Cash Brown Courbet

L'Origine Du Monde is one of Courbet's most famous paintings. When painted 143 years ago, it was - perhaps not suprisingly - banned from public exhibition. Though there is a tendency to think that what was then was then, and that today we live in a much freer society, a society far more open minded to matters as seemingly trivial as depictions of the human body.
Though it seems that Sydney Olympic Park Authority will have none of this lewdness and have similarly censored an appropriation of Courbet's work by Sydney artist Cash Brown, deciding to display it "behind a curtain with a viewer advisory warning and eliminating it from the exhibition catalogue". (see also; Tea Tree Gully Council's decision to ban a nude painting and sculpted bust last year).

The only online source i could find for this story was the Brisbane times which unfortunatly does not have an image of the offending work, titled Fuck LeWitt. Though luckily Brown's mural seems to follow a series of approriations of Courbet's work; images which are available on her wesbite.
Perhaps Brown would have had more luck if she had instead submitted her work Monochrome (2008) to the exhibition.

As well as being an artist Courbet was an Anarchist, and fittingly, he was one of the founders of Fédération des artistes, a federation of mostly realist artists that aimed to support the free and uncensored exhibition of art. Courbet was one of the more publicly known French artists in the second half of the 19th century, and Napolean attempted to use Courbet's popularity to increase his own appeal by nominating Courbet to the Legion of Honour, however Courbet adamantly refused. Courbet was active within the Paris Commune and argued for the destruction of the Vendome Column;

"Inasmuch as the Vendôme column is a monument devoid of all artistic value, tending to perpetuate by its expression the ideas of war and conquest of the past imperial dynasty, which are reproved by a republican nation's sentiment, citizen Courbet expresses the wish that the National Defense government will authorise him to disassemble this column."

When the scum eventually returned to power Courbet was charged and ordered to pay for the rebuilding of the monument. Instead he left for Switzerland and died the day before his first payment was due.

G20 Benefit

Help out some comrades who need it.

Circuit Bending/Ad-hoc/New Band

While it may not be new to many, it is new to me, and it is certainly looks like tons of fun.

The basic premise is to mess around with the circuitry of a sound producing toy or appliance to make a new and interesting sound(s). Though sound is not the only thing that can be "bent" as the video below shows; video signals too can also be bent to produce some very interesting stuff.





Over the last few weeks i have been working on a few ad-hoc objects, making a lamp out of a kettle i found, a candle holder out of the kettle's element and so on, and now i've learnt of circuit bending, i guess i could call those works case bending or something to that effect, as i've not changed any circuitry (yet).

I suppose i enjoy the fact that making do with improvised items is a creative act that has the immediacy of practicality and purpose. At our new squat we have a kitchen sink make of a sink top and milk crates, a door as a bench top, another door as a coffee table and old planks and boards for floors and so on - all these things as well as being free have a wonderful aesthetic that i wouldn't trade for ikea furniture.

I really wish i did have a camera to get up some pictures of our squat as i didnt get many pictures of the last place up either, though we were robbed the other day and unfortunatly a housemates camera was stolen. I have been able to borrow some recording devices from Uni however to record a sound project i've been working on and you can listen to it here. There are some downloads too, coming soon however will be a downloadable .pdf that you can fold into a CD case.

Until next time.

The [We Need A Name For This Place] Squat.

While comrades in Melbourne were being harassed by landlords, squatting communities in Papua New Guinea having their settlements burnt and demolished by cops, Big Bbusiness planning to descend on squatters in Ghana, and Kenyan squatters demanding land be returned by the Government; one of Sydney's largely gentrified, though conveniently located Inner-West suburbs got a whole lot more squatty!

A few comrades and me have turned a really (really) nice empty, into a really (really) great home.

After squatting our place, we noticed that a large industrial building next door was also empty, and so now that is being used as well, with plans afoot to create a people's kitchen.

We were shown our place by friendly squatters from down the road, who have helped us out a lot. which just goes to show that if you want to squat in Sydney, you just need to get in contact with the squatters. The community in Sydney is actually quite vibrant despite being smallish in comparison to other cities, and everyone involved is happy help out - so squat!
We've been living here for about a month now, these photo's were mostly taken before we moved in. So a lot has changed.

For some pictures, starting with the overgrown yard. This was cleaned up pretty quickly with a lot of initial enthusiasm (and before the 40°C days.)
Some of the rooms;
Our ghetto lock;

Front bedroom clothing solutions;

Zinescene

Crowbar My Heart Issue Two
Issue two of Crowbar My Heart (the world's greatest squatting zine) is now out!
It features a sub par article by myself, as well as great articles by Jase + Fez about their squat, an interview/article about Melbourne's SHAC, howto's on composting + squat gardening as well as pigeons, notes, reviews, cartoons and more!
Issues can be got from Comrade Crowbar, if you email at comradecrowbar [at] yahoo [dot] com [dot] au! Submissions including pretty pictures are welcomed he says.



