In our good books

Spectrum, 2009, oil on linen, 81cm x 81cm.
Courtesy of the artist and Dianne Tanzer Gallery.

One blog post that fired up massive interest readers would have to be our Q&A with Queensland artist Victoria Reichelt. It ran back in March and, literally, ricocheted around the world, even landing in The New Yorker's book blog.



If you're around Sydney's footpaths, you can see Victoria's beautifully bookish artwork in two places for the next little while.

Currently, she's in the RBS Emerging Artist Award exhibition, which is on at the amazing Renzo Piano-designed RBS Tower, 88 Phillip Street, Sydney, only until Oct 2. However, if she ends up as a finalist, you'll be able to see her painting from October 6-30, open 7.30am to 7pm on weeknights. Fingers (and bookmarks) crossed she makes the cut.

And if you are walking by the Australia Council building near Central Station (372 Elizabeth Street, Surry Hills, to be precise), you'll be able to gaze at her Ex-Libris and Collapse painting in the display, next to Julian Meagher's Kirin and Geisha with Jade Dagger and Lily Hibberd's Celestial navigation, until November 27.

An event that's very calendar-close to that date is Victoria's new solo show at Dianne Tanzer Gallery in Melbourne. I love the sneak peek that I have seen – how incredible is the hyper-bright Yellow Fever painting for that show? You can see it in person from November 21 at the exhibition, which takes place at 108-110 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy.

 
Yellow Fever, 2009, oil on linen, 81cm x 81cm. Courtesy of the artist and Dianne Tanzer Gallery

And if you are in Brisbane, you can own one of her artworks for $3.25 – Victoria's Snowdomes painting (as seen on our Editor's Choice page in Jan/Feb 2008) is available as a gift card in the gift shop of the Gallery of Modern Art. (Please don't clear out the store of all of them, I'd like a copy, too!)

To find out more about Victoria's amazing work, head to www.victoriareichelt.com.

Lee Tran, deputy chief sub-editor

Written in the stars

Personalised stars from Paper Boat Press

These cosmically good decorations not only add sparkle to your tree but identify your Christmas scheme as unmistakable yours. Kylie Johnson, who runs Paper Boat Press in Brisbane, can have your name stamped onto Milky-Way-white stars.

Orders close October 15, so rocket into action now – head to Kylie's online store.


Vintage button stars from Paper Boat Press

Twinkle, twinkle little star, now we know just whose you are!

Susan, chief sub-editor


Christmas bird decorations from Paper Boat Press

Unlocking the world with Melbourne artists Gracia Haby and Louise Jennison

Something mighty peculiar was afoot but I was hard-pressed to say for certain what it was by Gracia Haby & Louise Jennison

The online world is a great tool in connecting us with creatives, especially when it comes to these two artists: Gracia Haby and Louise Jennison. They like to tinker late at night and use paper as their primary medium, making limited edition artists' books, lithographic offset prints and zines.

They are also responsible for Hammer & Daisy, a handmade, one-of-a-kind range that includes postcards, journals, notebooks and soft toys. You can bag Gracia and Louise's zines, artist proofs, books and notebooks at their online store, www.gracialouise.bigcartel.com.


'But for the moon nobody could see us' installation at Imp Gallery

I describe the pair as crafty, visual storytellers; Gracia and Louise's creations are soulful, childlike, soft and nurturing. Looking at their work inspires and makes me feel a little dreamy. Fuelled with my new-found awe for these artists, I wanted to discover a little more. The girls generously answered a few questions – see below for insight into these creative souls.


'But for the moon nobody could see us' installation at Imp Gallery

What are the inspirations for your up-and-coming exhibition at Craft Victoria in Melbourne?
A Key To Help Make Your Own World Visible, the title of our forthcoming exhibition in gallery two of Craft Victoria, is drawn from Hermann Hesse’s novel of 1927, Der Steppenwolf: "I can throw open to you no picture-gallery but your own soul. All I can give you is the opportunity, the impulse, the key. I help you to make your own world visible. That is all."

We set to create a series of other worlds that lie hidden, other interior worlds viewed with the twin "gleam of pain and beauty that comes from things past" (also from Der Steppenwolf). It serves as an ever-flexible springboard from which we’ve been launching ourselves from for some time now.


