Bennett investigates the way stereotypes are constructed by exploring words and images in opposites. The facial features reflected in the mirror are blurred and distorted by roughly painted words typical racist remarks about Aboriginal people. It is a monument that also unintentionally signals the subsequent dispossession of Aboriginal people from their homeland. Bellas Gallery. Bennett was interested in the way language and images construct identity and history, and the way this language controls and creates meaning. Bennett only used two colours, symbolically, red and black. Gordon Bennett Possession Island (Abstraction), 1991 Kevin Gilbert Christmas Eve in the Land of the Dispossessed, 1968; 1992 KEY ARTIST ONE- VERNON AH KEE Born 1967, Innisfail, Queensland. In The coming of the light, 1987 the high- rise buildings that frame the white faces are represented as grid-like forms. . These include the tall ship and the appropriated logos featuring kitsch and racist references to Indigenous people, and the ominous juxtaposition of bags of flour and bottles of poison. Collection: Museum of Sydney, Sydney Living Museums On each corner of the grid are the letters A B C D . Here he is concealed under blocks of black, red and yellow, the colours of the Aboriginal flag. However, Bennetts ongoing investigation into questions of identity, perception and knowledge, has involved a range of subjects drawn from both history and contemporary culture, and both national and international contexts. On closer inspection we see it is an image of an Aboriginal man. Jenna Gribbon, Luncheon on the grass, a recurring dream, 2020. Comparisons between Basquiat and Bennett often focus on the artists similar backgrounds and experiences. One of the most heroic and well-known images of Australias past is Captain Cook landing in Botany Bay in 1770. Touch device users, explore by touch or with swipe gestures. This rich interplay of words and images raises many questions. Other significant works: Gordon Bennett, Possession Island; Glenn Brown, The Day The World Turned Auerbach; Damien Hirst, The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of the Living; Glenn Ligon, Notes on the Margin of the Black Book; Gabriel Orozco, Crazy Tourist; Cornelia Parker, Cold Dark Matter: An Exploded View Explore a range of ideas and media within your work. Gordon Bennett born Australia 1955 Possession Island 1991 oil and synthetic polymer paint on canvas (a-b) 162.0 x 260.0 cm (overall) Museum of Sydney on the site of first Government House, Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales. While his work was increasingly exhibited within a national and international context, the combination of his position (or as Bennett would argue label) as an (urban) Aboriginal artist, and the subject matter of his work, seemed to ensure inclusion within certain curatorial and critical frameworks, and largely determine interpretation and reception. The impact of colonisation on Aboriginal people and culture from this point was devastating. SOLD FEB 21, 2023. The Notes to Basquiat: 911 series and the Camouflage series, which reflect on the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and the war in Iraq respectively, highlight Bennetts global perspective. Gordon BENNETT "Possession Island" (1991) Conceptual Painting Art Painting Contemporary Australian Artists Neo Expressionism Expressionist Art Collage Cultural Studies Indigenous Education Gordon BENNETT "Notes to Basquiat (The coming of the light)" (2001) Aboriginal Painting Drawing Prints Drawings Image Sheet Foley Present Day What does this interpretation add to your understanding of the artwork? Why? Bennett's work is held in over 100 public and private collections, including many major state institutions such as the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney; Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney; National Gallery of Australia, Canberra and National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne. Possession Island (Appendix 1) 1991 and Notes to Basquiat (Jackson Pollock and his Other) (Appendix 2) 2001 will be discussed in relation to Henri's statement. His sudden death came just one week after the opening of the 8th Berlin Biennale, where a series of Bennett's never-before exhibited drawings from the early 1990s are currently on view. There are a number of reasons why I began painting abstract paintings that focused on overt visual phenomena, as opposed to explicit visual content. It is interesting to note that this same year was declared a period of mourning by Aboriginal people. Gordon Bennett 6, I first learnt about Aborigines in primary school, as part of the social studies curriculum I learnt that Aborigines had dark brown skin, thin limbs, thick lips, black hair and dark brown eyes. Gordon Bennett 1, For an artist whose practice was concerned with how labels and systems define and confine knowledge and perception, labels and categorisations such as aboriginal artist, or urban aboriginal artist that were often applied to his work through exhibitions, books and other commentaries presented many practical as well as philosophical issues, I am very aware of the boundaries of critical containment within the parameters of Urban Aboriginal Art, and have so far worked within these boundaries to try and broaden, extend and subvert them. This approach to his work resists any classification or confinement according to style. Who was Gordon Bennett? Gordon Bennett, born on 16 April 1887 at Balwyn, Melbourne, was Australia's most controversial Second World War commander. 