The Curriculum Vitae and the Naked Truth

A very nice otherwise gen Y lady from an employment agency told me to trim my Curriculum Vitae to improve my chances of getting a job.
First, because I should hide my age.
I say, it's time to grow up, go back to finish your basic education. learn some good old respect for the elderly, then come back and let's talk again. If at your age you don't value experience, wait until you get there and don't be surprised if people treat you like trash. I hope we're clear on this front.
And don't try to give me the crap about not being able to learn and adapt or being too slow at my age. Like you, I am on Facebook and Twitter and watch Scrubs, but unlike you, I can also program any remote controlled devices. As you have already proven, you still struggle with spelling "Principal" (Read your recent ad: "Principle Engineer required, bla, bla")
Second, to hide my artistic endeavours.
Well, I've got some news for you. If a potential employer is so dumb that she/he cannot understand that while unemployed I painted about 400 paintings, learned how to paint, draw, and sculpt and organised a festival, which shows my enthusiasm, energy, time and people management skills, and, of course some artistic talent, which indicates a higher degree of usage of my available brain, then I don't believe I would want a job with that employer.
So, pull out your head from your little (and I might add, cute) ass, and grow up. It's for your own good.

So humbled today

"About a week ago I dropped in on Stefan Maguran. He lives in a house with walls covered in canvases. Different sizes and styles. I sit down and a huge monkey looks back at me with melancholy of glowing eyes. The picture must be bigger than a square metre. "Did you paint that Stefan?" I ask, he replies "Yes it took me about half an hour, it was one the early ones I did".Early ones means about two years ago. I dont know how old he is and I dont want to guess but he is old enough to be my father and they both drive pretty much the same cars. He started painting two years ago. I diont know quite how readical a shift that was. Did he do little drawing through out his life or think about it? Appently it started as gifts for his daughters wedding and it didnt stop.He was an elecrical engineer and he could have designed something in your fuse-box. The radical turn around and recent uptake, quite prolific too, of art practice has given him a zeal of a teenage art student.A passion and ideological relentlessnes that is usually burnt out by this point. Breaking free from structured blue-prints into dripping and pouring paint.The rational electrical design background mixed with spontanious brush stabbbing insticts is unique. The mid-life conversion to painting has created an outsiderwho wants to break in through the back door with a crow-bar. He will jimmee the lock and drag in his canvases weather the owners like it or not.Covering his walls is a collection of his own work but others too. He surounds himself with works by other people, originals not prints, to form a stimulating environment from any angle. The Outsider festival is his latest baby. A project that will last a month and involve many interesting create forces in South Australia and elsewhere even tracking down work from oversees. Surrounding himself with creativity is what makes him feel most alive. He loves to practice art but is also very interesting in others creativity.Its almost as if someone has said "You cant make a festival!" and he is relentlessly proving them wrong . Multi-platform ranging from music, video, painting and more to be announced, Stefan is forging his own reality. To take up art practice all of a sudden and jump ahead with an Outsider art festival only two years later is quite inspiring."

Mike Retter

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I wanted to apply for a grant with the Helpmann Academy for the catalogue of the Outsiders Festival. Then, I was told that I was not eligible, as I was not enrolled in the BVAD course. Explanation below:

"You are enrolled in single subjects for the BVAD but you are not enrolled officially in the degree as you need to apply through SATAC for that. We do offer some units as single subjects in the degree if there are spaces but as a single subject category in that situation you are not enrolled officially in the degree. I know it is a bit complicated but that is the situation."

Today, I have received a letter from TAFE SA that starts as follows:"As you are a current student in the Bachelor of Visual Arts and Design..."

I believe I have been unfairly treated in this instance and I feel extremely unhappy about that. I believe this was a very important lost opportunity for fairness to prevail, for the School to get some much needed exposure and for some Outsider Artists to get the recognition they deserve.

Trams on King William Road

Went to see the opening of the Uta Mooney and Adam Oehlers exhibition at the Greenhill Galleries today (see my Adelaide - the backwater of Australia blog) and I saw, covering a door in the hallway a Pro Hart representing the first trams on King William. The asking price $20,000. Checked my pockets, my wallet, the balance on my credit card and I've decided I'll make my own.
I've used the panel that Amanda van Gils used to pack her painting. On the back she wrote: this is very good to paint on.
So there you have it - now I have my own copy of Pro's painting and on the back Amanda's autograph.
Recycling has a new and improved meaning.

Looking ahead

Someone just said:

"I’m sure that people who are thinking of submitting paintings to your festival would be filled with confidence to hear that the organiser is broke and begging for paintings..."

I am not quite broke, I am destitute and with little chances to find a meaningful job at my age.

The Government, in its wisdom has allowed me to do training in painting, sculpture and drawing to improve my chances of getting a job.

Some might find this ironic, but I don't. I have embarked on this with the same determination and efficiency that has allowed me to finish my projects on time and move on all my life.

So if you have any doubts about sending paintings to a broke man, don't.

