Burning Candles

Often I contemplate what keeps the average graffitti writer or street artist going, motivated.  Why they are making the effort to put up work in public areas.  I'm guessing it depends on the artist. 
     Some are pushed by social conscience - the effort of giving back to their community. 
The streets can be a publicity stunt, used to push the artist name or brand. 
     The act of destroying and striking out against society. 
Others just along for the ride, part of the crew since school daze. 
     The streets have long been used for protest. 
And to some perhaps just another extension of their gallery or professional work. 

Darebin council recently estimated that the cleanup for unwanted spray-painting/ street art for one year was in the sum of 360 thousand Australian dollars.  If only we had a tally of the total costs of everything that is being payed for by the graffitti writers/ artists.  When you have to outlay money for painting supplies and other you can easily chew chunks out of the modest incomes the majority of Australians have.  And I'm hazarding a guess that more of these people are in the lower income slumholds of the terra.

With the explosion of hip hop culture in the 80's and 90's and the street art boom of the 2000's Melbourne/ the world will probably never remove the mass amounts of work that goes up onto the streets, the fads come and go but dedicated few never seem to leave.  There has always been people working in the public space illegally and sometimes pseudo-legally  Even before hip hop culture there were artists working on the streets, small sculptures and shrines to indicate a higher purpose of art beyond income. 

Little Clay Sculpture fallen from it's Decaying Mortar Wall Fitzroy ( circa 60-70's? )

To take from society monetary rewards and recycle that into an art devoted to a higher purpose would be a noble cause.  To have faith in that chance that the work would fade early and fall before deaf eyes and blind palette would be a necessity.  I think the best of our street works contains some portent of this, sometimes not realized - unconciously produced in the best of them and hard won by others. 

Maybe a naiive view but better to hope for the best and plan for the worst. 

ttttttttttt    h         h      aaaa      n        n    k     k    ssss
     t          hhhhh h      a     a     n n     n    k k        s
     t          h         h     aaaaaa    n    n  n    k k            s
     t          h         h   a          a   n        n    k     k   sssss    for reading ..

.rore

Small Time

 
  While I wait to be allowed into peoples houses for my work sometimes I make an excuse to sit in the car and do "paperwork".  The back page of my workbook fills with these little sketches.  In between motion pictures/television and reading there is the graphic novel/ comic. 

Somethings are better never to grow out of.

  I like the fact that we can for a relatively small price purchase a masterwork.  The same is true for books I spose.  Some of the greatest graphic novels/(manga)(i know of so far...) are the Lone Wolf and Cub series created by longtime team Kazuo Koike and artist Goseki Kojima., there were movies based on these which were also good but the original paper work is a masterpiece of both storytelling and illustration.  Will Eisner's "New York" is an incredible work in its personal approach to a city and its inhabitants, and remains strikingly current even today, Eisners draughstmanship is also of a standard achieved by few. 

This drawing was a continued meditation on the sometimes clashing agendas of artists on the streets, the ebb and flow of purpose and its sometimes hard reality on the street canvasses. 

Thanks for reading.