'But for the moon nobody could see us' installation at Imp Gallery

We have also looked to the seductive power of nostalgia. Our keepsakes, these objects gathered, perhaps they are not all what they appear at first cursory glance.

This, in a loosely formed nutshell, is the story behind our forthcoming exhibition.


'But for the moon nobody could see us' installation at Imp Gallery

How long has it been in the making?
For some time now and it is, as you’d expect, gathering fierce momentum as the date for installation draws ever nearer. The works exhibited will be the result of roughly a year, or more, in some cases, and we are being driven slightly mad as anticipation and nerves mount.

Between the two of you, who is better at what?
Having worked collaboratively for a little over ten years now, we wear our collaboration like a second skin. As Ramona Barry and Rebecca Jobson referred to us in their recent book I Make Stuff, "perhaps it is easier to think of them as a left and right hand of the same body."

That one favours watercolour pigment to scissors is of no surprise, we’re sure. Perhaps we could also add, one of us is more comfortable working within the realm with colour, the other with framing a composition. One favours the spoken word, the other the written.


'But for the moon nobody could see us' installation at Imp Gallery

What's the best thing about working together?
Sharing the combined weight of ridiculous doubtfulness and maddening frustration is one of the best things about working side by side and on the one image or page. Yes, a load shared is lighter, this much is true – it is also a reassuring path to tread. But it is challenging, too. It helps keep one motivated. It is endlessly inspiring. And it is comfortable in the best possible sense. Seems it is every little thing to us.


Something mighty peculiar was afoot but I was hard-pressed to say for certain what it was by Gracia Haby & Louise Jennison

And the worst?
As two peas in a pod, sometimes – it has to be said – we lack the voice of reason, someone to firmly place both feet on the earth, grounded once more to reality after a bout of fancy or self-doubt. Sometimes such similarity of working, and thinking, too, has its downfall.

A well-known joy of collaboration is that it yields fruit not possible without the other, that an image can be made that would have been possible by no other means; for such a reward, who wouldn’t risk a little madness?


'But for the moon nobody could see us' installation at Imp Gallery

You say you tinker late at night, how late are we talking? Do you find the night particularly inspiring or is it a logistical matter?
While one of us is more of a natural night owl than the other, we rather fell into this pattern of working at night due to logistical reasons referenced. It is quiet in the house, it is quiet in the street outside our house, and the body feels ready for a little stillness after the day. It feels as though you are less aware of the time passing as you sit and either draw or cut out future collage pieces. Daytime chores don’t nag for attention either.


'But for the moon nobody could see us' installation at Imp Gallery

Sometimes it can be more than logistical reasons that find us working late. It is an inspiring time to set the mind exploring or to harness the idyll dreams from the day.

Sometimes we work into the early hours of the morning, though this is not nearly as often as we’d have you believe.


'But for the moon nobody could see us' installation at Imp Gallery

In the upcoming show, what are your favourite pieces?
We are having a great deal of fun putting together the different works for this exhibition. There will be watercolours, there will be artists’ books; there will be framed pieces, prints on the wall. Neither of us is yet sure what piece or pieces we will be particularly attached to. Perhaps once we see it installed in the calm white of the gallery space … Working from our home-based studio, most of our work, once dry, is quickly whisked away to be stored or under press.


'But for the moon nobody could see us' installation at Imp Gallery

Gracia Haby & Louise Jennson: A Key to Help Make Your Own World Visible is on from October 22-November 29 at Craft Victoria, 31 Flinders Lane, Melbourne. For more information on the artists, visit www.gracialouise.com.

Vanessa, style editor

Milkbars, laundromats and more with Melbourne artist Gemma Jones

Photo by Miikel Doomernick, who is also part of the 'Milkbars …' show

You've just co-curated the 'Milkbars, Laundromats and Urban Beauty' exhibition, which opened last night. How did the idea for the show kickstart?
Well, I think it hit like a lightning bolt. I think my brain works in this way, where it secretly brews ideas, and then they seem to be SUDDENLY born.

I'm a bit of a Flickr addict. I've been documenting photographs of shopfront tiles for a couple of years – they're a certain type of little, humble tile; a type of decoration that is slowly disappearing from the suburban landscape.


Details of tiles by Gemma Jones

Initially there were some other artists invited that expanded the vision of the show - but with the four of us (Gemma, Natalie Jeffcott, Miikel Doomernick, Eamo Donnelly), the verve is quite specific and hummingly close! It really came together beautifully. Australiana, sugar and goodness.



