SummerTime

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A series of new work made over the summer months

Easter Filipino

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More New Work

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Continuing on my interest in the manipulation of language in the vein of "The Sign Says" series these new works look at the proposition from a couple of different angles.

Like an Argument of Insidious Intent (2010)

5 archival inkjet prints of manipulated digital scans
each 16"x12"

Wall Labels (2010)
6 archival inkjet prints of manipulated photographs
each 16"x12"

Poblacion Becomes an Art Gallery

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This is the 6th year that I have been walking around the barangay I call home enjoying the art created by my fellow residents. I wrote about it a couple of years ago, you can see the post here.

For those who wish to enjoy the art first hand I have made a map of the kalbaryo locations. It takes a good couple of hours to do the full circuit and comfortable walking shoes are recommended.

Enjoy. (click on the map for a larger version)

A New Work

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Ceci n'est par un baiser (2010)
Archival inkjet Print
16" x 12"

Photography as an Art Commodity

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As part of the "An Aussie in Manila" exhibition currently showing at Sinning Kamalig I gave an illustrated artist's talk last Saturday. For thsoe who missed it here is a transcript of the talk along with some of the pics.


The above is a photograph of the world’s most expensive work of art to be sold at auction. It’s Alberto Giacometti’s sculpture Walking Man I. The bidding started at $12m, 10 Bidders and 8 minutes later it was knocked down $104.3m. That’s $11.5m a minute, nice money if you can get it.

But how much would you pay for this photograph of the statue? Not that much for sure, heck you can download it from the net and make a print for about 15/20 pesos.

And therein lays one of the major dilemmas facing documentary photography. This is especially true of the stock photography market with the majority of the product of what was once a lucrative market now selling at 20 cents a pop.


Now you can do the Spencer Tunick trick of getting people to strip naked at some landmark destination call it an art happening and document the event. Like in the above pic of 600 people on a Swiss glacier commissioned by Greenpeace, although if others document the event the market is shot. Tunick overcomes this problem by restricting access to the site in the name of protecting the dignity of the participants. As a result he has the pics and if you want to see what happened at the happening, who you gonna call?


An alternative is Cindy Sherman’s approach. She dresses up in fancy costumes and shoots a self portrait. Her portrayal of Cinderella, above, is not your Disney presentation of Prince Charming’s desired squeeze, but then that’s Sherman’s bag; the representation of the feminine that challenges the main stream.


Then there is the presentation of the counter culture of sex and drugs and rock’n’roll. Nan Goldin has done very nicely from her work in the 60’s & 70’s. The above pic (Trixi on a cot, NYC, 1979) Reminds me of that great Tom Stoppard line “By the light of a post coital Craven A,” which hails from the same era.

But segue forward 30 years to the work of Dash Snow.


And this aesthetic gets right in your face. The anti always travels in a 'bare' more direction.

For all of these the works of art exist outside the camera, either manufactured or observed, all the camera does is record the moment, make a snapshot if you will. These art works are also transitory, existing for just a moment in time in the case of Goldin and Snow, for as long as she stays in the costume for Cindy Sherman and about 20 minutes for Tunicks happenings. So how does the artist make a living from their art? By recording it for posterity and controlling the supply.

Which is another layer of complexity added to the paradox that all artists face; of not making works to gain public approval, to be liked or to be commercial, yet its necessity to make a living? Of which this talk is a part.

But, there are alternatives to the still photograph such as video for recording these ephemeral events and if you tube and the amount of video art appearing in galleries is anything to go by video is becoming a major contender.

Consequently the future of the photographic medium, like painting before it, lies within the medium, which the post processing capabilities of the computer has made very accessible.

I am a painter at heart who a decade ago adopted the camera and the computer as my principal art making tools and now instead of pushing paint around with a brush I push pixels around with a mouse.

It has been a journey of false starts, getting lost and taking steps backwards. The first pics I was prepared to show in public were from a series dubbed the Neon Series. It was almost like learning to draw again.

After a trip to the US and New York the work started to expand.

But I was getting very tired of the black velvet look and they morphed into this.

The building of a multi level car park inspired the Ripple Series of works.


