Finally, Ive never been one to make art about art before. Australian artist Gordon Bennett passed away on June 3, 2014, from natural causes at the age of 58. The timeline could be presented in hardcopy for display in the classroom, or as an ICT project incorporating images and audio. His work is layered and complex and often incorporates images, styles or references drawn from sources such as social history text books, western art history and Indigenous art. Read through the profiles and market analysis for the top 200 Indigenous artists Indeed, he explains that before the age of sixteen he was not really aware of his Indigenous heritage. Gordon Bennetts Possession Island 1991, highlights the influence that visual images have on our understanding of history, and the way that visual images often reflect the values of the social / historical context in which they are made. Purchased with funds from the Foundation for the Historic Houses Trust, Museum of Sydney Appeal, 2007 Gordon Bennett Possession Island (Abstraction) 1991 oil and acrylic on canvas 182 x 182cm Collection: Museum of Contemporary Art Australia and Tate, purchased jointly with funds provided by the Qantas Foundation, 2016 The Estate of Gordon Bennett Gordon Bennett 1. They are strategically and prominently placed at the centre top of each panel, each radiating an aura of light created by white dots. 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. For many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, this was a time to mourn the devastating consequences of 200 years of colonisation. Ft. 2707 Coral Shores Dr, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33306. Bennett was acutely aware that his own success paralleled the growing contemporary interest in Indigenous art and culture. James Gordon Bennett Quotes - BrainyQuote American - Editor May 10, 1841 - May 14, 1918 I have made mistakes but I have never made the mistake of claiming that I have never made one. One hand holds a torch a symbol of Enlightenment values that is also seen in The Statue of Liberty in New York that sheds light on darkness. He was in a sense all things to all people. The only clearly defined part of Possession Island is the black skinned male figure in the centre. These images, forever forged in our minds, are boldly depicted in Basquiats graffiti- like style. Bennett simultaneously obscures and draws attention to the Aboriginal man standing next to Cook, overlaying an abstract geometric shape which recalls constructivist art and the Aboriginal flag. She was once thought to be the last surviving Tasmanian Aborigine. He tried a career as an actuarial clerk, attending Hawthorn College after Balwyn State School. a moment of possession; the place where he came ashore and allegedly claimed . These images are fused and overlapped in a dynamic composition underpinned by Mondrian-style grids. His identity must remain fluid. It is uttered by all good Muslims before a good deed. 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. But in Bennetts painting disparate diagrams, symbols and images disrupt the illusion, presenting the landscape as a site where many ideas and viewpoints compete. These contrasting and complex meanings and ideas are not accidental. Gordon Bennett was born on 9 October, 1955 in Monto, Australia. His joy . They absorb the flow of blood and recall the symbols often used in Aboriginal dot painting of the Western Desert to represent significant sites. (Supplied: CGM Communications) In 1989, Bennett, Mr Lai and five other executives started Phosphate Resources Limited and got the locals to invest, raising about $3.4 million. L120238 Gordon Bennett. John Citizen was a work in progress that allows me to follow other streams of thought in my practice. This activity could be done as a group activity with different students researching different dates/events and presenting talks to the class about their significance. How do the key themes/ideas and strategies in the book/film compare to those used by Gordon Bennett in early work such as. Throughout his career Bennett has used many different strategies to engage the viewer in his work. The grand Romantic landscapes of Western art were intended to inspire the viewer with their dramatic beauty and effects of illusion. It speaks of colonial violence and the consequences of being on the 'wrong' side of history, purchased in 2019, this powerful and sobering work is a major acquisition for the QAGOMA Collection. The performance that forms an integral part of this work shows a tall indistinct figure (Bennett) prowling around a stage- like setting illuminated by a rapidly changing pattern of images, text, light and colour. The emphasis on making art about art which was the focus of his non-representational abstract paintings, contrasts clearly with the focus on social critique that was integral to Bennetts earlier work, and was