Public reaction to Public Sculpture.

"Bright Prospect"  painted steel 1979.
Ian McKay.
This type of public sculpture were placed in most towns.
Unfortunately they do not have the life or humor of that great American sculptor David Smith.

Public Sculpture.

Alcibiades rampage through Pericles’ Athens in the  fifth century ,after a heavy night’s drinking set a pattern. His lopping off the genitals of sacred statues, and general defacement of public sculptures seems to have repeated itself in various formats ever since. My first contact with this past time took place in the Archaeological Museum in Athens, were the statue of a Roman Governor’s wife appeared to have been stoned. It would appear that she was greatly disliked to say the least, and on her death the citizens literally stoned her bronze likeness. Not that the Romans were the only targets. A statue of Demetrius [The Besieger] was also torn down during what became known as the smashing period around 200BCE. The Athenian simply were fed up with Macedonian rule.

 

The general public has taken this idea to heart and continued to take out its vengeance on statues of overthrown rulers ever since. Over the last few decades, we have seen such activity directed towards the portraits of Stalin, Saddam Hussein, Pol Pot among others, as well as sculptures of a non-political kind. Why the public take such  personal views of  public  sculpture has many reasons. Often they did not like the politics, ideologies expressed, or simply the aesthetics of the work. I don’t pretend to be a sociologist, so am unable to offer any definitive answer, but history abounds with the wholesale  destruction of public sculpture. Often every time there is a change of government certain members of the public go on a rampage,

 

A local Australian example of this attitude was the removal of Ron Robertson-Swann’s large painted steel sculpture in what was to have been Melbourne’s city square. Standing some 5m high, it allowed the public to traverse under the vaulted canopy. Painted yellow it was quickly christened Yellow Peril . Council opponents felt it “would turn small children blind and would provide a place for sex-perverts to hide”. The sculpture did not last long and was removed in pieces to become a “artistic heap” on the banks of the Yarra. The example of this type of works is illustrated above in the steel sculpture of Ian McKay. Why people should feel so strongly is hard to fathom.

 

What interests me is why do the public react so strongly towards 3deminisal art work. Generally they don’t [well not in recent times], react in the same way to paintings in Art Museums, well not in more recent times. Art exhibitions do not have the same political clout as they did in the 19th cent. Over the centuries public sculpture has been used for political and religious purposes, so we must assume that people view sculpture work displayed in public areas as propaganda. Have you noticed how often public art has a hidden meaning. Often the subject is such, as to suggest that a Government really cares about the subject. It may be the environment, or the claim to territory, or simply the grandiose claims of political masters. I have included a couple of local examples we have here in Hobart.  One concerns Australia’s claim to large areas of Antarctica, while another records the discovery of Tasmania .

                                In support of Australia's claim to areas of Antarctica.

Lastly, there are war memorials about which there is universal respect, and images of Kings and Queens, Public Figures and so on. Often these are also defaced for no real purpose, other than one assumes to express a person’s disagreement with the message being conveyed, and make them feel good! It is little wonder that sculptors feel the need to use materials of substance, for such works must withstand the full gambit of human emotion and response to something foreign in public  “space”. It is impossible to please everyone in matters of ideas, and taste, after all the public sees public areas as extensions of their homes, and as such feel at liberty to remove, alter, deface, or destroy sculptural works as they see fit.

                                  Abel Tasman's ships, on the discovery of Tasmania.

Gympie Pickers and life in the outback.

Gympie Pickers.

 

January marked the arrival of the Gympie pickers, an Australian equivalent of the itinerant agricultural labour of Europe. They started  their travels in Queensland with the harvesting of the early vegetable  crops, slowly moving south picking a variety of fruit and vegetable  crops on the way. At the time, and this was some forty or more years ago, my wife and I used to grow various cash crops such as carrots, onions, and so on. These crops in those days were harvested by hand, and if your farm was isolated you depended on these itinerant workers.

