FOREVER LANDSCAPE

 Forever Landscape Gouache on paper 50 x 57 cm 2014

 

What do I mean by Forever Landscape? Well lots of things really. Let's see...that landscape exists even without us observing it...or does it? The Universe, and maybe the Multiverse, exists in some kind of endless perpetuity and thus landscape does too. The macro and micro extend beyond our imaginations, with science chasing their tails revealing more horizons as old ones are relinquished. 

 

 

Terrain Gouache on paper 50 x 57 cm 2014

 

 

Terrain = land, topography, territory, ground, landscape, environment.

 

My painting Terrain appears to be all of the above descriptors. Yet, I thinks it's funny how the literal meaning of these words can be used metaphorically or analogously.

 

TOPOGRAPHY OF TERRORS: BERLIN

I recently visited Berlin's Topography of Terrors [Nazi Forced Labour Documentation Centre]. It is a fascinating, sobering and sombre place to visit. For me the use of the word 'topography,' in the title of the exhibition centre, was an interesting choice. In a way it made the prospect of visiting the centre more intriguing, as if the visitor was to negotiate, navigate, explore whatever was on offer to see. The idea that 'terrors' can be mapped is implied by the word 'topography'...and not simply mapped by geographical places of terror, but by social, political and cultural inputs as well. The title of the centre Topology of Terrors is certainly not as benign or mundane as if it had been called Museum of Terrors.

 

INVOKING LANDSCAPE

There's something about invoking a sense of landscape that adds to an experience, whether it be reading an article, visiting an exhibition centre, understanding a political situation and more. For example when someone says 'political landscape' I immediately feel my expectations broaden. When someone describes an environment as a 'cultural environment', my perception and expectation shifts. When someone describes an event or a phenomena as 'unknown territory' it adds a serious weight to what may transpire to be a dilemma. When a person 'holds their ground' in an argument or debate, there's gravitas.

 

And...all of this brings me to universal landscape! By using the word 'landscape' the Universe becomes more familiar...don't you think? Less daunting, more exciting, a place to explore. That's why I suggest we need to untether ideas of what landscape is, from Earth-bound horizons, to explore unknown territories, new ground, galactic environments...and more...the forever landscape!

 

My next solo exhibition is called:

 

 

UNTETHERING LANDSCAPE

2 - 14 September 2014

Brisbane.

To see the exhibition webpage please click HERE

 

 

Cheers,

Kathryn

www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

 

 

THE HORIZON HAS DISAPPEARED

The Horizon Has Disappeared Gouache on paper 46 x 115 cm 2014

 

The horizon has disappeared...what does this mean? Well, for me, quite a number of things.

 

• With new cosmological research known horizons about the Universe have been transcended, yielded, vanquished. So, whilst literal horizons have been pushed to places beyond dreams, what does this mean for other kinds of horizons? What other kinds? Well, let's see...humanity's future and past: the Universe's past and future: humanity's intellectual, emotional and spiritual capabilities and beliefs...and more. It's exciting... and daunting.
• What does it mean to be human in an age where augmented reality, simulation, artificial intelligence and technology 'provide' so-called enhanced experiences, automated labour, economic benefits and more? The horizons of possibility, once viewed as science fiction, are now not so fantastical. They may have been propelled afar, but they are also often obscured. And, if they are, what else maybe obscured, hazy or blurred? Entering a fog can be frightening. If it lifts there's often a bright sunny day, but if it doesn't...?
• The horizon of what constitutes threat to individuals, nations and the world has shifted. Terrorism, cyber terrorism, bio terrorism, trans-national crime are all now aided and abetted via technology...yet technology is something we welcome into our everyday lives, often without thinking of its dark side...or even being aware that there is a potential dark side. Squadrons of fighter jets, no matter how hi-tech, will have little impact on an orchestrated cyber attack...don't you think? Traditional modes of defence left their horizons back in the 20th century. New defensive and pre-emptive tactics, I suggest, will be found in scientific research plus new ways of forging relationship and exchange. And, culture and the arts are vey much part of this! [If you do a quick Google on the top threats to world/national security all of the ones I have listed above are mentioned.]
• I wrote a post awhile ago where I suggested that the driverless car maybe a metaphor for the disappearance of landscape. How? Well, imagine a car being driven by a computer. The occupants are sitting behind darkened windows. They are passing the time with entertainment provided via various kinds of devices, some may even be imbedded in their bodies! Well, there's no need to look out the window is there! No need to orientate oneself, no need to keep a watchful eye on other traffic, road conditions, terrain etc. No need to distract children by pointing out interesting things along the way. In a sense the landscape disappears! As we lose literal sight of and interest in it, plus lose abilities to negotiate our way through it, what happens to horizons? Are they actually diminished? Do they disappear or are they extended? And, what about relationships if all occupants are individually entertained? No conversation, no commentary and probably no fights! My earlier post was called Looking Out The Windows

The Horizon Has Disappeared Gouache on paper 46 x 115 cm 2014

This is an ambiguous landscape. Is the viewer flying above the landscape? Or are they part of it? Is it actually a landscape?

