Gordon Bennett Possession Island (Abstraction) 1991 In Tate Modern Level 3: A Year in Art: Australia 1992 Level 3: A Year in Art: Australia 1992 Artist Gordon Bennett 1955-2014 Medium Oil paint and acrylic paint on canvas Dimensions Support: 1843 1845 mm Collection Tate Acquisition His use of the perspective diagrams to frame and contain the figure of his mother alludes to the impact the values and systems of European culture have had on the lives of Indigenous people. Australian artist Gordon Bennett passed away on June 3, 2014, from natural causes at the age of 58. The images include historical footage of Indigenous people and details of some of Bennetts own paintings. He used familiar and recognisable images that are part of an Australian consciousness to explore and question the meaning of these images. What evidence can you find of Bennett conceptually examining the ideas behind the emotion, and extrapolating from there? The first panel of Bennetts triptych, Requiem, depicts Trugannini (c. 1812 1876), a Palawa woman from Tasmania. He was born in New York, May 10th 1841 and died 4 days after his 77th Birthday in Beaulieu near Nizza/France. What is your personal interpretation of the abstract paintings? Appropriation was a tool that enabled him to open up and re-define stereotypes and bias. Neither had I thought to question the representation of Aborigines as the quintessential primitive Other against which the civilized collective Self of my peers was measured. Possession Island 1991 was recently purchased by the Historic Houses Trust of NSW. Purchased with funds from the Foundation for the Historic Houses Trust, Museum of Sydney Appeal, 2007. Kelly Gellatly 1. It is a monument that also unintentionally signals the subsequent dispossession of Aboriginal people from their homeland. He was in a sense all things to all people. What values or ideas characterise the postKeating era in Australia? Bennett used this symbol because: What emerges for all who take part in this piece is in fact an examination of the self. However, in each image the grid effectively highlights the controlled order and structure of knowledge systems and learning in Western culture, and how these frame and influence perception and understanding of self, history and culture. Often describing his own practice of borrowing images as quoting, Bennett re-contextualised existing images to challenge the viewer to question and see alternative perspectives. Are these qualities perceived as positive? In The coming of the light, 1987 the high- rise buildings that frame the white faces are represented as grid-like forms. 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. Our experiences in this society manifest themselves in neuroses, demoralization, anger, and in art. Bennett achieved critical success early in his career. By overlaying perspective diagrams on images constructed according to the conventions of perspective, such as the landscape in Requiem, Bennett reminds us of the learned and culturally specific systems that influence knowledge and perception. New perspectives on familiar images and stories are presented. The reality is, however, that I have never really had much choice; and I have been faced with my work not entering some collections on the grounds of it being not Aboriginal enough, to being asked to sell my work through stalls at cultural festivalsGordon Bennett 2. The Notes to Basquiat: 911 series and the Camouflage series, which reflect on the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and the war in Iraq respectively, highlight Bennetts global perspective. Looking closely at the central panel we realise that the luminous sky is described with the dots that Bennett used in early works to signify Aboriginal art. Today a monument exists on the site commemorating his arrival. What systems and/or conventions are used by each culture to represent three dimensional space? 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. A fleet of tall ships sailed around Australia as part of the commemoration of settlement. He acknowledged that much of his work was autobiographical, but he emphasises that there was conceptual distance involved in his art making . Gordon Bennett 1. The focus on reason, scientific learning and progress that characterised the Enlightenment (suggested by the measuring marks on the torch) lead to many significant discoveries and new ways of understanding the world. While personal experience has had a significant influence on Gordon Bennetts art practice, the autobiographical aspects of his work are framed by bigger ideas and questions that have relevance and significance beyond Bennetts own experience. 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. Gordon Bennett, born on 16 April 1887 at Balwyn, Melbourne, was Australia's most controversial Second World War commander. Explain how you believe Bennett communicates and presents questions and complexities in his work. Scan these into the computer using a photographic software package like Photoshop. Possession Island (Abstraction), Gordon Bennett, 1991, Oil paint and acrylic paint on canvas. Gordon Bennett uses self- portraits to question stereotypes and labelling. Research other artists who use appropriation and select an artist whose work interests you. After 2003 he moved away from figurative language to work in an abstract idiom (see Number Nine 2008, Tate T15515). 