Comparisons between Basquiat and Bennett often focus on the artists’ similar backgrounds and experiences. The pop art inspired paintings of the Coloured People and Interiors series seem glossier and less political than Bennett’s other work, but this is not the case. [Bennett] seeks to expose the shadows of official ‘history’, to track its doubles and contradictions, not in order to repudiate the European vision but to map a postcolonial future… Ian McLean 2. His playful yet powerfully political artworks borrow images from other artists and mix and re-contextualise elements from Western and non-Western art history. These sources included social studies texts. What evidence can you find of Bennett conceptually examining the ideas behind the emotion, and extrapolating from there? 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. Conversation – Bill Wright talks to Gordon Bennett’, in Kelly Gellatly with contributions by Bill Wright, Justin Clemens and Jane Devery, Ian McLean, ‘Who is John Citizen?’ Greenaway Art Gallery, 2006, Kelly Gellatly ‘Citizen in the making’, in Kelly Gellatly, p. 24. The background colours and features of the landscape in each panel of Requiem, Of grandeur, Empire suggest a vast Australian desert . Appropriation was a tool that enabled him to open up and re-define stereotypes and bias. cat. Why might such an organisation purchase this painting? The focus on ‘designer style’ in these interiors, the lack of human presence, and the flat areas of colour with simple black outline, creates a strange feeling of emptiness that sets them apart from Bennett’s art. Bennett used 9/11 and its global impact three months after the event as the stage for his discourse on cultural identity. 5. This education resource accompanies the retrospective exhibition Gordon Bennett (2008) which showcased 85 works by this internationally acclaimed Australian artist. Bennett employs this system using diagrams often labelled with acronyms, such as CVP (central vanishing point), that refer to key features of the system. 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. Other aspects of the image, including the flat, stylised shapes of the head, reflect connections to both Western abstract art and Indigenous art traditions. Bennett not only used Basquiat images, but begins to paint in his style. That was to be the extent of my formal education on Aborigines and Aboriginal culture until Art College. Discuss with reference to examples in at least two works by 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. Join Facebook to connect with Gordon Bennett and others you may know. At the heart of all human life is a concept of self. Celebrations continued throughout the year and gave renewed focus to traditional images and stories of the nation’s settlement history. The central image is a reworking of an earlier painting completed at art college, The persistence of language, 1987, painted in the style of Basquiat. Gordon Bennett 3. This may include examples from the following cultures or types: Egyptian. Bennett attempts to destroy the stereotypes to question notions of identity. Is this response informed by Bennett’s work? Roundels relating to symbols that denote significant sites in Aboriginal Western Desert dot painting also appear. Bennett used perspective diagrams and visual symbols in Triptych: Requiem, Of grandeur, Empire . 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. Western art has a long tradition of creating an illusion of three- dimensional space on a flat surface. I decided that I would attempt to create a space by adopting a strategy of intervention and disturbance in the field of representation through my art. Brainstorm ideas and meanings associated with these binary opposites and create a mindmap to show how they have influenced your perception and understanding of the world. From the beginning of his career, John Citizen had had a complex relationship with Gordon Bennett. However, he offers more than one interpretation of the grid’s use, which is indicated by the sampling of works by Australian artist Margaret Preston . 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. Bennett was concerned that his identity and work was seen as coming from a narrow framework. This included abstract expressionism and a dot aesthetic inspired by the Papunya Tula art movement of the Australian Western Desert. He is not disturbed by slashes of paint, but painted carefully and outlined by the precise grid behind him. 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. 