, or layering, these two modes of expression like this is oddly parallel to the layering of clothes to create figures from nothing, the use of text to conjure voices from nowhere.

Thank you, Brian.

PRINT MATTERS

PRINT MATTERS opens this Friday 17 July. It is an independent book salon in which RIGHT NOW will be appearing. It is organised and curated by the general store, and features artists from all over the world.

The exhibition is at Chauvel Cinema gallery in Paddington, Sydney, and runs until Sunday 2 August. If you are in town and are interested in artists' books/book art/books in general, be sure to pop in and check it out.

Givenchy haute couture automne/hiver 2009

Riccardo Tisci's Givenchy is nothing short of a 21st century fashion-world phenomenon. His gothic, religion-inspired garb has sparked devotion from editors (Roitfeld), writers (Mower), photographers and bloggers alike.

Perfecting a very particular Givenchy look that is part Eastern goddess, part chic fashionista, and part tough urban warrior, Tisci has not only captured the zeitgeist of late noughties fashion, he has played a crucial role in creating it. The last couple of years have seen him produce collections which hone in on a particular aesthetic concept season after season, but use ever-different materials and colours, and increasingly complicated lines and textures, to explore this concept in greater depth.

It is interesting that this approach - exploring one idea in great depth, rather than attempting to follow the 'trends' by starting from scratch every season - is the exception rather than the rule in fashion today. It is certainly proving a successful way of conducting business for Tisci and Givenchy. Women (and men) want direction, they want a certain level of predictability in their favourite labels; when they find something that works, that they like, they want that thing to last. Perhaps this is what's caused problems for labels like Chloe when the famous Phoebe Philo departed.

Indeed, we should expect more than a mere tokenistic gesture toward rehashing a house's history, rather that history should be reinstated by its being placed into a new, and equally visionary, pair of hands. A pair of hands that will be remembered for not only carrying on the legacy of the famous fashion house, but for putting their own mark on it and creating something new for the contemporary (read: Karl Lagerfeld). There is a need for designers working for big, old, renowned fashion houses to make their own mark and refine their own style.

Needless to say, this may be easier said than done, and many creative directors (understandably) suffocate under the pressures of big business demands and narrow-minded corporate criteria. However, to be remembered as a true style creator and avoid fading into the fashion ether like so many do (read: Paulo Melim for Chloe (though I quite liked his work)), creative vision must usurp business vision: The designer's statement for fashion must be stronger the CEO's fear of losing revenue.

Undoubtedly, Tisci's Givenchy is about statement (think oversized gold studs for AH07, PE09's denim/leather overload, the exaggerated necklaces for AH08 or the enormous polka-dots of PE08), for haute couture AH09 the statement is the couture itself. Tisci's divine dresses and trademark harem trousers, the superb patterns he uses, the gothic fabrics (velvet, I love), the hoods, the exotic red beading, the chunky gold jewellery, the turtlenecks, the juxtaposition of sheer and flowing with heavy and stiff, the flowers, the black warrior-garb, the creams doused in what could be blood ...

It all equates to a very Tisci for Givenchy show: A powerful show where seemingly disparate elements come together to create something beautiful, where the message rings loud and clear that Riccardo Tisci is designing what he wants to design, and we will love that, in all its incarnations. The proof, of course, being that we do.

Bring on Printemps/Ete 2010!

Karolin Katlin Kamila Iris Kasia Lara Antonella (Pics: Style.com)

Quote of the day, yay!

"This might be the best wine I've ever tasted but I dare not open it."

-Kimberley Ivory, discussing the notion of the 'idea' as financial investment, the 'idea' as consumer item (in art, in wine), 10 July 2009.

Samuel Hodge, photographer

Sometimes I just need quiet is the blog of photographer Samuel Hodge.


A few months ago I saw his work in an exhibition at Chalk Horse gallery titled 'Pretty Telling I Suppose'. I was immediately taken by the dark shadows I saw in the work, which suggested so much and confirmed nothing; I loved the feeling of intimacy conjured, and the fact it was so successfully juxtaposed with anonymity.


