ETHICAL RECLAMATION OF THE PUBLIC SPACE RMIT MASTERS OF ARTS [ART IN PUBLIC SPACE] BRENDA J. ROCHA JAMES STUDENT NUMBER. 3567939 OCTOBER 2015
Statement of Authorship Except where reference is made to other texts within this research paper, this work contains no materials from other sources, published or unpublished. All Work is that of the author. Signed Brenda J. Rocha James
Abstract ‘‘Sense of place’’ refers to a psychological construct that involves attributing a geographical location with meaning, values, and a sense of ‘‘connection.’’ Previous research has shown that having a sense of place, particularly in relation to natural environments, can motivate people to engage in actions for sustainability but that such a sense of place is less likely to occur in urban environments. This study focuses on what motivates people living in the city of Melbourne to live an environmentally sustainable lifestyle, specifically investigating the role of ‘‘sense of place.’’ I sense that human beings live best when they remember that they live inside a natural order, that the land includes us and all of us.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
To my Husband, Paul Stafford. For all your support and encouragement during all these years. For cooking breakfast, lunch and dinner on many occasions while I was writing. For being my partner in crime when I come up with a crazy idea that challenges the rules. For stopping on the side of the road every time I wanted to collect dirt, leaves or just to contemplate nature. But most importantly for all your quirkiness that reminds me that life is a playground and nobody is too old to give up playing.
7 To my parents Oscar and Chopita.
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Por enseñarme a ser perseverante, por enseñarme a amar la naturaleza y por desarrollar mi pasión por viajar. Por no limitarme, Por apoyarme en cada uno de mis sueños hasta alcanzarlos. Porque a pesar de la distancia su calor y fortaleza están presentes en cada paso que doy.
42 54 To my Grandma. For being the strongest woman I know.
73
97
TS
years. while p with e side ust to kiness o old
FEATURES 7
The brain of the Project
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The heart of the Project
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The Soul of the Project
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The Spirit of the Project
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The Guts of the Project
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The Feet of the Project
mar la no sta
oy.
Theories & Influences
Initial Experimentation and Self Exploration Contemplation Growing Places Correspondence Have You Got Time? Lines Fourteen Seconds Half Moon Knots and Crosses The Pathway of Life The Endless Circle of Life The Last Breath Delivery Package
First Site Intervention and Curatorial Experience Former Dights Flour Mill Intervention
Research: Latest Artworks. Series I Here Come the Sun Nest The Dances Resilience I Resilience II
Research: Latest Artworks. Series II Spiral on the Pier Expansion of Trust Unnamed I Unnamed II Unnamed III Infinity
References
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What do you think happens when people occupy and move in these spaces? What do they see? Do they see themselves- seeing their own presence, activated through their surroundings? An environment can either desensitize the viewer to the surrounding space or if can make present the constructive relation between them by reflecting the viewer back to himself and intertwined with the environment. Olafur Eliasson, “Dear Everybody�, in Olafur Eliasson (New York: Press 2002)
ens
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hey
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to or if
cting self e
asson
THE BRAIN
Practice
Land art Organic art
Environmental art
Land art installations
Intervention site : Former
Dights Flour Mill, Collinwood
Knox City - Prahran - St Kilda - Carlton - CBD
Flour Mill, Glenroy
INTEREST RESEARCH
Majors Creek Reserve VIC- Northcote VIC -Point Lonsdale VIC –Otaway National Park VIC -Apollo Bay VIC – Dromana VIC-Port Germaine SA-, Penola SA- Yulara.NT- Kata Tjuta Watarrka NT - Oodnadatta Track SA ,
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70´s
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Ana Mendieta Body art-organic art
80´s
Christo and Jeanne C Land art
90´s
Buster Simpson Environmental art
PRESENT
Janet Echelman
Environmental art
Robert Smithson Land art
James Pierce Land art
Andy Goldsworthy
Mike Tonkin Environmental art
Land art
Olafur Eliasson Environmental art
The energy and space around the material are as important as the energy and space within. Andy Goldsworthy
Pebbles around a hole 1987
ETHICAL
Ana Mendieta
Andy Goldsworthy
Robert Smits Smithson
ART
Rowan leaves laid around hole
The energy and space around the material are as important as the energy and space with in. Andy Goldsworthy
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Ana Mendieta Body art-organic art
Earth Body, Sculpture and Performance 1972-85
Robert Smithson Land art Spiral Jetty , Great Salt Lake Utah Robert Smithson 1970
Andy Gold Land art
