President's Letter for November 2014

 

Jan Indrans

 I recently attended the Melbourne Prize for Urban Sculpture presentation at Deakin Edge, Federation

As I sat through listening and being made aware of the sculpture that had been short listed I could not but sense a dichotomy shaping between the art that was being promoted and my own artistic pursuits and dare I say those of some of the association I was representing. I had entered the domain of the conceptual where I was confronted with installation, performance, process and proposal art. I was in a world with no tangible structure that I could immediately relate to. I must admit that I had the preconceived notion that by going to this event I was going to see something more tactile. For me the term: Urban Sculpture conjures up a structure or form and sounds similar to: Urban Architecture, the two would seem to go hand in hand. 


Don’t get me wrong I tolerate conceptual art like carving, modeling, painting, drawing, etc. it resides under the umbrella of the creative. What I question is its role in the ‘Urban’ landscape, to my mind a sculpture in this environment should be enduring like the buildings and the people of the city it occupies. Therefore I question how informed are our civic leaders, dignitaries, corporations when it comes to making informed decisions about public art. Furthermore I question the informed opinions of the arts and academy based grandees when it comes to promoting a self perpetuating art of little substance. At this point I but can not refer back to the fable of the boy who was the only one that pointed out that the emperor had no clothes! 

Now back to business. Having just chaired my first committee meeting where I was brought up to speed with regard to the various machinations of our Association it was gratifying to observe that we are a robust but small group of artisans. As the new president I feel that we should grow our organization and build up our membership base this way our resources strengthen and there’s more money in the kitty to undertake those projects we have longed for. Furthermore I would like to think that we could then gain more clout in the arts community. To make a start we desperately need a publicity officer or even a sub committee to undertake promotions of our exhibitions and get aspiring artists interested in joining us. It’s up to you!


Finally let me wish you all the best for the forthcoming festivities and I hope to catch up with some of you at Herring Island.
Square. This was a well polished event where I was made aware of the prestige and interest that art commands in this town, enhanced by a plethora of corporate sponsorship and in the presence of civic dignitaries and arts administrators. I was inspired to know that Melbourne is at the top of the table as Australia’s cultural capital and a magnet for artists from around the world. 

 

Cheers.
Jan Indrans ASV President.