 

For me 'landscape' is a metaphor for the internal 'landscape' of the human psyche. It is also a metaphor for many other kinds of 'landscape'...Universal, macro, micro, political, spiritual and more.

 

If you have a pair of simple 3d glasses put them on...the painting separates into various dimensions. Many of my paintings do this! The impression of multiple dimensions, alludes to multiple horizons! It also alludes to the possibility of other horizons beyond sight too. This I like very much. This 3d phenomena is not done deliberately...I have no desire to paint 3d, but I certainly like that it happens.

 

 

 EXHIBITION ALERT

-

UNTETHERING LANDSCAPE

 

SEPTEMBER 2 - 14 2014

Graydon Gallery

29 Merthyr Rd, New Farm, Brisbane, Australia, Earth, The Universe!

Cheers,

Kathryn

www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

 

EMERGENT

 Emergent Gouache on paper 38 x 59 cm 2014

 

So...I am working towards my next solo exhibition Untethering Landscape...and in the process of painting and writing, new ideas emerge. It's a fun process!

These two works on paper, here in the post, continue my thoughts on untethering landscape from Earth-bound horizons. Emergent [top] shows glimpses of my much loved age-old transcultural/religious tree-of-life as it seems to emerge from some kind of happening...maybe the Big Bang? Life [and landscape] begins! These small glimpses take on a life of their own, as if they are unique 'scapes' of some kind. Yet, the viewer is aware of an enormity...a vastness...that hosts and embraces. Nothing is really in complete isolation.

The branches of the tree also take on a suggestion of systems, of all kinds, from naturally occurring to the human-made. Literal landscape is, after all, the result of a system, a highly complex one that produces life and matter.

As I have previously written, the symbolic potency of the tree-of-life crosses time, religions and cultures. The fact that it has been a meaningful symbol for humankind for so long makes me think that it holds clues for us 21st century dwellers of time and space too. We just have to explore, investigate...and untether the tree-of-life from historical visual manifestations, to discover new ways of interpreting its potency. Anyway...that's what I try to do!

Emergent Landscape Gouache on paper 52 x 115 cm 2014

 

 

Emergent Landscape...well this was fun to paint. Lots of water, paint and then waiting for it to dry before I started the line-work. The landscape seemed to emerge before my eyes. It was like my hand was being lead by something beyond me. I also love the way the watery background has created tree-like shapes, especially on the far right.

 

So, the painting could be a landscape emerging from a haze or glimpsed through rain or something similar. Yet, that's all a bit banal for me! Rather, it could be symbolic of new ideas about landscape itself. These ideas emerging from the exciting discoveries made by cosmologists. New perspectives of our planet and ourselves are on offer! Surely, these must translate into new concepts of landscape? Well, I think so!

 

 

 

Untethering Landscape

 

2 - 14 September 2014

 

Graydon Gallery

29 Merthyr Rd, New Farm, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, Earth, The UNIVERSE

 

Check out Untethering Landscape webpage HERE

 

 

 Cheers,

Kathryn

www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

 

 

 

 

 

BIRTH OF LANDSCAPE

Birth Of Landscape Oil on linen 138 x 168 cm 2014

 

Birth of Landscape continues my attempt to untether landscape from Earth-bound horizons. I am so serious about my quest that I am calling my next solo Untethering Landscape. I have made a separate page for the exhibition which you can view by clicking HERE

 

My idea for Birth Of Landscape [above] was to somehow capture a sense of landscape being born from the Big Bang. Yes! After all, without the Big Bang there would be no landscape...yet let's think about this...maybe there would be landscape...but without conscious and curious awareness by beings such as ourselves, would landscape 'exist'? There may be other curious and perceptive beings like ourselves 'out there', but whilst it's a tantalising thought, we have not met them yet! So, until such a time, let's explore landscape, let's rethink what it might be, let's expand our horizons beyond Earth into our Universal [and maybe Multiversal] environment.

 

Why?

 

Why? Scientific research is expanding our knowledge of the Universe, from the quantum to the vast, at an amazing pace. The 21st century is truly the cosmological age...cosmology being the scientific study of the Universe. The fascinating thing is that cosmology is a multidisciplinary field that crosses broad areas of science...and philosophy. Big questions about life, past, present and future are being asked. And...our relationship with our environment is an important part of the investigatory process.

 

 

SOME THOUGHTS AND OBSERVATIONS

 

Dr Michio Kaku

On Thursday night I attended the most wonderful presentation by theoretical physicist and futurist Dr. Michio Kaku. The packed audience loved it too. I went alone...and strangely did not run into anyone I know. Now, this is somewhat unusual in Brisbane, particularly when there is a massive attendance at an event, like there was on Thursday night. It was like....after dark the geeks come out to play! I absolutely loved it.

