Monday, March 31, 2014

Three new Pacifika soundtracks for Len Lye's Tusalava


Recently the Mangare Arts Centre Nga Tohu o Uenuku presented Len Lye: Agiagia, an exhibition co-curated by Paul Brobbel and James Pinker exploring Pacific influences in Lye's work. The show included screenings of Lye's 1929 short film Tusalava. The film originally had music composed for two pianos, which was played live at the premiere, but the original score was lost and Tusalava has remained a silent film for many years. Pinker and Brobbel spotted the window of opportunity and  commissioned three Pacifika composers to create soundtracks for New Compositions: Three Composers Respond to Tusalava. This link takes you to a review of the new scores,which were played consecutively alongside the film in the Agiagia exhibition
Image: Still from Len Lye's Tusalava presented with new compositions in the exhibition Len Lye: Agiagia, Mangare Arts Centre Nga Tohu o Uenuku, 24 December 2013 - 16 March 2014

This week at Starkwhite


Layla-Rudneva Mackay's Blue squares, purple pairs continues at Starkwhite to 12 April.
Image: Layla Rudneva-Mackay, Still life and sleepless nights (detail), oil on canvas, 400 x 310mm

Sunday, March 30, 2014

2014 Serpentine Pavilion: adding primitive space to the tradition of the folly in the park


Chilean architect Smiljan Radic will design this year's Serpentine Pavilion, an architectural intervention that the Guardian's Oliver Wainwright says will be one of the strangest structures Kensington gardens has seen. "Looking like the result of an alien visitation to some ancient pagan site, the pavilion will take the form of a delicate white fibreglass cocoon, resting on a ring of boulders above a sunken grassy bowl, as if a mutant spider had spun a great nest on top of a neolithic stone circle." Read more...
Image: Smiljan Radic

Saturday, March 29, 2014

Art patron and collector of photography appointed to New Zealand's new arts council


New Zealand's Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage, Christopher Finlayson, has appointed 13 inaugural members to a new streamlined arts council, which replaces three statutory boards and one statutory committee. The new lineup includes art patron Grant Kerr. Best known for his support of the arts in New Plymouth, Kerr was a co-founder of the Taranaki Arts Festival and is currently a member of the Govett-Brewster Foundation, the avenue for donations gifts and bequests for the development of  the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery collection and realisation of major projects.

Kerr is now based in Auckland where he continues his trademark approach to patronage - a mix of support for big projects, like his continuing support for the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, and his own initiatives. Last year he facilitated a research trip to Auckland by Art Gallery of New South Wales curator of photography Judy Annear (and hosted a reception for her) and next month he has Sydney-based commentator Ann Elias flying in to speak about Peter Peryer's work at the Auckland Photography Festival.

Like many of New Zealand's most influential patrons, Kerr is also a passionate art collector. But unlike most he focuses on one medium - photography. Kerr has a vast collection of contemporary photography, which includes the country's largest collection of images by Peter Peryer and substantial holdings by other major figures, including Laurence Aberhart.
Image: Peter Peryer's portrait of Grant Kerr

Friday, March 28, 2014

Ross Manning to curate MCA ARTBAR for the Sydney Biennale


Brisbane-based artist Ross Manning continues his exploration of the mechanisms of technology and nature of light and the role it plays in human perception with Spectra V, a kinetic sculpture installed on Cockatoo Island, one of the venues for the 16th Biennale of Sydney, You imagine what you desire. Manning will also curate the MCA Art Bar during the biennale. ARTBAR happens after dark every month at the Museum of Contemporary Art. It combines exhibitions, music, design and live acts under the direction of a guest curator, transforming the venue into a "pulsating piece of performance art." Manning's ARTBAR runs on 30 May from 7-11pm.
Image: Ross Manning, Spectra (detail)

Melbourne to join the triennial club


Buoyed by the success of Melbourne Now, a large exhibition showcasing work by Melbourne artists (the show has attracted 750,000 visits since it opened in November 2013), National Gallery of Victoria director Tony Ellwood has announced plans to launch a triennial in 2017. And with an eye to collection building from triennial, he will also roll out a new fund dedicated to commissioning and acquiring contemporary art for the NGV collection.
Image: Laith McGregor's ping pong tables in Melbourne Now

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Hans Ulrich Obrist on the delights and dangers of curating


"I've never thought of the curator as a creative rival to the artist," says Hans Ulrich Obrist. "When I started curating I wanted to be helpful to artists. I see my work as a catalyst - and a sparring partner." Read more...
Image: Hans Ulrich Obrist

2014 Pritzker Prize laureate announced



Japanese architect Shigeru Ban has been awarded this year's prestigious Pritzker Prize. He is best known for his post-disaster zone design projects, such as his temporary housing project in Onagawa, one of the coastal communities devastated by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that left thousands homeless. He also designed Christchurch's cardboard cathedral to replace the historic cathedral that was a casualty of the 2011 Christchurch earthquake.

