holly russell

NWA - Express yourself

In 1989 radio station Triple J was the only radio station in the world to play NWA's controversial track "Fuck tha Police. After six months in rotation the Australian government deemed it inappropriate for airplay and banned the station from playing the song. Staff at Triple J went on strike and discontinued production on all radio shows instead playing Express Yourself by the group on a continuous loop for 24 hours, a total of 360 times, by way of protest.

grain is good for you

on board flash assignment: and in our quiet hour, I feel I see everything.

These images aim to capture something real and intimate about the subjects personality. In some cases a persons true personality may conflict with their outward appearance. This is definitely true in Jack's case. Outwardly Jack appears somewhat gruff but his demeanour is actually very gentle and calm. A soft lighting effect is created by using flash diffusion and bounced flash in order to show this softness. This softness also enhanced by a soft focus and low aperture setting create a sense of intimacy providing some insight into the relationship between subject and photographer. Although the light is soft it also quiet bright. This creates an even, neutral tone. This parallels Jack's calm and even demeanour. This also indicates that he is happy to represent himself in this way and has nothing to hide. Essentially these images are designed to show how cool I think Jack is. I should be nicer to him.

JACK 1 : Baking paper used to diffuse flash.

JACK 2: Baking paper used to diffuse flash.

JACK 3: Rank gold leather bag used to bounce flash.

MONA - Better than the Grenada

Earlier this year I visited the newly opened Museum of Old and New Art or MONA. These are some photos from the trip. MONA is impressive. The first thing you'll notice is the architecture, sophisticated yet approachable easily drawing you in to David Walsh's underground world, and make no mistake, this is Walsh's world.

The maiden exhibition at MONA, "Monaisms" centres around themes of sex and death. I found the explorations of these themes, particularly sex, to err towards the masculine in most cases. Even works by iconoclast video and performance artist Marina Abramovic, whom I view as an extremely powerful woman, seem somehow depreciated in this context. Presumably Abramovic's work is seen as an exploration of sex in the context of this exhibition. Although Abramovic's work is laden with heavy masochistic and sexual symbolism to assert , as i believe this exhibition does, that her work is about sexuality is an over simplification to say the least. To me Abramovic's work is a rich and complex exploration of art itself. Abramovic presents herself as an art object and therefore the masochistic and violent overtones are more about the destruction of art objects and object fetishism rather than anything sexual. It is perhaps ironic that Abramovic's works and celebrity are now fetishised in the same way as traditional art objects once were, an irony David Walsh is probably very much aware of.

Don't get me wrong I thought it was astonishing, I was dumb struck, enthralled and overwhelmed but for some reason I have some reservations about my experience of MONA. Experience is the right word. I went with two of my best friends who are also very interested in art and it took us 12 hours over two days to make it through the whole museum, and I am fairly certain there was work we didn't see. While there is something quiet remarkable about seeing the likes of Abramovic, Basquiat and Hirst on the same floor there is also something about it that lacks cohesion and feels chaotic. Its as if each work doesn't have enough breathing room or rather the viewer does not. Its amazing work after amazing work in a dizzying explosion of spectacular. To me there was something a little too glamourous about it. The whole 'anti-art' and 'anti-establishment' vibe got a little tired after a while as well.

Wow! It sounds as though I didn't enjoy MONA at all. Not true. I loved it. It was an incredible experience and despite all my latent criticisms of David Walsh it is his bold, if not egotistical, curation that makes MONA so stimulating and thought provoking. Best thing to hit Berridale since the Grenada Tavern.

Yue Minjun - cynical realism

Playful, political and powerful.

Remember that time you went to that Island where that Zen priest was exiled, there was a blizzard and you got stranded for a week.

Ten looking glasses

Ten looking glasses are a series of images exploring issues surrounding the "Batman Treaty" forged at Merri Creek on the sixth of June 1835. These images explore specifically the objects John Batman traded with the local Aboriginal leaders in return for the some 100 000 acres of land, including the current location of Melbourne. The objects included twelve red shirts, fifty knives and fifty pounds of flour. These objects have been arranged to represent natural forms and then photographed in an attempt indicate the meagreness of this trade. The objects are still very much identifiable. This emphasises that they are no substitute for what was really being given up. This speaks directly to differences in terms of beliefs about possession and ownership between the two cultures at the time. Western culture was and still is focussed on the land as something you can own whereas in my understanding indigenous culture has a far more spiritual, metaphysical and holistic relationship with the land.