intended also to make people aware that I am an artist first and not a professional Aborigine.2 In this respect, Bennetts non representational abstract works, despite their overt emphasis on visual concerns, may be seen as reflecting his engagement with questions of identity, knowledge and perception. His use of I AM emphasises this. ). Experiment with enhancing or diminishing different layers to create a distinctive character. Here he exposes the truth of colonial occupation it was a bloody conquest. Other significant works: Gordon Bennett, Possession Island; Glenn Brown, The Day The World Turned Auerbach; Damien Hirst, The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of the Living; Glenn Ligon, Notes on the Margin of the Black Book; Gabriel Orozco, Crazy Tourist; Cornelia Parker, Cold Dark Matter: An Exploded View In just three generations, that heritage has been lost to me. 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. Opens in a new window or tab. It is interesting to note that this same year was declared a period of mourning by Aboriginal people. 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. Bennett was concerned that his identity and work was seen as coming from a narrow framework. Bennett used this symbol because: What emerges for all who take part in this piece is in fact an examination of the self. From his father, a Scottish . Theyre buried, and this is a way of bringing them back into memory, but remembered in a different way from the way that I was taught, looking at them from a different angle and looking at how they work, where they came from initially, and how these images still support contemporary stereotypes, etc. 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. Gordon Bennett (9 October 1955 - 3 June 2014) [1] was an Australian artist of Aboriginal and Anglo-Celtic descent. The dynamic juxtaposition of images, sound and other effects made possible by video, introduced new dimensions to Bennetts investigation of issues and ideas related to identity, history and language. Collect a range of images (both art and media sources) that depict characters that are perceived or presented as typically Australian. In this way, Bennett effectively exposes and questions the constructed and value-laden nature of language and history, and how they shape our understanding of the world. Clear visual divisions are created with distinct black areas as well as large white areas. SOLD FEB 21, 2023. The figure is dressed in tattered western clothing. Ian McLean 2. Who was Paul Keating? Gouged into the skin like a tattoo, these markings will never heal or fade away. After years of critiquing art-historical standards, Bennett has himself become the standard bearer. 3233, Gordon Bennett, The manifest toe, p. 33, Gordon Bennett & Chris McAuliffe, Interview with Gordon Bennett in Rex Bulter (Ed.) 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 . Gordon Bennett, The Manifestoe, Ian McLean & Gordon Bennett. His bold and humane art challenged racial stereotypes and provoked critical reflection on Australia's official history and national identity. These questions include how traditional characterisations of light and darkness have influenced perceptions and experience of race and culture. Art about art seems appropriate for the time being. Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA). 148339 AK Gordon-Bennett-Rennen 1904 Cup Motorsport Usingen Weilburg Limburg. The Bicentenary celebrations triggered increased activism, protests and public debate related to Indigenous issues. Bennett confronts and questions the appropriateness of this borrowing. Strange to think of Gordon Bennett as an almost classical figure in contemporary Australian art. while Bennett may have attempted, in recent years, to disconnect from the politics of his earlier practice, there is also a sense within these paintings, of the impossibility of such a task. Find examples of the work of these artists. Das Jahr 1904 brachte mit dem Gordon-Bennett-Rennen in Deutschland und dem Vanderbilt Cup in den USA einen weiteren Aufschwung des Motorsports vor allem auch auerhalb Frankreichs, wobei fr das Rennen in New York erstmals europische Fahrer und Rennstlle nach bersee gereist waren. 'Bloodlines' Opens in a new window or tab. He is not disturbed by slashes of paint, but painted carefully and outlined by the precise grid behind him. 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. In many images of the crucifixion, including the painting by Veneziano illustrated, Mary Magdalene is kneeling at the foot of the cross washing and anointing Christs feet in an act of devotion . As a self- portrait, the artist seems to be present everywhere within the installation but is in fact nowhere. 