Scott Marr

Europe bound!

    

 

Next week Scott flies out of Australia bound for cities and countries he has only dreamed about until now. He is working collaboratively with Osunlade , a highly regarded musician and producer, and together they are touring Europe with a collection of Scott's works.

I am hoping that Scott will sign up for twitter so he can update us regularly with his impressions of the amazing places he will be seeing.  He has asked that we don't count on that though!

I remember the sheer delight with which Scott embraced all the sights and sounds of Shanghai two years ago.

I know he will be blown away by what he sees in Europe. The influence it will have on his work could be extraordinary I think - the colours of Europe are so different to what we see here in Australia and their subtle hues will be soaked up by Scott and inform his work in ways both subtle and overt.

 

New Works

For an exhibition at Katoomba Fine Art Gallery from March 17th...

Grinding Lapis Lazuli, a relatively rare semi precious stone which has been prized for many centuries for its vivid blue colour.  Scott has been using this pigment in his new works and it adds an intense edge to his works which have hitherto been dominated by colours from the Australian bush.

And a very precious new work, a collaborative effort from Scott and Amy - Lily Dean, aged two weeks. Holding her I sensed Dean very strongly.  Seems like he didn't wait too long to come back to his family.

Painting Stars

Of course I have seen Scott several times since I last posted.  There has been so much going on - in his life and mine - that there just hasn't been the opportunity to do a blog post!

Even this one is necessarily short - there is much that Scott is working on - for exhibitions and other projects - that needs to be kept under wraps for a little while longer.  

This morning Scott's partner Amy said to their two year old son Noah, "What are you doing Noah?"

"I am painting stars on Daddy's work," he replied, his little fingers delicately tracing shapes on the paper.

 

Working hard

These are the trees and the paddocks and the fences and the old corrugated iron sheds that Scott sees each time he enters and leaves the valley. Their colours , this environment infuses his work as much as his pigments do.  What I cannot photograph is the extraordinary depth of the quietness in this part of the valley, a silence only broken by the occasional squawk of a bird or the sound of the wind in the trees.  

In this atmosphere of quiet and eucalypt scented air, Scott has been working hard.  He is producing works, both small and large, at what I think is a prolific rate, given the amount of detail in each work. 

         

This next work is called "My Brother's Boat."

"Why that title?"  I ask.

"Because it was like Dean got into a boat and slipped quietly away," Scott replies.

I love watching as Scott burns lines into another work.  His focus is such that it is almost as I am not there.

  

One of Scott's works has been selected as a finalist in the prestigious Doug Moran Portrait Prize. The winner will be announced in August.

 

Scott is right handed

It is truly winter in the valley today.  Mist billows and eddies around the escarpment as I drive to Scott's house.

I had lunch a few weeks ago with his family but today is the first opportunity since Dean's death that I have had to see the work Scott has been doing.

 

Rules of Engagement

detail

  detail

This is a very feminine painting to me - delicate nose and chin - it turns out it is based on Scott's partner Amy.The long neck encircled reminds me of photographs of African women, their necks seemingly stretched by their gold jewellery. There is also a thatch  or straw like quality to the dozens of intricate vertical lines , reinforcing a kind of primitive quality to the head. The mushroom like structure on the crown of the head is radar like - seeking out information , rejecting that which might be harmful...

Embryo

  detail

An embryo whose umbilical cord is dotted with translucent red sap - where one embryonic eye is already alert and staring. Vein and muscle coil around it , in an almost relaxed fashion - such veins and muscles yet to flex and strain in growing to maturity.

 
Communion

detail

Baskets within baskets, the curl and twist of an old telephone cord, the plug firmly inserted within its socket. A telephone earpiece.  In communing with others, what fills up the baskets? What is important, what makes most of us wish to continue to breathe our daily lives.

Boy

detail

detail

detail

 detail

I am struck by the eyes.  They could well be Dean's eyes.The body, the eyes, the ears absorb so much, only some of which we seem to act on, process, move on from. How much more is stored within the complex brain. The many "eyes" within the brain which absorb knowledge.  The crown of sensitive veins, our antennae.

Scott is in a pensive mood today.  We talk of so many different ideas and motivations and future plans and current work.  He mentions casually that he has been in a lot of pain with his hand.

"I've never written about your hand before"  I say.

Scott's left hand    

The fingers and joints of Scott's right hand are badly swollen and often painful due to the disease Haem Angioma.  He lives with chronic pain, where some times are much worse than others.

He is starting now to accept this as part of his life, to embrace the good, relatively pain free times and to act sensibly in the bad times.  Daily pain killers are part of his routine.

