street art in brunswick research//aliice kohler
Public art is art and design displayed in public spaces like parks, streets, buildings and other areas the public uses. It does not include art and design in museums and galleries. Public art can be in many forms: * sculpture * painting * installation works, and * design that has a practical use such as a chair on the street. Public art uses traditional methods, like weaving, woodwork and printmaking. Public art also uses modern methods like computer projections and digital printing. Public art can be permanent, like a stone sculpture, and it can temporary, like a paper sculpture. Why have public art in Moreland? Council believes that public art : * makes public space more attractive * lets us enjoy public spaces more * celebrates our cultural identity * gives us pride in our public spaces * challenges perceptions and prejudices * reflects contemporary ideas about public art, and * tries to use sustainable materials and be accessible to everyone. source: moreland city council
what is street art and why is it important?
Villain presents AWOL DRS ALPHA near Brunswick Station
street artists active in brunswick
mal function found: sydney rd. brunswick mal function is an artist who does little gremlin faces that he attaches to walls and poles in the street. These gremlins in the system bring folk myths into the city and remind us of the malfunctions of the urban environment.
street sculpture// artist: mal function
stencil art// michael twofish
http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaeltwofish/2616895461/
paste ups// artist: drab
these paste -ups are by melbourne based artist, drab. they are put up at night to avoid attention. the image to the right is located on victoria st. brunswick. the above image is on the corner of Glenlyon rd and Ewing st, East Brunswick they are stuck up using wheat paste
To try and curb the problem of tagging, Moreland City Council launched a community art competition to give young local artists the opportunity to publicly display their work on VicRoads traffic signal boxes along Lygon Street, East Brunswick. Three sites will be chosen and three artists will have their designs painted onto the boxes by local street artist Matt Last. Entries closed may 15, the art work is yet to be displayed. Lygon Street was chosen due to the high incidence of tagging in the area. Traffic signal boxes such as the one pictured above, are a blight on our streetscapes. Creating a more vibrant and interesting streetscape is hoped to deter the reoccurence of graffiti and tagging.City of melbourne has come up with a similar initiative called “do Art Not Tags’, in the hope of educating young people towards a more positive way of expressing themselves. It is difficult to determine if legal aerosol art reduces unwanted graffiti in the area. Only in areas of very intense graffiti was there any damage to legal pieces and in areas of moderate graffiti there was no damage at all to legal pieces. It is obvious that in the Moreland area legal street art reduces unwanted graffiti on the area covered by the legit art. It is impossible to asses the fallacious argument of Scott Hilditch from Graffiti Hurts Australia that legal aerosol art attracts unwanted graffiti any more than because that is a post hoc ergo hoc (y came after x therefore y was caused by x). Safeways and Connex and are the two corporations most intolerant of graffiti and street art in the Moreland area. Neither corporation has done anything to improve the aesthetic quality of their area, sometimes at great expense, like Safeway’s chain-link fence topped with barbed wire.
graffiti//tagging illegal graffiti is considered as any mark made on proptery without permission. this means that the work is illigal whether it is a tag or a paste up of a painted or stencilled work, if the artists does not have permission of the owner of the property.
blyth st. brunswick on the side of a residential building
moreland initiatives council initiatives to increase the presence of public art in Moreland
lane off lygon st. brunswick
sparta place
Artist Louise Lavarack has installed a public artwork in Sparta Place entitles New Order. The piece is constructed of hundreds of donated domestic objects, arranged as a contemporary take on the classic greek column. the objetcs that make up the columns range from pots and pans to kettles, toasters, mixing bowls and other everyday household items. people were asked to donate these objects from their homes, and bring them along to the artist at the Glenroy festival, or on the day of installation in may of this year.
the moreland sculpture show is held around april each year, and is an outdoor exhibition of sculptures and installations. Artwork in the exhibition can be permanent or ephemeral. ‘all you need’ bonnie lane moreland sculpture show 2008
moreland sculpture show Bonnie Lane, the winner of The Non-Acquisitive Award winner (for an ephemeral work) in the 2008 Moreland sculpture show. Her work was composed from found objects in the area of Brunswick, such as discarded household objects like a sofa, table and clock. It looked like a cosy lounge room with no walls in an outdoor open space. The audience could look freely into someone’s ‘personal’ space. through collecting these items, the artist replicates a cosy and homely lounge room with no walls in an outdoor open space. Combining layers of individual’s personal history through these found objects the work invites the audience freely into another?s personal space. Home is a sacred and private space and we tend to shut our blinds and doors to the outside world. All You Need cuts down public/private boundaries leaving the audience in an awkward situation of confronting intimacy and familiarity.
