David Jones, artist and poet (1895-1974) begins his PREFACE TO THE ANATHEMATA :
'I have made a heap of all that I could find.' (1) So wrote Nennius, or whoever composed the introductory matter to Historia Brittonum. He speaks of an 'inward wound' which was caused by the fear that certain things dear to him 'should be like smoke dissipated'. Further, he says, 'not trusting my own learning, which is none at all, but partly from writings and monuments of the ancient inhabitants of Britain, partly from the annals of the Romans and the chronicles of the sacred fathers, Isidore, Hieronymous, Prosper, Eusebius and from the histories of the Scots and Saxons although our enemies . . . I have lispingly put together this . . . about past transactions, that [this material] might not be trodden under foot'. (2)
(1) The actual words are coacervavi omne quod inveni, and occur in Prologue 2 to the Historia. (2) Quoted from the translation of Prologue 1. See The Works of Gildas and Nennius, J.A.Giles, London 1841.
HAND SPACE material (1982) mailed by Robert MacPherson to Peter Tyndall Lecture Topic: Recession Art & Other Strategies, 1985, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane
Speaker: Peter Cripps Respondent: Channon Goodwin
In response to the social, political and cultural contexts of the 1970’s and 80’s, Peter Cripps curated the exhibition Recession Art & Other Strategies, at the Institute of Modern Art (IMA), Brisbane in 1985. According to Cripps, ‘Recession art refers to art which is made under the pressure of little money and an insignificant market. It tends to be small, easy to produce, store and dispose of. It included the development of new strategies for the sale of works; the possibility of replacing parts as they sell with replicas. It is an art based on the limited means of production, speed of production and small size of constituent units, which, since they can form larger works, do not restrict the artist in the scale of his work. It is an art based on intellect rather than on formal qualities.’
In his lecture, Cripps reviews this exhibition, interrogating its legacy, as well as exploring perceived synergies between historical and contemporary independent art practice. Additionally, he assesses the role and impact of this type of artist thinking and practice on the contemporary context.
Peter Cripps is an artist and a former Director of the Institute of Modern Art (IMA), Brisbane (1984–86). As an artist has exhibited widely in Australia and internationally since the 1970s, with recent major individual survey exhibitions including Peter Cripps: Endless Space at the IMA, Brisbane in 2012, and Peter Cripps: Towards an Elegant Solution, ACCA, Melbourne in 2010. Between 1973 and 1988, Cripps worked as a curator and various other roles within a number of major Australian museums, galleries and alternative art spaces, as well as in a freelance capacity.
Permanent Recession: Art Labour & Circumstance – Channon Goodwin and Peter Cripps in conversation : Channon Goodwin is an artist and arts-worker based in Melbourne. Goodwin is the Director of Bus Projects, founding Convener of the All Conference network, and makes films and podcasts for Fellow Worker.
Pete: [strums guitar] You ready for this, J-dog? Jam out, drink some brews, talk about everything and nothing.
Jack: After today, that is exactly what I am ready for. [claps hands] Beer me.
Pete: [hands Jack a beer]
Jack: [cracks beer and sighs] Sitting around, drinking beer while a guy in a poncho plays guitar... this is what I always pictured college being like.
Pete: I wouldn't really know. I only had about two weeks of real college before Paula got pregnant. Twice. She had overlapping pregnancies five months apart.
Pete: [laughs and starts playing guitar] Baw baw baw baw baw.
Jack: [sings] Sitting on a park bench. I don't know the words except park bench.
Jack: Hey, Pete. How do I know that the colors you see are the same as the colors that I see? Maybe what I see as red you perceive as green.
Pete: We should be writing this stuff down.
- 30 Rock [ season 5 episode 8 )
Although Daishu apparently never formally studied Zen as did the other two Shu, he once had a run-in with a Zen priest who gave him a valuable hint. Deishu was visiting a temple in Ueno on family business and happened to boast to the priest there how skillful he was with a spear.
