Vale Victorian College of the Arts

Victorian College of the Arts (VCA)
One of Australia's premier arts training grounds of the late 20th century

Born 1972 - Died 2009


A coincidence of time and place, and sheer hard work, enabled the Victorian College of the Arts (or VCA as she was known to her close friends and acquaintances), who has died aged only 37, to become one of the 20th century's premier arts training grounds in Australia.

Gillian Armstrong, Bill Henson, Sibylla Budd, Isabel Lucas, Vince Colosimo, Hannie Rayson, Adam Elliott, Nicole Youl, Phillip Adams, John Butler, Robert Luketic and Sarah Watt are just some of the alumni who had the fortune of her fine and cutting edge teaching practices.



The VCA's premature death, just yesterday, was after an assault many have called one of the most violent in the nation's history. Despite an enormous amount of witnesses coming forward, Victorian Police and the AFP say that the assailants are still on the loose. There was a spotting as recently as this morning of one of the alleged perpetrators in Canberra seen in a white car not far from Parliament House.

The VCA was at the height of her star studded career in what was a relatively short rise to fame, glory and respect amongst her peers.

Producing some of the best artists, directors, actors and film makers this country has seen, VCA was renown around the world for her vibrancy, originality and professionalism as a laboratory of investigation for the arts.

Although she had a rough first few years, her luck came when she amalgamated in 1978 with the VCA Technical School and welcomed musicians and dancers into the fold of artists. The result would make her the jewel in the crown of arts training grounds and set her on a path of collaboration and investigation that would be the envy of every state around the country.

Sadly, VCA was diagnosed with a massive brain tumour in April this year after Dr Sharman Pretty of Melbourne University prescribed incorrect medicines for what she believed was a simple cold. Police are investigating whether Pretty should face manslaughter charges.

VCA was taken to the Royal Canberra Hospital for further tests and treatment but she died on arrival.

The arts community was in mourning and shock with the news today, as it was revealed that VCAs death was the same as that suffered by her cousin Theatre Nepean just two years ago.

Some within the community are calling for a Royal Commission into how these deaths could have been avoided and whether there is any evidence of malpractice from within either the State Government of Victoria or the Federal Government.

VCA was born to Polish immigrant parents in Paris, France but moved as a toddler to Melbourne, Victoria, which gave her a lifelong love of the arts - most particularly theatre and music. When she was 12 the family moved to Perth, Western Australia where they gave birth to another child, WAAPA, but VCA stayed with close relatives in Melbourne.

At the age of 17 she was already deemed the top of her class in all forms in artistic expression and her reputation was quickly consolidated.

VCA is survived by an elder sibling NIDA, a younger sister WAAPA and twin brother AIS. VCA will be laid to rest next to her beloved cousin Theatre Nepean at a ceremony on Thursday.


Further information on VCA's death can be found HERE and HERE.

Break New Ground

Preview as published in the Sun-Herald.

It’s not just the footy field where passions run high between rival states. In the world of Hip Hop the antagonism is just as in-yer-face as any testosterone fuelled game of Rugby League.

“I feel like I’m invading when I go to other states,” says Leah Tilney (aka B*Girl Flix) a Brisbane based breakdancer who will battle with groups from around the country during Platform 2, a two day Hip Hop festival hosted by CarriageWorks.

“Off stage we are all friends, but when we’re battling…” Tilney trails off, clearly looking forward to competing against the very best breakdancing crews for the second year in a row.

“Queenslanders are super friendly compared to the other states. We’re also known for big power moves and big acrobatic head spins,” she explains. “Sydney people are more about style.”

Break dancing is only one part of the hip-hop culture which first emerged in New York during the 1970s.

The term refers to the four key elements of MC-ing, DJ-ing, graffiti art and breaking (or b-boying or b-girling) - each to be showcased during the festival.

“Hip Hop has really found its own voice in Australia,” says the director and organiser of the festival Nick Power (aka B*boy Rely). “We’ve got a lot of talent and artistic ability.”

Exported here in the 80s, its popularity has skyrocketed in recent times particularly within western Sydney and among young indigenous communities. Big names synonymous with the local movement such as Good Buddha, Morganics, Killer Queenz and The Last Kinection will descend on the old railway yards site in Eveleigh (near Redfern) for the weekend.

“Turntables now outsell guitars,” Power says. “The hip hop scene has been rolling along for over 20 years but what’s great now is that a place like CarriageWorks and even the Opera House are opening their doors and saying: ‘We want to be a part of this.'”

For Power, who will be joined by over 70 artists over the weekend, hip-hop is a legitimate art form that young people identify with more than other mainstream activities.

“For young men, it’s a great thing,” Power explains. “For instance, in dance, high school teachers will ring me up and say ‘I can’t get any boys to dance’ and I come out and say 'I’m a b-boy' and they’ll have thirty boys line up straight away.”

“It’s got to the point that if you’re the best b-boy in the school you’re now on par with the football captain. It’s become a stature thing,” he says.

It seems the days when parents just dropped their kids off to footy or ballet training are disappearing. Tilney, who earns most of her living from teaching breakdancing at centres and schools throughout Brisbane, has classes with a starting age of just 6.