Arriving the Philippines saw the making of what I call my tourist pics. It was all so new and different.

Then my friend and fellow photographer, Steve Axford, introduced me to a post production process that led to the deconstructed pics I make now.


Although I am pretty sure I stuffed up his process as my work is a lot more abstract than his, or perhaps that is just me.

The above work came about through my limited ability with Tagalog. When the family gets together and start talking in Tagalog at 100 mph I am left watching the body language. To represent this visually I went and shot street signage and deconstructed the shots until the language disappeared.

This is being followed up by the instruction works.


Having brought myself a scanner I am making works from the instruction manuals that come with various toys. For I often find them as indecipherable as room full of people talking Tagalog.

Of course there are other artists out there who are working within the medium and pushing the pixels about.


One of the best is Andreas Gursky. The above shot of the Formulae 1 race track in Bahrain I find particularly appealing.


Likewise LA Artist/photographer Michael Going and his distressed Polaroids.

And then there is Shephard Fairey and his Obama Poster.


Although, he has got himself into a lot of hot water for nicking the original pic for his poster from the internet and not crediting its creator. AFP is suing him for copyright violation but because of his 'remixing' of the pic he is claiming Fair Use. The judge’s decision on that is going to have far reaching implications, not least of which will be a legal definition of what is a photograph.

Many, I suspect, are hoping that the judge is for change.

An Aussie in Manila

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In the tradition of children the world over who pull their toys apart to see what makes them tick, the exhibition “An Aussie in Manila” deconstructs the adopted lifestyle of Philippine-based Australian artist Henry Bateman. In a visual exploration of his 4 years in the Philippine capital and through his unique approach to photography he examines and comments upon his Manila experience.

From a Metro Manila Shopping Mall to the Holy Week celebrations, from observations of the local art scene to a self critical appraisal of his own work, the work in this exhibition is an intellectual journey colored by an antipodean aesthetic.

What is it that distinguishes Manila in the eyes of this Aussie expat?

It’s not only the jumble of the urban streetscape or the overtly polite shop assistants. For Bateman there is more to this Filipino/Chinese/Spanish/American conglomerate. In this profligate meeting of East and West, where for most, the dance is attuned to the melody of the cash register his sojourn has become an enthralling escape from the eucalyptus.

Henry Bateman has been making art for over three decades. His first paid gigs were designing lighting and/or sets for a variety of Australian theatrical productions that ranged from straight theatre, through dance to musicals. In between these jobs he developed his studio practice.

He first showed his studio work in a group exhibition devoted to drawing at Sydney’s Boronia Gallery in 1984. This was followed by a solo exhibition of paintings, later in the same year, at the University of Western Australia. His 1985 exhibition “Hung up on a Wall” attracted controversy over the nudity depicted in the exhibition’s poster, a reproduction of one of the works on display.

At the turn of the century Bateman abandoned painting in favor of photographic based works. It was the post production facilities of the computer that attracted his interest. Over the years he has developed a unique approach to manipulating his photographs that enables him to express his thoughts about his subjects rather than rendering their literal representation. In 2007 a selection of these works were exhibited in Canberra at the Australian National University.

Bateman also writes regularly about the international arts scene for the Los Angeles based contemporary art website www.artslant.com and about the local art scene for the Philippine based Expat Travel & Lifestyle Magazine.

The “An Aussie in Manila” exhibition is part of the Australian Embassy’s celebration of its National Day on the 26^th of January, showcasing the best of Australian music and art. Known as Celebrate Australia 2010 it will also feature the exhibition White Hot: Contemporary Australia Glass, featuring the works of renowned Australian glass artists from January 27 to February 26 at the Ayala Museum. The Australia Day celebrations also include performances and master classes by didgeridoo virtuoso William Barton and the Orava String Quartet. The group is scheduled to perform on January 27 at Greenbelt 3 Park; January 28 at the Alabang Town Center; and January 29 at the TriNoma.

“An Aussie in Manila” will be Bateman’s fourth solo exhibition in the Philippines and his second at the Sining Kamalig Gallery which is situated on the 4^th level of the Gateway Mall, Araneta Center, Cubao, Quezon City. The exhibition runs from January 28, 2010 through to February 21, 2010. And at 3pm on February 13 the artist, Henry Bateman, will give an Artist’s Talk entitled “Photographic Art as a Commodity”.

