Sculpture and the Enemies I

Exhibition Review: Rafael Lozano-Hemmer: Recorders

Where: Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney When: 16 December 2011- 12 February 2012

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The Archibold, The Wynne and the Sulman Prize and Sculpture on the Edge

Rafael Lozano- Hemmer’s exhibition, ‘Recorders’ currently exhibited at the MCA, inverts our perspective of the fear evoking ‘big brother’ technology which is used to spy on our every movement and record every aspect of our daily lives. Rafael instead uses this technology Did you know that you can join hundreds of others in purchasing in a positive way to create beautiful interactive works of art which integrate it’s audience’s voice, fi nger prints, heart beat, image- even our eyeballs into the works. Whether the audience actively engages with the works or just passively observes them, their memory is kept, like a momento mori which will be observed later by other visitors. In one instance I was moved to hear the artist tell us that his now Sculpture + the enemies as an electronic copy to read from your deceased mother’s voice is recorded as part of his work, ‘Microphones’ and will potentially play back at some point during the exhibition. The recorded voices on the microphones play back at random so that the audience can hear their recorded voice, plus the voices of other people recorded in the past. computer or IPAD and save $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ See Page 2 or our Lozano-Hemmer moved from Mexico, his birth place to Canada where he received a B.Sc. in Physical Chemistry from Concordia web site for details. University in Montreal. His background has clearly informed his art and he defi nes himself as an ‘electronic artist’. He is world renowned and his unique work has earned him a string of awards including two BAFTA British Academy Awards for Interactive Art in London, a Golden Nica at the Prix Ars Electronica in Austria, among many others. He has also exhibited in museums in four dozen countries around the world; and he was the fi rst artist to offi cially represent Mexico in the Venice Biennale. (Image above: Close-Up Shadow Box 3 2010, installation view, Recorders, Manchester Art Gallery, UK 2010 - 11, high resolution interactive display with built-in computerised surveillance system. Image courtesy the artist and Manchester Art Gallery © the artist Photo: Peter Mallet.)

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1 SCULLPPTURE + tthehe eenemiesnemies ISSUE 10 January - March 2012 Quarterly No. 1 AUS $12.00 incl. GST

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Name: Patricia Piccinini 4 Life-like barbie Dolls

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2 Page 24 3 B/W Something of What We Look Like

by Zoe Harrington Katherine Harrington, BA Life like Barbie dolls UNSW, Publisher and Joint Editor The human body has become the plastic of culture. Plastic surgeons are a new breed of artist in our era as they no longer always on the phone even purely ‘correct’ imperfections but instead transform people, rendering them unrecognisable. It is the new tool for our image while on vacation obsessed society; as well as for artists such Orlan. In this article, I will discuss the new beauty ideal; the possible causes and effects of the plastic surgery revolution on our bodies; Female identity; and the natural body as a kind of spectacle of society.

Upon viewing the countless magazines, YouTube channels and television shows devoted to female grooming, we can instantly ascertain two things: fi rstly, feminine beauty is artifi cial; and secondly that it is redefi ned daily. However, linking those two points is the idea that female identity is bound to the body. Grooming of the body denotes a woman’s identity and Zoe Harrington, BFA Hons extends beyond clothes and even the appearance of the body, to controlling and manipulating the way the body naturally National Art School behaves in order to improve its functioning in the contexts of sex and beauty. Ironically, the more the body is manipulated Joint Editor ready for the enemy to affect an illusion of femininity, the further apart the link between biology and gender become. What does it take to be Clara Hali, MFA advisor, sculptor female? & lecturer at the National Art School ‘For Judith Butler, gender roles are performative enactments that ensure the materialisation of female bodies through the reiteration and citation of the discursive codes of feminine ideals. Interpreting gender as something that is enacted serves as a strategy to counter the notion of femininity as an essential and inherent quality. Indeed, Barbie’s hyperfeminine qualities imply that gender itself is a simulation; an artifi ce that is reproducible, rather than a natural characteristic.’ 1 The idea of femininity being performative is certainly evident in the case of convincing transsexuals who adorn women’s clothing and attributes such as breasts, long hair, makeup etc. They assert their femininity through their physical appearance suggesting that the notion of gender is an artifi ce and not bound to our biology. Are they more ‘female’ than the woman who wears men’s fashion and appears androgynous? Steve Menteith, Photographer Steven Menteith, BFA The artist Cindy Sherman is famous for her fi lm stills and her works are in agreement with Butler’s assertions. Her diverse (Photography) National range of depictions of women suggest that superfi cially, the female identity is versatile, easily molded according to the Art School; ; Diploma of fashion of the time. The woman’s role, or personality is refl ected in the dress, suggesting that there are many forms Photography – Sydney Institute that women come in- but that they all come from a mold. Sherman’s work, ‘Untitled Film Still (1977) ‘...denies the fi xity of Technology and City and of women’s identity, instead opting for an indeterminate and often ominous critique of how femininity is constructed by Guilds photography, Lambeth Hollywood fi lm making.’2 Sherman is representing ‘woman’ as an illusion. What is this illusion in aide of? Why was it College – London. www. constructed? (Continued on page 12) extramission.com

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ISSN:1837 - 2457 Justin Cooper, BFA Hons Ist Front cover design by Cam Ralph Class (National Art School) Front Cover: Patricia Piccinini. The Comforter, 2010 Sculptor, Drawer and Silicone, ﬁ breglass, steel, fox fur, human hair, clothing 60 h x 80 x 80 cm Contributor Photograph by Graham Baring Courtesy of Art Gallery of NSW Back Cover: Emma Hack Native Mandala Collection 2009, Goanna in Sturt Desert Rose, 120x120cm / 80x80cm Photography courtesy of the artist Copyright 2010. 5 4 What’s On What’s On