 

Dr. Kaku spoke about a range of issues and explorations from artificial intelligence, downloading/mapping our minds, travelling into space via our downloaded minds on lazar beams, abilities to be able to re-insert memories in dementia patients, issues to do with potential insertion of false memories and legal/ethical implications, time travel and so much more.

 

For me, the overarching question, dilemma, excitement is a need to think about what it means to be human in the 21st century. And...for me...untethering landscape form Earth-bound horizons will help us ponder what it does mean to be human, because by releasing our vision and horizons we see new perspectives, not only of our planet, but also of ourselves.

 

 

 Detail Birth of Landscape Oil on linen

 

 

THREATS

I love being a generalist. I love it because it means you can pick up links between things, events, ideas.

 

Here we go!

 

Dr. Kaku suggested that the main threat to humanity's growth, and ascension from what he calls level 0 to level 1, will be tribalism, aggression and those elements that cause conflict and war. Interestingly, only days beforehand I had read an article in the Otago Daily Times by Prof Kevin Clements, Director of the National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Otago, NZ. He is a wonderful and inspiring man. I know him...met him first when he worked at the University of Queensland. In his article Safety Possible Without Surveillance Prof Clements says, Our real security lies in the quality of the relationships we have with each other, rather than the security of our nation state. Whilst Prof Clements is writing about New Zealand's involvement in the 'Five Eyes' surveillance/security arrangement, the essence of his argument can be taken globally ie: the real threat to humanity [and the planet considering the range of bio/technological weapons available] is NOT getting on with each other!

 

Also, if you have time please watch this very recent panel discussion on the topic The Future Of Technology: Benefits and Risks . The event took place at MIT and was the launch of an exciting think tank Future of Life Institute . The panellists were Dr George Church (synthetic biology), Dr  Ting Wu (personal genetics), Dr  Andrew McAfee (second machine age, economic bounty and disparity), Dr Frank Wilczek (near-term AI and autonomous weapons) and Jaan Tallinn (long-term AI and singularity scenarios). One of the many things I took away from listening to the panel was that it's important that we get on with each other!

 

And, for another related perspective on the issue of what it is to be human in the 21st century, you might like to read An Economist's Guide To War And Peace by Steve Killelea, Executive Chairman of the Institute for Economics and Peace . Steve Killelea is an Australian, who sold his IT company before he launched into a life as a full-time advocate for peace. I have heard him speak, and his passion and energy are evident.

 

BIRTH OF LANDSCAPE

So, to the painting above! The background is fire and brimstone...the Big Bang. Superimposed onto this background is a 'landscape' in formation. As you can see the circular object is not complete...the background is evident between the forming 'landscape' elements. This circle could be planet, it could even be Earth, but it could also be symbolic of  smaller or even larger universal entities. The small tree, cradled within the forming 'landscape', represents....life...yes it is my much loved age-old transcultural/religious tree-of-life visualised for the 21st century ie: it has gone cosmic!

 

Cheers,

Kathryn

www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

 

*****NEXT EHIBITION - Brisbane - September

UNTETHERING LANDSCAPE

BIRTH OF WORLDS

Birth of Worlds Oil on linen 93 x 102 cm

 

 Birth of Worlds is an open ended title. Why? Because, what kind of worlds are being born? Regular readers will know that I like a little ambiguity. I like it because there's less chance of didacticism and falling prey to fashion or presumption. It means the viewer can take a journey into their own imaginations.

 

So for me...worlds? These could be the birth of the Universe, even the Multiverse? Or, formation of planets and stars. Or, the birth of things only visible through a microscope...the microscopic world! Now here's a big idea about birth...maybe the painting exemplifies the birth of everything from the quantum to the cosmic? Maybe the dancing branches of the trees-of-life create quivers and quakes that explode in all directions, leaving a world the spawns itself?

 

Plus, we cannot forget the imaginational, emotional and psychological worlds!

 

The two trees-of-life represent the age-old transcultural/religious symbol. I like that the tree-of-life is understood across time, cultures and religions as a symbol of life. This is why I use it in my paintings. But, I do not portray it a traditional manner. In my paintings I attempt to release it from historical visual representations, to reveal its potency for 21st century meaningfulness. It is still a symbol of life, but one that reaches beyond Earth-bound horizons to Universal [if not Multiversal] perspectives of life. It is a cosmological tree-of-life!

 

The light yellow trees, or round sections of trees, could be stars, other Universes, cells, energy, portals...what do you think? I like the way they interrupt, at the same time as promising more.

 

And, to the theme of my forthcoming exhibition Untethering Landscape.

 

Birth of Worlds being about...well...worlds...obviously also references landscape! Regular readers will know of my desire to untether concepts of landscape from Earth-bound horizons. I think, in a cosmological age, it is imperative that we do. Myopic vision focused on the known environment, may mean we miss something 'out there'. One thing that has struck me, about the fascinating field of cosmology [the scientific study of the Universe] is that whilst Earth maybe our home, the Universe [and maybe the Multiverse] is our environment.