P1. Pebble
P2. Rowan 1987
Buster Sim Environme Hudson riv
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Janet Eche Environme James Pierce Land art
P1. She Ch Waterfron
Earth woman 1976-77
P2. Wide H Pallava Sh India 1997
Christo and Jeanne C Land art Surrounded Islands, Biscayne Bay, Greater Miami , FL 1980-83
Mike Tonk Environme Singing rin England
Andy Goldsworthy Land art P1. Pebbles around a hole 1987 P2. Rowan leaves laid around hole 1987
Buster Simpson Environmental art Hudson river purge (1983)
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Janet Echelman Environmental art P1. She Changes, 2005 Waterfront, Cidade Salvador Plaza, Porto P2. Wide Hips Pallava Shore Temple India 1997
Mike Tonkin Environmental art Singing ringing tree - crown point, lancashire, England
For the past five years I have been working out in nature, exploring the relationship between myself, the earth, and art. —Ana Mendieta
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BODY ART
LA
Ana Mendieta Silueta Works in Mexico 1973–77 Ana Mendieta was born into a politically prominent family in Cuba closely affiliated with the Communist movement led by Fidel Castro. When the alliance between Castro’s factions and Mendieta’s father turned sour in 1961, she was sent to live in the United States. Her exile informed the development of her ensuing work; she did not identify with a particular homeland and adopted various sites for her performances and their documentation. The untitled works that comprise the Silueta series, which she preformed as she traveled between Iowa and Mexico, reveal her interest in the earth as a site to address issues of displacement by recording the presence of her body—or the imprint it left behind—within different natural environments. Mendieta often filled in the silhouette of her body on the earth with various materials such as rocks, twigs, and flowers, as well as blood and gunpowder.
Ana Mendieta (b. 1948, Havana, Cuba; d. 1985, New York) Silueta Works in Mexico, 1973–77, details Color photographs 19 3/8 x 26 9/16 in. each The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles Purchased with a grant provided by The Judith Rothschild Foundation.
rs I ut he
d
York)
hild Foun-
British artist Andy Goldsworthy works in the fields and forests near his home in Scotland using natural elements as his media. His pieces have a tendency to collapse, decay and melt, but, as he tells Fresh Air’s Terry Gross, “It’s not about art. It’s just about life and the need to understand that a lot of things in life do not last.” The list of elements Goldsworthy has worked with includes ice, snow, mud, wind and the rising tide. In one piece, he used twigs to fashion a giant spider web hanging from a tree. In another, he decorated a stone wall with sheets of ice. He has also lain in the rain to create “rain shadows” in the shape of his body on city streets. Goldsworthy refers to his creations as “ephemeral works.” He says, “When I make an ephemeral work, when it’s finished, that’s the moment that it ends, in a way.”
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Though Goldsworthy has also worked with more enduring materials, he says that using temporal materials is a reflection of the world we live in. His materials, he says, “Come raw from the ground and have all the irregularities and peculiarities because of that.”
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LAND ART
Robert Smithson, Spiral Jetty
Robert Smithson’s earthwork Spiral Jetty (1970) is located at Rozel Point peninsula on the northeastern shore of Great Salt Lake. Using over six thousand tons of black basalt rocks and earth from the site, Smithson formed a coil 1,500 feet long and 15 feet wide that winds counterclockwise off the shore into the water. In 1999, through the generosity of the artist Nancy Holt, Smithson’s wife, and the Estate of Robert Smithson, the artwork was donated to Dia Art Foundation.
T
ted at at Salt ks and ng and nto the y Holt, rtwork
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THE HEART
PASSION
SELF EXPLORATION –
-THE HEARTBEAT OF THE PROJECT-
-THE SPIRIT OF THE PROJECT-
The Aim of this Masters is to conduct a research on how to rehabilitate an area that has been abandoned by the public, through ethical expressions of art. This investigation starts with the main interest in neglected architectural structures in the public domain, and then continues with the rehabilitation not only of the place itself but also the creation of a new connection between the almost forgotten buildings and the new individuals. It is indeed the primary purpose of art to enhance our awareness of the true nature of things. We as artists hold up a magnifying glass to the world, through which is reflected a reality that is concealed from our everyday perception.
What does my art do for me? What do I feel? What does it make me think? What do I get from it? Mimicry --- to blend in, to be part of the all, to take forward, to be back, to get in and to take out, to consolidate the soul and become the matter. Because when we came here we were just soul and needed the matter, we exist because of the matter but we are, because of the soul.