Yayoi Kusama Above: Damien Hirst Above: Constantin Brancusi The Clouds 1984 1984 The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of (French, born Romania. 1876-1957) Courtesy of Victoria Miro Gallery / Ota Fine Arts, Tokyo / Yayoi Someone Living 1991 Endless Column, version I, 1918 Oak Kusama Studio Inc. © Copyright of Yayoi Kusama, (c) ANZAI . Photo: © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved. 6’ 8” x 9 7/8” x 9 5/8” (203.2 x 25.1 x 24.5 cm) Photograph courtesy of: Mr. Shigeo Anzai DACS 2011. .Photo: Photographed by Prudence The Museum of Modern Art, New York Exhibited at the Tate Modern Cuming Associates Exhibited at the Tate Modern Gift of Mary Sisler © 2011 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris Exhibited at the Art Gallery of Western Australia

Tate Modern, Britain UK. Hirst is widely regarded as one of the most The Art Gallery of NSW re-form through time. From a fl oating island video and installations. Kusama’s work is tradition and resonance with modernism. Often important artists working today. The exhibition of 2000 cut-glass objects to an explosive light characterised by its stunning use of colour and transforming natural phenomena into magical will provide a journey through two decades of installation that clocks in real time human births, forms. 9 February – 5 June 2012 - Yayoi Kusama: until 25 March 2012 - Masterpieces from the its obsessive repetition of motifs such as dots, Hirst’s inventive practice. Bringing together deaths and dying stars; this Biennial considers Yayoi Kusama’s (b.1929) pioneering work spans Musée National Picasso, Paris. This exhibition nets and organic forms. She is in her 80s and over seventy of the artist’s seminal works, the the temporality of the present as it parallels over six decades and this exhibition highlights was made possible only by the closure of the remains highly prolifi c. exhibition will include sculptures from the and collides with the past. Parallel Collisions Art Gallery of Western Australia the artist’s moments of most intense innovation. Musée National Picasso in Paris for renovations. early 1990s, such as The Physical Impossibility presents 21 commissioned works by some of Kusama is one of Japan’s best-known living One hundred and fi fty important paintings, 16 June to 3 December 2012 - ‘Picasso to of Death in the Mind of Someone Living, in Australia’s leading artists. artists and since the 1940s she has developed sculptures, prints and drawings created by National Gallery of Victoria Warhol: Fourteen Modern Masters’ with which he suspended a shark in formaldehyde. an extensive body of work. From her earliest Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) will fi ll most of the addition of works by Pablo Picasso and Alongside these sculptures will be paintings explorations of painting in provincial Japan to the Gallery’s ground fl oor and include works Andy Warhol, this exhibition will also include made throughout Hirst’s career from his spot, until 26 Feb 2012 - The NGV will launch new unseen works, the exhibition will reveal a ranging from informal sketchbooks to fi nished Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery celebrated works by Henri Matisse, Constantin spin, butterfl y and fl y series. In addition, two its newest contemporary art space with history of successive developments and daring masterpieces. Brancusi, Piet Mondrian, Fernand Léger, major installations will be on view: In and Out of Modern Art a spectacular exhibition of work by advances, demonstrating why Kusama remains Marcel Duchamp, Giorgio De Chirico, Joan of Love 1991, which has not been shown in its internationally renowned contemporary one of the most engaging practitioners today. Art Gallery of South Australia Miró, Alexander Calder, Louise Bourgeois, entirety since its creation, and Pharmacy 1992. until March 11, 2012 - Yayoi Kusama: Look artist, Ranjani Shettar (1977 - ). Dewdrops Now, See Forever is a major solo exhibition and Sunshine will showcase the artist’s Jasper Johns, Jackson Pollock and Romare 2 March until 29 April 2012 - ‘Parallel of new and recent works by leading senior unique approach to sculpture including Bearden. 4 April – 9 September 2012 - Damien Hirst: Collisions: 2012 Adelaide Biennial of Japanese contemporary artist Yayoi Kusama. material experimentation, relationship to Tate Modern will present the fi rst substantial Australian Art.’ This exhibition explores the This exhibition includes sculpture, painting, space, engagement with nature, exploration of survey of Damien Hirst’s work ever held in the ways in which ideas emerge, converge and

6 7 News News

The Australian Pavilion at the 54th International Art Exhibition – la Biennale di Venezia

Every two years, Venice becomes host to the Venice Biennale Art Festival showcasing contemporary art from different countries around the world. The Giardini, an area of parkland in the city of Venice contains 50 permanent pavillions built purposely for this exhibition, each allocated to a particular nation to display works of art by its nationals during the Biennale. Australia also has its own pavillion to display the work of the artist(s) selected to represent Australia. This is a huge exhibition always attracting a large number of visitors; over 100,000 people visited the exhibition during the 3 day Vernissage from 1 to 3 June last year. The exhibition was open to the public until 27 November last year. Australia has had a continuing presence at the Biennale since 1954.

This year, Australia’s sole representative at the 54th Biennale di Venezia was the Sydney based, Egyptian born artist, Hany Armanious whose work is held in the collections of the National Gallery of Australia, the This Page Left: : Azdeena Persius, 2010 NSW Art Gallery, the National Gallery of Victoria, the Queensland Art bronze, 18 carat gold plated sterling silver, tourmaline rubellite, Gallery, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney, as well as regional blue Swiss topaz, almandine garnets, citrine galleries; his work is also represented overseas. Hany Armaneous was 278 x 60 x 120 cm image by Greg Weight courtesy of the born in 1962 and migrated with his family to Australia six years later. Australia Council for the Arts

Hany Armanious’s exhibition at the Biennale was titled, ‘The Golden Below: Detail of Azdeena Persius Thread’ and was curated by Anne Ellegood, Senior Curator at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles. Armanious’s exhibition examined “the relationship between readymade and ﬁ gurative sculptural traditions...” presenting “...cast sculptural forms that are simultaneously archaic and modern, formal and informal, uncanny and concrete” 1. According to its curator, Anne Ellegood, “By arguing that objects in our everyday life – leaf-blowers, vases, teapots, baskets, irons, window blinds, or even a cardboard Burger King crown – can carry as much visual pleasure, as much potential for beauty, as those things designed or deemed to be in the domain of aesthetics, his work is an acknowledgement that there is more to this world than meets the eye.” 1 Above: Hany Armanious Australia’s participation at the Biennale is managed by the Australia Council for the Arts with Doug Hall AM as Commissioner.