“I’m amazed at how quickly the art form has taken off in the last five years,” she says. “Parents and schools are ringing up all the time now trying to get their kids in. It’s better than footy.”


The Platform 2 Hip-Hop festival takes places at CarriageWorks, 245 Wilson Street, Eveleigh, on March 27, from 7.30pm and March 28, from 2pm. Phone 1300 723 038 or see carriageworks.com.au.

Count it. One Billion Dollars.

In today's paper;

"THE State Government has agreed to fund a $1 billion project to finally bring the Sydney Opera House in line with its designer's vision.

"Although a deal has yet to be signed with the Opera House board, Treasury officials indicated two weeks ago that the Government was willing to provide the money needed for the restoration."

One billion dollars. That's one expensive photo opportunity.

The saddest part of this is that only two months ago the State Government through their funding agency, Arts NSW, signed off on the death of four major regional music festivals - the Bellingen Jazz Festival, the Tyalgum Festival, the Bangalow Festival and the Camden Haven Music Festival.

To give this some perspective, the Bellingen Jazz Festival last year received $11,000. Similar amounts were cut from these other festivals.

At the time, director of the Camden Haven Music Festival Alvena Ferguson said, "while the Sydney Festival, which engages mainly overseas performers, received in excess of $4 million, many regional events such as ours, which contribute so much to the economic and cultural life of country communities, have not been supported".

No doubt Mrs Ferguson will be breathless at today's announcement.

Just imagine for a second what you would do with $1 Billion. We all know there are major problems at the Opera House which need to be rectified. We all know of the importance of this cultural icon which is recognisable around the world. But at a time when household income is dropping and a recession is about to take hold, wouldn't this money be better spent on community, regional and grass roots arts and music programmes?

$1 Billion could go to Carriageworks to assist them in properly paying young artists for their festivals.

$1 Billion could go to every independent theatre production in the state to assist them in staging costs thereby increasing the share of box office revenue for co-operatives.

$1 Billion could reinstate the role of regional performing arts organisations such as the Northern Rivers Performing Arts to create and tell local stories.

$1 Billion could assist Councils across the state to implement programmes of creative renewal such as the one now happening with Renew Newcastle.

$1 Billion could be filtered to local community theatres like ShopFront to expand their youth contemporary arts programmes.

$1 Billion could finance the renovations and rebuilding of theatres such as Marian Street and the New Theatre.

$1 Billion could see visual and performing arts programmes implemented in every youth centre in the state.

$1 Billion could see more community access to major arts events and productions off-setting the ticket price for those on lower incomes.

$1 Billion could see the purchase and up keep of the diminishing amount of arts spaces and studios in the inner city.

$1 Billion could finance a state-wide Don Dunstan style of public art programme throughout the state.

$1 Billion could provide musical instruments for every kid in every primary school.

$1 Billion would totally revolutionise the way the arts and music are created and consumed within our state.

Where would you like the $1 Billion to go?

The river runs dry

As the Murray River - the natural border between New South Wales and Victoria - dries up, it seems that state borders are also breaking down. Well, in arts policy anyway.

Today in Crikey an interesting anonymous tip arrived;
Arts Victoria funding announcement is scheduled to be released this Friday. Several arts organisations that do really good work, highly respected, genuinely tick all the boxes for Australian content, developing young artists, building partnerships, have got the knife. This follows on from some severe bloodletting in the Australia Council funding announcements earlier this year. Some organisations that are rumoured to be defunded this year include Chambermade Opera, Astra, Ballet Lab, Elision (not able to be verified till after Arts Vic announcement).

Lots of disquiet and anger amongst the arts community which is waiting for the government injunction on Friday to lift following the announcement so that they start raising hell. Regarding the Australia Council, a strange Sydney focus and a big conservative lean. In Arts Vic, a sudden-death change in tune to organisations who were given assurances six months ago that all was well and now have had the plug pulled with no wind-down plan or valid explanation of why evaluations have changed. Several orgs are likely to fold, and others have dramatic staff, admin and programming cuts to face up to. A real kick in the guts to Australian culture and a worryingly cavalier attitude to sustainable art-making from the arts bodies.


There's three points to this argument that get lost amongst the general howling that goes on whenever there is some major funding changes.

Firstly, when is the arts industry going to learn to lobby governments as a united front? This constant justification for funding cloaked in terms of educational/community/social benefits instead of pushing the old fashioned we are here and we need to be funded line is extraordinarily divisive. This is not to mention the amount of back-stabbing that goes on behind closed doors whenever an organisation gets the ear of a Minister - 'they get lots of money, why don't we get some of that' type of tactic.

We must be the only industry in the country that lobbies the government like this and other industries representing anything from mining to banking to education wouldn't be caught dead playing those types of tactics.

Secondly, eventually there needs to be some clearing away of the deadwood so that emerging artists, practitioners and organisations get a turn at the funding pie (not that all the above companies are deadwood). But there needs to be a reality check from many organisations that maybe their time is up. Often a group will get funding for say ten years and what they were proposing back in 1998 hasn't really changed a decade later. And it's a funding pie that everyone seems to take for granted. I have seen on industry bulletin boards straight up whinging and moaning when a company does get funding that it is a) not enough b) too little too late or c) not the right type of funding.

