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John Malcolm Fraser the 82 year old Australian former Liberal Party politician who was the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia now alienated from his party has published an article in The Age Newspaper titled ‘All the way with the USA?’. Fraser states “There is increasingly aggressive posturing between China and American-backed Japan. If war breaks out Australia must not slavishly follow its superpower friend. The ownership of islands in the East China Sea now represents a highly sensitive and dangerous issue. There has been a significant escalation that could easily lead to conflict between China and Japan. A senior American intelligence officer has strongly sided with Japan and called China a bully on the high seas with ambitions to sink American warships and seize control of waters from its neighbours. He described China as a principal threat. We have the US and Japan lined up in concert against China. …If anyone thinks containment against China and containment against the Soviet Union had any similarities, they should be disabused. The Soviet Union had minimal trade links, no financial and capital market links worth mentioning with the West. China, on the contrary, is heavily entwined in the economies of nearly every Western country, certainly of Australia. It is the largest buyer of US Treasury bills. A war between America and China would have catastrophic results, first for America's economy, then for the economies of the world. If we had a government with a sense of history and of the future, we would seek to use our influence for peace and moderation. We should make it plain to America that we will not be going to war on that issue. We should oppose provocative action by any party. … When is Australia going to have sufficient courage to act as an independent nation?”  Inspired by John Malcolm Fraser, The Age ow.ly/i137R Image source Twitter ow.ly/i133G Courage to act as an independent nation (March 14 2013)

 

John Malcolm Fraser the 82 year old Australian former Liberal Party politician who was the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia now alienated from his party has published an article in The Age Newspaper titled ‘All the way with the USA?’. Fraser states “There is increasingly aggressive posturing between China and American-backed Japan. If war breaks out Australia must not slavishly follow its superpower friend. The ownership of islands in the East China Sea now represents a highly sensitive and dangerous issue. There has been a significant escalation that could easily lead to conflict between China and Japan. A senior American intelligence officer has strongly sided with Japan and called China a bully on the high seas with ambitions to sink American warships and seize control of waters from its neighbours. He described China as a principal threat. We have the US and Japan lined up in concert against China. …If anyone thinks containment against China and containment against the Soviet Union had any similarities, they should be disabused. The Soviet Union had minimal trade links, no financial and capital market links worth mentioning with the West. China, on the contrary, is heavily entwined in the economies of nearly every Western country, certainly of Australia. It is the largest buyer of US Treasury bills. A war between America and China would have catastrophic results, first for America’s economy, then for the economies of the world. If we had a government with a sense of history and of the future, we would seek to use our influence for peace and moderation. We should make it plain to America that we will not be going to war on that issue. We should oppose provocative action by any party. … When is Australia going to have sufficient courage to act as an independent nation?”

 

Inspired by John Malcolm Fraser, The Age ow.ly/i137R Image source Twitter ow.ly/i133G

Barry Blyth Holloway the 78 year old former Australian and former Papua New Guinean politician has been remembered on his passing in an article by Mark Baker in The Age titled ‘An affair to remember’, highlighting how more than any other Australian, Barry Holloway was instrumental in the making of modern Papua New Guinea, a country he loved and made his own. Baker states “…It [his journey] began with a teenage cadet patrol officer trekking through the remote and untamed territory of New Guinea and ended with a distinguished political career, a knighthood and the deep affection of a generation of Papua New Guineans. ...He was one of the first expatriates to advocate independence for the Australian trust territory in the 1960s. He helped found Pangu, the country's first political party, and ran the numbers that saw a brash young journalist named Michael Somare become its first leader. He chaired the committee that drafted the constitution and, at independence in 1975, he was one of the first white men to take citizenship of the new nation, happily surrendering his Australian passport. He became speaker of the first parliament after independence, then a senior minister in several governments. …''Barry never saw himself as merely a catalyst for change,'' says Tony Voutas, who left PNG on the eve of independence. ''For him, it was his country. He was one of the few in those colonial days who looked at Papua New Guineans as equal human beings. The planters called them bush kanakas and some right-wingers regarded them as a different evolutionary stream. ''But Barry was one of those people who did not see race. And the Papua New Guineans regarded him as one of them. And once you are accepted into their society it is as if you were born into their society.''  Inspired by Mark Baker, The Age ow.ly/hHQgn Image source PNGAttitude ow.ly/hHPtY Accepted as if you were born into their society (February 18 2013)

