Group shows @ 19 KAREN

My first curated exhibition :GALLERY 1/2


GALLERY 2/3/4

Artists papped!

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[+] MEDIA RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 7, 2008

Daniel Mc Kewen, 'Everyone'

Courtesy of the Artist

GROUP SHOW EXPLORES THE CAT-MOUSING PHENOMENON
BETWEEN TODAY’S CELEBRITIES, THE MEDIA AND THE PUBLIC.


PAP SPEARS is a group exhibition opening on Friday, October 31 at the new 19 KAREN Contemporary Artspace on the Gold Coast. The show brings together nine emerging artists Sue Dodd, Mari Hirata, Anthony Lister, Daniel McKewen, Alasdair Macintyre, Sebastian Moody, Archie Moore, David Spooner and Jemima Wyman, and is curated by Mariam Arcilla. The theme focuses on the sell¬-¬ability of modern day celebrities in a society where fame and notoriety equates to success, and being worshipped. PAP SPEARS is a mish-mash of Britney Spear’s surname – Britney being the prime example of a modern-day scandalous star – and the term ‘pap,’ which celebrities use to call the paparazzi (photographers who pursue and snap lucrative images of celebrities for public consumption).

Curator Mariam Arcilla explains that the show’s re-evaluation of the term ‘all publicity is good publicity’ have led the artists to produce works that are “both humorous and poignant in their attempts to portray a culture obsessed with turning celebrity triumph or disgrace into trivial entertainment.”

Among the works displayed in PAP SPEARS include Daniel Mc Kewen’s paintings and screen-based works based on anonymity and fame, and an installation by Anthony Lister, which brings to mind the territorial nature of the paparazzi when it comes to ‘baiting’ stars.

The glamourama routine of red carpet premieres is achieved in Mari Hirata’s latest photographic series, while Sue Dodd, a self-confessed celeb-magazine addict, continues her screen-based ‘rock operas’ by poking fun at celebrity spawns and the pressures of being thin in Hollywood.

To celeb-rate the launch of PAP SPEARS, the public are invited to attend Opening Night dressed to the theme ‘Halloween Hollywood’.

Conceptual artist Sebastian Moody will also use the show to ‘award’ a lucky member of the public a part in his paparazzi project. Details will be revealed at the launch, says that artist, and highlights the “unique combination of surveillance and desire that celebrities must feel 24 hours a day."

PAP SPEARS opens on Halloween night, October 31, 6-8pm at 19 KAREN Contemporary Artspace, 19 Karen Avenue, Mermaid Beach. Drinks, nibbles and live entertainment provided.

RSVP BY OCT 29 via info [at]19karen.com.au or 07 55545019.

The show continues until November 22.

Opening Hours are Tues to Fri: 10am-5pm and Sat to Sun: 11am-5pm.

For images of works, CV and media enquiries please email
To join our mailing list visit: www.19karen.com.au

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[+] PAP SPEARS

EVENT DETAILS

Exhibition Blurb: [+] PAP SPEARS – a group exhibition exploring the cat-mousing phenomenon between celebrities, the media and the public, and how this has resulted in the re-evaluation of the term ‘any publicity is good publicity.’

Artists: Sue Dodd, Mari Hirata, Anthony Lister, Alasdair Macintyre, Daniel Mc Kewen, Sebastian Moody, Archie Moore, David Spooner and Jemima Wyman. Curated by: Mariam Arcilla

Opening Night: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31 | 6-8pm OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Drinks, nibblies and live entertainment provided.

Theme: All are invited to come dressed to the theme ‘Halloween Hollywood.’

Eg. Celeb wannabe, has-been, IT girl, stage-mum, child star, blonde bombshell, serious actress, moody, mid-career method-actor etc.

Exhibition Period: OCTOBER 31 - NOVEMBER 22, 2008

Media info: http:/www.papspears.blogspot.com/

Location: 19 KAREN Contemporary Artspace - 19 Karen Avenue,

Mermaid Beach Q 4218

Parking available at Pacific Square on the Gold Coast Highway.

Gallery Bio: 19 KAREN is a new contemporary artspace centrally located at Mermaid Beach, Gold Coast. Our programs focus predominantly on emerging Australian artists via exhibitions, long-term collections and gallery representation.

Gallery Directors: Terri Lew and Mariam Arcilla

Opening Hours: Tues to Fri: 10am-5pm | Sat to Sun: 11am-5pm | & by appt.