 

Gympie, a southern Queensland vegetable growing area  supported a year round industry, resulting in a large pool of unskilled labour. Many of these families were basically marginal, existing on unemployment benefits and what  ever they could earn on their yearly migration south. Generally they had large families, six children or more not being unusual, not that the children ever seemed to go to school. They spent a large portion of the year on the road, living in caravans, tents,  some hitch hiked and slept under trees or bushes not unlike the swaggie of old.

 

Most years we would grow some forty or fifty acres of onions that required hand harvesting after drying off. This involved lifting the crop by tractor, then the pickers would pull the onions out of the ground, top and tail the roots and stems with sharp shears. It was not unusual to have up to sixty pickers on the block during harvest time. The control of such unruly numbers often proved to be an art form in itself. Mum, Dad, and the kids would arrive in an assortment of transport. Dad would hand out the sharpened shears ,then they would  set to work  pulling at the onions. Often I would become quite alarmed at the age of some of the “workers”,   fearing they would seriously hurt themselves. They all worked as piece labour, meaning they were paid according to the quantity of crop harvested. In a sense they were independent contract workers agreeing to a price per ton harves

Each family worked as a team, although Dad often took a few breaks to refresh himself with a beer. Often the temperature at the time of the year was in the forties. They would get up to all sorts of tricks. Half filling an empty bin with the onion tops, then placing a thick layer of onions on top. Unless you dug down fairly deep into the bin you would never know. They were full of ideas as to how to extract money without working. Another problem was their name, they always wanted a different name every other days so as not to interfere with their unemployed benefit.

Another major problem was communication, they had a language all of their own, and had great difficulty stringing more than a few words together without several explicit profanities in between. One year we heard on the radio, that the police were looking for a man who had love tattooed on the fingers of his right hand. Apparently he had just murdered a woman in Sydney. Sure enough there he was out in the paddock, happily harvesting onions. My wife noticed him first, and after making eye contact both knew that the other knew who was who. My wife quickly returned to the house to phone the local police, but needless to say he disappeared in a matter of minutes. 

On another occasion a picker demanded payment in advance, and followed my wife back to the house where he tried to bar her entry by placing his arm across the stairway. At the time we owned a retired Doberman police dog who was quietly sleeping in the shade of a nearby tree. On noticing what was happening he leaped at the man's throat, and in no time had him on the ground. On release our offended picker quickly took to the highway never to be seen again.

Such were the joys of cash cropping in  outback  Australia, and the labour you needed to harvest it. This  property was many miles to the nearest town, so you just had to put up with who ever you could get. Eventually the pickers finished, packed up and headed further south following the seasonal  cropping patterns, not to be seen again for another year. We just sigh in relief, another harvest  completed.

A Ships Final Voyage.

"Homeward Bound"
Acrylic painting by Peter Kreet 2013
1000 x 700


Every now and  and then artists  try to create  new visual feelings in a painting by experimenting with a new approaches. Over the last two weeks, I have create three marine paintings for the Hobart Wooden Boat Festival exhibition next month. The idea was to create a dramatic effect and feeling of the power of the sea. In order to achieve this, I introduced two different view points to create the necessary tension. Not in a cubist manner, but straight forward rending of the subject, by  turning the stern end of the ship  upward and away from the viewer, while the forward bow  of the vessel has been turned down to create the effect of a contraction..This devise  resulted in heightened sense of tension, creating a wringing out feeling on the part of the viewer. It is almost as though someone is wringing out a large sheet in the pre-washing machine manner.


I am quite pleased with the result and shall attempt to expand the idea, firstly through a maritime series, and later with slabs of daily life, and relationships between people.Hopefully the coming year will be rewarding in a creative sense. This is what I really enjoy about creative activity, no matter what a person is attempting to undertake, the joy a thrill of experiencing the unexpected is very invigorating.

