world-making ... "the emerging conversation on the idea of the world"

www.dreamstime.com



found at the DJC.com - Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce Building Green Blog



Bloesem blog posted on the Corona globe by Japanese design studio Nendo which gives all countries the same colour and makes borders disappear....the idea being we are one globe not many countries. Read more here.



1ststoptravelstore.com -illuminated desk top globe... display planet earth by day and at night the illuminated night sky with 88 constellations

























World-processing is Ingo Gunther's sculpture/data processing business.
The top image at this post is from the remarkable worldprocessor.com and the image above shows nations numbered with their average life-expectancies.  Gunther makes hundreds of globes of the world, with the graphics and labels tweaked to overlay social, technical and political relationships to geography.



Earth in 80 languages -the languages are not identified other than by their position (where they are most commonly spoken). The size of the words is proportional to the amount of speakers.



Shamanism and Traditional Beliefs Primitive Religions.



Wetlands is the collective term of marshes, swamps, bogs and similar areas. About 75% of all endangered species are native to the world's wetlands.



Hannover all over. Places that bear the name Hanover after the German town of "Hanover".






The book above can be found at the website. The globes were created between 1988 and 2004 as far as I can see. Presently I cant say form the website if it continues. If anyone knows I'd be interested to know more.

This is my favourite image of all! The illuminated globes all carrying a statement about some aspect of the planet.



Why did I title this post world-making? This is a concept every now and then I have heard ... floating into my consciousness... from who know's where... and causing me to ponder. 
Tonight I am posting these images of globes and the fascinating text below I accidently just found googling world-making to see what might surface. Well... I caught a big fish one might say... I found  precisely in this text something of what I wanted to intimate in my post tonight which is actually celebrating the first 365 days of being in the blogsphere with all you wondrous passers-by,  ships in the night, dear friends and followers and sometimes visitors!
Its a birthday party and its titled world-making because that's what this last year has been for me... an amazing conversation out into a bigger, more vibrant sense of the world... and what did I discover?
That we pretty well all like sweet things much more than we are supposed to all around this globe (I'm not the only one!) ... and that you are amazing my blogosphere friends!

Humanities Research Centre, Research School of Humanities The Australian National University

The World and World-Making in Humanities and the Arts

Along with interdisciplinary debates on globalization, the last few years have witnessed a resurgence in the idea of the ‘world’, and markedly so in humanities and the arts. ‘World History’, ‘World Literature’, ‘World Art, and ‘World Music’ are now frequently cited sub-disciplinary rubrics. As market categories, of course, these have circulated for a while now to signify cultural productions from the non-West. But the idea of ‘world’ we wish to invoke here transcends this cultural divide and speaks to a domain of human connectivity, a form of relationality, a being-with-others that cannot be wholly contained within the economic and political systems of globalization. 

While both globalism and worldmaking connote an orientation to a domain larger than one’s immediate affiliations – kinship, ethnicity, race, region, nation – the distinction between the two concepts, ‘globe’ and ‘world’ is only just beginning to receive increasing attention, with the former marked by the material flows of capital and the space-time compression these bring in their wake, and the latter by a more idealist dimension marked by human labour, creativity and expressivity. Thinkers/writers from Goethe, Marx, Kant and Leibniz to Heidegger, Arendt, Derrida and Nancy have provided much of the philosophical and critical bulwark to this body of contemporary scholarship. 

Questions about world making have ranged from its disjunctive temporality in relation to the time of global capital to its normative capacity to arrive at yet another vision of the universal, to enter into yet another compact with humankind in this era of hyperconnectivity through advances in information and communication technology. Questions of scale and scope, given our primarily nation- or region-centric paradigms of knowledge making, are not surprisingly part of this scholarly repertoire, as are questions of its affinity with other global concepts such as cosmopolitanism, international relations and world-systems theory. Of particular import is the special resonance the idea of worldmaking has had in the predominantly aesthetic fields of literature, music and the arts. 

We propose to dedicate the year 2011 to exploring this emerging conversation on the idea of the ‘world’ 

who can answer this question without cheating?

  whatever is this?



and this?

you can find out here!

Pleasure Palaces

Saturday morning...

