Tony Coleing : collaborative prints

Catalogue to accompany an exhibition held at the Plimsoll Gallery, 24th July to 15th August 1993

curated by Milan Milojevic ; artists statements by Leigh Hobba and Bob Jenyn

Coleing, T

Hobba, L

Jenyns, B

Milojevic, M

University of Tasmania Open Access Repository

0 L L A B 0 R A T I p R I N T s 24TH JULY TO 15TH AUGUST 1993 PLIMSOLL GALLERY, [ENTRE FOR THE ARTS, HUNTER STREET, HOBART GALLERY HOURS: 12 NOON TO 5 PM DRILY The Un iversity of Tasmania at Hobart acknowledges generous assistance towards its annua l exhibitions programme from t he Minister for Education an d the Arts through Arts Tasmania COLLABORATIVE PRINTS Tony Coleing's work as a painter, sculptor or printmaker cannot be easily categorised or stereotyped; it has an honesty that disregards all conventions. Since the late 1960s Coleing has produced over 200 prints utilising techniques both conventional and unconventional. About a quarter of the prints he has produced have been in collaboration with like-minded artists. The prints that result from these collaborations are often bizarre and almost always irreverent. They are works that are uncompromising, pitting themselves against the brutal and alienating world in which we find ourselves. Roger Butler, National Gallery of Australia In 1992 Roger Butler, Curator of Prints and Drawings at the Australian National Gallery, assembled an exhibition titled Tony Coleing and Friends . The exhibition focused upon prints produced by Coleing in collabo-ration with other artists. Through the initiative of Bob Jenyns , Senior Lecturer in Sculpture, Coleing was at that time undertaking his second resi-dency at the Tasmanian School of Art. Historically the activity of collaboration within printmaking usually refers to the relationship between an artist and a printer and the roles are clearly defined - the artist is the inventor and the printer the technician. A less common occurrence is the collaboration between more than one artist and a printer in the production of the print. The majority of works in this exhibition are an amalgamation of the latter process. In some cases the print has evolved from an amalgamation of per-ceptions originating from the aesthetics of quite distinct disciplines, as in Coleing's collaboration with Leigh Hobba, an artist working within temporal media. In the light of activities generated by Coleing during his residency it became apparent that a logical outcome would be to assemble a small sur-vey exhibition of Coleing's printing activities over the last 20 years up to and including some of the collaborative projects undertaken at the Tasmanian School of Art. Due to its hybrid nature, Roger Butler refers to the difficulties in categorising Coleing's work but, within its diversity, collaboration has always played an important role. To enter into collaboration requires an open and generous 'art-spirit' if a successful interaction, exchange of ideas and mutual expression is to occur. Coleing is a master in the collaborative process and his role can be likened to that of an Agent Provocateur. He goads, prods, and scratches in an effort to extract repressed thoughts, fan-tasies and individual home truths - he gets to the 'heart of the matter', to precipitate a 'stream of consciousness' . In the grand tradition of social commentary, content for Coleing can be either anecdotal or drawn astutely from specific contemporary socio-political issues. Personal histories , and even folklore and mythology, edge their way onto the stage as well. It is not uncommon for the viewer to be confronted, too, with scatological subject matter. Dirty jokes, sexual allusions and other subver-sive and transgressive means are called upon to challenge contemporary social mores and to confront complacency. Coleing doesn 't just get under the clothes, he gets under the skin! He has said of these works that there is 'a lot going on for anyone who wants to bother to look'. In the print studio his activities are unpre-dictable and images materialise on whatever Coleing can lay his hands. And just as he searches for uncompromising subject matter, so he constantly explores technical alternatives for their expressive potential. His unconven-tional methods and lack of preciousness offer a liberating approach to print-making. The experience when collaborating with Tony is analogous to a dance in which one person leads, another responds, the response may alter the lead, stimulating changes in the choreography. The collaborative process becomes the art form in itself. Milan Milojevic, July, 1993 Whatever the image, the collaborative print has a reading that extends far beyond the edition. The