1 0-5-30 j RED STAR Now 35 oft on all RED STARRED SIWFMIMUIS IliMMS . Compare and contrast this artists use of appropriation with that of Gordon Bennett. The effect is that they dissolve into a mass of colour, dots and slashes of paint . Bennett adopted several strategies to resist the narrow framework through which he as an artist and his work were viewed. Outsider depicts, a decapitated Aboriginal figure standing over Vincent van Goghs bed, with red paint streaming skywards to join with the vortex of Vincents starry night. scale, format), Ian McLean Gordon Bennetts existentialism in Ian McLean & Gordon Bennett, The art of Gordon Bennett, Craftsman House, Roseville East, 1996, p. 69, Ian McLean Gordon Bennetts existentialism, p. 71. Thousands of dots fill the canvas. He used weapons or gum tree branches as props, to construct an image that reflected European ideas of Aboriginal types. With reference to at least two artworks, identify and explain some of the strategies and techniques you believe Bennett has used to engage the viewer. Bennett indicates the need to be reconciled within the context of culture and history to develop a full sense of identity. These signs can also be read as evidence that disputes the claim that Australia was discovered terra nullius or nobodys land. It demonstrates Bennetts understanding of the power of this image. The linear diagram that frames the kneeling figure of Bennetts mother in the central panel of Triptych: Requiem, Of grandeur, Empire, and the diagrams in the lower sections of the two side panels, are typical of illustrations that explain the principles of linear perspective. They powerfully describe pain and violence. Once again, the arena of self- portraiture becomes a vehicle to take over and challenge stereotypes. List some of your own qualities and attributes. Self portrait (But I always wanted to be one of the good guys), 1990 questions how stereotypes create a sense of identity. 35, 36. Possession Island (Appendix 1) 1991 and Notes to Basquiat (Jackson Pollock and his Other) (Appendix 2) 2001 will be discussed in relation to Henri's statement. Gordon Bennett: Selected Writings $45.00 Quantity Edited by Angela Goddard and Tim Riley Walsh A co-publication from Power Publications and Griffith University Art Museum Paperback with dust jacket RRP $45.00 AUD ISBN 978--909952-01-3 66 images, including colour plates 216 pp 297 x 210 mm 890 gms How do the key themes/ideas and strategies in the book/film compare to those used by Gordon Bennett in early work such as. The grotesque in art is generally associated with bizarre, ugly or disturbing imagery. However these ideas and values simultaneously oppressed Indigenous people and their cultural and knowledge systems. Bennett used Blue Poles to recall this period of change. He probed ideas about identity, fuelled partly by his own . His work also includes performance art, video, photography and printmaking. Gordon Bennett 3, Bennett married in 1977. This allowed him to utilise professional capture, editing and special effects software, to expand his art practice to include video and performance work. They communicated important Christian stories to the congregation. Discuss with reference to a range of artworks by Bennett. What key themes and ideas are explored in the book/film? Appropriation art is an established postmodernist strategy defined as: The direct duplication, copying or incorporation of an image (painting, photography, etc) by another artist who represents it in a different context, thus completely altering its meaning and questioning notions of originality and authenticity.1. The simplicity of I AM suggests a universality of thought. In Notes to Basquiat (Jackson Pollock and his other) 2001, Bennett confronts these issues within a global context. Gordon Bennetts art challenges us to question the stereotypes and racist labelling of Aboriginal Australians found in some history books written for and by Europeans. Gordon Bennett, The Manifest Toe, in Ian McLean & Gordon Bennett, The Art of Gordon Bennett, Craftsman House/ G + G Arts International, Sydney, 1996, pp.962.Kelly Gellatly et.al., Gordon Bennett: A Survey, exhibition catalogue, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne 2007. These include the tall ship and the appropriated logos featuring kitsch and racist references to Indigenous people, and the ominous juxtaposition of bags of flour and bottles of poison. Bennett used 9/11 and its global impact three months after the event as the stage for his discourse on cultural identity. 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. Such imagery has often been used by artists to unsettle the viewer and present new perspectives on familiar subjects. The content of the work was getting to me emotionally. Jenna Gribbon, Silver Tongue, 2019, Price ranges of small prints by Pablo Picasso. His use of I AM emphasises this. This is evident in many of his works, including Outsider. These images include scenes featuring tall ships, the landing of Captain Cook at Botany Bay, and several scenes that reveal the violence and tension that often characterised the relationship between colonisers and the colonised. L120238 Gordon Bennett. Bennett purposefully constructed these layers to blur fixed ideas and raise questions about the way identity is constructed. The critical and aesthetic strategies of postmodernism have had significant impact on the development of his art practice. I didnt go to art college to graduate as an Aboriginal Artist. 