be happy: stop stressing about the Archibald Prize

Stop stressing about the Archibald Prize!

                                                                      hugo (detail) image: heraldsun.com.au

Another year of Archibald Prize anticipation has come and gone in the last seven days after now-sophomore winner Del Kathryn Barton took the title with 'hugo' a suitably large-sized Archibald entry executed in watercolour, gouache and acrylic (image above) of Australian actor Hugo Weaving. In the hours following the winner's announcement at the Art Gallery of NSW (AGNSW) late last week, l noticed ripples of protest firstly on social media sites and then later televised with attention being drawn to Victorian artist Jeffrey Kelson's 'one man' demonstration on the front steps of the gallery. ABC's coverage of Kelson's opinions drew attention to the prize's exclusive and un-representational performance as a showcase for common artists attempting to be hung on the balance of their talent rather than their art world-standing and own notoriety and of their subjects (often the same thing). Otherwise on the social media front, blunter inquiries (from a generally younger audience) were stirring as to why the precious money and title needed to be handed to a name of already existing high-stature.        

I think some significant factors about the modern-day Archibald Prize are being overlooked, which i'd like to point out for those artists feeling sore over rejection yet again. To it's credit, in it's singularly promenant position, the Archibald Prize is forced to be a premium showcase (for l dare say) those currently hot and upcoming in the local art world, as well as being a platform to pay respect to celebrated senior Australian artists (Olsen, Storrier in recent years). The fact is for many Australians who are only going to visit AGNSW once or few more times a year, due to it's exciting and common controversies, stellar career-pumping and lucrative giveaways, good chance is they're going to see the Archibald Prize, and what they see in that hour or more of visitation needs to itself portray who and what is making up the current Australian art world. Otherwise what other high-profile showcase does the industry have? 

For better or worse, it is imperative that the exhibition succeeds as an overblown showcase to indicate the annual direction and new stars of an otherwise largely shadowed community in the mind of the common Australian. I'm sure the AGNSW trustees would love room for you and your precious talents, but there's little space. In truth, the reality of the show is actually very different to the sensitive considered delicacy of your work that you're so driven to have exhibited. Quietly and respectively tottering through the exhibition halls during high season, you'll overhear all the sickening giveaways; 'my five year old son could have painted that' in response to a vision too minimal or expressionistic, next an admirable 'that's a real portrait' from the burly characteristically-Australian father nodding to the technical class of an entry suitable during the winning-streak of William Dargie, and lastly my very favourite and crowning ironic jewel; 'what an amazing painting, it looks just like a photograph!'. 

Pondering the space overlooked by great undeniable stares and enormous heads (squint and it commonly looks like Easter Island on a misty day) what l think is imperative for unsuccessful Archibald entrants to remember is that they're not necessarily dealing with a talent contest so much as a highly condensed and yes agreeably tall and exclusive temporary show for the public. Fundamentally if you're work is not needed in order to complete the composition of an Australian art world snapshot as it stands in the year of that running, then (as l'm sure you know deep down) you have a minuscule chance of being selected so don't bother and quit complaining. Naturally the trustees allow newcomers into the wolfden on an almost yearly basis in the crucial display that anyone can be exhibited, but with perhaps only one slot available versus eight hundred entries, it's going to be important for many not to become bitter about rejection.    

Firstly for those wishing to be exhibited, try your luck first sweeping under the wing of a gallery of some stature and follow the advice given. Based on your success as an artist, if your gallery or those surrounding your practice that sit in a comfortable cultural position suggest you enter a prize, perhaps even the Archibald prize then that's a good reason to enter, and l would say only in such similar scenarios should you enter. If there hasn't been much whispering in your studio this year, save your $50 (or current Archibald entry fee) and pour it back into your practice or should you feel so inclined, add it to your savings for a good night out after an opening in Paddington or Woollahra, and get those contacts going to assist your ambitions :)

Advertised in bus shelters across the Sydney CBD, the tagline for the Archibald Prize states 'The Face That Stops The Nation' . While it is obvious the AGNSW trustees do relish a little in the hype and sadistic curating enjoyment of handing the prize (sometimes repeatedly) to artists not exactly in dire need of it's rewards, if you have a major problem try other options than handing out flyers on the gallery steps. Immediately l would recommend entering in the Doug Moran prize, or if your mission extends beyond the easel, perhaps guide your efforts towards setting up other art prizes and help ease the exclusive pressures of what exists nationally as almost the only major Australian art prize gaining major attention.  

Jim Shirlaw.    