The human sensorium in the modern age has been enhanced by advanced technologies to a degree unprecedented in history. Our sense of the world has been transformed and at the same time the real sensorial experiences of daily life have been diminished considerably. ETHICAL ART
Mimicry- Merging and emerging… re-emerging. Where do we come from and where do we go? My practice is a reflexion of my soul. We surround ourselves with others similar to us to blend in and become one.
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When you breathe the ocean you become the water that ran through the rivers, you become the air that brought the scent to you. When you touch the earth - you are the dirt of the rocks and the fire that came from the volcano that created it all. I want to be water, I want to be fire, I want to be air and I want to be earth….. and I need land art for this to become true.
L C
NATU RAL
ward, to oul and
needed because
ETI CAL
d in and
that ran he scent he rocks ll. I want nt to be
LO CAL
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CONTEMPLATION
Intim
Hel pric
The spe
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Natural architecture have transformed the act of building into an art form capable of sparking new relationships with nature, landscape and the environment. Contemplation was conceived as an act of faith in the future. We get along better if we collaborate with nature instead of trying to dominate it.
Intimate and personal experience discovering the natural beauty of the place. Helping people to reach their destination through a subtle path and change their daily routine . Inviting them to contemplate the priceless views rather that going to consume and spend. The last part on the way was a framed tree, as it was a window display, giving the walker the opportunity to just be there and spend some minutes admiring the purity of Nature.
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lation-
e with
CONTEMPLATION - Intervention in Knox city Using material the side, a pathway was created . It took the user of the Shopping Centre to an isolated and natural contemplation space
GROWING PLACES
Where is this place? Where are we? I am the grass. let me work . GRASS- Carl Sandburg1878-1967)
a fence my place , your place big place no place division private- public can see, can get in inside-outside fine line border limit contradiction politics excess no access prohibited
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Antony Kraus and myself came up with the idea of doing something spontaneous. We had the time and the energy to create public art on the streets of Melbourne without permission. On a random night after picked up our materials and set off into the darkness to “Let it grow�
a fence my place , your place big place no place division ate- public , can get in de-outside fine line border limit ntradiction politics excess no access prohibited
treets of
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CORRESPONDENCE noun noun: correspondence; plural noun: correspondences 1. a close similarity, connection, or equivalence This is a public art project in response of the flooding disasters occurred in the Northern part of Mexico during the last week. A pathway of lanterns is been created along the Yarra River in the city of Melbourne by using paper envelopes and candles collected during previous days. Correspondence came up from the idea to send some good news to the loved ones who are passing through difficult times. Warm wishes are represented by the candle flame inside of the envelope for the victims of the Hurricane Alex that has caused several flood disasters in different cities in Mexico. A couple of hundred of candles are placed together along the Yarra River to make a waving line, playing and interacting with the space. The transparency of the paper represents the lightness of material belongings and the flame of the candle inside symbolises the strength of the people to keep looking forward to the days ahead. ETHICAL ART
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s oc-
n the cted
ws to
e enveral
Yarra ace. ateri the ead. ETHICAL ART
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Sometimes ... and sometimes it might take a tiny bit of sense over a time and you just have o sit with it and not push it or struggle with it too much, and not think into it too much, and a litte gift might arrive – a bit of light shiny dimly and you can just see the outline of the pathway where you might take the next step. (Gerard Stafford, 2005)
Have you got the time? then, give me some. Why are people always too busy to care about where they are? Always rushing, always late. What if you took the time to take a second and think twice where to put your next step.The creation of several installations around Melbourne gave me the opportunity to steal peoples most precious treasure: TIME. Using the footpaths of Melbourne, I invaded the public space in a natural way. Collecting leaves I found on the ground I created different shapes that invited the pedestrians to interact with. Sometimes they cared, sometimes they didn’t, but always they looked and respect the artwork and at least they gave me some of their nonrenewable time.Â
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.
cond and ples most
d different spect the
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drawing the LINE -Prahran Work in respond to the corner of High St and Punt Rd. Divergent lines to represent the busy traffic roads and the noise they produce. THE LINE Does it really stop the pedestrians? Could the make them stop for a second? They stopped indeed, for just a little second and thought about whether to cross the line or avoid it.
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Art allows communication in terms that everybody can understand which is far simpler than using a specific language. A specific language always introduces the problem of power. The exercise of power is not something that is of interest to art. Giuseppe Penone (1999)
uage. t to art.
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Fourteen seconds
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Fourteen seconds is not too much time. It was the time that It took to walk through the pathway. When two people came from opposite directions they waited patiently until the other crossed, most of the people where very respectful with the artwork. It amazed me because they are just leaves after all.
