gordon bennett possession island gordon bennett possession island

Sell with Artsy Artist Series Portraits of Artists and Sculptors 113 available Neither had I thought to question the representation of Aborigines as the quintessential primitive Other against which the civilized collective Self of my peers was measured. It is open to self revelation, self redemption and a myriad of rich images of self that can be built upon. I AM is borrowed from a well known art work, Victory over death 2, 1970 by New Zealand artist Colin McCahon (19191987) . But this approach is central to the way many people describe and analyse his work. What legal, moral and ethical rights does an artist have to control the way their work is seen and viewed in exhibitions, books or online. In Untitled, 1989 Bennett works with a selection of images associated with the familiar story of the discovery and settlement of Australia. Gordon Bennetts art challenges us to question the stereotypes and racist labelling of Aboriginal Australians found in some history books written for and by Europeans. Bennetts grid formations seem to imprison the figures within the canvas. The headless figure of the Aboriginal man has an animated, spectre- like presence that haunts the scene. Kelly Gellatly 1. Possession Island is a small island off the coast of northern Queensland, near the tip of Cape York, the most northerly point of mainland Australia. Gordon Bennett an Australian Aboriginal artist demonstrates this theory through his work. Gordon Bennett, The manifest toe, pp. Australian politics is fraught yet the Australian public is disengaged. The background colours and features of the landscape in each panel of Requiem, Of grandeur, Empire suggest a vast Australian desert . Finally, Ive never been one to make art about art before. In European tradition these are seen as a means of mapping and defining space. He gave several sponsorships in these fields, notably the Isle of Man Bennett Trophy races of 1900 to 1905 (subsequently a trials course on the island was named after him). After 2003 he moved away from figurative language to work in an abstract idiom (see Number Nine 2008, Tate T15515). 4. With reference to at least two artworks, identify and explain some of the strategies and techniques you believe Bennett has used to engage the viewer. Gordon Bennett, Possession Island #2, 1991. Citizens more recent work includes a series of interiors inspired by the decorator and home magazines that circulate widely in popular culture. He used his self as the vehicle to do so. These images, forever forged in our minds, are boldly depicted in Basquiats graffiti- like style. Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA). Felicity Allen, Gordon Bennett interviewed by Felicity Allen in the. Gordon Bennett Possession Island (Abstraction) 1991 Oil paint and acrylic paint on canvas 1 843 x 1845 mm Tate and the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, purchased jointly with funds provided by the Qantas Foundation 2016 Estate of Gordon Bennett CZ: A lot of the featured artists have also created work since 1992. He tried a career as an actuarial clerk, attending Hawthorn College after Balwyn State School. How might John Citizen be seen as reflection of the post Keating era? Include in your discussion reference to Bennetts appropriation of The nine shots 1985 by Imants Tillers. I didnt go to art college to graduate as an Aboriginal Artist. Do these qualities reflect the reality of what it means to be Australian (ie. Perhaps a re-writing of history? Touch device users, explore by touch or with swipe gestures. From his father, a Scottish . They absorb the flow of blood and recall the symbols often used in Aboriginal dot painting of the Western Desert to represent significant sites. The coming of the light also explores ideas, issues and questions related to the Enlightenment values central to colonialism. Buildings and planes collide. Learn How rich is He in this year and how He spends money? The central figure is based on a monoprint made from the artists body. Gordon Bennett 1. The arms that extend in opposite directions across the two panels of the painting represent different perspectives on the impact of the Enlightenment. While these may indicate the way maps are constructed to find different locations, they also represent the first letter of racial slurs. By the late 1980s there was also a growing awareness within Australian society of the injustices suffered by the Indigenous population as a result of their dispossession. How do these systems/conventions reflect values and ideas important to that culture? This painting combines the story of Bennetts mother, and other young Aboriginal women in the care of the government or church, with the Christian story. Discuss with reference to a range of artworks by Bennett. In her lifetime, Trugannini witnessed the systematic and often violent destruction of her culture and people. Gordon Bennett 