And finally, surely it must be time to examine the rift that exists between the major performing arts companies (AMPAG) and the rest of the industry. This shouldn't just be couched in financial terms but also within the creative. Partnerships need to be established far more often that what they are and they must be across all platforms.

It really shouldn't be a surprise when the Australia Council, Arts NSW or Arts Victoria shake things up a bit. Shouldn't we be innovative enough to keep a bit ahead of the game?

What's the media playing at?

The below image was published in today's Sunday Telegraph on a story around 'pre-teens' getting 'fake tans'. I have blacked out certain parts in the event that any prosecution occurs and to keep the child in question anonymous.

It is naturally of some concern. I will be seeking some legal advice on whether to make a complaint to the NSW Police. The photo online is not as revealing as the paper version which shows most of the girls body in what could be called a 'blue swimsuit'.




Quoting the salon owner in the article it is said that "for the young, young ones under 10, it's for special occasions or going away for summer holidays, or photos or something where they want to be tanned." Just let kids be kids I say.

The very thought that 'pre-teens' getting 'fake tans' is endorsed by the newspaper is also of concern. Photographing them with large hoses pointed directly at them and putting them in the newspaper is of even greater concern. Particularly when we know that newspapers are so conscientious about pictures on display.

Marvellous

Those Art Life blog people. Bloody marvellous. They have posted a "photo of a ball of dividing cells from the moment a zygote implanted itself on a uterus wall".

Hetty Johnston, Andrew Bolt and Kevin Rudd eat your heart out.

Art Life goes on, "although the zygote in question is currently still too young to understand the full ramifications of this decision, we feel that by exploiting these eight cells we will dignify a debate that for too long has been dominated by hysterical sections of the media clamouring for 'controversy'."

And so it goes.

CLICK HERE.

Art Monthly editor plays into Hetty's hands

As first published in Crikey today.

Editor Maurice O'Riordan is a total fool for putting the image of a naked young girl on the latest cover of Art Monthly. After so much effort, so many carefully crafted messages and an industry united, this boofhead comes along and inflames an already sensitive public issue.

Not only is his decision misguided, it lacks a total understanding of how to influence public policy and play the media game. It is so misguided that today we have a situation where every single person who first condemned artist Bill Henson is now singing in unison against the artistic community with calls for laws and protocols to be introduced.

Those in the arts community have been left standing with their pants around their ankles and can now expect a royal bollocking from Hetty Johnston and her Bravehearts wowser club. In fact, the visual arts community was abuzz over the weekend, with one source revealing that on this particular occasion, they might not get behind their own -- in fact, they might leave O'Riordan out to dry.

You would expect an editor, a journalist, someone who is engaged with the written word and with the art of debate to be a little more tactful, but it appears that O'Riordan has lost all perspective on this issue.

The Australia Council for the Arts has now been left like a shag on a rock trying to, again, defend the integrity of artists. The council’s CEO Kathy Keele was even resigned to saying that "continuing to argue extreme positions is not creating any greater clarity."

Keele is absolutely correct and O’Riordan finds himself in the same camp as Johnston. To successfully engage with a debate of this magnitude you have to see that there are always two sides to any story and you must respect the opposing side. O'Riordan has lost that respect and by trying to rub Hetty Johnston's nose in the Henson debate he will ultimately lose.

Arts Minister Garrett hit the nail on the head saying the magazine was being needlessly provocative.

Let's put this into context. During the Henson debate, it was clear that the gallery's decision to put the images online and on the invitations was naive to say the least. But the arts community got behind Henson and the gallery to defend their right to freely create an exhibition of the photographs.

O'Riordan, by taking art out of context like the gallery did with Henson’s photographs a month or so ago and placing an image that could concern the community onto a magazine has unnecessarily thrown fuel onto the fire.

And now the proponents of arts censorship are on board. They have had time to re-form, re-think and re-formulate their public comments. You can’t imagine a worse case scenario.

Kevin Rudd said yesterday, "we're talking about the innocence of little children here. A little child cannot answer for themselves about whether they wish to be depicted in this way."

NSW Premier Morris Iemma chimed in, "this is an issue of child protection."

And Johnston led the chorus, "this is manufactured by adults for the pleasure of adults, the financial benefit of adults, whatever it is. This is an adult desire being projected on to children."

According to the Sydney Morning Herald the magazine editor, Maurice O'Riordan, "could not be contacted for comment yesterday". That’s hopefully because he knows that he has made a very stupid mistake.

Between the Lines tomorrow

As Geoffrey mentioned yesterday in my previous post, there's an interesting doco being screened on ABC-TV 1 tomorrow afternoon about Adam Hill an indigenous artist based in Sydney.

After two years following him, friends of mine Monica Garriga and Esther Lozano will finally see the 25-minute version aired at 1.30pm on Messagesticks, which is then repeated on Monday at 4.30pm on ABC-TV 2 and again on Friday at 6.00pm ABC-TV 1.

