Theory versus Practice
Alain de Botton, I feel as though I have been unknowingly illustrating your fine book all of my working life!
Naturally as a realist plein air painter, the chapter about the realist plein air painter spoke to me most directly. Very few art critics and even fewer philosophers have ever valued the empirical point of view, i.e. the experience of what actually happens as opposed to their pristine theory of what should happen. I could not name a single other living art critic or philosopher who has bothered to observe from close quarters what is actually involved in the creation of a work of art. The labour involved, the struggle with materials and the entire process is always taken for granted or even treated with disdain. The work of art is expected to appear as if by magic on the gallery wall, and increasingly the 'idea' or theory is given the respect formerly due to the artist's skill and the actual 'work' is carried out by nameless assistants.
De Botton is the only writer in recent memory to bother to accompany an artist on the long journey from the idea to the completed canvas on the gallery wall. Some art critics have visited the homes or galleries of wealthy and famous art collectors, but de Botton is certainly the only one to visit the home of an ordinary person who happened to recently purchase a painting to try to understand their motives and observe their interaction with their new purchase. De Botton is also the only writer with the patience to watch an artist at work and the only one to attempt to understand what that work actually involves.This wonderful chapter is full of respect, tenderness and wryly understated humour, and I was deeply moved by it.
See my page on this blog : 'The Hungry Mile ' where I quote from his chapter on cargo ship spotters.
Industrial Cathedral
"Industrial Cathedral" charcoal on paper 131 x 131 cm Jane Bennett. Finalist in 1998 Dobell Drawing Prize Art Gallery of NSW Finalist 1998 Blake Prize Winner 1998 Hunter's Hill Open Art Prize
About Me
- Jane Bennett Artist
- Sydney, NSW, Australia
- I'm an Industrial Heritage Artist who paints "en plein air".If it's damaged, derelict, doomed and about to disappear, I'll be there to paint it.
Sunday 19 September 2010
Wednesday 15 September 2010
Barangaroo : Red Square, the Drill Rig and a little archaeology
Barangaroo:
 |
 |
'Red Square' oil painting on canvas |
This canvas is still a little unfinished, but you can get the general idea of what I'm attempting to do here. It's an interior versus exterior painting, playing with light, transparency and reflections. Unlike the other doors in the loading dock, which are solid slabs of brilliant scarlet, these are translucent fluted sheets that both reveal and conceal the view.
The "Red square" to the left was the bright scarlet entrance to the passenger walkways allowing access to the cruise ship.
De-construction of Constructivism! Art chasing its own tail.
"The Red Square is haunting Painting"
In 20th century art history a famous quote about early abstract art was "The red square is haunting painting", about the work by Kazimir Malevich and similar Russian painters involved with "avant-garde" movements such as Constructivism and Suprematism during the 1920's. The red square has certainly haunted this building! It reminds me how quickly the 'new' and 'modern' passes into history. It is ironic how "Modernism" is now a historic term referring to the art of 50-80 years ago, and the architect of this former wharf has either deliberately or unknowingly raided its vocabulary!De-construction of Constructivism! Art chasing its own tail.
In the background, realism intrudes into the chilly geometry with the two drill rigs of the geophysics team, Coffey and Macquarie Drilling.
The Drill Rig at South Barangaroo
 |
| "The Drill rig" 2010 oil painting on canvas 31 x 41cm Enquiries about similar paintings |
A core sample is being taken on South Barangaroo, to make sure that there are no nasty little surprises when construction starts.
Incidently, all of Barangaroo is landfill.
When I painted on the K.E.N.S. Site (the "Kent, Erskine, Napoleon and Sussex street block " which is now the new Westpac headquarters) next to Moreton's pub (known as the 'Big House' by the wharfies) I saw steps that were unearthed that once belonged to an early 19th century Fingerwharf, and must have roughly coincided with the original shoreline. They were halfway between Kent and Sussex Street - so anything west of Sussex Street is fill.
Incidently, all of Barangaroo is landfill.
When I painted on the K.E.N.S. Site (the "Kent, Erskine, Napoleon and Sussex street block " which is now the new Westpac headquarters) next to Moreton's pub (known as the 'Big House' by the wharfies) I saw steps that were unearthed that once belonged to an early 19th century Fingerwharf, and must have roughly coincided with the original shoreline. They were halfway between Kent and Sussex Street - so anything west of Sussex Street is fill.
You can see my paintings of the KENS Site on my Urban Landscape page.
