TEACHER NOTES Gordon Bennett / Australia 1955–2014 / Untitled (Grid study) 1 June 2000 / Watercolour on paper / Collection: The Estate of Gordon Bennett / © The Estate of Gordon Bennett ABOUT THE ARTIST Gordon Bennett was born in Monto, Queensland, in 1955. As a teenager, he became aware of his Indigenous heritage and art became the tool through which he could examine his identity as an Australian of both Aboriginal and Anglo-Celtic descent. Bennett resisted identification as an Aboriginal artist: I have tried to avoid any simplistic critical containment or stylistic categorisation as an ‘Aboriginal’ artist producing ‘Aboriginal art’ . which both misrepresents me and denies my upbringing and Scottish/English heritage.1 He later created an abstraction of his own identity, John Citizen, who had a separate art practice and allowed Bennett to explore other lines of inquiry. Gordon Bennett / Australia 1955–2014 / Untitled (Nuance) (detail) 1992 / Photographs and synthetic polymer paint on foam core panels / Private collection / © The Estate of Gordon Bennett ABOUT THE EXHIBITION ‘I am trying to paint the one painting that will change the world.’2 – Gordon Bennett ‘Unfinished Business: The Art of Gordon Bennett’ presents the work of one of Australia’s most important contemporary artists. Bennett’s practice considers how the past influences the way we view the world around us, revealing the need for more nuanced and open- ended contemplation of accepted truths. Many of the aspects of contemporary society that Bennett interrogated, including racial discrimination, marginalisation and freedom of speech remain largely unchanged, as such his work continues to have relevance today. Gordon Bennett / Australia 1955–2014 / Notes to Basquiat: Australia Day re-enactment 1999 / Synthetic polymer paint on linen / Private collection / © The Estate of Gordon Bennett GORDON BENNETT: SELECTED WRITINGS Few know of Gordon Bennett’s deeply insightful texts on his art, broader society and the work of other artists. Gordon Bennett: Selected Writings focuses on Bennett’s significant contribution to the discourse and marks the first time that this aspect of his practice has been brought to light. This publication brings together selected essays, letters, previously unpublished writings and transcripts from early and largely unseen interviews, each amplifying Bennett’s voice on the subjects of race and identity in national and global contexts. Gordon Bennett and John Citizen / Australia 1955–2014 / Untitled (Queensland Stock Inspector) 12 January 1998 / Watercolour and pencil on paper / Collection: The Estate of Gordon Bennett / © The Estate of Gordon Bennett ABOUT THE RESOURCE Artworks ‘There is always more as the elements combine to create Selected artworks from the exhibition. Symbols new pathways of meaning — no closure is desirable or suggest connections to Artists and Concepts. should be expected. Different people will extract different Includes quotes from Bennett. meanings from the work as they draw on their own past experience and conditioning (cultural) to read the painting.’3 — Gordon Bennett This resource is divided into Artworks, Artists and Artists Concepts, and draws on both the visual and Key artists whose visual language Bennett written language of Gordon Bennett and other ‘sampled’ in his works and engaged with in artists. Each Artist and Concept is represented by a dialogue. Includes artists’ quotes. a symbol which appear with Artworks to suggest ways of reading and finding meaning in the work. The structure of resource is flexible and allows numerous pathways into and within Bennett’s Concepts practice to be explored. Ideas and concepts at the heart of Bennett’s practice. Includes quotes from the artist. HOW TO USE THIS RESOURCE ‘[Bennett’s work] probed the grammar and alphabet of the two principal forms of visual language or signs in the modern world — writing and pictures.’4 – Ian McLean Visual Analysis Explore the relationships between the artworks and Bennett’s processes of sampling and remixing his own and other artists’ visual languages. Examine the composition and formal elements of the images created through these processes. Textual Analysis Analyse the texts that accompany the Artworks, Artists and Concepts. Consider how Bennett and other artists use writing to communicate as well as critically examine their own practice. Visual and Textual Analysis Investigate combinations of images and text to draw out key ideas within Bennett’s practice. Select quotes and visual ideas to support your own inquiry questions. MAKING AND RESPONDING: PICTURES ‘My painting has a strong relationship to photography. Not only do I choose an image as a photographer would choose a subject, but I then reframe the image, by re-photographing or by photocopying . It is the frame I wish to subvert; that which classifies using a reductive one-point perspective in a world that has always existed in flux.’5 – Gordon Bennett Construct a small viewfinder (3.5 x 3cm) out of cardboard. Position and move the viewfinder over artwork images to deconstruct