Arthur Wicks Australian artist

the rocking chair
image	details	general commentary	artist's running commentary
Free Fall: Slow Motion 25 Years Survey of Performance Art The Performance Space 1994
	Title: Free Fall: Slow Motion the Caged Bird Materials::Huon pine, radiata pine, springs, nylon cord Date: 1995 Dimensions: Bird: 123 x 51 x 30 cm Cage: 150 x 79 x 59 cm	Free Fall: Slow Motion was originally constructed for use in the performance work of the same name for the survey show “25 Years of Performance Art in Australia”, 1994 at the Ivan Dougherty Gallery and the Performance Space, Sydney. The bird skeletal structure was derived from an illustration of the skeleton of an eagle in Rev J.C. Wood’s Illustrated Natural History, 1869, page 4. The bird sections are articulated by using springs as attachment devices. As the cage is moved the bird vibrates in response. This was an important element in the original performance. Now the skeletal bird has returned to the wild; clinging to a branch, responding to the wind. This work is an important precursor to the articulated, motorised and interactive works that the artist has exhibited at two earlier Lempriere exhibitions, 2 Antipodeans Marking out Their Territory and Surface Tension as well as the Boatman’s Unscheduled Crossing shown at the NGA, Canberra in 2003.
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Country and Western Music Festival Float Tamworth January 1995



click for larger click for larger	Proposal for a new focused float for the Country & Western Music Festival parade for 1997. Again the notion of the Rocking Chair!		Later that same year (1995) I discussed with Michael Rolfe (Director of the Tamworth Art Gallery) the notion of creating another float for 1997.

Degrees of Freedom: Friction Volt, Brisbane Festival 1996 curated: Dr Maree Cunnington
click for larger then click to return		Dr Maree Cunnnington saw the Rocking Chair in performance at The Performance Space in 1994. Dr Cunnington curated the Volt section of the Brisbane Festival in 1996 (and again in 1998); enthusiasucally including the work.
click to start 15 images of police involvement and resolution click RHS last to return here	Stewart MacFarlane explaining the essence of the work to the Queensland Police	Beth Jackson summed up the appearance of the Rocking Chair in the Queen St mall; extract of a critique in Eyeline 32. Wicks locates this crisis of power and authority in the 'masculine'. Moments of Inertia: Friction was performed in the Queen Street Mall in the city centre for four days. At the first performance police stopped the work on the grounds that it was dangerous. Rather than simply ceasing the performance, Wicks crawled to his vehicle with the infernal machine strapped to his back, escorted by police the whole way. This inspired collaboration with the police was a spontaneous transference of the masculine anxiety and authority crisis which was the stuff of the performance. To read full review click HERE
click for larger then click to return
click for larger then click to return	click for larger then click to return		Go to jail. Go straight to jail. Do not pass GO. Do not collect $200. Go to BOGGO ROAD jail.