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its a lovely morning here... slow... quiet ... its been wet but the sun is out. I'm relishing it as this time last week was far from slow and laid back! A little reading to wake  up to the day slowly followed by a quick  check of emails led me to the latest dispatch from www.theselby.com  so I went for a curious wander and found inspiration in the far from mainstream but delightfully eccentric and whimsical world of one artist which perfectly refreshed my notion of the many ways there are to be an artist and to exist in this world as a painter!

Just as I am given to exploring the biodiversity of our planet's seed heritage I'm also driven to appreciate this human impulse towards expression in diverse ways and means. Homogenisation is not something we do to our diary products alone ... endless pressures to conform exist in in all parts of our lives...and whilst that in part is life-preserving and useful... in other respects It is quite the opposite. In the world of art rules can be as prevalent and cloning as common as the supermarket shelves laden with products that are replicas of something original and authentic but that have travelled a long way from the source to become palatable (?) for consumers - or rather - make money for companies!
I think it can be just as confounding to find what is authentic in art  - for one's own practice or as a viewer - as it has become  to find a tomato with flavour and grown from good seed that can be saved and generated again. I'm all for the biodiversity of our extraordinary plant heritage but I would also argue that cultivating a broader appreciation of the diverse ways one can manifest one's vision as a painter is tremendously important too! Being able to step back from painting after an intense time and go see others work in galleries as I did yesterday was such a delight. It served to refresh and remind me of the diverse ways we can make art and view art...!
And so to my artist for today ... someone who has clearly made it his lifelong passion to manifest his own personal vision ... trust the selby to honour this artist with a fabulous photo-shoot that peers into the artist's  world. The selby is all about finding creatives from various realms of the visual who present a broad ranging idea of authentic and lively creative diversity.

From the world of Hunt Slonem - images by the selby. Click on the artist's name for a much more thorough view of this rich and exotic world!

The title of this post comes from the book "Pleasure Palaces: The Art and Homes of Hunt Slonem". In the past particularly I have often taken time for enlivening the interior world in a way that is an extension of my artwork... and am very drawn to seeing into the worlds of others. I have personal preferences of course but must say if the art work and interior / home / garden reflect the character of the person living there in an intoxicating and complete way I will often be quite deeply inspired even if it would not be a space I could imagine living in. In the same way it can be spell-binding to enter a pocket of rainforest, explore rock pools, or a coral reef by immersion in this wondrous space some people and cultures are able to bring that sense of wonder into a space they create - even with the most humble of means - and effectively generate an kind of energy field that is quite special.
Yhat is something I am always on the look out for and would happily dedicate a blog too. Here are  a few posts I have saved under interiors.

Enjoy your weekend...I'm off out soon to explore this lovely autumn day!

PS  huge thankyou to all the lovely well-wishers and commenters in recent weeks  re the show on this month. Its wonderful to participate in this encouraging and inspiring  blogosphere and I wish everyone of you much joy and fulfillment through your own projects and undertakings! S xo

exhibition opening weekend of April 17 and 18

Images posted here below are from the just opened Homage to the Seed Exhibition at Embiggen Books and Gallery at Noosaville, 2 hours north of Brisbane. Friday I drove through heavy rain on the road up the coast - squalls of rain continued till today ... but did not dampen spirits. My charming hosts at the Gallery soon had order made of various artworks, lists of titles, prices and such and I put my mind to visiting local places to drop off flyers and seeing what was happening about town.

A beeline was made next morning to the Eumundi Market - a delightful excursion. I made a point of visiting stalls where local people were selling organic produce, some even selling seeds they'd collected from their harvest. I collected names, stories and contact details and decided I must return. For the gallery opening I bought lemon myrtle-infused olive oil to go with artisan bread from Brewbakers (fav Brisbane bakery) my home made dukkah (seed-food!), a bunch of fresh lemon myrtle, thai coriander which smelt fabulous, small orange persimmon, rosella branches with fruit still on, beetroot flavoured cornchips, wasabi crisps, tiny dried figs, pumpkin seeds plus my own labneh - yoghurt cheese - rolled in dukkah). Dont ask me why I did not photograph this colourful spread with flora and pods arranged on a handprinted cloth !

