Ian McFarland | TRAFFIC
March 8th 2010 23:34
TRAFFIC
By Ian McFarland
18 March to 11 April 2010
Opening: 6-8pm Thursday 18 March. Guest Speaker: Robert Dunstan, Editor, Rip it Up and Arts Editor, The Adelaide Review.
Gallery 139 139 Magill Road, Stepney
Gallery Hours: 11am-5pm Tuesday to Saturday. Phone: (08) 8363 6139.
Fast and frenetic, slow and methodical Ian McFarland’s new mixed media works on canvas reflect the ebb and flow of traffic in a modern city.
Ian McFarland is one of a small number of artists in the world practicing the art of the ‘Affichistes’ (torn poster artists), an art movement that originated in Paris during the 1950s.
Factory walls, vacant blocks and abandoned derelict buildings adorned with the pasted imagery of advertising posters provide Ian McFarland with the inspiration and materials so often overlooked. Ripped patterns, sun faded colours, residual brush strokes of application and the imprinted pattern of brick and corrugated iron, are all bundled together in a multi-layered package of discovery.
Ian McFarland is fascinated by advertising material, ”There is a very high turn over of advertising posters on public buildings which can be exciting because you never know exactly what you will find or where the images will take you. There is so much to be discovered between the layers of posters; traces of glue, misprints, even evidence of where the reverse side of the posters have been used to clean the printing machine. The media I use jumps out at me; text, pattern, the vibrancy of colour, a hidden face or image, removed, out of context, all waiting to be rebranded within a new work of art.”
Ian captures brief moments in time, as the ever-changing product of the mass media is reconstructed into new artwork and given a new meaning.
The final works are bold representations on canvas that keep your eyes searching as new details are found. Uncertain as to what is painted or collage, what is original or created, there is a sense within the work that a moment in our contemporary urban history has been captured, reworked and subsequently elevated.
Ian McFarland has a Masters of Visual Arts and Design from the South Australian School of Art, UniSA. He has held a number of successful exhibitions including the sold out exhibition, Big Kiss at Gallery 139 in 2009.
By Ian McFarland
18 March to 11 April 2010
Opening: 6-8pm Thursday 18 March. Guest Speaker: Robert Dunstan, Editor, Rip it Up and Arts Editor, The Adelaide Review.
Fast and frenetic, slow and methodical Ian McFarland’s new mixed media works on canvas reflect the ebb and flow of traffic in a modern city.
Ian McFarland is one of a small number of artists in the world practicing the art of the ‘Affichistes’ (torn poster artists), an art movement that originated in Paris during the 1950s.
Ian McFarland is fascinated by advertising material, ”There is a very high turn over of advertising posters on public buildings which can be exciting because you never know exactly what you will find or where the images will take you. There is so much to be discovered between the layers of posters; traces of glue, misprints, even evidence of where the reverse side of the posters have been used to clean the printing machine. The media I use jumps out at me; text, pattern, the vibrancy of colour, a hidden face or image, removed, out of context, all waiting to be rebranded within a new work of art.”
Ian captures brief moments in time, as the ever-changing product of the mass media is reconstructed into new artwork and given a new meaning.
The final works are bold representations on canvas that keep your eyes searching as new details are found. Uncertain as to what is painted or collage, what is original or created, there is a sense within the work that a moment in our contemporary urban history has been captured, reworked and subsequently elevated.
Ian McFarland has a Masters of Visual Arts and Design from the South Australian School of Art, UniSA. He has held a number of successful exhibitions including the sold out exhibition, Big Kiss at Gallery 139 in 2009.
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