Full Disclosure

Emails and comments to The Art Life have been running hot lately – wild accusations, flames and abuse along with some suggestions, questions, notifications of events and exhibitions. Before we get to the contentious stuff, Lisa Havilah, the director, Campbelltown Arts Centre wrote to tell us about a special C’town exhibition:

Just wanting to let you know that the new $10m Campbelltown Arts Centre is being launched on the 30th June at 6:30pm. Some people would argue that the best contemporary art projects happen in Western Sydney. Hoping that you may be able to join us. Project Number one is C’town bling: A celebration of Campbelltown, youth, and the relationship between youth culture and contemporary art.

Artists: Brook Andrew, James Angus, Kate Beynon, Jon Campbell, Carla Cescon, Adam Cullen, Shaun Gladwell, Matthew Griffin, Bill Henson, Christopher Langton, Fiona Lowry, The Motel Sisters, Kate Murphy, Susan Norrie, Raquel Ormella, Luke Parker, Patricia Piccinini, Prins, Sangeeta Sandrasegar, Tony Schwensen, Jasmine Steven, Ricky Swallow, Kathy Temin, Blair Trethowan, Ken Unsworth, Regina Walter, Paul Wrigley. More than half of these artists have made new work for the show. Curator: Anne Loxley Date: Thurs. 30 June – Sun. 28 Aug.

Meanwhile, a participatory web project for performance artist Barbara Campbell invites writers to tell her what to do. The rules are complicated and there will be a test afterwards:

Writers everywhere are invited to contribute submissions to an online performance project by Barbara Campbell titled 1001 nights cast.

1001 nights cast A DURATIONAL PERFORMANCE BY BARBARA CAMPBELL WEBCAST #0001 IS ON 21 JUNE 2005 AT 21:58 FROM PARIS AND CONTINUES FOR 1001 NIGHTS

In 1001 nights cast, Barbara Campbell performs a short text-based work for 1001 consecutive nights. The performance is relayed as a live webcast to anyone, anywhere, who is logged on to http://1001.net.au at the appointed time, that is, sunset at the artist’s location.

A frame story written by the artist introduces the project’s nightly performances. It is a survival story and it creates the context for subsequent stories generated daily through writer/performer collaborations made possible by the reach of the internet.

Each morning Barbara reads journalists’ reports covering events in the Middle East. She selects a prompt word or phrase that leaps from the page with generative potential. She renders the prompt in watercolour and posts it in its new pictorial form on the website. Participants are then invited to write a story using that day’s prompt in a submission of up to 1001 words. The writing deadline expires three hours before that night’s performance.

1001 nights cast is a project generated by the forces of that great compendium of Arabian tales, The 1001 Nights also known as The Arabian Nights. The project explores the theatrics of the voiced story, the need for framing devices, the strategies for survival, the allure of the Middle East and its contrasting realities.

Enter. Wander. Tell others.

A few of people dropped by to tell us what they thought of us. Peter Maloney left a pithy and straight to the point comment in reference to our review of Cherine Fahd:

You really are a nasty piece of work.

Later, when we posted our news piece on Martin Sharp’s well-deserved weekend honour [see below], Pedant worked overtime to find something to object to:

How come your fantasy exhibition comes as no surprise? Some kind of boy’s own show that is oh-so-predictable from Artlife, which seems to have degenerated in to predictabilia, opinion-wise. Hate or forget or misspell the girl artists, but lap up the boy painters’ ejaculations. I’ve absolutely nothing against Martin Sharp though – he hardly fits your bad boy stereotype.

We would have thought that being hauled into court over so-called obscenity charges, not to mention the artist’s well known advocacy of the alternative bohemian lifestyle would certainly make him a bad boy, not least in the eyes of “the man” but to all of straight society. As to our predictability – guilty as charged. It is predictable that we would like the things that we like. Pedant also touched a nerve with this talk of “lapping up the boy painters’ ejaculations”. Let’s just get this on the record – we’re not gay. [Ok, there was that one time at Epping station in 1979 on the way to the DEVO concert at the Hordern, and that time after the performance night at COFA and the time that guy stopped to give us “a lift” at South Head at Bondi and then… Look, we’re not gay, ok?]. As to forgetting, misspelling or hating the “girl” artists – hey, women artists, can’t live with ‘em… [In the current climate of fear, we should add that that is a joke and if anyone would care to peruse our back catalogue they’ll see that we’re totally in support of the sisterhood].

There have also been some ominous and vague accusations that somehow The Art Life has a “correlation” with “reviews” in Australian Art Collector Magazine. We have no idea what they mean but as to the question ‘have you ever written for AAC’, the answer is no, The Art Life has never written for the magazine. Have we ever written for any other magazine or publication? As a matter of fact, we have. A regular column by TEAM Art Life will be appearing in a well known art magazine very soon and we have some contributions to books coming soon, the first in September, so please enjoy.

Finally, Craig Waddell wrote to us:

I was reading one of your articles apologising for getting myself and Ben Quilty mixed up, I am afraid you have it wrong again – I don’t paint skulls. Mine’s the goopy painting in the Wynne prize.

We hate it when the world refuses to accommodate our perceptions and although we tried to convince Waddell he did paint skulls, he was adamant he didn’t. The artist has a show coming up at Mary Place Gallery – skulls or no skulls – that’s opening on August 15th. If Waddell’s website is anything to go by and his new landscapes are great and we’ll be there for sure.