If you want to get into Top Arts, make sure you’re at a private christian college.
How wrong I was in thinking that we lived in a secular society.
The NGV: Ian Potter Centre’s annual exhibition Top Arts fails in showcasing the ‘best’ of VCE artwork from across Victoria, instead it proves that religion stands in the way of our boldest mode of expression; our art.
It echoes the censorship and conclusive removal of Andres Seranno’s photograph of a crucifix submerged in his own urine titled Pisschrist (1989) from the NGV International in 1997.
Only this time it is in more subtle way that most are not aware of.
A way where christianity is promoted as a pre-requisite in the art world.
The board in charge of selecting the work to be presented in the Top Arts exhibition utilise a process of positive discrimination.
Out of the approximate 60 students that are represented, the shortlisting denominates 1/3 of the content to come from private schools, 1/3 from public state schools and 1/3 from christian schools.
Considering that most christian schools are private, 2/3s of Top Arts make-up can potentially be wealthy christian dogma.
How is this a representative sample?
All it represents to me is the conscious yearn to keep our public schools out in the cold.
If they really want to be politically correct, they should’ve divvied up the applications into sex, race and god forbid sexuality as well.
And why aren’t the other monotheistic religions islam and judaism factored into this bloc?
Applications should be judged blind and on their artistic merit, not by a process that is effectively classist.
The premise of the exhibition is worthy; the photo of a student standing before their artwork in this exhibition would be the zenith of the lounge room mantelpiece.
Top Arts provides a platform for graduating high school students to push their work to a large demographic.
The students are not the ones I’m giving a bad wrap; most of the work is of a high standard.
However, I fear that lurking in the dank, cavernous and unfunded store rooms of state secondary schools there could be some better work.
State secondary VCE students already have enough numerating from lower aggregate study scores and the oppressive ENTER system, why is their way of expressing themselves, their art, regimented by status as well?
Rather than portraying Victoria as a thriving hub of young talent, Top Arts reiterates the hegemony of christianity in Australia.
At Top Arts you won’t find a disclaimer that explains the selection process.
Instead there’ll be the sponsor’s haughty logo of a flag whipping a crucifix, with Catholic Education Office written underneath.
(5 votes, average: 2.40 out of 5)
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I think it’s the same in the fields of sport, science, literature, and pretty much every subject you can think of. Money talks. But even more- the name of the school on your resume.
Interesting, although I’d have to disagree with some of your points.
“Considering that most christian schools are private, 2/3s of Top Arts make-up can potentially be wealthy christian dogma.”
I’m not sure how you came to the above conclusion. Although most Christian schools are private, not all private schools are Christian. Also, of the students that attend Christian schools, not all are Christians themselves. Therefore, at most, 1/3 would be from Christian schools.
Also, many students that attend Christian schools are not wealthy, and I’d be curious to understand why you regard Christian art as dogmatic? The art produced by Christians is no more an expression of one’s worldview than that of an atheist, Buddist or Islamic student. Neither one of these ought to be considered dogmatic.
I think censorship in some cases is reasonable, particularly when it is offensive to religion. Not everything is permissible under the banner or art. We’ve seen this line crossed with child nudity and caricatures of Muhammad.
I agree that the selection could have been divvied on a more representative basis, however, I’d assume it was the sheer number of Christian schools in comparison with other religious schools (Islamic, Jewish), that led to the 1/3 being apportioned to this demographic.
I am not sure the word art is used correctly, I am actually mystified by art, if art is “artificial”, yet real at the same time, anybody could be offended by any picture sound feeling drug etc that would make artistic differences more apparent.
I am very interested to know where the source and purpose of art itself is guided or taught, as would the case in most schools in Australia this happens therefore there will be some artistic license to offensive material. If somebody sprays graffiti on the wall then some might say thats “illegal art”, I am sure many people are offended by all the horrible mess in the Sydney city and west with all the graffiti etc sprayed on public property and commuting.
In music if someone smashed their guitar such as Jimi Hendrix, yes it was art and freedom but destructive. It carried it’s “recording”
I guess I am aware of art and the freedoms and exhibitions and what exactly people are doing art for, for beauty or to express feelings, or to simply throw paint at the canvas or write poetry to electronic light shows. Smashing guitars or even aeroplanes could be considered art, does this make sense? Somebody help me. Could all art be is a “recording memory”?
i have always believed in the idea that “art is everything”…until in one of my cultural lectures i yelled this out to the teacher, only to be verbally smacked down and told, “don’t be stupid, not it’s not”. So since that moment when my personal idea of art was questioned, I have been quite sceptical about the entire art world and what on earth its purpose is. To link art to religion is a massive leap in itself- any art that is produced is unconsciously a direct product of the artists social status, life experiences, state of mind, personality, world issues and of course, their religious status. Art is indeed a ‘recording memory’- or rather, a tactile documentary. But, at the same time, it is ever changing. We can view art from two centuries ago with complete different perceptions to how those viewed it when the paint was still wet. Art that we are producing today will have a completely different impact on audiences of the future…so in that sense, art is not a recorded memory, but it is fluid, changing, with perpetual meaning and affects everyone differently…some people would have found the Muhammad cartoon funny, others were deeply offended.
How can we get our head around the power that something artificial, like art, can yield? Does its impact lie in the fact that a piece of art represents an idea that is REAL, created from the mind of a person that is REAL….
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