SSX falters on artist payment!

Yesterday I had a email from Sculpture by the Sea stating that the organisation had not received anymore revenue from the sale of sculptures in the exhibition, since the conclusion of this years Cottesloe exhibition. As a result SSX organisers have breached the artist contract, which states that if artists who are unsuccessful at making any sale at the exhibition, will receive an artist subsidy to assist with the cost of exhibiting. 

 

SSX was relying on receiving a grant from the Department of culture and the arts to provide this subsidy to artists. However, they were unsuccessful at receiving this grant and as a result artist have been left to bare the full cost of showing in the exhibition.

 

This is the sixth annual Cottesloe Sculpture by the Sea exhibition. It is a well established exhibition that should be working towards creating a financially sustainable exhibition that is not totally dependent on funding bodies to pay there exhibiting artists subsidies. SSX has become complacent with there previously successful grant applications to the Department of Culture and the arts. Generally funding bodies assist with establishing new projects and exhibitions.

 

For myself exhibiting at Sculpture by the Sea was a big financial risk. It took me over 400 hours to complete my sculpture, I contracted a metal fabricator who spent another 100 hours on the project and then there is over one thousand dollars in materials. The artist subsidy was a small token gesture that I was relying on to pay my material bills. It is very disappointing that Sculpture by the Sea is not able to pay this subsidy on the agreed 10 week time line following the conclusion of the exhibition.

 

I feel that artists will be deterred from exhibiting in future events because of the SSX organisers inability to pay the artist subsidy this year. I also think that it will begin to stifle the type of work exhibited in the exhibition, artists will tend to create commercial work that will guarantee sales, rather than edgy works which experiment with new materials or works that make a political statement. 

 

The piece i created for this years exhibition experimented with the use of industrial waste. The piece I created used recycled plastic, not a traditional sculpting material. This experimentation in the work meant I couldn't guarantee the lifespan of a relatively expensive work to interested buyers. 

It is disappointing that artists who basically make the show at Cottesloe have been left to bare the entire expense for exhibiting in the show! 

Sydney Town Inspiration

Over the past week I have been in Sydney with my partner Saj. It was a great week to break up the design work and to scope out art and design in Sydney. We met up with a group of mates in Surry Hills on Crown street for dinner while we were perusing the streets for a good place to eat I came across my mate Adam Cruickshanks Chrysalis Pendant lamp. I was pretty chuffed to see Adams lighting design piece progress from the small paper models from back in the uni days, to a really spectacular feature in this bar in Surry Hills. It is people like Adam who have stuck at there design work over a number of years to develop very marketable pieces , who provide a bit of inspiration for me to keeping pursuing this very challenging career path. 

We also went and checked out Carriage works in Redfern. Carriage works is a railway yard that has been converted into a contemporary Art-space for a range of different artists and art forms. On Saturday morning there are bussling food markets, filling the shed spaces with nice foodie aromas. In other railway sheds there are installation artists who have installed massive steel sculptures. At track 8 my sister works away doing some crazy hours at Murrugecko Stalker. A whole heap of art based offices have been created with precast cement panels. This is a quick way to stick up internal walls and fill the large ceiling space in the railway sheds. However, one downfall of the space is that the offices are bloody cold. It is like a house within a house, so no sunlight touches the office space. Maybe the offices should have been positioned on the North side of the the shed with an exposed wall to the sun.

Anyway, to get to the point, this was good food for thought. The space is very similar to the Midland Railway Yards, which is currently being developed my Midland Redevelopment Authority. It also showed an example of a fairly dero suburban location being converted into a really nice artistic space. This gives a bit of hope for Midland in Perth.

Pacific Designs

Over the past month I have been undertaking some graphic design work for UNESCO. It is pretty amazing that through the technological wonders of the world like the Internet and Skype that you can complete international design jobs.

