gordon bennett possession island

The critical and aesthetic strategies of postmodernism have had significant impact on the development of his art practice. Bennett adopted several strategies to resist the narrow framework through which he as an artist and his work were viewed. 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). 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 adopted this alter ego to liberate himself from the preconceptions that were often associated with his Aboriginal heritage and his identity and reputation as the artist Gordon Bennett. The imagery in this painting focuses on binary opposites, including the Aboriginal figure and various symbols of European and Indigenous art and culture . 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. To the right of the canvas, Jackson Pollocks Blue Poles: Number 11, 1952 is clearly referenced. Compare and contrast Possession Island with one or more of the following artworks: What does this comparison reveal about the relationship between visual images, culture and history? 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. What values or ideas characterise the postKeating era in Australia? Bennett only used two colours, symbolically, red and black. 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 . For more information, visit: www.qagoma.qld.gov.au for details. In the third panel of Bennetts triptych, Empire, a Roman triumphal arch frames a stately figure. In 1999 Bennett adopted an alter ego and began making and exhibiting Pop Art inspired images under the name of John Citizen, a persona representative of the Australian Mr Average. However, the cross- like form in Bennetts painting has an image of Bennetts mother, kneeling before it, with a cleaning rag in her hand, recalling her early training and work as a domestic servant under the governments protection. I am purposely not defining him only as Aboriginal because he himself does not want to be defined only as such. Citizens more recent work includes a series of interiors inspired by the decorator and home magazines that circulate widely in popular culture. Cooee Art Auctions works with artists bi-annually across two separate departments - Indigenous Fine Art and Modern & Contemporary Fine Art. Gordon Bennett . How does this interpretation and analysis compare to your own? The coming of the light also explores ideas, issues and questions related to the Enlightenment values central to colonialism. 2014. These images are fused and overlapped in a dynamic composition underpinned by Mondrian-style grids. Gordon Bennett 3. 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. For example, Aboriginal deaths in custody was recognised as a significant issue. In the first painting by Bennett, Possession Island 1991 (Museum of Sydney on the site of first Government House, Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales), the only figure painted in full vibrant colour is an isolated Aboriginal servant holding a drinks tray. Much of Bennetts work has been concerned with an interrogation of Australias colonial past and postcolonial present, including issues associated with the dominant role that white, western culture has played in constructing the social and cultural landscape of the nation. This is the second of two works entitled Possession Island that Bennett painted following Australias bicentennial celebrations in 1988. As a shy and inarticulate teenager my response to these derogatory opinions was silence, self-loathing and denial of my heritage. Gordon Bennett, Possession Island, 1991, oil and synthetic polymer paint on canvas; two parts, 162 x 260cm (overall). These paintings reflect Bennetts belief that after the Notes to Basquiat series of 2003, I had gone as far I could with the postcolonial project I was working through1. The mirror at the bottom left-hand corner of the painting represents Bennetts own shaving mirror. What strategies have been used to communicate and explore these themes and ideas in the book/film? In the past Quadroon, was a socially acceptable term used to label Indigenous people as a way of establishing genetic heredity. "Gordon Bennett!" 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. He tried a career as an actuarial clerk, attending Hawthorn College after Balwyn State School. In her lifetime, Trugannini witnessed the systematic and often violent destruction of her culture and people. Clear visual divisions are created with distinct black areas as well as large white areas. In European tradition these are seen as a means of mapping and defining space. Lichtenstein 19231987). Eventually Bennetts mother earned an official exemption that allowed her to leave the Mission. It exposes the pain these stereotypes create. 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. 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 . Born in Monto, Queensland, Bennett was a significant figure in contemporary Indigenous Australian art . Possession Island No 2 is representative of Bennetts wider practice, which explores issues of post-colonisation and Aboriginal identity. Bennetts art explores and reflects his personal experiences. 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. Roundels relating to symbols that denote significant sites in Aboriginal Western Desert dot painting also appear. Performance with object for the expiation of guilt (Violence and grief remix) 1996, is a remix of an earlier video performance work, Performance with object for the expiation of guilt, 1995. Why? 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. In the context of the other panels, which are all figurative, this black square could be seen as an absence, and possibly a representation of the oppression of indigenous voices by history. Fri. 10-9, Sat. Gordon Bennett, The Manifestoe, Ian McLean & Gordon Bennett. Literally opening up this black skin of paint are the words cut me. This culminated in the Notes to Basquiat series in 2003. Include in your discussion reference to Bennetts appropriation of The nine shots 1985 by Imants Tillers. Bennett achieved critical success early in his career. Gordon Bennett This world is not my home 1988 Not Currently on Display Artwork Artist As a teenager, Gordon Bennett became aware of his Indigenous heritage, and art became the tool through which he could examine his identity as an Australian of both Aboriginal and Anglo-Celtic descent. 