'Head of the Nail' performance 1/3

l recently had some performance footage of three different works of mine from 2007 uploaded on Youtube: better late than never.. You'll find each of these next three posts serve as an explanation for it's corresponding video, which without any explanation as they previously existed on Youtube can be a bit misleading and the intricate plot lines l so carefully devised (at that especially young, pivotal age) tend to vanish.. still developing that side of things with performances to come. Several important performances took place in 2006 which due to lack of visual documentation will be missed here, all though my first performance that really did start it all for me; an intervention on Mike Parr's 'Amerika' (May 2006) will need to undergo some reflection, probably by the time i've written up the third and final entry.. Anyhow, these following three works demonstrate that while showing a development of the performance medium in my work at that time, which l was combining with poetry and a visual art practice (then undertaking my final year at National Art School) they would in fact by the following year be eclipsed by other artistic ventures. Aside from a few informal occasions, performance was more or less ceased for several years; l am by now looking to combine all these various directions over the past five, six years, hence having returned to examine some of these early works for what and how they existed at the time and where l can now continue and develop from them, with all that's been delved into since!

performance 1 of 3

'Head of the Nail'
Art Gallery of NSW, May 2007
filmed by Daniel Havas

By no means was this performance made with any input or clearance from the AGNSW but was instead (as would seem pretty obvious in the footage) suddenly executed on a regular Tuesday afternoon during the 2007 Archibald Prize. Entering the exhibition imitating and using the props to suggest that l was blind was a statement to suggest that l was entering an art exhibition but seeing nothing; the decision for that move came from a dissatisfaction with the exhibition's long standing factory-line of enormous Easter Island-scale heads, commonly over-refined to generate that photographic finish that so often begs the insane judgement commonly overheard; 'wow, it's such a great painting, it looks like just a photograph!' My decision to pick the Archibald came from the personal distaste with the syndrome it commonly places on artists; l had witnessed the bitter experience it plunged into the life of several of my NAS lecturers and the detrimental effect that had on teaching. That addictive state that the quest for the Archibald ensues; the tunnel vision confined further each year as the scent of a win is held just beyond the nose; the artist's entres and eventually their practice becomes increasingly governed by theories and hope of what the judging panel will prefer and the obvious resolution; the longer the artist continually stays in the game, eventually their tenacity will pay off and they'll receive that magic phone call..

All would be fine if the long haul to win was such an easy, un-egotistical, expectation free process but being far from that, the example of the Archibald has a way of dictating artist's careers; the prize, which if finally obtained seems to then result in a crisis of direction; where to and to what now that the Holy Grail has been possessed? I heard once that a true sign of an addicted gambler is in their winning expression, which despite what jackpot they've won, continues to remain sombre; the achievement of their win seems to almost pass them by unnoticed in reflection of their great preceding losses and years of unnecessary sacrifice to reach that moment.. Some of the 'Archibald Hunters' l had met by my early art school years reminded me of this.

So, having explained the context; l am by this time inside the exhibition, imitating that l'm blind strolling nervously towards the part of the exhibition where l plan to execute the next stage of the performance. Suddenly from inside my shoulder canvas bag l reveal a nail, hammer and scrunched up sheet of lined paper with a quick, purposely undeveloped portrait in biro pen, which in a matter of moments is nailed to the exhibition wall, amid a short burst of hammering that rattled like a machine-gun and literally froze everybody in the room to the spot; the feeling would have been similar when releasing a few shots to announce you're about to rob a bank..

The intention of using the hammer and releasing those loud cracks into the air that afternoon was very much to do, for example with firing a gun and resolving the incredible pressure built up by a number of factors to do with the performance; the mountain of built-up tension surrounding the prize, the anticipation of it's many entrants, the hype and it's high-profile status which in terms of publicity tends to still be met each year with a lot of conflicting reviews that do each year spell out the issues with the grand-scale photographic rendering etc, l think despite it's success there's a tension that builds up each year due it's unshifting tastes. As they successfully did l wanted the sound of my performance to ring through the halls of the show and present in a momentary form, a huge release of tension; a dramatised backlash.. fueled by the disastisfaction l personally felt having witnessed the aftermath of Archibald failure or post-winning delirium during my studies then. The exhibition became the object of an issue in the Australian art world that l wanted to comment on at that time, an enormous entity of bottled up criticism and respect, successful careers and buried careers that l was incredibly intrigued to (in my miniscule state) throw stones at and see what would happen; performance proved to be the medium for this one.

If you haven't already, hit the link and enjoy

Jim S