George Andric- sculpting through Time and Space

George Andric is a South Australian metal sculptor who has exhibited Australia wide. His welded steel sculptures incorporate overlapping lines and shapes. Recently he exhibited his work at the Palmer Sculptures 2012 biennial.

“Time and Space”, 2012 was commissioned by Prospect Council and was opened on the 25^th of September.

This sculpture is composed of a series of rectangular shapes welded together. Standing at a height of approximately 4m and located along Churchill Rd; it is an eye-catching landmark and is designed to be lit from below at night. The rectangular shapes gradually decrease in height and increase in width and then return to the original form. These shapes seem to pulsate vertically and horizontally as viewed from the road. Directly in front they form a cross.

From the side the shapes decrease and increase from the top and bottom.

This entire sculpture utilises a uniform repetition to provide a unique visual interest.

The title of the piece suggests an affiliation between the work and a deeper understanding of our place in the universe.  The work enables the viewer to actually move through it; to traverse through time and space.  It has the feeling of a worm hole or a pulsating star and is attractive and shiny in comparison to its environment.  The suburb of Prospect sees itself as a progressive; artistic, creative and innovative community. This sculpture highlights these features through its slick metallic lines and clean shape. “Time and Space” is designed to be viewed mainly from the road as someone drives or walks past it; this makes it a dynamic shape that changes with the viewer’s movement. Children play on it; negotiating the undulating shapes, both inside and out.

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Watch a video by John Nieddu showing the construction and installation

Jay Onenine- Photon Vandal

Jay Onenine is a photographic Artist who is interested in Urban Art, but not in the conventional way. He is a light painter. This is a relatively new form of night photography where coloured LED lights are used to illuminate the surface being photographed; creating a very appealing fluorescent effect.

When I first saw these photographs I was blown away by how well Jay Onenine has managed to compliment the smooth curves of wildstyle graffiti pieces with LED light. He does after all have to work in darkness. His colour selection and method highlights the fat curves and subtle tonal qualities of these city pieces.

This work; “OBVS” 2010, was photographed in a tunnel, the darkness contributing to the effect of the piece. Blue light highlights the text of the piece with red light bordering it. Jay has balanced the weight of the text so that the eye traverses the space. Colour is the key component in this work. Light produced via LED is pure and hard to reproduce by any other means. Jay has utilised the black surrounds of the pieces text to highlight its form. The strong contrasting colours of red and blue lift the piece from the wall and give it a luminosity dragging the letters from the space. The composition of this work creates interest. I love the way the light has highlighted the form.

“Casm”2010, is a photographic piece that emits a human element into the textual work. A human form stands silhouetted in the tunnel against the highlighted letter forms. The interior aspects have been highlighted with various colours to lift it from the surface. Strong contrast  on top of the existing tags makes this piece float above the tunnel wall and excite the viewer.

“Gorilla” 2011; is a blue, green and yellow highlighted work taken in the dead of night. The photograph lifts the piece from the flat surface and highlights its form and colour. Due to the long exposure time it looks almost like daylight. The contrast achieved upon the sepia walls is very appealing.

“Gravel” 2011 and “Tense”2012 are brilliantly highlighted wildstyle pieces photographed at night using an LED light source to highlight the shape and colour.

Jay Onenine brings to life Urban Art in a new and dynamic fashion, injecting colour into an otherwise grey nightscape. The works I have highlighted here are only a small selection of his available work; there is a lot more that you can view on his Facebook and Flickr sites. I am looking forward to seeing what he will photograph next.

http://www.facebook.com/jay.onenine

http://www.flickr.com/photos/photon_vandal

Anna Platten- The Devil is in the Detail (Part two)