 

Modern cosmologists are akin to the explorers of old...the ones that took to the seas discovering new lands with their exotic animals and plants, and their fascinating inhabitants. Artists responded to these newly discoveries through illustration, sublime landscape, imaginative renderings and so on. Regarding my own country of Australia*, think of the early artists who settled/visited the colonies of the 1800s eg: here's a few John Glover, Augustus Earle, Conrad Martens As time went by, and people had more experience of the Australian land, light and heat, artists responded in different ways to the Australian landscape. And, needless to say the indigenous Australian Aboriginal traditions of integrating in so many ways with landscape have influenced how landscape and its rendering is perceived. Aboriginal identity is tightly wound with landscape, in their art and other traditions. I believe, how landscape in rendered and perceived affects all identity...it's just that some people realise it more than others.

 

So, if we are to identify with a cosmological environment, in a way that helps us understand and appreciate it without limitations of fear and ignorance, I propose that we need to rethink concepts of landscape...untether it from Earth-bound horizons...and fly!

 

So yes...Birth of Worlds is a landscape too! An ambiguous one I know...I like to think of it as an invitation to viewers to explore...imagine being a cosmic explorer!

 

 

* Fascinating Fact: In Prague, on my recent visit, I went along to the Clementinum with its Astronomical Tower and amazing  library. We were not allowed to go into the library, but we could stand at the door and gaze into the extraordinary interior. There were about 5-6 old globes positioned down the middle of the room. Each was rather large and exquisitely rendered. But, there was one which I wish I could have seen up much closer. It was a globe that did not have Australia and California was an island. Fascinating insight into humankind's understanding of its environment at the time.

 

 Me on top of Prague's wonderful Clementinum: Stunning view!

 

 

 

EXHIBITION ALERT

-

UNTETHERING LANDSCAPE

SEPT 2 - 14

2014

Graydon Gallery

29 Merthyr Rd, New Farm, Brisbane, Australia, Earth, The Universe!


INSTAGRAM
I am now on Instagram
Just look up kathrynbrimblecombefox

 

 

Cheers,
Kathryn
www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com
 

 

 

 

 

 

A PAINTING'S CAPACITY TO APPROVE OR VETO: AN ARTIST'S PROCESS.

 

New stretchers [Belgian Linen] 

Please read my previous post called The Blank Canvas

 

So, I am painting...the large stretched canvas in the photo above. The two photos below show early stages. I am now working on more colour, more impact, light and shade, depth. It's a constant state of wonderful problem solving.

 

 

 A preliminary coat of paint

 

As I work, the painting 'speaks' to me. Yes, truly it does! It can veto my ideas! It can also 'grasp' my hand with approval! It can pose questions too. This is when I place the in-progress painting in a position where I will see it when I walk back into the studio...and then I walk out. I do other stuff, like write a BLOG post...and later when I return to the studio, I see the painting with fresh eyes. Sometimes I rework an area, other times I see something new, and on other occasions I fall in love with the painting...until it 'asks' me more questions I cannot immediately 'answer'...and I walk out again!

 

Yes, it is kind of like a relationship...

 

And, subsequent layers of paint.

Sometimes people ask me if it is hard to see paintings go ie: sell. Hey, no! I am happy they find new homes. It's a thrill to walk into someone else's house or business and see one of my paintings. Truly a thrill!

 

I also have them hanging in my house. But, they get changed very regularly as they go to exhibitions, competitions, sell etc. The photo below shows you how my work looks hanging in a domestic situation. Don't you just love the 1970s wood panelling! Actually, I have grown to like it a lot...time has given me plenty of space to get used to it. Funny thing is, it would have been very expensive in the 70s. I did not put it there...the previous owners did.

 

 

L to R Multiple Landscapes, When It Rained On Mars and Galactic Horizons And Beyond

But, getting back to the work in progress above.

It's a large painting, at this very minute leant up against my car parked in the carport, so that when I walk back into the studio [aka garage] I can see it through the open garage doors. Yes, I had reached a point where too many questions were muddling me, so I walked away...and I am writing this BLOG post.

I am actually looking forward to walking back into the studio. I have been painting long enough to know that the process is exciting. The problems are never really that bad, because the process gives me strategies to deal with them. Long ago when I was younger I would wipe out, tear up, get angry and frustrated...but with age I've learnt that the impasses are just as creative as the moments and hours when everything falls into place.

The new painting will be themed along the lines of the thoughts I expressed in my last post Prelude To Landscape And, I am happy to report that the painting is not vetoing...it's just asking questions!