Information for this article was sourced from: 1. The Australia Council for the Arts 2. http://www.monash.edu.au/muma/assets/pdfs/2012/armanious-mediakit.pdf

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8 9 Friday 2nd March - Sunday 11 March 2012

I was attending a sculpture exhibition in Bondi when I heard our magazine called out. It was Jan Ireland and we had never actually met. ‘You are Sculpture + the enemies magazine aren’t you? Katherine Harrington?’ Her intuition was spot on.Two things struck me upon meeting Jan, ﬁ rstly, I felt I was seeing someone I had known for years, some people are great at that - you like them instantly, and secondly, how skilful she was at ﬁ nding people.

Each year in the southern NSW coastal town of Bermagui, Jan is the driving force behind Sculpture on the Edge, an amazing exhibition of large sculptural works (as well as smaller indoor works) in the magniﬁ cent setting of Endeavour Point Headland, Dickinson Park and Horsehoe Bay beach. I asked Jan Ireland, its founder and Event Manager to provide Sculpture + the enemies with a background to this event.

“I’m a librarian and an archivist by profession and grew up and went to University in Adelaide. Adelaide has always been a wonderful place for the visual arts and that was where I developed my passion for them. The most signiﬁ cant man in my life sculpted after starting out in a completely different ﬁ eld. My last work in Sydney was running resource centres for Architectural & Interior Design practices.

Sydney provided wonderful opportunities for me to indulge my passion when I moved there in the late sixties, and so moving to Bermagui nine years ago left me with rather a gap to ﬁ ll. I joined a number of committees as a volunteer & one of them was Bermagui Seasiders which runs a popular one day annual Fair. I was given responsibility for a number of events including an Arts & Crafts exhibition and on being told that photography was not an art form, began a photographic show too.

In 2006 after being advised that Bermagui was not ready for a sculpture event, I tested the water with a local artist’s wonderful abstract steel piece called The Knot. A complaint was made that the sculpture was a comment on the controversial sewerage scheme then under consideration (that it in fact represented a big poo !) and Council conﬁ scated it and locked it up at the Council depot. I managed to have it liberated, it stayed for two weeks, went to the Four Winds music Festival then continued on to Currumbin where it won a prize & was sold. Deﬁ nitely time for a sculpture event in Bermagui! I’m good at rising to challenges.

I sought support from international architect Philip Cox AO who has a beautiful Murrah property called ‘Thubbul’ and he allowed me to have the ﬁ rst Sculpture on the Edge Symposium there in 2007. It was a three day event with 19 sculptures on Endeavour Point Headland with a tiny show of small pieces in a nearby shop. In 2011 the exhibitions ran for 10 days and there were 90 sculptures. Philip Cox and his partner are now our patrons and Philip provides an annual Acquisitive prize. He has also allowed us to have two Open Days at ‘Thubbul’ for people to enjoy his collection of sculptures. He & Janet have been extremely supportive. ANU School of Art has also been wonderfully supportive, supplying a residency at their Sculpture School and encouraging students to participate. Senior staff members have also exhibited & spoken at the Symposium.

The fi rst exhibition in 2007 was funded by Festivals Australia and funding has also come from Regional Arts, ACT, Regional ‘Weeping Woman’ (1976 ) by Tom Bass, photograph by Rowena Mc Connell Photograph courtesy of Sculpture on the Edge Arts, NSW, the Mumbulla Foundation and Volunteer Equipment Grants. Bega Valley Shire Council gives some ‘in kind’ support like mowing, storage, fi ll and the use of heavy machinery. Otherwise funds are raised from local businesses, private individuals & raffl es! I’m the Raffl e Queen of Bermagui! We rely heavily on ‘in kind’ support and a big team of superb volunteers. In 2009, ‘Edgy Art Incorporated’ was set up to run the event as a separate entity. We are a not for profi t organisation staffed entirely by volunteers.

We attract Australian sculptors, both established & emerging. Some of these have exhibited internationally. Our audience is growing & we had ,at a conservative estimate, 7,000 through the exhibitions in 2011. It is a different demographic & the region has beneﬁ tted greatly from this inﬂ ux in economic terms. We supply assistance to sculptors when we have government funding. In fact our Regional Arts grants provide for sculptor assistance and workshops. I have been successful in winning small sponsorships for some exhibitors, providing petrol money and accommodation in some cases. I personally contact likely exhibitors because I visit a number of other exhibitions, looking for talent. There is a selection panel when the entries are all in. Best of all, I’ve proved that Bermagui was ready for a sculpture event. The community has really embraced Sculpture on the Edge, and I think, has considerable pride in it.”

10 an unobtainable beauty: poreless, without bump or dimple, barren- this body does not age or change. The unobtainable (Continued from page 4) quality is an inherent part of our consumer based society where we are supposed to be constantly in a state of desire.

The stereotype seems to be merely the direct opposite of men. The emphasis of the female parts suggests a need to create An artist who endorses plastic surgery is the famous French artist, Orlan. Orlan, who has undergone plastic surgery sexual difference as a kind of social organiser. According to the French historian Perrot (1984), in the late 18th century, on her own body does not conform to the modern beauty ideal. The cheek implants, surgically inserted in her forehead post the French revolution, fashion and grooming became, ‘the central organiser of social asymmetries of power. This was express her stance on plastic surgery which is that this technology makes us the ‘master of our own body, allowing men reﬂ ected in the changes of appearance. Men began to dress soberly, paying little attention to their physical appearance, and women to shape their body, and get closer to the one they have of themselves, to their personality, to the tribe they’ve while women were increasingly concerned with altering and beautifying their bodies. The corset became the symbol of the chosen...’. She sees freedom in this technology as long as people don’t conform to ‘established models’. In Orlan’s view 19th century.’3 This sober approach to fashion is not merely for aesthetic value but the man is also given power because in the future, ‘bodies will be more and more mixed, hybrid, technological, with bodily changes which will give us additional his body is not impeded by fashion, whereas the woman’s body is constricted with fabric and rope. capacities.’2