Four Months & Counting

first published in News & Buzz London at www.artslant.com

The independent charity, The Art Fund has joined forces with the Staffordshire County Council, Lichfield District Council and Tamworth Borough Council to raise the £3.3 million necessary to keep the recently found Staffordshire Hoard in the West Midlands. The Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery and The Potteries Museum and Art Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent have just under four months to raise the seven figure valuation set by the Treasure Valuation Committee for the Hoard.


Found in July by metal detectorist, Terry Herbert on a farm owned by Fred Johnson the Staffordshire Hoard is the largest and most valuable treasure find in British history. And should the valuation not be met the ownership of the treasure will revert to the finders for them do with as they see fit.

The Art Fund is an independent charity with some 80,000 members committed to saving art for everyone to enjoy. Since 1903 they have assisted more than 600 museums and galleries around the UK to save over 860,000 works of art, from priceless masterpieces which were under threat of being sold abroad, to acquiring fascinating works costing a few hundred pounds. Each year they provide about £4 million to museums and galleries to help them build the public collections of the future. They also led the 2001 successful campaign to extend free admission to all national museums and galleries.

Andrew Macdonald, Acting Director of The Art Fund, said: "This awe-inspiring hoard really must be kept in the West Midlands where it was unearthed. Since we were founded in 1903, The Art Fund has led many successful campaigns to save treasures such as this, and our success is down to the support of members of the public who care as much as we do about preserving the nation's heritage."

The public can donate to save the Staffordshire Hoard at www.artfund.org/hoard and more information about the Hoard itself can be found here.

Sleepless in Transit

First published in News & Buzz at www.artslant.com

Friday December 4 was a day of relaxation for Stephane Guegan, the director of cultural services at the Musee d’Orsay in Paris. Charged with the delivery of 112 of Musee d’Orsay's best post–impressionist paintings half way across the world for the National Gallery of Australia’s exhibition Masterpieces from Paris, the exhibition had opened.

Described as the creme de la crème of the French museum’s collection, Mousier Guegan claimed that a decent night's sleep became elusive from the moment he first saw the insurance valuations of the works listed on paper - and that was before he even left Paris. For included amongst the 122 paintings are seven van Goghs, nine Gauguins, eight Cezannes and five Monets.

This exhibition of priceless paintings, which also includes works by Georges Seurat, Pierre Bonnard, Douanier Rousseau and Edouard Vuillard, are on loan whilst the Musee d’Orsay renovates its post-impressionist galleries. It is the first time they have been brought together in an exhibition outside of France.

After the Australian exhibition, which closes on April 5, 2010, Mousier Guegan will be faced with more disturbed nights as his charges travel to Tokyo and San Francisco before returning to the walls of the Musee d’Orsay.

More information about the Masterpieces from Paris can be found at the National Gallery of Australia’s web site, here.

Financial Boost for Aussie Artists

First published in news & Buzz at www.artslant.com

Australian visual artists are set to receive an increase in the revenue generated by their work with the Australian National Government's passing of the long awaited resale royalty scheme.


Under the scheme artists whose work is re-sold in the secondary market for more than $1000 will receive a 5% royalty. Ex pop star and current Federal Arts Minister, Peter Garrett, said "It is only fair that artists and their descendants should share in the growing value of the artworks - particularly as value can grow substantially over time. In particular there will be benefits for Indigenous visual artists, who have experienced significant increases in the value of their work."

The Resale royalties will be collected and distributed to artists by a single collecting organization which is expected to be in place by mid 2010. The scheme will cover original works of art, such as paintings, collages, drawings, prints, sculptures, ceramics, an item of glassware or photographs made by living artists and/or their estates for up to 70 years.

It is expected that the royalty will be collected from overseas sales as well local sales especially from 49 countries that acknowledge a resale royalty right for visual artists. These countries include England, France, Germany, The Netherlands and the US State of California.

Further information about the Australian Resale Royalty scheme including a PDF link to all the countries that acknowledge a resale royalty right can be found here.