From the Vault

I took photography as my Major back in 2000 at the National Art School, Darlinghurst NSW, where I was introduced to Photoshop. In my primitive experimentation, I would take myself off to the cinema and covertly shoot stills from the previews of movies. Because movie previews are edited in such short, sharp bursts of attention grabbing action, you never knew what you were about to capture. The randomness of shooting was part of the thrill for me. 

My 1.3 megapixel Olympus digital camera was the best toy I had at the time and in the dark, silent ambiance of the cinema complex, I felt like a renegade pirate, capturing other artist's visions, distorting them and re-framing them in computer software into something that satisfied me. There was a 

distinct lag in shooting and the camera actually recording the shot due to the rudimentary technology of the camera, but I enjoyed the fact that I would never know what I had captured until after the movie had finished and the images were opened in Photoshop. The selection of montages here were some of my favorites from the time and the originals now live on a CD in a dusty case where many of my experiments

Warwick Fuller Exhibition

'A renowned plein air painter who uniquely interprets light, atmosphere and the beauty of the Australian landscape.'

Mountain Heritage Hotel in Katoomba held the premiere of Warwick Fuller's new documentary titled 'Fuller's Earth' about his painting and influences and trips away into the Australian landscape. The documentary preceded the opening of his latest exhibition at Katoomba Fine Art later in the afternoon, where Warwick's work was showcased and will remain exhibited until 20th October. In Warwick's artist statement he reveals;

I never feel so attuned to the real essence of what I’m after, than at dawn and dusk, and I feel like I’ll never have a greater opportunity of capturing something special or important to me than in those bewitching moments around sunrise and sunset.

I felt a strong connection to the painting titled 'Trees filtered light, Forbes' 2009, and enjoyed the sense of place, atmosphere and technical brilliance of this work. One of my regrets about attending art school was that I was not able to study painting along side photography. Inside, I have a closet painter who longs for the day he can wield a loaded brush with such passion, confidence and ability!

Chun Kwang-Young

A few years ago I visited Conny Dietzschold Gallery in Dank Street Waterloo where a Korean artist by the name of Chun Kwang-Young was on show with his work titled 'Aggregations'. I remember having such a profound response to this work that I wrote to the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul, Korea, to find out more information on this artist, who worked with mulberry paper in the most astonishing way. The Museum sent a copy of a book on the artist which became my most prized possession for quite some time! I came across it several weeks ago when I was packing up my studio in preparation to move house. I was interested in the significance of using mulberry paper in his assemblages, and in the book it revealed;

Before the Korean War and the advent of modern medicine, Chun often visited a close relative [the artist's father] who was an herbal doctor. Medicines hung from the ceiling, wrapped in mulberry paper inscribed with invocations for good health. The medicine bundles that once crowded the ceilings are the spiritual ancestors of the wrapped pieces that are now so meticulously placed in Chun's "Aggregations."

The significance of the use of Mulberry paper in Korea has also been written about by Andy Brumer -

'Throughout Korea's history, mulberry paper, and its uses, has occupied a central place in daily and cultural life. 

It has also served as a charged symbol of emotional and spiritual experience, and as a conduit, almost, to the religious realm. The traditional Korean house was practically covered with mulberry paper, and many utensils and other objects were fabricated from it. It has also been used extensively as surfaces for writing, painting and calligraphy.'

Karen Stahlecker

I came across Karen Stahlecker's sublime sculpture titled 'The Last Stand' several days ago while looking for paper artists on the net. 'The Last Stand' (1992) filled a room with delicately fronded trees made entirely out of handmade paper. 

From Karen's blog profile, she writes;

"I've been working in art most of my life with a BFA from Washington University, St. Louis, MO and an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (sculpture). I've exhibited my work nationally and internationally but have, through a quirk of fate, ended up back in my original home town of Woodstock where I've become an accidental campground manager on the family farm. Luckily, it's seasonal which leaves me more free in winters to concentrate on my artwork. I have "practiced" photography since my first Kodak "Brownie" camera gotten at about age 8 and love to point my current digital model at gardens, nature and my current artwork."