Using fashion as a way of diminishing or accentuating the divide between men and women has also occurred in other eras. Obsessive grooming, in my view, highlights the idea that we are uncomfortable with the natural female body. The most In the 70s with the feminist revolution, the fashion of women changed to denote equality of the sexes. Women wore pants, prominent text of our age addressing this concern is the infamous fi ctional novel, ‘Wetlands’ written by the German author, they burnt their bras, they stopped wearing corsets. However, the advent of push up bras occurred after this revolution Charlotte Roche. The novel depicts a young woman who is concerned about whether the functioning and the smell of her which leads to two questions: is feminine grooming and stereotyping simply the tyranny of men? Or are women also anatomy is normal. causing the production of this ‘hyperfeminine’ image? If there ever was a woman who used her body to defi ne femininity, the reigning queen would be Barbie. The natural functioning female body is hidden from observation: childbearing, menstruation, pores, cellulite, body hair, breastfeeding etc- anything natural is viewed as grotesque rather than as beautiful. We are, in a sense, more comfortable Barbie started life as a fashion doll for women, only later becoming a toy for children. She was the ‘perfect icon of late with the plastic surgery addict than we are with the woman who doesn’t wax. Women are essentially objectifying themselves. capitalist constructions of femininity’4 : she was always groomed and wore all the latest fashions- which meant spending To be embarrassed by their bodily functions is to be uncomfortable about being human. If women are to be abstracted, money and lots of it. Feminine beauty was therefore closely aligned with wealth. In our era, we have moved on to an even their bodily functions denied, then what is left? An unexpressive Barbie doll like the disturbing images of women portrayed more extreme form of this expensive beauty as a result of the constant advances in cosmetic surgery. Some people pay in Beecroft’s works who could easily be made of plastic as opposed to fl esh and blood. She is just an object. There have more for cosmetic adjustments than others do on housing. If beauty can only be the result of surgery, then only the wealthy been a number of groups who have rejected this fi gure, including the porn industry. can be beautiful. In practice, however, this is easily proved to be a fallacy. To view the female as the subject of constant grooming, medical interference, arousement and reproduction makes her The idea that female beauty only comes as a result of extensive manicuring is expressed in Vanessa Beecroft’s performance nothing more than a body. To have her identity defi ned by this body relegates her to the class of automaton. She is a works, such as, ‘Pollasisters’. Her works depict groups of women with artifi cially identical skin tones, hair, costumes, body. It seems that Schneeman’s attempts to inspire women to take control of their bodies, not to be defi ned by fashion, bodies, facial expressions and poses. There is something sinister about the women presented in Beecroft’s works who men or culture- as something unique to her, is an impossible task. Can a woman just be a woman without reference to share a single and superfi cial identity which is limited to their appearance. An article by Roberta Smith for the New York a stereotype? Of course not. What we understand in the world is always informed by some infl uence: be it cultural or Times, stated that during the performance, ‘Show’ ‘(Beecroft) said, with a bit of youthful arrogance, that the true beauty of otherwise. Even if we try to consider the idea of femininity as being separate from the body. women has never been refl ected in art or fashion, implying that she aims for greater accuracy by presenting the real thing in this highly artifi cialised, structured form.’5 But the female beauty here is associated soley with an artifi cial body. She is If we look at the artist Kiki Smith’s work, Virgin Mary (1992), with this in mind, it produces a Cartesian reading: the woman’s stripped of individuality, becoming an object to be observed. body is separate from herself as a subject. The woman as object, stands completely naked, bald with skin fl ayed and yet, contrasting with her body, she is gentle with outstretched and comforting arms, her pose familiar with that of conventional This is in stark contrast to work by feminists such as artist, Carolee Schneeman who rejected the roll of women as ‘passive Christian art. Smith’s art is informed by contemporary feminist perspectives on gender, subjectivity, and identity. The objects to be gazed upon (and sexually desired).’6 They reclaimed the female body as a subject rather than as an object. confronting form reminds us of our materiality even more so than pornographic images but instead of arousing sexual Her work, ‘Interior Scroll’, performed in 1975, consisted most famously of her withdrawing a scroll from her vagina. She desire (another function), she evokes the tenderness associated with the female character and the Virgin Mary- which is ‘encouraged women to understand their bodies as a source of self- awareness, pleasure and power.’7 Unfortunately, her presented as a trait that is separate from her body- an innate feminine quality. But even here, what we read as feminine message seems to have fallen on deaf ears. behavior is still a stereotype. Here we return full circle to Judith Butler’s contention that femininity is performative. Society has clearly got to the point where we can no longer say what a woman is without answering a number of questions. When The modern porn star takes artifi ciality to realms Barbie never dreamed of. The series of pornographic images by Jeff the doctor yells out, ‘it’s a girl!’ can he really be sure? Koons titled, ‘Heaven’ which feature him and his wife in fl agrante delicto, display a model of female beauty seemingly designed for physical pleasure. She is the icon of the modern ideal with perfect skin, huge breasts, tiny waist, hairless body, bleached rectum and vagina- she looks like the perfect sexual companion. There is a sense that she experiences more pleasure because she is so well endowed, which of course is partly the incentive for people to endure plastic surgery. However, are images such as these of the ‘beautiful’, enhanced woman misleading? Does this woman really experience more pleasure?