Photo by Miikel Doomernick

What was it like working with Natalie? Is it easier/hard curating a show with someone else?
Generally I prefer doing stuff like this myself. As much as I love collective force, sometimes the best way to get something done is to do it yourself.

But with Nat, I think our combined energy is ace. We both have skills that really complement each other. And we seems to love and hate similar things. Nothing like a mutual dislike to really cement a friendship! Hahaha.

It's about mutual respect and somehow having our emotional roller-coasters in-sync too!


Photo by Miikel Doomernick

Can you tell me some interesting things about the artists involved in the show?
Eamo has his own custom ESKY he is bringing to the exhibition to serve Sunnyboys out of. He's also an illustrator for Playboy magazine.

Miikel has crawled under primary school verandahs in his youth to look for vintage soft drink cans and ice-cream wrappers. He also owns a very cute dog, which is a grey and white border collie.


Photo by Miikel Doomernick

I have a frozen kangaroo-shaped ice block that has been in my freezer for about 5 years. I can't bring myself to eat it. I also really love licking chocolate freckles and pressing them into my cheeks to give myself rainbow blush. Did I just say that?

Natalie owns the best hammock ever that she brought all the way from Mexico. She also has some really good spaceman-shaped bottles in her collection that make me very happy! OH, and she makes the best chocolate mousse.


Photo by Miikel Doomernick

Did you hang out at a few milkbars for "research"? How many are left in Melbourne, are they fairly rundown? Why the fascination with something so nostalgic?
I like to buy mixed lollies and Tarax lemonade from a milkbar when I pass one. I like it even more if they have a tiled frontage or doorstep for me to snap!

I think that these old-fashioned local institutions are important because they were specific to a locality. And they were owned by individuals or families who put their own stamp of local charm on the space. They built up relationships with locals and with kids. It was a safe place for kids.


Photo by Miikel Doomernick

24-hour convenience stores are all homogenised and just aim to make the most money possible. I associate them with hold-up robberies, fluorescent lights, over-priced multi-national products and a boring sameness.

Milkbars of old might be nostalgic, but they were also heartfelt and Australian.


Details of tiles by Gemma Jones

What are your favourite memories of childhood milkbars?
In Western Australia, we called them 'delis'. I was obsessed with Back Cat chewing gum. It came in individually wrapped pieces. But I wasn't allowed to have gum, so it just made me want it more. I remember one day my grand pop bought me some – oh happy days!

I still remember the very first time my mum let me go to the deli to buy milk by myself. I remember walking to the deli, wondering all the way if you asked for "A pint of milk" like they did on TV. I bought the bottle, but in my excitement smashed it on the way home! The adventure and anxiety!


Photo by Gemma Jones

Can you tell me about your other projects?
My main ongoing project is my practice as a painter. It's the most important thing to me, but sadly I don't get to paint as much as I would dream. I would definitely be happier and a more satisfied person if I could pick up a brush more often. Maybe this summer will see a big Gemma painting revival?

Gemma = www.gemmajones.net.


Prints by Gemma Jones

I'm also in a collaborative art team with artist Lauren Brown. Together we are The Candystripers. We candystripe stuff. And have a good time doing it.

Lauren = www.sheseesred.com.

I'm also the ringleader of an alternative craft collective called the Kaotic Kraft Kuties. We are a little random and a bit of a motley crew – but it's been such a liberating thing to be part of.

And, I'm also the Art Editor at large for The Vine. So I'm always on the look out for new artists to talk to and exhibitions to see.

I guess it's not a "project" if it's my job – but on top of all these other things, I also work full-time at Outré Gallery in Melbourne.


Print by Gemma Jones

How do you juggle everything? Do you have any advice on how to creatively multi-task without going crazy (and losing lots of sleep)?
I do lose sleep and sometimes I do go a little crazy. But, I don't have children and I don't have a partner either, so I'm able to be pretty selfish with my time. And there is generally no one to see me going crazy or tell me to go to bed.

I think I just have one of those minds that gets excited about lots of ideas – and I also like to share and connect with people. So, I guess my driving force is something that is an innate passion.

