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.