Cloisonnism, a reaction to 19th cent. Impressionism

Emile Bernard "Breton Women on a Wall"

Cloisonnism and 20^th cent. Art.

Cloisonnism should be regarded as one of the pivotal ideas in the development of 20^th cent. painting. It could be regarded as one of the major concepts of several Post-Impressionist artists in their search  for a new  direction away from Impressionist painting. The focus on colour and fleeting play of light had dissolved the ridged internal structure of painting, the idea of reintroducing solidity into their work appealed to several artists around the 1880’s. Van Gogh and Gauguin were two major exponents.  Emile Bernard, Louis Anquetin, and Toulouse-Lautrec among others were early pioneers of the style

 

French 13th cent. Stained Glass Window.

 

Katsukawa Shunko

"Head of a male Actor" c. 1784-8 Woodblock.

Collection: Mannendorf Amstntz .

 

In their search for a solution these artists turned to two Oriental art forms for inspiration, namely Japanese woodblocks [that were very popular in Europe at the time] and cloisonné a technique still used today in craft work shop in Asia.  This technique requires the separation of enamel colours to be separated by the use of fine metal lines soldered onto the object. Another source of inspiration available was the stained glass windows of Gothic cathedrals.

Cloisonne Censer, Ming. [detail]

Mark Hugan Te

 

The idea of separation is quite obvious when we examine the above examples, with stained glass you will notice how the intensity of the coloured glass is heighten by the lead tracery that holds the piece together. Likewise each colour change in a Japanese woodcut required the cutting of a separate wood block,   resulting in the creation of distinct and separate colour and textured areas within the work.

 

Emile Bernard

"Breton Women in Meadow"

Paul Gauguin

"Vision After the Sermon, Jacob Wrestling with the Angel"

 

 

Vincent Van Gogh

"The Arena at Arles"

Hermitage Museum.

 

Vincent Van Gogh

"Ladies of Arles" [detail]

Hermitage Museum

 

 

I have selected a number of examples of visual works to illustrate how the painting of dark lines around areas  intensify colour, and how various artists of the late 1880s influenced each other in their search for a new approach. We only have to compare the two following artists , one a painting by Bernard “Breton Women in Meadow”, and Gauguin’s “Vision After the Sermon” to appreciate the singularity of their vision in searching for solutions. Another painting by Van Gogh’s “Ladies of Arles” also demonstrates his interest in this idea. If you compare these  artists  works with a detail of Monet’s “Corner of the Garden at Mondgeron” you can grasp what these painters  were attempting to achieve.

 

Monet

"Corner of the Gardenat Mondgeron" [detail]

Hermitage Museum

 

Monet

                                                      "Poppy Fields" Hermitage Museum

 

Pablo Picasso

"Seated Women"

 

The idea of Cloisonnism however did not stop here with the Post-Impressionists, but was taken up, and further developed by many artists as they developed other major art movements during the 20^th cent.  Even though many different artistic , and  aesthetic  visions that were to follow, Cubism. Expressionism, Abstracting to name just a few, plus all the other isms of 20^th cent art . The idea of  Cloisonnism in painting continued to be developed and appears from time to time depending on the  artists  intent in modern art.
 

Otto Muller

"Seated women"

Frau Maria Helsig Collection, Kiel.

 

Pablo Picasso used the idea widely as his “ Seated Women” painted in 1927 confirms along with many of his other ideas developed from Cubism of his interest.  Later still we find the technique being used by the German artist Otto Muller in his “Seated Women”. Here the use of the devise Cloisonnism greatly enhances the dramatic  impact of  his painting, so the technique could be used for other purposes. This continual use of this old idea has played no small part in the development of 20^th cent.  art,  and in my view deserves greater attention in any survey of the art of our time.

Hobart, Tasmania. a personal memory.

Hunter River Steamship Company's "Karuah".

S.S.”KARUAH”.

Hobart, Tasmania.

