Friday, April 24, 2009

ADOLF HITLER


They said he'd never make it because he "wasn't talented". But Hitler finally made it.

http://player.sbs.com.au/naca/#/naca/wna/Latest/playlist/Artworks-possibly-the-work-of-Hitler/

Click on the above link to see the fruit born of a little patience with your art practice.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Knockin' At Fortunes Door


CALL FOR ARTISTIC PROPOSALS FOR …


REALITY CHEQUE
19 June - 5 July
ATVP’s Winter ’09 Show ofthe Season
(Opening launch Fri 19 June 6-9pm)

REALITY CHEQUE: Money isn’t everything, but apparently it is the force responsible for the rotating of the Earth on its Axis. This past year has seen an unprecedented collapse in the mechanisms of capitalism and suddenly the stability and integrity of financial institutions have been found wanting.

At the same time, the squandering of the earth’s natural resources including the burning of fossil fuels and destruction of rainforests, as well as the drive for a western standard of life in developing countries like India and China has us wondering whether we’ve driven the world past a tipping point that we may not be able to recover from.

As a Global Community, we face a vast array of challenges & problems. Now, more than ever, we are all being asked to consider what makes the world go round; to consider our actions, our impact on the environment, our economies, our cultures and how our actions and choices effect all. It may not be money but a different kind of currency we need to look for to facilitate the world going round!

What we need now is a Reality Cheque, and we’re asking for artists to contribute.

ATVP is looking for 15-25 artists working in any medium that addresses the theme – Reality Cheque.

An Exhibition fee* of between $80-130 will apply, depending on the number of artists selected.

Proposals due by 5pm Monday 18 May 2009
(see proposal form below)

Artists will be notified 25 May regarding the outcome of their proposals. Delivery of artworks will be due Sunday 14 June 5-9pm, and Monday 15 June 9am - 6pm

For further information or to receive a proposal form contact:
Reality Cheque @ ATVP
(02) 9519 2340 / 0430 083 364
info@atthevanishingpoint.com.au / www.atthevanishingpoint.com.au

*ATVP is an independent artist-run initiative run by a dedicated team of volunteer Directors, representing emerging artists and arts professionals from the Sydney community. Exhibition Fees go toward the running of the exhibition as outlined at www.atthevanishingpoint.com.au/admin.php?p=edit&idd=16&menu=menu

PROPOSAL FORM
REALITY CHEQUE
19 June - 5 July 2009


Artist(s) name:

Contact Address:

Phone number(s):

Email Address:

Briefly describe your artistic practice (100wd max):

Clearly describe your proposed artwork (200wd max):

Please attach further relevant information:
• Please provide a relevant brief artistic CV (no more than one page):
• Please send us no more than 3 images, or concept drawing(s) or a cd/dvd of your proposed artwork (jpg files at 300dpi around 1MB per image):
• For further information about submitting entries for Reality Cheque contact ATVP on 9519 2340 or go to www.atthevanishingpoint.com.au

Send Completed Proposal Forms to:
At The Vanishing Point - Contemporary Art
565 King Street Newtown NSW 2042
or email info@atthevanishingpoint.com.au

PROPOSAL FORMS DUE BY 5PM MONDAY 18th MAY 2009


AND



Firstdraft
is currently accepting proposals for its Exhibition, Emerging Artist Studio and Emerging Curators Programs for the second half of 2009.

Emerging Curators Program:
• A three-week exhibition in the whole gallery (including promotion and opening costs)
• Access to and assistance with Firstdraft's equipment and resources
• Funding and assistance for the production of a small catalogue to accompany the
show and towards curatorial costs

Exhibition:
• Exhibition proposals are invited from individuals and groups, artists and curators

Emerging Artist Studio Program:
• A studio space on the ground floor of Firstdraft for eleven weeks
• A three-week exhibition at Firstdraft upon completion of the program

For more information please download application forms at
http://www.firstdraftgallery.com/050%20Information/004%20Forms/index.html

or email mail@firstdraftgallery.com

Applications for the new Firstdraft/Runway Emerging Writers Program will be available shortly.