I first saw the 55-minute version last year when it was presented by Performance Space at Carriageworks and it is really interesting to see the way these two Spanish film-makers give perspective to not only Hill's work but to his relationship with his father.

It follows Hill as he goes on an artistic and personal journey of identity through his music, paintings and political activism.

It is quite a unique and intimate glimpse into Australia’s identity through the critical eyes of the art activist and it shows Hill confronting his frustrations and his commitment towards his own aboriginality while struggling with the views held by the society around him and the people closest to him.

Bob his father, was brought up with his white cousins after his mother died, never having any contact with his aboriginal family. He then married a 'beautiful girl' of European origin and led a typically suburban Australian life with her until she recently passed away.

The documentary highlights the stark contrast between Adam and his father’s social identity and I think it is a moving insight into the individual’s search for meaning in a world dictated by imagery and stereotypes.

Adam and his father have taken very separate paths in defining their aboriginality and the intergenerational disparity between them hits a raw nerve as they head in opposite directions. Bob has never been exposed to aboriginal culture and in no way does he share the strong opinions his son portrays through his exhibitions or his canvasses.

It's a touching story and I highly recommend it. So if you are around tomorrow afternoon, check it out.

Oops-a-daisy!

Bless her heart - but who's drawing a line in the sand now?

Queensland child-protection advocate Hetty Johnston says there is nothing wrong with her accepting election donations from the adult pornography industry.

READ MORE

UPDATE: The Police have decided not to charge Henson or the Gallery.

Following advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), the NSW Police Force believes there is no reasonable prospect of a successful conviction in relation to art works displayed at a Sydney gallery last month.

READ MORE

And the Roslyn Oxley Gallery have put out a statement as well which I have reproduced for you below;

Media release
Friday, June 6, 2008

Decision Welcomed.

Bill Henson and the Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery today welcomed the decision by NSW Police on the advice of the Director of Public Prosecutions not to proceed with charges in relation to the recent Henson exhibition and earlier work.

Mr Henson said: "It has been profoundly humbling to witness the depth of support for my work in these past weeks.

"Of course I recognise that much of this support came from the desire of many people to voice their commitment to more general principles.

"It is reassuring to see existing laws, having been rigorously tested, still provide a framework in which debate and expression of ideas can occur."

Gallery director Roslyn Oxley said she was grateful for the support from thousands of
Australians during the process.

"We received support not just from within the Australian art community, but from
ordinary Australians who were concerned by the events of the past month.

"These messages give us faith that our society really is as we believe it be – one that is open to frank debate and inquiry and not afraid to voice differing views."


Bravo.

Opposition Whip, Whips Up Some Creativity

Since the Opposition Whip is on such a creative bender, let's help him out.

All the best arty farty ideas we can come up with and Sydney Arts Journo will email him them by the end of next week.

Crikey found it today and added this piece of gold;

Arty farty types -- got any other suggestions for controversial art installations, besides Parry's 'Ecstacy Tablets On Canvas No 304' or 'Ruminations on an AK47 Assault Rifle'?

Just click on the media release to read the text. And this is not a joke. He sent this out - typos, ideas and all.

Some real police work

I really don't want to write any more about this Bill Henson stuff, but this morning on the ABC's AM programme, Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty practically admitted that the debate around the Bill Henson affair was farcical.

The interview was regarding seventy people who have been arrested in a nationwide child pornography bust called Operation Centurion, not affiliated with the Henson investigation.

The AFP along with state police forces had been looking at paedophile communities online and 'how they trade images of child pornography on the internet'.

"And this is the issue Tony," he said. "For the 2,800 IP addresses that were looking at these images, they're continuing the abuse of these children. And these children ... these children aren't in passive poses ... there's been some debate recently about art and child pornography. These are children that are being abused and in some of the images there are adults and there is no doubt, no question this is child pornography," he said.

Gerard, Kevin, Morris, Hetty, Miranda, Andrew and Paul - Do you get it now??

No, Gerard

I'm sorry Gerard, but once again you are wrong. The arts community didn't get in a tizz because Kevin Rudd said, "That's the first time I've seen them. I think they're revolting."

Or because the Prime Minister went on to say "kids deserve to have the innocence of their childhood protected".

It was because he said something which you so convenientlty left out of today's 'opinion' piece;

"Whatever the artistic view of the merits of that sort of stuff - frankly I don't think there are any..."

(My goodness, how often do we have to explain ourselves? And he runs an 'institute'?!)

And then you freely call us 'condescending' because 40 odd representatives from the community say that politicians have "every right to their personal opinions; however, as political leaders they are influential in forming public opinion, and we believe their words should be well considered".

Gerard, your whole piece bases itself on a convenient omission and is undone when you complain about Michael Gow who "bemoaned the fact that 'the Prime Minister who invited us to Canberra has questioned the abilities and credentials of a major Australian artist'. In fact, Rudd had done neither. All he had done was to describe some Henson photos shown to him as 'revolting'."

No he didn't Gerard. No he didn't. Read the transcipt.

In reflekshun

Of all the comments made on SAJ over the Henson scandal, this comment from 'Gaz' went straight to the top as my personal favourite.

