The day has come! A wonderful and crowd arrived for the Artist’s Dialogue and stayed for the Launch Formalities. For the first time I met Ian Tully, whom I have corresponded with for years, and his sweet wife Annie. They travelled over three hours to join in the fun. I was very impressed.

Ian was the illustrious Opener and his speech emphasized the importance of this work ‘being seen’. I agree that the tactile intrigue and mix of 2D and 3D makes B, B & B quite a delight in real life…offering plenty to tease the mind and eye.

Though people are generally moving away from the religion found in churches and in fact, are not drawn to churches as places of spirituality, Ian commented that they are very keen to buy churches as a space to construct their homes. This is true. I think people who would not be found dead in church…or maybe only dead…. still respect the ‘sense of spirituality’. I must think more about this…

Someone I spoke to later about the ‘churches as houses’ comment said it was about the large, open space on offer. This may be true too but to say ‘I live in a old church’ brings more intrigue than to say ‘I live in an old factory’.

Housing and a ‘sense of the spiritual’ is the topic for Darren McGinn at Craft Victoria. It has long been the interest of Greer Honeywill, too, at Flinders Lane Gallery

Question received at Central Goldfields Art Gallery on 13/2

‘The significance of the Angels/Butterflies wings with the jewelled clips?’ Beryl Allan.

Dear Beryl,

Good question! Perhaps you will have time to return to B, B & B and have a close look at Celestial Inversions The Book as it is the key to understanding the pinned gold wings…Often we come to exhibitions with our minds made up as to what art we will like or tolerate. The same holds true about spirituality. This art invites you to consider these biases as ‘bugs’ to the system.

Have you ever visited a natural life museum and inspected the drawers of insect specimens, neatly documented with obscure differences? This was the inspiration for these ‘pests’ which infect society – interesting to consider but poisonous in possible magnitude if not eradicated. The jeweled pins represent the scientific categorizing and the idea that we unwittingly often pride ourselves / pin ourselves to the most damning aspect of our personal outlook.

Currently Anna Schwartz Gallery, Melbourne, offers a stark movie and still image installation by internationally famous young Afghan artist, Lida Abdu. I quote from her exhibition statement ‘Art is a petition for another world, a momentary shattering of what is comfortable so that we may become more sophisticated in reclaiming the present. The new wandering souls of the globe, stubborn, weak, persecuted, strong, will continue to make this art as long as people believe in easy solutions and banal closures.’ The art I saw was sophisticated yet uplifting, poetic and demanding. Abdu saw her country change through the disaster of war and is capable of seeing regeneration and hope. I admire her for this.

Prof. Maureen Ryan and I are to hold a Dialogue at the Launch about hope and home using the everyday images found in my art. We are speaking similarly about ‘reclaiming the present’ as Abdu – but to an audience even more difficult to impress with the looming social problems of living in the comfortable world of a peaceful Australia.

Website

Related website: Maureen’s gallery

Comment received at Central Goldfields Art Gallery on 12/2

‘(B, B & B) Gave me a feeling of community and how much I love my mother. Saw it as a community piece,  not religious. Thought the placemats were wonderful artworks. Didn’t think much of the aprons -more of an older, mum type thing. Anon.

Dear Anonymous,

Thanks for the comments. Glad the exhibition related to your thoughts of community and your mother. I believe most definitely that there is a role for religion to play – apart from community and of course, visa versa. But as religious significance and symbols diminish in our current society, so necessitates the need for new images to convey / construe the spiritual. This is why I look at the community as an indicator of belief. Suggesting ‘community’ is less fraught with preconceived ideas than an attempt to portray ‘religion’….or is it?

Women’s work often goes unnoticed but it joins the generations with a specific lettering of culture. Wearing one’s history – like putting on an apron – is easier and harder than may be realized. But the past can conceal a future bias.

