Love

NM, Collage, 2012, Coffs Harbour, NSW, Australia

Made from a collection of miscellaneous stamps found at a Sydney market.

Sometimes a CV just isn't enough.

Collage.

Purpose: To gain a job in a bar.

Inspiration: "Would you rather be a man with a vagina or a woman with a penis?" tip jar. (place change in appropriate jar)

Femina Moderna

I was looking into the way that pornography is often male orientated. The focus is 'man as subject,' 'women as object,' drawing similarities to male surrealist photography and Hollywood cinema. I explored their idea of the male gaze, and the feminine object, their adornment of women (why the hell not!). In relation to Surrealism, later revelations of Claude Cahun's photography (amongst others), reveal that the female surrealists had their take on subject/object also in that she became both subject and object and both male and female. So here is my take.

Surrealism: The Poetry Of Dreams, Brisbane

SURREALISM AND CONTEMPORARY ART

23 JULY 2011

DR. MIRANDA WALLACE. (Curational manager of international art and exhibitions research)

I decided to visit Brisbane's recent major Surrealist exhibition at the Gallery of Modern Art. I was lucky enough to also catch a lecture with Dr. Miranda Wallace, the curatorial manager of the exhibition, in discussion about the relationship between the Surrealist movement and contemporary art, which enhanced my visit to the exhibition.

When asked what she liked most about Surrealism, Wallace said she finds it first of all difficult to pin down what Surrealism is, but that largely her favourite aspect is the photography and the clear influence of cinema on many surrealist photographers, including contemporary artists. It is clear that Wallace wanted emphasise this link within the exhibition as film projections consistently appear alongside static works within the exhibition. There is also a surrealist cinema season devoted to moving image, (The Savage Eye; Surrealism and Cinema) which is running alongside the exhibit.

Wallace continues that one reason why it is so hard to define Surrealism is that many works are not linked by a visual style or approach but rather it is more a 'mode of enquiry.' Surrealism sets out to approach the more challenging aspects of life; the subconscious, The invisible realm and other 'hard to access' places, in fact Surrealists were obsessed by these themes. When we consider this, it makes sense and that there isn't one all encompassing style, as if there were, there would be some suggestion that each individual's subconscious is not unique. This is not to say that there are not common themes between artists and links between certain symbolic aspects of work as well and artistic approaches, however each outcome is essentially personal to artist.

In regards to contemporary art or in fact contemporary culture, Wallace explored the fact that Surrealism has also been one of the largest influences in commercial advertising; this bringing together of random things, is a technique, which at one stage became hugely useful within advertising.  

Wallace then began to talk us through a collection of slides' some from the exhibition and some contemporary examples.

SLIDES

Victor Bauner 1934 – artificial man,

This first slide displayed a hybrid creature, displaying this idea of part human part machine. Surrealists were consistently concerned with the line between the real and unreal to perhaps create a stronger more capable human being, forever trying to cross this boundary. In the example shown, the real and the unreal are merged. An idea, which became possible after WWI when the production of prosthetic limbs rose and these hybrids appeared, bringing us closer to this surrealist vision of the unreal becoming real. Wallace made the link to The Tales of Hoffman; where a man falls in love with a mannequin; falling in love with something unreal is perhaps the ultimate bringing together of real/unreal.

Wallace touched on a lot of important things and appeared to have absolutely vast knowledge, especially in terms of Surrealism's relevance to contemporary art, theatre, literature, culture, history etc. This fascination with the body perhaps stemmed from Breton and Ernst's medical background, both trained to be doctors, until they resigned to become poets, yet their fascination with the body continued as they searched to link artificial worlds.

Ron Mueck, mask 11, 2011

contemporary example of the real and the unreal joined together

-the fantastic world

Perhaps the difference between then and now is that contemporary surrealists there is an element of humour and a replication of the movements attitudes, whereas surrealists of the time were completing a genuine search for truth, a genuine way to tap into the subconscious and make the unreal, real.

Wallace showed a slide of Bretons 1960s studio/home, which was fascinating and of which a video appears in the exhibitions, the studio is permanently displayed at the Centre Pompidou, Paris. Within the studio many esoteric objects appear. Breton had a strong belief in the power, status and mythology of objects, hence his vast an eclectic collection.

Often the question is asked 'When does the object become art? Is it when the artist pronounces it art, as if the artist somehow has a divine power. In the case of Surrealism the answer is no, an object must hold some magical power, or retain a sense of meaning or worth, never be a commodity or mass produced consumer item, perhaps found or manipulated in some way. The fall in popularity of Surrealism is largely to do with the rise of Pop Art, which was doing precisely this taking and everyday consumer object and displaying an oversized, over spruced, shiny version of it and calling it art, essentially going against everything that Surrealism was about. Refusing to commit to convention.