the composition and explore different perspectives within the artwork. Consider what exists within the frame and what lies beyond. How does using the viewfinder change your perspective? Photograph or sketch what you see within the viewfinder and repeat the process to build up a bank of ‘samples’. Arrange these samples across a field to explore relationships between the images. Gordon Bennett / Australia 1955–2014 / Reprisal (detail) 2009 / Synthetic polymer paint on linen / Private collection / © The Estate of Gordon Bennett MAKING AND RESPONDING: WORDS ‘Language defines the invisible boundaries or limits to the understanding of the world of experience. It does not constitute a natural inventory of the world, but rather language is a system of conventional and arbitrary sounds and symbols that represent the subjective human perception of it.’6 – Gordon Bennett Create a word list using a thesaurus. Select a word that means something to you (i.e., relevant to your own time or place) and write out a list of synonyms. What does this list reveal about the nuances of meaning in your chosen word? Collect words and short phrases that you come across over the course of a day (e.g., song lyrics, news headlines, street signs, brands, slogans). Look for connections among the words you have collected and create an artwork that expresses meaning in response to your context. Consider the power of words in contemporary society. Gordon Bennett / Australia 1955–2014 / Trade mark 2002 / Synthetic polymer paint on linen / Private collection / © The Estate of Gordon Bennett MAKING AND RESPONDING: ART HISTORY ‘There’s a sense of layering and historical layering as being a text; parts of it can be re-interpreted and the citation is working in a similar way to writing where you cite another author’s point of view. So if I use Pollock drips or a pastiche of Pollock, I’m referring to him and the work then takes on board some of the meaning of how his work was interpreted and his historical position. And that forms a layer which I then project other images onto.’7 – Gordon Bennett Research the artists that Bennett quotes and samples as part of his practice. Consider how the ideas and interpretations of other artists’ work has added layers of meaning to Bennett’s. How would you describe the relationship between Bennett and the artists he references (e.g. dialogue, translation, interrogation)? Extend your research to artists who were inspired and influenced by Gordon Bennett, such as Tony Albert, Judy Watson, Danie Mellor, Ryan Presley, Richard Bell and Warraba Weatherall. Gordon Bennett / Australia 1955–2014 / Notes to Basquiat: Shaman 2001 / Synthetic polymer paint on linen / Collection: The Estate of Gordon Bennett / © The Estate of Gordon Bennett CURRICULUM LINKS Art as Lens Art as Knowledge • Explore how Bennett worked through processes • Analyse the visual devices Bennett uses to to create new ways of thinking, meaning and challenge the construction of knowledge representation • Consider how Bennett uses his knowledge of • Understand Bennett’s point of view in challenging Western art traditions to interrogate identity and the way Australian history and, in turn, Australian question social norms identity is perceived and represented in ‘pop’ culture Art as Alternate • Examine and compare Bennett’s work with the Art as Code artists whose work he ‘sampled’ and consider how • Explore the recurring symbols used by Bennett in visual language can be used to communicate his work and their meaning different meanings in different contexts • Consider the role of words and text in the art of • Consider how Bennett’s Non-Performance 1992– Gordon Bennett 2014 and abstract works allowed audiences to engage with and realise the artist’s intent in a different way ENDNOTES 1 Gordon Bennett, ‘The manifest toe’, in Angela Goddard and Tim Riley Walsh (eds), Gordon Bennett: Selected Writings, Griffith University Art Museum, Brisbane, and Power Publications, Sydney, 2020, p.54. 2 Bennett, ‘Aesthetics and iconography: An artist’s approach’, in Goddard and Walsh, p.32. 3 Bennett, ‘Artist’s statement: The persistence of language’, in Goddard and Walsh, p.17. 4 Ian McLean, ‘Everything you ever wanted to know about drawing’, in Aileen Burns and Johan Lundh (eds), Gordon Bennett: Be Polite [exhibition catalogue], Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane, and Sternberg Press, Berlin, 2016, pp.131–32. 5 Bennett, ‘Artist’s statement: Southern Crossings/Empty Land: In the Australian Image’, in Goddard and Walsh, p.25. 6 Bennett, ‘Aesthetics and iconography: An artist’s approach’, in Goddard and Walsh, p.27. 7 Gordon Bennett and Chris McAuliffe, ‘Interview with Gordon Bennett’, in Goddard and Walsh, p.131. This resource has been produced with the support of the Griffith University Art Museum, Brisbane. REFERENCE LIST Abigail Bernal, ‘The colour black and other histories: Gordon Bennett and Jackson Pollock’, in Unfinished Business: The Art of Gordon Bennett [exhibition catalogue], Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane, 2020, pp.67–83.