Notes #103

Arterial Fence Sod [aka a bunch of stuff]     #103     31/3/2009

Haiku stuff

I’m sorry, there’s — um –
insufficient — what’s-it-called?
The term eludes me …

editorial stuff

Get your beer can, pin and emery paper ready. Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day will be celebrated on Sunday, April 26, 2009. Please join the celebration! www.pinholeday.org.
The coordinators of the eighth Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day are busy preparing for this upcoming major global festival. It will be the traditional last Sunday in April; the next one will be April 26, 2009. Anyone, anywhere in the world, who makes a pinhole photograph on Pinhole Day, can scan the image and upload it to the www.pinholeday.org website where it will become part of this premier gallery of lenless photography. Last year, 2628 participants from 62 countries contributed images to the WPPD 2008 Gallery. Over 100 events – workshops, exhibits, lectures, etc. – were held throughout the world. All of these events were coordinated locally by volunteers.
Lets see a major effort from free radicals this year.

Did you know that if you “Employ” a child under 15 as a model, then the parents have to apply for an employment permit; which is basically free, except for the $30 police check; and takes several weeks to process. The permit also needs to be signed by the parents, employer AND the child’s
school. So you would assume that employment means you pay the model right!? Well no… if you exchange services for prints, then that is officially regarded as employment. I can see how this works for companies employing models for catalogue stuff and child actors and performers, but for an hour here and there photographers, it makes you wonder how anyone gets anything done.
This permit thing also applies to choirs, dance troupes, bands, and theatre groups; so technically anyone under 15 who performs at a carols by candlelight anywhere is required to have a permit if it’s deemed as employment. Madness.

weather extreme stuff

As James Taylor once sang “I’ve seen fire and I’ve seen rain” ! Following on from the Vardenaga’s plight in the Ingham floods as reported in #102, down south free radical Brian Gilkes lost his St Andrews home [but fortunately not his studio as well] and Chris Franklin and Donna Murty lost their weekend retreat at Strathewen. Then a fortnight later free radical World HQ came under attack from the Muskvale fire, which was headed fair and square for Lyonville until the wind change came and turned the fire front at right-angles. Lucky for us but not so lucky for the residents of Coomoora and Wheatsheaf. Luckily the Daylesford fire was nowhere near the intensity of Black Saturday, and the losses paled into insignificance in comparison to what had happened a fortnight earlier, but there was still more than enough menace to fuel the nervous energy as I first skirted the blaze on my way back from Ballarat to activate my fire plan.

Amateur photographers are queuing up to pay $25 each for a 2 ½-hour tour of homes destroyed in the Black Saturday bushfires. Jo-Anne Kasch has started tours of the bushfire-ravaged town of Narbethong, about 15km from Marysville. Ms Kasch has been running the bus tours for about 10 days from the Black Spur Inn where she works, charging $25 including a three-course meal. However, the tour has angered Tourism Victoria who is calling for people to boycott the tour. Ms Kasch said she’d had more than 160 bookings from photographers affiliated with the Victorian Association of Photographic Societies. She said the tours taught people about the devastation of the Black Saturday bushfires and promoted tourism. More at http://tinyurl.com/cw4m4s

new members stuff

A big warm and fuzzy welcome to our newest free radical member, Nicole Boenig-McGrade from WA

call for entry stuff

It’s always a good idea to thoroughly read and understand terms of entry for any photographic prize or competition.
If you don’t like what they say, or feel terms and conditions are not clearly spelled out, or appear exploitative, don’t enter!

PAVE Festival and Emerald Lions Club Photographic Exhibition 9am to 4pm Saturday & Sunday April 18th & 19th 2009 Emerald Mechanics Institute Hall (Melway Reference 127 F4) The PAVE Festival Committee, (Performing and Visual Arts in Emerald), and the Lions Club of Emerald are proud to coordinate a Photography Exhibition on Saturday & Sunday 18th & 19th April, 2009, at the Mechanics Institute Hall in Emerald. The PAVE festival will run from 13th to 19th April and will be advertised widely in local papers, school newsletters, city publications, radio etc.
The theme for the exhibition is “Close Up” however photographs based on alternative ideas will be accepted. ALL ENTRIES TO BE FRAMED FOR HANGING
If you would like to be part of this event, please complete the form and return to the address stated with entry fee by April 9th. Entry Fees are $5- per item and $2- per item for Under 21s. Cheques made payable to Emerald Lions Club. There are limited places, so places will be allocated on a first in, first serve basis. After this date we will consolidate all expressions of interest and send confirmation. Please see terms and conditions sheet for important additional information. Both entry form and terms and conditions can be found at this link: PAVE Festival Entry Details

