Gordon Bennett (artist)
Encyclopedia
Gordon Bennett is an Australian artist
of Aboriginal
and Anglo-Gaelic descent. Born in Monto, Queensland, and now working in Brisbane, Bennett is a significant figure in contemporary Indigenous Australian art
.
, of Anglo-Celtic and Aboriginal ancestry, Gordon Bennett grew up in Victoria
from the age of four, when his family moved back to Queensland, to the town of Nambour. He attended high school in Brisbane, attending Brisbane State High School
. He left school at fifteen and worked in a variety of trades before beginning formal art studies at the Queensland College of Art
, Brisbane
(1986–1988). Some of his work is about what he saw when he was young. His 1991 painting Nine Ricochets won the prestigious Moët & Chandon Australian Art Fellowship, and he rapidly established himself as a leading figure in the Australian art world. He currently lives and works in Brisbane.
Growing up, Bennett was surrounded and confronted by images of Aboriginal Australians inflicting harm on others or being violent in some form of the word. However, Bennett wanted to change the way Australia and the world saw Indigenous Australians so he took global issues and made them into artworks. The Notes to Basquiat: 911 series and the Camouflage series, eagerly reflect on the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 and the war in Iraq respectively, highlight Bennett’s global perspective
Yet Bennett has also expressed his discomfort with being seen as spokesman for Aboriginal people, and in a manifesto (or 'manifest toe' as he calls it) published in 1996 he spoke of his wish "to avoid banal containment as a professional Aborigine, which both misrepresents me and denies my upbringing and Scottish/English heritage," while simultaneously expressing his wish that his young daughter could grow up in a society where her life would not be defined by her race.
The National Gallery of Victoria
's senior curator of indigenous art, Judith Ryan, calls Bennett "an artist's artist," at the forefront of the artists who work as postmodernists, who comment on art history and respond to the work of other great contemporary artists such as Jackson Pollock, Mondrian and Basquiat (artists whom Bennett frequently quotes in his work). "He has established his own particular style and it's intellectual. It's quite strong and 'in your face'. It is also causing people to question Australia and our identity as a nation and where we are going. He is like no other artist currently working." (The Art of Gordon Bennett, Ian McLean and Gordon Bennett, 1996).
Bennett is represented in most major public collections in Australia as well as in several important overseas collections. He works both in traditional easel paintings and in multi-media.
His works include provocative themes and concepts which anger some. When making a work, Bennett said he doesn't think of the audience. He focuses on what he wants to express.
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
of Aboriginal
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
and Anglo-Gaelic descent. Born in Monto, Queensland, and now working in Brisbane, Bennett is a significant figure in contemporary Indigenous Australian art
Contemporary Indigenous Australian art
Contemporary Indigenous Australian art is the modern art work produced by Indigenous Australians. It is generally regarded as beginning with a painting movement that started at Papunya, northwest of Alice Springs, Northern Territory in 1971, involving artists such as Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri...
.
Biography
Born in Monto, QueenslandMonto, Queensland
Monto is a town in Queensland, Australia, located on the Burnett Highway north-west of Brisbane and south of Rockhampton. The town was the administrative centre of Monto Shire. At the 2006 census, Monto had a population of 1,159.-History:...
, of Anglo-Celtic and Aboriginal ancestry, Gordon Bennett grew up in Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
from the age of four, when his family moved back to Queensland, to the town of Nambour. He attended high school in Brisbane, attending Brisbane State High School
Brisbane State High School
Brisbane State High School is a partially selective, co-educational, state secondary school, located in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is a member of the Great Public Schools' Association of Queensland, and the Queensland Girls' Secondary Schools Sports Association...
. He left school at fifteen and worked in a variety of trades before beginning formal art studies at the Queensland College of Art
Queensland College of Art
The Queensland College of Art is a specialist arts and design college located in South Bank, Brisbane, and Southport, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. It was founded in 1881 and is the oldest arts institution in Australia....
, Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
(1986–1988). Some of his work is about what he saw when he was young. His 1991 painting Nine Ricochets won the prestigious Moët & Chandon Australian Art Fellowship, and he rapidly established himself as a leading figure in the Australian art world. He currently lives and works in Brisbane.
Growing up, Bennett was surrounded and confronted by images of Aboriginal Australians inflicting harm on others or being violent in some form of the word. However, Bennett wanted to change the way Australia and the world saw Indigenous Australians so he took global issues and made them into artworks. The Notes to Basquiat: 911 series and the Camouflage series, eagerly reflect on the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 and the war in Iraq respectively, highlight Bennett’s global perspective
Yet Bennett has also expressed his discomfort with being seen as spokesman for Aboriginal people, and in a manifesto (or 'manifest toe' as he calls it) published in 1996 he spoke of his wish "to avoid banal containment as a professional Aborigine, which both misrepresents me and denies my upbringing and Scottish/English heritage," while simultaneously expressing his wish that his young daughter could grow up in a society where her life would not be defined by her race.
The National Gallery of Victoria
National Gallery of Victoria
The National Gallery of Victoria is an art gallery and museum in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is the oldest and the largest public art gallery in Australia. Since December 2003, NGV has operated across two sites...
's senior curator of indigenous art, Judith Ryan, calls Bennett "an artist's artist," at the forefront of the artists who work as postmodernists, who comment on art history and respond to the work of other great contemporary artists such as Jackson Pollock, Mondrian and Basquiat (artists whom Bennett frequently quotes in his work). "He has established his own particular style and it's intellectual. It's quite strong and 'in your face'. It is also causing people to question Australia and our identity as a nation and where we are going. He is like no other artist currently working." (The Art of Gordon Bennett, Ian McLean and Gordon Bennett, 1996).
Bennett is represented in most major public collections in Australia as well as in several important overseas collections. He works both in traditional easel paintings and in multi-media.
His works include provocative themes and concepts which anger some. When making a work, Bennett said he doesn't think of the audience. He focuses on what he wants to express.