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. However behind the neat facade and pleasantries of suburban life, Bennett was haunted by racism and the same derogatory opinions of Aboriginal people that he quietly endured in the workforce. There is strong symbolism associated with the placement of the figure beneath the Roman triumphal arch. Among these was the harrowing struggle for identity that ensued from the repression and denial of his Aboriginal heritage. Pastiche is a mixture of materials, forms, motifs or styles in an artwork. Bennett used this symbol because: What emerges for all who take part in this piece is in fact an examination of the self. Bennett compels the viewer to engage with and question the values and ideas of the artists he appropriated. Like words, visual images, forms and elements are powerful signifiers of meaning. That is not my intention, I have had my own experiences of being crowned in Australia, as an 'Urban Aboriginal' artist – underscored as that title is by racism and 'primitivism' - and I do not wear it well. Include reference to specific examples in your discussion. The installation is filled with images of his family and Constructivist-style drawings made by the artist. 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. It exposes the pain these stereotypes create. 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. Well-known Australian and international artists whose works are referenced in different ways in Bennett’s work include Hans Heysen, Margaret Preston, Imants Tillers, Vincent van Gogh, Jackson Pollock, Colin McCahon and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Discuss different approaches/ideas evident in the way each artist uses dots in their work. Gordon Bennett 1. There are many visual signs that recur throughout Bennett’s artworks, including: Each of these signs brings significant meaning to Bennett’s work and plays an important role in his investigation of issues and ideas related to identity, understanding and perception. ), Heide Museum of Modern Art , Melbourne, 2004 pp. Art can encourage people to rethink personal beliefs and positions. Explain how these images might have influenced perceptions of Australian identity? Gordon Bennett, Sleeping Man, Hanging Man (after Robert Gober), 1993, synthetic polymer paints on canvas. The circular forms in the sky are inspired by the brilliant bursts of light in van Gogh’s Starry night. The simplicity of ‘I AM’ suggests a universality of thought. 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 (1912–1956), which Bennett began to sample in 1990. Click here to find personal data about Gordon Bennett including phone numbers, addresses, directorships, electoral roll information, related property prices and other useful information. Bennett conversed about his conceptual painting practice as 'based on the semiotics of ‘style’ and paint application, images and text, historical and contemporary juxta-position'. Investigate the theories and ideas associated with anthropology, ethnography and phrenology. She attempted to create works that reflected a sense of national identity by incorporating Aboriginal motifs and colours in her work. Gordon Bennett was the phrase the American public used to react to a stream of sensational, salacious stories in newspapers owned by Gordon Bennett Snr and Jnr. At the same time his work demonstrates great conceptual unity and interconnectedness. He used weapons or gum tree branches as props, to construct an image that reflected European ideas of Aboriginal ‘types’. 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. 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 strategy of word association subverts the values and meaning traditionally associated with the image. The grid and perspective lines are another recurring symbol in Bennett’s work. Image gallery with price list. Altarpiece paintings traditionally occupied a central position in a church. Both artists have engaged throughout their careers with the issue of "Aboriginality" and race in Australia. Layers of images superimposed with words. 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. Gordon Bennett explores these ideas in Self portrait: Interior/ Exterior , 1992. Literally opening up this black skin of paint are the words ‘cut me’. However, while apparently recognising and presenting these motifs/symbols as signifiers of meaning, Citizen does not appear to have the same interest as Bennett in interrogating the systems and values these motifs represent or the role they have played in shaping identity, history and understanding. Physically, the kitsch Aboriginal motifs copied from Preston are trapped. The first panel of Bennett’s triptych, Requiem, depicts Trugannini (c. 1812 – 1876), a Palawa woman from Tasmania. He first became aware of his dual heritage when he was a young teenager. This imagery alludes to the violent suppression of Indigenous people and culture in the nation’s history that was thrown into focus by the Bicentenary celebrations. Why do artists such as Gordon Bennett and Tracey Moffatt (b.1960) systematically decline to participate in exhibitions of Aboriginal art? Bennett was born in Monto, Queensland, in 1955 to an indigenous Australian mother and an Anglo Celtic migrant father. 