Icons, c3 Contemporary Art Space, 2014
An exhibition of oil on linen portraits of iconic musicians, during bungled or confrontational television interviews.
March 6–23, 2014
c3 Contemporary Art Space
Abbotsford Convent
1 St Heliers Street
Abbotsford VIC 3067
The series examines the visual communication that can be more clearly read in televised interviews than the words spoken. The imagery is drawn from the now vast, museum-like archive of YouTube that ironically preserves what was designed to be a temporary medium.
About the exhibition
Icons was a series of small oil on linen portraits, executed in a traditional academic realist fashion, using thin veils of colour glazed over a grisaille underpainting.
The subjects are not religious figures, but modern icons of worship: rock stars from the 60s to the 90s. In the current millennium, this no-longer-so-recent collection of rock figures still command worship by fans, and influence current musicians.
The subjects achieve this despite their failings (and sometimes because of them). They have become, and remain, canonical figures.
The subjects are musicians from the canon of 60s counter-culture (Keith Richards, Neil Young), heavy metal (Ozzy Osbourne), the early CBCG’s scene (Patti Smith, Lou Reed), hardcore punk (Ian MacKaye of Minor Threat, Henry Rollins of Black Flag), and grunge (Kurt Cobain).
The subjects chosen were skeptical of the media at best, and scathing at worst.
They chose a career prominent in the public spotlight and walked the promotional tightrope, at times with aplomb, but more often, with no support net below.
Frequently losing their words mid-interview (or speaking unintelligible gibberish), the image of their expression spoke their thousand words for them.