The Churchie National Emerging Art Prize and Exhibition in the Griffith University Art Gallery provided emerging Australian artists with an opportunity to compete for highly sought after recognition. A sense of non-cohesiveness was evident through the diverse range of mediums applied for each artwork entered into this competition ; consisting of painting, works on paper, photography, new media and sculpture. The artists that will be discussed in this review include; Brown Council, Heath Franco and Svenja Kratz.
Since 2007, Kelly Doley, Frances Barrett, Kate Blackmore and Diana Smith have been collectively known as the Brown Council. Brown Council submitted a high definition black and white video titled Remembering Barbara Cleveland Act 1 (2011). The video was displayed on a flat-screened television attached to a small wall space within the gallery. One artist from the Brown Council was filmed at a time; all wearing identical hairstyles, and re-performing one of Barbara Cleveland’s spoken word pieces from 1980.
Similarly, Heath Franco submitted a high definition colour video titled Your Door (2011). Your Door (2011) was filmed at the front door of Heath Franco’s home. Through the use of a green screen, as well as by improvising and dressing up as different characters, Heath Franco was able to create an altered sense of reality within the confines of his suburban home. The artist also implemented collage techniques and repetitive sounds.
Quite the reverse to the abovementioned artists, Svenja Kratz presents the viewer with a tangible mixed media sculpture titled A Shrine for Algernon: Instance # 2 (2010). A Shrine for Algernon: Instance # 2 (2010) comprised of a foetal calf placed on a reflective table-top. There was a layer of grass, miniature trees and black cows scattered across the surface of the table-top. This layer flowed onto the bottom section of the table. A dark red liquid, possibly representative of blood, trickled from the foetal calf’s body onto the bottom section of the table. A face emerged from the pool of liquid at the bottom section of table.
Blair French’s curatorial essay ‘Nothing like Performance’ argued that the Brown Council’s Remembering Barbara Cleveland: Act 1 (2011) put forth an inquiry on who is written in and out of history, and how narratives are fabricated and re-presented, through the use of the performance medium (French 2011). French maintained that the use of the performance medium in art is ‘real’ and ‘true’ and ‘serious’ but necessarily a ‘lie’; it is a direct confrontation with its audience (French 2011). As the Brown Council’s ‘Remembering Barbara Cleveland: Act 1’ was a re-performance that amalgamated visual and audio remnants of the original performance by Barbara Cleveland, it directly conflicted with the notion that performance art is what is happening now and will not happen again (French 2011).
It could be argued that Heath Franco’s Your Door (2011) shared similarities with Brown Council’s Remembering Barbara Cleveland: Act 1 (2011) through the use of the performance medium. This link between these two pieces may be evident through the way that Your Door (2011) presented a ‘lie’, that could be assumed as an act or a fiction, within a ‘real’ and ‘true’ setting (French 2011). Heath Franco’s Your Door (2011) was announced the winner of the 2012 Churchie National Emerging Art Prize on the 27th July 2012. It could be contended that Your Door (2011) may have been selected as this year’s winner as it was so hard to ignore. Your Door (2011) was one of the first artworks that the viewer would notice upon entering the Griffith University Gallery space. It diverted attention away from neighbouring artworks as it was the only audio-visual performance piece at the entrance of the gallery. Your Door (2011) may be considered to be highly distracting; even if one was to walk to the far end of the gallery Heath Franco frantically saying ‘hi’ would still be audible. On the other hand, Your Door (2011) may have been selected as this year’s winner because of the video’s excellent production value and the relevance of the performance’s concept within the context of an exhibition in the Brisbane city.
Svenja Kratz’ A Shrine for Algernon: Instance # 2 (2010) may be categorised as bioart as it was engaged with the use of technologies employed in biotechnology and medical research (Kratz n.d.). It could be contended that the use of the sculpture medium has a fundamental link to the viewer’s capacity to feel a sense of compassion for the foetal calf Algernon. The calf was so intricately crafted that every perceivable detail was accounted for and realistically represented; from the wrinkled texture of the flesh, to the delicate eyelashes and rosy pink tongue. It could be argued that the veracity of A Shrine for Algernon: Instance # 2 (2010) may not have been as easy to appreciate if the performance medium was implemented instead. The tangibility of the sculptured materials allowed the viewer to feel a sense of emotional pain and empathy for what, in all seriousness, was a representation of a dead baby lying in front of them. Svenja Kratz’ decision to name this foetal calf, as well as include a story about the calf in her artist’s statement, further reinforced the viewer’s capacity to feel empathy for this sculpture. It may be likely that most people visiting this exhibition would not have even been aware of the practice of draining blood from the body of a foetal calf for processing into foetal bovine serum prior to reading Svenja Kratz’ artist statement; however most viewers would have the capacity to feel compassion for a victim regardless of whether it is an animal or human.
References
French, B 2011, Nothing like Performance, viewed 4 August 2012, <http://browncouncil.com/works/performance-histories-remembering-barbara-cleveland>
Kratz, S n.d., BIOART (Biological Art): An introduction, viewed 4 August 2012, <http://kelvingrovesc.eq.edu.au/visart/newstuffles/design%20resources/SESSION1.pdf>
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