Self Portrait - We People Who Are Darker Than Blue

Beacon don't fly too high

Location - Let all men know that this is holy ground

In this weeks Contemporary class we discussed ideas surrounding location driven photography. Of the artists we discussed the work of Candida Höfer and Francis Alÿs particularly struck a chord with me. Their work got me thinking about shared experiences of spaces and the notion of 'culturally significant' space. It occurred that ideas of cultural, political and historic significance are almost entirely subjective. Something which may be considered of great significance to some may be overlooked by others.

Bearing this in mind I decided to investigate areas considered culturally significant to Melbourne's indigenous people. My aim was to discover what these places had become and what acknowledgement if any was given to the areas place in local indigenous culture. The Kings Domain came up in my research as a particularly pertinent example of the question of cultural hierarchy. In 1985 the skeletal remains of 38 indigenous Australians were buried at the Kings Domain after being returned from the Melbourne Museum where they had previously been exhibited. A memorial was established at the site and this burial undertaken as a tribute to all Victorian Aboriginals. Kings Domain is also home to the Government House, Myer music bowl, several monuments to former Kings and Queens and most notably Melbourne's Shrine of Remembrance.

Flat bed scanner where have you been my whole life

Here is some stuff I've made and never gotten around to scanning. I'm a little bit scared at how much I've taken to scanning. Seriously I would scan anything. Last week i even scanned a text message.

I ♡ Nippon

I feel so terrible for the people of Japan. Such a beautiful, rich and inspiring country. From what I see in the Japanese people I have the privilege to know, theirs is a culture of incredible warmth but also incredible resilience. But I reckon its our responsibility as neighbours to do what we can. If anyone actually reads this blog they should all come to Hanami Festival earthquake benefit at yah yah's on Smith street from 2 onwards this sunday April 3rd. Featuring some of what i would argue are Melbourne's best local bands such as Panel of Judges and Scott and Charlene's Wedding. Go on come. Be good guys.

Graphic design by Jurriaan Schrofer = swoon swoon swoon

If anyone is unfamiliar with the website but does it float have a look. Its one of my favourite art and design websites. Good clean, simple layout and rich fascinating content. Such as this amazing work by Dutch graphic designer Jurriaan Schrofer. Swoooooooooon, so so beautiful.

project 1

Digital evolution

So here goes nothing. My first foray into digital photography. I'm a little nervous about this but am determined to get it. Its actually really satisfying to shoot digital if not a little too instant. I am what my father would call a Luddite. Continuously belligerent about new technology despite the obvious benefits. I hereby declare and end to this naive attitude and make a solemn bond and pact with myself that in furthering my digital knowledge i will strive to maintain the integrity of my aesthetic ideals. I hereby promise to not do anything I would consider lame. No lameness. Never ever.

William Eggleston - "I'm at war with the obvious"

For project one of Contemporary Photographic Ideas we were asked to select an artist from a list then make a photographic work in response to that artist. The artist I have chosen is iconoclastic American photographer William Eggleston.

The reason I decided on Eggleston is my admiration for his work and his non conformist attitude. During the mid sixties when the label of art photography was reserved principally for works in black and white Eggleston bucked tradition and chose to work chiefly in colour.   Eggleston is widely credited as a pioneer of colour photography, elevating the medium from a mainly commercial practice to a legitimate art form. In his strikingly composed photographs Eggleston utilises discerning bursts of colour to monumentalise what is ostensibly mundane subject matter.

The sometimes brash cropping and subtly oblique angles in Eggleston's work create a startling sense of alienation between us and objects which on the most part are unremarkably familiar. And yet there is incredible warmth, everything is equal in front of Eggleston's camera and therefore equally worthy of respect. Eggleston is often reffered to as having a "Democratic Camera". The important function this equalising of subject matter performs is that it allows Eggleston to capture difficult and frivolous issues in the same light. Images relating to issues such as race, death and politics are presented in the same way as say candy floss or Elvis's mustard drapes.   By imbuing his images with an almost comical value Eggleston made things digestible at a time when overt explorations of these subjects would have caused many to turn away. This astute relationship between Eggleston and the everyday is perhaps what has cemented him as one of the most influential photographers of the past century.

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