red eyes + sticky fingers - 25 February - 3 April 2005

© Garrett Hughes Verdant Velum 2002

SATIRICAL, SUBVERSIVE, FANTASTICAL AND FETISHISTIC

"- for generations the simple art of cut'n'paste has been harnessed to shock, amuse and amaze. Today 'cut' and 'paste' describe two software routines initiated by the simple click on the icons 'scissors' and 'clipboard'. But while the computer programs have made the seamless amalgamation of pictorial elements a virtual breeze, some prefer the physicality of blade and adhesive. Is there any real difference in the end result?

In this exhibition we explore the contemporary practices of photomedia collage, bringing together the red-eyed computer geeks with the sticky fingered artisans to journey through a world of intense imaginings and perverse beauty."

25 February - 3 April
Tue - Sun: 11.00am - 6.00pm
Galleries One, Two and Foyer
Curated by Alasdair Foster

FLOORTALK

Artists from the Red Eyes + Sticky Fingers exhibition talk with curator Alasdair Foster about the fine art of photo-collage. From the slice of the scalpel to the click of the mouse they talk about the passions and perverse pleasures of cutting up photographs and making something new and provocative from the pieces.

Saturday 24 February 2005
Director's Cut
1.00 FREE

WORKSHOP: Cut 'n' Paste

This interactive workshop is all about the art of cutting and pasting to create photo-media collages. After a brief introduction to the history of this long-established practice and some of the artists who have used it, participants will gets hands-on and explore the possibilities for themselves. Both analogue and digital methods will be covered, with an emphasis on creating cohesive and meaningful images that merge personal statement, aesthetics and technique.

Saturday 19 March 2005
2-6pm, $70 members/ $85 non-members (includes all materials)

W: http://www.acp.au.com

Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2005

"The 19th Melbourne International Comedy Festival will be held in Melbourne, Australia from 23 March to 17 April 2005, starting with the highly-popular, televised Gala! on Wednesday 23 March. Tickets for the Comedy Festival Gala! will go on sale in early February 2005."

This festival incorporates the Raw Comedy Festival which is a national competition for 'Undiscovered Comic Geniuses'. They get to compete for a spot at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, and a plane ticket to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

W: http://www.comedyfestival.com.au

more space

more space is Space Furniture's publication. The one featured is No.4/2005. It features the companies they represent obviously, but also interviews with designers and collectors of design. Available free from their showroom.

There's a blurb in the contents page that says you can subscribe to it for free. It says: "To subscribe to more space magazine send your nalme, address and company details via email cleaerly marked MORE SPACE SUBSCRIPTIONS to info@spacefurniture.com.au." Don't know if they just send it locally or to O/S as well.

XO

Looking for some dinner out when some other plans got cancelled. Decided to go to Crown St. Prasit's take away was very full so thought we'd try Neil Perry's XO restaurant across the road. The food is Asian influenced. The dishes tried were: Roast Bar Cod Fillet with Fragrant Green Curry, Crisp Pork Belly with Sichuan Hot, Sour, Sweet and Salty Dressing, Stir Fried Mixed Vegetables, and Heavenly Chocolate Cake with Fragrant Cream. The food was very rich and strong in flavour.

For great looking pics of the food, go to Neil Perry's website. (I took the photos with the Motorola A835 phone, with no flash).

W: http://www.neilperrychef.com/np_newsevents.aspx

Opulent magazine

Whilst at Tropicana, I picked up a copy of Opulent magazine - freebie publication from Melbourne. It's a b/w A5 sized publication with a colour cover. "Launched in mid-2004 we focus on music, art, fashion, film and culture. Opulent features both new and established writers, photographers and artists."

W: http://www.opulentmagazine.com

Tropicana caffe

Had some hazelnut gelato at the Tropicana caffe in Darlo. Sighted Nick Giannopoulos there. He was wearing sunnies. People just left him alone anyway.

Where: 227 Victoria St, Darlinghurst.

Space Furniture sale on till end of January 2005

Went to the Space Furniture showroom yesterday. They're having a sale till the end of January. Some of the items have been discounted by up to 50% off. I was told that Space had ordered a lot of stock for some of the items and so they were on sale too, even though they're still current and have been staple classic items for years. So it's a great time to have a look at the showroom, and to get a beautiful piece of designer furniture at a sale price. The showroom is always inspiring to walk through.