print has been many things for me in my collabora-tion with Tony over the last decade or so. First it was as an audio/visual designer for a Plaza installation that he and Margaret Dodd were doing at an Adelaide Festival. Then it was as a curator facilitating a performance event that he and Adrian Hall spread to include the Salamanca Ballroom dancers. Since then it has been several prints and three video/sound works. Some people, when confronted with a video camera, spend the first week studying a manual and wondering what to do with it. Tony climbs inside it, pushes the record buttom and starts making Art. If you happen to be standing nearby - that's it - you are a collaborator. He is happiest when 'doing a bit' and believes that's what everyone else should be doing also. The reason he can pull it off, and its what I think this exhibition essen-tially celebrates, is that he has a generous art spirit that will allow ~exible interac-tions, without preciousness. He genuinely enjoys the way this extends his own world view. He respects your mark as his own and assumes the same of you. The work is then carried by his absolute professionalism through all technical and aesthetic decisions to the signed and numbered edition. It's not on oct that many people in the art world can pull off and as this selection of prints testifies, and it's a small selection of the total at that, a lot of us really enjoy the chance to scratch away at a plate whenever Tony comes to town. Leigh Hobba, Hobart, July, 1993 COLLOQUIAL COLLABORATIO~ When I was much smaller When I was a little bloke Playing marbles, kick to kick footy And building billy carts, was always More fun if I was waxin' With my mote Waxing, you won't necessarily make better art Waxing, you won 't necessarily have a stronger polemic Waxing, you won 't necessarily have a resolved thematic Waxing, you won 't necessarily make a lot of money Waxing, you won't necessarily be famous But by waxing, you might just learn something about your brother, and have some fun. G. D. Clarke, Hobart, July, 1993 COLLABORATIVE PRINTS WITH MR. COLEING "Yo wonno do a print with me?" "Yes", I say. "When?" "Now", he says. "How do you wont to do it - do you want to do half and me the other". "Nup ", he says. "You just start and I'll get it from you later". "What about subject matter. Do you wont to discuss it?" I venture. "Nup - just do it and I'll pick it up". Several days later and much hassling from Mr. Coleing: "Y a finished it yet?" No reply. "Give me a look", he says. "That's alright. I'll take it now". Next day: "When are we going to print it?" he asks. "When I have some spare time", I reply. "What about tonight?" he asks. "Alright. That sounds as good a time as any". We spend six hours printing in the studio from 8 o'clock that night with much dis-cussion about how solid the ink should be. I insist, being a student of the heavy-handed Kenneth Jack that the ink must be solid; Coleing on the other hand likes a thinner less solid image. We compromise and settle for half-way. It's 2 om and all that's left to do is to each sign the edition of 30 prints. I have known Tony for the past 20 years but had not previously had the chance to work with him although I was very much aware of the energy that he put into his work. My experience was repeated with many other artists during his short stay, the result being a folio of 20 or so prints. Bob Jenyns, Hobart, July, 1993 TONY [OLEING 1942 Born Warrnambool, Victoria STUDIES 1958-59 National Art School, Sydney SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIO~S 1969 1970-71 1973-74-75 1977-78-80 1980 1981 1981-82-85 198S 1988 1991 1992 Frondescence, Gallery A, Sydney and Melbourne Gallery A, Sydney Watters Gallery, Sydney Ray Hughes Gallery, Brisbane The Biennale; Visual Arts '80 39th Venice Biennale, Australian Pavilion, Italy Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane Ray Hughes Gallery, Brisbane Works From a Journey- Sydney to New York, 1984, Ray Hughes Gallery, Brisbane; Avago Gallery, Sydney. Looking, Survey of Prints, Museum of Contemporary Art, Brisbane. M.A. D. Paintings, Julie Green Gallery, Sydney. Maybe we should have stuck with the camel Ars Multiplicate, Sydney Charles Nodrum Gallery, Melbourne. SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIO~S 1964 Young Commonwealth Artists, Whitechapel Gallery, London 1968 The Field, National Gallery of Victoria & Art Gallery of NSW. Alcorso-Sekers Travelling Scholarship for Sculpture, National Gallery of Victoria, Trans(teld Art Prize, Bonython Gallery, Sydney 1970 Fourth Mildura Sculpture Triennial, Mildura Arts Centre Trans(teld Art Prize, Bonython Gallery, Sydney Comalco Invitation