Trends in contemporary art—Justin Paton

Justin Paton, Head Curator, International Art, Art Gallery of New South Wales discusses trends in contemporary art and the characterises that drew the judges to select Andrew Browne’s ‘Awakening’ as the 2018 Geelong contemporary art prize winner.

2018 Geelong contemporary art prize
9 June to 19 August 2018
Supported by Dimmick Charitable Trust and Mercedes-Benz Geelong.

[grumpyold]

Wow!! Awesome reasoning, fantastic paintings, and such passion. Love it.

[renzo]

I think that people who paint and people who do not paint look at and see paintings differently.
We daily look at hundreds of images...maybe thousands...printed, online, televised.
It is easy, when walking through a museum, to look at paintings, especially representational paintings, as just more 'pictures' as if we were leafing through a magazine.
But we are not aware or appreciative of what goes into making a successful painted image.
There is more to admire in a painting than just the subject matter.
There is more than the "what" to a painting. There is also the "How "!
There is much to learn and to master about composition, line, values, color theory, anatomy, brush work, perspective, how to direct the eye, how to hold the viewer's attention.and so much more!!

[retromodernism]

Great film, some great work and fascinating insights. Long live the 'underdog medium' !

[lisengel]

Great question: what should a painting look like in these ages?
And some answers might be: The materiality
That the work engage us.
That we start to look for a relationship with the work and above all keep curious about the painting.
The work keeps a secret, a mystery, a dream.
And that it somehow tells something about our time

[wahidnazari]

YOU explained very professionally THANK YOU.

[athieliagriffin]

This is the only time someone who is telling me what I see, that I even remotely was interested in their opinion. Go job!

[katryanaorange]

That board painting has to be my favorite piece.

[lisengel]

I found the interpretation and reflection very interesting but it would have been very enlightening if there had been at least three examples

[vivwheeler]

Most enlightening Justin, will be using this information next time. Viv W

[sonsoftheedelweiss]

Can you tell me how you would describe BC Nowlin technique. Enjoy your channel.

[orbitalsatellite]

Those eyes might belong to the viewer, in that we are able to imagine or cultivate a specific scene or mood from what is visible on the other side. Silhouetted treetops, a distant halo-like light, and a crispy, tangled forest which, for me, could represent the toils which precede human awakenings, cranked and evoked by the murky connectivity-dreamworld of pareidolia.



I'm also getting signpost vibes, which the tangled world beyond is, itself, reading. Especially the two skeletal trees on either side, where the artist has posted a clue to the meaning of life, and the world beyond is awestruck; fingering at the wonder of what is contained on the other side of that fleshy sign.



Then again, I'm also reading (as was mentioned) a crucifixion scene.


Maybe the board represents technology.



The painting is definitely semiotic rich.

[sussanastaneh]

could you please give the full name of the artist using lashes of thick paint?

[jacekpokrak]

New trend in contemporary art is compmaturism Regards Jacek Pokrak

[markdominick]

You think that the painting medium is the underdog?? I see it as the Goliath of art. I now know why David had such a small wang. He was a sculpture.

[ti]

You Sir have a delightfully fucked up imagination! :D

[Malati]

The trend in contemporary art is, it's trying to obscure it to give the appearance of profoundness.

[exploringtom]

I agree with some of what you are saying, but words like "trends" and "what a painting should look like today" are, from my perspective, art killers!
Artists should be free of such terms and not be forced into directions that the market demands.

[Rose__Buds]

The Contemporary "art" has nothing to say or offer to ppl, only boring gimmicks, flat observations, and mostly outright charlatanism. But, in a way, that in itself reflects the spiritual life in today's world.

[paulwalters]

Agreed with most everything. Like any critique, the origination is subjective. I obviously got the mysterious, surreal qualities of the award winner here, but man did he pull a serious amount of conjecture out of his ass. Most paintings these days are made to look mysterious. Not because they are actually mysterious utilizing a purpose in that.

[edkaempf]

This guy is on the screen way too much. This is a piece about art, yet half the video is of him yakking.