sculpture on the edge speaking gig.... monumental v/s ephemeral.

I've just wheeled home from a talking gig at Sculpture on the Edge.... I was one of the key note speakers at the sculpture symposium and this years theme was 'Monumental v/s Ephemeral - the changing face of sculpture'

phew! them's fighting words!

I was invited by Jan Ireland (the force behind SotE) to speak - obviously representing team ephemeral... I thought it might be useful to jot down something of what I said (I did not present a completely formal 'paper' or closed speech - I tend to write a few notes to myself - to keep me on track and to highlight specific wordings that I fancy... so this is a slightly modified version of what I hope I presented! - including a few of the pics from my powerpoint that I used to highlight my cause.

My name is Rhonda Ayliffe... and just in case you suspect you are alone in are scratching your head and wondering what I might be doing talking about sculpture -  fear not - I'm surprised too. Generally, when asked I explain my art-making - I say I have an inter-disciplined practice (this way no one medium or arts practice has to take the blame for what I do!)

I'd like to start by briefly saying - I'm not convinced about the wording of this year's theme.... 'monumental VERSUS ephemeral'? 'the CHANGING face of sculpture'? really? I think this is something of a misnomer....

arguably humans have always made ephemeral art objects.... and ephemeral works have certainly existed alongside monumental, monolithic sculptural works... and long after monumental works are no longer viable, I suspect the ephemeral will carry on. There is nothing either new, nor changing about the ephemeral and today  I will be talking about an idea I'm currently exploring through making.... and how/where the ephemeral sits within my practice.

First - lets think about some definitions for the purpose of my chat.... 
monumental = BIG, (be that in size, scale, or money) permanent (think stone, metal, clay)
ephemeral = fleeting, impermanent... (oh and I'll add something else to this as we go on)...

for now I'd like you all to cast your minds back.... imagine eras/ages/civilisations/countries from long ago.... Egypt, Mesopotamia, Inca, Mayan Aztec, Ancient China, Greece and Rome... (do I need to go on?)

Now as I rattled each of these off, I'm sure that many had immediate visions ..... and I'll bet there has been some overlap with what I'm about to show
(ahhhhh enter an abundance of power-point images... of pyramids, the sphinx, large stone sculptures, stepped pyramids of the Mayans, Greek marble human forms.....)

I contend that monumental sculptural work (and I include here the ultimate monumental sculptural form - architecture) has gone hand in hand with the rise and rise of an empire... or what is considered civilisation.... so lets think of the pattern that has repeated itself in all these ages and geographic locations.... as military leaders or religions or economies have risen to power, with it gaining access to a wealth of resources... so we have seen the emergence and ascent or monumental sculpture. 


and what is the purpose of all this large, permanent monolithic structures? garden ornaments? 

hardly!

monumental sculpture made a monumental statement about power.... be that political, military, economic or cultural domination - make no mistake, dominant powers celebrated and consolidated and reflected their dominion through monolithic structures : monumental sculpture was part-propaganda, part-PR, but always ALL about power.

even as the Renaissance saw both the rise of the merchant class and the idea of the artists as individual genius, the monumental art game continued. On and on - unto the Industrial revolution (now the real game of colonisation on a grand scale could begin... and so to could artists quest for ever bigger hunks of metal) 

sculpture we can see became a tool of colonisation - and then globalisation, the icon of so-called 'taste' or 'class', the weapon of the wealthy, the spoils of the battle... 

monumental sculpture uses monumental amount of materials and money.... to make a monumental statement about - well...  monumental power and greed

given enough resources - heck an artist can even move mountains (think Turrell and Roden crater) - or create a fitting bauble for the bling-bling art collector...

BUT

just as monumental sculpture has been the centre-piece and sentinel of cultural domination... so too do they serve as monument and remnant of cultural demise. 

what then of the ephemeral?

first I'd like to put ephemeral into two piles - just because something is impermanent doesn't mean that it's not monumental in scale, resource-use or money....