1. The circular forms in the sky are inspired by the brilliant bursts of light in van Goghs Starry night. Possession Island (Appendix 1), 1991 and Notes to Basquiat (Jackson Pollock and his Other) (Appendix 2), 2001, will be discussed in relation to Henri's statement. However, he offers more than one interpretation of the grids use, which is indicated by the sampling of works by Australian artist Margaret Preston . Bennett was acutely aware that his own success paralleled the growing contemporary interest in Indigenous art and culture. Discuss with reference to a selection of at least three works, clearly identifying stylistic shifts, and evidence of conceptual unity. Eventually Bennetts mother earned an official exemption that allowed her to leave the Mission. Many Indigenous Australians saw this appropriation as further evidence of a justification of colonisation and a Eurocentric interpretation of Aboriginal culture. An Anthology of writings on Australian Art in the 1980s & 1990s, IMA Publishing, 2004, p. 273, Gordon Bennett, The manifest toe, Ian McLean & Gordon Bennett, The Art of Gordon Bennett Craftsman House, 1996, p. 58, Kelly Gellatly, Citizen in the making, p.18, Kelly Gellatly, Citizen in the making, p. 17, John Citizen artist profile, Sutton Gallery, Melbourne http://www.suttongallery.com.au/artists/artistprofile.php?id=39 accessed 29/11/07, Conversation Bill Wright talks to Gordon Bennett, in Kelly Gellatly with contributions by Bill Wright, Justin Clemens and Jane Devery, Gordon Bennett (exhib. Place each photograph on a separate layer, overlap and morph or merge all the portraits into one image. Indeed, he explains that before the age of sixteen he was not really aware of his Indigenous heritage. 35, 36. The inclusion of the grid as the foundation of the installation appears to confirm this. For example, at the time Gordon was born she still had to carry her official exemption certificate with her, and she lived in fear of her son being taken from her . Among these was the harrowing struggle for identity that ensued from the repression and denial of his Aboriginal heritage. Since his first major solo exhibition in 1989 his work has been at the forefront of contemporary Australian art and has been recognised internationally for its innovative and critical engagement with ideas and issues of ongoing relevance to contemporary culture. The simplicity of I AM suggests a universality of thought. They are strategically and prominently placed at the centre top of each panel, each radiating an aura of light created by white dots. This was common practice among young Aboriginal girls and women. The work is a copy of a copy of a copy. Fri. 10-9, Sat. Gordon Bennett 6, I first learnt about Aborigines in primary school, as part of the social studies curriculum I learnt that Aborigines had dark brown skin, thin limbs, thick lips, black hair and dark brown eyes. It is interesting to note that this same year was declared a period of mourning by Aboriginal people. Queensland-born Gordon Bennett was an artist who loved collapsing 'high' and 'low' art boundaries. Such images have defined the nations settlement history for many generations of Australians. Gordon Bennett (1955-2014) voraciously consumed art history, current affairs, rap music and fiction, and processed it all into an unflinching critique of how identities are constituted and how history shapes individual and shared cultural conditions. Aim to use a variety of strategies in your work to engage the viewer in the issues and questions you are interested in exploring in relation to these binary opposites. Discuss with reference to Possession Island. These geometric forms also refer to the early 20th-century abstract artist Kazimir Malevich. Gordon Bennett (9 October 1955 - 3 June 2014) [1] was an Australian artist of Aboriginal and Anglo-Celtic descent. At auction, a number of Picassos paintings have sold for more than $100 million. Gordon Bennett POSSESSION ISLAND 1991 Titled, dated (1992) and signed by the artist on each panel and bears various exhibition related inscriptions and labels on the stretchers, and inscribed with date of completion 29.12.91 on the reverse of the right panel Synthetic polymer paint on canvas (diptych) 162 by 130 cm each panel, 162 by 260 cm overall 2,038 Sq. Often describing his own practice of borrowing images as quoting, Bennett re-contextualised existing images to challenge the viewer to question and see alternative perspectives. Bennett attempts to destroy the stereotypes to question notions of identity. Reynolds wrote books and articles about the history of Australian settlement as a story of invasion and genocide. Find examples of the work of these artists. Bennett achieved critical success early in his career. What aspects of Bennetts works might viewers focus on as emotional? 