Sailing into any large beautiful harbour is always a wonderful experience, Hobart did not disappoint. I was a young ordinary seaman at the time, the early 1950s, on a Hunter River Steamship Company that made a regular weekly voyage there to load potatoes and apple, I was entranced. In those days Hobart was a very busy port,  dozens of ships  at their births or out at anchor in on the Derwent waiting to come alongside.

 

Alfred Holts’ Blue Funnel Line from Liverpool,  rubbed  shoulders with the Red Star vessels and a large assortment of ships from all over the world. Rationing was still rife in post-war Europe, and Australia was doing a roaring trade in chilled beef, tined fruit and vegetables, jams etc. Salamanca wharf was a working dock full of trucks, lorries, and wharf labourers pushing trollies in every direction. Often the various crew s from Manchester, Newcastle, Liverpool or Amsterdam would fall out with each other, generally over pretty girls or vast amounts of alcohol, the waterfront hotels could be pretty rough. Much of Australia was still in the grip of Victorian moral values, and it was considered sinful to drink alcohol after 6pm. I believe this was a wartime measure to ensure everyone was home and tucked up in bed with the lights out for fear of Japanese bombing. Tasmania being much further south than N.S.W. escaped this regulation that made their ports much more attractive to seaman sailing around the Australian coast.

 

There was no Tasmanian Bridge and the only way across the river was by a floating bridge. Its construction consisted of joined barge like pontoons that bounced around a lot as you drove over them, not to mention the excitement when crossing in bad weather. Not that there was a lot houses on the eastern shore judging by the night time lights. Hobart was very much a provisional town, horse watering trough in Murray Street, and old country style wrought iron lace on many shop awnings. Traffic was minimal and everyone moved around by tram. This has always been a great way to travel as you were able to jump on and off when the fancy took you When I am in a city that still uses trams I will always do so. The journey is slow and you are able to take in the view. Once  in Hobart  I took the tram out to New Town and that felt like a trip into the country.

 

In those days there were many cinemas and dance halls. One I particularly acquired a fondness for was the Sapphire Ball Room in Liverpool Street, this establishment held dances nearly every  night . As I remember the place was always packed with pretty girls who were very friendly to foreign sailors. At times, I felt many were anxious to flee the island for the wide exotic world beyond. Hobart in those days still enjoyed a wonderful harmony in its, early colonial, Victorian, Art Deco, a style not fully respected by many current residents. Many Georgian sandstone buildings lined the main streets, of which a lot have sadly disappeared in the name of progress. Where the AMP building now stands and opposite on the site of the ANZ Bank in the Mall stood very fine sandstone buildings sadly gone forever. Still Hobart has much to offer even today architecturally when compared to Sydney, that to my mind has been reduced to ugliness, by what can only be described as greed.

 

I had intended telling you a little about the” Karuah”, she was one of the last old style steam ships plying Australian waters. Built in the early part of the 20^th century, she only displaced 533 tons, and could be a little uncomfortable in heavy weather. Being a steam ship we still carried trimmers and stockers to shovel in the coal to the boiler fire. Being an old ship  she  had an open forecastle accommodation, this was the type of cabins portrayed in films concerning sailing ships, eight to ten to a cabin. Being such a small vessel the crew was very much like a family, and many had been sailing on her for several years. At times I feel this contentment with by life at the time influenced my desire to return one day.

 

Hobart in many ways has not changed that much and when I returned here in the 1970s  I was surprised. The people are still those friendly being, the town has new attraction, and being promoted as one of the place to visit in our over crowed world I am glad I returned.

                                                                                                                             

 

Goya: Horrors of War.

The Third Of May, 1808. Goya.
Museo Nacional del Prado.

Horrors of War.

I first viewed Francisco Goya’s Horrors of War during  Saloniki year as Cultural Capital of Europe. At the time it  struck me that Goya was one of the first pictorial war journalist. His images are quite graphic in their detail and are presented in a very matter of fact way .This stems from his disciplined approach to tell the truth at all cost. This attitude makes his imagery so powerful, the viewer is forced to respond in some way to the pictorial result of warfare and evaluate a personal response to the effects of war, not only on ourselves but on humanity in general.