MAKESHIFT Issue One
Another zine that came into my hands recently was the first issue of Makeshift, with the rather broad theme Alternatives. The broad theme being a great thing as the Zine, full of creative writing, was able to spread out into different areas.
The stories are about housing, kings cross, a anti-hero superhero, an elderly relative, religion and the universe. To get copies or make submissions contact Makeshiftzine [at] gmail [dot] com. The theme for the next issue is Baffle, though submissions have closed for that, so contact the above address and find out what you need to write about!

£6m House, 30 Rooms, One Careful Anarchist Collective.

An Anarchist/Artists collective called the Da! Collective, have opened up a beautiful house in one of London's "Poshest" areas according to this ^^ photo and this report. Amazingly, the article does not incite the lynching of the squatters, rather it just seems to see them as a curious oddity, which i suppose ain't half bad.

It is one of London's most exclusive addresses. Michelin-starred restaurants are just a block away, the American embassy is around the corner and Hyde Park is at the end of the road. To share the same postcode ought to cost millions.

But the new residents of 18 Upper Grosvenor Street, a raggle-taggle of teenagers and artists called the Da! collective, haven't paid a penny for their £6.25m, six-storey townhouse in Mayfair.
...
"If anything, we are improving the building by mending leaks and things like that. The building is listed so English Heritage might be interested to see how the owners have let it disintegrate."

Don't do this at home; but it helps if you've got a home!
And for some more English squatters, check out this video I've recently uploaded to youtube. I've had it sitting around for some time, and thought it was as good a time as any to upload it now, so i have.



Also, if this weekend goes according to plan, there may be another home improvement post very soon!

Soulwax, Coldcut + Tv Sheriff

Soulwax - NY Excuse:


Coldcut vs. TV Sheriff - World Of Evil:


Oldies, but goodies.

What's the G20?

Dubya is supposed to have asked "Revin" Rudd. Although where others have called them "Some of the world’s most brutal warmongers and economic rationalists", it's hardly the response I think Rudd would've given.
The libs have demanded that a federal police investigation be launched into who leaked the details. Rudd claims it never even happened. The libs also demand Rudd apologises to Bush, and now Rudd demands that the libs apologise to Obama. Wow.
The wonderful photo of the two rulers (above) is stolen from the terrorgraph, which I've included because i find it bizarre to have someone photoshop an image of the two together when photos like these (below) already exist:



GHOUL - A MOUTHFUL OF GOLD
And in news that might actually mean something to people. Sydney band Ghoul have released their EP. In fact they released it a little while ago, and I've just been quite late with this post. In keeping with awesomeness they have made the EP freely available for download, from here.
As the band is happy to boast, they have been described as "a young band with no hooks" by a "dude from bluejuice", and "a fantastic lo-fi(ish) band from Sydney with a definite haunting element to their sound" According to Polaroids Of Androids.

Apart from getting the chance the hear some awesome music, other incentives to see ghoul include;
- Free Ep Give aways at their gigs at COFA on the 26th of November + Oxford Arts Factory on the 27th.

Gary Snyder - Front Lines / As the crickets' soft autumn hum

The edge of the cancer
Swells against the hill-we feel
a foul breeze-And it sinks back down.
The deer winter here
A chainsaw growls in the gorge.

Ten wet days and the log trucks stop,
The trees breathe.
Sunday the 4-wheel jeep of the
Realty Company brings in
Landseekers, lookers, they say
To the land,
Spread your legs.

The jets crack sound overhead, it's OK
here;
Every pulse of the rot at the heart
In the sick fat veins of Amerika
Pushes the edge up closer--

A bulldozer grinding and slobbering
Sideslipping and belching on top of
The skinned-up bodies of still-live bushes
In the pay of a man
From town.

Behind is a forest that goes to the Arctic
And a desert that still belongs to the
Piute
And here we must draw
Our line.

As the crickets' soft autumn hum
is to us
so are we to the trees
as are they
to the rocks and the hills.

More posts coming soon with the ending of the semester, as well as more Home Improvement! This time hopefully will be somewhat more successful.