Cheers,
Kathryn
www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

FINGERPRINTS OF EXISTENCE

Fingerprints of Existence Oil on linen 36 x 36 cm

 

In this new painting Fingerprints of Existence I have tried to capture a sense of life from before time, after time...at no time...without time...but with a kind of knowing or maybe a pre-knowing.

 

So what triggered me?

• The recent discovery of what scientists think is the signature of gravitational waves from the BIG BANG. A discovery which apparently supports the theory of inflation and strengthens the proposition that we live in a Multiverse. If you want to know more start HERE with an article in Scientific American. OK...so these gravitational waves, in my mind at least, conjure thoughts about fingerprints and line-markings on our hands. So, they are like identifiers of some kind...an identifier of life? A marking of existence.

What made me think more?

• Repetition of patterns in nature and the Universe. Think of the tree! Yes, I am going to write about my much loved age-old transcultural/religious tree-of-life. I suggest the tree became such an important and persistent symbol because it is such a remarkable reminder of life systems. Now, I am not suggesting that this has always been at a conscious level. For example, the human vascular system was not really understood until William Harvey's research in the early 17th century. However, prior to this there was an understanding of some kind of system. The branching tree shape, I propose, has always stirred a kind of knowing, as if stirring a memory, one at the cellular level. As the centuries have flown by science and exploration have revealed so much about our planet, humanity, the plant and animal kingdoms, space and the universe. The tree-like pattern repeats itself in the revelations....it's like a universal fingerprint!

and...

• In the painting I imagine the tree trunk as holding the elements and conditions that existed just prior to the BIG BANG... just prior to the massive inflation that was the BANG. The tree cascades from the trunk, spreading its code for existence across the canvas ie: THE Universe/Multiverse.

The question that intrigues me...and I am sure others...is:

• What was before the BIG BANG...before the elements and conditions that propelled the BANG?

 

TREE OF LIFE

Regular readers will know of my intense interest in the age-old transcultural/religious tree-of-life. I employ its marvellous potency in many of my paintings. This potency is all about life! The more I explore its immense treasures the more I discover about myself and the world. It has not been an age-old symbol of life, 'speaking' to people across cultures and eons, without reason! It 'speaks' to us at all levels, across times, even outside time and space, within a Universal/Multiversal psyche and dimension! Maybe like a code teasing for attention...

 

LANDSCAPE

And to my need...desire...to untether landscape from Earth-bound horizons. Regular readers will also know of this interest. In a sense Fingerprints of Existence is a landscape of existence! Well, when you think about it, the BIG BANG was actually the precursor...the prequel to landscape...so it housed the elements that lead to landscape. And, when you look at your fingerprints, your palm, your cardiovascular system, your  neighbourhood water system and more...the branching shape of a tree unfolds revealing, what could be called, the template for landscape. It exists, quite rightly so too, inside us...maybe it is us?

 

Within an art historical context, the landscape genre has evolved over time. Sub-genres such as the urban landscape, the idyll, the sublime, bride in the landscape, traditional and modern, seascape, futurist, dystopian, environmental etc etc all carry elements of the human psyche and visually parlays humanity's understanding of its environment at particular times in history. With contemporary cosmological research revealing more and more about the Universe [if not the Multiverse] it's time to take landscape beyond Earth-bound horizons....because whilst Earth maybe our home, the Universe/multiverse is our environment. Metaphorically speaking the Universal/Multiversal perspective implores us to seek new dimensions within too.

 

A cosmic perspective of Earth begs questions of ownership of land...surely we are all custodians of the planet...manmade boundaries seem somewhat insignificant when viewed through a cosmic lens? At this point in time, we ie: humanity do not have an alternative home...Earth is it! Let's work together...can we do it? I suggest rethinking concepts of landscape, and how landscape is depicted, may help shift human perspectives on a multitude of things...

 

SOME POSTS - UNTETHERED LANDSCAPE

Untethered Landscape

Other Worlds Ahoy!

The Value of Landscape 

 

 

NEWS

And, talking about landscape, ownership of land, human perspectives...I recently attended the opening of a very interesting and thought provoking exhibition Conflict: Contemporary Responses to War at the University of Queensland Art Museum. Indeed, conflict and war are, more often than not, about land, boundaries and what riches the land may hold. But, again a cosmic perspective proffers a very clear picture of the futility of war. I am going to return to the exhibition to have a closer look at the work of around 50 artists in the show.

 

I really enjoyed chatting to one of the artists Fatima Killeen, a Moroccan born Canberra based artist. Her work resonated with a deep sense of intelligence and heart. She has three colour collographs in the exhibition. They do not scream for attention, but when you look at them you are drawn in and captivated by, not only the literal layers of her technique, but also multiple layers of meaning.

TRAVELS
In case you missed my post about my recent travels abroad please click HERE

Very cold day in Budapest

Cheers,
Kathryn
www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

 

 

 

WAITING FOR THE BEEPS

I Spy Oil on linen 36 x 36 cm 2014

 

REAL-LIFE STORY
I heard a story the other day. A story of a real event. A young person was reversing a car...one that this person has driven before, but does not drive regularly. While waiting for the beeps...that help indicate if a car is getting too close to objects...the car smashed into a wall. You see...the car did not have a reverse parking sensing system, yet the driver, used to having such a system, still waited for the beeps.

