Topic: Neil Roberts - Australian artist

[Frank]

http://www.neilroberts.com.au/copyrightlogin.asp?test=1

[Cathy B]

Frank, that link doesn't work. Try http://www.neilroberts.com.au/, then click on catalogue, and see what happens.  Nice copyright page.

Neil Roberts died in 2002. I've seen his work at the Canberra Museum and Gallery. He used some low end Crown Crystal in one of his found object sculptures. At first I wasn't sure whether to be outraged or not, but then he hadn't used anything at all rare, and the sculptures were far more beautiful than the old Crown was anyway. I was going to ask to take photos, but the display finished before I could. However, you can see the work pictured in his online catalogue, under no.4 'Glass objects display'. Picture is not brilliant, but you get the gist.

[Frank]

I'd never be outraged by an artist utilising something manufactured, even if it was the last surviving example. It would be provocative but then art that carries a message must often be provocative to get it's message heard.

It was Carl Andre's work Equivalent at the Tate in the 70s that was a turning point in art appreciation for me and many others. The focus on an everyday object required a leap of perception to divorce it from its mundane reality - my world view completely changed at a time when I was coming to terms with myself not really fitting into society (What's changed  ). It certainly has had an impact on my glass collecting as I can enjoy a piece of gauge glass as equally as I enjoyed the Vincent Ysart vase . For me each has its own intrinsic meaning yet neither are works of art but the output of a factory - yes one was mass produced and the other unique but in a world view, the mass produced touches more lives whereas the unique is probably known to a few thousand people. Likewise in art, "Equivalent" became one of the best known pieces of art in the Tate gallery.

I too was impressed by Neil Roberts work.