1. Lichtenstein 19231987). What values or ideas characterise the postKeating era in Australia? This canvas is loosely divided into three parts. Gordon Bennett an Australian Aboriginal artist demonstrates this theory through his work. In Malevichs work the black square is seen as having a strong and even spiritual presence. How does this interpretation and analysis compare to your own? While the conceptual framework underpinning Bennetts art remained remarkably consistent, his art practice was characterised by some dramatic stylistic shifts over twenty years. 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. 2 February 2021. Gordon Bennett Possession Island - Free download as Word Doc (.doc / .docx), PDF File (.pdf) or read online for free. Well-known Australian and international artists whose works are referenced in different ways in Bennetts work include Hans Heysen, Margaret Preston, Imants Tillers, Vincent van Gogh, Jackson Pollock, Colin McCahon and Jean-Michel Basquiat. The circular forms in the sky are inspired by the brilliant bursts of light in van Goghs Starry night. Australian politics is fraught yet the Australian public is disengaged. The graphic detail in these images, including mutilated, tortured bodies, continue to confront viewers today with the realities of human behaviour and suffering in war. Self portrait (Ancestor figures), 1992 deals with broader issues of cultural identity as well as personal identity. Possession Island displays a photocopy of Samuel Calvert's engraving, Captain Cook . In Altered body print (Shadow figure howling at the moon) Bennett focuses more explicitly on binary opposites and the associations they trigger. This allowed him to utilise professional capture, editing and special effects software, to expand his art practice to include video and performance work. Discuss with reference to one or more works by Bennett. 5. Gebraucht | Gewerblich. 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. Kelly Gellatly 3. What does Bennetts goal for his work suggest to you about how he views the role of art? . She looms large over the landscape in Requiem, as she does in the post- contact history of the nation as a symbol of the devastating impact that colonisation had on Indigenous people and culture. Reflecting the colours of the Aboriginal flag, splashes and drips of red, yellow and black paint across the surface of the painting quote the distinctive style of Jackson Pollock (19121956), which Bennett began to sample in 1990. Egyptian painting or relief sculpture, Chinese scroll paintings, Aboriginal painting of the Western Desert. It demonstrates Bennetts understanding of the power of this image. Gordon Bennett, an Australian Aboriginal artist, demonstrates this theory through his work. There was still no space for me to simply be. Gordon Bennett 3, Bennett married in 1977. 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 . The 'cancel culture' debate winds me up. Why? The reality is, however, that I have never really had much choice; and I have been faced with my work not entering some collections on the grounds of it being not Aboriginal enough, to being asked to sell my work through stalls at cultural festivalsGordon Bennett 2. Bennett adopted this alter ego to liberate himself from the preconceptions that were often associated with his Aboriginal heritage and his identity and reputation as the artist Gordon Bennett. For example, placing the word DISPLACE under the image of Captain Cook coming ashore at Botany Bay focuses attention on the dispossession of Aboriginal people rather than on the discovery of Australia. The facial features reflected in the mirror are blurred and distorted by roughly painted words typical racist remarks about Aboriginal people. Although there are many forms of Aboriginal art, dot painting is widely seen as synonymous with Aboriginal art since the late 1970s, when the dot painting of the Western Desert attracted unprecedented national and international interest in Aboriginal art. RM 2JEMG56 - A rare old photograph of the 1903 Gordon Bennett trophy race, Ireland - In the 'pits' attendants are cooling down an overheated vehicle with a bucket of water. Place each photograph on a separate layer, overlap and morph or merge all the portraits into one image. What evidence can you find of Bennett conceptually examining the ideas behind the emotion, and extrapolating from there? By overlaying perspective diagrams on images constructed according to the conventions of perspective, such as the landscape in Requiem, Bennett reminds us of the learned and culturally specific systems that influence knowledge and perception. Is this response informed by Bennetts work? Nearby homes similar to 2719 NE 21st Ter have recently sold between $824K to $1M at an average of $565 per square foot. His art attempts to depict the complexity of both cultural perspectives. What is your personal interpretation of the meaning and ideas in The coming of the light or Untitled ? Gordon Bennett 1. The impact of colonisation on Aboriginal people and