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. Gordon Bennett 1. In 2003, Bennett embarked on a series of non-representational abstract paintings, marking a dramatic shift in his art practice, formally and conceptually. The Notes to Basquiat series takes appropriation to yet another level within Bennetts art practice. The 'cancel culture' debate winds me up. . The graphic detail in these images, including mutilated, tortured bodies, continue to confront viewers today with the realities of human behaviour and suffering in war. These geometric forms also refer to the early 20th-century abstract artist Kazimir Malevich. Bennetts interest in adopting a strategy of intervention and disturbance in the field of representation manifests in many different ways in his art. Opens in a new window or tab. As a self- portrait, the artist seems to be present everywhere within the installation but is in fact nowhere. Looking at the image from different viewpoints helps us to discover different perspectives. How might John Citizen be seen as reflection of the post Keating era? Such accolades and critical recognition are keenly sought by many artists. Throughout his career Bennett has used many different strategies to engage the viewer in his work. Discuss with reference to examples in at least two works by Bennett. He gave several sponsorships in these fields, notably the Isle of Man Bennett Trophy races of 1900 to 1905 (subsequently a trials course on the island was named after him). The central figure is based on a monoprint made from the artists body. while Bennett may have attempted, in recent years, to disconnect from the politics of his earlier practice, there is also a sense within these paintings, of the impossibility of such a task. He depicts how pain transcends place and event to encompass a global consciousness. Within the Home dcor series Gordon Bennett escalates the sampling and quoting of other artists and works to develop a pastiche. The grid and perspective lines are another recurring symbol in Bennetts work. Mondrian cages the figures, Preston objectifies the figures; Bennett accommodates both to grasp the intangible and dissect these limited interpretations and stereotypes. These qualities expose some of the complications that arise from understandings built on binary opposites. He had identified with the experience of the fair complexioned, African-American conceptual artist Adrian Piper, who wrote: Blacks like me are unwilling observers of the forms racism takes when racists believe there are no blacks present. Here he exposes the truth of colonial occupation it was a bloody conquest. 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. "I want a future that lives up to my past": the words from David McDiarmid's iconic poster reverberate now, as we ponder the past year and think ah. It is based on a newspaper photograph of Bennetts mother and another young Aboriginal woman, dressed in crisp white uniforms, polishing the elaborate architectural fittings in a grand interior of a homestead in Singleton. Physically, the kitsch Aboriginal motifs copied from Preston are trapped. The viewer does not confront the artist, but self. Discuss with reference to Possession Island. ), National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne 2007, p. 97, Gordon Bennett, The manifest toe, pp. Early life [ edit] Buildings and planes collide. The emphasis on making art about art which was the focus of his non-representational abstract paintings, contrasts clearly with the focus on social critique that was integral to Bennetts earlier work, and was intended also to make people aware that I am an artist first and not a professional Aborigine.2 In this respect, Bennetts non representational abstract works, despite their overt emphasis on visual concerns, may be seen as reflecting his engagement with questions of identity, knowledge and perception. Bennett not only used Basquiat images, but begins to paint in his style. This event was re-enacted in many pageants and dramatisations during Australias Bicentenary in 1988, as a way of celebrating 200 years of Australian history. Van Goghs original bedroom evokes a feeling of peace and harmony. On each corner of the grid are the letters A B C D . Here Bennett raises questions and matters about the stories that define us personally and culturally, and about the complex relationship that has existed between the Christian church and Indigenous cultures through history. The resource provides frameworks for exploring key issues and ideas in Bennetts art practice. This artwork is constructed of obvious layers: The layers of dots, reminiscent of Aboriginal Western Desert dot painting, with lines of perspective a Western tradition. Discuss in relation to selected artworks by Bennett that you believe reveal questions and complexities, rather than answers and simplicities. She was one of the first Australian artists to recognise the spiritual significance of Aboriginal art and the land. This central motif governs the composition which, similar to Calverts original etching upon which the painting is based, is largely reduced to a schema of black and white forms. They are strategically and prominently placed at the centre top of each panel, each radiating an aura of light created by white dots. His joy . Australian politics is fraught yet the Australian public is disengaged. Victorious soldiers triumphantly and ceremoniously paraded under such arches, sometimes accompanied by their captives. What strategies have been used to communicate and explore these themes and ideas in the book/film? Every object is carefully and clearly painted, yet the images conceptually blur together as they intersect and interlace through the grid, across the canvas. Like many of his own and earlier generations, Bennetts understanding of the nations history was partly shaped by the sort of images commonly found in history books. Well-known Australian and international artists whose works are referenced in different ways in Bennetts work include Hans Heysen, Margaret Preston, Imants Tillers, Vincent van Gogh, Jackson Pollock, Colin McCahon and Jean-Michel Basquiat. This purchase was indicative of a massive legislative reform program that had not been seen in Australian society for decades.