The Arts took a thrashing from a bunch of schoolgirls last Tuesday night at Craft ACT’s annual Sketching DAC:CAC debate. Perhaps it was the home ground advantage (it was held over at Canberra Girls’ Grammar), perhaps it was the invincibility of youth, perhaps it was merely something in the water…but whatever it was the girls carried the day with a spirited contention that there is indeed a distinct Canberran culture (as opposed to the common garden Australian variety.)
Canberra Girls Grammar School‘s champion debating team (l-r) Grace, Lauren and Sarah.
The evening (adjudicated by local ABC’s radio journalist Genevieve Jacobs, backdropped by portraiture from the school’s Year 12 art students and hosted by Craft ACT’s Director Barb McConchie) was a great success by all accounts – bar those of the losing team!!
Arguing the toss for a national, rather than regional, cultural identity were local arts gurus Deb Clarke (curator of CMAG), David Broker (Director of CCAS) and Erica Seccombe (artiste extraordinaire.)
All chums again, post the verbal fray
Despite some very fine intellectual fireworks from the distinguished arts panel, we have it on good authority that it was the steamy culture of Fyshwick that finally blew the generic ‘nasho’ argument out of the water.
Good onya girls.
What is it about fire fighters?
Here at Craft ACT we’ve just had the big fire alarm fandango, with the obligatory marshalling en plein air courtesy of some scented candles in one of the ladies loos!(…apparently)
But, you know, there’s definitely one good thing about having to suspend work and vacate the building the moment that dreadful hooter goes off – it heralds the imminent arrival of a truckload of spunky firemen!!
Even Big Al got excited…
It began on the Tuesday – an anonymous Coalition of the Wickedly Creative (aka Nigel Lendon’s Wet Dream Support Group) turned up at Craft ACT to start installation of a progressive artwork entitled Power and the Puce.
Shortly after their departure, Nigel himself turned up with his piece, Le Monde de l’Art a la Langue Fourchue…
Which elicited (on the morrow) the following response…
with the accompanying note…
Dear Nigel
As your spontaneous support group we are pleased to offer images that may linger in your subconscious, as they ‘are’ burning impressions in ours. This morning we were delighted to find what we so boldly perceive as your response. A weeding tool ‘No’, I feel the burning desire to identify the mystery object of the week on the Collectors.
Yes they are my hands gently planting the weeds of collaboration, and others shall offer further insights and gifts for your benefit, we hope. Though we must remain a mystery, as we are dedicated to heightening the collaborative experience of communication through objects, free of identification. Let Shifting perspectives be a venue for free dialogue in this ‘not large’ community we behold.
Sincerely yours
Nigella Leming
To which Nigel has now replied….
Dear Nigella, (and the gang at “yohoo.com” for I fear they may not have got your message at that address). I am delighted that our mutual interests have at least stimulated nocturnal expression (as suggested by your title), and that the poetic potential of the readymade, (or readymade altered) has further stimulated your dreams. I fear, however, that the cold dawn of the corridors chez Bunnings may dampen the ardour of your sentiments. And for the art that comes readymade in virtual space, you have about four hours to join in the Batmania at ArtWranglers at http://artwranglers.com.au/batman-collectors-competition-closing/ Hope you’re up in time to catch it! P.S. the organ in question is a “tongue”, not a “tounge”, although there is a “lounge” in Shifting Perspectives…
See you there!
yours, Nigel
We now await Power and the Puce, mark III, and the continuing build-up over the week.
And (with any luck) ‘anonymous’ may be outed during the Shifting Perspectives II closing party – next Monday night (1st September) from 5pm in the gallery at Craft ACT – at the very scene of the crime, so to speak…
[The ‘yohoo gang’ is not to be confused with the Kelly Gang – a different kettle of fish altogether. n(Ed)]
Darlings!!! We just received these lovely snaps of Bella and Cameron’s wedding (held on the 12th of July at St Peter’s Anglican Church, Brighton…)
A pack of boisterous Canberrans belted down the Hume Highway for the event, which kicked on with a big fall-about at the Elwood Beach House Cafe. A fabulous time was had by all.
Lots of love, Bells – and many happy forever-afters to you both.
…him!!
Ranamok 2008 winner Matthew Ryan with Klausie.
The winning piece, A Net for Light #1, cast furnace glass, hot formed, cold worked.
Well, it’s all over for another year. Last night was the big launch of Ranamok 2008 at the Canberra Glassworks – and Matthew Ryan took out the $10,000 acquisitive prize (which he didn’t seem too unhappy about!) The Gang had a fab time catching up with the mob – and then of course we wandered off to the Belgium joint in Kingston for a debrief over a bucket or two of beer…and to take the vote on this year’s woofer.
Anyhoo, for the Gang’s money, Brenden Scott French and Lisa Cahill were Best in Show. And the teddy bear was kinda cute, and we particularly liked Netty Blair’s Pop and Nanna in preserving jars, and Hilary Crawford’s Inky, and…and…
No great gossip to share – the speeches went on far too long (thankfully we escaped and so didn’t have to endure them…) and it was a respectable, if not overwhelmingly huge, crowd.
For happy snaps of the night go here.
(We can’t divulge the winner of the Dog, sorry – it will, as always, remain a closely guarded secret ♥)
We had a ripper evening over at Matthew Curtis and Harriet Schwarzrock’s studio in Queanbeyhole on the weekend – Matt and Harry threw a huge bon voyage party for all the work they’re about to send off to Cleveland, Ohio, for their upcoming two-man show at Thomas R Riley Galleries. And the joint was really pumping.
Everyman and his glass dog turned up, naturally, and between the hotshop demos and the serious barista bar and tables literally groaning with gourmet tucker, it was a very superior affair all round. The bad news is that while grappling with an unfamiliar computer set-up the following day, we managed to delete 98% of our snaps – boo hoo – so we can’t bring you blanket coverage of the event as intended…
Never mind – we’ve made some amends by rushing back yesterday morning to re-take snaps of the work, at least, before it was crated up…you’ll just have to imagine the rest…
Studio/workshop images (and a handful of surviving party shots) here.
The Gang’s up in the ‘Berra gathering all manner of specko pictorial gems for your general edification – including, of course, tonight’s galah swill and spill at the Glassworks for Ranamok 2008. Stay tuned…
Meanwhile we’ll be dropping in cute little snippets, just to keep you amused, for the interim…
Check out this fabulous video of Sigalit Landau’s DeadSee at the MOMA, via raincoaster.com
Guaranteed to make some little girlie’s day…NOT.
[Made us laugh a lot, though. n(Ed)]
…we came across the snaps we’d taken of his show at ANCA earlier in the year – and then somehow managed to promptly lose in amongst the pile of goodies on our editing desk. (Mea culpa, Geoff!) But of course the wonderful thing about good art is that it doesn’t have a used-by date.
Gallery shot from the Geoff Farquhar-Still exhibition, My Private Arsenal.
It was a brilliant show (here at the hideout we’re heavily into anything even vaguely military – except for Papal inspections thereof…)
(above left) Necessary Intervention and (right) Preventative Deployment I
(top) gallery shot, (middle) Asymmetric Warfare, Preventative Deployment II, (bottom) gallery shot (click to enlarge)
The gallery walls were spattered with red dots – even the War Memorial snaffled a piece, which was great to see (the Australian War Memorial, as you are no doubt aware, has arguably the best collection of Australian Art in the country.)
Safety Zone, Claude.
And we caught up with the man himself later, in his studio….
…he’s such a nice bloke.
[Love ya work, Geoff. n(Ed)]
glass central canberra 
