art events

Opening night 10 April 2002, 5:30pm - 7:30pm
Exhibition runs 9 April - 27 April 2002

The group show, comprising the works of 10 artists, is at Mansour + Hill Galleries, 171 Latrobe Street, Melbourne.

My second solo exhibition opened Thursday 5th April through to Tuesday 1st May 2001.

The images below provide some idea of what it looked like. They are not the best but it was a rush job.

Post Script:

The show did make sales which was most beneficial for me and the venue coordinator, The Contemporary Art Society of Victoria Inc., a not for profit organisation "run by artists for artists". As hosts of the venue they charge a hire fee and take 15% commission on sales and state they will pass on all sales enquiries and general enquies to the Artist. Unfortunately a sour note occurred. I requested that I be supplied with the buyer details for my own records. A simple and logical enough request. The Contemporary Art Society of Vic Inc. Committee refused my request which was initially made verbally. The Committee subsequently refused to reply to my written request for the information which clearly cited the valid grounds. They chose to ignore it completely, (I was told later following persistent attempts at contact) citing the contract..."correspondence will not be entered into". Since the matter was of an issue not articulated in the contract I found this to be a strangely belligerent reaction. How was I supposed to learn they had adopted this attitude, telepathy, Yungian "Mass Consciousness"?

Not very becoming to the Society's image at all. (I think my sarcasm is in context.)

According to Arts Law the matter was in a grey area. The Society may not have articulated clearly in the contract that this sort of information will not be supplied to the artist, but they could still claim the right as a "commercial" concern to "own" it. Grey or not the moral standing of an arts society "run by artists for artists" operating as a commercial concern, and in doing so profiting from the very artists they purport to represent, is in question in my opinion. The seriousness of the matter has convinced me not to be involved with the Society on any level again and I could not recommend them as an option for other artists if asked. It is all about honesty and being the thing you purport to be in my book. I still fail to see how the granting of my request could have harmed the Society, which claims to represent the best interests of its members and artist associates. These particular buyers were previously unknown to the Society and would have likely remained so had they not see my work anyway. The buyers obviously enjoyed my work, it is a great pity to me that I will not now be able to advise them of future shows or viewing opportunities. It is also a greater pity that a) I will not know where my works are for noting in my CV (in the collections section) and b) I can not keep track of my moral rights and copyright which pertain to the images themselves. I counted some who are on the committee as friends too. Strange how that all goes out the window when vested interests are involved.

Lessons learnt; you can't trust anyone with matters pertaining to your professional well-being; establish all the facts of any contract upfront before any payment or agreement is entered into; you cannot assume that professionalism is the norm, there is a vast number of purported "professional artists and organisations" out there who have no idea what the word means; you live and learn; once bitten twice shy.....ok enough with the platitudes and awful sayings, I'm done.

LR: 29/07/2001

Art Events