Stencil art cat.

Stencil art cat, off Flinders Lane, Melbourne CBD.

Crystal ball dog

Victoria Street, Fitzroy, 2016

by Putos

The Wild at Off The Kerb Gallery

These three paper butterflies will be in The Wild at Off the Kerb gallery.

'Off the Kerb is pleased to celebrate its 9th Birthday Show by inviting you into The Wild, where your imagination can run wild. We invite you into a utopian wilderness where there are 

no boundaries, freedom and beauty is bountiful, a place where love runs wild, wilder beasts and divine creatures roam free - you are fearless.....untamed....... 

Enter The Wild...

OTK celebrates its 9th Birthday with this group exhibition in support of Edgar’s Mission. 

Edgar’s Mission is a not for profit Farm Sanctuary that seeks to create 

a humane and just world for homeless, abused, injured or abandoned animals.

OTK will be donating the gallery commission to Edgar’s Mission www.edgarsmission.org.au'

The Wild

at  
Off the Kerb gallery.

Opening: Fri 8 April 6-9pm |

7 April - 21 April 2016

66B Johnston St, Collingwood, 3066

9077 0174 | 0400 530 464

info@offthekerb.com.au

Thurs & Fri 12:30- 6 | Sat & Sun 12 - 5

Free Entry

8 Abandoned Warehouse Street Art Won't Last

40 x 40 Art Prize

I have three pieces in the upcoming 40 x 40 Art Prize exhibition. It is so named because all submissions must be at a maximum 40 x 40 x40 cm including frames.


From left to right: Bonsai Tigers; The Resort at Al Biqa; Carmen.
paper collage on paper
29.7 x 21 each unframed*

40 x 40 2015 Art Prize
14 December 2015 - 16 January 2016
Opening Drinks and Prize announcements, 18 December 2015, from 6pm - 9pm
Brunswick Street Gallery 322 Brunswick St, Fitzroy 3065
Gallery Tues–Friday 10–8pm
Sat–Sun 10–6pm
info@bsgart.com.au


*Available to purchase in white frames measuring 39.5 x 32.

7 Abandoned Warehouse Street Art: Patrick the Starfish

Patrick the starfish from Sponge Bob Squarepants, as a painter

6 Abandoned Warehouse Street Art: Goat Skull

By Kaffiene

5 Abandoned Warehouse Street Art: Illustrator Style

Jackalope mask pays homage to Princess Mononoke.

Whale head on head of impaled figure. The first kanji character is part of the word whale or whaling, the last one might mean strength but I can't figure out more than that.

Unhappy girl.

4 Abandoned Warehouse Street Art: Poultry

Toothed duck peeking around a corner.

Another toothed duck. It's like Daffy Duck went on an acid trip or something...

Cigar smoking rooster. by Putos.

3 Abandoned Warehouse Street Art: Faces

From the previous post featuring abstraction.

Detail of face, with DOG tag digitally scrubbed back.

Simple linework face peeking through high, reinforced, frosted windows (in 'office' area?).

2 Abandoned Warehouse Street Art: Abstract Forms Part II

Monochromatic abstraction in silver and black.

Colour popping abstraction

Abstraction and stylised faces.

David Bowie Is - leaving Melbourne soon!

#sketch of #costume at #davidbowieis from his 1979 Saturday Night Live performance of #themanwhosoldtheworld resting on my David Bowie Is catalogue. There are worse 24 hour earworms to have - I'll have to buy the album to scratch that itch!
#drawing #drawingfromlife #davidbowie #acmimember #avantgarde #avantgardefashion — at ACMI.

For those interested, you can see my other drawings from David Bowie Is, as well as my other creative output, on my instagram here. I don't always do Follow for Follows but I try to make the time to Like for Likes :)

You can download a free David Bowie album from a selection of about 6 with your ACMI​ David Bowie Is card. Okay. I should have expected that I couldn't fill some of the gaps in my collection with a free download of The Man Who Sold the World, Lodger etc. You want me to buy those Bowie? That is fine! I completely understand. I've been twice and a nice couple - who said they have all of his albums - gave me theirs so I had four to redeem.

Or so I thought.

You can only redeem one album this way per Google Play account. Oops. I chose Earthling. Well played, sir. The promotion cards claim that 'David Bowie is all yours' but clearly he isn't! It's more accurately 'David Bowie is pimping his new album and bumping his less popular works up the Google Play charts' or more simply 'David Bowie is savvy'.

'I'm Afraid of Americans' is an epic song. It's in my top ten of favourite Bowie songs. I friggin' LOVE it. I saw the clip for the first time on Monday and thought that was clever too. A pity about the rest of that album - I am not a fan of drum-and-bass, it sounds a bit samey after a few songs IMHO - but maybe I'll grow to like it!




As for the exhibition itself:

No photography permitted, is not just signed but verbally instructed to every visitor. I have seen some sneaky mobile phone images online because some take this as a challenge to rise to rather than respecting Bowie's wishes. Why take a crappy pic on your phone to share on social  media when the catalogue is filled with beautifully shot images of all the artifacts (and a very interesting collection of essays to boot)? Why not just enjoy the experience rather than have proof you were there in a selfie? If it means that much to you, buy the book/postcard.