Barry Blyth Holloway the 78 year old former Australian and former Papua New Guinean politician has been remembered on his passing in an article by Mark Baker in The Age titled ‘An affair to remember’, highlighting how more than any other Australian, Barry Holloway was instrumental in the making of modern Papua New Guinea, a country he loved and made his own. Baker states “…It [his journey] began with a teenage cadet patrol officer trekking through the remote and untamed territory of New Guinea and ended with a distinguished political career, a knighthood and the deep affection of a generation of Papua New Guineans. …He was one of the first expatriates to advocate independence for the Australian trust territory in the 1960s. He helped found Pangu, the country’s first political party, and ran the numbers that saw a brash young journalist named Michael Somare become its first leader. He chaired the committee that drafted the constitution and, at independence in 1975, he was one of the first white men to take citizenship of the new nation, happily surrendering his Australian passport. He became speaker of the first parliament after independence, then a senior minister in several governments. …”Barry never saw himself as merely a catalyst for change,” says Tony Voutas, who left PNG on the eve of independence. ”For him, it was his country. He was one of the few in those colonial days who looked at Papua New Guineans as equal human beings. The planters called them bush kanakas and some right-wingers regarded them as a different evolutionary stream. ”But Barry was one of those people who did not see race. And the Papua New Guineans regarded him as one of them. And once you are accepted into their society it is as if you were born into their society.”

 

Inspired by Mark Baker, The Age ow.ly/hHQgn Image source PNGAttitude ow.ly/hHPtY

Anthony Lister the 33 year old Australian painter and Installation artist, notable within the Lowbrow art movement, whose work is influences from a number of areas and genres, including street art, expressionism, pop art, and contemporary youth culture, has been featured by Nicholas Forrest in an Blouin Artinfo article titled ‘Aussie Street Art Star Anthony Lister's Grimacing Graffiti Faces Go Global’. Forrest states “…Lister has been taking the urban art world by storm over the past few years with his painterly interpretations of grunge imagery. In well-reviewed exhibitions both at home and abroad, and frequent appearances in leading street-art publications, in 2011 he was also named one of the 50 most collectable artists by Australian Art Collector magazine… So what’s made him so successful transitioning his work from outdoors to indoors? One reason might be the confluence of subversive street aesthetic with high-art draughtsmanship in his work, making his images seem equally relevant and accessible in an up-market gallery as they do on the gritty walls of alleys. Lister is also proficient across a wide variety of mediums, as at home working with pens, stickers and aerosol as he is au-fait with different surfaces. And the subjects of his mainly figurative compositions are just as varied as his materials: sci-fi superheroes, clown-like characters, and licentious ladies appear as often as images of quite ordinary looking people. But the shared characteristics of his work, a signature blend of irony and decadence, are what make them stand out from the crowd; fed from his single-minded work approach. “The first rule of painting is to take everyone else out of the equation. I am the viewer, so I don’t underestimate my viewers,” he explains. “I can’t paint for anyone else.” Later, “it’s all about having the courage to say this is finished... It’s like being a soldier because I have to be hard as fuck to fall in love with these things and let them go.”  Inspired by Nicholas Forrest, Blouin Artinfo ow.ly/hnLUY Image source Steve Gray ow.ly/hnMfX I can’t paint for anyone else (February 17 2013)