Top left: Kartell's Icon light by Ferrucio Lavianni
Top right: Ground floor of the showroom
Middle left: Edra's Sushi lounge by F & H Campana
Middle right: B&B Italia's Soft Wall by Gerhards Glücker
Bottom left and right: Wall display at the Space showroom

Address: 84 O'Riordan St, Alexandria. Ph: 02 8339 7588.
W: http://www.spacefurniture.com

Vodafone: Work for your favourite charity and get paid

The Vodafone Australia Foundation are offering 4 Aussies the opportunity to work for their dream charity for a year, anywhere in Australia or the world, and be paid up to 50K in salary as well as helping you to meet airfare and other expenses.

Entries close 5pm, Thursday 31st December 2004.

To apply go to: http://www.vodafone.com.au/wod/index.html

How to manage your time

Article on 'How to manage your time' in the ninemsn small business centre section. Has a few good tips.

W: http://ninemsn.ezybusiness.com/site/content/viewDocument.asp?cid=7630&pcid=5417

Christmas

Hope everyone had a great Christmas! I had a nice quiet one with the family.

Revolving apartment block in Brazil

"An unusual apartment building in (Ecoville, Parana) Brazil, each of whose 11 storeys turns independently, gives lucky residents 360-degree views of the eco-friendly city of Curitiba...

Each $400,000 apartment occupies an entire 287-square metre floor."

W: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/12/17/1102787250185.html

SMH food reviewers' picks

SMH article titled 'Fare thee well' where their food reviewers nominate the eateries that 'left a divine taste in their mouths in 2004.'

W: http://www.smh.com.au/news/Restaurants/Fare-thee-well/2004/12/22/1103391822507.html

Look who's taking a huge slice of your charity

Article in SMH about charities contracting out their fund-raising efforts to companies such as Good Cause. Some figures and estimates are given as to how much of it goes to the collector and how much goes to the end recipient.

W: http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Look-whos-taking-a-huge-slice-of-your-charity/2004/12/22/1103391840579.html

Have noticed a number of charities are now asking people to pledge 'an apple a day' which amounts to about $1 a day. It is obviously better for the charities to be able to get a regular, ongoing amount from each donor they sign-up, but if your income is variable or you want to be able to support a number of charities, it'd be good to also be able to donate once-off amounts. But many of the charities are no longer willing to accept one-off donations. It's a monthly pledge or nothing, which is a pity.

Freebie mags out on the street

The latest issues of Lucky Magazine, Stu, Cyclic Defrost, Cat, and Vice are out. You can pick up all of these along the shops on King St, Newtown. Not all design, record shops have all the magazines though.

Dumbo Feather 3 out

Issue 3 includes interviews with Steven Blaess and Caravana. Blaess is an industrial designer who's designed furniture for Edra and objects for Alessi among others. His story shows that he's got talent and perseverance. Caravana consists of Cath Braid and Kirsten Ainsworth. They're based in a small village in Northern Pakistan. They commission the local women to work on their clothing pieces. The designs are very elaborate and labour intensive. The story is about more than design, it's about these women's choice to live in Northern Pakistan and understanding and respecting the local people and their culture, as well as providing a way for some of the local women to earn their own money.

W: http://www.dumbofeather.com/

Sydney Festival - Jan 8-30

Covers events in the following areas: theatre + cinema, visual arts, dance, music, family, free outdoors, and forums + talks.

W: http://www.sydneyfestival.org.au

Flickerfest 2005 - Jan 7-16, Sydney

Flickerfest 14th International Short Film Festival is on January 7-16 at the Bondi Pavilion, Bondi Beach, Sydney. The festival tours nationally between January - March.

W: http://www.flickerfest.com.au for bookings and for more info.

Breathe magazine

Came across the premiere issue of Breathe magazine the other day. Tagline is: inhale life. It's a New York based publication. Stories include: a couple of corporate high fliers who decided to quit their jobs and open an organic restaurant in New York, there's also a story about two journalist friends - one's still lives in the city and has just started a young family, the other has opted to follow Buddhism and lives very modestly and is a shrine keeper in a Buddhist retreat in Colorado. There's also a number of 'spiritual' type stories as well. The magazine presents alternative ways of life, and has some 'new-agey' bits in it as well.