2009 CCP/COLOUR FACTORY AWARD FOR AN EMERGING PHOTOGRAPHIC ARTIST NATIONAL CALL FOR ENTRIES.
CCP is committed to providing opportunities for emerging photo-based artists through education, professional development and exhibition. As part of this commitment, Centre for Contemporary Photography and Colour Factory invite all photographic artists in the first eight years of their practice to enter the fifth CCP/Colour Factory Award for an emerging photographic artist. The winner will be awarded a solo exhibition at CCP from 7 August to 26 September 2009 and printing to the value of $5,000 courtesy of Colour Factory. The judges in 2009 are Milton Harris, Contemporary Art Collector, David Rosetzky, Artist and Phill Virgo Director, Colour Factory. Entries Close 5 June 2009. For further information please see the CCP/Colour Factory Award webpage

The Murrurundi District Arts Council invites photographers to submit works in competition for the 2009 Murrurundi Keddie’s Pastoral Photographic Prize. This inaugural biannual prize, valued at $10,000, has been initiated by the Keddie family and aims to promote excellence in contemporary photography. Entrants to the prize are asked to interpret this year’s theme – WATER – in black and white, with a focus on the significance of water in the natural environment.All entries will be assessed and selected by a panel of judges. The selection of images will be done anonymously based on the quality of the photograph and the prize will be awarded to the most outstanding photographic work as determined by the final judge – photographer-author Trisha Dixon. Entries close June 26th. www.murrurundiphotographicprize.com.au

In April, the Pembleton Arts Group is holding its third annual photography exhibition on the theme of Fire, and now invites professional and amateur photographers to submit works for this exhibition and sale. This year Pembleton hosts Bike Victoria, which will bring some 2500 people to our town. To cater for this large influx of visitors, there will be a special opening on Wednesday 1st and Thursday 2nd April. The exhibition will then run from Friday 10th April to Tuesday 14th April to cater for the Easter visitors to our region. After all that Bridgetown (this was sent out before the Balingup and Victorian fires) has just suffered it is a subject very close to our lives in the middle of the forest at the height of summer but fire is also our comfort in winter and sizzles our sausages on the barbecue and is used in countless other ways. Fire is beautiful and fire is terrifying, it transforms and it purifies and it destroys. It symbolizes many things. We anticipate an exciting and varied exhibition of photographs and many interpretations of fire. So photographers, get involved and show your fired-up inspirations. Entry forms can be downloaded from the Pembleton Visitor Centre website at www.pembertontourist.com.au under the link “Galleries and Artisans” and “Pemberton Arts Group”.

photography festival stuff

Interested in exposing your work to a panel of important and career influential persons? The Ballarat International Foto Biennale 2009 is offering 2 days of Portfolio Reviews as part of BIFB’09. Reviews will take place on Thursday Sept 3rd and Friday Sept 4th, and will give serious photographers the opportunity to present their folios – one on one – to a range of curators, publishers, agents, gallery and festival directors from all over Australia. Places will be limited and allocated on a first come first served basis. For more information email portfolioreviews (@) ballaratfoto.org

Also, If you are a teacher of photography, BIFB’09 is putting together a program specially for school tour groups, which will include supervised visits to Core program exhibitions with special presentations by participating artists and curators. If you are interested in having your students participate, send an email to schools (@) ballaratfoto.org for more details. The Festival will run from Sept 4 to Oct 4 2009, with a Core Program of 20+ exhibitions of the best of Australian and International contemporary photography. The Fringe will grow with events in both Ballarat and Daylesford, as well as a comprehensive program of workshops, seminars, lectures, projections, special and affiliate events throughout the month. To keep abreast of all the news, go to www.ballaratfoto.org to get on the email list.

