Barbra Elvin, 2011, Water Aerobics Babes, synthetic polymer paint on canvas
In focus & Art in the Golden Age
Redland Art Gallery, Capalaba / Cleveland
25 Sept. 2011
A flat Kookaburra plonked in an old gum tree and Old Man Emu isn't quite looking at me. A roughly cut feline clagged in a slap-dash fashion to a backdrop of Paperbark, it's weight hardly a ration. And meaningless runes rush over a face. Bathed in blue light, some allusion to grace. A platitudinous attempt to show infinite space...
Carpet of Foam, yes! I think I see something. Colours, otherwise of no true devotion, mixing and
melding with vigorous motion. Within a faithfully painted coastline and ocean. Invoking in me (I in it?) a sublime mystic notion. Doesn't last long for here comes its neighbour: The Jazzman. Presented in primaries and lacking in flavour. Dear God, enough! Hand me a razor.
And still life. Sure. We all love a still life … but more? Still life … Magnolia. Still life … Summer Rose. A blob of colour is a petal in paint. I hold my tongue in case of complaint. Then ponder didactics with vague explanations. Of shelf stock reasoning. Such incantations!
But all the while a buzz. A steady and constant drone. Punctured here and there by a squawk or a moan. A squawk of delight; a moan for the shown. And soon I realise that they all do condone. And without the slightest incline to atone. For they more than condone; they permit. No, exult. They value these works as if they were salt.
And reference has not yet been made to their number. For if they were to move at once it would thunder. And tear a Contemporary Art Gallery asunder. Never before had I seen such a sight. No hook of free beer, no waiters in aprons. No family. No friends. Just good honest patrons.
Sweet mediocrity: the average production. No pretense, no pomp. No suggestive seduction. No allusion to grandeur. No lofty deduction. No grit, no grime. No glimpse of sublime. No peoples defender. No political agenda. No mending or bending or blending of gender.
Just plain old art. The type that goes with craft. And who am I to judge? To set them apart.
The people have spoken.
Iason Yannakos
Iason I saw this show too and you're right the content wasn't great and mostly pretty amateur. But at the same time I think you're review fails to really acknowledge what the show functions as, and what it tries to achieve, ie supporting local community art organisations by providing a short showing of their work as a kind of community group mini-festival if you will.
ReplyDeleteYour review assumes this work is to be judged as serious critical and innovative new artwork, but I feel the show presents no pretense of being that, as exemplified in their mode of presentation (ie those repetitive frames, all the exact same size and shape.) I guess what I'm saying is I feel you exercise analysis and judgement well in this review but neglect contextualisation, which is pretty important considering the nature of the show.
Also don't forget that in terms of financial viability regional galleries have to show community art type stuff, and as organisations they have ethical responsibilities to their councils and local communities. And frankly, those groups do perform an important function within their communities and I feel that alone deserves the kind of (albeit minor) legitimization and recognition provided by shows such as this.
Sorry, I didn't mean to get so ranty there, I mean it all constructively! Lisa
it wasnt about the art. it was about the 'artworld' - iason
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