Regular readers will know where I am going with this!

Yes. I have a concern that reliance on technology...even simple things like parking sensors and the like...will 'train' us to be unaware of our environment. We won't even think to do simple things like...look out the windows! How would we cope with the game I SPY? And, that brings me to a couple of previous posts I've written about this very topic. One is even titled Looking Out The Windows  Another is called Looking In The Rear Vision Mirror - Cosmically Speaking  And, another, possibly more obliquely related is Flick Of A Switch

Here's a quote, to give you a gist of these previous posts, from Looking In The Rear Vision Mirror - Cosmically Speaking 

So, 'looking out the windows' helps us literally and metaphorically practise perspective, seeing the close and far distances. Handy, in an age where repeated and continuous experience with the short distance between eye and screen exposes us to, and threatens us with, myopic sight and perspective.

 

In the middle of writing my last post I also thought...well what about the metaphoric possibilities of the rear vision mirror. If you want to know where I went with this metaphor click HERE

 

 

North South East West Gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm [unframed]

 

 

So, now I see a metaphor in waiting for the beeps!

 

If we wait for the beeps, because we assume they will warn us of impending disaster, we relinquish all kinds of things, from dexterous understanding of our physical environment, actually looking and seeing, employing innate sense...and ultimately power, self control, self preservation, critical reasoning and more. I am not saying that we eliminate technological warning signals, but we must be careful that they are not the only tools and capabilities employed. They are not a replacement, nor even simply an augmentation...they are just another tool in our 'perception kit'. We need to be careful that an assumption of the existence of warning signals does not train us to NOT see for ourselves, thereby emptying our 'kit' of a range of practical human abilities...plus knowing when to ask questions, use imagination to predict and so on. Indeed a kit with only one, or at best, a couple of tools, is not going to help when technology is compromised...or not available. A tool kit, full of tools, is an excellent one when its full with everything that is available. AND, a full kit means you have the scope to double-check eg: if you don't hear beeps, then look out the window...and employ powers of visual perspective to gauge and determine action!

 

For an insight into tool kits I invite you to read my previous post called Tool Kit

 

TECHNOPHOBE?

Now, some might think I am a technophobe. Well, I am not. It's just that I have been around it for a long time. You see, my Dad is a HAM radio enthusiast. He was a grain farmer, but preferred to spend time in his HAM shack, which was full of amazing techno gear. He made our first TV in the early 60s, our first record player about the same time. We always had the latest cameras, movie cameras, telephone systems and more. And, being a farmer, there was plenty of scope for various kinds of technology with machinery etc. My brothers are both involved in technology, one even in areas like Big Data and super computing.

 

So back to waiting for the beeps: There are so many What ifs?

 

If we relinquish practical skills, our sensory perception skills, imaginations, intuitions etc to an assumption that technology is the only provider a plethora of services/capabilities, including warning signals...then I think we are at risk of missing a glaring warning signal...and that is in the word assumption. BEEP  BEEP!

 

A reliance on technology creates a vulnerability in that it could be compromised eg: hackers, breakdown, cyber attack etc. Couple this with the potential loss/erosion of human skills and I believe we have increased vulnerability. BEEP BEEP!

 

 

Damned Gouache on paper 21 x 30 cm

 

 

Serendipitously, while I have been writing this BLOG post, I was alerted [on Twitter!] to an article written by four very influential science thinkers Stephen Hawking, Max Tegmark, Stuart Russell and Frank Wilzcek. The article 'Transcendence' looks at the implications of artificial intelligence - but are we taking AI seriously enough?'  examines some of the pros, but also the cons of technology, specifically artificial intelligence. For me, the last part of the title 'but are we taking AI seriously enough?' is a very loud BEEP...a caution to look up and take notice. Actually the whole article is essentially a BEEP BEEP BEEP! Please read the article...it is not a long one!

 

 

Risk Gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm 2010

 

NEWS

 

• My latest newsletter with more about my recent overseas trip etc is available online by clicking HERE
• There's a short article about my painting Super Earths Discovered in Highlife Downs Living The painting was a finalist in the $25,000 Stanthorpe Art Prize.
• My studio is one of a few featured in popular online magazine Hyperallergic's regular A View From The Easel 

 

Cheers,

Kathryn

www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

 

 

 

 

 

TRAVELS

I have just returned from a nearly four week trip overseas to Berlin, Prague, Budapest, Munich and Abu Dhabi. Travelling by train between Berlin...Prague...Budapest and Munich to take in the country-side.

I have not been overseas for nearly ten years and this opportunity provided me with a chance to suss out some possibilities for my art practice, such as residencies, exhibition, collaboration and networking.

