Cuckoo
presents in association with Violet Faigan
NO DIRECT LINE FROM MY BRAIN TO MY HEART
Drawings by 8 artists
February
21 - March 15, 2003
For the 8 artists in this group show curated by Violet Faigan,
drawing is only one of several modes of expression practiced by
each, and in most cases takes second place to other art forms (music,
photography, installation) and day jobs. It is the basic immediacy
and convenience of drawing which gives these artists the impetus
to pick up the felt tip, pencil or biro, making an instant mark
on the page. An established photographer, Ann Shelton has recently
used drawing as another form of creative output while travelling.
In some works such as Kirsty Cameron’s series of dark pencil
drawings Fires in the Sky, the act of drawing seems to be an obsessive
impulse and can at times become a therapeutic method of expression
and communication. Violet Faigan and Simon Cuming often incorporate
drawing into their installation practices. Here Faigan has used
the medium to extend her interest in portraiture with old-fashioned
illustrations of female singers (Peggy Lee, Marlene Dietrich and
Julie London). In contrast to these portraits, Cuming focuses in
on a more boyish subject, carefully depicting the fly in his triptych
entitled Bonjour Mssr Courbét.
Faigan and many of the artists here also play music in bands (Jad
Fair, Simon Cuming, Stella Corkery and Alan Holt). The influence
of band posters and record cover art is most obvious in the collage
works by Stella Corkery, depicting the kind of all-girl band common
to the imagination of most teenage girls. American artist and musician
Jad Fair uses his time on the road to work on his felt pen drawings,
utilising a child-like aesthetic with references to pop music and
cartoon characters. This naive style runs throughout the exhibition,
the artists and curator all sharing an appreciation for outsider
art and the hobbyist. Like many of the artists in this group, Graham
McFelin has a history of exhibiting in project spaces (including
Fiat Lux and the Honeymoon Suite). Here he combines drawing and
object to create the smallest work in the show with a whited-out
cigarette packet.
www.cuckoo.org.nz
Reviews, Essays & Articles
‘Up
the Arts’
Canta, March, 2003, p.24
Roger Sculbeuys
No direct line from my brain to my heart
Essay by Alistair Crawford
in The Physics Room Annual 2003
ISBN: 0-9582359-7-X
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