GOMA and the Queensland Art Gallery- Australian art as a part of Asia

On the second day of my Brisbane holiday, an artist friend and I reacquainted ourselves with GOMA and the Queensland Art Gallery.

In GOMA, we visited "We can make another future.  Japanese art after 1989".  There was a strong representation of work by Yayoi Kusama, but I particularly enjoyed "Soul under the moon" (2002), an installation using mirrors, ultra violet lights, water plastic, nylod thread, timber and synthetic polymer paint.  The interactive piece had me thinking about infinity, illusions and phobias.  It really is worth experiencing! The icing on the cake was the brilliant impromptu commentary by the guide.  She really added to the experience!

Other favourite pieces were Takashi Mirakami' "Ant then, and then, and then, and then and then" (1984),

and Shigeo Toya's wonderful "Woods III" (1991-1992), which I would love to steal.

We also enjoyed the "Terrain Indigenous Australian Objects and Representations" exhibition which explored the work of indigenous Australian artists:  paintings and spears,

 

 

(Hector Tjupura Burton, Willy Kaika, Mick Wikilyiri, Brenton Ken: "Kulata Tjuta (Many Spears) and Kulata (Spears)" 2014.

basket making, like these by Yvonne Koolmatrie,   

 

 adornments like this "Dancing Belt" by Lena Yarinkura (2005)

and sculptures, like these, which are amongst the "Bagu (Firestick Figures) and Jiman (Firesticks)"  (2009), by Betty Andy, Daniel Beeron, Maureen Beeron, Nancy Beeron, Theresa Beeron, Nancy Cowan, Nephi Denham, Alison Murray, Doris Kinjun, Emily Murray, John Murray, Sally Murray, and Ninney Murray

and these  "Jamu (Dog)" , 2003,by Lena Karinkura.

We also visited the "Creative Generation Excellence Awards in Visual Art" to catch up with the works of the 2014 senior visual arts students in Queensland.  It was very different to the work of Victorian students I had seen earlier in the year.  As usual, I was rather blown away by the talents of these high schoolers and the diversity of the pieces they created.  This is Harrison Camino's "Rooftop"s

This piece is by Samantha Bowers and is called "Dental Record".

I particularly liked these two details from Kate Barham's "Sapos Encontrados".

I was also interested to see the presence of embroidery in this year's work.  This detail is from Martha Godstone's "The Spontaneous Stitch".

My friend was very taken by Matilda Rodgers  "Powerful Connections"

and I was taken by Drew Patterson's Obsession".

 

We also admired the exhibition of bright work by Kunmanara Williamson with collaborating artists Nita Williamsom and Suzanne Armstrong.  This one is "Ngayuku ngura (My country) Pili Murpu (Mountain range)", 2012

 

 

We popped into the Queensland Art Gallery too.  One exhibition is called  Island Currents.  I really found these performance objects from the Torres Strait islanders very inspiring:  Alison Tabuai's "Wene-Wene/Gauguau Mawa (very powerful witchdoctor's mask)" 2001,

"Sikausagul (Dance of the Waves and Foam" dance instruments" (2011)  by Yessie Mosby, Barnisha Mosby and Carolyn Mosby,

and George Nosby's incredible headdresses ( 2008).

 

The permanent collection of Australian art , which includes " From Dreamtime 2 Machinetime" (1979) by  Trevor Nickolls is also worth seeing.

 

 

But, I was more interested in the Asian collection, especially the work by Indonesian artists, like  Eko Nugroho

 

 

 Bharti Kher's "The skin speaks a language not its own" (2006),

and Agung Kurniawan's works.

After all this, I was given a beautiful Vietnamese lunch at Viet De Lites, then we strolled through the  Southbank gardens, spotting this replica of a Portuguese caravelle. 

 

 

What a wonderful and multicultural day, Mia!  Thank you.  I am so lucky to have such generous friends!

 

 

 

Learning how to transfer images.