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A. LAND ART It is imperative in my practice to bring us back to a vital consciousness of nature as an entity, living and breathing in dynamic relation to the human. Who is then the inanimate and who is the animate? Quoting the observation of the 8th century Buddhist monk Chan-Jan, Gary Snyder observes: The Chinese philosophical appreciation of the natural world as a visible manifestation of the Tao made a happy match with the Indian Mahayana Eschatology. Quoting Dogen the great Zen Master “Whoever told people that mind means thoughts, opinions, ideas and concepts? Mind means trees, fence post tiles and grasses”
The intuitive and imaginative interactions with nature that characterise art in the modern period constitute after all something more than either a mirroring of a refraction of the actual although both representational and abstract art claim these reflective and prismatic functions. Modernist artist don’t see themselves as representing the world, but rather as reporting from within. The old view of art is no longer adequate to the new vision of nature. It is with modernism that art become an active, creative intervention in the world, and this is coherent with modern notions of nature as a dynamic process in which time and space, mass and energy are continuous. The uncertainty principal has its own history is art as in science, it became clear that the description of the world was subjective, that the observer and the observed could not be distinguished.
HALF MOON Invasion of private space in a public park and he didn’t even ask what it was for? Botanical Gardens may 2010
B.
I th tur som de na in ha con of for of lan is n
aracterise han either entational ons. Modbut rather adequate ecome an with modnd space, as its own ion of the could not
half moon -eLWOOD
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B. NATURE
C. ARCHITECTURE
I think that first we have to be clear about what we mean by nature. Often when we speak about nature we are thinking about something that lies outside the activities of man, and when we define the work of man, it is usually in terms of the urban. The natural retreat is seen as just that, as something else. But in fact in the cities we don’t have a nature that is really natural. We have nature that is a product of man. As far as materials are concerned there is no such a big difference between a piece of steel and a rock or a tree. If you think about the fact that the form of the landscape and the forest have resulted from years of work by farmers and other people who have worked on the land for countless generations. The distinction between the two is not that big.
With architecture as my trade and passion I cannot deny amusement for structures, manmade confinements and well-designed wonders. But what happens when a structure or building served its purpose and now is no longer occupied. Its identity is lost and forgotten, or is it just shifted. Whose responsibility is it? The user, the maker, or both? Buildings, bridges, railways and other manmade creations that have been left behind, are great silent witnesses eaten away by time, slowly devoured by rust. As an architect I admire them, as an artist I have decided to take the responsibility to rescue their value and offer an opportunity to be appreciated and live in a different way.
knots and crosses - sT kILDA Ephemeral works, the art of disappear Let´s play and destroy it with fun
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Are you pointing at me?- Knots and crosses in St Kilda
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Rob was the target this time. He was just reading the newspaper and I suddenly started to do some unusual patterns with the leaves around him. He didn’t pay attention at the beginning . I made a circle, then a cross, and finally what really caught his eye was when I drew an arrow pointing at him. That was when he really got involved in the process. He asked, he helped and he destroyed the installation with me.
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The
A repre last vita
The pathway of life. Melbourne Cemetery, may 2010 A representation of the journey of life. It couldn’t be a straight line. Life is not that easy, life is not that boring. Ups and downs, just as the last vital sign line in a monitor.
Delivery package, CBD Melbourne June2010 Collaboration with Rushdi Anwar
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The endless circle of life What does life mean?Ironically the only way all religions can be gathered together in the same place is after death. This place is the cemetery, I went there on a Saturday morning trying to bring some motion to the most tranquil place in a dark cold day. The Circle is the figure most simple that exists. A universal shape without beginning or end, such as life.Â
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The Endless circle of life Performace Collaboration with Fernando Garcia
The last breath - I’m not going until Autumn leaves Series of experiments on top of an abandoned grave in Carlton Cemetery. All we know about her is her name, Mary Braddon and nothing else. The idea of her as a ballerina came up as a picture in my mind. I first drew her as if she was just resting, as she probably is, and then I decided to give her a little bit of music after life and she suddenly danced. Even if she or her non visiting relatives cannot see the art work I was placed to give others a less rigid idea to remember their people without buying fake flowers to decor the tombs.
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The last breath Leaves Collaboration with Fernando Garcia
I first drew her
without buying
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Delivery package, CBD Melbourne Working this time with paper, I created some leaf installations on the streets trying to play with the imagination and curiosity of the viewers. Daily objects put together can create wonder in people’s perception. Playing with the idea of delivering flowers, I left two bouquets outside of and office building for the girls and one other on the bus stop for those who finished work. The second artwork that I did using paper, was a Japanese style food delivery installation. People first wondered what was inside, then the wind opened it up and showed the unexpected content.
