Gordon Bennett, &The manifest toe, pp. ), Heide Museum of Modern Art , Melbourne, 2004 pp. The powerful image/word I AM, while central, is accompanied by statements of opposite, I am light I am dark. However the hand in the opposite panel controls and threatens the Aboriginal figure represented as a jack- in- the- box. As a self- portrait, the artist seems to be present everywhere within the installation but is in fact nowhere. In a conceptual sense I was liberated from the binary prison of self and other; the wall had disintegrated but where was I? Although there are many forms of Aboriginal art, dot painting is widely seen as synonymous with Aboriginal art since the late 1970s, when the dot painting of the Western Desert attracted unprecedented national and international interest in Aboriginal art. Preston envisioned the creation of an Australian aesthetic. That was to be the extent of my formal education on Aborigines and Aboriginal culture until Art College. They powerfully describe pain and violence. It is also a direct reference to biblical stories in the Hebrew Scriptures. Picassos sizable oeuvre grew to include over 20,000 paintings, prints, drawings, sculptures,ceramics, theater sets, and costume designs. It has been designed for teachers and students to instigate discussion and investigation, and includes learning activities relevant to history and visual arts that can be adapted to different levels. Opens in a new window or tab. Throughout his career Bennett has used many different strategies to engage the viewer in his work. In a letter written to Basquiat after his death, Bennett writes: To some, writing a letter to a person post humously may seem tacky and an attempt to gain some kind of attention, even steal your crown. Bennett attempts to destroy the stereotypes to question notions of identity. SOLD FEB 21, 2023. It speaks of colonial violence and the consequences of being on the 'wrong' side of history, purchased in 2019, this powerful and sobering work is a major acquisition for the QAGOMA Collection. For given the artists own history of engagement, these works are not considered simple abstract paintings, but abstract paintings by Gordon Bennett; coloured or even tainted by, the history, concerns and associations of the artists earlier work. Acutely aware of the frame, I graduated as a straight honours student of fine art to find myself positioned and contained by the language of primitivism as an Urban Aboriginal Artist. The Constitution is being rethought with respect to Indigenous Australians, and treaty-making is on the agenda yet the Uluru Statement from the Heart was roundly ignored by the Federal Government. Thousands of dots fill the canvas. These signs can also be read as evidence that disputes the claim that Australia was discovered terra nullius or nobodys land. Gordon Bennett Possession Island - Free download as Word Doc (.doc / .docx), PDF File (.pdf) or read online for free. Bennetts art explores and reflects his personal experiences. Perhaps a re-writing of history? However, Bennetts ongoing investigation into questions of identity, perception and knowledge, has involved a range of subjects drawn from both history and contemporary culture, and both national and international contexts. Research the significant dates/events referenced in Bennetts artworks, including Myth of the Western Man (White mans burden) 1992 for some ideas. In Possession Island No 2 this figure is concealed and transformed into an abstract totem or geometric monument coloured with the signature black, red and yellow of the Aboriginal flag. The left explodes with images of 9/11, the devastatingly unforgettable attacks in the United States, including New York. These joint acquisitions by MCA and Tate include two large video installations, one by Susan Norrie (Transit 2011) and another by Vernon Ah Kee (tall man 2010), two paintings by Gordon Bennett (Possession Island (Abstraction) 1991 and Number Nine 2008) and an artist book by Judy Watson consisting of sixteen etchings with chine coll (a . The images include historical footage of Indigenous people and details of some of Bennetts own paintings. The mirror, a recurring symbol within his work, is not a two- dimensional illusion but a literal construct. His use of I AM emphasises this. Bennett worked in a range of art forms and with a variety of media and techniques. The artist has effectively communicated his beliefs on the suppression of Aboriginal culture by combining confronting imagery with the concepts of Vincent Van Gogh, Francisco Goya and Classical art. This influence is seen in the rhythmic movement of Bennetts Notes to Basquiat series. He can be anything the viewer wants him to be: white, black or any shade in between, as was true of