It took me all afternoon to visit the show on my first visit and I had _no_ intention of drawing that time! As you can see above I did do some drawing as an artistic challenge on my second visit. I read every label, listened to everything sound bite, watched almost every clip! Luckily that was on a Wednesday a couple of weeks after it first opened with few other people. On Monday there was quite a few people, with lines to view artifacts, so I didn't worry about consuming everything. I had to be considerate about where I placed myself to draw. What I love about drawing is that it makes you really look at things. You appreciate the form and detail of a thing to a level you would not absorb if you merely looked at it. I thought I knew his face but it was only after drawing from one of his life cast masks - they are dotted on seemingly random mannequins throughout the exhibition - that I knew it best.

It was wonderful to see so many iconic, unique costumes and finely designed outfits in the fibre. To think the great man himself once wore these and defined a moment in time was awesome... 

I had no idea he was such a talented mime, that he was so involved in all parts of his output, such a diligent, organised individual. I love that he kept all of these things, because either he's an organised hoarder or he knew that one day they would be of interest to other people. Probably both! It was a special treat to see the creative process in the material form of Bowie's song writing, on all sorts of paper with corrections and ch, ch, changes.

With almost constant sound and vision - I turned the sound down, took my head phones off or unplugged them because it was sometimes too much - it was an intense experience and I needed a nap after both visits!

Thank you to David Bowie for having the foresight to keep all of these things carefully, the wisdom to engage a collection curator to catalogue them, and the professionalism to approach the V&A Museum with said catalogue and offer free reign to tell your story in the best possible way through The David Bowie Archive. It was not wanting in detail or breadth!

1 Abandoned Warehouse Street Art: Abstract Forms Part I

This is the first of a series of posts showcasing street art seen at an abandoned warehouse in the western suburbs of Melbourne. I had the opportunity to explore this place over a year ago now, but the task of getting so many interesting images ready for the web was a bit daunting! The nine part series will automatically post weekly, until just before Christmas. Enjoy!

Setting the scene. There were many holes in the ground connected up to drainage. The warehouse was a former jeans factory. The last post in this series will highlight some of the architecture.

Cool, fluid abstraction

'I love my peoples'

Feel good abstraction.

Feel good abstraction, detail

Faces, Street Art Mural.

By Ghost Patrol. The X-ray face may be in collaboration with Shok-1.

Unnamed Alley, Melbourne CBD, October 2013

Pixelated Tasmanian Tiger Paste Up, Street Art

I think this one was in Literature Lane but it might have been in the Unnamed Alley...

Melbourne CBD, October 2015

Urban Koala paste up...

...is a statement about the dearth of trees or just cute and whimsical?

Adjacent to last week's balaclava is this paste up koala with young, incorporating the built environment into the installation.

..and nearby further into the Unnamed alleyway is another pair.

Melbourne CBD, October 2013

Sculpted Balaclava, Street Art

Shares a mould with this one.

Unnamed alley off Little Latrobe Street, Melbourne CBD 2015

The Lost Bison

Unnamed alleyway, Melbourne CBD, October 2015

As you can see on Google Maps, this has since been partially painted over. The original figure on top of the bison is by Ghost Patrol.

The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to Catwalk

17 Oct 2014 — 8 Feb 2015   National Gallery of Victoria

Here are my little iPhone snaps of this rather good show which ends in very soon!

My fashion design student co-worker didn't think much of it. Hers was the throw away, proverbial complaint when it comes to art 'I could have done that myself'. Yet you didn't! My friend and I (both industrial designers and artists) enjoyed it. Gaultier himself was happy with it so that must count for something eh?

Another complaint was the low light levels for black garments and I have to admit, they were significantly lower than elsewhere in the show in two rooms, which made it hard to see the intricate lace and beading. Setting them against a black background certainly didn't help and may have altered perception of lux levels ie a light background would have required less light since it would bounce around. That's the first rule of strong display: set your subject to stand out from a background by using a different colour/tone. The First rule of camoflauge : blend into the background by being a similar colour! The conservation arguement doesn't hold sway because having since researched this show these same pieces were displayed elsewhere in more adequate light.



Left: Virgins Collection?
Right: Virgins Collection
Dolorès
Haute Couture, Spring-Summer 2007


Bridal Mermaid, crutches detail
Mermaid collection
Haute couture, Spring-Summer 2008


Bridal Mermaid, purse detail
Haute couture, Spring-Summer 2008

The man is more than a fashion designer - he is an artist. The level of detail in the works was amazing. The general public rarely gets to see haute couture this close while the fashionista usually only sees it for a minute at arm's length at best. It's definitely worth seeing this show if you're in town.


Ex-voto
Virgins (or Madonnas) collection
Haute couture, Spring-Summer 2007
Chiffon and lame lace gown with ex-voto (an offering to a saint or divinity) plaque appliques and star and sea-shell embellished smoked plexiglass headdress. 
This gown took 315 hours to create.



 
Ex-voto, detail
Virgins (or Madonnas) collection
Haute couture, Spring-Summer 2007

Giraffe sticker

Giraffe sticker on pole, Mount Alexander Road, Ascot Vale.