12 Sept, 2007

Been a while since the last post went up.

Daylesford showing of Gods was amazing, my work looked fantastic in its space. I'm not sure how many people got to see the work as it could be easily missed. I'd love to show them somewhere else now that i have the big prints.

Masters is going along well, though my final project is vacillating. Gave my first paper at an RMIT fashion conference. It was a bit light weight but it was the first. Got thought it ok, looking forward to doing the next one. That one was on Representation of Australian Asian masculinity in the ACMP collection. I'll put a link up when i find out where the paper is put up. The second paper will look at the rise of muscle as masculine in south east Asian Chinese cities.

Art work. I'm looking for older men who would be interested in parodying themselves in my go-go project. Models are the hardest part of working in Melbourne, people are much more reluctant to say yes. BadFilm is moving very slowly. If you read this an are male and in Melbourne please offer your body for photos! By default i've been working on a series of "gaydar" pics for people.

Work. I've not updated this site as i've been constantly working in dreamweaver for work. Http://www.filmpacific.com.au which takes up most of my web energy!

Finding it hard to find time and concentration to do everything i need to do. Working fast and furiously on getting everything ready for Daylesford, but biggest splash locally since 2002 and the first time i'm solo in Victoria. It would be so helpful to have a gallery represent me!

Now started a couple of new projects though it is not as easy to convince people to model in Melbourne as it is in Sydney, especially when Speedos are involved (watch this space).

Masters is not progressing as fast as i would like. I've got a paper in a post grad day, and being considered for a conference (ie my abstract has been accepted). So we'll see.

Updates to the site. Gods + Warriors has had a major revamp (words anyway) with a link to Daylesford Photo Biennale. On the 3 Khmer Empires page i've put three new links for more large, medium and 35mm photographs.

enjoy

The year has hit full pace, a quick trip up to Sydney was my easter, study is moving fast and I'm taking advantage of my creative phase of late last year. So as usual I'm on the look out for men to model. The Belgrade project is looking like it will not go ahead. The conferences in England I'm waiting on programmes to see if they are worth while. So planning is a bit in limbo, unfortunately the USA is looking more unlikely due to the added expense. As most readers have noticed the masters site has not gone live yet. I spend a day a week with works website http://www.sungard.com.au getting it up to speed that i don't feel much like working on web when i get home.

The next showing is at Daylesford (the spa town in country Victoria, click the logo for the link. Will be showing, images from Gods + Warriors at life size!

I've now put up a minisite dealing with my masters. I'm trying to encourage debate around my issues as well as being a place were people, dealing with the same issues as me can find my work.

The Christmas break was a farce as I came down with a flu, and spent most of it in bed. I'm now recovered and getting on with everything. Planning is underway to go around the world in August/September, and I've been invited to show in Belgrade for a solo show. Which I'm intending to take up. I will do some new work for it.

Andy Brower has asked me to contribute to a guide book on Cambodia, which I will do more work on this weekend.

The reading of my master's has begun with vengeance. I'm reading more now than at any point in my life. My reading is around Australian Masculinities, Chinese Masculinities, the crisis in masculinity post feminism, visual representations, with a minor in film and literary studies. My thinking at the moment is that 'white australian males' ('wam' for short) feel under siege, their understanding of what it is to be a man is under challenge from women, gays, every ethnic group legislature, and some sections of the media. This has lead to both confusion and stronger male only socialisation particularly with youth.

I'm setting up a discussion bulletin board to gauge reactions from people. i will also use this board to road test visual ideas.

On the art front.

Gods + Warriors is going to be shown as part of the Daylesford photography Bienniale next year, it will have less images but bigger prints. This time I'm doing canvases of near life size for a smallish room at one of the hubs. We are also looking forward to showing at The Dowse in Wellington.

The BadFilm project is now up to 43 portraits with another 5 ready to be shot. I'm still looking for guys to photograph, Africa, the Middle East and South America are under represented.

I'm also putting together some less prescriptive ideas for easy traveling overseas with, in my post analogue career.

I'm a student again, it seems like it was only recently that i was doing design studies, but now officially I'm in the masters programme at RMIT. Work has begun. Talking about work I'm now employed for 3 days a week by SunGard Australia, as their inhouse designer which means that I get to do near everything that comes through the firm (boxes, labels, guides for the frount of shops). I'm enjoying it greatly, though it's only my second week, and I have 25kms to work... now I do the commuting not Martin! ATM I've been doing the film festival and the Art Fair which was amazing found another wonderful artist in my area Chi Peng from Beijing, will reference his work on my links soon.

7 July, 2006

It has been a month since the passing of another of my photographic heros. Arnold Newman work will stand, and I trust his reputation will build. He was the man who invented the environmental portrait. Unlike most of my heros I meant Arnold on three occasions. The first was in 1991 in Sydney as part of the light of Australia conference put on by Baltronics. I as a young photographer got to be assistant to many of the major working photographers. I particularly remember the cruise on the Harbour afterward where Peter Osborne invited the assistants to come along. there we got to meet and chat with Arnold, Jay Masiel and Gregory Heisler. It was the first time I felt i could make it. As I seemed to be off a similar personality. I have a photo signed by all three with their hands on my head. For me it was a defining moment. I went back to work and resigned from my job, and went about starting a career. I worked for Baltronics for a year, then assisted many Sydney photographers before heading out on my own.

