He lived and worked in Brisbane. Ian McLean 2. Who was Paul Keating? While self- portraits usually address issues of personal identity, Bennett uses this form of representation to also look at issues of identity on a national scale. In Possession Island No 2 this figure is concealed and transformed into an abstract totem or geometric monument coloured with the signature black, red and yellow of the Aboriginal flag. These binary opposites insider/outsider, black/white, primitive/civilised have had a powerful influence on perceptions of European and Indigenous people and culture. Gordon Bennett explores these ideas in Self portrait: Interior/ Exterior , 1992. Gordon Bennett, Possession Island (Abstraction), 1991. Gouged into the skin like a tattoo, these markings will never heal or fade away. In 1999 Bennett adopted an alter ego and began making and exhibiting Pop Art inspired images under the name of John Citizen, a persona representative of the Australian Mr Average. Mondrian cages the figures, Preston objectifies the figures; Bennett accommodates both to grasp the intangible and dissect these limited interpretations and stereotypes. What key themes and ideas are explored in the book/film? A gush of blood red paint shoots into the sky from his body. Find examples of the work of these artists. (2nd Edition), What is Appropriation? Gordon Bennett, born on 16 April 1887 at Balwyn, Melbourne, was Australia's most controversial Second World War commander. 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. Viewed in this context, the black square in Untitled could be seen as a resilient black presence, asserting itself in the settlement narrative that Bennett deconstructed. I found people were always confusing me as a person with the content of my work. They physically prevent the viewer from seeing the image clearly, but psychologically encourage the viewer to delve into the image more deeply and question: Where did these images come from that theyre relating back to in their minds in order to stage this re- enactment? This led him to adopt an artistic alter ego, John Citizen. Gordon Bennett . . Dots have been an important element in many of Bennetts paintings as a powerful signifier of Aboriginal art, for example Triptych: Requiem, Of grandeur, Empire. Literally opening up this black skin of paint are the words cut me. Both artists have an affinity with Jazz, Rap and Hip Hop music. While 2007 was a brilliant year for Bennett's secondary market results, with eight works sold of which . Gordon Bennett Australia 1955-2014. Bennetts use of the grid in these and other artworks suggests questions and ideas. Bennett layered these two distinctly different artists with his own work work previously appropriated from yet another context. 20-21, Gordon Bennett, The manifest toe in Ian McLean & Gordon Bennett, The Art of Gordon Bennett, Craftsman House, 1996, p. 33, Ian McLean, Towards an Australian postcolonial art in Ian McLean & Gordon Bennett, The Art of Gordon Bennett, Craftsman House, 1996, p. 99, Gordon Bennett, The manifest toe in The Art of Gordon Bennett, p. 22, Zara Stanhope, How do you think it feels? in Three Colours , Gordon Bennett & Peter Robinson (exh. Bennett as a cultural outsider of both his Aboriginal and AngloCeltic heritage does not assume a simplistic interpretation of identity. ), National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne 2007, p. 97, Gordon Bennett, The manifest toe, pp. However Bennetts use of the black square in this and other works also reflect his ongoing interest in the work of the influential Russian abstract artist Kazimir Malevich (1878-1935). There are many visual signs that recur throughout Bennetts artworks, including: Each of these signs brings significant meaning to Bennetts work and plays an important role in his investigation of issues and ideas related to identity, understanding and perception. He is not disturbed by slashes of paint, but painted carefully and outlined by the precise grid behind him. These images are fused and overlapped in a dynamic composition underpinned by Mondrian-style grids. The dresser draw labelled self is closed while the drawers for history and culture are ajar. In Altered body print (Shadow figure howling at the moon) Bennett focuses more explicitly on binary opposites and the associations they trigger. These visual representations of history present the colonisers as powerful figures and as the bearers of learning and civilisation in a land of primitive people who have no obvious learning or culture. Roundels relating to symbols that denote significant sites in Aboriginal Western Desert dot painting also appear. 