I have multiple notebooks, lists-upon-lists, ongoing reminders written on my hand and a very well-loved diary. Plus I'm always emailing myself and texting myself to remind me of all my pending deadlines. I'd like to think that there was a single way that I keep on top of things, but I don't think there is! Creativity rises from mild chaos, I think.


Print by Gemma Jones

I do try and keep busy without going crazy tho. My friend introduced me to The Daily Om recently – and as daggy as that sounds, sometimes I just need a gentle reminder to slow down and smell the roses!

I come from a pretty creative and busy family. I was looking at this mammoth book on Le Corbusier with my Dad earlier this year – and he said something like "You know, he had just as many hours in the day as anyone else." That really struck a chord with me as a motivation not to let procrastination get the better of me.

That's not to say I don't know how to relax with my friends and enjoy a drink and fun times. It's a balancing act – but I think I manage to pile lots into the basket.

Oh, and I don't watch television. Television is a time sucker, yo!


Tableau by Gemma Jones

Can you tell me about the tableaux on your Flickr, they are very cool!
Oh, ha! They are little, simple exercises in telling mini narratives I suppose! They are little snapshots of my daily life. Like a diary. Sometimes they might just be a pretty picture to other people, but to me they are layered reminders of days, moments, secrets.

You mention that there are 'surprises' in store for the show. Without giving the game away, can you drop some hints?
The surprises will be lovely! Sweet surprises! Nostalgic surprises.

We were tipped off on this amazing confectionary factory in the Melbourne suburbs that has been making specialty products for milkbars and corner stores on the same machinery for 60 years! We are paying them a visit for y'all!


Tableau by Gemma Jones

What do you have coming up, besides a fab trip to New York?
My friend Angelique Houtkamp is coming out to Australia from Amsterdam for a book launch and exhibition that we are doing through Outré. I'm super excited about the project and about spending a little time with her. Her new book is called Tattoo Mystique and is the follow up to another book we did with her a few years ago called Tattoo Darling.

And when I come home from New York in late November, I'm hosting an Open Studio at my workspace in Yarraville under the umbrella of the Big West Festival (November 28-29, 11am-5pm on both days). I'm super excited about this. For two days, people will be invited to come and visit me. See what I'm working on, see a gocco printing demo, buy prints and paintings straight from my studio … and share a cup of coffee, too!


Tableau by Gemma Jones

Gemma Jones is the co-curator of 'Milkbars, Laundromats and Urban Beauty', along with Natalie Jeffcott (you can see some of Natalie's photographs in the latest Inside Out). The show is on Thursday to Sunday 11am-5pm, until October 11, at Arthur's Circus, 631 Queensberry Street, North Melbourne, as part of Melbourne Fringe Festival.

For more info on Gemma's work, head to www.gemmajones.net.

Lee Tran, deputy chief sub-editor

Art that counts

It's always good having a second set of eyes size something up for you. We're lucky because we have an army of sharp-sighted readers and some of them noticed the cool, witty artwork of American artist Craig Damrauer lining the walls of Matt Eastwood's home which ran in Inside Out's last issue.



The photo by Jason Busch was among many sprinkled throughout the spread and, thanks to just one caption in the story, the feedback ricocheted back to the artist himself, who contacted us once he sleuthed out where all the flurry of interest had come from:

I've gotten all of these wonderful emails from your readers asking for prints of my work and I think it has something to do with you guys. First of all, thank you so much. I don't know if it was purposeful or a happy accident, either way, I appreciate it.



I'm really glad that Craig emailed us because I've been a quiet fan of his work since fact-checking that Matt Eastwood story a while back. His New Math prints manage to filter and compact bulging, complicated thoughts into snappy, insightful punchlines – a neat equation that adds to (or multiplies) the ways we can see the world.



I love the equations you come up with for New Math. How did the idea start?
I was in a bit of a creative funk for a little while so I bought a little notebook and a charcoal pencil and told myself that I couldn’t come back to the apartment until the notebook was full. I was living in Manhattan at the time and just wandered the streets thinking and drawing and generally messing around. At some point during the day, I stumbled on to the idea for New Math, as well as the idea that became Things I Learned From My Alien Abduction. Lucky day.