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Delivery package, CBD Melbourne June2010 Collaboration with Rushdi Anwar
e viewers.
us stop for
, then the
Even if they were just leaves on top of a blank piece of paper, pedestrians did not step on them. It is maybe because they finally gave a different value to ordinary things and contemplated them in a different way. If it is what has happened, my experiment during this process succeed.
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Delivery package, CBD Melbourne June2010 Collaboration with Rushdi Anwar
Inter Flou
The seco curate sp of the ar
THE SOUL
Intervention site : Former Dights Flour Mill, Collingwood
The second stage of this research was conducted on the rehabilitation site of the Former Dights Flour Mill in Collinwood, Melbourne as a curate space for Public Art. It provided opportunities for visitors and residents to understand and appreciate the historical heritage values of the area, delivering social and possibly economic benefits back to the community
Becoming part of the place, letting it seep into you and exhaust you, can lead to harmony and balance, and overcome worry and even disappear (Gerard Stafford, 1993)
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Objective.
Cultural Significance & Aesthetics values.
The objective of this plan is to reactivate the Flour Mill, which provides opportunities for visitors and residents to understand and appreciate the historical heritage values of the area, delivering social and possibly economical benefits back to the community. Specifically visitors will:
The natural environment landscape. The site geomorphology, surrounded by gigantic trees, the peaceful view of the Falls; contributes to its natural beauty. Sounds. The dominant sounds are of falling water and bird songs. It provides a welcome respite from the noises of traffic and industry. The fabric of Remains. The mill site is old, the materials are old. the patina of moss, lichens, rust, the decay of the bricks, the bluestones, the steel beams and turbines are evocative of the time elapsed since the site was a place of work and production.
Increase in numbers throughout the year Have participated in at least one of the activities provided in the area Additional to visitor use. See the increase of local residents using the site. Appreciate, understand and recall the significance of the area. Feel interpretation and preservation is important.
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Related Project 2011--Forgotten places emerging from the stagnant water The regeneration of neglected public areas through ethical expressions of art.
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The outcome is a final work undertaken through ephemeral on site art installations. Listening the spirit of the site. - zeitGeist theory Adolf Klotz-The aim of this project is not just beautifying marginal areas, but also make them active and livable.
This work aims to collaborate with nature. The place needs to be found by walking with the belief that there is always something to be discovered. Art and urbanism investigates the interrelationship between art practice and urbanization, including the ephemeral city and its marginal urbanscapes, traces, intersections and forgotten spaces.
ace needs is always
nship beding the traces, in-
During most of the 20th century, the site was neglected and used as a dump for rubbish and had become overgrown with weeds. One can only conclude that the site was not consider significant for its aesthetic, historic, scientific or social values, let alone its environment. The shift to seeing the site as an important cultural resource from 1970´s to now is likely a response to greater awareness of preserving historic properties
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A
B C
THE LOCATION
THE
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Outdoor Exhibition area
SCULPTURE 27sqm Designed to exhibit scuptural art works Artist confirmed: Rushdi Anwar
AREA A
Indoor area exhibition
MULTIMEDIA 25 sqm Light performance Photography Artist confirmed: Andrew Bott
AREA
B
Flyer Invite designed b
Display Area
PROJECTION
AREA
C
Video-short film Animation Artist confirmed: Cara Dvorjak
THE INVITE
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tion
5 sqm
drew Bott
Flyer Invite designed by Maricio Rivera
This work aims to collaborate with nature. The place needs to be found by walking with the belief that there is always something to be discovered.
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Performances by El Tarro
Photo
Three spaces selected, and three artists confirmed so far. Planning to organise a Launch opening exhibition on the first week of October 2010. Handing the proposal to the city of Yarra Council I intent to persuade the authorities to take interest and reactivate this historical building as a curated space for public art The Dights Flour Mill site is socially, historically, archeologically, scientifically and technically significant for the State of Victoria. The immediate site still reflects the character of the place as it was a mill that it was first constructed to be. The natural environment landscape. The site´s geomorphology, surrounded by gigantic trees, the peaceful view of the Falls; contributes to its natural beauty. Sounds. The dominant sounds are of falling water and bird songs. It provides a welcome respite from the noises of traffic and industry. The fabric of Remains. The mill site is old, the materials are old. The patina of moss, lichens, rust, the decay of the bricks, the bluestones, the steel beams and turbines are evocative of the time elapsed since the site was a place of work and production. ETHICAL ART
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Photography By Andrew Bott
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Liz Ka
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Liz Kajko on the Left
Skye Gellmann on the right
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THE SPIRIT
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THE NARRATIVE OF THE PLACE. PRACTICE -– THE SPIRIT OF THE PROJECT ETHICAL ART
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When I started this Masters a few years back, my practice was merely intuitive, empirical and without any other interest but experiencing my surroundings. The unintentional repetition of patterns and the coincidental semblance of the pathway I used to make art, made me realise that my urge of connecting with nature needed to find a way to come out. Finally, I am in the process of moulding that form of self-exploration trough an aesthetic expression of art.