Scott is right handed.  

Dean Marr 1974 - 2010

 

A little after 3.00pm on Saturday April 3rd Scott's treasured, most beloved brother Dean passed away.  Scott was with him,sitting by his bed, for which he will be eternally grateful. He so easily may not have been.

Dean said several times during his final hours that he didn't want to go, that he wanted to stay.  Finally Scott reassured him that it would all be OK, that Dean would be fine.  Dean's breathing slowed, his pulse slowed.  

And then he was gone.

Scott and Amy and the rest of Dean's family are grieving now.  Scott is grateful that he had the opportunity to look after Dean in his last few days, bathing and toileting him ,looking after his brother in the most intimate of circumstances. There was laughter and lots and lots of love.  

"In a box, not a very big box

There a few, not very many, reminders of someone's existence.

In the box, fragile yet strong, are a pair of glasses.

These are his glasses.

They helped him see.

He did not need glasses though,

To speak 

His heart's words.

I love you, you're beautiful.

He did not need glasses though,

To reach out with his hand and gently lay it in another's.

He did not need glasses though,

To live his life, to sing his song."

Dean

 

Today I met Scott's grandmother, Joan, his aunt Virginia and his beloved brother Dean.  Scott and I want to write about the massive importance of his grandmother in his life but today I am writing about Dean.

You see, we all met by Dean's bedside in a local hospital here in the mountains.  Dean was only three months old when he was diagnosed with diabetes and at four months he went into a coma which caused brain swelling and subsequent brain damage.  At four years of age he suffered multiple epileptic fits.  Many was the time when he was expected to die and yet he did not.

He charmed the nurses and me by telling us we are beautiful and that he loves us.

And yet , as his aunt pointed out , when he says the same thing to his grandmother and to Scott , the love is spilling out from every pore.  He adores these two people.

  

 
   

Scott tends to Dean with great care and gentleness.  He lovingly grows stern with him when Dean flicks him on the leg (an old game between the two brothers) once too many times.  Dean sits with us in the visitors lounge and his laugh bubbles out of him like a pure spring.  I am lucky to see him so animated, as yesterday he was apparently quite flat. He laughs at the camera and seems to enjoy having his photo taken.

His family are not sure how much more time they have with Dean.  He is suffering renal failure and his time left here can be measured in weeks.  The family are determined that these last days will be filled with grace and dignity.  

"Scott," he murmurs after a while.

"Yes Mate" says Scott.

"I think I am getting a bit tired" Dean says.

And Scott gently takes him back to his bed.

I am privileged to be allowed to spend this time with his beloved Dean.

Early February

  

There has been an incredible amount of rain falling in the mountains and the valley in recent days and I was astounded at how green everything looks.  Scott and Amy live with Noah surrounded by bush and soaring cliffs. As I drove to their house in the valley the bellbirds were tinking in the trees and the hum of bees was heavy in the air.


Today I looked at two works Scott is close to completing.  One "The Arsonist" has been accepted into a Victorian art prize  and the other is to be entered for the prestigious Archibald Prize.

Whilst the two works share of course Scott's attention to fine detail and beautiful pigments, they are a study in contrasts.

    
The Arsonist stares at us intently.  His eyes are fiery and insane and the matches around him signal the damage he is willing to wreak on his environment.  It is an unsettling piece - the Arsonist seems to be holding himself very still, his pathological desire to wreak havoc only apparent in his eyes and the ominous smoke curling away from the match.

   
Ken, on the other hand, sits in a meditative pose.  He exudes tranquility and certainty of purpose - his eyes are calm and beautiful and the certainty of purpose attaches to his own desire to create art.  His face is extremely beautiful and the almost life size painting contains intricate detail and potent symbols.

Figurative work is a new area for Scott, yet it reflects his desire to avoid stagnation - to continue moving forward with his own art.

 

A New Year! Mid January

 

It was so wonderful to catch up properly with Scott, Amy and one tomorrow Noah today.  I had seen them briefly just prior to Christmas but the photo uploader ate my pictures so that was that.  

At the time, and I know Scott won't mind me sharing this, Scott had been feeling quite flat.  The buzz of Shanghai had definitely dissipated and whilst he was exploring new ideas nothing was quite coming together.  He emailed a number of artists around the world and was heartened by their responses - essentially that what he was feeling was normal after a big show, to accept it and to get on with things.

We sat together quietly at first.  It was bushfire weather in the valley today - extremely hot and a hint of a breeze - the kind of day that mountains people spend sniffing the air for any slight taint of smoke.  