So just in case you missed it, here 'tis again;

"I am travelling outside of Oz, and something worth keeping in mind as this Henson fiasco unfolds is that this is the first story to have made big news around the world concerning Oz since the apology to the stolen generations. How are we perceived? ‘Confused’ was the term someone I spoke to today used.

"I also read this fantastic quote from Howard Barker just last night. This was first published in the Guardian in 1988, and is Barker calling for a ‘theatre of Catastrophe’, which ”… insists on the limits of tolerance as its territory. It inhabits the area of maximum risk, both to the imagination and invention of its author, and to the comfort of its audience. It commands the loyalty and attention of those for whom the raucous repetition of social platitudes of both left and right appear as aridities. But the conflict experienced between the audience and what it witnesses, its exposure to the unbidden thought, creates pain and even resentment. It is distinctly not an experience associated with entertainment, and consequently an audience needs to be both prepared and, as is the case with all new theatre, educated in its freedom.” Interesting, no?

"Third – if someone masturbates in front of Van Gogh’s Irises, does that make it porn? I wouldn’t have thought so. Can I tell if he exploited those Irises by looking at the painting? Actually, no. Could I confiscate the Irises and call it ‘evidence’ that the Irises were exploited? I could, but that would make me about as weird as the guy who is wanking in front of them.

"Confused little nation suppressing those with vision."


Speaking of 'vision', below is a picture which accompanied a great Crikey article.... I just couldn't resist...

Well, on the bright side

The magazine that pulped $100,000 worth of print because it contained images of Bill Henson's work had a job advertisement in yesterday's The Australian;

ART WORLD
A NEW ART MAGAZINE FOR AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND
Following our hugely successful launch in February, Art World magazine is looking for a number of talented people to join our enthusiastic and highly dedicated team based in East Sydney.
DEPUTY EDITOR
FEATURES EDITOR
Working closely with the Editor, both positions involve originating ideas, commissioning writers and photographers, liaising with curators, artists and galleries, and writing features, subbing and proof-reading. These positions would suit creative, ambitious and motivated people with relevant magazine experience and a keen interest in and knowledge of contemporary art... and a sense of humour.

A sense of humour indeed.

Future PM's wife defends Henson

I'll bet my house that, love him or loath him, Malcolm Turnbull will be the next PM of the Commonwealth Government.

Much to his credit, he has been one of the only politicians to stand up and support photographer Bill Henson. And with all the populist conservatism of Kevin Rudd, Morris Iemma and the appalling silence of Peter Garrett, it is a breath of much needed fresh air.

But today I have a sneaking suspicion that the real power behind Malcolm Turnbull is wife Lucy Turnbull. Already a great advocate of the arts and board member for many cultural institutions, it also appears that she has come up as one of the first signatories to a petition publicly condemning the police raids and investigations into Bill Henson.

If it isn't any foolish forgery and is actually the one and only Lucy Turnbull - then it says a lot about the future first couple. There is just no way in Hades that she would have allowed Malcolm to remain silent on an issue very close.

They already own a number of Henson's work and she would have been very quick to make sure her husband was one of the first out of the ranks to stand up and be counted as one of his supporters.

If you are so inclined, I encourage you too join Lucy Turnbull, spread the word and sign up as a supporter of Bill Henson.

We can't just rely on the 2020 collective - it needs a bigger and better call to arms. News in today reports that ACT Police are now also involved in the investigations with raids on the National Gallery of Australia and other Canberra galleries.

Speaking of which, isn't it about time that we really had an arts advocacy body? And maybe Lucy Turnbull could be the first patron of the body.

[UPDATE: Just discovered that it wasn't her but another 'Lucy Turnbull'. Nevermind... but anyway, aren't the Turnbull's fantastic?!]

Nothing like a bit of solidarity

Hopefully this will get some headlines - the 2020 Creative Australia Delegation - lead by Alison Croggon has written an open letter in support of Bill Henson.

It was distributed to media outlets this afternoon and invites "the Prime Minister, Mr Rudd, and the NSW Premier, Mr Iemma, to rethink their public comments about Mr Henson’s work."

Thank god Cate Blanchett was on the list! After all my banging away, it was getting quite exhausting and I was running out of ideas for headlines and photos to use for blog posts.

She was joined by approximately forty other signatories (out of the 100 or so delegates) who make up what could be the makings of a new arts lobby group. And what a way to enter the fray.

It's an impressive list and well worth a read. Marvellous.

(UPDATED: It is already having an effect. This is what I was talking about. And you should make sure you check out Alison's blog. The flies have gathered. Media coverage added as it comes to hand. Newer articles at the bottom;

AFP - Blanchett backs censored artist

SYDNEY (AFP) — Hollywood star Cate Blanchett Tuesday joined prominent arts figures in condemning moves to prosecute a renowned photographer on obscenity charges, saying it damaged Australia's cultural reputation.


Daily Telegraph - Cate Blanchett backs Bill Henson

ACTRESS Cate Blanchett and other prominent Australians who attended Kevin Rudd's 2020 Summit have backed controversial photographer Bill Henson, saying charging him would damage Australia's cultural reputation.


