As an Australian of both Aboriginal and Anglo Celtic descent, Bennett felt he had no access to his indigenous heritage. 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? Gordon Bennett 1. The viewer is made to step back and allow the eyes to form the images. Immersed within a White European culture, he was unaware of his Aboriginality until his early teens. ), Heide Museum of Modern Art , Melbourne, 2004 pp. Gordon Bennett, The manifest toe, p. 27, Identities come from somewhere, have histories, and like everything which is historical, they undergo constant transformation. Is this response informed by Bennetts work? Often describing his own practice of borrowing images as quoting, Bennett re-contextualised existing images to challenge the viewer to question and see alternative perspectives. He was born in New York, May 10th 1841 and died 4 days after his 77th Birthday in Beaulieu near Nizza/France. Bennetts pictures leave us with questions rather than answers, with complexities rather than simplicities as if the origins of truth, identity and ideology are in metaphors and signs rather than in things, and hence are layered and relative Ian McLean 1. Touch device users, explore by touch or with swipe gestures. He found this liberating. There are many visual signs that recur throughout Bennetts artworks, including: Each of these signs brings significant meaning to Bennetts work and plays an important role in his investigation of issues and ideas related to identity, understanding and perception. In 1989, a year after graduating from art college, his work was included in the high profile Australian Perspect a exhibition of contemporary art at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. 2 February 2021. These qualities expose some of the complications that arise from understandings built on binary opposites. However, Bennetts ongoing investigation into questions of identity, perception and knowledge, has involved a range of subjects drawn from both history and contemporary culture, and both national and international contexts. It is interesting to note that this same year was declared a period of mourning by Aboriginal people. After years of critiquing art-historical standards, Bennett has himself become the standard bearer. Mondrian cages the figures, Preston objectifies the figures; Bennett accommodates both to grasp the intangible and dissect these limited interpretations and stereotypes. His father, born in Scotland in 1795, emigrated to the US to become a journalist and subsequently founded the 'New York Herald' in 1835. Gordon Bennett . . 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. Mondrian aspired to create a form of pure abstract art based on the grid and a controlled use of art elements, including primary colours. Compare and contrast this artists use of appropriation with that of Gordon Bennett. What does Bennetts goal for his work suggest to you about how he views the role of art? People tend to focus on the emotional aspect rather than the conceptual when interpreting my work, and that bothers me. His work also includes performance art, video, photography and printmaking. 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. Gordon Bennett (1955-2014) created the triptych Bloodlines 1993 early in his career. Perhaps in this sense Citizen represents an Australian everyman who recognises the wrongs of history and racist representations, but who has no real interest in going any further in asking hard questions about why they happened and what impact they caused. I have tried to avoid any simplistic critical containment or stylistic categorisation as an Aboriginal artist producing Aboriginal art by consistently changing stylistic directions and by producing work that does not sit easily in the confines of Aboriginal art collections or definitions. Comparisons between Basquiat and Bennett often focus on the artists similar backgrounds and experiences. It is uttered by all good Muslims before a good deed. Reflecting the colours of the Aboriginal flag, splashes and drips of red, yellow and black paint across the surface of the painting quote the distinctive style of Jackson Pollock (19121956), which Bennett began to sample in 1990. However, while apparently recognising and presenting these motifs/symbols as signifiers of meaning, Citizen does not appear to have the same interest as Bennett in interrogating the systems and values these motifs represent or the role they have played in shaping identity, history and understanding. The Estate of Gordon Bennett. In September 2017, Bennett's 1991 Possession Island was unveiled at London's Tate Modern. For example, Aboriginal deaths in custody was recognised as a significant issue. Kelly Gellatly 1. You have to understand my position of having no designs or images or stories on which to draw to assert my Aboriginality. This education resource accompanies the retrospective exhibition Gordon Bennett (2008) which showcased 85 works by this internationally acclaimed Australian artist. Discuss with reference to one or more works by Bennett. These contrasting and complex meanings and ideas are not accidental. One of the most heroic and well-known images of Australias past is Captain Cook landing in Botany Bay in 1770. 35, 36. Black angels replace traditional white cherubs. I needed to change direction at least for a while. From his father, a Scottish . Buildings and planes collide. His joy . A fleet of tall ships sailed around Australia as part of the commemoration of settlement. Most Australians were shocked and scandalised that public money was spent on something they neither appreciated nor understood. Research other artists who use appropriation and select an artist whose work interests you. Bennett worked in a range of art forms and with a variety of media and techniques. We would like to hear from you. Bennett investigates the way stereotypes are constructed by exploring words and images in opposites. It is also a direct reference to biblical stories in the Hebrew Scriptures. List some of your own qualities and attributes. Oil and acrylic on canvas, 182 x 182 cm. In just three generations, that heritage has been lost to me. Bennett used perspective diagrams and visual symbols in Triptych: Requiem, Of grandeur, Empire . From 2003 Bennett worked on a series of non-representational abstract paintings that mark another significant shift in his practice. 