I was really lucky to be given a weekend away in Brisbane last week.  Two days to meet up with artist friends, learn some new skills and reacquaint myself  myself with the Queensland art galleries.  Whoopee!  Plus, I got the opportunity to take photos from the plane.  I think I'll use some of these for future pieces.

 

 

 

I had a beautiful first day in Brisbane thanks to the generosity of a group of artists who let me attend their transfer workshop in the beautiful home of Jan, and together supplied all of us with cake, soup, bread, a fruit platter (which was worthy of being considered a piece of  still life),

 

 

a cheese platter, chocolates, tea, coffee and wine

We were experimenting transferring laser printed photocopies ( both black and white and coloured) on to a receptor - canvas paper, oil painting paper, wood, canvas and even bisque pottery - using Golden Medium Fluid Matte Medium ( available from Oxlades) based on a YouTube lesson by Melanie Matthews.  By trial and error, we discovered that it was best to coat the canvas and the wood first with a medium like Aquadhere or Gesso to seal the surface, since both absorb huge quantities of the Golden Medium Fluid, which is rather expensive.

If the surface of the receptor is freshly sealed, we discovered that we should wait for it to dry before proceeding to the next step.  Once dry, the receptor is thoroughly coated with the Golden Medium Fluid using a paint brush , then the photocopy is coated thoroughly too.  When both are done, the photocopy is placed image down on the receptor, and an old credit card or some other sort of plastic card, and fingers are used to firmly press the paper on to the receptor.  We found that the image was more likely to transfer to the receptor if the back of the photocopy was also painted.  After a few minutes, when the paper feels as if it is drying, gently using fingers to rub off the paper is possible.  We found that an upper white layer of photocopy paper can be removed leaving a layer containing the image.  We waited until that was almost dry before gently rubbing off the rest of the paper.  Some of the artists with more sensitive fingers than mine found a synthetic gardening glove with a slightly rough surface helpful to protect their finger tips. If this step is done gently, the image should be transferred to the receptor.  If not, some of the image will rub off leaving gaps in the transfer.  I found the latter images much more interesting and artistic than a straight transfer, but I suppose it depends on the look you are after.

 

 

 We found that strong contrasts, really black and white rather than grading of grey, were most effective.

 

 

Once the transfer is completed, you can choose whether to embellish the picture or leave it as is.  We were thinking of superimposing other transfers on top or painting or drawing on the image.  The ceramicist was going to try glazing and firing the ceramic piece to see if the transfer is effective for use on pottery.  One of the group was going to experiment with Liquitex to see if had the same effect as the Golden Medium Fluid

 

When I get back to Melbourne, I am going to experiment with printing on sealed wood, as I love the look of the wood grain under the transfer.

Thanks, Carol, Elizabeth, Robyn, Elizabeth, Jane, Georgina and Jan for a brilliant day.

 

 

 

 

 

The street cats of Turkey.

I've always been a dog person until last year when we got two Maine Coons who proved to be a lot more dog-like, more cuddly and not prone to taking a piece out of me when the mood struck them than my previous cats.  Since then, I have joined the sad  tribe of cat people in the world.  When we went to Turkey, we discovered a country that adores cats.  Yes, there are street dogs (which appear to all be tagged on the ear) - usually German Shepherd or Anatolian Shepherd looking crosses-  but they tend to sleep a lot and know their place, and they certainly did not seem to be as numerous as the cats.  The cats are everywhere - in shops, hotels, restaurants, on the streets- and they appear to be quite cherished.  This is partly because Turkey is a mainly Moslem country, and for followers of Islam dogs are considered unclean, while cats are admired for their cleanliness and known as been loved by the prophet Mohammad, who is believed to have cut off a sleeve of his prayer robe rather than disturb his cat, Muezza, who was sleeping on it.  We did see some scraggy looking and ill cats, but most of them seem to healthy and looked after, even if they were street cats.  People put out biscuits, water and fresh meat for the cats in their area.  I was so taken with the cat cult that I took photos of them whenever I could.  This blog is a visual diary of the cats we encountered.  If you are a cat person, enjoy!  If not, ignore!