148339 AK Gordon-Bennett-Rennen 1904 Cup Motorsport Usingen Weilburg Limburg. The final panel in the sequence of six images in Untitled is a black square. In Possession Island No 2 this figure is concealed and transformed into an abstract totem or geometric monument coloured with the signature black, red and yellow of the Aboriginal flag. However, for Bennett, dot painting also became a powerful expression of the connections between nature and culture, which are integral to representation in Aboriginal art. Research the significant dates/events referenced in Bennetts artworks, including Myth of the Western Man (White mans burden) 1992 for some ideas. Perhaps in this sense Citizen represents an Australian everyman who recognises the wrongs of history and racist representations, but who has no real interest in going any further in asking hard questions about why they happened and what impact they caused. Bennett achieved critical success early in his career. Discuss with reference to selected artworks by Gordon Bennett. These sources included social studies texts. Lichtenstein 19231987). Gordon Bennett is an Australian artist of Aboriginal descent. It has been designed for teachers and students to instigate discussion and investigation, and includes learning activities relevant to history and visual arts that can be adapted to different levels. He quotes directly from this image, which is in fact a copy of a copy, as Samuel Calvert copied this image of Captain Cook landing in Botany Bay from an image by Gilfillan, which is now lost. The figure is dressed in tattered western clothing. Looking closely at the central panel we realise that the luminous sky is described with the dots that Bennett used in early works to signify Aboriginal art. Appropriation art is an established postmodernist strategy defined as: The direct duplication, copying or incorporation of an image (painting, photography, etc) by another artist who represents it in a different context, thus completely altering its meaning and questioning notions of originality and authenticity.1. EUR 99,99. dresden-de (52.329) 100%. Van Goghs original bedroom evokes a feeling of peace and harmony. Place each photograph on a separate layer, overlap and morph or merge all the portraits into one image. Bennett purposefully constructed these layers to blur fixed ideas and raise questions about the way identity is constructed. Find examples of the work of these artists. Gordon Bennett's painting Possession Island (Abstraction) 1991 is based on an image of Captain Cook claiming the eastern coast of Australia in 1770. while Bennett may have attempted, in recent years, to disconnect from the politics of his earlier practice, there is also a sense within these paintings, of the impossibility of such a task. He gave several sponsorships in these fields, notably the Isle of Man Bennett Trophy races of 1900 to 1905 (subsequently a trials course on the island was named after him). His status as an artist has been elevated to hero with his contribution to Action Painting. The grand Romantic landscapes of Western art were intended to inspire the viewer with their dramatic beauty and effects of illusion. Even when the starting point for a work is an emotive one, I believe I conceptually examine the ideas behind the emotion and extrapolate from there Gordon Bennett1. However behind the neat facade and pleasantries of suburban life, Bennett was haunted by racism and the same derogatory opinions of Aboriginal people that he quietly endured in the workforce. The only clearly defined part of Possession Island is the black skinned male figure in the centre. Bennett also includes copies and samples of his own work, such as Possession Island and Big Romantic painting (The Apotheosis of Captain Cook) 1993, with other found images. Gordon Bennett This world is not my home 1988 Not Currently on Display Artwork Artist As a teenager, Gordon Bennett became aware of his Indigenous heritage, and art became the tool through which he could examine his identity as an Australian of both Aboriginal and Anglo-Celtic descent. For example, at the time Gordon was born she still had to carry her official exemption certificate with her, and she lived in fear of her son being taken from her . Bennetts use of dots highlights the way Aboriginal cultural identity continues to be defined and confined by Western ideas of Aboriginality. What systems and/or conventions are used by each culture to represent three dimensional space? Gordon Bennett 2. They powerfully describe pain and violence. Symbols such as these highlight his awareness and use of visual images, forms and elements as signs. They physically prevent the viewer from seeing the image clearly, but psychologically encourage the viewer to delve into the image more deeply and question: Where did these images come from that theyre relating back to in their minds in order to stage this re- enactment? Born in 1955 in Monto, Queensland, Gordon Bennett lived and worked in Brisbane before his unexpected death in 2014. Many Indigenous Australians saw this appropriation as further evidence of a justification of colonisation and a Eurocentric interpretation of Aboriginal culture. Australian artist Gordon Bennett passed away on June 3, 2014, from natural causes at the age of 58. Consider what dates/events should be included in your timeline and why. Do these qualities reflect the reality of what it means to be Australian (ie. [Bennett] seeks to expose the shadows of official history, to track its doubles and contradictions, not in order to repudiate the European vision but to map a postcolonial future Ian McLean 2. Image credit: Gordon Bennett - Possession Island (1991). In Bennetts painting the bedroom becomes the site of violent conflict that involves complex and intersecting personal and cultural histories. Roundels relating to symbols that denote significant sites in Aboriginal Western Desert dot painting also appear. He probed ideas about identity, fuelled partly by his own . Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA). You have to understand my position of having no designs or images or stories on which to draw to assert my Aboriginality. This contemporary questioning and revision of the traditional, narrow euro-centric view of history reflects a postcolonial perspective. Gordon Bennett, &The manifest toe, pp. The dynamic juxtaposition of images, sound and other effects made possible by video, introduced new dimensions to Bennetts investigation of issues and ideas related to identity, history and language. At art college Bennett discovered how Australian identity was built on a subjective writing of history. Gordon Bennett 1. The first panel of Bennetts triptych, Requiem, depicts Trugannini (c. 1812 1876), a Palawa woman from Tasmania. 1 Bill Wrights interview with Gordon Bennett in Gellatly K with contributions by Clemens, Justin; Devery, Jane; and Wright, Bill Gordon Bennett National Gallery of Victoria exhibition catalogue, Melbourne, 2007, During his childhood in the 1950s and 60s, Bennett lived with his family in Victoria and Queensland. The inclusion of Pollock helps build these cross- connections. At the same time his work demonstrates great conceptual unity and interconnectedness. Gordon Bennett Possession Island (Abstraction) 1991 In Tate Modern Level 3: A Year in Art: Australia 1992 Level 3: A Year in Art: Australia 1992 Artist Gordon Bennett 1955-2014 Medium Oil paint and acrylic paint on canvas Dimensions Support: 1843 1845 mm Collection Tate Acquisition Thousands of dots fill the canvas. Queensland-born artist Gordon Bennett (1955-2014) was deeply engaged with questions of identity, perception and the construction of history, and made a profound and ongoing contribution to contemporary art in Australia and internationally. Explain. Indeed, he explains that before the age of sixteen he was not really aware of his Indigenous heritage. With reference to at least two artworks, identify and explain some of the strategies and techniques you believe Bennett has used to engage the viewer. Bennett used 9/11 and its global impact three months after the event as the stage for his discourse on cultural identity. ), Heide Museum of Modern Art , Melbourne, 2004 pp. Lindt created many photographic portraits of Aboriginal subjects. Discover Gordon Bennett's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. Gordon Bennett, Possession Island, 1991, oil and synthetic polymer paint on canvas in two parts. In the third panel of Bennetts triptych, Empire, a Roman triumphal arch frames a stately figure. Theyre buried, and this is a way of bringing them back into memory, but remembered in a different way from the way that I was taught, looking at them from a different angle and looking at how they work, where they came from initially, and how these images still support contemporary stereotypes, etc. One hand holds a torch a symbol of Enlightenment values that is also seen in The Statue of Liberty in New York that sheds light on darkness. Explain how you believe Bennett communicates and presents questions and complexities in his work. He is not disturbed by slashes of paint, but painted carefully and outlined by the precise grid behind him. How ideas might be encountered from different places and events interest him. In many images of the crucifixion, including the painting by Veneziano illustrated, Mary Magdalene is kneeling at the foot of the cross washing and anointing Christs feet in an act of devotion . Neither had I thought to question the representation of Aborigines as the quintessential primitive Other against which the civilized collective Self of my peers was measured. He used strategies such as deconstruction and appropriation to present audiences with new ways of viewing and understanding the images and narratives that have shaped the nations history and culture. Gordon Bennett 1. ), National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne 2007, p. 101, Gordon Bennett, Conversation Bill Wright talks to Gordon Bennett, p. 97, the visual qualities and symbolism of art elements such as colour and shape, the symbolism and representation of subject matter/content (including text), the appropriation of the work of other artists, the presentation of the artwork (ie. The viewer does not confront the artist, but self. It recalls the way stereotypes, labels, identities and systems of thought are fixed. That was to be the extent of my formal education on Aborigines and Aboriginal culture until Art College. Bennetts recent abstract paintings reflect links to a range of artists including Australians Robert McPherson, Emily Kam Kngwarray and Ronnie Tjampitjinpa, and International artist Frank Stella. What typically Australian qualities are associated with these characters? Bennett's 