Anthony Lister the 33 year old Australian painter and Installation artist, notable within the Lowbrow art movement, whose work is influences from a number of areas and genres, including street art, expressionism, pop art, and contemporary youth culture, has been featured by Nicholas Forrest in an Blouin Artinfo article titled ‘Aussie Street Art Star Anthony Lister’s Grimacing Graffiti Faces Go Global’. Forrest states “…Lister has been taking the urban art world by storm over the past few years with his painterly interpretations of grunge imagery. In well-reviewed exhibitions both at home and abroad, and frequent appearances in leading street-art publications, in 2011 he was also named one of the 50 most collectable artists by Australian Art Collector magazine… So what’s made him so successful transitioning his work from outdoors to indoors? One reason might be the confluence of subversive street aesthetic with high-art draughtsmanship in his work, making his images seem equally relevant and accessible in an up-market gallery as they do on the gritty walls of alleys. Lister is also proficient across a wide variety of mediums, as at home working with pens, stickers and aerosol as he is au-fait with different surfaces. And the subjects of his mainly figurative compositions are just as varied as his materials: sci-fi superheroes, clown-like characters, and licentious ladies appear as often as images of quite ordinary looking people. But the shared characteristics of his work, a signature blend of irony and decadence, are what make them stand out from the crowd; fed from his single-minded work approach. “The first rule of painting is to take everyone else out of the equation. I am the viewer, so I don’t underestimate my viewers,” he explains. “I can’t paint for anyone else.” Later, “it’s all about having the courage to say this is finished… It’s like being a soldier because I have to be hard as fuck to fall in love with these things and let them go.”

 

Inspired by Nicholas Forrest, Blouin Artinfo ow.ly/hnLUY Image source Steve Gray ow.ly/hnMfX

Daniel Connell the Australian visual artist who draws heavily on India for inspiration has had a large charcoal mural defaced at the Kochi-Muziris Biennale - India’s first biennale based out of Kerala. The mural was attacked by unknown vandals rubbing it with a burnt coconut husk and water. Nicholas Forrest in a Boulin Artinfo article states “Titled LOOKHERE, Connell’s project consists of two 6.5 by 6.5-foot portraits as well as a series of paste-ups with images of local residents. The damaged work is a portrait of a man named Achu, who is a local tea vendor. “It seems that it was premeditated to a certain extent in that a tool was sourced rather than just using the hand,” Connell says. “The charcoal was simply smudged and wiped. If they had been really angry they could easily have removed the whitewash with little effort.” The reasons for the defacement are unclear, although Connell has run through multiple possibilities. His first suspicion was that it was a faith-based act - Achu, the vendor, is Muslim, and the biennale is also being held near the site of India’s first mosque - but locals were quick to dismiss this. Instead, Connell now suspects that it might be the work of local artistic intelligentia, angered at having been excluded from the event. Also possible culprits are extreme leftist groups active in the area, who, opposed to Western influence, have launched poster campaigns accusing the Biennale of corruption and elitism. The defacement might also be an act of jealousy from local business rivals of Achu’s tea shop, envious of his success.” Inspired by Nicholas Forrest ow.ly/gwAIm image source Blogspot ow.ly/gwAE8 Charcoal was simply smudged and wiped (January 7 2013)

Daniel Connell the Australian visual artist who draws heavily on India for inspiration has had a large charcoal mural defaced at the Kochi-Muziris Biennale – India’s first biennale based out of Kerala. The mural was attacked by unknown vandals rubbing it with a burnt coconut husk and water. Nicholas Forrest in a Boulin Artinfo article states “Titled LOOKHERE, Connell’s project consists of two 6.5 by 6.5-foot portraits as well as a series of paste-ups with images of local residents. The damaged work is a portrait of a man named Achu, who is a local tea vendor.   “It seems that it was premeditated to a certain extent in that a tool was sourced rather than just using the hand,” Connell says. “The charcoal was simply smudged and wiped. If they had been really angry they could easily have removed the whitewash with little effort.” The reasons for the defacement are unclear, although Connell has run through multiple possibilities. His first suspicion was that it was a faith-based act – Achu, the vendor, is Muslim, and the biennale is also being held near the site of India’s first mosque – but locals were quick to dismiss this. Instead, Connell now suspects that it might be the work of local artistic intelligentia, angered at having been excluded from the event. Also possible culprits are extreme leftist groups active in the area, who, opposed to Western influence, have launched poster campaigns accusing the Biennale of corruption and elitism. The defacement might also be an act of jealousy from local business rivals of Achu’s tea shop, envious of his success.”

