Spencer Tunick has encouraged 5000 Australians to get naked and pose on the steps of the Sydney Opera House.
That’s not my white bum on the bottom left of the image as I chose not to scare the locals. I’m not much of a morning person either.
From the Sydney Morning Herald.. “The official name of Tunick’s installation was The Base. Yet after waiting two hours for the sun to come up, it became apparent that Blue Poles might be an appropriate title as a brisk wind hit the Opera House steps.”
I like discovering interesting artists that I have never heard of before. French artist Bernard Lorjou (1908-1986) is one of them. I still don’t know much about him but I like his work.
Bernard Lorjou – Bull and Bullfighter (The Friends)
Bernard Lorjou – The Jazz Pianist
Bernard Lorjou – Circus Horse on Hind Legs
Bernard Lorjou – King David
More of his work can be seen at Lorjou.com (it’s a little challenging to navigate but worth the effort) or at the official Bernard Lorjou website.
“Procrastination refers to the deferment of actions or tasks to a later time. Psychologists often cite such behavior as a mechanism for coping with the anxiety associated with starting and/or completing any task or decision. There are three criteria for a behavior to be classified as procrastination: it must be counterproductive, needless, and delaying.
Procrastination may result in stress, a sense of guilt and crisis, severe loss of personal productivity, as well as disapproval by others for not meeting responsibilities or commitments. These feelings combined may promote further procrastination. While it is regarded as normal for people to procrastinate to some degree, it becomes a problem when it impedes normal functioning. Chronic procrastination may be a sign of an underlying psychological disorder.”
So, I have a label I can hide behind now. It’s not me to blame for the lack of posts, it’s the “psychological disorder” of “chronic procrastination” which I suffer from to blame. I knew all along that it wasn’t my fault and wikipedia has proven me right. 
Sorry if I haven’t replied to your emails or comments lately, I really have been pretty vacant. I’m back on the horse now and holding tightly to the feisty little filly.
I wonder what has been happening in the world of art…
Here’s some quotes by fellow Australian artist Leith O’Malley, from an interview here at Art and Art Ed.
“Remember there are not better artists, just better publicists!”
Leith O’Malley
“When I am creating art… I have a real sense of excitement and even enlightenment. Just me and the work. It’s still there when a painting is completed but never as strong as the point where you are still trying to fit all the pieces together be it compositional, aesthetically or the colour and tone decisions along the way.”
Leith O’Malley
“Dismiss nothing unless you are informed enough about it to have an opinion. It is a lot like music.. in that there are so many different genres, ways to enjoy, interpretations and possibilities to create yourself. Don’t have your blinkers on and be open to understanding and enjoying all forms of art as in music.”
Leith O’Malley
Basquiat is my favorite movie about an artist.
It’s hard to make a good artist look interesting as they’re usually just working.
Easily the best living painter in the world.. in my humble opinion.
Before seeing or hearing Lucian Freud speak I thought he might be a more forceful person. I figured that the man would have been much less delicate than he is in person as his paintings are so strong and self assured.
I almost feel uncomfortable watching him as he seems naked, even if he is fully clothed.
The Lucian Freud interview is in 5 parts, so do go watch them all on YouTube. If you are a painter, you have to watch it all.
I found the video on Leith O’Malley’s Facebook page. I also started a Facebook page for Art News Blog. I haven’t figured out what I do with it yet though!
Mixing sport and art is a lot like mixing oil and water, jews and muslims, christians and atheists, or any other unlikely combination which doesn’t mix well. But like any generalization, it is often proven to be not entirely true. Sometimes a jew will marry a muslim, a christian will convert an atheist, and good art will be inspired by sport.
I think the sculpture of Dinni Kunoth Kemarre at the upcoming “Bush Football” exhibition (nothing to do with George W. or soccer) at the Mossenson Gallery, Melbourne proves me wrong; art and sport can mix.
Dinni Kunoth Kemarre
Footballer (Kangaroo)
acrylic on wood
Dinni Kunoth Kemarre
Footballer (Bomber)
acrylic on wood
Dinni Kunoth Kemarre
Footballer (Bomber)
acrylic on wood
Bush Football will be on display at 41 Derby Street, Collingwood, Victoria, Australia from Tuesday 18 August until Saturday 5 September, 2009. Mossenson Galleries website.
Ps.. this post has nothing to do with religion.
I’m not sure how legal this fake Damien Hirst blog is, but it’s funny. Im surprised Mr Hirst hasn’t shut them down.
This fake Damien Hirst work of 44 peanut M&Ms is called “The fear of becoming fat expressed in the joy of being colorful”
Other works include Thoughts on eternal life by someone living a mundane life in a tiny flat, The price of being a virgin in the world dominated by people who’s virginity could never be proven, and Snow White and the seven dwarfs without the seven dwarfs actually being the seven dwarfs. See more on the Damien Hirst spoof site here.
Found on ArtWorldMag.
I’m in Sydney for a few days as a family member was passing through town and needed a place to stay. The problem was that he may have swine flu or at least a bad case of regular flu. Either way, I wasn’t hanging around to catch any flu! So it was a great excuse to jump in the car and drive.
Today I went to the Art Gallery of NSW in Sydney to see Intensely Dutch, which looks at Dutch artists after world war 2, including artists from the CoBrA movement. Artists include Karel Appel, Gerrit Benner, Bram Bogart, Constant, Corneille, Edgar Fernhout, Willem de Kooning, Theo Kuijpers, Lucebert, Jaap Nanninga, Wim Oepts, Jan Riske, Jan J Schoonhoven, Bram van Velde, and Jaap Wagemaker.
Karel Appel
Ontmoeting (Encounter) 1951
oil on canvas, 130 x 97.5 cm
Collection: Netherlands Institute for Cultural Heritage (on loan to Centraal Museum,
Utrecht) © Karel Appel Foundation/Van Lennep Producties, Amsterdam
It was a smallish exhibition, but one that got me excited. I had just walked around the whole Art Gallery of NSW and was seriously bored (apart from a few favorite paintings that I have seen countless times). It was Intensely Dutch that got me wagging my art tail and I was probably dribbling in front of a few of the works too.
I love line, paint, texture, and childlike abandon in painting.. and this exhibition has them all. I didn’t take my camera with me and the art catalog had sold out, so I can’t show some of the works that I liked most. While Karel Appel has never been on my top ten list of painters, I would give up my car and widescreen TV to own a few of his drawings!
Lucebert
Dierentemmer (Animal tamer) 1959
oil on canvas, 88 x 128.5 cm
Stedelijk Museum, Schiedam © the estate of the artist
If you’re a lover of paint you’ll love Intensely Dutch. If I had to complain about something I would say that it needed 50 more works hanging! Oh, and running out of catalogs is no way to run a business. It’s on until the 23rd of August in Sydney at the AGNSW.