"Is that so?' remarked the priest. "How about a demonstration? Do you think you can touch me with your weapon?"
Angered by the priest's cavalier disregard of his reputation, Deishu grabbed a laundry pole, prepared to make short work of the monk. To his consternation, Deishu got nowhere near the priest who deftly avoided every thrust. Deishu was forced to concede defeat and beseeched the the priest, "What school do you profess? Please teach me the principles of your Ryu."
"I belong to the 'Mountains are high, rivers are long' Ryu. It is also know as the 'Eyes horizontal, nose vertical' or the Willows are green, flowers are red' School."
'What do you mean?" a confused Deishu asked
"Figure it out for yourself," the Zen priest told him.
- John Stevens, The Sword of No-Sword: Life of the Master Warrior Tesshu
The ABC has not only helped shape Australia, we are the national voice that unites us.
It’s about democracy. Without the ABC we would have a balkanised and parochial bunch of broadcasters that are in danger of being compromised by profit and more intent on dividing than unifying.
Imagine what it would be like during the bushfire season if we had to rely only on state-based or even regionally based media outlets. When we are in the middle of bushfires, don’t we want to know that they are being covered by a knowledgeable and experienced network of journalists with all the supporting infrastructure of a large national network?
The ABC, funded by all of us, regardless of our creed – race, age, political beliefs – is us. It’s the way we build cross-cultural understanding, the way we help each other in times of need. It’s who we are collectively. Why would anyone want to diminish that and make us less than who we are?
This has been a devastating week for the ABC. With unemployment at an all-time high to have to inform up to 250 people they no longer had a job has been an incredibly difficult task.
Cuts to services caused by the ongoing reduction in our budget forced this action upon us and although we knew what had to be done, our hearts were with our employees.
Let me clarify the cuts because there seems to be some confusion in Government circles about them. The 2018 Budget papers clearly state that the Government’s savings measures reduce funding to the ABC by $14.623 million in 2019-20, $27.842 million in 2020-21, and $41.284 million in 2021-22. This reduction totals $83.75 million on our operational base.
It is true that over the three years the ABC budget does still increase but by a reduced amount, due to indexation on the fixed cost of transmission and distribution services. Previously, it was rising by a further $83.75 million over the same three years for indexation on our operational base. This is the funding that has been cut and considered a saving by the government.
These funding cuts are unsustainable if we are to provide the media services that Australians expect of us. Indexation must be renewed.
The strength of the ABC and its relationship with the nation comes from the very people who work for us. They are passionate about public broadcasting and are prepared to work for less than they would be paid by commercial media to deliver it. The creativity in the programs they produce, the dogged and independent journalism they pursue and the connection with communities everywhere they provide through conversations is at the very heart of what the ABC delivers to our audiences.
The ABC has a statutory requirement to operate as efficiently as possible. We have a strong track record in identifying savings and reinvesting them in services. This is how we created ABC News 24, ABC iview and a range of packages to boost services in rural and regional Australia.
There is no other authority better placed to manage the ABC than the ABC itself. We know our business and we are determined to honour our commitment to independence. All Australians expect this of us just as they expect the Government to provide the appropriate funds to allow us to do so.
The ABC is essential in generating and preserving Australia’s democratic culture. An independent, well-funded national broadcaster allows Australians, wherever they live, to connect. It is how we share our identity, how we tell our stories, how we listen to each other, how we ask for help and how we give it.
Ita Buttrose AC OBE
ABC Chair
Posted 26th June 2020
Same as it ever was. ABC supporters, including Kerry O’Brien, left, and Allan Hogan, make their feelings known in 1976.
...that the organisation would be undergoing a restructure to “modernise” the gallery and ensure its continuing sustainability.
The restructure requires shedding between 10% and 12% of its more than 300 staff to make up the remaining $1.5m of a $3.26m shortfall... The gallery is simultaneously planning to dramatically cut its art acquisitions as part of a strategy to focus on “masterworks rather than volume”.