Goya identified with the ordinary people, this is not to suggest that he was not ambitious, and strove to reach the top of Spanish society, simply that he wished to present his world in an individual way. He allowed his  citizens to stand or fall by their own personality. Goya, to my knowledge was one of the first artists to present a true vision of the efficiency of a war machine.

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"The Same" etching& aquatint.

 

His imagery of the horrors of war, reminded me of the constant front page reportage of the Vietnam War during the 1960’s. The total disregard for human life, as though the people portrayed are not human beings .To some extent this attitude continues in Syria and Iraq.  In the case of Vietnam this continual impersonal reportage of the “T.V.War”  , resulted in the end in a general popular demand that hostilities be brought to an end.  Public opinion was such that Governments have restricted access to the front line in recent conflicts.

When Goya was busy producing these works, Europe was still in the grip of the Inquisition, Napoleonic Wars, and general internal strife within Spain, between conservatives and liberals. No matter what your own personal view about Goya images. Most of us are left with a sense of pity for the victims, and the feeling of terror these people must have felt. The painting “The Third of May” express these sentiments .admirably

"Great Feat! With dead men" 1863.

Etching & Aquantint.

War time jurnalism, 19th cent.

 

 

 

"This is worse".

Etching & aquantint.

A good example of  war time journalism.

 

 

                     
                     "The Mad House" Accademia de Bellas Artes de San Ferando, Madrid.
                                                        Image of scial conditions in Spain.
 

The images suggest a total breakdown of basic humanity. A world were the rabble or their military counterpart have taken charge. Not that this blood lust  is only a particularly Spanish  quality. Unfortunately is raises its head everywhere. But, Spanish culture historically does not seem to the outsider very compassionate, we only have to recall the Civil War, the Inquisition and the continual blood lust of the bull ring. No matter how much bull fighting may be justified by Spaniards as a mark of valour, such medieval actives seem out of date in the 21^st cent.. No matter what our personal opinions on these matters, and Goya’s political and social views, there is no denying the power of his social commentary over a very large range of subject matter.

                                                        "Nor Those", Etching & Aquatint.
                                                             Rape and slaughter of women.

Vietnamise art. Le Ba Dang.

Le Ba Dang. An extraordinary Vietnamese Artist.

I have struggled over the last few years, to arrive at a satisfactory solution to bridge the gap between eastern and western artistic statements. I first became aware of Le Ba Dang a couple of years ago while visiting Hue. Although he spent a considerable number of years in France, Le Ba Dang has never lost that poetic quality that under lies much Oriental art practice. He is one of those unique individuals who has been able to express the different and unique vision of vastly different cultures. He seems to be able to produce images that are understood by both eastern and western viewers alike.

His museum is housed in a French Colonial villa on the banks of the Perfume River in Hue, and is home to his personal collection .The villa is worth visiting in its own right. In 1992 Le ba Dang donated his work to the Vietnamese people. In 1992 the Cambridge University ranked him as one of the more important artist current alive, in fact they thought so highly of him that he was named  the most famous living artist in the world at that time.

Personally I love his ability to move between abstraction and a realised antiquity visualized in modern terms. His work traverses a wide range of materials. Oil, acrylic, sculpture, relief or embossed paper,  that he further develops with painting. Some sculptures are made out of the scraps of American B52 shot down during the war. I have not been able to give the viewer a full visual review of all this work, but the few examples here , hopefully will wet some appetites.

Graphic on embossed paper

 

 

 

Graphic No 2

 

 

 

Lebadgraphic

 

 

 

Lebadgraphic 2

 

 

 

 

Sculpture "To be or not to be"

 

 

 

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To be or not to be series.

 

 

 

Brush drawing Nude.