Website: www.19karen.com.au

Phone: 07 555 45019

Email: info@19karen.com.au

Mob: 0412 940 357

ARTISTS BIOS

ANTHONY LISTER uses comic book imagery for his own means, redirecting popular culture for personal expression. Heroes and villains are taken out of the panel and placed in a new space, devoid of the usual storyline, dialogue and scenery. Through this use of iconic and familiar characters, Lister creates instantly memorable compositions. These characters and their popularity also expose our culture’s tendency towards oversimplification, avoiding gray areas and evaluating in terms of extremes: good or evil, hero or villain. Anthony recently undertook a research residency in Berlin, and his travels have extended him to take part in solo and group exhibitions around the world. Lister is consistently a finalist in a number of prestigious awards including The Prometheus Art Award and the Metro 5 Art Award. He has presented lectures, the most recent being the Semi-Permanent 2008 in Sydney. He lives and works in New York City.

SUE DODD's screen-based works are based on her performance of original songs that put the sensational stories and language of trashy celebrity magazines to bubbly electro-pop music, elevating bottom-dweller journalism to a new, pure entertainment genre she has coined "gossip-pop". Served with lashings of irony, Dodd's songs turn journalistic embellishment into rhythmic, hilarious, song lyrics. Sue Dodd completed a Bachelor of Arts, with First Class Honours, at RMIT University, Melbourne in 1997 and a Masters by research in Fine art at RMIT in 2000. Selected performances/solo exhibitions include Gossip Pop, Kings Gallery and Bus Gallery, Melbourne 2003; NW the gig, CLUBSproject, Melbourne 2003; and Pick-Up, Linden Gallery, St Kilda 2002. In 2001 Dodd was the recipiend of funding from Arts Victoria for International and Cultural Exchange.

JEMIMA WYMAN uses video, painting, photography and performance to investigate the fictions and realities relating to celebrities, Hollywood and the history of story-telling within Australian culture. She lives and works between Brisbane and Los Angeles, and is represented by Milani Gallery.

ALASDAIR MACINTYRE works in primarily object-based art. He is influenced by his own faith, art historical and popular culture references, as well as studies in theology, sociology, and paranormal activity. The objects in his work (toy figures, statuettes, etc) likes tot tackle issues, such as the glorification of of wrestling “heroes”, military soldiers, or disposable pop stars. He lives and works in Brisbane and is represented by Ryan Renshaw.

MARI HIRATA produces lush photographs focused around the Japanese notions of balance and symmetry, and are characterised by an iconic use of red, white and black. Shoes form a recurrent theme throughout Hirata's arts practice, and are mostly mundane white bridal high-heels, repetitively used to explore stereotypical notions of femininity and fetishised objects of desire. She lives and works on the Gold Coast.

DANIEL MC KEWEN examines the ubiquitous and influential nature of celebrity and popular culture. Working primarily in the medium of digital video, he appropriates and reconfigures elements of film and television media to examine how mass-media constructs and perpetuates the celebrity myth. In exploring his own love/hate relationship with pop culture and the celebrity industry, Daniel's work displays how celebrities function both as a public spectacle and as bearers of our own individual hopes, fears and desires.

SEBASTIAN MOODY is a Brisbane-based artist with a diverse conceptual art-driven practice. His practice is primarily concerned with how meaning is made and shared. In addition to his art practice Moody is currently studying a Masters in Museum Studies at the University of Queensland. Sebastian is also a member of the artist group The General Will, and lives and works in Brisbane.

ARCHIE MOORE was born in 1970 in Toowoomba, Queensland, and was named after the famous African American boxer of the same name. Moore’s work communicates a deep understanding of cultural content from an urban viewpoint. His interest in language developed from negative childhood experiences; the artist has now taken ownership of these by deconstructing them and altering their meanings. Moore continues to show work both nationally and internationally. He lives and works in Brisbane.

What DAVID SPOONER makes is said in needle and thread. His textile sculptures hail from places in his memory and imagination such as preschool and the Prehistoric. Each word pieced together in his work grows to tell a story (real and imagined) of his life.David currently resides in Brisbane Australia. He recently completed a Masters of visual art at the Queensland College of Art.