 

Inspired by Nicholas Forrest ow.ly/gwAIm image source Blogspot ow.ly/gwAE8

Thinking Contemporary Curating (October 6 2012) Thinking Contemporary Curating (October 6 2012)

Terence Edwin Smith the 68 year old Australian art historian, art critic and artist renowned for his ability “to write criticism at once alert to the forces that contextualize art and sensitive to the elements and qualities that inhere to the works of art themselves”, has been interviewed by Orit Gat. In the interview Smith states “To give something back to curators. We all owe them a huge debt. When you’re an art historian, you tend to search museum installations and exhibitions for fresh art historical facts, for something that will help you interpret more deeply, or at least differently, a school of art or the work of an artist over a whole career. If you’re an art critic, you try to write about your response to the works in the exhibition, one by one or one compared to others, with a focus on the artist or a kind of art. But art critics, art historians, the general public, and even artists don’t pay sufficient attention to the curatorial thought behind exhibitions. …[curators] have become more active, more public thinkers…and call themselves “exhibition makers.” They overtly engage viewers with their thinking about art, and particularly about how art relates to the world—which is something that art itself has done much more since the 1960s and 1970s. Also, curators have become more like artists in the ways they present an exhibition–it then becomes, in a sense, an artwork. At the same time, certain artists are making works of art that are more like exhibitions, and more and more are taking control of exhibiting their own art…”

 

Inspired by Blouin Artinfo ow.ly/e0ddo image source PittEdu ow.ly/e0dOm

Mutual quest of discovery and participation (August 16 2012) Mutual quest of discovery and participation (August 16 2012)

Juliana Engberg the Australian curator and artistic Director of ACCA (Australian Centre for Contemporary Art) has been appointed as the Artistic Director of the 19th Biennale of Sydney (2014). Chairman Luca Belgiorno-Nettis, in a statement states ‘The Biennale of Sydney has a proud history of attracting and working with independent Artistic Directors of international standing. Juliana is one of Australia’s most accomplished curators and the Biennale is very pleased to be able to work with her.’ Engberg stated in response “The Biennale of Sydney, as one of the most established and certainly one of the largest of the world’s biennales, provides an exciting and challenging opportunity for curatorial development. There is a great artistic history to reflect and build upon, and take forward. My curatorial quest is to further invigorate the Biennale with works that excite the imagination of the audience and answer their desire to discover new artists, different ideas and emotionally charged and intellectually stimulating art. I hope to provide memorable encounters that linger in the minds of the audience. I am for the celebration of artistic imagination. I believe works that encourage exuberance, joy, exalted states and transcendence are valuable to the human psyche. And I am for the power of artistic observation. Art that elevates the commonplace by bestowing upon it extraordinary concentration, that helps us see our world as remarkable, essential and fragile. I am for art that probes certainties, whether they be historical or contemporary. I’m looking forward to creating a Biennale that provides opportunities for artists and audience in a mutual quest of discovery and participation.”

 

Inspired by Biennale of Sydney ow.ly/cQHR7 image source Vimeo ow.ly/cQHLR

Largest marine protected area in the world (July 8th 2012) Largest marine protected area in the world (July 8th 2012)

Anthony Stephen ‘Tony’ Burke the 42 year old Australian politician and the current Minister for Sustainability and Environment announced that Australia is to create an enormous network of marine park reserves to protect waters from oil and gas exploration and limiting commercial fishing. In an article on Aljazeera, Burke states “The Coral Sea marine national park … combined with the Great Barrier Reef area, becomes the largest marine protected area in the world”. The article states Australia’s marine reserves will increase from 27 to 60 under the new scheme, covering more than 3 million sq km, or one third of the island nation’s waters. The announcement of the network was made a week before more than 130 heads of state and government will gather in Rio de Janeiro for the United Nations’ sustainable development conference as part of global efforts to curb climate change, one of the biggest conferences in UN history. … The protection plan will ban oil and gas exploration in all marine national parks, including across the Coral Sea and off Margaret River, a popular tourist and wine-growing area in the southwest. Burke acknowledged the plan would also have an impact on the fishing industry. The plan attracted immediate criticism from some environmental groups, as well as independent and opposition politicians and lobby groups.”