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. Fri. 10-9, Sat. The word DISPERSE was used by the colonisers to represent the killing of Aboriginal people. The viewer is made to step back and allow the eyes to form the images. Victorious soldiers triumphantly and ceremoniously paraded under such arches, sometimes accompanied by their captives. Bennett was acutely aware that his own success paralleled the growing contemporary interest in Indigenous art and culture. List some of your own qualities and attributes. The The Notes to Basquiat series,which Bennett commenced in 1998, marked a significant new direction in his art in relation to working with the style of another artist. Would you include work by Gordon Bennett in a text book on Australian history. The Notes to Basquiat: 911 series and the Camouflage series, which reflect on the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and the war in Iraq respectively, highlight Bennetts global perspective. That was to be the extent of my formal education on Aborigines and Aboriginal culture until Art College. In Interior (Abstract eye), 1991 a diagrammatic grid overlays an image depicting a group of Aboriginal people in the landscape, seemingly appropriated from a social studies text. Some of Prestons appropriations however, demeaned and trivialised the way Aborigines were depicted and understood. Gordon Bennett, The manifest toe, p. 27, Identities come from somewhere, have histories, and like everything which is historical, they undergo constant transformation. Do you agree? 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. Image: Gordon Bennett, Australia 1955-2014, Possession Island, 1991. But this approach is central to the way many people describe and analyse his work. Bennett not only used Basquiat images, but begins to paint in his style. Amidst the chaos and confusion of dots and slashes of colour he remains imprisoned by the grid, reduced to servitude. Once again the letters A B C D feature as a potent symbol and complete the grid. 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. The content of the work was getting to me emotionally. His work also includes performance art, video, photography and printmaking. This pastiche of style and image is like a D J (Disc Jockey) sampling and remixing different styles of music to create new expressions. He found this liberating. I had never thought to question those narratives and I certainly had never been taught at school to question them only to believe them. In the first painting by Bennett, Possession Island 1991 (Museum of Sydney on the site of first Government House, Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales), the only figure painted in full vibrant colour is an isolated Aboriginal servant holding a drinks tray. His bold and humane art challenged racial stereotypes and provoked critical reflection on Australia's official history and national identity. 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. However the hand in the opposite panel controls and threatens the Aboriginal figure represented as a jack- in- the- box. The Notes to Basquiat series takes appropriation to yet another level within Bennetts art practice. The representation of Aborigines has been reduced to caricature. * *Collection: Museum of Sydney on the site of the first Government House, Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales. It is based on a newspaper photograph of Bennetts mother and another young Aboriginal woman, dressed in crisp white uniforms, polishing the elaborate architectural fittings in a grand interior of a homestead in Singleton. This was common practice among young Aboriginal girls and women. 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. 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. Gordon Bennetts art challenges us to question the stereotypes and racist labelling of Aboriginal Australians found in some history books written for and by Europeans. The Other is clearly marked out as not only different but by necessity inferior. Most Australians were shocked and scandalised that public money was spent on something they neither appreciated nor understood. Gordon Bennett (9 October 1955 - 3 June 2014) [1] was an Australian artist of Aboriginal and Anglo-Celtic descent. cat. Explain how you believe Bennett communicates and presents questions and complexities in his work. Gordon Bennett, Possession Island, 1991, oil and synthetic polymer paint on canvas in two parts. Do you agree? Using this list, find a range of artworks that you could appropriate to help communicate your personal identity visually. Jenna Gribbon, April studio, parting glance, 2021. There was always some sense of social engagement. After years of critiquing art-historical standards, Bennett has himself become the standard bearer. In Interior (Tribal rug), 2007 the sleek modern design of the furniture is complemented by a Margaret Preston inspired tribal rug and an abstract painting by Gordon Bennett. This is a Tate Images licensable image titled 'Possession Island (Abstraction)' by Tate Images. Based on your understanding of Bennetts motivations for the abstract paintings, outlined in the quote in the text, suggest what may have interested Bennett about the work of these artists. The artist has effectively communicated his beliefs on the suppression of Aboriginal culture by combining confronting imagery with the concepts of Vincent Van Gogh, Francisco Goya and Classical art. That's probably why he is hardly a household name, despite the cognoscenti referring to him as a powerfully influential figure in contemporary art. The absence of the Aboriginal servant and the scuttling footprints in Possession Island No 2 suggest the physical dispossession that was to follow once the British claimed ownership of the land. Aim to use a variety of strategies in your work to engage the viewer in the issues and questions you are interested in exploring in relation to these binary opposites. 