THE SAME THING AT A DIFFERENT TIME AT A DIFFERENT PLACE
CE.
E THING NT TIME T PLACE
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Journeys h dious nece one place t than a sens stimulating Beauty is n chance. It i delivered b ETHICAL ART
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Here come Leaves and Major’s cre July 2015
Major’s creek Reserve, VIC -36.8555,145.068 Located on the banks of Majors Creek in central Victoria, Majors Creek Reserve is located just a few minutes from Mitchellstown. Majors Creek Reserve offers all the benefits of a camping ground on the banks of a creek which leads to the Goulburn river.
Journeys have become a tedious necessary transit from one place to another rather than a sensorial pathway of stimulating experiences. Beauty is no longer found by chance. It is expected to be delivered by external agents.
This place has a very meaningful significance to me, this is our camping spot when we feel tired from the noise of the city, the short distance from Melbourne make it easy to become a getaway pretty much every other weekend. My family and I always have great fun going for walks, exploring the surrounding or just chilling along the creek, The Flora and Fauna of the place inspired me to create a piece to commemorate the beauty of the seasons. That specific weekend was a quiet one, not many people around, I started to collect leaves in different colours that represent the different seasons, gumtree leaves in different tonalities and finally, the vibrant wattle flowers around it all to represent spring.
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Here comes the sun. Leaves and wattle flowers Major’s creek Reserve, VIC July 2015
cmapin
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cmaping
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Cape Otway, VIC (Otway National Park, vic 38°46′24″S 143°33′27″E The Great Otway National Park, also called The Otways, is a national park located in the Barwon South West region of Victoria, Australia. The 103,185-hectare (254,980-acre) national park is situated approximately 162 kilometres (101 mi) southwest of Melbourne. It contains a diverse range of landscapes and vegetation types and is situated within the Otway Ranges ,
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Once again, we tried to trade the noise of the cars, for the subtle singing of the birds, we went to Bimbi Park, an Eco camping ground for the weekend, we had an amazing time spotting koalas and breathing the fresh breeze from the ocean that carries the peculiar fragrance of the gum trees with it. This time, I gathered sticks to create a nest, this being an allusion of protection, union and family inspired by the wildlife around us. Lets project the wild life.
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Nest Found branches and Sticks Cape Otway, VIC August 2015
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Sorre
38°20′20 Sorrento Morningto ly uppermonths of
This piece self in a v looking a my blouse Every she they were pain wen
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Sorrento, VIC 38°20′20″S 144°44′27″E Sorrento is a township in Victoria, Australia, located on the shores of Port Phillip on the Mornington Peninsula, about one and a half hours by car south of Melbourne. It is a largely upper-class, seaside resort area, but is also a quiet seaside township in the off-peak months of the year. It was named by the Italian founders after the southern Italian town. This piece was a personal way of healing; I had a driving test which I failed and found myself in a very uneasy frame of mind. I drove to the beach and sat on the sand for a while looking at the horizon , eventually I decided to start walking, I collected shells , put them in my blouse and start making a pattern, it was a very organic way to let my frustration go. Every shell had a specific place. The tiny caparisons are beautiful on their own, but once they were put together they started dancing. They danced and made me dance to. The pain went away and was replaced with joy.
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She dances. Shells found on the shore Sorrento, VIC September 2015
Apollo Bay, VIC 38°45′0″S 143°39′0″E
Apollo Bay is a coastal town in south-western Victoria, Australia. It is situated on the eastern side of Cape Otway, along the edge of the Barham River and on the Great Ocean Road, in the Colac Otway Shire. The beautiful Great Ocean Road, is one of the most scenic places for Melbournians. We stopped at Apollo Bay on the way back from our weekend away. I went for a walk and I started noticing the pattern that waves had made on the rocks.
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While watching how the waves break into the rocks over and over again, a thought came to my mind, I realised that those holes and lines were the scars of stillness, the ocean freely dancing at its own will, sending waves as custodians to break into the rocks, while the rocks resiliently wait until the next custodian comes.