I loved the contrast between Hodge's inward-looking bedroom shots - all shadow, sheets and skin - and the luscious greens and yellows of a (outward-looking) pond covered in autumn leaves, a lone red wine bottle floating amongst the foliage.
It wasn't until very recently, however, that I came across Sometimes I just need quiet and realised that the tension between pensive interiors and wryly humorous exteriors is apparent in most of Hodge's work. It is this which I find so appealing about his photographs. The tension, balanced as it is, bears a realness, an undeniable beauty and, foremost, an honesty about the way we live.Rainoff books have this year published Pretty Telling I Suppose, a beautiful Steidl-esque book of some of Hodge's most compelling work of the past nine years. (All photographs copyright Samuel Hodge.)

(Wo)Man With Mirror

Last night I had a wonderful, unexpectedly lovely evening. I attended the opening of Imprint, an exhibition running until 1 August at Artspace in Sydney. It was not so much the exhibition that won me (though it is very interesting and worth a look), but the unexpected performance by artists Teaching and Learning Cinema (TLC).

For this work, TLC (Louise Curham and Lucas Ihlein) reenact Guy Sherwin's 'Man With Mirror' (1976-2009), retitling it '(Wo)Man With Mirror' (Louise is, after all, a woman) and giving it fresh life by reawakening Sherwin's beautiful combination of Super 8 film projection, prop/object and performance.

I was so surprised to be gifted such a wonderful experience at, of all places, an art opening, which are so often sterile, wanky, intimidating or plainly boring and so rarely as exciting, encouraging, welcoming or inspiring as they should be. Thankfully, '(Wo)man With Mirror', was triumphantly of the latter category.

What seemed to happen is this: Curham and Ihlein had been filmed completing various movements and repetitious sequences in which they manoeuvre a rectangular board, which has one white side and one mirrored side. This film was projected onto two opposite walls in the space while they reperformed the same sequence, i.e. with the same rectangular boards, in front of the projections.


The result is an accumulated effect of meditative surrealism, where one is faced with the literal beauty of self-reflexivity and where the magical trickery of light is juxtaposed with basic human discipline. The enchanting performance was backed by the reassuring hum of the Super 8 projectors, with the performers' composure making their ease of movement seem deceptively straightforward, allowing us to feel totally comfortable in observing them.

The artists' focus and commitment to the performance was brilliant, especially considering how simply one, as a viewer, slips into that trompe l'oeuil realm in which one asks oneself: What is mirror reflection and what is projection? What is shadow, what is light? Which image is film and which is reality?

And, by extension, one must beg the question of where reality's line really begins and ends in a world of infinite exposures, of endless 'real-time' footage.

Guy Sherwin's 'Man With Mirror' (1976-2009):

Duckie's Gay Shame 2009

For 2009, Gay Shame goes girly! And thank goodness for that!

After last year's 'Macho Shame', one would be forgiven for thinking the fun was reserved solely for the boys. Not so: Now the Duckie gang have gone full circle and are hosting 'a Festival of Femininity'. Brava!

The event happens this Saturday night, 4 July, at the O2 Academy in Brixton, London, and will expose some of the city's most exciting performance artists going girly for Shame. Ranging from the established (Lois Weaver), via the trendy (Scottee), to the emerging (Mitch & Parry), the variety of artists and shows means that there is bound to be something for everyone, even if you only go to dance to the amazing music of Saint Etienne and Readers Wifes.


According to the website (where you can also download the amazing 'Pro-Femme' bootleg mix to get your toes tapping), this is 'the last ever Gay Shame', which means it's your last chance to experience the unique playground of interactive art, creative rebellion and tongue-in-cheek celebration that is Gay Shame. Plus, tickets are only £15 if you book in advance!

By the way, here's a couple not to miss: Johanna Linsley's Hysterical, Now! and Sheila Ghelani's Nurse Knows Best.

For a night of art, dancing, performance and fun, do check out Gay Shame going girly. Dress code: First ladies, fairies, debutantes, dandies, brides, spinsters, sissies, suffragettes, etc., etc. It is a party! Go, dance!