The second time I met Arnold was in NYC at his apartment, to give him some of the photos that had been taken by me and David Kaye on that harbour cruise. I nervously rang the number I'd been given. I said, "it's garrie maguire from baltonics here Mr Newman" and he replied straight away, "oh you'll have to come over!" I did. The working class boy from Australia got to sit down with this major figure in world photography for a coffee and chat. He showed me his collection of photos and told me how he'd swapped them with the artists, and told me I should too. He also told me that photographers do their best work before they are 25, and pointed to the photo I've uploaded here. I was 26. I look back on my work and realized i was just a late starter. All my themes and a lot of the ideas i now pursue were there in my work from 23 when i got serious to 29 years old.

The third time I met Arnold was with Martin in 1997 we'd been together a year or so and we had decided to make an art collection of work that we loved. Stravinsky was at the top of the list along with Cartier-Bresson and Mapplethorpe. We bought the Stravinsky print from Arnold at his apartment from his hands. That print hangs on our wall and is one of my four most prized possessions. Some times when I make a great portrait I don't dare compare it to Stravinsky because it is to photography what the Picasso's Gertrude Stein is to painting, a moment of perfection. If any of my work is considered in this way my life has been worth living.

6 July, 2006

As the world cup grinds to a very unsatisfying end, I find myself visiting Sydney to see the Biennale, which was for the most part very interesting. I was quite moved by the work upstairs in the wharf. It was also a opportunity to catch up with friends and fellow artists. When I got back to a much colder Melbourne I found an letter waiting for me it the mailbox from RMIT, at first I was wondering if it was a rejection letter for the job I applied for but it was an acceptance of my application to do the masters programme in photography. Now I need a job... though there is threats of teaching next year... I want something interesting that pays ok. I'm begining to note that I have a weird CV. The Khmer page is now up!

I'm still waiting to know if I will be accepted into a masters programme at RMIT. I've got the new apartment up to speed and we held a house warming party to celebrate. I'm really liking the vibe here. I'm also back to working on BAD FiLM doing another three sessions and orginising for another 6 people, apart from south america, africa and the arab countries, its coming along well, even though i was rejected by CCP (so were 183 or more proposals only like 17 were accepted).
have been coming across some interesting photography representing the east asian male body, Troy Phillips, Chen Chieh-jen, Ducky Tse, Marcus Mok and Norm Yip. Give me some more time and I'll do a web link bibliography under links.

I'm now up in Sydney getting things ready for the move of our things, but some things we don't want to take! Looking to sell a few items, CLiCK Here to find the things that need a new home! Its been good being back in my comfort zone again, it makes me realise how hard it is working at making friends and social contacts all over again. It is funny how many people come and go in my life, and just how few of them live in Melbourne!

Been working on my "expression of interest" for the masters for some time doing proposals is not my strongest hand... but it must be done this weekend. As today we find out the settlement date for our new place. about to head off and find out! Then I can start to get quotes to get our things down to Melbourne. So at this stage its looking like I'll be up in Sydney on Monday for a couple of weeks to get everything together and enjoy mardi gras. I'm finding breaking into a new town difficult as i don't have a job yet (I've done all the orginising for Melbourne loft) so I don't have that set of contacts and interaction. Martin is having a very enjoyable time in his new job. So once the new place is set its back to the application forms! Some things I've noticed about Melbourne, it has a bigger hang up about Sydney then I feared! Once I mention I lived in Sydney the conversation is about why Melbourne is better or why Sydney people don't fit in... or something else related. On tv there are "made in Melbourne" on any show made here... having said that the bar scene (mixed) is fantastic, now lets get rid of the smoking... in many ways Melbourne is more interesting than Sydney, which has a major problem with the price of real estate which is killing most things.

Well life in Melbourne has been about trying to find somewhere to live, but the rental market is not good! So i took a day off to do tennis... have stopped working on my project for the time being while I get a feel for Melbourne and its culture, have done the Immigration Museum and a few galleries, Midsummer is coming up so hopefully that will prove to be a bit of an entry into this town!
Having a think about how to move the art past the point I've reached. In the mean time here's a pick of Andy Roddick.

After near two years this day marks the upload of www.magoooonsafari.com.au V3.0 this time I've designed it as well as art directing. So far only half the exhibitions are up this will improve over the next 6 months. As I'm about to face the disruption, of moving again. So its good bye to my wonderful studio and hello to uncertainty. My big thanks to my technical adviser, William Chen, of William's house warming party fame.

As this is written the process of sorting the site is on going... by the time you read this I hope its up. At the moment plans are under way for a move to Melbourne to become a 'Melbourne based artist', this will help with the major new project 'Bad Film' as it will broaden the subjects I can shoot and make the series more 'Australian' rather then just 'Sydney'. It is in this space i will keep an update of thoughts, explorations, press and shoots, it will also provide links to interesting sites I've found and galleries that are not part of my practice but I've taken never the less.