Applications close: 6pm Friday 15 May 2009


AND




*FREE HELP!*

An information day for second half of 2009 applicants will be held at
Firstdraft Gallery on Saturday 25 April from 3pm. Come and get some info and
tips on how to write a killer application for Firstdraft. Hear from
Firstdraft Directors, as well as artists and curators who have recently
completed the exhibition, curators and studio residents program. We will
also be launching the Emerging Arts Writers Program.

Firstdraft is a non-profit gallery run on a voluntary basis by a group of
practising artists and curators. It is one of the longest running and most
successful artist-run spaces in Australia. Firstdraft asserts the
importance of contemporary art production, dissemination and discussion in
society, providing a stimulating exhibition space that is professional and
accessible for a diverse range of artistic practices and projects.


For more info click here!!

Monday, April 20, 2009

A push, a shove and a whole load of sugar

Sometimes I really do need a good kick in the pants to get things going. Being given the opportunity to have a show with just under one and a half weeks notice is one such occasion. My last exhibition was produced very slowly and gently, with a few real stakeholders involved so it was fun to do something spontaneous and silly.

This was very silly. There were hundreds and thousands everywhere! On the floor, in my hair, they turned up in my tea cups and will forever be stuck in between the cracks of the floorboards. But it made for a very popular box!

Photobucket


The Wall hosted a Bid-A-Box night for a project I've been working at steadily for just over two years now. Normally I make them and abandon them once a week but these were particularly extravagant.

Photobucket


I'm a new exhibitor, mainly because my work normally appears in print and that I'm apprehensive to call it art. Nevertheless, I've discovered that for all the anxiety of showing - it's actually really fun and addictive! I most enjoy getting very immediate feedback and chatting to people who are into similar things. There was some very interesting talk about the Creative Sydney project that's coming up, something I'd never heard about until that night and am interested to find out much more about.

I've been stoked to find that people really like the matchbox project, regardless of whether they find or get a box, mainly because it's an excitement about gift-giving and an indication that basic giving is increasingly devoid in life. I never set out to prove or offset this when I started the project but realise now that the small amount of joy the project gives people is well worth the effort it takes to make it. I loved making tiny things for the boxes! And am now off to make a tiny patch of wool green grass for another box, to nestle a very precious hand-made toadstool pendant in it courtesy of Michelle Vandermeer.

Thank you to Tony Curran and Dan Chin for their help and cuddles on the night.

Monday, April 13, 2009

GAME, SET AND MATCHBOX

Tuxedo, 2009. Sonya Gee

In 2006 Sonya Gee started The Matchbox Project. Not to be confused with another of the same name, this work is part blog, part craft and if you can handle Gee's objections you could even call it "contemporary art". Sonya puts a small present in the matchbox and leaves it somewhere to be found. If you read her blog religiously you might hunt one down but more often than not they get found by an oblivious bystander.

Sonya Gee, now graduated with distinction from Sydney Uni, has since been writing for Vibewire (Editor) Lost at E-Minor, Ordinary Magazine (upcoming online magazine), SBS News, Insight, and Ryde City Council all the while maintaining a target of one matchbox a week and on average getting posted on major blogs such as Kluster , Coolhunter, twothousand.com once a month and she's just been interviewed for Readers Digest Magazine!

On Wednesday 15th of April, Sonya Gee will be unleashing ten limitted edition matchboxes to THE WALL at Sydneys The World Bar for a silent auction. Come along to 42 Bayswater Rd from 8-11 for Champagne, DJs and a close up of one of Sydney's finest emerging projects.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

History Lesson

A buddy of mine got me onto a TV series called This is Modern Art and told me I could stream it on youtube.

The show is unlike any art history program I've watched. It taces the steps of humanity and how they are manifest throughout the modern age. Art as the symptom of humanity's wonder.