Sudern Winterspiele

It's the mid winter in Melbourne that is at it's most stark.  The furs growing slower to shed their lush greenery with the warming seasons finally skeletal against the steely sky.  At least it isn't windy, yet.  So many shades of grey from the horison to the horison.
Snow above 600 metres, the mountain passes shut.  Cloud obscures the near wilds and the rain seems omnipresent.  A far cry from the El Nino.  The blue sky winters and dry cracked lips winds from the chilled drylands but a memory.  The winters of my youth were spent in the bush, small fires on the pancake rocks that would have once held corroborees and gatherings, where the bones of the earth had stretched too hard at it's own porous skin and laid bare to see.  Weathered gums from the paddocks where we would occaissonally overturn stone axes and implements from the stewards before.  Coastal Sub Tropical, with smatterings of Temperate just to dismay the fruit farmers. 
They would be burning the sugar can this time of year there now.  Before the grass was cut green.  Giant flumes rising up into the night, roaring and sucking at the air. Bodies of the dead would sizzle into the night after the rush of heat.  When the prospect of green harversting was first introduced to the imaginings of the locals it was faced with downright refusal. " the valley will fill with rats, and we will be overrun"  one of the well known of the fears of green cutting.  Now nearly all cane is green harvested and the town is far from overrun by rodents, rats of another kind came however.
After a big fire when the wind was right ash sprials of the cane leaves would coat the house.  The smell of the roasted sugar stalk unlike any smell on earth.  Mechanical developments followed the green change and thrash and dry leaves devoured into the widestretched arms of the harvesting machine.
In Melbourne local trees that overhang the laneways droop with what looks like a one in three Mandarine crop. The skins fiery with acid and the wind cold fruit full of tang and bite.  beyond the basalt stone laneways are the criss crosses of mostly avoided bitumen.  horizontal lines of roller doors punctuate the corrugated fences like numbers divide a page. function = function.  suburban equilibrium. keq

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footseps into the unbekannt
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a person looks at a paragraph and develops beside it
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wor{l}ds

http://blogos-haha.blogspot.com.au/

Crimes Against Civilisation

By the edges of the Ring Road and in between Cooper Street lies Biodiversity Business Park, one of the new development areas taking over the vacant land and converting it into prefabricated concrete slab factories.
The land was a former quarry zone, brick-works, and part of the farmland quickly disappearing from this area - converted into industrial estates and sprawling suburban growths.  It is land not indistinct from most of the north western zones, short stunted eucalyptus taking hold in the land that was probably once vast food-stores for the Kulin. 
The crime in the title refers to the naming of the business park as Biodiversity.  Maybe I'm naive but the smug concealment of a development of land into concrete and asphalt with a few token natives isn't what biodiversity is.  Maybe they are referring to the combination of humans, rats, wasps ants, feral cats, foxes, miners and few bugs that will co-exist in the new zone, that will lodge themselves in the few crevices in these fresh concrete structures.
To call something like this Biodiversity is like calling a mass murderer a humanitarian.  An abuse of language in the first degree and a token of the developers attempts to chew into the fatty rewards of Green movements conversion of sustainability into a trendy badge and reflective of the discerning individual/business.  It is not a new phenomenon but that still does not make it any less inappropriate. 
An analogy would be calling Guantanamo Detention Center; Paradise Mews or Sunny Haven.
Fat trucks spew dirt around the manicured roads all white lines and smooth concrete, grass over the old clay and combed topsoils.

Correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't language designed to signpost us towards understanding along commonly accepted truths.  To inject words like this into something that is quite the opposite serves to de-empower words and almost mock us with the audacity of the author.  Do the really expect us to believe that this park is a biologically diverse environment.  With the myriad of native flora and fauna iradicated under the wheels of progress the last thing needed is to call it a natural wonder. 

Please save your cheap tricks for the magic show CBRE so at least we can clap at the end of your charade.

PS. The unchecked sprawl of Melbourne's suburbs into the distant horizon is probably also in order of receiving a crimes against civilization tag, what with all the good and intelligent design around we are still developing plots of land into closed suburbs and with black tiled roofs no less.  Foolish humans, I'll save some fervour for a not so distant post.

Photographs of A - MTC NEON 2014

Photographs of A is released through Melbourne Theatre Companies NEON Festival of 2014.

The play follows the dynamism of a 19th century Parisian hysteric - Louise Augustine Gleizes.  She was a case study of Jean Martin Charcort and subsequently paraded before the public as an objectified "lunatic".  Helen Morse delivers "Augustine"/"A" with constant turns of character and paranoiac episodes.  Her delivery of the coy and clever dialogue of Brian Lipson is treated with a believable realism and captivating stage-presence.  With a minimal set design and antique colour scheme the overall atmosphere is not suffocating but more an excluded voyeurism of the photographer; free in their space with the lens distinguishing subject from spectator.