Chirsto and Jean-Claude's wrapping of Little Bay is a spectacular example of what money, (arty) muscle and a bevvy of willing minions can accomplish.... go forth young people! dominate that landscape (bugger the crabs and little creatures!)

nope, I'm thinking about the other pile of ephemeral - I'm thinking about work that is less complicit in purpose and product than Christo and (puppy) Koons and co. with the dominant art paradigms

 I'm thinking about ...

* work that touches the earth lightly (Richard Long, Hamish Fulton and more)


* work that engages with the environment and creates a dialogue or sorts (Nash and more)

* work that exists beyond the gallery or museum (guerilla knitters and more)


* or extends into the practical (artist-as-family and chaco kato's compost cylinders from CERES)

 

all this provides fodder for my practice and is the leading edge of my thinking and making....

'closed book' circle - and installation of encyclopaedias, local rock, and brick... 

Bermagui headland - SotE 2011

 a flotilla of paper encyclopaedia boats - ephemeral art work,

(non-sanctioned SotE 'event')

Bemagui, 

Saturday March 5 2011

.......

sculpture on the edge...

Late last night and early this morning I set up my two pieces as part of Sculpture on the Edge...

In the small sculpture show I have a version of the installation piece ‘panton volvit plenus orbis’ – (everything turns full circle)....

And on the headland I have an ephemeral piece made from 16 world book encyclopaedias set out in a circle (actually as compass points - volume one points north, the rest follow the simple points)

On top of each closed volume is a rounded rock, collected from the base of the headland where these are set up - except for volume one - which has half a brick and a small rounded grey river rock.....

I'm really pleased with the piece...... some visitors may recall my piece on the headland from last year and may make the connection (last year I set up a tower of world book encyclopaedias...). This piece was created in direct response to all the problems and controversy surrounding the site on the headland in Bermagui.... it got to totally ludicrous levels - so that even a week ago the SotE committee still couldn't be sure if the event could go ahead on the site... In a nutshell - the local koori family's laid claim to the piece of land - and the site does contain remnants of traditional middens and artifacts - in response NPWS and the local council have block vehicular access to the area.... and then with SotE,  there was a heck of a kerfuffle about what sites could be disturbed and in what way in order to install sculptures... Now I have no problem with any of this and the local korri land council had no drama with SotE doing whatever wherever - I thought SotE needed to be mindful of the site and make sensitive arrangements BUT know one seemed to know anything and anything..... and no one was willing to make a decision, lest it be the wrong one! - NPWS shifted responsibility to BVSC, who shifted it to back to NPWS and around and around it went ...... oh boy!)

I figure a circle of closed books and a brick captures the moment - even if simply for a closed audience.


....

codex interruptum..... a tour

'Codex interruptum' has been up (mostly - the damn sticky on the back of the magnart plates is not so sticky on the walls of spiral) for just over a week now...

here's what the little space looks like....

(more of the story was blogged here and here )

in through the front door and it's 'codex nautilus' (an infinite book arranged as a boat)
and on the ground is a little installation 'navicula'
made of encyclopaedia page origami boats
(they are carrying a load of rock salt
and navigating the passage around towers of world book encyclopaedias)

 

 'navicula' (little boat)

 through the middle of the space - some booky pieces in the foreground
and 'sic transit gloria mundi' on the back wall....

last week a bloggy/booky/calligraphic colleague braved the space 

 (I was really touched that they travelled so far...)

we're standing in front of a mix of things.....
serpens volumen - arcus pluvius is sitting so neatly on a gallery shelf.... 

it looks like it was purpose-built!

above is 'virtus libris' (the virtuous book) and below is a de/recontruction of its (dirty) components - 'virtus ex libris' (virtues from the book)

as well as my more esoteric  photographic and sculptural works, I included a small collection of hand-bound books. Not only did I hope that this would be a sound financial move (this is a small country town, small gallery space)....  I wanted to celebrate the act of bookbinding - to juxtapose finely crafted, practical, traditional things amongst scenes of book destruction if you like.