Australian citizens in general in our multicultural country. Typical of Bennetts early work, the painting appropriates an existing picture, in this case an historical painting, and transforms the content with carefully considered signs of Aboriginal identity. Queensland-born, Bennett (1955-2014) was deeply engaged with questions of identity, perception and the construction of history, and made a profound and ongoing contribution to contemporary art in Australia and internationally. Bennett continued to work in new ways with materials, techniques and images throughout his career. This work reflects our contemporary obsession with creating the perfect home filled with the latest must have designer style and material items. An orphan from a very young age, she was raised on Cherbourg Aboriginal Mission in Queensland, and later trained as a domestic at Singleton. Gordon Bennett explores these ideas in Self portrait: Interior/ Exterior , 1992. Gordon Bennett, Possession Island, 1991, oil and synthetic polymer paint on canvas, Museum of Sydney, Sydney Living Museums; Daniel Boyd, We Call Them . all the education and socialization upon which my identity and self worth as a person, indeed my sense of Australianness, and that of my peers, had as its foundation the narratives of colonialism. Mondrian, a Dutch De Stijl artist and a Theosophist, used art to search empirical truths and their source. The titles of Bennetts artworks reflect the artists awareness of the power of words/language to suggest meaning. These visual representations of history present the colonisers as powerful figures and as the bearers of learning and civilisation in a land of primitive people who have no obvious learning or culture. Altarpiece paintings traditionally occupied a central position in a church. Different members of the class could be assigned different cultural traditions to research and then prepare an illustrated presentation for the class. Bennetts recent abstract paintings reflect links to a range of artists including Australians Robert McPherson, Emily Kam Kngwarray and Ronnie Tjampitjinpa, and International artist Frank Stella. Gordon Bennett's "Outsider" is a highly emotive piece that conveys various ideas through appropriate symbolism. Self portrait (Ancestor figures), 1992 deals with broader issues of cultural identity as well as personal identity. Dots have been an important element in many of Bennetts paintings as a powerful signifier of Aboriginal art, for example Triptych: Requiem, Of grandeur, Empire. He is not disturbed by slashes of paint, but painted carefully and outlined by the precise grid behind him. Jenna Gribbon, Silver Tongue, 2019, Price ranges of small prints by Pablo Picasso. Gordon Bennett 1, Bennetts Aboriginal heritage came through his mother. cat. Discover Gordon Bennett's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. That is not my intention, I have my own experiences of being crowned in Australia, as an Urban Aboriginal artist underscored as that title is by racism and primitivism and I do not wear it well. Particularly when academics claim that they are afraid of expressing their 'true' findings for fear of losing their careers. These geometric forms also refer to the early 20th-century abstract artist Kazimir Malevich. 35, 36. Bennett indicates the need to be reconciled within the context of culture and history to develop a full sense of identity. Home Dcor (Algebra) Ocean, 1998 synthesises the work of Piet Mondrian(18721944), Margaret Preston (18751963) and later in the series, JeanMichel Basquiat(19601988) among others. Possession Island is a small island off the coast of northern Queensland, near the tip of Cape York, the most northerly point of mainland Australia. The resource provides frameworks for exploring key issues and ideas in Bennetts art practice. Felicity Allen, Gordon Bennett interviewed by Felicity Allen in the. For example, at the time Gordon was born she still had to carry her official exemption certificate with her, and she lived in fear of her son being taken from her . Today. I am that I am, Exodus 3:14 is God naming self. James Gordon Bennett, Sr., a Scottish immigrant, founded the New York Herald in 1835, building the paper from the ground up. However, for Bennett, dot painting also became a powerful expression of the connections between nature and culture, which are integral to representation in Aboriginal art. 20-21, Gordon Bennett, The manifest toe in Ian McLean & Gordon Bennett, The Art of Gordon Bennett, Craftsman House, 1996, p. 33, Ian McLean, Towards an Australian postcolonial art in Ian McLean & Gordon Bennett, The Art of Gordon Bennett, Craftsman House, 1996, p. 99, Gordon Bennett, The manifest toe in The Art of Gordon Bennett, p. 22, Zara