2 All that he had understood about himself and taken for granted as an Australian had ruptured. The 'cancel culture' debate winds me up. How does this interpretation and analysis compare to your own? Theosophy means god wisdom, the belief that everything living or dead was put together from basic blocks that lead towards consciousness. The grotesque in art is generally associated with bizarre, ugly or disturbing imagery. ww2dbase Henry Gordon Bennett was born in Balwyn, a suburb of Melbourne, near the close of the nineteenth century. In Notes to Basquiat (Jackson Pollock and his other) 2001, Bennett confronts these issues within a global context. Linear perspective is a system for organising visual information. Kelly Gellatly 3. Gordon Bennett 3, Bennett married in 1977. Compare and contrast this artists use of appropriation with that of Gordon Bennett. What does Bennetts goal for his work suggest to you about how he views the role of art? At the heart of the artwork of Gordon Bennett is a journey to find that self amidst the cultural and historical inequities created by European settlement in Australia. Discuss in relation to selected artworks by Bennett that you believe reveal questions and complexities, rather than answers and simplicities. Possession Island 1991 Oil and synthetic polymer paint on canvas Two parts: 162 x 260cm (overall) The Estate of Gordon Bennett Purchased with funds. Gordon Bennett, The manifest toe, p. 27, Identities come from somewhere, have histories, and like everything which is historical, they undergo constant transformation. The pair of outstretched arms and the diagrammatic outline of a cross- like form in the central panel of Triptych: Requieum, Of grandeur, Empire, 1989 alludes to the figure of Christ crucified on the cross, a common subject in Christian art. A gush of blood red paint shoots into the sky from his body. It recalls the way stereotypes, labels, identities and systems of thought are fixed. I have tried to avoid any simplistic critical containment or stylistic categorisation as an Aboriginal artist producing Aboriginal art by consistently changing stylistic directions and by producing work that does not sit easily in the confines of Aboriginal art collections or definitions. His use of the perspective diagrams to frame and contain the figure of his mother alludes to the impact the values and systems of European culture have had on the lives of Indigenous people. He states: The traditionalist studies of Anthropology and Ethnography have thus tended to reinforce popular romantic beliefs of an authentic Aboriginality associated with the Dreaming and images of primitive desert people, thereby supporting the popular judgment that only remote fullbloods are real Aborigines. Bennetts portrait of himself as a four- year old boy dressed as a cowboy as the I is juxtaposed with images of Aborigines as the AM. They reference the massacres of Aboriginal people in Myth of the Western man (White man's burden) (1992) and The nine ricochets (Fall down black fella, Jump up white fella (1990) and question the valorising of Captain Cook in Big Romantic Painting (Apotheosis of Captain Cook) (1993) and Possession Island (1991). The strategy of word association subverts the values and meaning traditionally associated with the image. Gordon Bennett, born on 16 April 1887 at Balwyn, Melbourne, was Australia's most controversial Second World War commander. The titles of Bennetts artworks reflect the artists awareness of the power of words/language to suggest meaning. Mixing of pure blood with European blood was feared by Europeans, authenticity was at risk and identity diluted. In Interior (Abstract eye), 1991 a diagrammatic grid overlays an image depicting a group of Aboriginal people in the landscape, seemingly appropriated from a social studies text. The Notes to Basquiat series takes appropriation to yet another level within Bennetts art practice. The grotesque also interested Bennett as a means of disrupting conventional ways of seeing and understanding. Bennett purposefully constructed these layers to blur fixed ideas and raise questions about the way identity is constructed. Do you agree? It is said that as a concession to Ireland ( because racing was illegal on British public roads) the British adopted shamrock green as their racing colour. Self portrait (Ancestor figures), 1992 deals with broader issues of cultural identity as well as personal identity. The resource provides frameworks for exploring key issues and ideas in Bennett's art practice. Bennetts pictures leave us with questions rather than answers, with complexities rather than simplicities as if the origins of truth, identity and ideology are in metaphors and signs rather than in things, and hence are layered and relative Ian McLean 1. He carefully staged each image in his studio, posing the sitter against a painted backdrop. John Citizen was a work in progress that allows me to follow other streams of thought in my practice. 