I have long held a desire to undertake a residency, but due to commitments to children, this has not been something I could pursue...until this year when my youngest child finishes school. Yay! So...from the end of the year I am open to all sorts of new possibilities!

BERLIN

As a result of the trip my mind is full of ideas, not only for such things as residencies, but also for new paintings. In Berlin I visited a number of small commercial galleries, plus some large institutional ones. Old East Berlin, in areas such as Mitte, is abuzz with new galleries, coffee shops, restaurants and interesting boutique outlets.

I attended the opening of an exhibition of photographs by Australian artist Rex Dupain at the very hip space opened by enterprising Australian art dealer Michael Reid . The gallery is in Mitte, previously part of Easter Berlin. I also visited various other galleries including Gallery Eigan + Art and CWC [Camera Work Gallery]. The latter had a stunning exhibition Before They Pass Away of British photographer Jimmy Nelson's work. Information about this exhibition can be found on CWC's site and at Youtube.

The two photographs above are of me standing next to preserved parts of the Berlin Wall called East Side Gallery. Artists from all over the world have painted sections of this 1.3 km section of the Wall.

The photograph above is me standing with Joseph Beuys's Unschlitt...20 tons of tallow fat exhibited along with other of his works at the large contemporary gallery called The Hamburger Bahnhof...yes an old railway station. You can read more about Unschlitt HERE The gallery was fascinating, with artwork by many contemporary artists, some I knew and many I did not.

Another major institutional gallery highlight was seeing Chinese artist Ai Weiwei's exhibition Evidence at the Martin Gropius Bau. This large and extraordinary exhibition comprising installation, video, sculpture and more was thought provoking. I would have loved to have been able to return to see it again...there was a lot to take in.

I also visited a young Australian/Brisbane artist Karla Marchesi who has a studio in Berlin. It was wonderful to see a Berlin artist's studio...up five floors, in an old building in a suburban part of Berlin that would have been in the walled-off East section. Karla was busy working towards an exhibition in Singapore, plus she had just sent paintings to Brisbane for inclusion in an upcoming exhibition David Malouf And Friends at the Museum of Brisbane [MOB].

PRAGUE

I loved Prague! Here's me rubbing the lucky sculpture of St John Of Nepomuk on Carles Bridge. Apparently this brings good luck and return visits to Prague. So, I was keen to line up for my turn to rub!

Prague is a truly beautiful city...like a fairytale. One of many highlights was visiting the Klementinum and its Astronomical Tower and old library. With my interest in cosmology, a visit to a place where scientists from centuries ago studied the Universe, was particularly amazing. The photo below is me after I have climbed to the top of the Astronomical Tower to then be rewarded with terrific views across Prague.

 

 

As a result of my visit to Prague I am very keen to pursue a residency in the Czech Republic. I have a young Czech friend, who I hosted in Brisbane when she studied English a few years ago. She suggested then that I should go to the Czech Republic for a residency...and she was right! 

 

And one more Prague photograph. This time I have the city behind me after I have climbed to see the Castle area. I am on my way down. As you can see the blossoms were out!

 

 

BUDAPEST

 

Another magical city! I was not sure what to expect in Budapest, but it was fantastic. The sense of a magnificent history permeated every corner. Like Prague the old buildings resonated with elegance and a quiet majesty, despite ghostly remnant reminders of the communist presence during the Cold War.

 

 

 

 

I was busy in Budapest with visits to the castle area, a walking tour through the city, bathing at one of the old thermal baths, visiting a few private art galleries, night time river cruise along the Danube and more. The galleries I visited were in old buildings accessed via intercom, into a courtyarded area, up a few flights of stairs and into charming apartments made into very contemporary spaces.

 

The photograph below is of me gazing over Budapest from the castle area on the Buda side of the Danube.

 

 

 

 

The photo below is of a public artwork/sculpture I found whilst wandering through the streets of Budapest. It is a fountain of sorts! The water acts as a page of a book being turned. You can find this intriguing piece at Henszlemann Imre Utca...but I cannot find the artist's name anywhere...and rest assured if I could I certainly would acknowledge him/her. It is one of the best public art pieces I have seen. [If anyone can tell me the name of the artist, please let me know!]

 

 

 

 

MUNICH

I had been to Munich for a day in 1986 and had always wanted to return to this elegant and beautiful city. I met up with Dr. Charles Savage a great mentor, teacher and communicator. I've known Charles for a few years and admire his pursuit of community and spiritual depth. I was thrilled a year or so ago to be invited by him to conduct a presentation via Skype to MBA students at the Munich Technical University.

So, only a few days in Munich and they were packed, even though it was over Easter. I visited the Pinakothek de Moderne [Gallery] and saw some more Beuys works, plus earlier masters-of-modernity such as Picasso, Braque, Klee, Miro and more. A exhibition Drawing by British artist David Shrigley was particularly delightful.