From Haiti to Riwanda to China, Ban's low-cost structures have become a symbol of hope for people rebuilding their lives after natural disasters. "For me there is no difference between monumental architecture and temporary structures in disaster areas," he says. "They give me the same satisfaction."
Images: Shigeru Ban, 2014 Pritzker Prize laureate and his cardboard cathedral in Christchurch, New Zealand

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

A conversation with the curator of Sydney's controversial biennale


Juliana Engberg talks about her biennale, You imagine what you desire, including her stance on Australia's off-shore detention centres and human rights issues. Read more...
Image: Juliana Engberg

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Controversy surrounds Biennale of Sydney


The 19th Sydney Biennale, You imagine what you desire, opened last week with a suite of launches at Cockatoo Island, the Art Gallery of New South Wales, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Artspace and Carriageworks, with most of the press focusing on the fallout from the artists' boycott.

The story so far...

35 artists (of the 90 taking part in the Sydney Biennale) write to the board expressing their concerns over primary sponsor Transfield Holdings link to offshore detention facilities for asylum seekers, presenting the Biennale with an unenviable choice: to bow to pressure from the artists and sever links with Transfield and the Belgiorno-Nettis family (the owners of the company), or remain loyal to the company, recognising its role as founding partner and longtime supporter of the Biennale.

The biennale board refuses to play ball and issues a statement of support for Transfield - and pledges its  loyalty to the Belgiorno-Nettis family, saying without their support the biennale will no longer exist.

Five artists - Libia Castro, Olafur Olafsson, Charlie Sofo, Gavrielle de Vietri and Ahmet Ogut -  withdraw from the Biennale, followed a few days later by Agnieszka Polska, Sara van der Heide, Nicoline van Harskamp and Nathan Gray.

Luca Belgiorno-Nettis resigns his position as chair of the biennale board "in the hope that some blue sky may open up over the 19th Biennale of Sydney" and the board severs all ties with Transfield.

All artists, bar Charlie Sofo and Gabrielle de Vietri, decide to re-engage with the biennale.

Arts minister George Brandis threatens to withdraw funding of the Biennale of Sydney for "blackballing" Transfield Holdings and writes to the Australia Council, which distributes funding on behalf of the federal government, asking it to develop a policy to penalise arts organisations that refuse funding from corporate sponsors on "unreasonable grounds". He also says if he is not satisfied with the new policy, he will direct the Australia Council himself to force them to adopt a policy to his liking.

At the biennale launch at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Guido Belgiorno-Nettis, president of the Gallery's board of trustees speaks for his family, condemning the actions of boycotters that led to his brother's resignation as chair of the biennale board. He also defends Transfield's role in the building and management of mandatory detention centres. "I believe Transfield Service will make a positive difference at Manus Island and Nauru", he says. "Transfield has taken on tough challenges all over the world and has a strong reputation for professional and engaged service delivery."

Throughout the opening week, curator Juliana Engberg treads a fine line, supporting both her pro-Belgiornio-Nettis board and protesters by speaking about the power of art to highlight injustices and the capacity of artists to propose alternatives and possible antidotes.

But many are left feeling the real villain (the Australian Government) has been let off the hook - that the privatisation of detention centre management through lucrative contracts with companies like Transfield has facilitated a calculated deferral of blame. Taking out Transfield hasn't solved the problem for the artworld. Future action needs to be aimed at the Australian government and its policy of manadatory detention for asylum seekers as well as its privatisation.
Image: Nauru Detention Centre 

Saturday, March 8, 2014

Biennale of Sydney chair resigns in the wake of artist protests over links with Australia's offshore detention centers


Luca Belgiorno-Nettis, son of Biennale founding patron Franco-Belgiorno-Nettis, has resigned as chair of the Biennale of Sydney, a move that comes in the wake of artist protests over Transfield's links to Australia's off-shore detention centers for asylum seekers.

And the board has severed links with Transfield, the family-owned company that has backed the Bienale since its inception. This comes as a surprise in the light of a recent announcement on the longstanding relationship between the Biennale and Transfield and the Belgiorno-Nettis family. In a statement issued to the media the board said: "The Biennale's ability to effectively contribute to the cessation of bi-partisan government policy is far from black-and-white. The only certainty is that without our Founding Partner, the Biennale will no longer exist. Consequently, we unanimously believe  that our loyalty to the Belgiorno-Nettis family - and the hundreds of thousands of people who benefit from the Biennale - must override claims over which there is ambiguity".
Read more...
Image: Luca Belgiorno-Nettis