Nine MSN - Cate Blanchett fights for embattled artist

Cate Blanchett and her fellow 2020 Summit Creative Stream members have thrown their weight behind embattled


SMH - Henson 2020 backlash

Cate Blanchett is among a number of prominent Australians from the 2020 Summit who have come out in solidarity with artist Bill Henson.


Sky News - Henson art petition

Actress Cate Blanchett has signed an open letter to Prime Minster Kevin Rudd, urging him to reconsider his stance on a series of controversial photographs by artist Bill Henson.


SMH - Big names speak up for Henson as other galleries remove works

AS THE high-profile defence of Bill Henson intensified yesterday, police admitted it might still be weeks before any charges are laid. The artist has yet to be interviewed.


The Australian - Cate Blanchett calls on Kevin Rudd to soften Bill Henson art remarks

KEVIN Rudd's handpicked arts mentor Cate Blanchett yesterday co-signed an open letter urging the Prime Minister to rethink his public comments about artist Bill Henson's work.


Herald Sun - Cate Blanchett's mates hit Kevin Rudd over Bill Henson

PREMIER John Brumby has defended the PM's attack on artist Bill Henson's work as "revolting" amid calls for a retraction by artists.


Michelle Grattan in The Age - Now it's the artists who are revolting

THE trouble, if you are a Prime Minister, with mixing politics and art is that every now and then the artists bite the politicians.


SMH - Turnbull condemns Henson raids

Malcolm Turnbull has criticised the police raids of galleries displaying the work of photographer Bill Henson.


Elizabeth Farrelly SMH - Adults overboard in the frenzy to sniff out smut

But let me come clean. I don't much like Henson's work. I find it cloying and slightly disturbing. Treacly. Unnecessarily Norman Lindsayesque. This I share with Morris Iemma, Frank Sartor and Kevin Rudd. But that's where the common ground ends. Unlike them, I know that individual dislike, or even general disgust, isn't the point.


Andrew Bolt - Herald Sun

THERE must be excellent reasons to let an artist strip and photograph a 13-year-old girl so rich men can hang pictures of her bared breasts over their beds.


ABC Online - Police chief rejects artists' Henson outcry

The New South Wales Police Commissioner has rebuffed criticism from 40 of Australia's arts leaders over the removal of controversial photographs in Sydney.


Guardian UK - These photographs aren't sexual: they're just human

Bill Henson is one of the very few indisputably great contemporary Australian artists - a photographer of astonishing talent, whose work is held in the collections of the National Gallery in Canberra, the Guggenheim Museum, the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, and, in an irony that will soon become apparent, the High Court of Australia.


Crikey - Henson: time for the police to put up or back off

How long does it take for the New South Wales Police and their legal advisers to decide whether or not to charge Bill Henson with offences under Commonwealth or State law? The coppers have had the Henson pictures they took off the wall of Ros Oxley’s Paddington Gallery for almost a week now and yet no charges have been laid against Henson or the Gallery.


Crikey - Henson schmenson, take a look at Dolly

Why is it that "artistic" images of a young girl have created such uproar, and yet s-xualised images of children in the advertising, media and clothing industries remain effectively unchallenged? Have we become so desensitised that we only respond to overt nakedness?


NEWS Limited - Henson photos offensive - Scipione

THE NSW Police Commissioner has described Bill Henson's controversial photographs of naked children as "entirely objectionable". Charges are expected to be laid after police last week seized 20 Henson photographs of a naked girl and boy, believed to be aged 12 and 13, from Sydney's Roslyn Oxley9 gallery.



New York Times - Nude Photos Ignite Australian Debate

Cate Blanchett joined forces on Tuesday with prominent people in the arts to protest plans by the police to initiate an obscenity prosecution over images by Bill Henson, an eminent photographer, that feature nude 12- and 13-year-olds, Agence France-Presse reported.


El Universal - Se solidariza Blanchett con el fotógrafo Bill Henson

La actriz australiana Cate Blanchett expresó hoy su solidaridad con su compatriota el fotógrafo Bill Henson, cuyas imágenes de adolescentes desnudas han levantado una fuerte polémica sobre qué es arte y qué pornografía.


ABC Online - Henson photos must abide by laws: Brandis

Shadow Attorney-General George Brandis says there has to be balance between artistic freedom and the law. Opposition frontbencher Malcolm Turnbull has confirmed that he has two works by controversial photographer Bill Henson and he has strongly defended artistic freedom.


Reuters - Cate Blanchett and Australian PM hit rocky patch

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's cosy affair with the nation's arts community, in particular Hollywood actress Cate Blanchett, has hit a rocky patch over an exhibition of naked photographs of young girls.


Anglican Media Australia - In your outrage, don’t forget the subject

Once upon a time, a just-pubescent girl stripped naked in front of a middle-aged man, who gazed at her physique, judged its best angles, and how her image might best be presented to the world, and he photographed her. Hold that thought in your head.

The Censorship Begins

"CRIMINAL investigations into Bill Henson have widened to include previous work by the controversial photographer, after police received complaints about several Henson works on display at a regional gallery" the Sydney Morning Herald reports today.

"Police advised the Albury Regional Art Gallery to take down several photographs by the artist dating back to 1985, after they received a complaint from the public about 'inappropriate' images, which they are investigating," it says.