A very humble thank you

A sincere and humble thank you to all of you who, through donations (in money and paintings), registration to the Outsiders Festival, continuous and kind support, are contributing to a cause that it is very dear to me.
As you all know, I am planning to have a gallery dedicated to Outsider Art and your donations will go towards establishing that gallery.
My gallery is open to anyone who wishes to be part of it.
The gallery will be in a house we own on Anzac Highway, close to the Highway Inn, a place that is undergoing a major development in the near future.
The Greenhill galleries have open a gallery at the Highway Inn, very convenient and extremely favourable for us.
At present there are a few things to be sorted out, and this year, only the Rumpus Gallery is functional (that is, an independent portable house at the back of the property).
During the Outsiders Festival it will be used to present any objectionable material (non-family friendly - if you wish).
Essentially I intend to have there a hub where there will be plenty of activity, not just a gallery that will be open a few days a week, with three weeks shows that rarely (apart from the opening) someone visits.
I believe in diversity and I believe that because of the extremely poor position of the artist in the mainstream, any art should be encouraged, especially art that comes from people who make art for the love of it.
I have embraced the Outsiders idea exactly for this reason. I believe that Outsider art is more genuine than most of the stuff that "respectable" galleries have on display.
So, therefore, if you have any pieces that you wish to present, I am very happy to put them on display - I do not have any selection criteria.

Bits'n pieces about the Outsiders Festival - 1-30 November 2009 - Adelaide

I started working on the Outsiders Festival idea because of the frustration I found everywhere in trying to find venues for the SALA show in 2008. I realised then how many people are making art with love and passion, mostly for themselves. Since then, a lot of things have happened. One was that I started hosting the Outsiders group on Redbubble, as the cheapest option to host images from potential interested parties. The group now has more than 400 members and an unmanageable number of images, it includes established artists, trained and untrained artists, disabled artists and outdoor photographers. At the same time I had a very negative reaction from the arts fraternity in Australia about the name of what I was trying to do. I've asked repeatedly Redbubble to allow me to change the name of the group to Visionary, or to register a Visionary group, but it was all too hard to them. So I got stuck with the name. I am a person that rarely gives up (most of the time I had to be fired to leave) so I took the cross and went further. I am now less than two months before the event that I have publicised as much as I could from my almost non-existent income and it is way too late to change the name.But what's in a name?As I said somewhere else, replying to this comment: "I just don't think that I personally could contribute enough to society by being an artist." This is where I belive we are all making a mistake. We have an obligation to change the way society sees artists, especially now that manufacturing has moved elsewhere. Yes, sport is important, yes TV is important, but it is totally unacceptable for the human beings to be so de-humanised as to ignore the wonders of the human brain. Accept it or not, we are all outsiders and it's time to stand up and fight for our rightful place in society. It is symbolic that the war is fought by an unemployed immigrant outsider, but I trust that in the end there will be light. What is sometimes disheartening is that fellow artists keep trying to denigrate our efforts. We might not be doing everything right and we would love some help rather than just being ridiculed or ignored. Regarding the understanding of the word outsider (“'outsider' art by definition is art that is created without formal training, with disregard to it's commercial potential and for the sake of the activity itself.” – as someone said once) - I agree that is one definition. In this day and age it is though very hard to stay between those boundaries. Take Jungle Philips for example. In theory he is an outsider, but if we take the above understanding of the term, he is not, as he is actively promoting his work starting from his colourful fence to his facebook presence. Not to mention that this year he has obtained a grant to help his practice. Strictly speaking, an Outsiders Festival using this definition cannot exist, as the people who could take part, once taking part would automatically be disqualified.

To date or not to date

Went to see an exhibition that shall remain nameless at a gallery that shall remain unnamed yesterday and I left very confused.
It was not a declared retrospective, but it looked more like a pawn shop.
All sorts, new valueless stuff, old overpriced "take it or leave it" uninteresting gigantic nonsense celebrating some weird looking old "has been" (perhaps still is).
Amongst the cacophony of unfinished, unresolved trials and tribulations, the work of Julie Corfe really stands out. Profound and simple.
But the real motive of my post is to talk about signing and dating one's work.
Until now, I believed that dating your work on the front was a very good idea, but after seeing this show I begin to believe that this is a very bad thing, if one curator decides to feature your work in a show like this.
There are plenty of reasons why works don't sell, but having your work made six years ago in an exhibition that pretends to be fresh is most likely very damaging to any one's career.
I've seen some pieces that keep popping up at various events - not bad, but not good either. More like studies, you know, the school studies type. Aimed at improving one's technique, not creativity.
To end, I was very unimpressed, although the show has attracted quite a crowd. The sad thing is that the crowd was the one that always gathers together, just to be seen (and have a free drink?). I will check later if any work has sold. I'll be very pleasantly surprised.

The Tall Poppy Syndrome

I cannot believe how prevalent is the Tall Poppy Syndrome in the arts community.

It sounds like sour grapes and it is totally counter-productive.

The enemy is not your fellow artist - it is the lack of education and the continuous shooting in the foot reaction to efforts to change that.

In a discussion on Tony Moffitt's blog about group exhibitions someone very nicely tells us how collaboration is beneficial - how group shows attract more people than single - artist galleries, yet people keep attacking any attempts to promote that.

I know art is a solo adventure, but it doesn't have to be a fight for survival of the fittest.

The end benefit is to the wide community and therefore collaboration can only be beneficial. This refers to the Outsiders Festival - Adelaide 1-30 November that I am organising.

I've had, over the last few days, some very nasty reactions to the efforts of promoting the festival, culminating with this beauty from Cat Taylor:

"he's like an untrained dog who pisses all over a house marking territory."