W: http://www.breathemag.com

Big Day Out 2005 - Sydney 26th Jan

Bands touring include: Powderfinger, Regurgitator, John Butler Trio, Evermore, Spiderbait and many others...

To check out the dates in your city, go to: http://www.bigdayout.com/

Christmas recipes from Europe

Recipes for Italian Christmas strudel, Panforte and Vanillekipferl - moon-shaped buttery biscuits.

W: http://www.smh.com.au/news/Recipes/Europe-on-a-plate/2004/12/06/1102182213484.html
Article: Europe on a plate, Source: SMH

Can't paint but he's a winner

The Turner Prize worth $62,000 was awarded to experimental artist Jeremy Deller who says he can't draw, can't paint, and was told at school he shouldn't be an artist, and didn't go to art school.

His work that it is about "events" and "social interventions"

"Deller's eclectic back catalogue includes: making the world's most expensive cocktail ($620 worth of spirits, chasers and fruit) at Stringfellow's nightclub and then inviting guests to share it through straws; re-staging the 1984 miners' strike Battle of Orgreave at the original site with miners and actors (Mike Figgis then filmed it) and staging a concert of a northern brass band playing acid house music.

The work he submitted for the Turner Prize show at Tate Britain is no easier than previous work to categorise. It includes "a wall painting", or flow chart, in which lines join up words and phrases such as "acid house" and brass bands; a wall of photographs of strange memorials he has erected around the country to people he feels passionate about (dead miners, a cyclist killed near his home in north London, a bench he installed near the late Brian Epstein's home and a banner at Tilbury to commemorate the arrival of the Windrush with the first West Indian immigrants); a video of a Spanish street procession; and another of interviews Deller conducted in Texas with a survivor of the Waco slaughter and with a woman who once sold George Bush a hamburger."

W: http://www.smh.com.au/news/Arts/Cant-paint-still-a-winner/2004/12/07/1102182255786.html
Source: SMH.

People changing careers and earning good income

"A survey of 1100 workers by recruitment agency Talent2 found that 65 per cent of employees were not working in the industry in which they started their professional careers.

The research also revealed that 70 per cent of workers had changed career paths between one and four times in their working lives, while 42 per cent had changed jobs up to five times.

Changing careers could lead to financial benefits, with 48 per cent of people who had changed careers earning more than $90,000 per year, Talent2's Geoff Whytcross said."

Article: Braving the unknown
W: http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Braving-the-unknown/2004/12/07/1102182263060.html

SpongeBob creator Stephen Hillenburg

"SpongeBob came, naturally enough, from Hillenburg's interest in undersea life and a desire to create a character for kids that celebrated innocence. He envisioned SpongeBob as a square peg, awkward, goofy, eternally optimistic and strangely enthusiastic about the most mundane things.

" "There's this accelerated approach to raising kids now where we want to introduce them to as much as we possibly can and pack their days with as much as we possibly can and train them and have them be little experts on anything they can be experts on as soon as we possibly can," says Bill Fagerbakke, who voices Patrick Starfish on the show.

"And all that loses sight of the fact that the part of being a kid that leads you into being a creative kid is being bored out of your skull a lot of the time. You know, going on road trips where there's not a television in the car." "

Article title: Innocence pays off
W: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/12/06/1102182217069.html

Enough to make a landlord weep

Article in SMH about 5 people squatting legally in a house in the Eastern suburbs for $1/month.

"Mr Pupilli (archiecture student) and his flatmates are the beneficiaries of legalised squatting, the tenants of a "caretaker lease" between them and Waverley Council, the owner of the former State Emergency Service base.

For almost 12 months, it's been the pilot for CRASH Sydney - the Construction Industry Relief and Assistance for Single Homelessness project - run by a University of Sydney academic, Colin James.

The project, born out of a squatting controversy at Broadway, aims to use vacant buildings as short-term accommodation by persuading owners to let people stay in them as caretakers: mowing the lawns, keeping the place tidy ... and others out."

W: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/12/07/1102182295337.html

Graniph tshirts

Quite like some of the tshirt designs on Graniph.com.