Soon though, after a cup of tea and some idle chat , we were away. Scott took me outside to see a work he is doing at the moment and then we went back inside to the studio where I was able to look at other works he has in train. 

     

Worlds within worlds, four carved and burnt panels - moths and insects only becoming obvious once you start to really look at the work - initially you are simply struck by texture and colour.

 Idea after idea spilled from his mouth and his passion and interest in what he does was burning as sharp and clear as the instrument he uses for his pyrography.

One of the works I am privileged to share here is a stunning self portrait Scott has done. Everytime I see it it literally takes my breath away.

 

 

We looked at pigments together and other works, the following image of one seemed to come to life as the fan blew cool air in the studio.

  

I watched through my lens as Scott burnt into a guitar. There is an intensity about this process. The red hot tip of the instrument, the smoke that drifts in the air.  Yet there is also a relaxed deftness as Scott works, completely sure of what he is doing.

 

   

This last image, taken at Scott's suggestion, really sums up the mood Scott is in - intent, serious and yet, as the smoke wreaths around his face, utterly relaxed and accepting.

 

Shanghai - in Scott's words...

 

 
 
          

Well here is the take on Shanghai. Just so you know, I had not been overseas before so I was like a wide-eyed kid on the loose. I had studied Shanghai so much on the net before I left that I even knew which buildings to expect coming in on the plane.

I was picked up at the airport and driven (no, rallied) to the hotel. I soon learned that traffic lights and double lines may as well be decorations because my driver ignored both - I suppose one has to when in traffic of 12 million or so. I knew I was in a huge city when we had been driving for over an hour on a freeway and we were still in a sea of high rises!

After the eleven hour flight I only spent about 20 minutes at the hotel before I was out on the street looking for food and soaking up the atmosphere. I had never seen so many  people, scooters, cars, shops, restaurants, temples and high rises before in my life. It was almost like blade runner, you know, the 90’s version!

I was instantly in love. I know I was born into Shanghai with a silver spoon in my mouth, translators, guides, five star hotel, but I felt a vague connection with the place, and of course that persistent excitement that accompanied me everywhere! After much chatting and food I finally fell into bed, with tomorrow’s opening crammed tight in the front of my mind. 

The next morning  had me in awe. Shanghai seemed even bigger than last night, all the dark gaps between the lights had given way to solid concrete, and the hustle and bustle was on full-throttle. By the time my guide turned up I’d had breakfast, walked to a local park, seen a temple that pre-dated my ancestors’ invasion of Australia and had funny tourist talk with some of the locals.

7pm and my nerves were through the roof. I was driven to the Shanghai exhibition centre in a mercedes, amazed to find the centre lit up like it was ready to explore the deepest ocean. The enormity of the building was reinforced as I was greeted by the grand entrance, guards everywhere, and glamorous people that you only ever see in Bond films adorning the stairs and huge halls.

I finally got to see my work framed and felt satisfied and nervous to see it up there on the wall. Before I could really adjust to the setting floods of people poured into the centre (I later found out that five thousand people attended the opening night!) I pretended they were all there to see my show.

As the night went on I became more confident, til I was asked to autograph a book of my work. I couldn’t believe my ears - the morning before I’d been in the megalong, now there I was nervously holding a pen and scribbling nonsense for a perfect stranger who was looking at me as though I’d just split the atom, before walking away bowing and thanking me profusely!  I don’t know how many books I ended up signing that night, or how many times I spelt Australia wrong on account of my nerves! 

I went to Shanghai contemporary expecting to do more observation than interaction, I think partly because I felt a bit out of my depth. But I was approached by all kinds of people from many walks of life and I got a lot from these exchanges. There is a deep appreciation for art and artist in Shanghai and this allowed me to really communicate my ideas. I’ve had the same in Australia too, and Australians really get my work. It must be the fact that I use the land for my art, and that I am passionate about my home country. I don’t know if the Chinese still have to work out where I am coming from or whether they have to find their connecting point with my work. All I know is that pretty much everyone told me they had never seen anything like my work before. You would think this would be really good news, and it is, but it’s almost like people have to digest it for a while first - maybe they are waiting to see how strong it really is - I don’t know. I know I am not intimidated by the huge machine that is the contemporary art world, though I do have a very sobering respect for it.   I did notice that there is a lot of empty sadness out there that is desperately trying to be all things to everyone, and I don’t want to get caught up in that. All I can do is stay true to my process and the way I handle ideas and stay with it.  I’m very committed to my art and I only want to become better and clearer in what I do. Sharing with people is what really makes one’s work take on a deeper meaning, so I look forward to sharing with you.

Kindest and most sincere regards

Scott Marr