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. Image credit: Gordon Bennett - Possession Island (1991). 1. 35, 36. Other aspects of the image, including the flat, stylised shapes of the head, reflect connections to both Western abstract art and Indigenous art traditions. References He described this knowledge as a psychic rupturing. . Possession Island 1991 was recently purchased by the Historic Houses Trust of NSW. I am that I am, Exodus 3:14 is God naming self. 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. 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). 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? However these ideas and values simultaneously oppressed Indigenous people and their cultural and knowledge systems. Once again the letters A B C D feature as a potent symbol and complete the grid. 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. At the same time I have resisted being positioned as a spokesperson for my people since I do not have nor do I seek, such a mandate by declining to speak about my work. Sutton Gallery. The impact of colonisation on Aboriginal people and culture from this point was devastating. This purchase was indicative of a massive legislative reform program that had not been seen in Australian society for decades. Bennett depicts self as a black empty vessel, coffin- like with lash markings almost disguised by a thick layer of black paint. Gouged into the skin like a tattoo, these markings will never heal or fade away. 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 Why might such an organisation purchase this painting? Issues ly explored in an Australian context are now examined in an international context. While Bennetts art is grounded in his personal struggle for identity as an Australian of Aboriginal and AngloCeltic descent, it presents and examines a broad range of philosophical questions related to the construction of identity, perception and knowledge. Gordon Bennett POSSESSION ISLAND 1991 Titled, dated (1992) and signed by the artist on each panel and bears various exhibition related inscriptions and labels on the stretchers, and inscribed with date of completion 29.12.91 on the reverse of the right panel Synthetic polymer paint on canvas (diptych) 162 by 130 cm each panel, 162 by 260 cm overall This work reflects our contemporary obsession with creating the perfect home filled with the latest must have designer style and material items. 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. Australian politics is fraught yet the Australian public is disengaged. For many Aboriginal Australians, these celebrations were instead received as a period of mourning and a time to remember the devastating consequences of colonisation on Aboriginal people. Bellas Gallery. Bennett used it to question notions of self. 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. Discuss with reference to examples in at least two works by Bennett. In the Home dcorseries Bennett used gridded compositions that refer to the paintings of Dutch artistPiet Mondrian (1872 1944). Kelly Gellatly 1. 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. His father, born in Scotland in 1795, emigrated to the US to become a journalist and subsequently founded the 'New York Herald' in 1835. Bennett's 'unfinished business' was to encourage a great sensitivity and action in terms of these conditions," said Ms Stanhope. The soundtrack includes digital sampling of ICE.Ts Race War. Bennetts portrait of himself as a four- year old boy dressed as a cowboy as the I is juxtaposed with images of Aborigines as the AM. Gordon Bennett did not describe himself as an appropriation artist. Its like images become part of the Australian unconscious. The first panel of Bennetts triptych, Requiem, depicts Trugannini (c. 1812 1876), a Palawa woman from Tasmania. cat. Purchased with funds from the Foundation for the Historic Houses Trust, Museum of Sydney Appeal, 2007. 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. At the heart of all human life is a concept of self. 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. Purchased with funds from the Foundation for the Historic Houses Trust, Museum of Sydney Appeal, 2007. Six years after his death at the age of 58, his The only clearly defined part of Possession Island is the black skinned male figure in the centre. Gordon Bennett arrived on Christmas Island in 1979 to take a post as leader of the Union of Christmas Island Workers. This image is based on a photograph by JW Lindt (1845 1926). This led him to adopt an artistic alter ego, John Citizen. What systems and/or conventions are used by each culture to represent three dimensional space? Gordon Bennett Possession Island (Abstraction) 1991 oil and acrylic on canvas 182 x 182cm Collection: Museum of Contemporary Art Australia and Tate, purchased jointly with funds provided by the Qantas Foundation, 2016 The Estate of Gordon Bennett The final panel in the sequence of six images in Untitled is a black square. Possession Island displays a photocopy of Samuel Calvert's engraving, Captain Cook . His work is layered and complex and often incorporates images, styles or references drawn from sources such as social history text books, western art history and Indigenous art. Gordon Bennett Number Nine, 2008 Acrylic paint on linen 71 9/10 119 7/10 in | 182.5 304 cm Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA) The Rocks Get notifications for similar works Create Alert Want to sell a work by this artist? 