3 Beds. The Estate of Gordon Bennett. The Constitution is being rethought with respect to Indigenous Australians, and treaty-making is on the agenda yet the Uluru Statement from the Heart was roundly ignored by the Federal Government. Bennett has often used dots in his artworks as part of his investigation of issues of identity, and history. Within the Home dcor series Gordon Bennett escalates the sampling and quoting of other artists and works to develop a pastiche. Find out more about binary opposites and identify some binary opposites that you believe have had a significant influence on your understanding of the world. Art about art seems appropriate for the time being. Gordon Bennett did not describe himself as an appropriation artist. It is appropriation of an image that has already been copied with an image that has become central in the pysche of an Australian history. There was still no space for me to simply be. List some of your own qualities and attributes. One of the longterm goals for my work is to have my paintings returned to the pages of text books from which many of the images in them originated, where they may act as sites around which a more enlightened kind of knowledge may circulate; perhaps a knowledge that is understood from the outset as culturally relative Gordon Bennett 4. I decided that I was in a very interesting position: My mind and body had been effectively colonised by Western culture, and yet my Aboriginality, which had been historically, socially and personally repressed, was still part of me and I was obtaining the tools and language to explore it on my own terms. It was no accident that Bennett used this event to question the way history is written and interpreted. Explore a range of ideas and media within your work. Experiment with enhancing or diminishing different layers to create a distinctive character. I had never thought to question those narratives and I certainly had never been taught at school to question them only to believe them. Western art has a long tradition of creating an illusion of three- dimensional space on a flat surface. Discuss with reference to one or more works by Bennett. . For given the artists own history of engagement, these works are not considered simple abstract paintings, but abstract paintings by Gordon Bennett; coloured or even tainted by, the history, concerns and associations of the artists earlier work. Scan these into the computer using a photographic software package like Photoshop. It has been designed for teachers and students to instigate discussion and investigation, and includes learning activities relevant to history and visual arts that can be adapted to different levels. Purchased with funds from the Foundation for the Historic Houses Trust, Museum of Sydney Appeal, 2007. His joy . He was born in New York, May 10th 1841 and died 4 days after his 77th Birthday in Beaulieu near Nizza/France. Traditional ideas about an artists individual or signature style are further confounded in Bennetts art practice by the his appropriation or sampling of the distinctive styles of other artists, including Jackson Pollock (191256), Margaret Preston ( 18751963) and Piet Mondrian (18721944). . Gordon Bennett 3. The Bicentenary celebrations triggered increased activism, protests and public debate related to Indigenous issues. In this work Bennett directly references historical British sources, namely Samuel Calverts (18281913) colour etching Captain Cook Taking Possession of the Australian Continent on Behalf of the British Crown AD 1770 c.185364 (National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne), which is itself a copy of John Alexander Gilfillans (17931864) earlier, now lost, painting of the same title. A fleet of tall ships sailed around Australia as part of the commemoration of settlement. Comparisons between Basquiat and Bennett often focus on the artists similar backgrounds and experiences. His art attempts to depict the complexity of both cultural perspectives. What evidence can you find of Bennett conceptually examining the ideas behind the emotion, and extrapolating from there? Bennett compels the viewer to engage with and question the values and ideas of the artists he appropriated. In your discussion consider meanings and ideas associated with, Compare your interpretation and analysis with others related to this artwork (this could be an interpretation by someone else in your class, or in a commentary on the work in gallery, book, catalogue etc. Lists of words draw the viewer into a game of word association. Dates/events to consider and research include the 1967 Australian Referendum, the 1992 Mabo and 1996 Wik Native Title court cases, Paul Keatings 1992 Redfern address. L120238 Gordon Bennett. Landing of Captain Cook at Botany Bay 1770 by E. Phillips Fox, for example, depicts Captain James Cook ceremoniously coming ashore at Botany Bay to claim the land for Britain. So, painting in an overtly abstract manner was a way to go silent on the issues involved and yet still keep painting. 