Award for Sculpture, Adelaide, SA Flotto Lauro Prize for Sculpture, Sydney 1971 The Situation Now, Object or Post Object Art?, Central Street Gallery, Sydney Marland House Sculpture Competition, Age Gallery, Melbourne 1972 Australian Prints, Victoria and Albert Museum, London Harold Szeeman in Australia, Bonython Gallery, Sydney & National Gallery of Victoria 1973 Sculpturescape '73, Mil dura Arts Centre Recent Australian Art, Art Gallery of NSW Object and Idea, National Gallery of Victoria Caltex Acquisitions Exhibition, Ballarat Fine Art Gallery 1974 Australian Graphics, 1974, Travelling Exhibition 197S Survival Kits, Ewing and George Paton Gallery, Melbourne University Mildura Biennale, Mildura Arts Centre 1976 Contemporary Australian Sculpture, North Terrace, Adelaide (organised by A.G.S.A.). 1977 1978 1979 1980 Australian Post-Object Art, Experimental Art Foundation, Jam Factory, Adelaide Recent International Forms in Art, Biennale of Sydney, Art Gallery of NSW Watters at Pinacotheca, Pinacotheca, Melbourne Mildura Sculpture Triennial, Mildura William Dobell Foundation Exhibition, Sculpture Centre, Sydney Recent and Experimental Australian Art, Canberra European Dialogue, 3rd Biennale of Sydney, Art Gallery of NSW Drawn and Quartered, Australian Contemporary Paperworks, Art Gallery of South Australia. The ian Potter Foundation Sculpture Commission Exhibition, National Gallery of Victoria 1981 Lisbon International Exhibition of Drawings, Lisbon, Portugal Landscape into Art, Australian National Gallery, Canberra Marceau d'echanges, (collaborative with Marr Grounds), Ray Hughes Gallery, Brisbane Artists for Aboriginal Land Rights, Paddington Hall, Sydney 1982 The Collage Show, (touring) Regional Development Programme No. I 0, V.A.B. of Australia Council Australian Art of the Last Ten Years, Melville Hall, Australian National University, Canberra 1983 Henry Worland Memorial Print Award Exhibition, Warrnambool Art Gallery Perspecta '83, Art Gallery of NSW {touring) 1984 Inaugural Exhibition Hugh Williamson Prize, Ballarat Fine Art Gallery The Field Now, Heide Park & Art Gallery, Melbourne Austausch/E.xchange, Ivan Dougherty Gallery, Sydney Recent Acquisitions of Australian Prints, Australian National Gallery, Canberra Artworkers Union Fundraising Show, Artspace, Sydney 1985 International Biennial of Graphic Art, Ljublijana, Yugoslavia The first Exhibition, Ray Hughes Gallery, Sydney The Politics of Picturing, Tasmanian School of Art Gallery, University of Tasmania; Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane Artists for Peace E.xhibtion, Mori Gallery, Sydney 1986 The Biennale of Sydney, Art Gallery of NSW The Biennale Des Friedens, Hamburg, Germany 1987 Shocking Diversity, Print Council of Australia Touring Exhibition, M.O.C.A., Brisbane Here and There, Monash University, Melbourne 1988 Towers of Torture Exhibition, Tin Sheds Gallery, Sydney Drawing Australia - Drawings 1770's to the 1980's, Australian National Gallery, Canberra 1989 Irony, Humour and Dissent- Recent Australian Drawings, Manly Art Gallery, Sydney; Monash University, Melbourne Moral Censorship and the Visual Arts in Australia, A.C.C.A, Melbourne International Master Print Fair, Hotel Intercontinental, Sydney 1990 Works on Paper Fair, New York 1991 Off the Wallin the Air, A Seventies Selection, Monash University Gallery & A.C.C.A., Melbourne Modem Australian Paintings, Charles Nodrum Gallery, Melbourne Her Story: Images of Domestic Labour in Australian Art, S H Ervin Museum & Art Gallery, Sydney SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 1970 Alan McCulloch: 'Australia', Art International, Lugano, Vol. XIV, No.4, April, 1971 George Maiko: Lithopinion, Vol. 6, No. I, Issue 21, 1973 Noel Hutchison: 'Sculpturescape '73', Art & Australia, Sydney, Vol. II , No. I, July 1974 1980 Sandra McGrath: 'Tony Coleing', Art and Australia, Sydney, Vol I 0, No. 4, April. Terry Smith: 'The Provincial Problem', Artforum, New York, September. Robin Wallace-Crabbe: 'Tony Coleing', Venice Biennale, Australia, Australian Catalogue, Sydney, V.A.B., Suzanne Davies: 'Australians in Venice, Art Network 2, Spring'. Graeme Sturgeon: The Development of Australian Sculpture 1788 -1975 1983 Gary Catalano: "About the House: the domestic theme in Australian Art", Art &Australia, Vol. 21, No. I, Spring 1988 Adrian Hall, John Loane: Looking- Prints by Tony Coleing, Exhibition catalogue M.O.C.A. Brisbane. COLLECTIONS National Gallery of Australia, Canberra; Art Gallery of New South Wales; National Gallery of Victoria; Art Gallery of South Australia; Art Gallery of Western Australia; Queen Victoria Museum & Art Gallery, Launceston, Tasmania; Mildura, Ballarat, Warrnambool, Muswellbrook