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. At art college Bennett discovered how Australian identity was built on a subjective writing of history. Van Goghs original bedroom evokes a feeling of peace and harmony. . These contrasting and complex meanings and ideas are not accidental. Do these qualities reflect the reality of what it means to be Australian (ie. Jenna Gribbon, Luncheon on the grass, a recurring dream, 2020. Reynolds wrote books and articles about the history of Australian settlement as a story of invasion and genocide. Gordon Bennett Possession Island - Free download as Word Doc (.doc / .docx), PDF File (.pdf) or read online for free. I didnt go to art college to graduate as an Aboriginal Artist. For many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, this was a time to mourn the devastating consequences of 200 years of colonisation. 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. This canvas is loosely divided into three parts. Inspired by African and Iberian art, he also contributed to the rise of Surrealism and Expressionism. In Interior (Tribal rug), 2007 the sleek modern design of the furniture is complemented by a Margaret Preston inspired tribal rug and an abstract painting by Gordon Bennett. The figure is dressed in tattered western clothing. The juxtaposition and sequencing of words and images in Untitled is unsettling. How does Bennetts use of appropriation reflect an interest in some of the moral and ethical issues associated with this practice. His use of I AM emphasises this. On Tuesday, the Tate unveiled Gordon Bennett's Possession Island, a provocative 1991 work that takes a 19th century etching of Cook's claiming Australia for Britain, and plants a proud abstract indigenous flag on it. Gordon Bennett rapidly established himself in the Australian art world. Nov 26, 2012 - The paintings of Gordon Bennett are loaded with graphic detail. While self- portraits usually address issues of personal identity, Bennett uses this form of representation to also look at issues of identity on a national scale. For Mondrian the grid became the essence of all forms. I had never thought to question those narratives and I certainly had never been taught at school to question them only to believe them. The viewer does not confront the artist, but self. Jenna Gribbon, Silver Tongue, 2019, Price ranges of small prints by Pablo Picasso. Nov 26, 2012 - The paintings of Gordon Bennett are loaded with graphic detail. Gordon Bennett, The manifest toe, pp. 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. Here he is concealed under blocks of black, red and yellow, the colours of the Aboriginal flag. The word DISPERSE was used by the colonisers to represent the killing of Aboriginal people. Bennett layered these two distinctly different artists with his own work work previously appropriated from yet another context. They are strategically and prominently placed at the centre top of each panel, each radiating an aura of light created by white dots. The Politics of Art. 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. Bennett was acutely aware that his own success paralleled the growing contemporary interest in Indigenous art and culture. Further reading Research the significant dates/events referenced in Bennetts artworks, including Myth of the Western Man (White mans burden) 1992 for some ideas. 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. Das Jahr 1904 brachte mit dem Gordon-Bennett-Rennen in Deutschland und dem Vanderbilt Cup in den USA einen weiteren Aufschwung des Motorsports vor allem auch auerhalb Frankreichs, wobei fr das Rennen in New York erstmals europische Fahrer und Rennstlle nach bersee gereist waren. Self portrait (Ancestor figures), 1992 deals with broader issues of cultural identity as well as personal identity. In many images of the crucifixion, including the painting by Veneziano illustrated, Mary Magdalene is kneeling at the foot of the cross washing and anointing Christs feet in an act of devotion . 3233, Gordon Bennett, The manifest toe, p. 33, Gordon Bennett & Chris McAuliffe, Interview with Gordon Bennett in Rex Bulter (Ed.) It is at once a name revealed and something like the refusal of a name. Every object is carefully and clearly painted, yet the images conceptually blur together as they intersect and interlace through the grid, across the canvas. GORDON BENNETT AND HIS RACES From the Book: Die Gordon Bennett Ballon Rennen (The Gordon Bennett Races)by Ulrich Hohmann Sr along with articles by others.Many of his contemporaries have considered Mister James Gordon Bennett to be a spleeny American. ), Heide Museum of Modern Art , Melbourne, 2004 pp. The Other is clearly marked out as not only different but by necessity inferior. Thousands of dots fill the canvas. Since his first major solo exhibition in 1989 his work has been at the forefront of contemporary Australian art and has been recognised internationally for its innovative and critical engagement with ideas and issues of ongoing relevance to contemporary culture. Bennett investigates the way stereotypes are constructed by exploring words and images in opposites. In Interior (Abstract eye), 1991 a diagrammatic grid overlays an image depicting a group of Aboriginal people in the landscape, seemingly appropriated from a social studies text. Bennetts art engages with historical and contemporary questions of cultural and personal identity, with a specific focus on Australias colonial past and its postcolonial present. ), National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne 2007, p. 97, Gordon Bennett, The manifest toe, pp. . . Lindt created many photographic portraits of Aboriginal subjects. 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. (Supplied: CGM Communications) In 1989, Bennett, Mr Lai and five other executives started Phosphate Resources Limited and got the locals to invest, raising about $3.4 million. The vanishing point may also be understood as the point from which these lines extend outward past the picture plane to include the viewer in the pictorial space, positioned as observer of a self contained harmonious whole. 