Yawning Man

Yawning Man formed in 1986, and to reinforce the stoner stereotype, didn't get around to releasing any official records until 2005 when they released Rock Formations (click to download).
The album is described as "a melancholic mix of acoustic space rock with elements of surf music, as well as middle eastern guitar style".
Yawning man were one of the original desert rock bands and remain very influential to bands of the Palm Desert.
Reminiscing of the desert rock scene and Yawning Man's involvement, Brant Bjork formerly of Kyuss said;

Yawning Man was the sickest desert band of all time. You’d just be up there in the desert, everybody’d just be hanging, partying. And they’d show up in their van and just, mellow, drag out their shit and set up right about the time the sun was goin’ down, set up the generators, sometimes they’d just go up there and drink beers and barbecue. Sometimes it would be a scene; sometimes it would be very intimate. It was very casual and loose and everybody would like, while they’re playing, everyone would just lounge around. They were kinda like a house band. It wasn’t militant like Black Flag. It was very drugged, very stone-y, it was very mystical. Everyone’s just tripping, and they’re just playing away, for hours. Oh, they’re the GREATEST band I’ve ever seen.

This is very much worth the download. Rapidly shared for your convenience.

And another Gem from the Palm Desert;

Hugo Chávez - Paints a pretty picture

Much like Hitler, Venezuelan (quasi)revolutionary Hugo Chavez, has been revealed to have abit of an eye for painting.
And it also has been revealed that businessmen have an eye for the works created by the hero of the working class.
3 Businessmen recently bought this work "La Luna de Yare" or "The Yare Moon", for $255,000 in an Auction which started at $14,000.
Members of his party reportedly remarked that they were suprised of the price. Proceeds are expected to go towards funding his socialist party.

I Scream, You Scream...
An anarchist Ice cream truck is touring about the United states offering helpful tips and propaganda to its customers, as well as delicious ice cream.
The truck drivers name is Aaron and he is a co-founder of The Center for Tactical Magic, which says of itself;

The Center for Tactical Magic engages in extensive research, development, and deployment of the pragmatic system known as Tactical Magic. A fusion force summoned from the ways of the artist, the magician, the ninja, and the private investigator, Tactical Magic is an amalgam of disparate arts invoked for the purpose of actively addressing Power on individual, communal, and transnational fronts. At the CTM we are committed to achieving the Great Work of Tactical Magic through community-based projects, daily interdiction, and the activation of latent energies toward positive social transformation.

Aaron remembering his first customer says “My first customer was a little old lady who got an ice cream, and I asked if she wanted a piece of propaganda. She said: ‘Only one? I’ll take Anarchy, Black Panthers and Earth First.’ I was like, ‘Right on.’”

More Here

Jeff Wall

"Now we are living at a moment when we have already imagined, and even in great and excessive detail, better ways of life than the one we are actually living. As a result, we often feel humiliated when we observe soberly the way we do live." - Jeff Wall, 1990.

Some works by Jeff Wall

Picture for Women 1979
Transparency in lightbox 1425 x 2045 mm


Jeff Wall A Sudden Gust of Wind (after Hokusai) 1993
silver dye bleach transparency in light box, 87-1/4 x 148-1/2 inches

Milk 1984
Transparency in lightbox 1870 x 2290 mm

Armed Party Poopers

"Riot squad police have shut down an illegal dance party in Sydney's inner suburbs sending home 1500 disgruntled party-goers." Reports Livenews.
The party was pretty awesome, with about 7 different area's set up throughout the factory, which had a really nice vibe. 3 floors, video installations, lights, lasers etc.

The cops, needless to say, over reacted to this, using unwarranted physical force on people who had just had their party needlessly shutdown.
Obviously upset they'd not been invited, they proceeded to invite all their friends including "Numerous additional police, including the Public Order and Riot Squad, the Dog Squad, Polair and Police Rescue"

From an email posted on a public forum; "To the party people - Your approach to modern life is an inspiration to part time anarchists, 8-ball sharks, lovers of cutting edge underground and all the other miscreants."

Then the eyes of both of them were opened and they realized that they were naked

"Eurgh!" Was the general reaction by Tea Tree Gully Council to these works produced by Margaret Tuckey and Scott Eames.
According to the ABC "A painting of a nude woman by art lecturer Margaret Tuckey and a bust by emerging sculptor Scott Eames have been knocked back by Tea Tree Gully Council, in Adelaide's north-east.

The artists were told by organisers their pieces were inappropriate for an exhibition which was likely to be viewed by children"

Eames said he couldn't get his mind around the decision "in this day and age", whereas Tuckey commented on the "moral gaurdian" role assumed by the council. And in a post modern response Russel Starke of Greenhill Galleries said "I just think that it's astonishing in this day and age that these people may think that they're moral guardians".

