Reflections on the Contemporary Arts Awards finalists

Reflections on the Contemporary Arts Awards finalists

Posted by on Oct 6, 2016 in Blog | 0 comments

The finalists for the 2016 Contemporary Arts Awards have been announced and I thought it might be fitting to have a look through some of these finalists. I’m not going to talk about all of the finalists, and in fact don’t even plan on talking about the winning entry at all. I’m just going to take a little look at the works here that resonate with me, or make me think or feel anything that has to do with my own arts practice and direction as an artist. I’m not going to put a lot of time into these reflections, they’re essentially just going to be some initial impressions and quick thoughts.

Veronica Andrus-Blaskievics – ‘Interwoven.’

interwoven
I think the first and most obvious piece that resonates with my own practice is this lovely piece of work by Veronica Andrus-Blaskievics titled ‘Interwoven.’
The reasons this piece resonates with me, or makes me think of my own practice is superficial, but, obvious. This piece is intricately created with glass beads, fishing line and fabric. These are my mediums of choice! This is a piece about grief and loss, but with a positive spin on it about resilience and the creation of something new in the face of loss. I don’t currently have the strength to make much work or share work with such powerful personal emotive themes, so I appreciate seeing somebody else doing it, and I also appreciate seeing this medium used to convey emotional themes. I do actually have a beaded and deeply emotional piece of work that I have created – perhaps at some point I might bring myself to display and discuss it in this blog. I have difficulties showing myself in my art, so appreciate it being done here with this medium.

Michael Simms – The Selfie

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This oil on polyester piece is certainly an evocative piece of work, dramatic and critical. One of the reasons that it caught my eye in regards to my own arts practice is that I am actually working on a body of work about selfies. This piece certainly appears to be a negative take on selfie culture, with the statement accompanying the piece noting that the nature of selfies are peculiar and often disturbing. The text also describes selfies as typically superficial, and highlights issues with living a curated life.

I’ll say this is certainly uhh, a valid exploration of selfie culture, but, personally these reflections don’t match my feelings on the subject much at all. I do agree that there are interesting things to be said about curating ones experiences on social media and the curated construction of self through the selective nature of choosing which self portraits to make public, and I don’t deny that it is possible for there to be negative experiences in that. However, my personal experience of selfie culture, watching my peer group (comprised largely of young women who grew up in a time where selfie portraiture was becoming usual) is much more positive. I see it used to express body positivity, I see it used to document not only the picture-perfect instagrammable moments, but also moments of depression, of being too tired to think, of sillyness. I see them as a documentation of day to day life. I also think that documentation is valuable. There is a reason people tend to prize their photo albums.

Also while I am aware that men absolutely do take selfies I see the selfie culture as a typically gendered feminine practice, particularly a practice undertaken by young women, and personally, I’m pretty defensive of the practices of young women. Young women are criticized enough, I feel.

Also in regards to the curated nature of it all… femininity and masculinity are social constructs. Gender is performative. Self portraiture is (almost?) always performative, there are elements involved in what you’re choosing to highlight. Portraiture of others is the same way, to be honest. The composition of people, the setting they’re in, the clothing they wear. They’re all elements of communication, choosing to paint them or photograph them and then choosing to make those images public is all curation and it seems as old as portrature itself. Selfie culture is just a practice and form of self portraiture, and, thats fine.
I don’t think modern culture is necessarily much more ‘curated’ than previous times and places have been in human history. So much of the human experience is about coding yourself in specific ways to fit into specific roles and to be taken in certain ways. Performance in human society isn’t new, and curation of the traits we make public isn’t new either, social media just provides a change in format.

That said there is room to be critical of the way that our lives do appear to be much more public than they previously were in the face of social media, but, at the same time, I tend to see selfies as a positive practice of young women. I typically see them taken by people like myself and my peer group. I’d much rather defend and celebrate these cultural practices. My cultural practices. I find that there are more things regarding selfies to be positive about than to be critical of, personally.

That said this is a beautiful and engaging piece.

Lisa Koutalas – This is Max

this-is-max
I appreciate the raw feeling of this oil on board gesture piece, though admittedly might not have chosen it for discussion had I not been prompted into thought by the above piece by Michael Simms. Mostly its just these couple of sentences in the description accompanying the piece that are giving me pause for thought:
“Engaging in moments where the masquerades of daily life are disrupted, I consider the canvas as a type of mirror. Convinced that answers can only emerge by looking outward, I attempt to seize instances where emotion is unlocked.”
“My artwork continues to reflect a place where the real and imagined collide. A place where reality is indistinguishable from the fabricated. A place where consciousness, subconsciousness, and unconsciousness meet.”
My thoughts here are not clear. Its like I have the spark of a thought, the beginning of a reflection, not fully formed. I feel that there’s something to be said about the curated nature of portraits here though.

Yasmin Nebenfuhr – Shearing the Rams Again

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The reflection of this archival photographic print will be much shorter than the above discussions, I promise. All I really have to say about this one is I’m interested in explorations of the Heidelberg Impressionists, because of their place in the history of Australian art. So a re-contextualized piece of imagery along these lines is something I am enjoying seeing. I would like to study more Australian Impressionism and Australian Tonalism and have these influences impact my own work into the future.

Wade Goring – It wore many masks

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This one is another really short reflection. I don’t have much to say other than the fact that I enjoy seeing this piece inspired by illustrative work/graffiti/comic book art in among the rest of these pieces. It really feels to me like most of the artists I have known around my age bracket have been heavily influenced in one way or another by things like comic books and animations.

Vrinda Gleeson – Bath-Time

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This is the final piece that I am going to choose to highlight. This oil, charcoal and acrylic on board piece received a highly commended award. It largely caught my eye for a couple of reasons, partially it has to do with the aesthetics and mood of the piece, but also it largely has to do with the artists description. Vrinda Gleeson notes that women as artists and women as models for artists is an interesting space. The piece appears to consider notions of the objectification of women. I’m interested in art by women about womens experiences, so, I like this piece in that regard. These subjects interest me.

These are just the few images I chose to comment on, but, there are quite a few, and many of the ones I didn’t speak about here caught my eye. To see all the finalists, and to read the descriptions check out the finalist exhibition.

Have a good week everyone. 🙂

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