The first Castlemaine Visual Arts Biennial opened last night with exhibitions in two town venues and public art through the greater township. The theme Art of Making: Artisanship and Invention responded to the kind of artistic community in the area, which draws from its light industrial history to create work through foundries, forgies and workshops.
A [...]
Posts Tagged ‘common’
Finally made it! Castlemaine’s new take on art
The Baci ceremony, with strings attached
I was at the Selling Yarns market in the National Museum, chatting with Valerie Kirk, head of textiles at the Canberra School of Art. I noticed she had some string tied around her wrist. At first I thought it was some practical material related to a workshop she was assisting on the day. But [...]
From trash to spectacle
Shinique Smith, Arcadian Cluster, 2006. Installation view from P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center. Clothing, fabric, found objects, acrylic, collage & binding. Approx 8′ h x 11′ w x 8′ d, (500-600 lbs)
Here’s an interesting discussion about new craft that eschews skill in favour of collaboration and randomness. It raises an important question about the place of [...]
The Discovery of the New Mundito
It’s great to see the students at the University of Valparaiso continuing to embrace creative challenges that people like Professor Gunther throw at them.
I presented a workshop on the theme of El Mundo de las Cositas, in relation to the World of Small Things exhibition that is being developed for Craft Victoria next [...]
Rich and poor, Australian and Aotearoa
If you’re around the north island…
Rich Craft, Poor Craft – Thursday 2 October
Writers Kevin Murray and Damian Skinner will present two illustrated talks about Murray’s concept of ‘rich and poor craft’ in contemporary jewellery from Australia and New Zealand.
Baroque ‘n’ Roll: the forest versus the street in contemporary Australian jewellery. In this talk Kevin Murray [...]
A little gallery on the corner
The Eisenberg Gallery: The Victorian Museum of Experimental Art sits on an intersection in suburban Brunswick, Melbourne. It seems the perfect venue for the jewellery of Roseanne Bartley, who sources the detritus of street consumption as precious gems for her brooches and necklaces. You can see her recent work from the busy corner of [...]
Tim Winton: a tradesman of the ordinary
Carmen Lawrence reviews Tim Winton’s new novel Breath for the Australian Literary Review. There are two points that seem worth noting. First, she describes Winton as a ‘tradesman’:
Winton has often said that he regards himself as a tradesman rather than an artist; in Breath he confirms his status as a consummate wordsmith who can [...]
Much anew about nothing
Caz Guiney’s exhibition Precious Nothing opened at Craft Victoria last Wednesday. It’s a virtuosic display of inconsequentiality. The installation in Gallery 3 consists of a series of alcoves housing cast gold impressions of worthless detritus, such as blue-tack, coffee cup buttons and dust. The contrast between the almost religious exhibition design and the profane [...]
Urban art blooms in Chicago
At the entrance to the Chicago Institute of Art there’s a curious found installation. Some rather dangerous wires are growing like roots from the ceiling. And alongside a clump of weeds are emerging from the ground around a wood panel. This is a temporary structure associated with building works, but the coordinated growth from [...]
Crear de lo Común lo Precioso (Spanish text)
‘Las manos hacen cada día el mundo’ Pablo Neruda
En esencia, el arte manual consiste en la transformación de materiales comunes en objetos preciosos. Los ceramistas recogen la arcilla, a la cual dan forma y cuecen en el fuego para hacer vasijas de las que podemos comer y beber. La historia moderna del arte manual [...]