In the case of some cosmetic procedures, the sexual zones are rendered senseless, no longer providing the person with pleasure. The so called ‘ideal’ is a woman with hips that were not meant for childbearing; breasts that cannot be titillated; 1Cyborgs and Barbie dolls, Kim Toffoletti, page 74 and a face which is numb and frozen in time; her extreme diets mean that she does not fi nd pleasure in food; indeed she 2Cyborgs and Barbie dolls, Kim Toffoletti, page 54 is a body that cannot feel pleasure. And yet, with her surgically exaggerated features, she is seen to be the embodiment of 3Reshaping the Body, Kathy Davis, page 17 pleasure in her own view, and in the eyes of those who endorse her brand of beauty. 4Cyborgs and Barbie dolls, Kim Toffoletti, page 74 5 The Critics Notebook; Standing and Staring, Yet Aiming for Empowerment, Roberta Smith I am not against plastic surgery because it can improve the lives of people who were born or made disfi gured. ‘…the 6Twentieth Century American Art, Erica Doss, page 184 fi rst plastic surgery was reported in India, where a person’s nose might be cut off as a form of punishment or, in the case 7Twentieth Century American Art, Erica Doss, page 184 of an adulterous wife, bitten off by the wronged husband. Procedures which displayed remarkable similarity to present 8http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/jan/17/interview-charlotte-roche-debut-novel-wetlands 9http://inventorspot.com/articles/japan_used_panty_vending_machines_5650 rhinoplasties were developed to reconstruct the noses of such errant individuals.’ 1 However as women try to conform to 10http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/sexandrelationships/female_ejaculation.htm the ‘Lara Croft’ aesthetic, which has been developed for animation and game industries, I think it is dangerous. It is certainly 11’Technophilia: Technology, Representation, And the Feminine, Mary Anne Doane

13 12 Patricia Piccinini

This Page: Big Mother, 2005 Silicone, fi breglass, polyurethane, leather, human hair 175cm high Photograph Graham Baring Courtesy of Art Gallery of South Australia Page 15: Patricia Piccinini Photography courtesy of the artist 15 The Welcome Guest 2011 Silicone, fi breglass, human and animal hair, taxidermied peacocks Dimensions variable Courtesy of the artist, and Tolarno Galleries, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery and Haunch of Venison Patricia Piccinini’s hyper- realistic sculptures of hybrid creatures and speculative worlds, makes one nostalgic for the childhood imagination. Though her works can fi t comfortably in the genres of fantasy, mythology and science- fi ction- it is the latter which is most accurate. The hybrid creatures are not inspired by fi ction but rather innovation in medical science such as stem cell research, genetic engineering, cloning and organ cultivation. The naturalism of her sculptures of hypothetical creatures gives them a verisimilitude to our own bodies that makes them both uncomfortable but also allows us to empathise with them. Her works challenge the contemporary rules of physical beauty and our fear of the unknown. She invites us to marvel at the possibilities of technological innovation while also emphasising the necessity of human compassion towards the unexpected effects of bio- technology.

Innovations in medical science have transformed the human body from something that is unique to something that can be reproduced and manipulated. Piccinini presents in her work a hypothesis on the many plausible hybrids and variations on the human and animal body: that it can be tailored like a suit.

“Protein lattice which I did in 1997 was about how advances in medical technology had changed the way we understand ourselves (our bodies) and other species. We have introduced organs from other species into our bodies, we can grow cells and organs. I look forward to innovations which will enable us to cure Cancer and Parkinson’s disease. However, how does that effect how we think about what it means to be human?”

Protein Lattice was a photograph of a digitally created woman and a mouse with an ear growing on its back. It refers to tissue engineering which is a present capability of medical science. It was not a critical piece, but rather showing how far technology has come- the possibilities of technology.

“The ear was a real thing. It was grown for a little boy - it was for cosmetic purposes to make him feel more normal.” Piccinini is concerned whether these types of innovations will be only accessible to a fortunate few. ”This is great, but I am interested in whether this is going to be the plastic surgery of the future: consumer medicine only accessible to the rich and the ﬁ rst world.”

Through her work, she is also trying to make us aware of the possibility of unexpected consequences of medical technology- the possible biological bi- products of creation.

“We may get things that we don’t want. These things are what really interest me. I am interested in whether we will love them.” Still life With Stem Cells presents this idea. It depicts a little girl, surrounded by biomorphic forms which are meant to be the unexpected products of the practice of using stem cells. “These blobs surrounding the little girl are not going to save lives - they don’t have a function. Their creation is a possibility and my question is, can they be appreciated for what they are?”

There is also the concern of ethics over creatures created for speciﬁ c functions such as food production. A work that deals with this idea is ‘The Comforter’ which depicts a young girl with an existing genetic condition, hypertrichosis, cradling a creature designed to be an autonomous cow udder. This work shows us the reality of natural variations of human biology contrasted with the unnatural hypothetical creature designed for human beneﬁ t. The girl appears sympathetic to the creature, perhaps because she is also unusual, which leads to the question: how will the greater public, without obvious deformity, react to a creature such as the cow udder? And subsequently, should such a creature exist?

“We have to ask: what is the point of their creation? Where are their rights? When is it not ethical? And if they are created, will their beauty be appreciated? Will they have value beyond their function? Is function the only valid reason for creating new life?”

“She is not at all a pitiful sight. There is an integrity that comes from the way she holds herself as well as from the compassion she has for the little creature.”

Piccinini’s forms are often confronting. Big Mother, who stands naked with a human baby feeding from her breast, is shocking to some viewers. Is this because she has an unideal, unrefi ned, humanoid body; or because we fi nd the function of the body, such as breast feeding abhorrent- evidenced by the way we stigmatise mothers for committing the act in public. In a sense she is more natural than the cosmetically enhanced body. Are we more comfortable with the artifi cial, than the natural? The Lovers 2011 “Big mother is a chimera: she is an amalgam of baboon and human. People fi nd her bottom confronting, I am often asked Fibreglass, auto paint, leather, scooter parts, 202 x 205 x 130 cm why I gave her that big red bottom. That’s what baboons are like, there is nothing weird about it. To me Big Mother is Photograph Graham Baring beautiful. If you look into her eyes, you see a tenderness and beauty. I wanted to create a new beauty.” Courtesy of the artist, and Tolarno Galleries, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery and Haunch of Venison