It has also come to my attention that a national art magazine, which had a Bill Henson image on the front cover was pulled from shelves on Friday.

If what I have been told is true, this could be the first of many acts of self-censorship which relate directly to the possible charge of Bill Henson. This is one of the worst possible outcomes to this whole affair.

I have been trying to find out what magazine it is, but there is a wall of silence around galleries and the visual arts community. If anyone knows anything about it please let me know. (UPDATE: Wall of silence no more. Good old Katrina Strickland from the the Australian Financial Review today revealed the magazine was a new bimonthly Art World. And it has cost the publisher $100,000 to pulp the 25,000 copies 'because it featured works confiscated by the NSW Police).

Meanwhile, the debate keeps humming along.

In Crikey, Clive Hamilton follows up on his Friday treatise saying;
"All art engages with culture, at least good art does. Henson has been praised by critics and supporters for challenging our sensibilities and pushing the boundaries of social acceptability. So why is Henson, by all accounts a garrulous man, refusing to defend his work?"

Gary Sauer-Thompson in Junk for Code says;
"So Henson's work has been chosen by moral and cultural conservatives to make a stand against postmodernism, nihilism, pornography, consumerism etc etc. Not one again that there no argument for his slippery slope claim that it is art that has lead to a world surrounded by crass, vulgar and obscene images rather than the capitalist market."

Paul Sheehan of The Herald also weighs in;
"For many years he has explored the beauty of youth and the awakening of sensuality, which are legitimate subjects for art and always have been. He has inhabited this terrain thoughtfully. His latest exhibition appears to continue in this vein. Which is why the decision taken by the police to confiscate a number of his photographs was an overreaction, even if the electric jolt of public unease he has received in recent days is justified."

The Age has an editorial today which argues;
"No longer can one claim what might be called the Caravaggio defence, whereby works depicting prepubescent nudity are for the eyes of a limited numbers of beholders."

Phillip Adams in The Australian sits on the opposite;
"Having crusaded against what I've branded corporate pedophilia for years, Henson is the last person I'd be charging. His esoteric and melancholy photographs for the art gallery elite are not the problem. It's in mass media that our kids are sexualised, that childhood is shortened and short-changed, rendered erotic for adult fun and profit."

Meanwhile, the Museum of Contemporary Art came out with their opinion on the matter;
"In response to the recent seizure of works by artist Bill Henson from his current exhibition at Roslyn Oxley 9 Gallery in Paddington, Sydney, the Museum of Contemporary Art wishes to issue the following statement:

"The Museum of Contemporary Art deplores the seizing of work by respected contemporary artist Bill Henson by the police and the threat of charges against the artist and gallery owners Roslyn and Tony Oxley.

"MCA Director Elizabeth Ann Macgregor said: 'Throughout history, artists have dealt with controversial subjects. Indeed one of roles of contemporary art is to explore sometimes difficult issues that are relevant to modern society. It is surely not a matter for the police or the courts.'

"'To quote NSW Premier Neville Wran when he instructed the police to return the seized works of Juan Davila in 1982: 'I do not think art has got anything to do with the vice squad'. Public debate on controversial issues and the role of art, particularly in the fast changing world of new technology, can and should take place in the public arena - the seizing of artworks should not.'"

From the horse's mouth

Leo Schofield interviewing Bill Henson on Ovation (that Channel no one can afford to watch):

The art of influencing people

Yesterday I attended an excruciatingly boring forum held at the Museum of Contemporary Art as part of the Sydney Writers' Festival. (Who would have thought that dissent could be so tedious?) But while I was sitting listening to the waffle, I took the time to check out the art in the room.

Aside from the enormous ten metre long hammer made from voodoo dolls which was hanging from the ceiling (and provoked violent thoughts where I imagined I was using it to belt the forum's 'facilitator' over the head until she asked an interesting question), I was struck by another work in the room.

A simple canvas on the wall contained a message giving advice on how to look at a work of art. I would not normally have cared much for the work, but in light of the Bill Henson affair, it took another meaning.

It gave simple instructions about looking at the size, seeing what colour contrasts there were, observing the object, the way that the object is placed. In other words, it gave some very simple steps about considered artistic appreciation. A bit clinical but none-the-less helpful in a debate that was getting caught up in emotional responses and very little sensibility.

It's either that or you can go off to the Art Gallery of NSW's website and download an Education Kit so you can learn something about looking at a piece of art.

I was worried on Friday that everyone was going to let Bill Henson hang out to dry. But the visual arts community has quickly gathered around their famous son and are blocking the barricades for any future Hetty-esque hysteria.

Arts Minister Garrett finally came out and gave a statement to The Australian:
"While artists have rights to challenge and confront audiences, they also have a responsibility to operate within the law."

Garrett also said that "the fact that Bill Henson's work features in a number of the nation's galleries and private collections is an acknowledgement of his success as an artist."

A bit tepid for someone who came out, guns blazing with sorry written all over him at the Sydney Olympics. But he's a pollie now.