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 . Bennett also had ongoing concerns about how his Aboriginal identity and his interest in subjects related to Aboriginality were framing and hence limiting the way his artistic identity and his work were perceived. Born in Monto, Queensland, Bennett was a significant figure in contemporary Indigenous Australian art . The repression of Aboriginal heritage that Bennett experienced was reinforced by an education system and society dominated by a history built on the belief in Australia as terra nullius. By the late 1980s there was also a growing awareness within Australian society of the injustices suffered by the Indigenous population as a result of their dispossession. I decided that I would attempt to create a space by adopting a strategy of intervention and disturbance in the field of representation through my art. This pastiche of style and image is like a D J (Disc Jockey) sampling and remixing different styles of music to create new expressions. The impact of colonisation on Aboriginal people and culture from this point was devastating. 2 All that he had understood about himself and taken for granted as an Australian had ruptured. Gouged into the skin like a tattoo, these markings will never heal or fade away. European history has stipulated that being Australian has required anyone that does not fit into such a Eurocentric category is different, other and therefore unworthy. How does Bennetts use of appropriation reflect an interest in some of the moral and ethical issues associated with this practice. 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. It speaks of colonial violence and the consequences of being on the 'wrong' side of history, purchased in 2019, this powerful and sobering work is a major acquisition for the QAGOMA Collection. What evidence can you see in this self-portrait of Bennett linking issues of personal identity with broader issues related to history and culture? L120238 Gordon Bennett. James Gordon Bennett Different members of the class could be assigned different cultural traditions to research and then prepare an illustrated presentation for the class. However Bennetts illusionistic representation of the rugged terrain and billowing clouds reflect a style of painting traditionally associated with European Romantic art. Discuss with reference to selected artworks by Gordon Bennett. January 26, 1988: Spectator craft surround tall ship The Bounty on Sydney Harbour as it heads towards Farm Cove while a formation of air force jets are in a fly-past overhead, part of the First Fleet re-enactment for Australias Bicentennial, A strategy of intervention and disturbance, Layering and re-defining Creating new language, Re-mixing and exchanging A global perspective, Outsider and Altered body print (Shadow figure howling at the moon), Installation of Triptych: Requiem, Of grandeur, Empire, 1989, in exhibition Gordon Bennett (2007), Visual images, forms and elements as signifiers, Art practice a multidisciplinary approach, Victorian Foundation for Living Australian Artists, International Audience Engagement Network (IAE), Gordon Bennett, The manifest toe in Ian McLean & Gordon Bennett, The Art of Gordon Bennett, Craftsman House, 1996, p. 20, Gordon Bennett, The manifest toe, p. 15, Gordon Bennett, The manifest toe, p. 21, These experiences are clearly reflected in the Home sweet home series 1993-4, Gordon Bennett, The manifest toe, p. 27, Kelly Gellatly, Conversation: Bill Wright talks to Gordon Bennett with contributions by Bill Wright, Justin Clemens and Jane Devery, Gordon Bennett (exh. . Bennetts use of dots highlights the way Aboriginal cultural identity continues to be defined and confined by Western ideas of Aboriginality. However behind the neat facade and pleasantries of suburban life, Bennett was haunted by racism and the same derogatory opinions of Aboriginal people that he quietly endured in the workforce. His bold and humane art challenged racial stereotypes and provoked critical reflection on Australia's official history and national identity. Australian politics is fraught yet the Australian public is disengaged. 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. Bennett adopted several strategies to resist the narrow framework through which he as an artist and his work were viewed. In Bennetts painting the bedroom becomes the site of violent conflict that involves complex and intersecting personal and cultural histories. 3 Baths. Purchased with funds from the Foundation for the Historic Houses Trust, Museum of Sydney Appeal, 2007. Watch. Bennett attempts to destroy the stereotypes to question notions of identity. cat. Possession Island (1991), for example, presents shadowy renditions of Captain Cook and his party against a watery blue ground, overlayed with . It was a way forward for me. Experiment with enhancing or diminishing different layers to create a distinctive character. This canvas is loosely divided into three parts. What systems and/or conventions are used by each culture to represent three dimensional space? Australian artist Gordon Bennett passed away on June 3, 2014, from natural causes at the age of 58. What evidence can you find of Bennett conceptually examining the ideas behind the emotion, and extrapolating from there? Bennett achieved critical success early in his career. This approach involved a flattening of the picture surface and often the use of disparate visual elements or styles borrowed or copied from different sources. The artist Gordon Bennett led a reclusive life. Self portrait (But I always wanted to be one of the good guys), 1990 questions how stereotypes create a sense of identity. More broadly, it recalls the lives of many young Aboriginal women who followed a similar destiny. Explain how these images might have influenced perceptions of Australian identity? These images include scenes featuring tall ships, the landing of Captain Cook at Botany Bay, and several scenes that reveal the violence and tension that often characterised the relationship between colonisers and the colonised. Choose a selfportrait by Gordon Bennett that interests you. Gordon Bennett 1. For more information, visit: www.qagoma.qld.gov.au for details. In Possession Island No 2 this figure is concealed and transformed into an abstract totem or geometric monument coloured with the signature black, red and yellow of the Aboriginal flag. Bennett also includes copies and samples of his own work, such as Possession Island and Big Romantic painting (The Apotheosis of Captain Cook) 1993, with other found images. It alludes to ownership and territory. Discuss with reference to a selection of at least three works, clearly identifying stylistic shifts, and evidence of conceptual unity.
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