Photographs of A is a capsule into our not so distant history where the science of the human condition was in its relative infancy and understanding of the individuals was often overlooked in the quest for knowledge.

Director & Designer
Brian Lipson
Writer
Daniel Keene
Cast
Helen Morse
with Ben Grant and Anouk Gleeson-Mead
Stage Manager
Meg Richardson
Producer
Samantha Potts

Becalmed On The Ocean Of Modern Reason

It is interesting for a pedestrian bystander to witness the evolution of an art movement before their very eyes.  The different schools all see different things, the established class witness less as the more as the movement breaks from the gigantic commercial beast, self destructing and returning into the dark recesses from whence it came and from where it will one day emerge from again.  And for the masses the culture continues, writhing with its newfound mantle and all the weight this entails.  If one were a Buddhist we could liken this to the eternal cycles of death and rebirth, the rhythmic return to harmony.  If you were a minimalist you could probably get away with just writing "again", if you were a Christian you might forgive the street artists for their sins.  First it was Graffiti, then it was street art now its urban art.  What is next.  This is in direct response to two seemingly contrasting posts by Black Mark and Fitzroy Flasher on the subject of the scenes' present.  In Buddhism there is a part of the teaching in which the student is told to kill the teacher, to illiminate the idol, remove the blinding obstacle.  Perhaps this is what street art requires, it is not a physical or even metaphysical killing, more of an acceptance of the limitations of that which came before, its natural limitations, relative to its conception, and the coming into being of its offspring, the torchbearers of the new.

Image above thanks to Banksy, not a steal - just an appreciation, a cover song so to speak, not for fame but for the debts that must be payed.  if you try to sue me i'm just letting you know i'm broke.



Black Mark
http://melbourneartcritic.wordpress.com/2014/06/23/street-art-notes-june-14/

Fitzroy Flasher
http://thefitzroyflasher.blogspot.com.au/2014/06/the-core.html

Toolangi State Forest

Snow at 1300 means winter has finally arrived, the winds turn south wester and the days seem incredibly short, our eyes adjust to the darkness, our feet to the cold pavement and on come the layers.  Toolangi is one of the places close to Melbourne ( 45 mins on a good day) where you can forget city life and slip into a world amongst the giants.  Mostly cloud covered and misty in the winter it is a constantly changing place that never seems to have a dull moment.  

It is a unique forest for southern australia where the altitude allows for a micro system to have developed and it appears to be unaffected by fire, possibly due to the high rainfall and almost tropical forest like undergrowth.  

The trees are monstrous Eucaplypts mostly and in places the forest has only a top story and a lower, where only weak and spindly understory trees struggle amongst the giants. 

I read recently about the logging that continues to push into Toolangi, it is impossible not to notice the logging which continues along the roadways and the areas many tracks.  Some areas however should be preserved, there are streams with old groves of myrtle beech, one of the most attractive highland trees, seemingly endemic to this region and southern high country areas.  There are also forests of tree fern and moss gardens with year round fungi growths and other micro flora.  It is a popular area for a huge range of activities such as shotgun practice, motorbike tracks, mountain bike tracks, walking tracks and just driving and appreciating.  There was a protest along one of the roads but I noticed on my last visit that it is no longer in place.  I hope this is because they have succeeded in stopping the paper giants consumption of this wondrous natural resource and let us enjoy it in its entirety. 

Review Crossing The Roper Bar II

Bennets Lane hosted Crossing the Roper Bar last night.  An ongoing collaboration between the traditional music of Roper River Communities - particularly the strong in heritage Wagilak group from Northern Arnhem Land and the Australian Art Orchestra.

 
When I heard of this collaboration I immediately bought the tickets.  Buying tickets to an event like this can be risk as we never know what to expect with such a bold approach to cultural meetings.  On one hand the songs of the Young Wagilak Group from Arnhem Land, ancient stories and traditions and the avante garde sounds of the Art Orchestra.  Being that I like both of the styles I deduced that this would be a good concert, and happily I wasn't wrong.