Conversations with growers and producers led to invites being issued to the exhibition and subsequent offers on their part to promote the Homage to the Seed project through their networks. With this exilarating start to the day the up-tempo mood remained over the entire weekend really. The 3pm opening Saturday was well attended by friends and new connections from afar ( special thank you Laney!) and some wonderful people from the local area whom I was delighted to meet. Even some of my young students from last year were able to come along as they were up for a weekend trip to the coast! It was excellent to have Phil Cameron from Brisbane Botanic Gardens  in attendance as he was able respond to queries on the Millenium Seedbank Project which was an  important stimulus for this particular show.

There are so many things I could add about the amazing chance connections on the weekend. It was one of the most rewarding experiences I've had showing work to date - the animated discussion, particularly after the artist's talk Saturday, led to wonderful ideas being cooked up and addresses exchanged.

Sunday morning catering was left to the excellent neighbouring cafes  - Organica on the left and the German Bakery on the right kept everyone happy. I was getting reports on the amazing range of goods at Organica, but never made it in ... although I did enjoy an excellent coffee from there ! The  easy atmosphere of people coming by for an hour or two over the day offered the chance to get to know new people and catch up with friends and family. Others are invaluable in helping one see ones own work more laterally. After an intense month or so in the studio where I was spending more and more time towards the end - barely talking, maybe listening to a little Radio National, it was the reverse situation all weekend where lack of sleep and adrenalin kept me talking rather a lot more than usual.... and of course the wonderful visitors  who brought great stories and experiences of their own to share.

Its getting late so I am leaving with you with a series of art works which should enlarge on clicking for your perusal - sorry about the lack of titles and such. I must retire.
Warm thankyous to those able to come along either Saturday or Sunday - I dont think I missed out on a decent chat with any of you...and wasn't this Gallery/bookstore the perfect destination for the weekend!!!
To my blogosphere well-wishers...you were missed but not forgotten...thank you for your kind words all!

...the tired but happy artist with sister Jana (right) Sunday afternoon

... this last image was snapped at the end of 2 wonderful days of visitors to the show. Books and journals had been put to much use whilst talking to the viewers about work and ideas behind various paintings. The bookshop atmosphere was so conducive to this... with quiet browsing areas where some took the journals for a quiet read. This for me was a highlight of showing in this wonderful venue. Unorthodox perhaps but satisfying by all accounts, especially anyone seeking an introduction to the work or a look into the ideas around it. With the Homage journal containing many small and quick scribblings and sketches from the Seed Lab at the Botanic Gardens this mode of presentation allowed for far greater insight into the residency project which was the central purpose of this exhibition.

Photos courtesy Warren Bonnet at Embiggen Books with additional images courtesy Steve Kozak.

out of town for a few days!

'Where science meets art' is the motto of my destination this weekend. If you have missed recent posts it refers to the venue for my exhibition Homage to the Seed opening Saturday, with a Sunday morning gathering for those unable to be in Noosa at 3pm Saturday afternoon! Read more here at the Homage blog about this wonderful venue and do drop in and say hello if this is where you are on this globe this weekend! The show runs over 4 weeks all up!

These images of Noosa National Park not far from where I'll be staying.

With the grower's market so close to Embiggen Books I shall be popping in there too I think!

a little late-night armchair touring!

Winding up a session in the studio with a little hop across to Paris... why not?
Found at ensuite.blogspot.com were links to various people in their homes... a fav. of mine - peering into people's worlds! When you open the blog through the link above just look on the right sidebar and you will see 25 or so places to visit.
I clicked on Nathalie Lete because I posted on her last year and wrote for permission for using the photos and got a very lovely reply and a wonderful animated xmas card months later. I am posting some images from ensuite's take on nathalie lete.

keyword: m a k e

more quick posting - wandered over to the delightful swallowfield blog via the industrious and clever Kim at little something blog and found this image above by Jen Renninger that Jennifer (of swallowfield) snapped on the wall at Etsy headquarters. Given Etsy is the successful global enterprise that gets the creations of many out to the world I thought it a simple but fitting motto - 'making' being the key word for me... whether it is a garden, good food, a comfortable dwelling, or things to enrich ones everyday I would say when we make rather than buy we are more likely to be ticking valuable boxes for well-being and sustainabilty.

Which reminds me - has anyone seen that TV show on the chef in London trying to open a restaurant using all food sourced within the city limits of London. It makes one think about food security issues quite seriously!