Can you tell me a little about your background – have you always been into illustration? And what's your lifelong relationship with math been like?
I’ve always made things. My folks are both PhD chemists and so my brother and I spent our entire childhoods doing various pseudo-scientific projects. We grew things, made various contraptions, buried and unburied dead things, fooled around with electronics, ceramics, wood, you name it. My grandfather was a hardware wholesalesman and so we had the added joy of lots and lots of tools at our disposal. I think science and art have a lot of common elements, namely curiosity and a drive to make things, so it doesn’t surprise me that the expressway dumped me here.



As far as math is concerned, I always loved math and science. The only problem was that I was never that good at them. I had reasonable understanding but just couldn’t speak fluently enough to pursue them. My brother went on to get a PhD in chemistry. I tried to do physics but ended up studying writing because it was really fun.



I love the range of observations you cover on New Math – covering everything from (slightly suspect) parental advice, modern art, Botox, the workings of the legal system, economic failure and the importance of helmets. Can you tell me how some of these ideas are generated?
Well, for the record, all parental advice is slightly suspect, isn’t it? I don’t quite know how I choose a topic. Sometimes it’s stuff I’ve been thinking about, sometimes it’s stuff I hear. I generally write in spurts and fits because, believe it or not, the equations are a bit hard for me to write. So I’ll set aside a bunch of time and write a good handful.



As for how the actual thinking goes, man, I wish I knew. I’ve always thought in metaphor and I suppose this is an extension of that kind of thinking. That and it has to be funny or really profound.



Have there been any remarkable responses to New Math? And have certain equations just seem to have resonated & developed a life of their own? Do you find people ever suggesting equations to you?
I think the best part of this whole project is just how it resonates with people.

I noticed on Twitter a bit ago that people were using the tag #newmath to denote any type of word-mathematical description, which is amazing.



I also get a good amount of people sending me their own suggestions and equations. It’s fun because they tend to be very original and funny.

A sixth grade teacher in New Jersey here in the States went so far as to ask her class to create them as an assignment. My favorite from that batch was ‘Little Brother = Evil + Annoying’. So it’s been quite wonderful.



Some of your non-Math artwork is obviously influenced by your children. How much of a role do they (deliberately or inadvertently) play on your creativity?
Kids are like little batteries as far as creativity is concerned. And if you’re sensitive, as I am, to narrative, nonsense and interesting phrases – boy, are kids fun to hang out with.

My kids tend to be around when I’m actually doing the work and I’m always thinking about what I do, so I guess their influence just seeps in.



You're based in Brooklyn. How important are your surroundings in influencing your imagination and work?
Brooklyn is amazing because there is a ton of fantastic words and phrases on signs that inspire me as I run around and there’s just enough light and space here that I can get some good things made. But your question is really good. I’d be interested to see what would happen if I had a bigger studio and was in a more sparse environment.



I was thinking a lot about this the other day because I was on a boat and the sun was setting which made the sky this incredible red/orange/pink/blue. I was thinking about all of those artists you see in seaside towns who simply paint the beautiful variations in the sky and how exactly right that must be for them.



I read that you work in advertising – what's it like juggling your art projects with your pay-the-bills work?
It’s hard. I like what having stability brings (i.e. a semi-solid family life and the ability not to have to compromise my artistic work.) But it’s a tough balance. I think it’s important to work hard at the job-job and so that leaves very little time at the edges to do the things that drive me artistically. What this means is that the ideas just pile and pile up in my head and notebooks.



What do you have coming up next? Currently you're selling T-shirts online but will people be able to get copies of your prints?
Those prints are available and looking for good homes. Next in the New Math world will be a small book that was edited by Ed Ruscha and I’m going to do a limited edition screenprint of the Modern Art equation at some point in October.



In the studio I’m really pushing hard on screenprints. I’m brushing the paint before it dries after a printing and printing multiple times and getting these really nice and disturbing effects. I’m working on some canvases that talk back and forth to each other. One says, ‘Go ask your mother.’ The other says ‘Go ask your father.’

I’m doing a larger piece which is essentially an abstract story and I’m also doing a piece that’s based on a bunch of memories, some mine and some not.



How would you describe yourself as an equation?
Some things defy equations.

(My take on Craig's ideas would be: Wit + Originality x Something No One Else Has Thought Of Before = Awesome.)

To see more of Craig Damrauer's New Math (and to order a cool equation-emblazoned T-shirt), click here. To find out more about Craig's other artwork, head here or order a recent print.

Lee Tran, deputy chief sub-editor