MARIAM ARCILLA (curator) is a Gold Coast based curator, writer and artist. As a Gallery Director at 19 KAREN Contemporary Artspace she engages in community and commercial projects that promote emerging and experimental artists. She has been featured on Triple J Radio, 612 ABC Radio, Electrofringe New Media Festival, The Weekend Bulletin Metro Arts Gallery, The Epoch Times and UV Magazine and. Mariam is also founder and co-Project Director of 'tinygold', a not-for-profit artist-run initiative. She graduated from a First Class BA Hons in 2006, after completing a Bachelor of Creative Arts degree from Griffith University, Gold Coast.

Curatorial Statement

[+] CURATORIAL STATEMENT

It’s like being a panda at a zoo. People just want to stare at you and photograph everything you do, from eating a peanut to taking a pee. It's a weird, strange dynamic.

– Jennifer Lopez

Without photographers photographing celebrities, celebrities don't have an image.Now, if they don't have an image, no-one goes and buys their movies … and they don't earn $20 million a picture.

– Darryn ‘Mr. Paparazzi’ Lyons

Britney really enjoys her paparazzi chases. She races around the city… aimlessly leading paps to various locations where she could interact with them just a little bit and then jump back into her car. A Britney chase is more fun than a roller coaster, but with the chance that the experience could cause lasting harm.
– Rolling Stones Magazine


The private sagas of celebrities have always belonged to public interest. From Britney Spears’ train-wreck antics to Paris Hilton’s new fling to Tom Cruise’ babbles on Scientological love, celebrity behaviour seems to have become erratic due to intense public scrutiny. It is for this matter that modern day stars are finding it hard to maintain private lives in a culture obsessed with turning celebrity triumph and scandal into trivial entertainment.

This stalker-like intrusion has driven certain celebrities to disguise themselves in public so as to hold on to their slipping anonymity. Some turn into recluses, often retreating altogether from the public eye except for rare work-related outings. Others have taken advantage of this exposure by baiting the media and encouraging public attention. This in turn raises their fame profile.

But what actually makes a celebrity a celebrity? Deriving from the Latin verb celebrere, meaning ‘one who is celebrated,’ a celebrity is a high-profile person who has achieved recognition in their field of entertainment. Nowadays, to become a celebrity one doesn’t necessarily need talent. What seems to tick the box is their ability to be ‘famous for simply being famous’: a talent that comes from creating drama and entertainment out of their personal lives.

The role of the public have also changed - our growing demand to delve into the intimate details of celebrity lives have resulted in a thirst to turn otherwise ordinary people into properties of the public arena.

Conveniently, the popular rise of tabloid magazines, celebrity reality TV programs and online gossip blogsites have continued to feed our unrealistic expectations of how a celebrity should behave in public (or publicly private) situations. As a result, modern day stars are worshipped in a level akin to royalty. Their every moment, sensational or mundane, is pursued by public eyes. And when celebrities do fall from grace, their actions are instantly de-glorified and dissected.


PAP SPEARS is a group exhibition curated by Mariam Arcilla, and brings together nine emerging Australian artists Anthony Lister, Alasdair Macintyre, Sue Dodd, Mari Hirata, Daniel McKewen, David Spooner, Jemima Wyman, Sebastian Moody and Archie Moore.

The exhibition title is a mish-mash of Britney Spear’s surname – Britney being the prime example of a modern-day scandalous star – and the term ‘pap,’ which celebrities use to call the paparazzi (photographers who pursue and snap lucrative images of celebrities for public consumption).

For the show these artists have created works that respond to the cat-mousing phenomenon between celebrities, the public and the paparazzi, and how this dangerously dazzling concoction has resulted in the re-evaluation of the term ‘any publicity is good publicity.’

PAP SPEARS opens on Friday, October 31 on the Gold Coast, the city known for its nightlife glitz and celebrity-spotting. To launch the exhibition, 19 KAREN Contemporary Artspace will transform into a celebrity-themed gala. Artists and audiences are encouraged to come dressed to the theme ‘Halloween Hollywood.’ The show continues until November 22, 2008.

-m.arcilla


Keywords:

Celebrity worship, scandal, ‘stalkerazzi,’ anonymity, tabloidization, re-invention, celebrity branding, glamour, red carpet, plastic surgery, celebrity disguises, ‘damage control,’ marriage proposals, entourage, 'role model,' media bias, reality TV, people-watching.

Letters to artists

Pap spears Exhibition Rationale and Exhibition Agreement sent to Pap Spears artists