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. 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. These include the tall ship and the appropriated logos featuring kitsch and racist references to Indigenous people, and the ominous juxtaposition of bags of flour and bottles of poison. The circular forms in the sky are inspired by the brilliant bursts of light in van Goghs Starry night. The other was 'Number . Bennett attempts to destroy the stereotypes to question notions of identity. Gordon Bennett 1. The grotesque also interested Bennett as a means of disrupting conventional ways of seeing and understanding. The work is a copy of a copy of a copy. The powerful image/word I AM, while central, is accompanied by statements of opposite, I am light I am dark. Jenna Gribbon, Silver Tongue, 2019, Price ranges of small prints by Pablo Picasso. In the third panel of Bennetts triptych, Empire, a Roman triumphal arch frames a stately figure. While the conceptual framework underpinning Bennetts art remained remarkably consistent, his art practice was characterised by some dramatic stylistic shifts over twenty years. You might consider, scale, materials and techniques, perceptual effects. Australian politics is fraught yet the Australian public is disengaged. Nov 26, 2012 - The paintings of Gordon Bennett are loaded with graphic detail. As an Australian of both Aboriginal and Anglo Celtic descent, Bennett felt he had no access to his indigenous heritage. These questions include how traditional characterisations of light and darkness have influenced perceptions and experience of race and culture. James Gordon Bennett was born on a farm near Enzie, around three miles from Buckie, in 1795 but chose to follow a friend to North America when aged 24 with just 5 in his pocket. Investigate the theories and ideas associated with anthropology, ethnography and phrenology. The incorporation of Blue Poles calls to mind an era of great reform in Australian politics. After 2003 he moved away from figurative language to work in an abstract idiom (see Number Nine 2008, Tate T15515). Felicity Allen, Gordon Bennett interviewed by Felicity Allen in the. The grotesque in art is generally associated with bizarre, ugly or disturbing imagery. Further reading Gordon Bennett is an Australian artist of Aboriginal descent. Our understanding of the meanings associated with visual signs is linked to cultural codes, conventions and experience. Ft. 2707 Coral Shores Dr, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33306. But in Bennetts painting disparate diagrams, symbols and images disrupt the illusion, presenting the landscape as a site where many ideas and viewpoints compete. In Bennetts painting the bedroom becomes the site of violent conflict that involves complex and intersecting personal and cultural histories. Gordon Bennett Possession Island (Abstraction) 1991 In Tate Modern Level 3: A Year in Art: Australia 1992 Level 3: A Year in Art: Australia 1992 Artist Gordon Bennett 1955-2014 Medium Oil paint and acrylic paint on canvas Dimensions Support: 1843 1845 mm Collection Tate Acquisition Experiment with enhancing or diminishing different layers to create a distinctive character. Pinterest. Bennett also had ongoing concerns about how his Aboriginal identity and his interest in subjects related to Aboriginality were framing and hence limiting the way his artistic identity and his work were perceived. Performance with object for the expiation of guilt (Violence and grief remix) 1996, is a remix of an earlier video performance work, Performance with object for the expiation of guilt, 1995. 