moreland public art collection
Moreland City Council’s public art collection is spread throughout the 15 suburbs. Council commissioned most of this public art, meaning that Council chose artists to create works that suited the location and reflected local themes. Bronze Installations by Chris Bold Large-scale replicas of Italian and Greek coins, set into the footpath of Sydney Road, Brunswick. 680 Sydney Road footpath, Brunswick Mechanics Institute Suite of Seats by David Wong and Bruce Filley outdoor furniture which attempts to humanise public space, and reflect brunswick’s diverse cultural backgrounds.
groups and organizations
The organizational structure of WeMakeStuffGood is like a terrorist organization with a very flat hierarchy and many independently functioning cell groups. This ensures that even if one group ceases to work this does not stop the other groups from operating. Their website currently lists about 25 members, with 2 in Sydney. The WeMakeStuffGood crew all use of the surname of Stuff is reminiscent of the Stooges (Iggy Pop was originally billed as ‘Iggy Stooge’ and the rest of the band also had the same surname) and the open identity of Monty Cantsin. The use of “Stuff” as a surname creates a collective identity for the cooperative. It is not enough to simply to produce art, artists also have to live, eat, communicate and organize. The influence that artists can have on a culture depends on their ability to organize and communicate. In this respect WeMakeStuffGood has made a good start.
Makatron, Phibs, Maxcat, Bailer, Deams, Sanchez, Monkey, Zode, Stop, Prism, Bailer and DrewFunk were some of the the artists who pimped the wall for the newly opened Court Jester cafe in Brunswick.
art galleries & street art// 696 gallery 696 opened on the 1st of April 2007 to provide a non-arrogant approachable space for emerging and established artists. With an eclectic goal, now synonymous with 696, all mediums, levels of talent and training are acknowledged - Tapping into the diverse reservoir of new Australian talent. The shop front offers a diverse range of products. With everything from Prints and Original artworks to Artist produced Clothing, Spray paint, Books and Magazines. 696 is a low commission based, free rental space, shop/indoor-outdoor gallery based in Brunswick, Melbourne Vic. Keen on supporting local, national and international talent and just cool shit in general. from: http://www.myspace.com/gallery696
the side wall of 696 gallery by Sirum, Reals, Scale, Kirpy, Happy and Lady, combining different techniques
The Counihan Gallery
The Counihan Gallery In Brunswick is Moreland City Council’s public art gallery. The gallery is committed to presenting a visual arts and public program that promotes and inspires innovation and diversity in the arts in Moreland. Its annual program of ten exhibitions offers visitors the opportunity to experience the breadth of visual arts practice currently undertaken by local, interstate and international artists. Opened in 1999, the gallery was named in honour of the Australian artist and activist Noel Counihan. The gallery is situated on Sydney Road Brunswick, at the heart of Sydney Road’s thriving arts and culture precinct. source: http://artabase.net/listings/gallery/152-counihan-gallery-inbrunswick/archive ‘Surveying the Field’ is an exhibition showcasing artworks by seven leading Australian artists who either live or work in the arts in the City of Moreland. Artists include: Alison Bennett (photography), Angela Cavalieri (printmaking and mixed media), Sam Jinks (sculpture), Sam Leach (painting), Owen Leong (video), Wilma Tabacco (painting) and Dan Wollmering (sculpture). source: moreland city council website
references http://www.moreland.vic.gov.au/arts-and-festivals/public-art/ morelands-public-art-collection.html acessed on friday 14th august 3pm. http://www.wemakestuffgood.com/ acessed friday 14th august 4.15pm http://tesura.net/gallery/Street/ http://www.dontbanthecan.com/ http://melbourneartcritic.wordpress.com/ http://artabase.net/listings/gallery/152-counihan-gallery-in-brunswick/ archive from: http://www.myspace.com/gallery696
lygon st. brunswick