Our fave intra-continental correspondent, Michael Scarrone, has sent us the latest scoop from The National Art Glass Gallery…
But we have to fess up that we’re really not sure whose work is whose, and it’s an indictment on art theoretic /so-called professional practice frankly that artists feel compelled to give such incredibly obtuse statements about their work that it’s a little confusing, without labelling, to figure out exactly which goes with what….more off-putting than connecting, let’s face it. And it’s all about communication, lovies…isn’t it?
[This is not a criticism apropos the lack of titling of the sent images themselves – the work ought to be sufficiently self-explanatary…to at least provide some visual hint. It turned into an interesting guessing game here at the Hideout – three of us (a woodie, a gold & silverie and a glassie) trying to match up image with artist statement. By the end we were none the wiser. It was generically interchangeable. And once again those dreaded words ‘memory’ and ‘place’ bobbed to the surface like the infernal floaters they are. God in heaven save us. n(Ed)]
Actually, we quite like the titty glass (above). But the French dude getting arrested for the fake implants so recently might be influencing us subliminally…
And it’s a totally differently reading in the next shot…
So in the end we’re left a little clue-less.
That being said, bones and skulls always work for us, no contest. Perhaps it’s just that old renegade thang.
glass central canberra 
Thanks for your interest in the lack of titles that the gallery didn’t forward to you … ad that you didn’t request… I mean our show. I am amazed that you are amazed that three artists exhibiting together have sympathetic ‘practice overview’ statements about their practice. To explain the difference …. Don’t worry I’ll use small words… a statement about your current practice is about what the over arching theme (the big idea) of your work is investigating (looking at)…. An artist statement is a statement about the actual individual artwork produced. So the fact that you couldn’t figure out whose work is whose, in a group of artists that have chosen to show together, due to the similar nature of the themes in their work, is not all that surprising. What is surprising is that you called that an exhibition review…. That was more like a review on the lack of information you received/requested from the gallery. If you are going to review from afar, having never seen the exhibition or the artists statements relating to the actual work exhibited (and I don’t mean to speak for the gallery staff) but the staff at the National Glass Gallery are excellent and I am sure they would be more then happy to answer any questions you might have regarding whose work is whose and what it ‘all means’. I have been working in glass for over ten years and am currently undertaking my PhD in the arts and find there is a real lack of respect for contributions to glass and fine craft culture at the university level and have been told on numerous occasions this is due to the lack of critical review and contribution to the field ….. If you are really interested in ‘adding’ to the field I would recommend that the next time you get in a car and go and ‘see’ the ‘visual’ art before reviewing it or at the very least if you feel you need more information (to do some research) to review the ‘work’ then ask.
Regards,
Christopher Boha
Steady there Dobbin – there was no mention of a review. We posted notice of the show, end of story. I have no opinion on the work whatsoever, critical or otherwise. Nor did I intend the mention of the lack of title credits as a criticism of Michael, on the contrary I esteem him highly. Not having had the benefit of labelling merely led us to the eternal question of ‘ what’s it all about, Alphie?’ Can one tell from the work? Does it engage us sufficiently when we view it blind? Do we care?
It was anything but a review. Merely an aside. n(Ed)
Please caption your photos with the artist’s name. We want to know!
Nah, we’re not so sure we care anymore…
Wagga Wagga will let you know, if you want to pursue it.
n(Ed)