Julian Dashper, 1960-2009
(crossposted from CreativeFreedom.org.nz)
Alongside many others, the Creative Freedom Foundation is today mourning the loss of Julian Dashper, great New Zealand artist. Reflecting on Dashper, it seemed appropriate to revisit an essay I wrote a few years ago about his work. Dashper was extraordinarily talented and clever, and made a number of marvelously critical works that would not sit out of place with our current discussions around art, ownership, appropriation/remixing, originality, reproduction, and advertising. With the shifts taking place due to the internet, I can’t help but wonder how Dashper might have responded to the new international media environment in light of the works mentioned here.
“Julian Dashper began making work examining contemporary New Zealand art practice in 1985. It was not until 1990 however, by exhibiting slides and photo documentation of his own work, that he began to successfully communicate his fascination with the construction of an artist…Following this initial engagement with slides as artworks in their own right, Dashper placed an ‘advertisement’[1] in the Summer 1991-1992 edition of Art New Zealand warning readers of a pending Dashper exhibition in the pages of Artforum. This work was followed by the promised ‘exhibition’: a full-page advertisement in the January 1992 issue of Artforum. In this work Dashper appropriated the Artforum masthead, replacing the title with ‘Artfrom: New Zealand’, the date with his own name, and the background with a detail of one of his slide sheets. The third installment of the work took the form of an artist-initiated review, appearing in the successive February 1992 edition of Artforum. The choice to exhibit a reproduction of a slide sheet in Artforum (perhaps the most renowned art publication) highlighted concerns surrounding New Zealand’s predominant experience of international artworks through reproductions in magazines or as slides. According to Robert Leonard, Dashper was suggesting that “the original exists only to be copied and circulated, that its real life is as slides.” The artist, and indeed artwork, were no longer independent entities, but propped up by publicity: reviews, advertisements, publications and reproductions.”
[1] Though Dashper’s works in both Art New Zealand and Artforum took the form of an advertisement and were placed in the advertising sections in both instances (Dashper was obliged to pay advertisement fees to place the works) they have been examined as art works in their own right.
August 11th, 2009 at 12:58 am
Unless one is involved in visual art production of some description one is unlikely to be interested, at all, in this analysis-when it is around something so abstract:
The dialogue is endless and it is culturally valuable.
How is it that I can admire an object of art-or an artists body of work-yet feel that somehow the endless academic
dialogue is somewhat random at times (Oh, have I not studied enough/I just don’t understand) given that so many artists that do ‘good work’ are never even talked about, let alone applauded? Is it that they didn’t want the ‘success’ enough?
Dashper was obviously very clever and talented and hardworking. One can see that by looking at his record. He may have even seen
aspects of contemporary art practice for what they really are and had a good sense of humour around these somewhat
difficult, contradictory and confusing nuances. The fact that from the ‘outside’ academia and marketing have taken over
a little too much (in many peoples opinions) causes concern; and yet there is obviously a forum.
On the other hand visual art production is a hugely varied field and it is perhaps good to remember that it is ‘good’ that there is provision
in the ‘institutions’ for these different expressions to find their appropriate context (or representation) for exhibition.
Is it possible that someone (after all who is qualified?)-the ones that have studied and looked the most right??-that someone is missing something???
Hats of to Julian Dashper-may he rest in peace. He may have also achieved things he didn’t intend achieving.
Certainly the ‘art world’/market deserves a bit of a stir-up, often, especially from within it’s ranks!
December 1st, 2009 at 9:49 pm
Play the GAME!!!
December 1st, 2009 at 9:52 pm
You are all a bit safety conscious if you ask me!