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. James Gordon Bennett, Sr., a Scottish immigrant, founded the New York Herald in 1835, building the paper from the ground up. The only clearly defined part of Possession Island is the black skinned male figure in the centre. Symbols such as these highlight his awareness and use of visual images, forms and elements as signs. I needed to change direction at least for a while. This central motif governs the composition which, similar to Calverts original etching upon which the painting is based, is largely reduced to a schema of black and white forms. She attempted to create works that reflected a sense of national identity by incorporating Aboriginal motifs and colours in her work. Using a painting technique, create a finished artwork based on one or some of these experiments. During 199495 at summer school Bennett learnt to make digital videos on an Apple PowerMac computer. This rich interplay of words and images raises many questions. Self portrait (Ancestor figures), 1992 deals with broader issues of cultural identity as well as personal identity. The soundtrack includes digital sampling of ICE.Ts Race War. Kelly Gellatly 1. In 1989, a year after graduating from art college, his work was included in the high profile Australian Perspect a exhibition of contemporary art at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Gordon Bennett Possession Island (Abstraction), 1991 Kevin Gilbert Christmas Eve in the Land of the Dispossessed, 1968; 1992 KEY ARTIST ONE- VERNON AH KEE Born 1967, Innisfail, Queensland. The focus on reason, scientific learning and progress that characterised the Enlightenment (suggested by the measuring marks on the torch) lead to many significant discoveries and new ways of understanding the world. His art attempts to depict the complexity of both cultural perspectives. His status as an artist has been elevated to hero with his contribution to Action Painting. The linear diagram that frames the kneeling figure of Bennetts mother in the central panel of Triptych: Requiem, Of grandeur, Empire, and the diagrams in the lower sections of the two side panels, are typical of illustrations that explain the principles of linear perspective. He used strategies such as deconstruction and appropriation to present audiences with new ways of viewing and understanding the images and narratives that have shaped the nations history and culture. Image credit: Gordon Bennett - Possession Island (1991). Bennett's work is held in over 100 public and private collections, including many major state institutions such as the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney; Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney; National Gallery of Australia, Canberra and National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne. Gordon Bennett's painting Possession Island (Abstraction) 1991 is based on an image of Captain Cook claiming the eastern coast of Australia in 1770. . 2, I cant remember exactly when it dawned on me that I had an Aboriginal heritage, I generally say it was around age eleven, but this was my age when my family returned to Queensland where Aboriginal people were far more visible. Possession Island (Abstraction), Gordon Bennett, 1991, Oil paint and acrylic paint on canvas. I have tried to avoid any simplistic critical containment or stylistic categorisation as an Aboriginal artist producing Aboriginal art by consistently changing stylistic directions and by producing work that does not sit easily in the confines of Aboriginal art collections or definitions. Discuss with reference to the same works. Collection: Museum of Sydney, Sydney Living Museums What evidence can you see in this self-portrait of Bennett linking issues of personal identity with broader issues related to history and culture? This is the second of two works entitled Possession Island that Bennett painted following Australias bicentennial celebrations in 1988. The Bicentenary celebrations triggered increased activism, protests and public debate related to Indigenous issues. These act as disturbances. By the late 1980s there was also a growing awareness within Australian society of the injustices suffered by the Indigenous population as a result of their dispossession. Gordon Bennett, The Manifest Toe, in Ian McLean & Gordon Bennett, The Art of Gordon Bennett, Craftsman House/ G + G Arts International, Sydney, 1996, pp.962.Kelly Gellatly et.al., Gordon Bennett: A Survey, exhibition catalogue, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne 2007. In the Home dcorseries Bennett used gridded compositions that refer to the paintings of Dutch artistPiet Mondrian (1872 1944). $927,000 Last Sold Price. Like many of his own and earlier generations, Bennetts understanding of the nations history was partly shaped by the sort of images commonly found in history books. Reynolds wrote books and articles about the history of Australian settlement as a story of invasion and genocide. 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. In her lifetime, Trugannini witnessed the systematic and often violent destruction of her culture and people. He can be anything the viewer wants him to be: white, black or any shade in between, as was true of Australian citizens in general in our multicultural country. There was still no space for me to simply be. It is uttered by all good Muslims before a good deed. Gordon Bennett, The manifest toe, pp. There is strong symbolism associated with the placement of the figure beneath the Roman triumphal arch. Suggest reasons for the similarities and differences that you find. The artist Gordon Bennett led a reclusive life. Bennetts use of dots highlights the way Aboriginal cultural identity continues to be defined and confined by Western ideas of Aboriginality. cat. Possession Island is a small island off the coast of northern Queensland, near the tip of Cape York, the most northerly point of mainland Australia. Why? Other aspects of the image, including the flat, stylised shapes of the head, reflect connections to both Western abstract art and Indigenous art traditions. The distorted and exaggerated features of the form incorporate qualities that appear animal and human, male and female. 