40 41. Bennett presents each image with a single word, written in capitals, that boldly asserts a new meaning for them. Gordon Bennett 2. But the oppressive and restrictive laws that governed the lives of Aboriginal people in Australia until the late 1960s continued to impose on her life. 1. Possession Island No 2 1991 is a painting that shows the British explorer Captain James Cook and other compatriots hoisting the Union flag to claim the eastern coast of Australia for the British Crown in 1770. In Calverts etching, an Aboriginal man holds a drinks tray. The coming of the light suggests questions about the impact of Christianity on Indigenous cultures and people. The dresser draw labelled self is closed while the drawers for history and culture are ajar. From a distance the figure resembles a sculpture of a heroic Classical figure. What does this comment suggest to you about the purpose of Bennetts questioning of history? Research the representation of three dimensional space in selected artforms of several different cultures (ie. Gordon Bennett 1. This image is based on a photograph by JW Lindt (1845 1926). Other aspects of the image, including the flat, stylised shapes of the head, reflect connections to both Western abstract art and Indigenous art traditions. At art college Bennett discovered how Australian identity was built on a subjective writing of history. Celebrations continued throughout the year and gave renewed focus to traditional images and stories of the nations settlement history. While some people may argue this has been a quick road to success, and that my work is authorised by my Aboriginality, I maintain that I dont have to be an Aborigine to do what I do, and that quick success is not an inherent attribute of an Aboriginal heritage, as history has shown, nor is it that unusual for college graduates who have something relevant to say. Opens in a new window or tab. There are a number of reasons why I began painting abstract paintings that focused on overt visual phenomena, as opposed to explicit visual content. Sutton Gallery. These qualities expose some of the complications that arise from understandings built on binary opposites. He used familiar and recognisable images that are part of an Australian consciousness to explore and question the meaning of these images. The absence of the Aboriginal servant and the scuttling footprints in Possession Island No 2 suggest the physical dispossession that was to follow once the British claimed ownership of the land. From early in his career he was inspired by theories and ideas associated with postmodernism. It was a way forward for me. This was soon replaced by a cooler, more conceptual approach. Van Goghs original bedroom evokes a feeling of peace and harmony. Further reading He acknowledged that much of his work was autobiographical, but he emphasises that there was conceptual distance involved in his art making . After working in various trades in his early life, Bennett enrolled as a matureage student at Queensland College of Art in 1986 and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Fine Arts) degree in 1988. These racist terms confront an Aboriginal figure represented as a jack-in-the-box, as he is violently jerked from the box that contains him. Gordon Bennett, Possession Island, 1991, oil and synthetic polymer paint on canvas, Museum of Sydney, Sydney Living Museums; Daniel Boyd, We Call Them . Compare and contrast Possession Island with one or more of the following artworks: What does this comparison reveal about the relationship between visual images, culture and history? Bennett has included the framed photograph in the panel, to the right of the painted figure. Why do artists such as Gordon Bennett and Tracey Moffatt (b.1960) systematically decline to participate in exhibitions of Aboriginal art? It demonstrates Bennetts understanding of the power of this image. How does Bennetts use of appropriation reflect an interest in some of the moral and ethical issues associated with this practice. It is based on a newspaper photograph of Bennetts mother and another young Aboriginal woman, dressed in crisp white uniforms, polishing the elaborate architectural fittings in a grand interior of a homestead in Singleton. People tend to focus on the emotional aspect rather than the conceptual when interpreting my work, and that bothers me. It alludes to ownership and territory. The only clearly defined part of Possession Island is the black skinned male figure in the centre. . Curated by Zara StanhopeThe intelligence and passion of Gordon Bennett's politically committed post-appropriation art struck a chord with the postcolonial ambitions of the 1990s. Investigate the theories and ideas associated with anthropology, ethnography and phrenology. Does this text contain inaccurate information or language that you feel we should improve or change? In Possession Island, 1991, Bennett meticulously photocopies and enlarges Calverts image so that it can