 

Inspired by Aljazeera ow.ly/bWcnW image source Adam Carr ow.ly/bWcnb

Melinda Taylor the 36 year old Australian lawyer has been arrested along with three other members of a delegation from the International Criminal Court for allegedly trying to pass “dangerous” documents to Saif al-Islam, the son of deposed Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Michael Vincent for the Australian ABC News reports the Libyan government spokesman Mohamad Al-Hereizi states “We don’t have anything against this woman. Just we need some information from her, after that she will be free.” …the ICC demanded her immediate release, along with that of the other three members of the ICC team. Libyan officials say Ms Taylor and the three other ICC staffers have been put in what they describe as “preventive detention” for 45 days while they are investigated. [Australian] Foreign Minister Bob Carr, who has sent a senior diplomat to Libya to look into the case, says it is essential that Australian embassy staff be granted immediate access to her. Her boss at the ICC, Xavier-Jean Keita, has told the ABC that Ms Taylor is an ethical person and says her arrest is illegal. “They are ICC staff with privilege and immunity,” he said. ICC spokesman Fadi el-Abdallah said he was trying to find out why members of the team will be held for up to 45 days.”

 

Inspired by ABC ow.ly/by3P5 image source whatsonningbo ow.ly/by38X

Charles H. Lineweaver the Australian Astrophysicist and Senior Fellow at the Planetary Science Institute believes finding planets outside the solar system that can sustain life should be made a top priority, and may be crucial for our survival as a species. Lineweaver profiled by Darren Osbourne stated “Determining whether these planets are habitable has become the new holy grail of astronomy, It’s probably one of the biggest, most confusing, and important issues that planetary scientists are going to have to deal with in the next 10 to 20 years. …Over the past few decades our exploration of the Earth has turned up life in all kinds of weird environments where we didn’t think life could be in, and we’re finding all types of extraterrestrial environments that we didn’t know about before, as these two groups expand they start to overlap in big ways, and that’s where habitable planets will be found. …Life, by managing its own environment, makes a planet habitable. It has produced adaptive features as a result of Darwinian evolution to live in colder and warmer environments. …The next step will be to develop a satellite that can look at the atmospheres of these planets, which will be able to give us some information about whether there is life there or not, …and if we don’t find one, maybe we’ll go extinct.”

Inspired by Darren Osborne ow.ly/bs3tA image source Facebook ow.ly/bs1T8

Emma Hack the Australian visual artist who combines canvas and body painting with studio based photography, renowned for her recent work with Australian musician Gotye on the video “Somebody I Used to Know” which also features New Zealand singer Kimbra, has been interviewed by Nicholas Forrest for Artinfo. In the interview Hack states “Natasha Pincus, the director/producer, wanted to create a blend of the bodies into a background to make them appear as if they are in a relationship whilst blended. Then Kimbra leaves the relationship as the paint disappears from her back. …The process is very difficult and he was a trooper — never complained even though in pain. In all, it took 23 hours to create the work on them both. He loves and understands the process, which makes it easy to work with him.  …It differs greatly from the art I create, which is what I want to do, creating in a calm environment with my regular models. The Gotye project is similar to a commercial gig, where I’m working for the good of the client and their needs — but it is a lot more demanding emotionally on me.

 

Inspired by Artinfo ow.ly/aYig3 image source adelaidenow ow.ly/aYi6u

Peter Whish-Wilson the 44 year old Australian economist University lecturer and winemaker has been selected by the Australian Greens to replace the retiring Bob Brown in the Australian Senate. Whish-Wilson a board member of the conservation group Surfrider Foundation Australia, has been a vocal opponent of the proposed Gunns pulp mill in the Tasmanian state’s north. On his announcement as Brown’s successor in the parliament, Whish-Wilson stated “I’m also very conscious of the responsibility that will go with this position, both to Greens voters and all Tasmanians, in fact all Australians, I would just like to say that I think it is a very significant move for the Greens to put a senator in the north of Tasmania, to put an office there. It’s also a very strong message that the Greens will continue to oppose the pulp mill in the Tamar Valley. I will certainly try and get messages out there that are going to be very positive.” When questioned that he was a “light green” in reference to his previous work in the finance sector with Deutsche Bank Securities and Merrill Lynch, he stated “Light green, dark green, all good, all green – it’s just a label. Labels are cheap”

 