18 Page 20: Foundling 2008 Silicone, human hair, polyester, nylon, wool, plastic, 66 x 41 x 37 cm Photograph Graham Baring Courtesy of the artist, and Tolarno Galleries, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery and Haunch of Venison

This Page: Prone 2011 Silicone,human hair, felt, 60 x 60 x 25 cm Courtesy of the artist, and Tolarno Galleries, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery and Haunch of Venison In terms of the natural, functioning of the body she said: “nobody wants to be regarded as a milking machine. they are children. I’m not interested in representing them in adult contexts. The children are always safe.” People are strangely disturbed by breast feeding, they don’t like to see it. But as you can see in the sculpture, it is an important connection between the creature and child. The idea of breastfeeding somebody else’s child is The Welcome Guest, an installation which she did in 2011, in particular seems to represent the world of fantasy as particularly unsettling. It is just too intimate.” the creatures have been created simply for their beauty. There are also peacocks present in the work to show how evolution has not always meant the survival of the fi ttest but also the beautiful. The emotion of the piece is potent- a quality that runs throughout her art. The bond between the mother and the baby is not biological, but transcends species. Piccinini described the background to this work: “The title comes from a quote from Goethe: ‘Beauty is everywhere a welcome guest.’ It opens the question, can we create creatures just for beauty rather than utility. The creature near the little girl [in the installation], with its “I had my son around the time that I created this piece. I had also attended a party where one of my husband’s improbable claws, extending from its arms and legs- couldn’t evade a predator. You can imagine the kind of graceful friends was relating a story about how his little sister was taken by a grieving baboon whose baby had died. The dance it would make to move around. The work asks, ‘what is a good reason to create a creature?’ In Japan they child was returned to the family unharmed as the baboon only wanted to care for the child. The grief would have are going to bring back the wooly mammoth. Is that reasonable when there are so many existing animals on the been so incredible that it made her commit this crazy act. I was inspired by this relationship that had broken the verge of extinction?” barriers between species.” I asked Piccinini about her involvement with members of the scientifi c community to develop credible specimens. There was her own personal experiences as a new mother which also inspired the creation of the work. “I’ve had minimal involvement. I read widely but just the normal media. In some ways I think it is important that my “When I was fi rst trying to breast feed my son, it was very diffi cult so my sister suggested that I breastfeed her son, perspective is from outside of those scientifi c areas - not connected to that authority. I am just as confounded and who was six months old at the time. At fi rst I felt a bit strange about it but I did it and it helped me to breast feed my amazed as everyone else. Scientifi c journals have requested me to reproduce my work for apocalyptic style articles, own child. It made me think about the possibility of a connection with another child. Both mother and child have to saying: ‘this is what you are going to see if this research continues, but I refuse. They don’t understand my work. learn to breastfeed. And of course there are wet nurses throughout history.” They don’t understand the beauty of these creatures. I don’t think everything is black or white; good or bad. There will be a lot of both. It should not be left to experts as this will ultimately effect the whole of society.” Children are a major theme throughout Piccinini’s work and their interaction between the creatures can be a metaphor for a kinder relationship between humans and the environment. They exhibit empathy rather than fear in Emotion is a vehicle for the message behind Piccinini’s works. In order for her to increase the audience’s interest in the presence of the creatures. The interactions are particularly emotionally evocative. The Long Awaited is a prime the controversial ideas behind her works- such as stem cell research- her art needs to be emotionally evocative. example of this. “Emotion needs to be a component of it. Nothing is totally rational. I don’t make my work didactic, that would be “Children bring out the best in us - we can empathise with them. Very young children are free of prejudice. They disingenuous. Everyone will get a different idea. Everyone will see something else.” don’t discriminate. They are driven by motives that are purer; they just want to be loved. We [adults] have different motivations. The Long Awaited shows a transgenic creature, and a child who are both asleep. She is unattractive, Piccinini’s Vespas take her interest in technoculture into other realms of Science- fi ction. The idea of self- conscious worn out and coming to the end of her life. It is clear in her pose and her expression that she has worked hard her machines has been represented in fi lms such as Terminator and 2001: A Space Odyssey. It is an idea that terrifi es whole life. She is tired.” The boy lets her rest on his lap, while he rests his head on her shoulder- it is an image of us but which is presented in a natural and benign way in her anthropomorphised vehicles. mutual comfort and trust. “She is comforting him just as he is comforting her. To me that is an image of love and trust despite huge differences.” “Nature is increasingly technological. The line between nature and artifi cial life is gradually being blurred. These works are very much a metaphor for that blurriness. Let me return to your fi rst question about how science effects the way we see the body and the way technology has become more naturalised. The products of technology live This is in stark contrast to another work depicting an adult’s response to the creatures, The Embrace. It is a in the same world I do. When I was in pathology museums drawing, I would go outside and see the cars and the sculpture of a startled adult with a creature latched onto her face. The adult’s reactionary stance is one indicating Vespas. I realised that they are part of my ecology. They are the animals that run in the fi elds. This is a common part an attack, whereas the expression on the face of the creature is not aggressive. The work is vague- we don’t know of modern society - but not seen in past generations. I present machines with animal qualities. What is interesting to what is happening. me is how easy it is for us to accept this fantasy. They are often easier for people to accept than my creatures.”