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. Who was Gordon Bennett? From 2003 Bennett worked on a series of non-representational abstract paintings that mark another significant shift in his practice. I did drawings of tools and weapons in my project book, just like all the other children, and like them I also wrote in my books that each Aboriginal family had their own hut, that men hunt kangaroos, possums and emus; that women collect seeds, eggs, fruit and yams. Sell with Artsy Artist Series Portraits of Artists and Sculptors 113 available Gordon Bennett Possession Island , 1991 Oil and synthetic polymer paint on canvas 162 x 260cm Museum of Sydney Gordon Bennett The Coming of the Light , 1987 Acrylic on canvas 152 x 274cm Queensland Art Gallery Collection All Artworks Subscribe Submit Follow Sutton Gallery 254 Brunswick Street Fitzroy 3065 The first panel of Bennetts triptych, Requiem, depicts Trugannini (c. 1812 1876), a Palawa woman from Tasmania. Place each photograph on a separate layer, overlap and morph or merge all the portraits into one image. He used his self as the vehicle to do so. 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. Touch device users, explore by touch or with swipe gestures. Discuss with reference to examples in at least two works by Bennett. Bennett indicates the need to be reconciled within the context of culture and history to develop a full sense of identity. It is also a direct reference to biblical stories in the Hebrew Scriptures. 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. For many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, this was a time to mourn the devastating consequences of 200 years of colonisation. Our experiences in this society manifest themselves in neuroses, demoralization, anger, and in art. The Constitution is being rethought with respect to Indigenous Australians, and treaty-making is on the agenda yet the Uluru Statement from the Heart was roundly ignored by the Federal Government. The facial features reflected in the mirror are blurred and distorted by roughly painted words typical racist remarks about Aboriginal people. Gordon Bennett 3, Bennett married in 1977. As a shy and inarticulate teenager my response to these derogatory opinions was silence, self-loathing and denial of my heritage. Jenna Gribbon, Luncheon on the grass, a recurring dream, 2020. He serves as a counterpoint to Gordon Bennetts Other, and yet we are the one and the same. Gordon Bennett, &The manifest toe, pp. 22-24, Gordon Bennett, The manifest toe, in The Art of Gordon Bennett, p. 32, Gordon Bennett, The manifest toe in Ian McLean & Gordon Bennett, The Art of Gordon Bennett, Craftsman House, 1996, pp. Bennetts recent abstract paintings reflect links to a range of artists including Australians Robert McPherson, Emily Kam Kngwarray and Ronnie Tjampitjinpa, and International artist Frank Stella. 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. It was upon entering the workforce that I really learnt how low the general opinion of Aboriginal people was. Lists of words draw the viewer into a game of word association. However these ideas and values simultaneously oppressed Indigenous people and their cultural and knowledge systems. . Bennett has continued to work in new ways with materials, techniques and images throughout his career, resisting any classification or confinement according to style. He and his partner bought a house and settled in the suburbs of Brisbane like other young couples. Voir plus d'ides sur le thme toile de lin, basquiat, art australien. Get this The Morning News page for free from Friday, July 7, 1972 Q90 wSu Fairfax Shopping Center Doily 10-6. The simplicity of I AM suggests a universality of thought. Gordon Bennett, Possession Island, 1991, oil and synthetic polymer paint on canvas, Museum of Sydney, Sydney Living Museums; Daniel Boyd, We Call Them . In this work Bennett directly references historical British sources, namely Samuel Calverts (18281913) colour etching Captain Cook Taking Possession of the Australian Continent on Behalf of the British Crown AD 1770 c.185364 (National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne), which is itself a copy of John Alexander Gilfillans (17931864) earlier, now lost, painting of the same title. How ideas might be encountered from different places and events interest him.
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