Ourselves as Zoe. A dream, a web, a puzzle, 2011

This newly acquired work by the Art Gallery of South Australia is a fascinating dreamscape painting with deep symbolism. In this self-portrait we see a return of Platten’s “Miss Havisham” character from a previous work. She stares out at us through a huge monocle and is drawing on a bright white pad of paper. Emanating from the tip of her pencil are thin yellow spidery threads that traverse the lower portion of the canvas. A young girl (the very nice security guard said she thought it might be Platten’s daughter) in a pink dress with a red belt is holding a palette and brush together with a walking stick. She is painting upon a wall; her youthful rosy face contrasts strongly with the face of Platten which is white and withdrawn. It is not the only contrast in this work. On Platten’s side of the canvas are bare sticks and twigs, remnants of plants long dead; they stretch like withered hands toward her while a black bird perches on a small branch in the shadows. A succulent in the bottom corner provides a remnant of life. Yet on side of the young girl; there are small flowers and greener foliage, her face is lit brightly and she is youthful and radiant.
Behind Anna is a cave which seems to bare a vague resemblance to the profile of a baby’s head while in the foreground a small turtle shuffles along the rocky ground. In the distance an organ sun peers over a turbulent sea. This is a highly detailed work, painted with oil on canvas. The composition is such that the eye is directed to the paper; and from this focal point we navigate the rest of the work. What Platten does brilliantly is describe the element of tone. Each object is perfectly rendered in the space; separated though they are, they all share the same light.
Anna Platten has merged a variety of artworks and themes together in this symbolic painting. One such work is Anna Dorothea Therbusch’s Self-portrait, 1777. It tells the story of a short-sighted, middle-aged woman who was hailed as a “wunderkind” in her early years; but gave up painting until later in life, finally returning to it once her spousal obligations had been fulfilled. Platten also utilised the compositional components of a work in the Art Gallery of SA collection; Woman Holding a Book, 1853 by William Strutt.
Originally intending to paint a rather morbid self-reflective piece where the cave was starting to represent a tomb; halfway through it she received a phone call from her sister, saying that her waters had broke and her child was on the way. Rushing to her side she was able to see the safe arrival of baby Zoe, her name meaning life. Afterwards,this work for Platen took on an entirely new meaning; the tomb became a womb, a dark portal from which we all enter this world. The paper and pencil create a web of connections to the surrounding world. The turtle represents a long and steadfast life.
The red belt on the young woman’s pink dress is representative of love as she in turn paints the cave; creating a cycle of life. Ourselves as Zoe is really a celebration of life.

Flower-dedicated to Mark Conway Walter, 2012. It is a large striking portrait of a woman created by Platten after reading Patricia Cornwell’s novel, “Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper—Case Closed”. In this book, Cornwell claims that the 19^th century serial killer was actually a painter by the name of Walter Sickert. Anna Platten became fascinated by the humble lives of the women of the streets depicted in the novel. These women had to be self-sufficient to survive. Their skirts; jackets, shirts, coats in fact all their possessions were often sewn into their dresses. The sheer weight of these objects would have been a constant reminder of a sad existence. This figure is one of the ripper’s victims.
This painting; rather than depicting a horrible act, is really showing a kind of transcendence, like a flower, the figure grows out and away from her mortal coil and into another realm. In the centre of her chest is a deep red rose, a symbol of blood love and death. A sky blue ribbon dances around her and provides a sense of depth and also ethereal air. The dress and the character shown in this work are the same as in the Journey Series by Platten. In fact this particular piece could be viewed as the first in the series; where the woman ascends from this world; keeping her soul and dignity intact, to begin a journey of a different kind.

Art Gallery of South Australia exhibition details.

Anna Platten- The Devil is in the Detail (Part one)

Anna Platten is a South Australian painter who is famous for her portraits. She is many things; a consummate painter, a teacher, a wife and mother. Her works are often explorations into the self; autobiographical reflections, bravely exploring her own thoughts and fears. Her life experiences are boldly expressed on canvas; though they are shrouded in symbolism.  She speaks from the heart and paints with extraordinary realism. “The Devil is in the Detail” is an assemblage of works from private collections and the Art Gallery of South Australia’s own. It is currently showing at the Art Gallery of SA until early November; this exhibition takes the viewer on a journey through the artist’s work from the 1980’s til the present day and is in my opinion a must see.