other happening stuff

For many women working in photography, it is a journey like no other. In Australia, photography is still in the process of finding its feet, but in recent years Australian photographers have emerged to stand alongside internationally acknowledged artists. Although Australian photography throughout its history retains the hallmarks of originality and innovation, there have not always been the opportunities to show this work. For many women this has been compounded by familial responsibilities and the competitive endeavour that comes with being an artist.
So, taking our cue from and with the blessing of Women in Photography NYC, this virtual gallery aims to showcase the talent of Australian women artists working in the field of photo-media. Our intentions are to show the wired world selected works by these women and to create a focal point for artists, curators, galleries and enthusiasts interested in the development and culture of contemporary Australian photography.
Curated by Lee Grant and U.K Frederick with regular guest curators, a new artist, either emerging or established, will be featured with a solo online exhibition every two weeks.
Submissions are open to all Australian women working in the photographic medium. Light Journeys does not charge any fees. To be considered for the initial round, please email an artist statement with 5-8 jpeg images (72dpi, 1000 pixels wide and sRGB profiled) and re-title your images surname_firstname_number.jpg to lightjourneys (@) gmail.com no later than March 8th, 2009 (International Women’s Day!). Ongoing submissions are welcome and will be accepted on a rolling basis.
We look forward to hearing from you and of course… spread the word! In creating this site, we are looking to encourage support and dialogue (and not just amongst women) as well as the opportunity to get your work and ideas out there!

exhibition stuff  stuff

Happy to list your show be it in Melbourne, Darwin, Hobart or wherever, but if it’s too much trouble to send me your exhibition details in a format that I can readily cut and paste, ie in the body of an email, then it’s too much trouble for me to transcribe details from a pdf or go chasing websites for the information that’s missing. Send the details to free radicaloz [at] gmail.com Include details of opening and closing dates, gallery address, opening hours, and if you like, a brief synopsis of the show.
Send information as text only, preferably pasted into the body of an email and not as an attachment. Sometimes it’s 4 – 6 weeks between editions of the notes, so if you want to be sure of getting a listing, get your details in early.

Inertia Overcome by Christine Tomas is at the Harvest restaurant, 1 Harvest Rd North Fremantle. Hours Tues – Thurs 6pm to late, Fri – Sun 8am to late. Show current to May 17th

DRIED – an exhibition of images depicting an Australian rural industry in crisis by Sandy Edwards [fr#610] Opening: 6:30pm, Friday, 3rd April 2009 at the Barooga Hotel, 1 Vermont Street, Barooga, NSW. Showing until 30th June 2009. Sponsored by Fujifilm Professional. Info 0421 996 813

The South – North Exchange – A very unique exhibition to raise funds for the establishment of a cross-cultural exchange program for Indigenous youth from Australia and Norway. This group show is a unique opportunity to see an outstanding selection of works by established and young artists from two very opposite parts of the world, northern Norway and Australia. All artists have kindly donated their works with all proceeds going towards the establishment of a unique cross cultural exchange program for young artists from indigenous communities in Australia and Norway. Foyer Gallery, Gasworks Park Cnr Graham &n Pickles Sts Albert Park, open 9-5 daily. Info from 03 86064200.

Then & now: South African Photography was conceived as a dialogue between eight documentary photographers whose practices traverse two highly distinctive periods in South African history: before and after the country’s transition to democracy. The exhibition provides insight into the personal, intellectual and photographic journeys that each artist has taken as they have witnessed, recorded and lived through remarkable times both past and present, then and now. It includes the work of David Goldblatt, George Hallett, Eric Miller, Cedric Nunn, Guy Tillim, Paul Weinberg, Graeme Williams and Gisele Wulfsohn. This exhibition is staged in association with Southern Exchange and Paul Weinberg.
plus
Black + White – Indigenous Australians are central to the history of Australian photography. Aboriginal and Islander life has been a subject of photographic documentation in this country since the earliest days of the camera, and Indigenous subjects have continued to feature in the images of photographers working in a wide range of genres over the last 150 years. During recent decades, Indigenous Australians have also become some of this country’s most important photographers, and have often turned their cameras back on their own people and traditions.
This exhibition draws primarily on works from the MGA Collection and includes photographs by Gordon Bennett, Brenda L Croft, Rennie Ellis, Fred Kruger, David Moore Derek O’Connor, Phillip Pike and Axel Poignant.
plus
Maid in Hong Kong by Janina Green Though bonded by their employers all week, Phillippino maids in Hong Kong find joy and freedom on Sundays. They take over public spaces around the city where they picnic, dance, sing, chat and gossip under bridges, in parks and around department stores.
Since participating in a West Space Project in Hong Kong in 2003, Janina Green has been fascinated by the study of femininity that such a congregation of women affords and has made a series of hand-coloured sepia images in response to it.
At the Monash Gallery of Art [MGA] 860 Ferntree Gully Road Wheelers Hill Victoria 3150
03 9562 1569. All shows current to May 3rd 2009. Open: Tue-Fri: 10-5pm, Sat-Sun: 12-5pm, Mon & public holidays: closed. Gallery, gift shop, licensed cafe and sculpture park FREE ADMISSION