The exhibition itself was curated in chronological order, mapping the rise and 'fall' of Surrelaism.

“Transform the world' said Marx, 'Change Life' said Rimbaud. These two orders are for us one and the same” - Bréton 1955

"Every product of disgust is capable of becoming a negation of the family is Dada: a protest with the fists of its whole being engaged in destructive action dada: the knowledge of all the means rejected up until now by the stonefaced sex of comfortable compromise and good manners, dada: absolution of logic: which is the dance of those impotent to create: dada of every social hierarchy and equation set up for the sake of values by our valets Dada absolution of memory: dada – abolition of archaology” Dad absolution of prophets Dada: absolution of the future absolute and unquestionable faith in every God that is faith in the immediate product of spontaneity."

Tristan Tszara -Dada Manifesto, 1918.

The fall of popularity in Surrealism due to the rise of Pop Art, which essentially went against everything that Surrealist was about, often the question is asked ' when does the object become art? Is it when the artist pronounces it art, as if the artist somehow has a divine power. In the Case of Surrealism the answer is no, an object must hold some magical power, or retain a sense of meaning or worth, never be a commodity or mass produced consumer item, perhaps found, but then manipulated in some way. Pop Art was doing precisely this taking and everyday consumer object and displaying an oversized over spruced shiny version of it and calling it art. 

On visiting the exhibition itself after the talk I found some very different works to what I have seen before – the surreal house was more specific, obviously centred around the house and themes of domesticity, of course this is a revisited theme from many surrealist, this show has a broader, general overview of surrealism, with a strong link to cinema in conjunction with the surreal film festival being held at the gallery, there is a clearer narrative, however when listening to the talk it seemed that Dr. Wallace's interviewer was perhaps speaking with little knowledge of Surrealism, which is perhaps effective as it is such a vast and complex subject that many of the audience may only have touched on parts of it. It was reassuring, however, that Wallace clearly had more to offer on the topic.

 Belle Du Jour, 1967

 Commercial Surrealist Film

 Early Hans Richter

Mannequin Love

Sarah@OWT creative, travelling sketchbook

I thought I would post up some photographs of some pages I have contributed to Sarah Stapleton's travelling Sketchbook. The idea is to send a sketchbook on a journey and see how different people respond/reject/embrace work within the sketchbook and make their own mark in it before passing it on. Here are my contributions, I have tried to keep the pages quite light and leave lots of space, to encourage others to add to my pages with their work.

If anyone would like to be the next contributor, let me know!

John Stezaker

Whitechapel Gallery, London

04/03/2011

John Stezaker is one of the most renowned collage artists of our time and it was a treat to find that a retrospective of his work had been curated for the Whitechapel Gallery. I first came across Stezaker's work when I visited New York in 2007, whilst studying on my foundation year, at the time I was unaware of how influential Stezaker would come to be. I re-visited a sketchbook from New York whilst studying my degree and noticed a small thumbnail of an intriguing and jarring image, researching further I realised it was Stezaker and began to explore his work further.

Within my wider research for my dissertation I researched Stezaker and found some of his themes very interesting. Stezaker uses film stills an juxtaposes them with disparate or complimentary images, film, stills.

Stezaker explores gender roles in cinema and is often described as a male feminist. It is interesting to wonder whether his work is perceived differently because he is male, compared to if a female generated similar work.

He comments on the idea that women are objects of attention and subjects of the male gaze, a theme prominent within Hollywood cinema. Using collage Stezaker subverts, exaggerates and draws attention to our perception, using what we take for granted and offering the opportunity to re-think what we see by rearranging the way images are ordered and presented. This transformation of images allures the viewer, as collage does so often, into a new sense of reality, a continuous comment and questioning of perception.

I researched Stezaker for my dissertation, I found it interesting to observe a male response to some of the feminist issues I had been exploring. To see the huge retrospective of Stezaker's work was inspiring and overwhelming to see so much of his work in one place, the work has much more resonance in the space of a gallery rather than on screen or in a book, seen at the size which Stezaker intended. What was so impressive is that each of the collages were original works, not re-produced or printed out, the actual fragments were original, and there is something endearing about how two disparate, unedited elements can work together in a strange harmonious chaos.

The idea of male dominance/gender hierarchy and the male/female gaze is something I have explored in a film workshop, with Sam Meech using found footage for the North West Film Archive, and something I will continue to explore in future work.