be projected, cropped and copied onto the canvas. Possession Island (Abstraction), Gordon Bennett, 1991, Oil paint and acrylic paint on canvas. Like words, visual images, forms and elements are powerful signifiers of meaning. Self portrait (But I always wanted to be one of the good guys), 1990 questions how stereotypes create a sense of identity. Voir plus d'ides sur le thme toile de lin, basquiat, art australien. These signs can also be read as evidence that disputes the claim that Australia was discovered terra nullius or nobodys land. Underlying Bennetts admiration for Basquiat was the need to re- contextualise the issues that he had explored throughout his career as an artist. GORDON BENNETT AND HIS RACES From the Book: Die Gordon Bennett Ballon Rennen (The Gordon Bennett Races)by Ulrich Hohmann Sr along with articles by others.Many of his contemporaries have considered Mister James Gordon Bennett to be a spleeny American. The repression of Aboriginal heritage that Bennett experienced was reinforced by an education system and society dominated by a history built on the belief in Australia as terra nullius. Possession Island (Appendix 1) 1991 and Notes to Basquiat (Jackson Pollock and his Other) (Appendix 2) 2001 will be discussed in relation to Henri's statement. See more ideas about artist, art, straight photography. Some of Prestons appropriations however, demeaned and trivialised the way Aborigines were depicted and understood. In the context of the other panels, which are all figurative, this black square could be seen as an absence, and possibly a representation of the oppression of indigenous voices by history. He serves as a counterpoint to Gordon Bennetts Other, and yet we are the one and the same. Outsider depicts, a decapitated Aboriginal figure standing over Vincent van Goghs bed, with red paint streaming skywards to join with the vortex of Vincents starry night. Looking closely at the central panel we realise that the luminous sky is described with the dots that Bennett used in early works to signify Aboriginal art. What key themes and ideas are explored in the book/film? It exposes the pain these stereotypes create. . Bennett establishes him as the focal point. Viewed in this context, the black square in Untitled could be seen as a resilient black presence, asserting itself in the settlement narrative that Bennett deconstructed. It was upon entering the workforce that I really learnt how low the general opinion of Aboriginal people was. His sudden death came just one week after the opening of the 8th Berlin Biennale, where a series of Bennett's never-before exhibited drawings from the early 1990s are currently on view. Include reference to specific examples in your discussion. Lindt created many photographic portraits of Aboriginal subjects. Some supporters applauded his escape but his claim that he left to pass on his knowledge about how to fight the Japanese - given his lack of success . Gordon Bennett 1. The distorted and exaggerated features of the form incorporate qualities that appear animal and human, male and female. He painted his most famous work, Guernica (1937), in response to the Spanish Civil War; the totemic grisaille canvas remains a definitive work of anti-war art. The Classical style and pose of the figure in the panel Empire, and the draped animal skins and weapons, reflect a stereotype of the noble savage that was widely influential in how people viewed Indigenous people in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Bennetts art engages with historical and contemporary questions of cultural and personal identity, with a specific focus on Australias colonial past and its postcolonial present. Gordon Bennett, Possession Island, 1991, oil and synthetic polymer paint on canvas in two parts. These binary opposites insider/outsider, black/white, primitive/civilised have had a powerful influence on perceptions of European and Indigenous people and culture. He quotes directly from this image, which is in fact a copy of a copy, as Samuel Calvert copied this image of Captain Cook landing in Botany Bay from an image by Gilfillan, which is now lost. Performance with object for the expiation of guilt (Violence and grief remix) 1996, is a remix of an earlier video performance work, Performance with object for the expiation of guilt, 1995. Often the basic alphabet letters ABC also appear with Bennetts perspective diagrams, highlighting the learned and culturally specific nature of the alphabet and linear perspective. Consider what dates/events should be included in your timeline and why. ), National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne 2007, p. 97, Gordon Bennett, The manifest toe, pp. At the heart of all human life is a concept of self. Possession Island (Appendix 1) 1991 and Notes to Basquiat (Jackson Pollock and his Other) (Appendix 2) 2001 will be discussed in relation to Henri's statement. 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