Order and Disorder – Archives and photography in the photography gallery, level 3. Archives contain elements of truth and error, order and disorder and are infinitely fascinating. As both collections of records and repositories of data, archives are able to shape history and memory depending on how, when and by whom the materials are accessed. Their vastness allows for multiple readings to be unravelled over time. Photography is naturally associated with archives because of its inherent ability to record, store and organise visual images. With this in mind, this exhibition brings together artists drawn largely from the permanent collection of the NGV who explore the idea of archives as complex, living and occasionally mysterious systems of knowledge. Several of the selected artists act as archivists, collecting and ordering their own unique bodies of photographs, while others create disorder by critiquing the ideas and systems of archives. Show current to April 19. National Gallery of Victoria, St Kilda Rd

Stumps of Silence by Masaki Hirano [fr#752] plus images from his Down the Road of Life book Volume 1, featuring images from Cuba, East Timor and Bosnia is showing at the Convent Gallery, Daly St Daylesford www.theconvent.com.au Show current to early April

KODAK Summer Salon. Australia’s largest open-entry, photo-based exhibition and competition, the 2009 Kodak Salon is an annual event celebrating the latest developments in photo-media practice around the country. Supported by leaders in the photographic industry, the Salon provides an excellent opportunity to exhibit work in a professional, high-profile context, with $12,000 worth of prizes awarded. The 2009 Kodak Salon presents an exciting and diverse snapshot of contemporary, Australian photo-media practice. Visitors are also invited to vote for their favourite image in the Crumpler People’s Choice Award. Judging Panel: Virginia Trioli Presenter ABC2 Breakfast News, Patrick Pound Artist and Naomi Cass Director CCP
Current to May 23rd at the CCP, 404 George St Fitzroy.  Gallery hours Weds to Sat 11 – 6. info at www.ccp.org.au

classified stuff

classifieds are free, but only run for one edition unless you email me to run in the following edition due to lack of enquiries, or you wish to delete, add, or change the price of items. Don’t send an essay – just item, price and contact details. KISS

Portrait Backdrop. Studio or Portable. Canvas. Brown tonings we use to call Rembrandt. Plus a roll of carpet to suit. Size: 2750 mm (9 ft) x 2750 mm (9 ft). Still in almost perfect condition.
Plus 1 set of brackets. These are the 3 tier brackets for hanging multiple rolls of paper.
Cost: Make a reasonable offer and they’re yours. Email Richard White: white (@) mcmedia.com.au or phone 03 5776 9533 Bus hours.

South Yarra studio for sale – 3 Penny Lane. The property has just been listed and in it’s previous incarnation was used as a photographic studio (with existing darkroom) the premises have great potential for a creative space or a live/work unit. Contact agent: Tom Staughton 0411 554 850

Own Your Own Bookshop We are looking for someone to set-up and operate an Art Bookshop (new and/or secondhand) in the ground floor space of the Brunswick Street Gallery in the heart of Fitzroy. I am willing to provide the space rent free. This would be your business owned and operated by you and you would have access 24 hours a day. The only conditions are that the bookshop specialise in Art books including photography, you fitout the shop with suitable shelving etc, and you open at least from 10am to 10pm 7 days a week and that you direct people coming in to the shop up to the galleries upstairs. The space is approx 8m x 2.3m so it would not be a large shop but I think done right it could be effective. You can also put a table of books outside on the pavement. BSG is opposite Bar Open and Mario’s cafe on the corner of Argyle St.
If you are interested please email me your resume with details of your experience that would be relevant to the venture. Mark Jamieson, mark (at) bsgart.com.au 0419 390 478

end stuff

Feeling neglected because of lack of information on events happening in your neck of the woods? I can’t include it if i don’t know about it!! Any editorial content, exhibition notices, classifieds etc. to free radicaloz [at] gmail.com

Lost your badge and forgotten your number? Check out the members page at freeradicaloz.com and if you would like a link to your website from our links page, send me the details – obviously we wouldn’t say no to a reciprocal link!

Too busy to find time to read the notes? not happy with the left leaning Luddite editor?
Simple reply with ‘unsubscribe’ in the subject field and your details will be smitten from the address book – no questions asked.

free radical World HQ
37 Coliban Drive
Lyonville Vic
3461