Myself as Madonna, 2003

The word “Madonna” is one with a number of connotations. In this work we see a reference to all of them. Within this self-portrait from 2003; Anna Platten depicts herself dressed in the singer Madonna’s pointed bra and a heart-shaped G-string. The Madonna of religious Art remains one of the most painted icons in the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches.  In reference to this Platten shows herself enthroned with her son Felix; he is wearing as sailor suit with a straw hat with a blue rim, looking very much like the halo often used to signify the Christ child.
Next to Felix is a small lamb with a blue bow; its eyes stare dead out at us as if it were stuffed, I thought perhaps is it is in reality a reference favoured children’s toy, but no it was taken from a photograph from G. Parkin studios where a boy in a sailor suit is standing next to his pet. It stands astride a railway track that encircles the pair. In this painting Platten is heavily pregnant; dressed in spotted pyjamas, the shape of her rounded belly is mirrored by other rounded shapes into which train tracks enter and leave. Seemingly speared into these pizza oven shapes are poles holding various figures; some are female saints and still others look like children’s dolls, some are dressed in skirts. These figures are haphazardly arranged in the background; some stare out toward the distant sunset, while still others carry flaming torches or people in their arms.

This whole scene takes place upon a wooden stage with a burning sunset in the background. Light and shadow are key components to the composition and are used to great effect, leading the viewer’s gaze throughout the work.  Bright reds are used to create interest at key points and are balanced with the large red stage curtain bordering the right hand side of the piece. One thing to note about this work is that for her, the gathering and fabrication of the objects contained within it are central to the works creation. Platten rarely paints from memory; rather, she uses photographs, building her composition in this way first, before committing it to paint. Still many other of her works are drawn full size in charcoal as she interprets the effects of light.

This is a painting that is rich in symbolic rhetoric. Heavily pregnant Platten is tired, her face withdrawn in shadow. She wears pink rabbit slippers; which refer to her nickname “rabbit” that she had as a child. These slippers stare up at her rather than out as if offering comfort. The Madonna bra worn over the top of her pyjamas is also a reference to her youth, she wore a bra at all times even to bed, and eventually it became more comfortable to wear it over her pyjamas. The mirror in her right hand that she waves in front of her face does not face her; it faces us, and asks that we perhaps look at ourselves. Felix places his small hand on her lap while her loving arm encircles him it is a warm moment between a child and their mother.

In many ways this is a work which makes a statement on the expectations our society can place upon women. As a mother she is to be all things to everyone and in this regard she feels locked in or trapped this is represented by the train tracks that circle her. In the background are the women society places on pedestals, expectations of what you should be and do, how you are to act as a mother.

“Thunder”, 2008 is part of a series of paintings often referred to as the “Journey” series.  In this series Platten was inspired by a 16^th century Biblical illustration which depicted the human soul as a wandering fool or jester.  The Biblical reference for the series is Psalm 69:5 “You know my folly, O God; my guilt is not hidden from you.”

In this work the figure of a woman; dressed in period costume, is astride a white hobby-horse. She is wearing a jester’s hat and is holding a basket under her left arm and a curious windmill on a long stick. She is barefoot and alone. The surrounding landscape is stormy and green. The light upon the woman is from the rear; her face in shadow.  Again it is the striking tonal qualities in the work that direct the viewer’s gaze. The landscape she walks through is empty and stormy. The dress is one which Anna Platten and her sister discovered in an op shop in London; because of its age it enhances the notion that the woman has been on a journey for a considerable time.

The figure in this piece is quiet and reserved; with a thoughtful look in her eyes there isn’t a touch of sadness in her gaze,  maybe curiosity. Her youthful face is in shadow; hidden to a certain extent. One of the things I admire most about this piece is the manner in which the woman holds the articles she is taking on her journey. Delicately she holds the pin wheel aloft; perhaps to tell which way the wind is blowing, to give guidance as to where she must travel. The reigns of her white hobby-horse; silver like the horses saints might ride, are carefully grasped.  The sheer foolishness of setting out on a journey into a stormy wilderness riding barefoot on a hobbyhorse with a jesters hat is something that strange as it may seem I can relate to. In a retrospective reverie of personal feelings I connect with the figure; her vulnerability and determination.

This series is one of awakening, it is about the journey of life and how we interact with it. We are all on a pilgrimage of discovery; we must all pass through life. Like fools we know nothing of where we are going or what may happen, yet that is the adventure.

http://www.artgallery.sa.gov.au/agsa/home/Exhibitions/Anna_Platten.html