Michael Gow came out with a stern letter sent to the Sydney Morning Herald after the Prime Minister's comments on Friday;

"The Prime Minister who invited us to Canberra has questioned the abilities and credentials of a major Australian artist," he wrote.

"I regret attending the 2020 Summit and invite others who attended to join me in protesting the treatment of Bill Henson over the last few days."

He regrets attending the 2020 Summit?! This is exactly how serious this is and it would be nice if someone from the Government stood up for the industry.

Cate Blanchett, as head of the Creative Australia delegation to 2020 now has a responsibility to either join Michael Gow in the condemnation of Rudd's statements, or at the very least provide her point of view on the matter.

And before the knuckle draggers at the Daily Telegraph and various other conservative populist news outlets rip the debate from our hands and potentially send an artist to jail.

Blanchett and Upton have even been called 'Patron saints' of the arts world. It was reported in April that "the actress and her playwright husband are selling two valuable works from their personal art collection, and want to reinvest the money in work by local up and comers".

A Deutscher and Hackett auctioneer, Damian Hackett even said that the pair 'have got their eyes on supporting a new wave of artists'.

I tell you what - no amount of purchases and no amount of investment will help a new wave of artists if they suddenly find themselves in an environment of self-censorship and police raids.

Kevin Rudd and the art of mistakes

That reactionary Prime Minister of ours found himself undone when he decided to become moral arbitrator and chief art critic for the Commonwealth;

"Photographs of naked 12- and 13-year-olds at a Sydney exhibition shut down by police are revolting and have no artistic merit," Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said when shown the photographs.

Well that sorts it then, doesn't it? Unfortunately not.

Rudd joined a chorus of condemnation with class captain Hetty Johnston leading the pack;

"It's child exploitation, it's criminal activity and it should be prosecuted, both the photographer Bill Henson ... but also the gallery because these are clearly images that are sexually exploiting young children," Ms Johnston said.

Johnston and Rudd are certainly going to have nice fight on their hands if they want to keep that line.

Luckily they have friends.

The Daily Telegraph is unashamedly one of them. Yesterday’s editorial took the cake;

“Creative elites have long used the defence of "art" to get away with words and images that in another context - that is to say, outside of art galleries and among normal people - would result in condemnation or criminal conviction.

“Try publishing art photographer Bill Henson's child-obsessed work in a mainstream publication.”

Anyone else see the irony?

Interestingly, none of the staff arts writers at the paper have written anything about it. Instead, the editors at the paper have sent out urban affairs reporters, who did themselves proud.

In today’s Daily Telegraph Janet Fife-Yeomans (who?) gives comment;

“Bill Henson is not the only one who should be charged over his photographs of young, naked girls and boys. Their parents should join them.”

Where do these people come from?

I actually feel pretty sorry for these kids. One minute they are the subjects of an art exhibition and the next minute news outlets see it fitting that the portraits are taken out of the four walls of an exhibition and pummelled to a mass mainstream audience.

David Marr thinks it is a farce;

“ROLL up, roll up. Get your tickets now. Bookings will be coming in from round the world: Australia is putting art back in the dock. What a spectacle it will be: prosecutors thundering; experts talking Caravaggio and Mapplethorpe; defence counsel declaring Bill Henson the greatest thing since Titian picked up a brush.”

This isn’t a farce and is one of the most serious censorship issues to come up since Ken Park was banned in Australia.

The champions of censorship are clear about their intentions. They want an artist in our country charged and jailed because they slam down their own hysteria onto the entire community. And that is the most perverse thing about this whole debate.

According to Marr, another exhibition in the inner west suburb of Leichhardt was closed down a few weeks ago because it was “about Palestine's troubles”.

This is a debate about values, opinions and ideas. And the worst outcome for all of us is that artists, curators, writers and directors will start self censoring… self censoring even more, that is.


Around the traps, here is what is being said;

Robert Nelson in The Age
A furore has ensued over this censorship, as this Melbourne artist is one of Australia's foremost photographers, with international standing. Cases of censorship are damaging to a country's cultural reputation overseas; because a nation that values free speech must also protect artistic freedom.

Clive Hamilton in Crikey
If we lived in a society of sophisticated people with mature s-xuality, one that respected children and the integrity of their maturation process, then there could be no objection to the Henson exhibition.

Melbourne Arts and Culture Critic
The last time that NSW Police were stupid enough to venture into art censorship in 1982, was also at Roslyn Oxley Gallery. Then they fueled the career of painter Juan Davila. I don’t know what they hope to achieve this time as Bill Henson’s career is well established, but the price of his photographs is sure to rise with the increased controversy.

Chris Merritt in The Australian
If the case goes ahead, the defence would need to show the photographs had been produced and used for a genuine artistic purpose - the same argument used in the Oz trial in London in the 1971. Mr Simpson said it would be relevant that the photographs were part of an exhibit at an art gallery and had not been displayed in one of the main streets of Sydney. Other photographs by Bill Henson are on display at the High Court in Canberra and at the Art Gallery of NSW.

Chris Boyd in The Morning After
The bastille has been stormed by those who vociferously deny that context counts here. That an image in an art gallery -- or in your family photo album -- is identical to that same image if it were printed in a magazine to advertise clothes or posted on a porn site.