'unfinished business' was to encourage a great sensitivity and action in terms of these conditions," said Ms Stanhope. Bennett was in possession of all four, all of which will become evident upon a glance at a summary of his life. In the context of the other panels, which are all figurative, this black square could be seen as an absence, and possibly a representation of the oppression of indigenous voices by history. In the Christian tradition light is associated with goodness and righteousness while darkness is associated with evil. cat. Gordon Bennett, The Manifestoe, Ian McLean & Gordon Bennett. Identity is fixed and self is understood in the context of words such as Abo, Boong, Coon and Darkie . These racist terms confront an Aboriginal figure represented as a jack-in-the-box, as he is violently jerked from the box that contains him. 2. Bennett depicts self as a black empty vessel, coffin- like with lash markings almost disguised by a thick layer of black paint. L120238 Gordon Bennett. This canvas is loosely divided into three parts. How have these sciences influenced the perception and understanding of Indigenous people and cultures? Typical of Bennetts early work, the painting appropriates an existing picture, in this case an historical painting, and transforms the content with carefully considered signs of Aboriginal identity. (2nd Edition), What is Appropriation? This purchase was indicative of a massive legislative reform program that had not been seen in Australian society for decades. ), National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne 2007, p. 97, Gordon Bennett, The manifest toe, pp. Create an artwork in a medium of your choice that highlights how the meanings, values and ideas associated with these binary opposites influence perception and understanding. In the following year he was awarded the prestigious Mot et Chandon prize with his painting The Nine Ricochets (Fall down black fella, jump up white fella), 1990. The works I have produced are notes, nothing more, to you and your work Gordon Bennett 1. Such accolades and critical recognition are keenly sought by many artists. Although there are many forms of Aboriginal art, dot painting is widely seen as synonymous with Aboriginal art since the late 1970s, when the dot painting of the Western Desert attracted unprecedented national and international interest in Aboriginal art. As a self- portrait, the artist seems to be present everywhere within the installation but is in fact nowhere. EUR 7,81. Explore. How do these systems/conventions reflect values and ideas important to that culture? The motivation behind the abstract paintings was complex but in part it reflects Bennetts ongoing concerns about issues related to the reception of his work. It was no accident that Bennett used Pollocks Blue Poles: Number 11. We would like to hear from you. Gordon Bennett: Selected Writings $45.00 Quantity Edited by Angela Goddard and Tim Riley Walsh A co-publication from Power Publications and Griffith University Art Museum Paperback with dust jacket RRP $45.00 AUD ISBN 978--909952-01-3 66 images, including colour plates 216 pp 297 x 210 mm 890 gms Gewerblich. The imagery in this painting focuses on binary opposites, including the Aboriginal figure and various symbols of European and Indigenous art and culture . Acutely aware of the frame, I graduated as a straight honours student of fine art to find myself positioned and contained by the language of primitivism as an Urban Aboriginal Artist. RM 2JEMG56 - A rare old photograph of the 1903 Gordon Bennett trophy race, Ireland - In the 'pits' attendants are cooling down an overheated vehicle with a bucket of water. 2 February 2021. Purchased with funds from the Foundation for the Historic Houses Trust, Museum of Sydney Appeal, 2007 Different members of the class could be assigned different cultural traditions to research and then prepare an illustrated presentation for the class. Discuss different approaches/ideas evident in the way each artist uses dots in their work. The graphic detail in these images, including mutilated, tortured bodies, continue to confront viewers today with the realities of human behaviour and suffering in war. However the hand in the opposite panel controls and threatens the Aboriginal figure represented as a jack- in- the- box. The focus on reason, scientific learning and progress that characterised the Enlightenment (suggested by the measuring marks on the torch) lead to many significant discoveries and new ways of understanding the world. For given the artists own history of engagement, these works are not considered simple abstract paintings, but abstract paintings by Gordon Bennett; coloured or even tainted by, the history, concerns and associations of the artists earlier work. In European tradition these are seen as a means of mapping and defining space. Looking at the image from different viewpoints helps us to discover different perspectives. The work is a copy of a copy of a copy. Such imagery has often been used by artists to unsettle the viewer and present new perspectives on familiar subjects. . The emphasis on making art about art which was the focus of his non-representational abstract paintings, contrasts clearly with the focus on social critique that was integral to Bennetts earlier work, and was intended also to make people aware that I am an artist first and not a professional Aborigine.2 In this respect, Bennetts non representational