....this year the gallery controversially spent almost half its annual acquisitions budget on the $6.8m artwork Cube by the US artist Jordan Wolfson...
We were delighted to receive this communique of meta-regard from the Ian Potter Museum of Art :
Dr Kyla McFarlane contemplates the act of staring at the work The Coat, taking time with it rather than just glancing at it; allowing oneself to get lost in the detail, experiencing each element of the composition as well as the impact of the work in its entirety.
Lecture Topic: POPISM, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 1982
Speaker: Judy Annear
The exhibition POPISM was held at the National Gallery of Victoria in 1982. At 24 years old, recent honours graduate and founder and editor of Art & Text magazine, Paul Taylor was invited to curate an exhibition of contemporary Australian art. The NGV was usually described as ‘the bunker’ with apparently little connection to the local art scene or experimental practice. POPISM came like a bolt from the blue, hard on the heels of the first five issues of Art &Text.
This lecture will discuss the exhibition and the artists (Howard Arkley, David Chesworth, Ian Cox, Juan Davila, Richard Dunn, Paul Fletcher, Maria Kozic, Robert Rooney, Jane Stevenson, The Society for Other Photography, Imants Tillers, Peter Tyndall, Jenny Watson, and Tsk Tsk Tsk), provide some background and context to the ideas and practices, and the evolution of Taylor’s thinking and working. I will trace this through Taylor’s published writings, the various reactions to his activities, and the recollections and interpretations of his peers – then and now.
Judy Annear is an independent researcher and writer based in Victoria on Dja Dja Wurrung land, never ceded, and Honorary (Principal Fellow) School of Culture and Communication, University of Melbourne. Her fields of research include literary feminisms, and modern and contemporary art practice underpinned by a focus on periods of major technological change. Amongst other projects, she is currently researching Allan Sekula’s first visit to Australia in 1980, as a guest of Working Papers On Photography, Melbourne. Her recent publications include a small book of experimental texts The Ls 2019, as well as contributions to Photomedia Now/Everything is Interesting’ in Art Monthly Australasia October 2018, and an encyclopaedic history, The Photograph and Australia 2015.
ABOUT THE SERIES:
ACCA’s Lecture Series, Defining Moments: Australian Exhibition Histories 1968–1999, will take a deeper look at the moments that have shaped Australian art since 1968. In the second year of this two-year series, seven more guest lecturers will analyse the game changers in Australian art, addressing key contemporary art exhibitions staged over the last three decades of the twentieth century and reflecting on the ways these exhibitions shaped art history and contemporary Australian culture more broadly.
Ambitious, contested, polemical, genre-defining and genre-defying, contemporary art exhibitions have shaped and transformed the cultural landscape, along with our understanding of what constitutes art itself. This program traces the legacies of artists and curators, addresses the critical reception of selected significant projects, and reflects on a wide range of exhibitions and formats; from artist run initiatives to institutions, as well as interventions in public space and remote communities. clickHEREfor 2020 season listings
SIGN FIELD Festival 'O' Signs Daylesford Town Hall Hepburn Shire Council Meeting Jen and Dru present the amendments sought and return to their seats TAR responds with BODY SIGNS
Theatre of the Actors of Regard
Freeman Tribilcock filming at right, filming this too.
bLOGOS/HA HA (the editor) In December 1975, I entered two small finely drawn ideogram works in the prestigious Mornington Peninsula Drawing Prize. Alan McCulloch, art critic for 'The Herald', was the director of the Mornington Peninsula Regional Art Gallery and it was he who initiated this competition to promote drawing. This was an open-entry opportunity from which a selection of works would be hung and from these a select few acquired by the gallery. Alan and a panel of artist judges would make the final assessment. I attended the opening and was pleased to see both my works on display. Before the final selection was announced, Alan spoke about the practice and qualities of drawing that were important to him. I agreed. My drawings, however, didn't make the final cut and I was very disappointed as these were a breakthrough for me. Some weeks later, the Mornington gallery phoned to say that James Mollison had visited the exhibition and bought both my works (and no others) for the National Gallery collection. It was a great confirmation of my altered path - the first such support. More purchases were to follow. National Gallery of Australia : facebook It is with deep sadness that we note the passing of one of Australia’s greatest museum directors, National Gallery founding director James Mollison AO.