Living Museum

Today Patience and I travelled to Melbourne in readiness for the B, B & B Tour Launch at Maryborough on Saturday. So nice to be picked up at the airport by son Joe and to see Ez too. We travel south to have Patience’s braces adjusted and try to have it coincide with other delights. So it is all happening according to plan. A chat with my long-time optometrist and friend Nick gave me the thought that without the impending new job prospect, I have been given SPACE; meaning space to think about what I am doing with my energy, time, life. Funnily enough, it is just such ‘space’ taken earlier that lead me to consider the drastic idea of entering the workforce, earning cold hard cash for something I am good at and being able to put the cold and heartless grind of ART out of centre space for a time, a reprieve, if you will. So, now I have to come up with another idea while being content where I am…Well, at least I am not a dancer with a time limit on my arts output!

Oh yes, the title…IKEA…went to an exhibition at Craft Victoria by Adam Cruickshank called Reverse Cargo using IKEA objects transformed in to art. It is quite clever to put add a ‘primitive edge’ to objects of desire and consumption. This relates to my Celestial Inversions Display which presents Spotlight-purchased golden wings as botanic samples of noxious insects.

Week 7, Day 040 HOST GALLERY STATEMENT

I received Ian Tully’s statement for the catalogue and this is my favourite part:

The universality of Peitsch’s practice ensures engagement with the broadest of audiences whom, I am certain, will be rewarded for their time invested.

It pleases me to no end to think that this exhibition is considered inclusive to all while yet being so specific and individual. The topics I am working with are highly keyed and can be charged with emotion. When one thinks of family, home or community, one hardly ever has a ‘non-committed’ view…all experiences are keen and real and subjective.

It is also pleasing to me to think that people will get something out of B, B & B should they take the time to think. I hope my art is challenging but leads to more understanding– opening eyes to being part of the bigger picture of community.

Swan Hill Gallery

I promised the galleries that I would send them an ‘ANNOTATED CATALOGUE” for display and reference to BED, BREAKFAST & BELIEF. Then I had to discover if I was using the adjective correctly. I know ‘annotated’ is usually used in conjunction with a bibliography but I am not completely sure if it can apply this way to a catalogue…augmenting the images of an exhibition. Anyway, I dutifully constructed a catalogue with artist’s comments beside small images of the work. This takes the place of a general artist’s statement and is in keeping with my idea of opening a dialogue with viewers. I am feeding viewers ideas resulting from the art – not to dictate a certain meaning but to give a leg into my thinking behind it. Some people will agree with me, others will take issue, many will simply read with interest. All these are good results.

When the routines of church and worship disappear like so many relics of ritual, what will remain to speak to ‘the inner being’? Surely not the media, politics or even Globalization, all of which have their own agendas

Week 2, Day 005 No Funding Granted

B, B & B didn’t get ANY government funding specifically for this Tour. Particularly surprising is the toss by the Arts Victoria Touring Project – designed to support Victorian galleries – especially in regional areas – in obtaining Victorian art produced in Victoria for Victorians. It was very disheartening to be sure! There has been no explanation or feed back on this. At least this rejected application supported by the six participating Victorian galleries was a shared disappointment. But with more than two years of planning after the regional Launch by Anthony Camm at the Ararat Regional Art Gallery, B, B & B must not be allowed to come to nothing! With Ian Tully from Swan Hill Regional Gallery as the intrepid Tour Host and six keen venues, thankfully B, B & B continues – perhaps on a shoestring, but with plenty of goodwill and enthusiasm!

Hold on, I just visited the website for Arts Victoria Touring Project recipients and have some ideas as to why B, B & B did not get funding…this project is not by NETS Victoria, who like to create their own tours; it is not ‘multi-artist’ based – seen to be giving more for less; not theatre or orchestra, not Regional Arts Victoria, not Museum based, etc.…this is almost entirely about one government hand paying the other or presenting safe, widely accepted arts outcomes. My interpretation: No handouts for edgy installation art, itself a tricky medium which many outlying galleries do not have the courage to show.

We should not feel badly about not getting the grants, in the least.