“This work was inspired by an incident that happened when I was taking a photograph of a two year old boy’s room Outside of science fi ction and technology, she also looked at the Futurists for inspiration. The Futurist represent for a work. He just jumped at my face. He really hurt my nose but it was completely unintentional. “He just likes you”, an emerging industrialised era when everything was constantly changing. The machines were regarded with awe- was my friend’s response. It was not a crazy attack. [In The Embrace] It could be a head cuddle. It is ambiguous. It represented in art as inspiring, streamlined forms and in mesmerising and chaotic images. “We are terrifi ed about is about the moment when something is happening too fast for you to really know whether it is good or bad. For me, the idea of machines taking over. I deal with this by presenting them in this kind of quite non-aggressive way- they this is a metaphor for where we are now with genetic engineering: it is all happening too fast for us to be able to tell are aesthetically beautiful. The audience becomes an anthropologist, regarding a new and interesting species.” if it’s going to be good or bad.” This signifi es the adult’s reservations toward the unfamiliar. I asked why it is so important for her to create such refi ned, beautiful works? “They [the creatures] are a bit creepy to us. We are distrustful of new things. In the interactions between the children “All my work is beautifully crafted. I think it shows my respect for the work. I could make it out of papier mache but it and the creatures, our parental response suggests that they are too close to the children. Like a dog you don’t know. wouldn’t be as effective. I work with experts to create my works. I am not burdened by what I can physically create. You want to protect them.” Von Guerard [the 19th century landscape painter] showed his respect for nature, by rendering every leaf perfect. It is the same with my work. It also has to be quite a good vehicle for the idea, otherwise it would be distracting. It But the children are never in danger or shown to be vulnerable in Piccinini’s works. The children seem to be also effects how the emotion is conveyed.” presented in a child’s world- not an adult one, unlike many representations in art. Adults are threatened not children. It is a world they understand. This is reminiscent of 18th century French art depicting children, such as: Soap Piccinini’s interest in life and the potential of science to create life continues: “...at the moment I am developing hair Bubbles by Chardin and The Magic Lantern by Charles- Amédée Philippe van Loo which playfully represent their panels - where hair protrudes from silicone that looks like skin. On one hand they seem like something that could be naive curiosity when encountering the adult world. In Piccinini’s work, adults seem to be viewing the child’s world. created in a laboratory but on the other hand they are like traditional drawings. They are labours of love.” It could be a child’s fantasy.

“It is my fantasy. Children, as the child in The Welcome Guest, are accepting and embrace the creatures. They are safe in this fantasy. They are more accepting because they don’t need to rationalise it. The creatures are the most vulnerable. The children don’t exhibit any feelings of stress or horror. They don’t exhibit adult facial expressions,

22 23 A conversation with Emma

Hack

Emma Hack is a master of illusion. Her images presenting models whose bodies have been painted by her to be camouﬂ aged into the background of the beautiful wall paper designs of Florence Broadhurst inspire awe and a sense of play in audiences. These delightful and stunningly beautiful works are testament to her skills as a former body painter and have captured the attention of the art, performance and fashion worlds; as well as enabling her to win the coveted CIDESCO World Congress Professional World Body Painting Championship in Hong Kong in 2001. Her body art was also famously featured in the music video for the Gotye song, ‘Somebody that I used to know’.

25 Q. Why do you paint mostly women? When you introduced men’s ﬁ gures to your work, ‘Wallpaper’, did it change in your view?

A. In the beginning it was purely aesthetic as I have worked for many years in the beauty industry and always loved the feminine form. After painting the men in Wallpaper 2008 collection, I realised there was actually a sense of myself within the images featuring the girls, I just wasn’t connecting to the male ﬁ gures, I don’t feel they work as well, so now I see the ﬁ gures to be a part of me and my feminine expression.

Q. The art world has been criticised in the past for being a ‘boys club’. Have you encountered any criticism for your work being overtly feminine?

A. Probably more from myself to be honest, but there has been a reluctance to take my work seriously, its been a struggle to get my work out there and accepted as a craft. I feel maybe if I had more angst I would be a better artist! The truth is I love beauty, nature, the things around us that make me smile everyday and this is what is expressed in my works. I have decided to just stay true to myself and my journey and the galleries I am with at the moment are really supportive of that. I feel female galleryists are open to this and sell my work successfully, they understand it. My clients desire the true craft of what I create and love the feminine spirit and how it makes them feel, this is what is important to me.

Q. There has been a return to the ‘ultra- feminine’ with revivals of fashion eras such as the 50s. Why do you think this has happened? Do you think ‘femininity’ in art and society ever went away?

A. Not at all, women have embraced their femininity, even throughout the 80’s, even with power shoulder pads, they were in ﬁ gure hugging skirts, it is a different kind of femininity though, more aggressive, now people are moving back to a true conscience, they want to feel, and not be told what is fabulous, but to discover this themselves, maybe it is moving back to the traditional, the craft, rather than bigger and unusual is better?

Q. You used to work as a makeup artist. What made you make the shift from fashion to Fine art. Was it a difﬁ cult transition? Have you completely moved away from being a makeup artist?

A. Make-up has been a big crossover with my art, without it, I wouldn’t have been able to apply paints and have an understanding of the human skin. It has also funded the creation of all of my work, so I have continued working on particular jobs in the industry so I can afford to create what I do. I am now at the point that I can pull back in the next year and focus entirely on my art, that is what I love!

Q. Your most famous series of works titled, ‘Wallpaper’ integrates your beautiful body art with the wallpaper designs of Florence Broadhurst? Could you please describe how this project evolved? Do you plan on continuing to work with her designs?

A. In the early 2000’s, I viewed for the fi rst time, model and artist ‘Verushka’s’ works of her painted into rustic walls. I loved the illusion of this but wanted to fi nd a new way of creating this illusion that was more me. In 2005 I was in a home-ware store that featured a wall of Florence Broadhurst work, I asked for some off-cuts and created my fi rst 2 pieces with it. The works were loved and Signature Prints luckily agreed with what I was doing with the designs so allowed me to work with them. I see the completion of my ‘Wallpaper Collection 2005-2010’ Artist Book as the fi nale to this collection, a fi ne farewell, as I am very interested in creating my own backgrounds now.

Q. Artists are no longer content with merely representing the human body in art. The body has gone from being a subject in art, to being the art object. Examples of artists who do this are: Orlan, Stelarc and Liu Bolin. When did you realise that the human body could be your Page 30: Wallpaper Mandala Collection 2010 canvas? Have you been inspired by other artists who use the body in a similar manner? Tapestry 120 x 120cm / 110 x 110cm / 70 x 70cm

26 27 From the Utopia Collection 2011 This Page: Blossumed Cradled Budgie Page 28: Peony Cradled Budgie

3 Special Edition: 120 x 120cm 10 Large: 110 x 110cm 10 small 70cm x 70cm A. When I completed my schooling I studied to be a make-up artist, it was there that my teacher, Bill Peacock recognised my artistic talent and suggested I continue the painting from the face onto the body, I was 18 at the time when I created my fi rst body art. Joanne Gair and Verushka are my main body art infl uences, I love Dali for the illusion that has transpired in my work. Spencer Tunnick, Deborah Paw, Erwin Olaf, Mark Kimber, Pertain Hicks and Marian Drew are also inspiring infl uences of my photographic work.