During twenty years at the helm, he showed us how bold risk taking could build an unrivalled world class art collection. In bringing together so many influential and extraordinary works, he wanted visitors to experience art history and leave knowing much more about art than when they first arrived.
By inspiring and provoking Australians with everything from Sidney Nolan’s ‘Ned Kelly’ series to Jackson Pollock’s ‘Blue poles’, he invited us to think and talk about art. This pioneering spirit together with his courage is what we carry into the future. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this sad time.
I tell my troubles to the coalman He's a coalman but he understands He's not such a very very old man He's a soul man and he takes my hand He makes a man feel good when he's down Head is touching the ground He's going to help you if he can He's a coalman - Ronnie Burns / Bee Gees (1967) "I have always believed in miracles." Prime Minister Scott Morrison Election night address : May 2019
Yesterday at Cobargo, this firefighter refused to shake Prime Minister Scott Morrison's hand
I tell my troubles to the coalman He's a coalman but he understands He's not such a very very old man He's a soul man and he takes my hand He makes a man feel good when he's down Head is touching the ground He's going to help you if he can He's a coalman - Ronnie Burns / Bee Gees (1967)
'Cause for great concern': Australia ranked last in global assessment on climate action SBS NEWS : 11 Dec 2019
Australia’s climate policy rating was ranked the lowest in the world with analysts noting that “the newly elected government continued to worsen performance at both national and international levels.” Its policies were given a 0.0 rating, in comparison the United Stated ranked one position higher held a 2.8 rating and the top-performing nation Portugal received a 98.7.
Scott Morrison attempts to shake the hand of a pregnant woman at Cobargo yesterday : click here to watch video
I tell my troubles to the coalman He's a coalman but he understands He's not such a very very old man He's a soul man and he takes my hand He makes a man feel good when he's down Head is touching the ground He's going to help you if he can He's a coalman - Ronnie Burns / Bee Gees (1967) Scott Morrison does not want kids to have 'anxieties' about climate change after Greta Thunberg's speech
ABC NEWS : 10 Sept 2019
Scott Morrison has warned against causing children "needless anxiety" about climate change and suggested Australian kids need to be given more "context and perspective" on the issue. Responding to a passionate speech by Swedish teenage environmental campaigner Greta Thunberg at Monday's United Nations Climate Summit, the Prime Minster said it was important Australian children were confident they would live in a "wonderful country and pristine environment". "They will also have an economy to live in as well," he said. "I don't want our children to have anxieties about these issues. "We've got to let kids be kids." The Prime Minister has faced criticism from Australian businesspeople and scientists for missing the summit.
Yesterday, this Cobargo resident preferred to tell PM Morrison: Nah, you're an idiot, mate. You really are.
I tell my troubles to the coalman He's a coalman but he understands He's not such a very very old man He's a soul man and he takes my hand He makes a man feel good when he's down Head is touching the ground He's going to help you if he can He's a coalman - Ronnie Burns / Bee Gees (1967)
And this Cobargo resident told Scott Morrison: This is not fair. We are totally forgotten down here. Every single time this area gets a flood or a fire, we get nothing. If we lived in Sydney or on the North Coast we would be flooded with donations and emergency relief. How about about the money for our forgotten corner of New South Wales, Mr Prime Minister? How come we only had four trucks to defend our town? Our town doesn’t have a lot of money, but we have hearts of gold. I tell my troubles to the coalman He's a coalman but he understands He's not such a very very old man He's a soul man and he takes my hand He makes a man feel good when he's down Head is touching the ground He's going to help you if he can He's a coalman - Ronnie Burns / Bee Gees (1967)
Don't miss the October edition of Picture Club, as the Guides lead Members on a fascinating and insightful tour of one of AGWA's newest exhibitions.