and Wollongong Regional Galleries; Museum of Contemporary Art, Brisbane; National Art Gallery of New Zealand. LIST OF WORKS I. Tony Coleing I Robin Wallace-Crabbe You never need to sail alone with your sur(cat class, 1975 Colour screen print and stencil on paper. Image size: 49.5 x 70cm 2. Tony Coleing /Garry Shead Could I have your money now, as I may be busy later, 1976 Colour screenprint on paper. Image size: 6 1.2 x 80.4cm 3. Tony Coleing I Robin Wallace-Crabbe BEEP BEEP, 1979 Colour linocut on paper. Image size: 38.9 x 30.2cm 4. Tony Coleing I Helen Eager I'm no fool, I put whitewash on my tool Yes, but what about the Queen?, 1979 Colour lithograph on paper. Image size: 33 x 43.2cm S. Tony Coleing I Bruce Latimer WHAT'S NEXT?, 1980181 Etching on paper. Image size: IS x 22.Scm 6. Tony Coleing Something old, something new, 1983 Etching, acquatint on paper. Image size: 36 x 39cm 7. Tony Coleing I Shayne Higson A COMMON PROBLEM. La dies, 1984189 Linocut on paper. Image size: 30 x 34cm 8. Tony Coleing Tahiti - Perle Du Pacifique, 1984 Etching, acquatint on paper. Image size: 34 x S0.5cm 9. Tony Coleing I Kevin Sheehan The Passion of James, 1985 Acquatint, etching on paper. Image size: 32.7 x 50.5cm I 0. Tony Coleing I Bruce Latimer BRUSIS LATIMERITITUS- The only cure for an extreme case ofbullroarer arm, 1986187 One colour linocut and hand colouring on paper. Image size: 31 x 41.5cm II. Tony Coleing I Nicholas Nedelkopoulos Welcome to the world- Cop this!, 1986188 Aquatint, etching on paper. Image size: 50 x 49.8cm 12. Tony Coleing Christ, what o bloody load of old ocquotint, 198 7 Etching, acquatint on paper. Image size: 14.6 x 22.2cm 13. Tony Coleing I Shayne Higson A BLACK DAY - running out, 1989 Linocut on paper. Image size: 30 x 30cm 14. Tony Coleing I Bill Yaxley TURNING ON MISS HYDRO-MODESSTO, 1990 Etching on paper. Image size: 23 x 4Scm 15. Tony Coleing Brain Drain, 1990 Etching on 14 sheets of paper. Image size: I 0 x 1638cm 16. Tony Coleing I Bill Yaxley The Collaborative Print, 1990 A 30 min. video documentation by Leigh Hobba 17. Tony Coleing I Bob Jenyns Yin Yank or Yankee Doodle, 1990 Woodcut o.n paper. Image size: 60 x II Ocm 18. Tony Coleing I Adrian Hall 40 watt - off shore, 1990191 Etching, acquatint on paper. Image size: 50 x 40cm 19. Tony Coleing I Jan Scott-Ryder The CIRCUS or big bottom - little top, 1991 Linocut on paper. Image size: 30 x 113cm 20. Tony Coleing I Rod Hamilton Where's the Bacon?, 1991 Etching, acquatint, hand-coloured paper. Image size: 47 x 38cm 21. Tony Coleing I Shayne Higson I Jan Scott Ryder I Rod Hamilton Flossy, 19 91 Drypoint on paper. Image size: 60 x 42cm 22. Tony Coleing I Leigh Hobba Virtual Reality 1991 Drypoint etching. Image size: IS x 23cm 23. Tony Coleing I Leigh Hobba Headlines, 1991 Drypoint on paper. Image size: 15.5 x 22.5cm 24. Tony Coleing I Leigh Hobba Duck, 1992 Lithograph on paper. Image size: 90 x 50cm Including a continuous loop video produced by Leigh Hobba 25. Tony Coleing I G.D. Clarke, 1992 (not titled) Hand coloured lithograph on paper. Image size: 90 x 46cm 26. Tony Coleing I Milan Milojevic Right, left I'm the best, 1992 Lithograph on paper. Image size: 54 x 99cm 27. Tony Coleing Japanese scientiftc experiment, 199 3 Etching on paper. Image size: 44 x 60cm Tony Coleing I Jan Scott-Ryder. The CIRCUS or big bottom - little top, 1991 Linocut on paper. Image size: 30 x 113cm ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS An exhibition organised by the Plimsoll Gallery Committee, University of Tasmania at Hobart. The Plimsoll Gallery Committee and the Co-ordinator of this exhibition would like to thank Tony Coleing and his collaborators, Pat Brassington and Jonathan Holmes for their assistance with the catalogue text. Thanks are also extend-ed to Roger Butler, National Gallery of Australia, whose support for Australian print-making prompted Milan Milojevic to proceed with this project which it is hoped will bring to the foreground the collaborative process in art practice. Copyright 1993, The artists, authors and the University of Tasmania. ISBN 0 8590 I 546 7 Exhibition Co-ordinator: Milan Milojevic Plimsoll Gallery Co-ordinator: Pat Brassington Catalogue Text: Milan Milojevic Artists statements provided by: Leigh Hobba, Bob Jenyns and G.D.Ciarke Typsetting and Design: Jenny Chung Poster and Catalogue Printing: Monotone Art Printers, Hobart Photography: Don Peacock Plimsoll Gallery, Centre for the Arts, Hunter Street, Hobart 24 July - IS August, 1993. 

Tony Coleing : collaborative prints

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Tony Coleing : collaborative prints

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