Basically I was given a brief to create a logo/ visual identity for the UNESCO Apia office which was more Pacific than the international UNESCO logo. Finally 127 emails later, 2 Skype calls and a few meetings in country and the final graphic solution has been developed into a A4 presentation folder, e- signatures and A4 letterheads. For the past few weeks I have been waking up anticipating a flood of emails from Akatsuki the Culture officer at UNESCO who is coordinating the project. She has the difficult job of trying to explain the different designs and to try and get her office over 50 + people to agree on an appropriate logo.

Anyway, I am glad to see the end to an interesting but challenging project. The logo needed to represent 18 Pacific Island Member Nations. It also needed to fit within UNESCO’s international graphic style guide. All of these aspects of the project as well as communicating via email has made for a challenging project.

Midland Junction Opening

The Midland Junction Building which has recently been converted into an art studio space is ready to be opened. You are all invited to attend the launch on the 30th of April 2010, Spring St Midland, WA. Hope to see you there!

The Skidstar

I think the collecting gene was bread into me. About 10 years ago when I was about 14 I was rummaging through the street chuck out in Como. I came across a Malvern Star Skidstar. It is a beautiful bike with a nice arced frame, and to top it off it has a cute little gear stick to change gears.

Anyway, the bike sat in numerous sheds and endured numerous moves from the trail of rentals we have lived in. Finally Nate Nisbet decided to take on the challenge of restoring the bike. What an awesome job he has done, turning a street chuck out item into a work of art. The bike is so nice that i am a bit scared to ride it.

(Just a word of advice if you live in Perth and you are up for the task of repairing an old bike, I wouldn't recommend you deal with Pal and Panther in North Perth. They have been the worst bike shop to deal with throughout the restoration process.)  

 

Midway Message from the Gyre

On the topic of Plastic on beaches. Here is a pretty tragic consequence of littering our beaches with plastic. Check out Chris Jordans Photographic and film exploration of the plight of Albatrosses on the North Pacific. 

Thank You

I might list my name as the artist to Spinifex. But a large piece like this doesn't happen without the help of so many people. This is visual artists version of the Thankyou credits that scroll out at the end of the film.

 Thankyou 

John Pepper: The genius who pulled this piece together, with his welding and engineering skills.

Alan Morgan: For being a all round help. From digging holes to cutting up strips right through to continually reminding me that the project was still not complete, right up until the night before.

Nathan Nisbet: Thanks for Digging holes

Don: Another sterling hole digger

Saju Abraham: Cheers for spending many hours drafting the plans for the engineering of the piece. And thanks for turning up for a surprise visit from Samoa, it was great sharing the celebration of finally having Spinifex up on the beach.

Jason Goddard: Thanks for making me add so much more steel to the piece to make it structurally sound. But seriously cheers for signing off on the engineering certificate for the piece.

Gabe: Thanks for the many phone calls and brick strap pick ups around Perth

Karli: Thanks for the Strap pick ups.

Nathan Setzinger: Cheers for collecting the straps from Balcatta High Schools paving project.

Shirley Pepper: Thanks for letting me convert your house into a temporary Artist Studio and for all the meals you feed the frustrated artist.

Lisa Fay: Thanks for the honest feedback on Sculpture by the Sea Application. Your critical judgement probably helped me get in. 

Michelle Sullivan: Thanks for picking up straps even if we did have to do a midnight drop to get rid of them, because they were steel.

Michael Pepper: Cheers for letting me loan so many tools and trailers from around your place. 

Steven Morgan: Thanks for the copper pipe

Newy: The good old Bunnings employ who picked up all the Gem transparent green straps.

Wilma Van Boxtel: Thanks for the mentoring my design project. Sorry I went so off track on the Sculpture by the sea piece.

Fiona Pepper: Thanks for spending an arduous day cutting up strips, you felt the pain as blisters popped up all over your hands.

Zoe Pepper: Great Sangas on install day.

For anyone I have forgotten, Thankyou!