The Australian Art Orchestra called the project a visionary one and this is a accurate call. It is not jazz and it's definately not traditional Aboriginal music or songs, to me it suggests of something much more than the sum of its parts.  The question of what reconcilliation can even mean on a scope of Australia's scale has always plagued me and perhaps some of the answers lie in the results of such a concert series.
 
The Australian Art Orchestra's standard of musicianship is brilliant at worst.  Directed by Paul Grabowsky, pianist and heavyweight of Australia's Jazz community he fronts a team maestros including; multi instrumentalist of reeds and wind Tony Hicks, Guitars and Effects Stephen Magnusson, Acoustic Upright Bass - Phillip Rex and Drums and Percussion by Niko Schauble.  And the Wagilak Songmen were Daniel Wilfred - Vocals and Bilma or Talking Sticks and David Wilfred on Yidakki or Didgeridoo.

Apart they stand in high regard and together they create something that seems to transcend simply music.  I expected the Art Orchestra to be simply supporting the Songmen but the creative exchange seemed to flow both ways and the performance was unified.  Jazz formats in places indispersed with the chants and storytelling and the punctuating rythym of the Bilma and the constant drone of the Yidaki.  Ebbing between the bursts of reeds and grace of Grabowsky's mastery of the piano and keyboards, passing between moments of time and then off and beyond where our notions of time dissolve.  Elements of world music and improvised jazz as well as the humour and earth centred spirit of the Wagilak's repertoire.


It is rare to find such events and even better when they manage to capture a great idea and release it gracefully.  Another case for arts as a constant forge in healing the divides.  

http://youtu.be/2U1osK-7Pmg

Older Recording of the Collaboration

 CREATIVE TEAM

Musical Director, piano 
Paul Grabowsky

Bilma, vocals 
Daniel Wilfred

Yidakki 
David Wilfred

Reeds
Tony Hicks

Guitar
Stephen Magnusson

Violin
Erkki Veltheim

Bass
Philip Rex

Drums
Niko Schauble

Corporate Brand Street Art

It's not new that corporate brands make their way into artists palettes or even that the monoliths themselves rouse a portent of their earnings to make some noise on the streets.  The streets, thanks to street art are in, and have been for some time and will probably continue to be as far as I can tell.  Youth culture and Art Culture is constantly reinventing and emerging with new angles and new perspective; and if you can crack these markets you can hock your wares.  

Ralph Lauren has acquired a trend status among younger writers and the polo horse insignia can be a tell tale sign.  The brands are probably well aware of fluctuations because of these trends and will cash in where they can.

Whether this piece was a corporate move or simply a pasters love of the brand I don't know.  It didn't last long before it was altered by taggers and scrawled across, like anything that appears to come from the established it is quickly relegated and critiqued by the undercurrents.

What Yves Saint Laurent would gain by pursuing a street campaign on a cow I don't know and I would wonder more that an image such as this one were not a creative juxtaposition on the source of YSL's raw materials. 

Or just a love of the design.  Established brands have access to the best in design minds, and arts masters, they are successful for a reason and reclaiming these images can be empowering though most of the artists could not even afford a pair of YSL socks.
Out of interest a YSL hoodie would set you back US$990 and a simple Tshirt and cool US$350 a pop.

When I see street artists in paint splattered YSL gear lugging wheat paste rollers and buckets of slag around the lanes I think I'll take up knitting.  

Art War

With the recent cuts on the arts budget we can expect some changes in the arts in the coming years.  

Over 100 million axed in Liberals attempts to reign the spendings in, extra warplanes that are a nescessity aside this is a large amount ( the commonwealth budget being 417 billion )( 4 billion for the warplanes....)( one less and we would have a billion for the creative industry of australia..hmm).