(If I were working the show for a different space I think it would be done in a different manner - including the use of digital screens for my photographic pieces as opposed to photographic prints.....)

 

‘panton volvit plenus orbis’ (everything turns full circle) - installation of circular book forms

and a plinth with my carved reclaimed high school 'Gardeners' text..... 'ars gratia artis'

I have constructed more of these circular forms to install as part of the small sculpture show with SotE this coming week ...

and talking of upcoming events - today and tomorrow I'm participating in 'speed-dating for artists' - so I'm off to Merimbula later today to learn how to date the big arty commercial galleries... and tomorrow I present my work to 6 of them (in rapid succession). It will be 'interesting' if nothing else!

Next weekend I'm speaking a the SotE sculpture symposium, and I have a little ephemeral work I'm planning to unleash on an unsuspecting Bermagui on the Saturday (talk is on the Sunday)

Oh and this past week I met with ANU field studies mob (with John Reid in the lead) regarding ANU arty students invading the south coast in coming months - I may be making something in conjunction with them (we'll see what comes of that)


busy busy busy!

codex interruptum - the interrupted book

I have been focusing my (blogging) energies on my general site over the last while - and my artistic energies on extraneous projects - I've taken a committee position on both FSCLAP (Vice President of that puppy) and Sculpture on the Edge (Media... I think!) - and I've got a number of personal projects on the go at the moment as well.....

In May I'm opening Sams Creek Bookworks - it's a creative/business/community/ecological venture of mine and of course I'm stupidly overcomitted already but..... when the time is right to do these things, well things just have to be done.... so I'll just have to bite the bullet and get what needs to be done DONE

On that same tack - in just a few weeks time now I've committed myself to a small solo exhibition (is there such a thing?)

codex interruptum - the interrupted book will be a smallish affair - hopefully manageable and hopefully I'll be able to recoup my costs (as our financial situation at the moment is precarious!)

I'll primarily be showing the work from the end of my MVA, a few things that I won't be using in this MFA, and some craft items (some small hand bound books etc) - My motivation for holding the show at this time is to have some closure for my MVA work, to promote what I'm up to now (lest some folk think I've moved away or something!), and to give myself more confidence in showing this work publicly.


well here goes


I've shared lots of other news of book/award success on my usual blog..... but I'll reiterate in here in a short while - I'll also be sharing some of my plans for this year's work.... (I'm slowly getting there!)


right now - it's all hands on deck to get through the solo exhibition, the preparations for the launching of sams creek bookworks, all the other life commitment!!!!!




.....

annoying (bloggy) blips

for reasons unknown my blogger template here has altered my posts title and link colours - and just will NOT listen to my desires! 

naughty blog I say!

I'll just have to put up with it for the time being - as it's going to need more attention to finicky html code than I'm either interested (or capable!) of undertaking right now

but geeeez that blue and icky purple is bugging me!

codex interruptum - the interrupted book

I've just finalised details for a solo exhibition of (mostly older) booky works with a few newer pieces thrown in for good measure.....

codex interruptum - the interrupted book

Sprial Gallery

Bega

18 Feb - 9 March 2011 

further details and nervous breakdown to follow shortly.....



....

exegesis chapter draft

I'm presently attempting to complete my first (not in order) exegesis chapter by the end of next week - eeeeek! I commenced the writing before heading off to the permaculture course at the beginning of the month - and just as well. I'm a shockingly slow writer. I agonise over everything (and have this compulsion to cross check and footnote EVERY little thing). The first piece I'm writing is about biblioclasm - and how historical and contemporary examples of book destruction influence my studio work (which I've got to say is not happening right now - because I'm reading and writing.....)

sigh

its going to be a loooooooong week



......