Published May 2010
This May is a month to celebrate contemporary art around the country.
With three integral biennials coinciding for Sydneysiders and Melbournites, exciting contemporary art is just around your unsuspecting corner. Biennials play an important role in our cultural make up; they are exhibitions that are spoken about and reflected upon in time. They not only give the audience insight into current ideas and trends locally and internationally, they are a chance to see art in a lively and festive environment where works’ meanings flow into each other and the biennale becomes greater than the sum of its parts.
One of the best lecturers I had at art school made me very passionate about contemporary art and one of the biggest lessons he passed on was to treat contemporary art like any other profession or passion, he said that like long-jumping or physics you have to work at it to get the rewards.
When attending contemporary art exhibitions like biennials I try to go along to gallery talks or research the artists and curators’ previous work, or even just read a wall text if one is around: all this adds to my experience tenfold. I find that asking a question of the work begins a dialogue and this helps me to enjoy art that can sometimes seem difficult to find an entry point into. Reading about the contemporary artists and upcoming biennials presented here, I hope you can enjoy the questions we have asked on your behalf and begin your own dialogue with these exciting, emerging and established Australian artists.
In conclusion (as the third speaker for the negative) art is a social sport, sometimes even a contact sport, and most of us find it much more enjoyable with friends and a glass of wine to share it with and wash it all down.
Happy Biennial-ing!