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. Once again, the arena of self- portraiture becomes a vehicle to take over and challenge stereotypes. However Bennetts illusionistic representation of the rugged terrain and billowing clouds reflect a style of painting traditionally associated with European Romantic art. An understanding of self in the context of family is not enough. It is appropriation of an image that has already been copied with an image that has become central in the pysche of an Australian history. How ideas might be encountered from different places and events interest him. Pollock becomes a catalyst for transformation. 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. Such accolades and critical recognition are keenly sought by many artists. Nearby Recently Sold Homes. Bennett worked in a range of art forms and with a variety of media and techniques. Today a monument exists on the site commemorating his arrival. Victorious soldiers triumphantly and ceremoniously paraded under such arches, sometimes accompanied by their captives. Appropriation was a tool that enabled him to open up and re-define stereotypes and bias. Bennett used perspective diagrams and visual symbols in Triptych: Requiem, Of grandeur, Empire . SOLD FEB 21, 2023. Possession Island (Abstraction), Gordon Bennett, 1991, Oil paint and acrylic paint on canvas. They communicated important Christian stories to the congregation. 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 Collection: Museum of Sydney, Sydney Living Museums The Estate of Gordon Bennett The persistence of language references the way language controls and defines how we understand ourselves and our world. cat. These images are fused and overlapped in a dynamic composition underpinned by Mondrian-style grids. * *Collection: Museum of Sydney on the site of the first Government House, Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales. Create an illustrated and annotated timeline of the history of Australia since settlement. The circular forms in the sky are inspired by the brilliant bursts of light in van Goghs Starry night. The absence of the Aboriginal servant and the scuttling footprints in Possession Island No 2 suggest the physical dispossession that was to follow once the British claimed ownership of the land. Opens in a new window or tab. | Tate Images. We would like to hear from you. In September 2017, Bennett's 1991 Possession Island was unveiled at London's Tate Modern. This approach to his work resists any classification or confinement according to style. His identity must remain fluid. From 2003 Bennett worked on a series of non-representational abstract paintings that mark another significant shift in his practice. Gordon Bennett an Australian Aboriginal artist demonstrates this theory through his work. 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 . The images include historical footage of Indigenous people and details of some of Bennetts own paintings. L120238 Gordon Bennett. Would you include work by Gordon Bennett in a text book on Australian history. Gordon Bennett's painting Possession Island (Abstraction) 1991 is based on an image of Captain Cook claiming the eastern coast of Australia in 1770. The distorted and exaggerated features of the form incorporate qualities that appear animal and human, male and female. Gordon Bennett Australia 1955-2014. Gordon Bennett 1. Gordon Bennett 3, Bennett married in 1977. Queensland-born artist Gordon 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. 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. Possession Island 1991 Oil and synthetic polymer paint on canvas Two parts: 162 x 260cm (overall) The Estate of Gordon Bennett Purchased with funds. The performance that forms an integral part of this work shows a tall indistinct figure (Bennett) prowling around a stage- like setting illuminated by a rapidly changing pattern of images, text, light and colour. Inspired, Pollock removed the canvas from the easel and worked with it flat on the floor, using movement and gesture to flick and drip paint onto the canvas. Egyptian painting or relief sculpture, Chinese scroll paintings, Aboriginal painting of the Western Desert. 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. It is said that as a concession to Ireland ( because racing was illegal on British public roads) the British adopted shamrock green as their racing colour. Bennetts distinctive visual language repositions the subject of the work, claiming the Aboriginal perspective as central to the historical moment of the original painting. How does this work compare with conventional self-portraits? The artist Gordon Bennett led a reclusive life. He lived and worked in Brisbane. His joy . Select two artworks by Gordon Bennett that interest you and discuss how the artists personal background, postcolonialism and/or postmodernism provide a framework for the meanings, ideas and/or formal qualities you find in the artworks. "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. Gordon Bennett 2. But the oppressive and restrictive laws that governed the lives of Aboriginal people in Australia until the late 1960s continued to impose on her life. Against the background of the illusionistic representation of the landscape they capture our attention, alerting us to the fact that there are other ways of representing and understanding the landscape not just the European perspectives that have dominated our cultural history. He is not disturbed by slashes of paint, but painted carefully and outlined by the precise grid behind him. 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. Gordon Bennett, Possession Island (1991)*. Bennett simultaneously obscures and draws attention to the Aboriginal man standing next to Cook, overlaying an abstract geometric shape which recalls constructivist art and the Aboriginal flag.

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