Inspired by Matthew Knott http://ow.ly/aNghB image source ABC http://ow.ly/aNgsp

Robert James “Bob” Brown the 67 year old Australian senator and Parliamentary leader of the Australia Greens has announced he will be stepping down from parliament in June (2012). Brown had led the Australian Greens from the party’s foundation in 1992 until now handing over the leadership to his deputy Christine Milne, a period in which polls grew to around 10% at state and 14%at Federal. Brown’s Greens party has championed the rights in Australia of asylum seekers and been an advocate for the self-determination of countries such as East Timor and West Papua. From 2002 to 2004 when minor parties held the balance of power in the Senate, Brown became a well-recognised politician. With a historic result in the 2010 election, the Green’s again hold the balance of power in the Senate, giving his party more than 1.6 million votes with nine senators elected. The scale of his win enabled him to seal a deal with Prime Minister Julia Gillard allowing her to form Government after the cliff hanger election. Brown intends spending his retirement bushwalking and writing, living in Hobart with his fellow activist partner and farmer Paul Thomas. Brown was the first openly gay member of the Australian Parliament and to lead an Australian political party.

 

Inspired Ben Eltham http://ow.ly/anzsR by image source Australian Greens http://ow.ly/anzRZ

John Barry Humphries the 78 year old Australian comedian satirist and Dadaist artist renowned for his on-stage character and alter egos Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson, has announced the pending retirement of the Dame and Sir Les. The Dame Edna character is famous for her ‘Wiseria hue’ (lilac) coloured hair along with the “face furniture” cat eye glasses, her favourite “gladdies” flowers (gladiolas) and repetition greeting “Hello Possums”. The character evolved from an ultra conservative drab Melbourne housewife of the 1950’s that satirized the suburbia of Australia, into an outlandish character “Megastar” with her elevation of a ‘Damehood’ as her popularity grew internationally. Humphries in his character as Dame Edna has interviewed many celebrities on chat shows, treating them as ordinary people, satirizing the celebrity cult with a mix of prudishness and class snobbery. On the pending retirement, Humphries stated “Edna will crop up on television I guess but not in a live show, the fact of the matter is that I’m beginning to feel a bit senior. It’s the best aerobics you could do, leaping around on stage, but it’s grueling when there are other things to do.”

 

Inspired by @abcnews http://ow.ly/9O7AK image source Aurelien Guichard http://ow.ly/9O87o

Ronald Coles the 64 year old Australian influential art dealer and gallery owner has been arrested and charged with 87 counts of theft and fraud offences. Coles was seen as a model of success, a jet setter driving a Bentley with license plates “BUY ART”, is alleged to have defrauded 43 clients of their superannuation savings. Under Australian Superannuation Laws, clients are not permitted to retain their art purchases in their homes, instead leaving them with Coles for storage. Coles allegedly in turn on-sold the art works. The Gallery went into bankruptcy in 2009 and Coles disappeared into hiding. Police seized over 400 works from various properties and discovered many were fakes, allegedly painted by Coles. Coles was discovered after his disappearance working as a taxi cab driver, and is in custody pending the posting of his $AU100,000 bail. Coles offering little remorse claims that he is the victim in the scam that potentially places the Australian art industry in disrespect with potential investors.

 

Inspired by Jeremy Eccles http://ow.ly/8Jmox image source Brock Perks http://ow.ly/8JmZv

Peter Albert David Singer the 65 year old Australian philosopher and professor of Bioethics specializing in applied ethics has released an article on Aljazeera applauding the ending of battery cages in Europe for the keeping of fowls. Singer likened the achievement to the Arab Spring, stating “The end of the battery cage in Europe is a less dramatic development than the Arab Spring, but, like that popular uprising, it began with a small group of thoughtful and committed people… In the early 1970s, when the modern animal liberation movement began, no major organisation was campaigning against the battery cage… It took a concerted effort… to stir the RSPCA from its complacency towards the battery cage and other forms of intensive animal rearing… hens kept in cages so small… hens could never walk around freely, or lay eggs in a nest… Many people applauded our youthful idealism, but told us that we had no hope of ever changing a major industry. They were wrong… On the first day of 2012, keeping hens in such cages became illegal.”

Inspired by Peter Singer http://ow.ly/8JkSu image source Joel Travis Sage http://ow.ly/8JkVW

NAJ Taylor the Australian Political Science academic and author of ‘This Blog Harms’, has published a three part essay on Aljazeera that “explores an often neglected aspect of corporate responsibility: the paradox of being a “responsible” arms maker. Taylor argues “that the “negative externalities” – or the impact on society – inherent in the deployment and threat of the use of weapons makes the standard of corporate responsibility difficult to apply”. In the second part of the essay Taylor argues, “those interested in corporate behaviour should view such firms through a “corporate social irresponsibility” lens, a strategy that identifies and allows a response to be made to normative developments, through proactive engagement and divestment strategies … before engaging with the problem of institutional investment in cluster munitions” in the third part of the essay.