Penrith
Penrith regional gallery will be hosting a number of different exhibitions between the 23rd of August and the 2nd of November, around the theme of Samoa, with both social history and visual arts looked at.
One of these that looks pretty amazing is "SAMOA MO SAMOA: SAMOA FOR SAMOA - THE STORY OF THE MAU:
This important exhibition, drawn from the Alexander Turnbull Photographic Archives of the New Zealand National Library, chronicles Samoa remarkable Mau Movement for Independence. Samoa was the first Pacific nation to achieve independence and the Mau strategy of highly organised passive resistance is a political model of great significance and an achievement of which older Samoans are most proud. This collection of historic photos records the leading figures and key events of Samoa's little known political history from colonial rule to independence."

Melbourne Students Recycle Buildings!
"STUDENTS have barricaded a Melbourne University-owned property demanding an end to the student housing crisis.

About 25 members from the Student Housing Action Collective [SHAC] have taken over a property in Faraday St Carlton that has been left vacant since 2005."
The super squatting students selected several sites left vacant by the university, which i believe are these sites here, nice find!

Sign their petition!

I hope their (SHAC) venture is more successful than ASHC who were involved in a similar action two years ago. Stay strong!

I too plan to squat a building in the near future, so stay tuned as I'll keep details a-coming.

Some sounds

Tape from Stockholm.
This band plays largely ambient instrumental tracks very worth listening to. I'm not too familiar with them, though after listening for a short time i have decided they definatly warrant a mention on here.
They have a myspace located here where you can listen to and download some tracks. And a kind blogger at http://3and4.blogspot.com/ has provided a link to access the album in its entireity - here.
It comes highly reccomended. I mean check out this review; "Tape stir up such forgotten feelings, they restore fading pictures we don’t really want to share with anyone else. Or in some cases have forgotten they were ever there in the first place. The aching slowness of these melodies awaken reluctant nostalgia; a forced sentimentality. And they do so without the aid of words, only with the purest music; the electricity in the air that surrounds the captured moment." – Andres Lokko

Something else pretty interesting is a project called Little People. I've always wanted to be shrunk, so it amazes me. Here are some photo's, but be sure to check out more from the official blog.

Your Boss May be in Your Head

A proposed "new co-operative and constructive relationship" between Telstra management and workers seems even more a fairytale now than when it was dreamt up. The ACTU claims that Telstra Bosses used psychological profiles of workers in an attempt to exploit personal weaknesses and subtly push 15,000 staff onto AWA's.
The dodgy move by the scummy bosses at the shoddy telco came just a few days before AWA's were to be banned.
Telstra neither confirms nor Deny's the underhanded tactic instead suggesting that the Workplace ombudsman's report is Gospel and that the decision of the workers to sign should be respected - presumably under any circumstance. More here though.

DELINQUENTS!!
As part of their Art In Motion programme, Jay Katz and Miss Death of FBI fame will be screening some films that once struck fear into the heart of those with little else to fear.
These are the sort of high school "educational" films that were created using the most hippest and hoppest lingo and the most "radikool" directors, so that kids actually related very closely to them and really understood why the man was shovelling so much trash down their throats...
No just slamming, these films were and are hilarious and only get more and more so as time goes on - which is good because one of the films Why Vandalism is from 1955 (which must be almost a hundred years ago), and the other McGruff's Gang Alert is from 1990 (also a long time ago).
These two films look at the controversy that has surrounded urban youth artistic expressions and the different (or similar) ways the subject has been approached. The night sounds like it will be great.
Things start to get going at 7pm on the 2nd of August, which is a Saturday, and it's all going down at Penrith Regional Gallery. There are also some other film nights to follow which should be equally as good.
Now i leave you with some McGruff;

Odds and Ends

Well firstly watch this old codger lose it;



Also! American artist Chris Jordan thinks "Statistics can feel abstract and anesthetizing, making it difficult to connect with", which i reckon sounds about right. Chris has created a number of works by visually representing some alarming statistics about the U.S, which i'd imagine we Australians wouldn't be able to mount a high horse about, physically.
The works are in a similar vein as this one Constitution, 2008. Which is a collage of 83,000 Abu Ghraib photographs.The State, Beaurocrats and Corporate Hacks...
Have been busy destroying parts of a heritage listed canal turned cycle path that was won at the end of a 10year community battle in Western Sydney. The closure of an important part of this track means that cyclists still wanting a ride are forced to either risk traffic on a major road or illegally use the T-Way bus route.
The group calling itself CRAG (Canal Reserve Action Group) have kept tabs on the various parties involved in this comedic blunder of a construction project, and have published the information on their website.
Cycling the path just yesterday was wonderful - untill of course i came to the (new) end of the track (pictured above). Rather dissapointing considering i should have ended at the prospect resevoir. (below)

Everytime we fuck, we win.

I do not know who the artist is. Originally published on WoosterCollective.