4. In the Christian tradition light is associated with goodness and righteousness while darkness is associated with evil. Calvert’s image becomes one of the layers of the painting. The resource provides frameworks for exploring key issues and ideas in Bennett’s art practice. African . The Third Gordon Bennett Balloon Race, anonymous, 1908 gelatin silver print, h 86mm × w 110mm More details. His work also includes performance art, video, photography and printmaking. He first became aware of his dual heritage when he was a young teenager. My intention is in keeping with the integrity of my work in which appropriation and citation, sampling and remixing are an integral part, as are attempts to communicate a basic underlying humanity to the perception of ‘blackness’ in its philosophical and historical production within western cultural contexts. What does this comment suggest to you about the purpose of Bennett’s questioning of history? Possession Island 1991 Oil and synthetic polymer paint on canvas Two parts: 162 x 260cm (overall) © The Estate of Gordon Bennett … British made glove using the finest materials and craftsmanship that have gone hand in hand at Chester Jefferies since 1936. cat. Material. Gordon Bennett (1955–2014) worked for Telecom Australia before quitting his job at the age of thirty and enrolling in a fine arts degree at Queensland College of Art. What evidence can you see in this self-portrait of Bennett linking issues of personal identity with broader issues related to history and culture? Tate, The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA) and Qantas are partners in an International Joint Acquisition Programme for contemporary Australian art. Mixing of pure ‘blood’ with European ‘blood’ was feared by Europeans, ‘authenticity’ was at risk and identity diluted. and John Citizen had his first exhibition in 1995 at Sutton Gallery, Melbourne 2 As an alternative artistic identity, John Citizen not only alerts us to how artistic identity is constructed, it gave Bennett great freedom to be someone other than Gordon Bennett. The facial features reflected in the mirror are blurred and distorted by roughly painted words – typical racist remarks about Aboriginal people. This image is based on a photograph by JW Lindt (1845 – 1926). How do the key themes/ideas and strategies in the book/film compare to those used by Gordon Bennett in early work such as. It is interesting to note that this same year was declared a period of mourning by Aboriginal people. 2 All that he had understood about himself and taken for granted as an Australian had ruptured. Fundamentally, he deconstructed history to question the ‘truth’ of the past. She was one of the first Australian artists to recognise the spiritual significance of Aboriginal art and the land. As far as pinning down who John Citizen actually was, I’m not interested in doing that. 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. Consider what dates/events should be included in your timeline and why. 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. The timeline could be presented in hardcopy for display in the classroom, or as an ICT project incorporating images and audio. Clear visual divisions are created with distinct black areas as well as large white areas. He depicts how pain transcends place and event to encompass a global consciousness. 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. Research references to existing images in Gordon Bennett’s The nine richochets (Fall down black fella, jump up white fella) 1990. Thousands of dots fill the canvas. Gordon Bennett's artwork is on display at Tate Modern in Artist and Society: Citizens. As the foundation of a system of representation, perspective produces an illusion of depth on an essentially flat two dimensional surface by the use of invisible lines that converge to a vanishing point. Preston envisioned the creation of an ‘Australian’ aesthetic. Discuss with reference to one or more works by Bennett. How does this interpretation and analysis compare to your own? 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. Are these qualities perceived as positive? The ‘Other’ is clearly marked out as not only different but by necessity inferior. The Stripe series of abstract paintings represents a kind of freedom for me as an artist. How have these sciences influenced the perception and understanding of Indigenous people and cultures? Lindt created many photographic portraits of Aboriginal subjects. This contemporary questioning and revision of the traditional, narrow euro-centric view of history reflects a postcolonial perspective. The viewer does not confront the artist, but self. Bennett layered these two distinctly different artists with his own work – work previously appropriated from yet another context. Rea, Look Who’s Calling the Kettle Black, and Resistance 111 . Kelly Gellatly 5, By the mid 1990s, Gordon Bennett came to feel he was in an untenable position. This canvas is loosely divided into three parts. European history has stipulated that being Australian has required anyone that does not fit into such a ‘Eurocentric’ category is different, other and therefore unworthy.
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