Stanhope, How do you think it feels? in Three Colours , Gordon Bennett & Peter Robinson (exh. Bennetts use of the grid in these and other artworks suggests questions and ideas. He painted his most famous work, Guernica (1937), in response to the Spanish Civil War; the totemic grisaille canvas remains a definitive work of anti-war art. One hand holds a torch a symbol of Enlightenment values that is also seen in The Statue of Liberty in New York that sheds light on darkness. James Gordon Bennett Quotes - BrainyQuote American - Editor May 10, 1841 - May 14, 1918 I have made mistakes but I have never made the mistake of claiming that I have never made one. Viewed in this context, the black square in Untitled could be seen as a resilient black presence, asserting itself in the settlement narrative that Bennett deconstructed. Literally opening up this black skin of paint are the words cut me. The coming of the light also explores ideas, issues and questions related to the Enlightenment values central to colonialism. 2014. Bennetts referencing, appropriation and recontextualisation of familiar images and art styles challenges conventional ways of viewing and thinking and opens up new possibilities for understanding the subjects he explored. Gordon Bennett Possession Island , 1991 Oil and synthetic polymer paint on canvas 162 x 260cm Museum of Sydney Gordon Bennett The Coming of the Light , 1987 Acrylic on canvas 152 x 274cm Queensland Art Gallery Collection All Artworks Subscribe Submit Follow Sutton Gallery 254 Brunswick Street Fitzroy 3065 Do you agree? For example, placing the word DISPLACE under the image of Captain Cook coming ashore at Botany Bay focuses attention on the dispossession of Aboriginal people rather than on the discovery of Australia. After 2003 he moved away from figurative language to work in an abstract idiom (see Number Nine 2008, Tate T15515). What is your personal interpretation of the meaning and ideas in The coming of the light or Untitled ? This image is based on a photograph by JW Lindt (1845 1926). He carefully staged each image in his studio, posing the sitter against a painted backdrop. Gordon Bennett, The manifest toe, p. 27, Identities come from somewhere, have histories, and like everything which is historical, they undergo constant transformation. However behind the neat facade and pleasantries of suburban life, Bennett was haunted by racism and the same derogatory opinions of Aboriginal people that he quietly endured in the workforce. Kelly Gellatly 1. In the past Quadroon, was a socially acceptable term used to label Indigenous people as a way of establishing genetic heredity. I decided that I would attempt to create a space by adopting a strategy of intervention and disturbance in the field of representation through my art. Bennett has included the framed photograph in the panel, to the right of the painted figure. The imagery in this painting focuses on binary opposites, including the Aboriginal figure and various symbols of European and Indigenous art and culture . Examine a range of Bennetts artworks and their titles and discuss how the titles might provide a useful starting point for analysing and interpreting the images. 2 All that he had understood about himself and taken for granted as an Australian had ruptured. This activity could be done as a group activity with different students researching different dates/events and presenting talks to the class about their significance. Compare and contrast this artists use of appropriation with that of Gordon Bennett. His "history painting," as he called his large-scale canvases at the time, provoked a radical revision of Australia's past, fueling the meteoric rise of a career that left an indelible mark on Australian art . Bennetts art practice was interdisciplinary and encompasses painting, photography, printmaking, video, performance and installation. European history has stipulated that being Australian has required anyone that does not fit into such a Eurocentric category is different, other and therefore unworthy. Bennett was concerned that his identity and work was seen as coming from a narrow framework. Bennetts art is not always easy to look at. A fleet of tall ships sailed around Australia as part of the commemoration of settlement. The effect is that they dissolve into a mass of colour, dots and slashes of paint . The grotesque in art is generally associated with bizarre, ugly or disturbing imagery. The distorted and exaggerated features of the form incorporate qualities that appear animal and human, male and female. It is a monument that also unintentionally signals the subsequent dispossession of Aboriginal people from their homeland. Within the context of Australian art, he freed himself from being categorised