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Resilience ( right page ) seaweed Apollo Bay, VIC August 2015
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THE POETRY OF THE PLACE
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E
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Resilience 2 Rocks Apollo Bay, VIC August 2015
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THE GUTS
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Port Germein, SA 33°01′0″S 138°00′0″E Port Germein is a small sea-side town situated 27 km to the north of Port Pirie on the eastern side of South Australia’s Spencer Gulf. Pt Germein was named after Samuel Germein, who discovered it in 1840.[2] Though some credit his brother John.[3] The township was proclaimed in 1878
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The biggest trip this year has definitely been the one we made in September to the Red Centre of Australia, It was magical, full of sunrises, sunsets and moonrises: full of dirt and full of surprises. We drove for 2 weeks and I decided to start a diary and do some art on the way there. It was my own interpretation of the landscape. My own dreamtime I suppose, because reality is just a dream at the end. The first stop on the second day was to have breakfast at Port Germain, a tiny little Fishing town. I walked along the pier and saw the seaweed that would be the material for my first ephemeral art piece. Other tourists walked along the pier and stopped, a lady came to me and took photos, even if I normally do my art in solitude I must confess it was great to have some audience watching me. Almost expecting me to draw the next line.
Spiral on the Pier. (inspiration Spiral Jetty by Robert Smithson 1970) Seaweed Port Germein, SA September 2015
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eptember nsets and
me art on suppose,
ermain, a weed that sts walked , even if I ome audi-
hson 1970) Seaweed ermein, SA mber 2015
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ACKNOWLEDGE THE PAST, REGOGNISE THE PRESENT AND SUPPORT ASPIRATIONS FOR THE FUTURE
Border South Australia and Northern Territory 26° 0′ 0″ S, 129° 0′ 0″ E
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The red sand, Everyone who has visited the Northern territory know the feeling of seeing the red sand for the first time, even if everyone has told me that is amazing, I could not believe my eyes. It was red! It was the reddest dirt I have ever seen. It was what I always dreamt about Australia, the immensity of nothingness . The emptiness of the space and the fullness of life.
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NATURE EMBRACEMENT PATTERN MAKING PATHWAY FOLLOWING MAN MADE STRUCTURAL REHABILITATION ENVIRONMENTAL MIMICRY, ETHICAL USE OF THE SPACE
We stopped just on the border of South Australia and the Northern territory and I immediately had the urge to play with dirt. I can blame my rebellious mind that felt challenged every time my mother said, no, don’t play with dirt.This time I could almost hear the whisper in my mind saying. Go, go… just play… so I did.
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Expansion of trust Mulch and sticks Rest stop area. Border SA and NT September 2015
Yulara, NT 25°14′0″S 130°59′0″E Yulara is an isolated town in the Southern Region of the Northern Territory, Australia. It lies as an unincorporated enclave within MacDonnell Region. And there it was. Uluru, the biggest monolith on earth, the most iconic picture of Australia, It was there just before my eyes. It is breathtaking! After we arrived to Yulara, set up the tent, and fixed a flat tire, we went to watch the sunset, needed to walk few hundred metres and I decided to arranged some sticks and branches, on the sand, we were the only ones there. The people who came after us walked around it. Surprisingly the piece stayed intact for the 3 days we were there. ETHICAL ART
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gion n ungion. h on was
and nset, ecidthe ople
days
whirling motion or mass
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Unnamed Sticks Sunset lookout, Yulara, NT September 2015
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Rest
25.177째S
Mount Eb It is situate boundary Valley to t
On the w No, it is n the proxim behind. We stopp
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Unnamed 2 Sand Sunset lookout, Yulara, NT September 2015
Rest stop, NT - Mount Ebenezer 25.177°S 132.677°ES
Mount Ebenezer Station is a pastoral lease that operates as a cattle station in the Northern Territory. It is situated about 171 kilometres (106 mi) north east of Yulara and 205 kilometres (127 mi) south west of Alice Springs. The lease shares a boundary with other pastoral leases including Angas Downs to the west, Lyndavale to the south, Erldunda to the South East and Palmer Valley to the north west. The Lasseter Highway bisects the property from east to west. On the way back, No, it is not Uluru, I bet so many people have seen Mt Ebernezer for the first time and though it was Uluru, the singular plateau shape and the proximity to Yulara tricks everyone who hasn’t been there before. For us it was different as we were on our way back and had left Uluru behind. We stopped for a brief time and I decided was again to bend my knees and play .This time there were rocks laying on the red sand.