 

Inspired by Aljazeera http://ow.ly/82LQ4 image source Naj Taylor http://ow.ly/82LOG

 

Timothy David “Tim” Minchin the 36 year old British-Australian comedian singer describes in an article published in the Guardian, how in Texas he “came across my first proper religious nut”. Minchin is an atheist as well as a skeptic, and cannot understand how someone can call them self a skeptic and still be religious. “If you apply doubt to anything … the whole religion thing is obviously a fantasy.” In the article Minchin discloses an email from the company booked to supply him a piano: CANCEL !!!!!!!!!!. I need to decline after watching that insane Tim Minchin. What a God-hater. So sorry, please cancel the Entire Event In Dallas. Go back to Australia we do not appreciate Tim Minchin in TX. WE ARE NOT DELIVERING THE GRAND PIANO!!! NOT FOR 1 MILLION $ HA HA HA. You probably agree. Find a better comedian (not a demon). Love in Christ.

 

Inspired by Tim Minchin http://ow.ly/7G8Bh image source ticketupdates http://ow.ly/7G8HG

Stephen Mayne the 42 year old Australian journalist and shareholder activist, renown for founding Crikey.com.au an online independent news service has lashed out at News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch during the annual shareholders meeting in Los Angeles USA. Mayne, a director at the Australian Shareholders’ Association, former News Corp employee, and longtime shareholder has attended 12 previous annual meetings of News Corp. Other shareholders, including Tom Watson the British Labor politician who led the investigation into the infamous phone tapping scandal also spoke out at the meeting, unsuccessfully calling for Murdoch to relinquish his position to an independent chairman. Murdoch claimed he would get to the bottom of the scandal and establish a procedure to put things right. Mayne’s response was “You’ve been treating us like mushrooms for a long time … You’re still trying to do it.”

 

Inspired by Amy Chozick http://ow.ly/75YXg image source http://ow.ly/75YUf

Catherine Élise "Cate" Blanchett the 42 year old Australian actress, theatre director and ambassador for the Australian Conservation Foundation, has come under attack in a scare campaign from conservatives and climate change skeptics over her support of the proposed Australian Carbon Tax ‘Just Say Yes’ campaign. Blanchett appears in advertising for the campaign funded by a coalition of unions and green groups, and has been accused by conservative politicians of being a well paid actor engaging in gestures which will have no effect, failing to understand the plight of the poor who can't afford their power bill. Blanchett responded to the criticisms with "I'm absolutely committed to supporting the action on climate change ... it's one of the greatest challenges we're facing. It's about the future generations, our children". Inspired by Anna Rose ow.ly/5hdt7 image source Thore Siebrands ow.ly/5hduR It’s about the future generations, our children (June 13 2011)

Catherine Élise “Cate” Blanchett the 42 year old Australian actress, theatre director and ambassador for the Australian Conservation Foundation, has come under attack in a scare campaign from conservatives and climate change skeptics over her support of the proposed Australian Carbon Tax ‘Just Say Yes’ campaign. Blanchett appears in advertising for the campaign funded by a coalition of unions and green groups, and has been accused by conservative politicians of being a well paid actor engaging in gestures which will have no effect, failing to understand the plight of the poor who can’t afford their power bill. Blanchett responded to the criticisms with “I’m absolutely committed to supporting the action on climate change … it’s one of the greatest challenges we’re facing. It’s about the future generations, our children”.