Q. Your skills have been recognised outside of the the art world, resulting in commissions from Australian Fashion week, The Adelaide Guitar Festival, and for the show, ‘Make me a Supermodel’. Do you consider these projects as separate from your work which is viewed in galleries? Do you approach commissions such as these, differently?

A. My commercial commissioned work is treated very differently, so yes, I see this separately. You are working with a client that has the ﬁ nal decision and there are always barriers to work within. I do ﬁ nd it frustrating at times, but completely understand the process as I have worked for many years in this industry. I love the jobs in which I have creative control. Adelaide Guitar festival was one of them, they gave me the imagery and trusted my judgment. I hope for more of these types of commissions in the future. I feel there is nothing wrong with the cross over between the commercial and the art world, I hope to design covers for Vogue one day. Dali moved throughout the commercial and artistic arenas, I hope that one day my work can be viewed with as much respect.

Q. Do you get requests from people to paint them? What is the experience of being painted like?

A. I do, but I prefer to choose my models myself and use the ones I have already. It is a painful process, some deal with it well, others do not and this can effect my work. I am a little selﬁ sh this way, the side-on utopia works are very difﬁ cult to create so I would never use a new girl to work with me on them, they are so hard because of the depth against the background. even my regular girls are struggling with the process as I am being really hard on them to get it right. On the other side of this, I do create bespoke commissions designed around the client and what they are capable of.

Q. Do you only paint models?

A. I prefer dancers as they are disciplined, I choose healthy bodies with small busts as the blends work best on this form. Most of them are my friends.

Q. Are you interested and inspired by tribal art?

A. Of course, I love any kind of expression on the human form. Tattooing also is a fascination, but not my journey to be honest, I have a deep respect for the artists.

Q. What are your plans for future projects?

A. I would like to get back into creating the porcelain works I created in 2008, in a different way this time, hopefully for my upcoming show at Catherine Aquith Gallery in March. I really love the journey I have stumbled onto with my Utopia collection, particularly the ﬂ owers and view to create multiple bodies in one artwork....

Q. Animals have featured in your works such as ‘Native Mandala’ and ‘Birds of Prey’. In these works, the human is camouﬂ aged, implying only a gentle presence. Are these works based on an environmental ethos? Could you please explain these works?

A. These are deﬁ nitely an environmental message, to be at one with your environment. They are also an opportunity to stop and smell the roses, realise what is surrounding you and the This Page: Evolution Collection 2008 natural beauty of the creatures, the individual feather details on the birds and scales on the Evolution Crocodile 2008 goanna are amazing! 100 x 70 cm / 60 x 42 cm

30 Auction Results

Guy Martin Boyd (1923-1988)

Born in 1923 in Murrumbeena, Victoria, Guy Boyd, a sculptor and potter was a member of the famous Boyd family; son of William Merric Boyd, a potter and Doris née Gough, a painter - brother of the painters and potters, Arthur and David. Guy Boyd learnt to make pottery as a child in his father Merric Boyd’s studio at the family home in Murrumbeena.

After serving in the war in the Militia, he took up studies in 1945 in sculpture at East Sydney Technical College (now the National Art School) having been given a Commonwealth Reconstruction Training Scheme grant. There he received tutition in sculpture from the famous sculptor Lyndon Dadswell.

Initially a ceramicist and very commercially minded, Guy Boyd set up two highly successful commericial pottery studios in Sydney, the ﬁ rst in 1946 which he called Martin Boyd Pottery while he was still a student at East Sydney Technical College. The Pottery studio was set up in a house in Cremorne, which he shared with Leonard Flegg and his wife, Norma. Guy Boyd made pots at night after studies at College, Leonard became responsible for running the business and Norma ﬁ red the kiln as well as doing much of the decorating of the pottery. Additional decorating work was undertaken during the early days of the business by Guy’s brother, David, Hermia Lloyd Jones (later Hermia Boyd) and Peter Rushforth. Duncan Miller, Guy’s friend from the army together with Leonard, Norma and Guy Boyd became business partners. In 1949, the business moved to a former bakery in Ryde.

Producing decorative and functional domestic pieces such as lamp bases, coffee sets, egg cups, ramekins and biscuit barrels with abstract designs, ﬁ gures, scenery, Australian ﬂ oral, indigenous and other decorative motifs, his products were popular with postwar homemakers.

In 1951, he sold his share of the business and returned to Melbourne, setting up a second and ﬁ nal pottery concern, Guy Boyd Pottery in East Bentleigh which also ﬂ ourished. He and his second wife Phyllis operated the pottery business until 1964, when he sold it to devote himself full-time to sculpture.

Guy Boyd’s work is held by the National Gallery of Australia, many state and regional galleries. His public commissions include wall sculptures for Melbourne (1970) and Sydney (1971) airports. Common subjects of his work include myth, lovers and women. His ability to capture the ﬂ uidity and sensuality of the human form is regarded by many as extraordinary. GUY BOYD, Australian Sculptor - $7,000 hammer price for edition 5/12

(1923-1988) Nude Girl bronze 34.0 cm height inscribed: Guy Boyd 5/12 edition: 5/12 Provenance: The Estate of Phyl and Albert Stirling, Sydney Bibliography: http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/boyd-guy-martin-a-beckett-12240 Estimate: $6,000 - 8,000 http://www.gleneira.vic.gov.au/page/Page.asp?Page_Id=724&h=1 Result Hammer: $7,000 http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/collection/database/?irn=141765 Auction Sydney - 8 December 2011