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Unnamed Rocks Rest stop few km out of Yulara, NT September 2015
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Oodna
27°32′53″S
The Oodn the track p ta. The tra
Oodnada cattle stat be reache Finke, Nor
And here else. That track you the unkno
Infinity Ashes on sand 180 km out of Oodnadatta, SA September 2015
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Oodnadatta track 27°32′53″S 135°26′52″E
The Oodnadatta track, is an unsealed 620 km outback road between Marree and Marla via Oodnadatta in South Australia. Along the way, the track passes the southern lake of the Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre National Park, and the outback settlements of William Creek and Oodnadatta. The track follows a traditional Aboriginal trading route. It provides travellers with stunning semi-desert scenery. Oodnadatta, in the Australian state of South Australia, is small town surrounded by an area of 7,800 square kilometres (3,000 sq mi) with cattle stations in arid pastoral rangelands close to the Simpson Desert, 1,011 km (628 mi) north of Adelaide and 112 m above sea level. It can be reached by an unsealed road from Coober Pedy or via the unsealed Oodnadatta Track from Marree to Marla or from the north via Finke, Northern Territory (“Old Ghan Heritage Trail”). The name is derived from Arrernte utnadata, meaning “mulga blossom”. And here we go, on the Oodnadatta Track, they said it was an adventure, and it certainly was. Dirt roads for more than 600 km and nothing else. That is what you need. Nothingness. The night before we met a group of South Africans who described it as the most bumpy irregular track you can ever imagine. It sounded like torture, but for us and Dusty ( our golden Rav4 named after this trip) it was another adventure into the unknown. If this was a toy story script, there is where the next quote comes: ‘To Infinity and beyond’.
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From a high tide to the vernal Equinox Sunset From apple Blossom to Quarts Conglomerate From a Cumulus cloud to a River Source From First moonlight to a fox Bark From a Black Lamp to a Bird Nest From a sunset to a Low Tide A walk five days one night in Avon, Richard Long, England (2002)
Are we losing the capability of surprise? Are we too busy to appreciate the tenderness in the everyday little things? “Stop, don’t hurry, listen carefully to the music and pay attention to the lyrics of the Song of the earth”
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TRAVELING The time is better when I am with him We need to not only minimise the stress at day time but also, arguably more importantly throughout unpleasant time
Red Sand Lie On the hot sand, Touch The spikey cactus, Feel The air pushing against you, Look At the blue sky by Jaime O’Meara, Grade 4, VIC
The Great Mysteries of Life I have deliberated long said the kangaroo to the dingo over the great mysteries of life And what did you find? Raj Arumugam Oct 25, 2010 ETHICAL ART
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The way the sun filters through the window, switching over the dashboard as we change directions. Creating freckles on your skin. The way it makes your hair glint red, spreading Elizabeth Novak Jul 4, 2014
Stars I sat under the stars, waiting to rebuild my world... In the infinite dark glimmered many stars, hopes in my mind, alike... Aashay Jul 18
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THE FEET
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REF
Boetzke
Bruno T
Cambe
Drury, C
Fox-Tuck
Goldsw
Kastner
Richter,
Samsar
Serrats
Stafford
Talis Pau
The Pla
REFERENCE LIST Boetzkes, A 2010, The ethics of Earth Art, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, London. Bruno Turfs Sculpture Garden in Marysville VIC, Visited July 2015 http://www.brunosart.com Camberwell, J 2004, Pathways to Bliss: Mithology and personal transformation, New World Library, California. Drury, C, Lang, N, Long, R, Penone, G 2002, Song of the Earth European Artists and the Landscape, Thames & Hudson Ltd, Holborn, London. Fox-Tucker, M, Zauith G 2010, Textura Dos: Buenos Aires Street Art, Mark Batty Publisher LLC, New York, USA Goldsworthy, A 2011, Stone, Thames & Hudson, Holborn, London Kastner, J, Wallis, B 1998, Land and Environmental Art, Phaidon Press Limited, Hong Kong Richter, G 2011, EIS, Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther Konig Koln Samsara 2011, film, Magidson Films, United States Serrats, M 2012, 1000 tips by eco architects, LOFT Publications S.L, Barcelona, Spain. Stafford, G 2007 A Heuristic Inquiry into the Phenomenon of Place, MIECAT Masters of Arts, Melbourne, VIC Talis Pau, M 2015, one million Start Project, Peppermint Winter 2015, Red Hill QDL p65 The Plant, A journal about ordinary Plants and Other Greenery, Cristina Merino, The Plant S.C.P., Barcelona, Spain,
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ETHICAL ART This artwork has been printed on 100% Recycled Paper Melbourne, Australia 2015