W: http://www.graniph.com
(Source: Jean Snow's blog http://jeansnow.net/2004/12/02/threadless-chrismas-tees/)

New candid camera for NSW police

"Police will be able to record motorists' conversations without their consent after legislation boosting police powers to use new in-car video (ICV) technology was introduced to the NSW parliament.

In an Australian first, the technology is being installed in more than 340 highway patrol cars across NSW at a cost of $8.6 million.

Previously, officers had to switch off the microphone and rely on video if a motorist objected to their voice being recorded.

"This legislation takes away that option for the motorist, ensuring the best result for operational tactics and boosting officer safety," (Police Minister) Mr Watkins said.

"The technology also protects police and members of the public against unfounded allegations of improper conduct and behaviour." "

W: http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/New-candid-camera-for-NSW-police/2004/12/08/1102182322329.html

Staying cool puts the heat on electricity grid

Increasing demand for air conditioners is placing pressure on the electricity grid.
50,000 air conditioners are sold in NSW each year, and this is "This is forcing NSW electricity companies to consider $5 billion in new spending on power stations and transmission lines to cope with the surge during hot weather. Similar problems are being faced in other states."

"Air-conditioners consume about 40 per cent more energy than traditional cooling, such as fans and well-designed, insulated and ventilated houses, says the Total Environment Centre.

The issue is whether it is sensible just to build more network capacity in response to this trend - a cost that will be borne by all electricity users - or to manage the demand, as Sydney has had to do with its water supply."

"There is no equity in the fact that someone can buy a large air-conditioner and impose, say, $5000 of cost on the system, and everyone else pays," said the general manager, network, of Energy Australia George Maltabarow.

W: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/12/07/1102182259281.html

Why stress can take years off your life

Article in SMH reporting that a team of researchers have found that "severe emotional distress may speed up teh ageing of the body's cells at the genetic level.

The study, which appears in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, also suggests that the perception of being stressed can add years to a person's biological age."

W: http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/11/30/1101577484712.html

Tear Australia's gift catalogue brochure

Sighted a brochure/booklet titled 'Arguably the world's most useful gift catalogue' at a number of shops along King St, Newtown. It's one of the most creative and well thought through marketing campaigns I've seen. It really highlights the issues faced by the world's poor in a very clear and innovative way. It's presented similarly to a gift catalgoue but the items listed are things like: 'D Safe Water $15', 'F Rice Bank $25', 'L A Toilet $70', 'M Small Business Loan $100' etc.

W: http://www.tear.org.au

Leunig 2005 calendar

If you like Michael Leunig's cartoons, then you can get a free Leunig calendar in Monday's SMH. The cartoons are a lot of fun.

W: http://www.curlyflat.net

Ikea Homebush Bay Drive store opens today

The Ikea store at Homebush Bay Drive opened today. It is 26,000 sq m in size and consists of 46 fully decorated rooms full of ideas for the home.

Details:
Address: 1 Oulton Ave, Rhodes NSW
P: 02 9313 6400
opening hours: Mon - Wed 9am - 7pm, Thurs, 9am - 9pm, Fri, 9am - 7pm, Sat - Sun, 9am - 7pm

W: http://www.ikea.com.au

Broadway Cafe

Had dinner with friends at the Broadway Cafe last night. It's a nice, open, contemporary space. Kind of like a pub/cafe but maybe more on the cafe side. Had the steak sandwich with caramelised onions and chips. It was good. Price: $10.50. I've often driven past it but never noticed it before. A drawcard is the free wi-fi so you can take your notebook and enjoy a drink as well as work.

Details: Broadway Cafe, Ground Floor 166 Broadway Chippendale 2008, P: 02 9212 2007, a couple of doors down from Kinkos, and opp the Broadway shopping centre pretty much.

Edols Elliott Glass art sale - 11 + 12th Dec

Here is something not to be missed, ben edols >< kathy elliott

annual studio christmas sale
11th & 12th December 2004.
11am - 4pm

A diverse range of glass objects available, at or below wholesale price.
Wine glasses, vases, prototypes and experimental work.

Glass blowing demonstrations during the day.
unit 12 / 111 old pittwater road brookvale nsw 2100

p/f > 02 9938 6266 w > www.edolselliott.com