 

Inspired by Anna Rose ow.ly/5hdt7 image source Thore Siebrands ow.ly/5hduR

Amelia Fraser-McKelvie a 22 year old Australian undergraduate student may have located the ‘missing mass’ of the universe identified in the theory of dark matter. The previously undiscovered ‘baryonic’ mass that Fraser-McKelvie found may be contained in filaments of such large quantities stretching across the enormous expanses of space between galaxy clusters. Working as an intern at the Monash University school of Physics under the supervision of Kevin Pimbblet, the significance of Fraser-McKelvie’s discovery became known when Jasmina Lazendic-Galloway undertook an X-ray analysis of her data collection. The filaments were thought to be at high temperatures and low in density, but only recently has the technology become available to theoretically identify the locations. Discoveries such as this could result in the construction of telescopes specifically designed to pinpoint the mass. Inspired by Thekla Hritz ow.ly/5aNoJ image source Monash University ow.ly/5aNCh Eureka moment…I feel really lucky (June 9 2011)

Amelia Fraser-McKelvie a 22 year old Australian undergraduate student may have located the ‘missing mass’ of the universe identified in the theory of dark matter. The previously undiscovered ‘baryonic’ mass that Fraser-McKelvie found may be contained in filaments of such large quantities stretching across the enormous expanses of space between galaxy clusters. Working as an intern at the Monash University school of Physics under the supervision of Kevin Pimbblet, the significance of Fraser-McKelvie’s discovery became known when Jasmina Lazendic-Galloway undertook an X-ray analysis of her data collection. The filaments were thought to be at high temperatures and low in density, but only recently has the technology become available to theoretically identify the locations. Discoveries such as this could result in the construction of telescopes specifically designed to pinpoint the mass.

 

Inspired by Thekla Hritz ow.ly/5aNoJ image source Monash University ow.ly/5aNCh

Jennifer Robinson the Australian lawyer instructing the international barrister Geoffrey Robertson for Julian Assange against his extradition proceedings to Sweden and possibly the United States has suggested she had been intimidated by the US Justice Administration and put under surveillance. Robinson described as a high achiever believes Assange has no hope of receiving a fair trial in Sweden with the politically motivated prosecution being brought to satisfy the wrath of the US government. Robinson singles out the Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard for complicity in the persecution of Assange over her statement that leaking US documents on WikiLeaks was an ‘illegal act’, but could not identify any Australian laws that Assange had breached. Robinson accused her of kowtowing to the US for political opportunity. Inspired by Nicole Hasham ow.ly/4Q9Yg image source arcticcompass ow.ly/4QatV It was political opportunity at work (May 17 2011)

Jennifer Robinson the Australian lawyer instructing the international barrister Geoffrey Robertson for Julian Assange against his extradition proceedings to Sweden and possibly the United States has suggested she had been intimidated by the US Justice Administration and put under surveillance. Robinson described as a high achiever believes Assange has no hope of receiving a fair trial in Sweden with the politically motivated prosecution being brought to satisfy the wrath of the US government. Robinson singles out the Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard for complicity in the persecution of Assange over her statement that leaking US documents on WikiLeaks was an ‘illegal act’, but could not identify any Australian laws that Assange had breached. Robinson accused her of kowtowing to the US for political opportunity.

 

Inspired by Nicole Hasham ow.ly/4Q9Yg image source arcticcompass ow.ly/4QatV

My work is about iconic people, places and events of our day.  Recorded visually through daily compilations of manipulated digital images, posted online and disseminated via online media and social networks. The works are diaristic in nature that metaphorically record a spectators experience of the contemporary digital age.  The resulting work intentionally has a painterly aesthetic acknowledging my historical painting practice.

Adapting Pop Arts notion of mass media imagery into a context of the contemporary digital age, the work draws on a myriad points of reference. Utilizing fractured images to provide an allusion to the digital noise pounding away daily into our sub consciousness.  The work diverges from the traditional Pop Art notion of a pronounced repetition of a consumer icon, instead this work focuses on the deluge of contemporary digital content. The compilation of the fragmented imagery is vividly distractive, not unlike cable surfing or a jaunt through Times Square.

The work is premised on the basis that Pop art in its beginnings, freeze-framed what consumers of popular culture experienced into iconic visual abstractions. With the advent of the techno age, visual information circulates in such quantities, so rapidly and exponentially, that to comprehend a fraction of it all becomes a kind of production process in itself.  Hence this work considers fragmented elements of Pop Culture through an artistic and conceptual exploration of specific people and events of the day.

The works are presented as individual pieces printed with Archival-Inks on 308g Cottonrag-paper, along with A3 sized bound monthly editions, and monthly looped video compilations.
www.ianbunn.com

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