abstract works, despite their overt emphasis on visual concerns, may be seen as reflecting his engagement with questions of identity, knowledge and perception. This is the second of two works entitled Possession Island that Bennett painted following Australias bicentennial celebrations in 1988. For more information, visit: www.qagoma.qld.gov.au for details. Brainstorm ideas and meanings associated with these binary opposites and create a mindmap to show how they have influenced your perception and understanding of the world. marking the first car ever to touch the island's soil. Like many others at that time, Bennett was inspired by the work of the historian Henry Reynolds. Gordon Bennett explores these ideas in Self portrait: Interior/ Exterior , 1992. Purchased with funds from the Foundation for the Historic Houses Trust, Museum of Sydney Appeal, 2007. These images include scenes featuring tall ships, the landing of Captain Cook at Botany Bay, and several scenes that reveal the violence and tension that often characterised the relationship between colonisers and the colonised. Immersed within a White European culture, he was unaware of his Aboriginality until his early teens. The Constitution is being rethought with respect to Indigenous Australians, and treaty-making is on the agenda yet the Uluru Statement from the Heart was roundly ignored by the Federal Government. It is uttered by all good Muslims before a good deed. Bloody handprints are stamped across the walls. Bennetts use of the grotesque is evident in Outsider, 1988, which makes reference to two paintings by the Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh (1853 1890) Vincents bedroom in Arles 1888, and Starry night 1889. Gordon Bennett 3. Discuss with reference to a selection of at least three works, clearly identifying stylistic shifts, and evidence of conceptual unity. Picassos sizable oeuvre grew to include over 20,000 paintings, prints, drawings, sculptures,ceramics, theater sets, and costume designs. It is reproduced in flat, bold and black line work. On Tuesday, the Tate unveiled Gordon Bennett's Possession Island, a provocative 1991 work that takes a 19th century etching of Cook's claiming Australia for Britain, and plants a proud abstract indigenous flag on it. Australian politics is fraught yet the Australian public is disengaged. In the past Quadroon, was a socially acceptable term used to label Indigenous people as a way of establishing genetic heredity. Bennett not only used Basquiat images, but begins to paint in his style. This was common practice among young Aboriginal girls and women. What evidence can you see in this self-portrait of Bennett linking issues of personal identity with broader issues related to history and culture? Suggest reasons for the similarities and differences that you find. Self portrait (But I always wanted to be one of the good guys), 1990 questions how stereotypes create a sense of identity. Bennetts art engages with historical and contemporary questions of cultural and personal identity, with a specific focus on Australias colonial past and its postcolonial present. Eventually Bennetts mother earned an official exemption that allowed her to leave the Mission. The resource provides frameworks for exploring key issues and ideas in Bennett's art practice. Gordon Bennett, The Manifest Toe, in Ian McLean & Gordon Bennett, The Art of Gordon Bennett, Craftsman House/ G + G Arts International, Sydney, 1996, pp.962.Kelly Gellatly et.al., Gordon Bennett: A Survey, exhibition catalogue, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne 2007. Inspired by African and Iberian art, he also contributed to the rise of Surrealism and Expressionism. Bennett as a cultural outsider of both his Aboriginal and AngloCeltic heritage does not assume a simplistic interpretation of identity. Gordon Bennett 1, Bennetts Aboriginal heritage came through his mother. Examine a range of Bennetts artworks and their titles and discuss how the titles might provide a useful starting point for analysing and interpreting the images. How might John Citizen be seen as reflection of the post Keating era? Art about art seems appropriate for the time being. Linear perspective is a system for organising visual information. I had never thought to question those narratives and I certainly had never been taught at school to question them only to believe them. Self portrait (Ancestor figures), 1992 deals with broader issues of cultural identity as well as personal identity. Six years after his death at the age of 58, his In the Home dcorseries Bennett used gridded compositions that refer to the paintings of Dutch artistPiet Mondrian (1872 1944). Possession Island is a small island off the coast of northern Queensland, near the tip of Cape York, the most northerly point of mainland Australia. Read through the profiles and market analysis for the top 200 Indigenous artists He depicts how pain transcends place and event to encompass a global consciousness. In Untitled, 1989 Bennett works with a selection of images associated with the familiar story of the discovery and settlement of Australia. Australian politics is fraught yet the Australian public is disengaged. As the foundation of a system of representation, perspective produces an illusion of depth on an essentially flat two dimensional surface by the use of invisible lines that converge to a vanishing point.

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