Film industry got hit hard with 25 million axed from their budget and the other sector were also hard hit.  This doesn't surprise me with Abbott, despite not watching the news or even having a tv the small snippets I hear about him are enough to piece together the seemingly narrow agendas of this man.
I can imagine the cuts will restrict the grants schemes which seem to be the lifeblood of a lot of emerging artists and the Newstart allowance will now come with a six month unpaid standdown for new applicants: It is no secret to any of us in the industry or close to those who are the battle to maintain or even apply for the dole under any premise of being an artist.  

It hasn't surprised me and the affect Abbott would have on the arts was one of the first things I could foresee after he won the election.  I didn't think of it as a negative thing, lack of support in the arts seems to be in a state of constant flux and I think it will just change how artists will have to approach expenses such as mediums, materials and locations etc.  

With the loss to gentrification of inner city melbourne almost to what used to be zone 2-3, the emerging and struggling artist class are flowering out to the fringes and occupying the cheaper land and premises, areas like Coburg North, Preston, South Reservoir, Footscrat and anywhere with a lot of industrial zones able to be converted into studios and workspaces for the artist populace.  

Sharehousing is cheaper here beyond the easy reach of the city where bidding wars on the inner city property is the given.  Illegal warehouse living is overlooked by the realestates and the landlords in these areas ( mostly ), happy with the secure income that group shares can provide.  ( exceptions aside )

And having federal support axed will give plenty of grist to artists for protest.  I can remember some of the best street based art I saw in the mid 2000's in Fitzroy and the CBD was the protest art of the anarchists and punks against John Howard.  The loss of politically motivated art has been something of an irk to me and though I appreciate the colourful murals and street happenings of modern Fitzroy I can't help wishing it had a bit more discussion and argument, RAWNESS.

It's a mixed bag, there will be losses and many artists will be forced to take up jobs to support themselves, but the real ones will stay and with the thinning of the ranks perhaps new scope for style will emerge, a cusp time, the waning of the old and a dawning for whatever lies ahead.  

A Post A Day Keepeth the Wyrms Away

In the unintentional way that i usually go by i find myself again on this blogging thing.

As it seems to be again a trend to post i can move with the others and also throw in too sense.

community radio refunded, i'd say it would be more of a pay them to shut up, sinse the majority of the community radio listeners are ageing 60's and 70's protest generation and their offspring would probably find great joy in taking to the streats and dust off the banners and repaint them with the ignorant and consumerist slanted politics moderne.  So we got our radio back, wouldn't it be nice if it wasn't even a matter of contention that we must beg for it and complain in order to get it.  A mere drop in the ocean besides to the gross spending on the defense budget.  

Anyway, without a tv i have less to bemoan, one less happy machine to infiltrate my life and pour newsworthy garbage into my braine.  Happiness it seems is a return to simplicity. The zen of la vie moderne.

Southern Style

Floating mirrors on the sea of uncertainty.
A book full of ryhmes and a shelf full of dust.
Restrained from the halls and broken by the bin.
Call to the soldiers and soon from the sea.

Broken by the barley corn
every thing to be its own 
A laugh for none and one to say
Here is the poem and there is the day.

beat poe et ree

and in the great hollow space that divides us we would make a birthday cake and drink to what would be if we could think any different, kerouac said always use the first thing, i think he got it from the jazz guys, they might play 20 takes but they would use the first take as long as it fit the criterea.  i don't think about kerouac that much and it's a long time since i read one of his books, the subtarraeneans and pic, two in one, reminds me now in retrospect of jim jarmusch, jims early stuff anyway.  it's hard to think of things to say all the time so every now and again it's good to feel the flow, better to wait and reap the rewards maybe.  maybe so maybe no.  spring again, i sign my works to the seasons, not sure if anyone else does that but i feel it's good to remind the masses to keep in contact with the natural flow in some form of concious and not just the subconcious, the allergies to pollen and turbelent weather that interrupts texting and pixting on the iphone.  so where are we at, i've been noticing a trend towards 4th dimensional paintings, a relapse back to surrealism, digs back to the past.  i'm going back to the start of this passage, maybe to find a way out, a way to end, a knot to tie the string, the little tree's on my table distract me and i have to shower so kick out the jams.