Meet us at the main reception desk before proceeding through to the Gallery for a deeper insight into a current display under the expert guidance of our Gallery Guides, followed by tea, coffee and conversation in the Foundation Clubroom.
Please RSVP by Sunday 20 October to foundation@artgallery.wa.gov.au We also hope to see you on Monday 18 November, where we will be enjoying some festive cheer in the Foundation Clubroom as we celebrate the final Picture Club for 2019!
Theatre of the Actors of Regard
ARTWORK CREDITS
Fritz KosArt Gallery of Western Australia 1979 (detail). State Library of Western Australia. Sourced from the collections of the State Library of Western Australia and reproduced with the permission of the Library Board of Western Australia. (224275PD).
FIAPCE
detail A Person Looks At A Work Of Art/ someone looks at something... LOGOS/HA HA
Unsheathe your dagger definitions. Horseness is the whatness of allhorse.
- from James Joyce's ‘Ulysses’, an account of one person in one place on one day, 16 June 1904, published 2 February 1922.
Today, 27 August 2019, we spotlight the following HYPERALLERGIC editorial and accompanying article about re/defining The Museum.
August 27, 2019
Letter from the Editor:
The International Council of Museums (ICOM) released a new definition of "museum" this month, and not everyone is happy. Danish curator Jette Sandahl, who lead ICOM’s commission on the new definition, suggested, among other things:
Museums are democratising, inclusive and polyphonic spaces for critical dialogue about the pasts and the futures. Acknowledging and addressing the conflicts and challenges of the present, they hold artefacts and specimens in trust for society, safeguard diverse memories for future generations and guarantee equal rights and equal access to heritage for all people.
Museums are not for profit. They are participatory and transparent, and work in active partnership with and for diverse communities to collect, preserve, research, interpret, exhibit, and enhance understandings of the world, aiming to contribute to human dignity and social justice, global equality and planetary wellbeing.
Some immediately considered the definition too ideological, but it raises bigger questions as to whether we actually have a working definition for the institutions that are the foundation of the art world. And is defining them even possible nowadays?
I think the question of what a museum is today is just as complicated as defining what art can be. We're more likely to recognize when something isn't a museum (or art) rather than when it actually is. In an era of more private vanity museums than ever, ersatz corporate entities designed for selfie takers (Museum of Ice Cream, etc.), and the push toward expensive spectacles that require outside funding, the meaning of museum is changing.
The final para of the HYPERALLERGIC article :
In April,ICOM began publishinga crowdsourced list of new museum definitions from around the world. Currently, there are 269 entries on their website from countries including Spain, France, Japan, Cameroon, and Iran. The proposed definition, however, was not chosen from any of these submissions but was picked internally by Sandhal’s commission. Voting for the new definition will be held at the organization’s Extraordinary General Assembly in Kyoto, Japan, on September 7.
Unsheathe your dagger definitions. Horseness is the whatness of allhorse. Streams of tendency and eons they worship. God: noise in the street: very peripatetic. Space: what you damn well have to see. Through spaces smaller than red globules of man's blood they creepycrawl after Blake's buttocks into eternity of which this vegetable world is but a shadow. Hold to the now, the here, through which all future plunges to the past.
- from James Joyce's ‘Ulysses’
At the International Council Of Museums website page headed Museum Definition : Creating a new museum definition – the backbone of ICOM, this is the Museum image that has ICOM provided : a grid of Right Angles in shades of white/ similar-sized rectangles of regard floating unsupported on walls/ NO PEOPLE or other living beings. Off to The Amuseum with that lot.
HAND SPACE material (1982) mailed by Robert MacPherson to Peter Tyndall 
