Creativity and Professional Rascism

Whether by default or design, we are discovering that a lot of our interviewees are creatively engaged, professionally or personally. 

A few days ago I discovered how the Woodford Folk Festival had its humble beginnings in a club night. It reminded me that one of the best gigs I still have seen was Zap Mamma at the World Music Festival. 

Last week I interviewed a Koto player from Japan. She has been playing Koto since she was little, as can be seen from the bottom picture. Her Koto is marked with her name and is made of one piece of wood, aged for a long time and valued at around $20K. Such a beautiful instrument.She came to Brisbane and wasn't able to get teaching work even after gaining a relevant australian qualification, which has led to her playing Koto professionally.

For her, professional rascism in a sense granted her a creative career, which was no easy task to pursue. 

It led me to think about the places we reserve for ethnicity in our culture. I've always wondered about how it seems that Aboriginals could only succeed in art and sport. And culture seems to be the only place in most societies where diversity is allowed to prosper. Except through sheer physical prowess. 

Strikes me as strange that we can accept creative and athletic genius from other cultures but not ordinary professionalism. Is it because these realms are out of the ordinary reach?

Old Brisbane Glamour

Yesterday we were lucky to interview this beautiful lady, and she gave us a real sense of an old Brisbane glamour. You do get the feeling with her that she is one of those rare creatures where glamour will always surround her like a cloak. Even whilst she was  helping, housing and feeding all of her distressed neighbours in Yeronga during the 1974 floods. 

 Immaculately dressed and taken at Cloudland, she was a regular at the ballrooms, showcasing the designs of her aunt who was one of Brisbane's most successful fashion designers at the time. 

From working with her strict and brilliant aunt and being asked to become a buyer for Macy's in New York to meeting her husband; every tale she tells is infused with a golden era glamour combined with a strength that cannot be beaten. 

A truly magical lady who still dresses better than anyone I have ever met, which includes my experiences working from the catwalk shows in Milan, Paris and London. 

NYC does twin project

Our man Robert at Telstra today sent me over this article showing NYC is doing a twin project to us, sponsored by the New Musuem.

I'm not sure Brisbane will shape up to be as violent or intense as New York was in 1993, though the dictatorship of the Joh government shaped the spirit of Brisbane in many ways. 

It would be incredible to be able to compare the stories, a tale of two different cities, one of the world's greatest with a small country town on the rise. From my personal enquiry it would be fascinating to see just what kinds of stories were being told.

My interest is to discover the meaning behind people's stories, the values, priorities, fears and desires. Afterall the stories we tell speak volumes about what we feel is important to share and has meaning for us. From the humorous to the fanciful, everything we use as cues reveals cultural cues and habits; and one of the things I have really loved about doing this project is rediscovering those things. Especially after spending 6 years in another country. 

The cultural cringe of Brisbane is one of the surprising reasons that made it a great city to create from. It provided a sense of freedom from judgement that allowed alot of raw creativity to grow. In the sense that noone cared what you did, and therefore you could do whatever you wanted. 

I'm unsure if thats what it is like now, sometimes it feels shockingly aspirational, which in my mind is such a dull personality trait to have. Comments?

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/03/25/pick-up-a-pay-phone-learn-about-the-new-york-city-of-20-years-ago/

Calling all Public Artists

Looking for artists to decorate phoneboxes around Brisbane

Whether you envision a Sophie Calle style creation like this or prefer something more ostentatious or subtle. 

For the month of June we will be decorating phone boxes around Brisbane's inner city. 

We have been granted permission by Telstra as long as everything can be removed by the end of June. 

Unfortunately we have no money on offer, only the opportunity to create. We are open to all ideas and materials, as long as it fits the brief.

If you have an idea for a an art work inside a phone box, or a particular booth you would like to decorate, please email an A4 proposal through to callingthepast@gmail.com

New Logo

In between researching, meeting and interviewing we have slowly been putting together our design and branding. Here is our new logo, and out website is now officially no longer a holding page. Enjoy!