Jason Benjamin - Metro 5 Gallery

Having just read the article of Jack Marx in the Sydney Morning Herald I was extremely interested then find the follow up from The Art Life (You Be The Attorney, I'll Drive, 19/07/2007). No punches pulled, and no quarter given for 'artistic license'. This blog could learn a thing or two from this creative think tank!

But onto more important things. The subject matter of the above article is Jason Benjamin, an Australian artist of particular renown worldwide. His latest exhibition, 'Set Yourself Free' is now showing at metro 5 Gallery (http://www.metro5gallery.com.au/) until July 8. For those of you in Victoria, you're all very lucky people.

For years a Benjamin work sat above the headstand of my bed. The work was so epic it almost needed the white cotton of the bed sheet to act as a visual buffer for wayward glances, a risk that could mean total immersion and subsequent loss within the image.

This painting was of his established style; a landscape both hyper-real and trying so hard to be surreal but somehow casting off the preconception of surreality. It was a snapshot of what I wanted to feel but it would always force me to stop before I made quick assumptions about the subject matter. It demanded that I take nothing for granted.

It was painted in the very sudden throes of a storm, the greens and blues so dark as to be immediately thought of as black. The cloudscape sat amongst all of this aggression with an omniscient softness, the clouds tearing and revealing incandescent blues. All of it just teetered in some catastrophic brink, perfectly balanced but ready to fall into tragedy at a moment's notice. Somehow some amazing 'force majeure' had been ground to a staggering halt just beyond the head of my bed.

Get along and see it, from the poor reproductions available (like the one included here - 'Please Don't Go You Just Got Here', Kyoto 2007 - from the Metro 5 website) I can see that this exhibition is amongst his best.

Sydney Dog's Home

To all and sundry who feel that pets of all shapes and sizes can be subject to whim and fancy, fashion and image, or Christmas gift giving- you should not be allowed to own a pet. This post isn't for outlining the benefits of owning animals or for chastising those who don't understand those benefits. This post is simply saying this:

'Thanks to the likes of those who don't understand the nature of pet ownership thousands of domesticated animals have to be euthanised each year'.

The sense of waste and the dereliction of responsibility is needlessly extreme. We all need to get our act together.

For now a small group is leading the way and trying to stem the flow of animals that become liabilities of local governments all over Sydney.

If you do find yourself purchasing a pet please look towards the rescue centres across NSW first. The animal of your dreams will most likely be waiting and at a fraction of the cost of purebred puppies.
The personal favorite of this blog is the Sydney Dog's Home. Please check out the link and feel free to smile at the bright faces waiting for homes on the site.

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Little Tibetan Tale

In the distance
I same something moving
I approached
I saw an animal
I came even closer
I saw a man
I came even closer
And I saw he was my brother.

6 Billion Others

A friend's project, something of a purely indefineable scale. Check it out...
http://www.6billionothers.org/index_en.php

Misogi - Japanese Martial Arts

Something I thought I'd add to the fray - a local supplier (Sydney) of traditional martial arts gi and obi. A rarity indeed! These guys look like the real thing and are doing so at great prices. Among the clutter of so so uniforms and apparel it is really refreshing to see someone trying to bring it all back to the basics and in keeping with tradition! URL in links....

The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall

There's a lot to be said for marketing but this shouldn't deter fans looking for a book that doesn't mind treading the murky depths. Steven Hall has created one giant allusion which he has treated with respect, thereby not insulting the reader with over stretched analogies. I've read reviews of this book stating it as a 'new modern' fiction, this would be pure tosh. There have been so many writers (modernists and others) who have attempted and achieved similar things this century.
What can be safely stated is that it is an homage to all of the author's favorite writers and in some cases genres, most of whom have come from contrasting backgrounds. The book is a pastiche, definitely, and considering the literary weaving process involved Hall has done well.
I won't go into the book's inner workings or try to summarise and catalogue. I would merely suggest to anyone inquisitive for something 'out of the box' to get this book and let it flood your mind with ideas.
Four out of five from my end.