culture from this point was devastating. Typical of Bennetts early work, the painting appropriates an existing picture, in this case an historical painting, and transforms the content with carefully considered signs of Aboriginal identity. Brushing aside the tempting opportunity to ridicule many frames of reference in that sentence (I mean, don't get me . Calverts image becomes one of the layers of the painting. During 199495 at summer school Bennett learnt to make digital videos on an Apple PowerMac computer. Against the background of the illusionistic representation of the landscape they capture our attention, alerting us to the fact that there are other ways of representing and understanding the landscape not just the European perspectives that have dominated our cultural history. To the right of the canvas, Jackson Pollocks Blue Poles: Number 11, 1952 is clearly referenced. Bennett indicates the need to be reconciled within the context of culture and history to develop a full sense of identity. 3 Baths. McCahon uses I AM to question notions of faith. Gewerblich. Include in your discussion reference to Bennetts appropriation of The nine shots 1985 by Imants Tillers. There is strong symbolism associated with the placement of the figure beneath the Roman triumphal arch. While his work was increasingly exhibited within a national and international context, the combination of his position (or as Bennett would argue label) as an (urban) Aboriginal artist, and the subject matter of his work, seemed to ensure inclusion within certain curatorial and critical frameworks, and largely determine interpretation and reception. . Gordon Bennett Possession Island (Abstraction), 1991 Oil and acrylic on canvas 71 7/10 71 7/10 in | 182 182 cm Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA) The Rocks Get notifications for similar works Create Alert Want to sell a work by this artist? It recalls the way stereotypes, labels, identities and systems of thought are fixed. Do you agree? The purer the bloodlines, the more Aboriginal you were. Discuss with reference to the same works. Theosophy means god wisdom, the belief that everything living or dead was put together from basic blocks that lead towards consciousness. Bennett also includes copies and samples of his own work, such as Possession Island and Big Romantic painting (The Apotheosis of Captain Cook) 1993, with other found images. Bennett employs this system using diagrams often labelled with acronyms, such as CVP (central vanishing point), that refer to key features of the system. How does this work compare with conventional self-portraits? Purchased with funds from the Foundation for the Historic Houses Trust, Museum of Sydney Appeal, 2007. The left explodes with images of 9/11, the devastatingly unforgettable attacks in the United States, including New York. Bennett lodges this image in layers of dots and slashes of red and yellow paint that refer to other artists and images. Victorious soldiers triumphantly and ceremoniously paraded under such arches, sometimes accompanied by their captives. Gordon Bennett 1, For an artist whose practice was concerned with how labels and systems define and confine knowledge and perception, labels and categorisations such as aboriginal artist, or urban aboriginal artist that were often applied to his work through exhibitions, books and other commentaries presented many practical as well as philosophical issues, I am very aware of the boundaries of critical containment within the parameters of Urban Aboriginal Art, and have so far worked within these boundaries to try and broaden, extend and subvert them. Bennett attempts to destroy the stereotypes to question notions of identity. John Citizen lets me take my Australian citizenship and cultural upbringing back from the netherworld of the imagined Other. Bennetts art practice was interdisciplinary and encompasses painting, photography, printmaking, video, performance and installation. scale, format), Ian McLean Gordon Bennetts existentialism in Ian McLean & Gordon Bennett, The art of Gordon Bennett, Craftsman House, Roseville East, 1996, p. 69, Ian McLean Gordon Bennetts existentialism, p. 71. 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). In Calverts etching, an Aboriginal man holds a drinks tray. Australia for His Majesty King George III. Create an artwork in a medium of your choice that highlights how the meanings, values and ideas associated with these binary opposites influence perception and understanding. Possession Island (Abstraction), Gordon Bennett, 1991, Oil paint and acrylic paint on canvas. The triptych form of painting is most commonly associated with the altarpiece paintings made for Christian churches. Gordon Bennett 1. Bennetts art explores and reflects his personal experiences. 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.
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