solely as an Indigenous artist by creating an ongoing pop art-inspired alter ego named John Citizen. Purchased with funds from the Foundation for the Historic Houses Trust, Museum of Sydney Appeal, 2007. We acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung People as the Traditional Owners of the land on which the NGV is built. Bennetts interest in adopting a strategy of intervention and disturbance in the field of representation manifests in many different ways in his art. In the third panel of Bennetts triptych, Empire, a Roman triumphal arch frames a stately figure. Australian politics is fraught yet the Australian public is disengaged. Is this response informed by Bennetts work? The soundtrack includes digital sampling of ICE.Ts Race War. John Citizen was a work in progress that allows me to follow other streams of thought in my practice. Bennetts final year at art college in 1988 coincided with the Bicentenary of European settlement of Australia. James Gordon Bennett was born on a farm near Enzie, around three miles from Buckie, in 1795 but chose to follow a friend to North America when aged 24 with just 5 in his pocket. The The Notes to Basquiat series,which Bennett commenced in 1998, marked a significant new direction in his art in relation to working with the style of another artist. In the following year he was awarded the prestigious Mot et Chandon prize with his painting The Nine Ricochets (Fall down black fella, jump up white fella), 1990. It is at once a name revealed and something like the refusal of a name. They physically prevent the viewer from seeing the image clearly, but psychologically encourage the viewer to delve into the image more deeply and question: Where did these images come from that theyre relating back to in their minds in order to stage this re- enactment? The grand Romantic landscapes of Western art were intended to inspire the viewer with their dramatic beauty and effects of illusion. At the same time his work demonstrates great conceptual unity and interconnectedness. The jack- in- the box is surrounded by symbols, including the grid- like buildings and alphabet blocks, of the knowledge, systems and structures that represent an enlightened, civilised society. They absorb the flow of blood and recall the symbols often used in Aboriginal dot painting of the Western Desert to represent significant sites. Some supporters applauded his escape but his claim that he left to pass on his knowledge about how to fight the Japanese - given his lack of success . Even when the starting point for a work is an emotive one, I believe I conceptually examine the ideas behind the emotion and extrapolate from there Gordon Bennett1. Here he exposes the truth of colonial occupation it was a bloody conquest. For Mondrian the grid became the essence of all forms. Why? These racist terms confront an Aboriginal figure represented as a jack-in-the-box, as he is violently jerked from the box that contains him. Narratives of exploration, colonisation and settlement failed to recognise the sovereign rights (or sovereignty) of Australias Indigenous people. How does Bennetts use of appropriation reflect an interest in some of the moral and ethical issues associated with this practice. However, he offers more than one interpretation of the grids use, which is indicated by the sampling of works by Australian artist Margaret Preston . a moment of possession; the place where he came ashore and allegedly claimed . Bennett was aware of the role binary opposites, such as self/other, play in constructing personal and cultural identity. Basquiats signature crown hovers beneath a tag-like image of fire. Find examples of the work of these artists. Traditional ideas about an artists individual or signature style are further confounded in Bennetts art practice by the his appropriation or sampling of the distinctive styles of other artists, including Jackson Pollock (191256), Margaret Preston ( 18751963) and Piet Mondrian (18721944). . 1 Bill Wrights interview with Gordon Bennett in Gellatly K with contributions by Clemens, Justin; Devery, Jane; and Wright, Bill Gordon Bennett National Gallery of Victoria exhibition catalogue, Melbourne, 2007, During his childhood in the 1950s and 60s, Bennett lived with his family in Victoria and Queensland. This contemporary questioning and revision of the traditional, narrow euro-centric view of history reflects a postcolonial perspective. Bennett repositions the subject of the painting in other ways too, by including black footprints that diminish into the background of the composition. Sell with Artsy Artist Series Portraits of Artists and Sculptors 113 available Portraits of Artists and Sculptors Gordon Bennett, The Manifestoe, Ian McLean & Gordon Bennett.