Don't forget your toothpaste!
A couple of the men from Coffey and Macquarie Drilling have worked at the same sites that I have painted at!
These include the former A.G.L. Site at Mortlake, developed by Rosecorp (which is now known as 'Breakfast Point') and the Carleton United Brewery site at Chippendale, which is still underway.
One wet and miserable day at the Carleton United Brewery site, I was offered some of the old bottles and jars to paint by the archaeologists, instead of struggling through the mud laden with an easel to paint the chimney in the pouring rain.
A few weeks later, the archaeologists generously made their spare finds available for the construction workers to souvenir. I suppose that an old brewery site wouldn't lack bottles! I took a small selection of 19th century ceramic and glass bottles, including perfume jars, ink bottles and a big brown 'Geneva' bottle (mother's ruin or gin), but one of the men on the drill rig team had a real prize - a small ceramic jar with lacy craquelure that once contained an early 19th century version of toothpaste!
When we realized that we both were proud owners of these relics, I brought my paintings of the CUB finds and the bottles to Barangaroo and he brought in his toothpaste jar for me to paint.
See paintings of the Carleton United Brewery construction site on my post
Brewers Droop - Painting the Carleton United Brewery
Brewers Droop - Painting the Carleton United Brewery
My Carleton United Brewery still life can be seen on my 'Urban Landscape' page on this blog.
This is their 2nd last hole before the drill rig team pack up and leave Barangaroo.
Wednesday 25 August 2010
Sydney Harbour Control Tower (The 'Pill')
Painting the Sydney Harbour Control Tower at Barangaroo
BAR54 'Tower of Power'
2010 oil on canvas 61 x 61cm
Enquiries about these paintings
Painting the Sydney Harbour Control Tower
at Barangaroo : Art versus life
My canvas is sitting on top of my trolley luggage, which contains my essential equipment.
My paints, my brushes, my palette, my easel, my toilet paper and my lunch. It's a long walk back and the French box easel weighs over 10 kilos with the paint inside. All French box easels have annoying design flaws. With this one the easel legs have an alarming tendency to detach and whack me on the back of shins whenever I least expect it. Shoving it inside the trolley luggage was the best compromise I could come up with.
BAR53 'Barangaroo north -
The Harbour Tower, escarpment and Moore's Wharf'
2010 oil on canvas 61 x 91cm
Enquiries about these paintings
Painting the Sydney Harbour Control Tower
at Barangaroo
While I was painting this, the radio station Nova was holding some kind of promotional event, on the knuckle of the northern end of Barangaroo.
It was a bit distracting and I felt a bit nervous leaving all of my things lying around at the mercy of the crowd whenever I had to have a loo break.
But they had set up a pop-up coffee bar in the middle of the wharf, so I'm everlastingly grateful to them as I love my coffee and never usually get a chance to drink any while I'm painting - it tends to go sour in a thermos and milk turns to yoghurt in the sun.
The Sydney Harbour Control Tower will still be used by Sydney Ports Corporation until their room in their spiffy new purple and silver headquarters at Port Botany has been fitted out in April 2011. I don't know whether there will be a role for the Sydney Harbour Control Tower in the new plans for Barangaroo. Hope so. I still have an easel and paint stashed on the amenities floor; I don't want to lose them.
BAR54 'Tower of Power'
2010 oil on canvas 61 x 61cm
Enquiries about these paintings
View more of my Barangaroo paintings at my Barangaroo blog 'Painting Barangaroo'
Related posts
Barangaroo - Tabula Rasa
Gantry
Demolition of Cruise ship Terminal at Darling Harbour 8
The Gantry
I had wondered if the
gantries were to be kept intact and possibly recycled for use at the
new cruise ship terminal soon to be built at White Bay.
Ironically they are instead about to be demolished by the very same man who built the orange gantry only 8 years ago.
More irony :
At the foot of the gantry is an incongrous inscription in fading and cracked fluorescent cadmium yellow capital letters :
More irony :
At the foot of the gantry is an incongrous inscription in fading and cracked fluorescent cadmium yellow capital letters :
"KEEP"
 |
| Breakfast in the ruins with my half finished canvas of the last gantry of Wharf 8, the former cruise ship terminal of Barangaroo |
 |
| My painting of the last gantry of Wharf 8 |
 |
View more of my Barangaroo paintings at my Barangaroo blog 'Painting Barangaroo'
Related posts
Barangaroo - Tabula Rasa
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)