WATCH > Jean-Michel Basquiat doco

image from here

The ABC does a really good documentary series on Sunday evenings where this doco about Basquiat was originally aired on 8/1/2012.

It was a really interesting look at the life of Basquiat who was lucky enough to live in New York in the early 80's when creativity was incredibly alive. What struck me was how there was such an atmosphere of needing little to be able to do your work, that you were an artist and you made it happen. He believed that this was his calling and he used whatever he could to make it happen.  His style is often seen as child like but he also has an amazingly mature and insightful social perspective. I am someone who really struggles with drawing and I found that Basquiat's approach to drawing/painting/mark making inspiring.  He famously says:

"believe it or not I can actually draw"

 

 

You can find out more about the doco here, and about Basquiat here.

VISIT > Rodney Love

I came across Rodney's exhibition when walking past the 3 Foot Square exhibition space (the hole in the wall at Cofa). His artist's statement reads:

"This work is called Fences. It’s woven with a galvanised steel wire warp, and a paper weft. The paper is hand made and includes human hair, plant material, pigments, and spices. The wire was then allowed to rust, staining the paper. The title came because the coils of woven wire reminded me of fences waiting to be rolled out across the landscape.

Until recent rains and flooding, the dominant discourse about the countryside was the drought that had been causing hardship to farmers across the country. The rusted paper in Fences made me think of abandoned farms, rusted fences, and the brown, dusty soil of drought-affected farms."

You can find out more about Rodney Love here.