I was also taken by the paintings of controversial German artist George Bazelitz's. One gallery space exhibited a number of his works. Baselitz is the artist who famously [or infamously] recently announced that women cannot paint...here's link to an article by Nicholas Wroe in The Guardian that will introduce you to Baselitz, if you have not already heard of him.

As well as the art...there are the cakes in Munich too...see the photo below. I discovered this cake shop on my way to see the Nymphenburg Palace...a lovely palace too [see the photo belwo the cake one]

 

 

 

ABU DHABI

 

And, after the Spring lushness and colour of Europe I landed in Abu Dhabi, a place I had wanted to return to since 2005 when I held a solo exhibition at the Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation. The contrasting landscape really hit me. Sand, dust, massive V8 cars everywhere, architecture gone wild and people in their flowing robes, women in black and men in white.

 

I had two days of meetings with various people from different organisations. I am keen to see if I can return to the UAE for a residency and/or exhibition plus to give presentations and workshops.

 

My meetings went really well, with positive responses from everyone.

 

And, now I have to work out and strategise what I want to do! I only got home yesterday and I have already sent emails off, looked up grant and residency applications and so on. My thoughts are forming into a 12 to 18 month long project...shall keep you posted!

 

It was a wonderful and stimulating trip, which paves the way for the next period of my art practice!

 

Cheers,

Kathryn

www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

FASHION

                                                              'Planet $' Oil on linen 30 x 30 cm

I've been travelling...and have had a fabulous time. However...

I personally think that the ubiquity of fashion is the demise of identity. The so-called high fashion shops such as Prada, YSL, Ferragamo, Gucci, Armani etc line the better avenues of cities all over the world. In my mind creating a blandness that spoils local identity. It also engenders disappointment in the visitor to that city...well that's how my daughter and I felt. Then there are the not-so-high fashion shops that also spread their insidious sameness eg: Zara, Mango, H&M etc.

Walking into these shops...actually just passing by them...suspends you from locality. You could be anywhere...even in a kind of suspended world that is not about a unique locale...but about a recognition of sameness...the possibility of conformity to so much more than just style. Obviously the seepage of fashion into, what seems like, the four corners of the world is all about money. Why else would one dilute one's affective 'personality'?

But, it is not all depressing news. In Berlin, Prague and Budapest I saw some fabulous designs, but normally by accident. These boutiques are ones you discover around the corner from the main boulevards and squares. Dressed in one's tourist gear (ie: the same jumper worn for days, running shoes because your other shoes hurt with all the walking, camera around your neck etc) you feel like a goose wherever you are!

But, the insidious spread of certain types of fashion got me thinking about my painting...a small one...called 'Planet $'. It was inspired by the $ value placed on resources...questioning notions of 'value'.

But fashion is also a culprit...and in a sense a victim as well.

Cheers,
Kathryn
www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

INSIDE LANDSCAPE AND THE SUBCONSCIOUS

Feel The Energy Gouache on paper 40 x 110 cm 2003

 As promised in my last post, here are some more paintings from my map drawers.

This post exhibits a few of my older landscapes, ones that seem to delve inside the landscape. But, upon reflection I now see that each one reveals a cosmos within. Each one could be an imagined depiction of the vast landscape of the Universe, and maybe the Multiverse.



 Hovering Gouache on paper 52 x 114 cm 2003

As you can see from the dates, these paintings are around ten years old. At that time I explored landscape with an interest in the macro and micro, but I had not consciously launched my perspective into space. Yet, maybe my subconscious was already there?

Certainly, as a child, I used to lie in my bed and wonder about how far space went, where was the beginning, was there an end, how did it all start? These questions even kept me awake some nights.

My Heart Sings Gouache on paper 56 x 115 cm 2005

The five works on paper are either stored in my map drawer or have been sold. Thus, I don't get to see them much. But, recently I went through my map drawer...tidying it up...and I spent time with works on paper I had not seen for ages.

The impact of seeing new perspectives in these older paintings is both startling and greatly satisfying. It certainly does make me think about the influence of the subconscious.

And, maybe it is a mixture of my individual subconscious and also that of the collective subconscious, where all history perhaps resides!? 

 Memory Traces of The Land Gouache on paper  52 x 114 cm 2003 [sold]

The Mirage Gouache on paper 52 x 114 cm 2003 [sold]

The painting below Traces Of Spirit is the only oil on linen painting in this small online exhibition. I actually have it hanging on a bedroom wall. So, I do see it regularly. Yet, it was not until I reflected upon the works on paper, after their long dark 'sleep' in my map drawer, that I looked at Traces Of Spirit with new eyes. Yes, it is much more than a landscape, but at the time of painting it, I was thinking about spirit in the land, the Earth. Now I see more Universal/Multiversal forces!

Traces Of Spirit Oil on linen 55 x 80 cm 2003

Cheers,

Kathryn

www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com