Fri 30th May 2008 5pm

Please, come down to Platform, Campbell Arcade, on Friday the 30th May @5pm for an open discussion of The Puma, The Stranger and The Mountain. Next Wave and Platform will hold the discussion and me and Trevor Flinn, as well as a member of The City Council of Melbourne will be there to answer anyone’s questions regarding our work and the censurship.

Nudity is ok in Australia as long as it is served with beer! Yeah?

Chloe @ Young and Jackson to read Chloe's shocking nude storry go to: http://www.youngandjacksons.com.au/chloe

R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S - Shock of the Nude 2

Photo: Sahlan Hayes

I’m starting to get really angry. What the hell is going on!?
We now are presented with the second art show within a two week period that have been closed down ‘due to nudity’; Bill Henson’s exhibition at the Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney (http://www.roslynoxley9.com.au/) was last night totally shut down by police and: Police say charges will be laid under both the NSW and Commonwealth Crimes acts for publishing an indecent article.
Please read the whole article: http://www.theage.com.au/news/arts/nude-show--charges-loom/2008/05/23/1211183065535.html

I have in the last two weeks been struggling with my own emotions of having my work (in mine and Trevor Flinn’s show The Puma, The Stranger and The Mountain) censured by the City Council of Melbourne, as my exhibition included nine A4 sized images of a naked male (for more info please read previous blog posts) and it has been very difficult to understand and come to terms with what this actually means as the subject has been ‘a bit too close to home’.

However, as time has gone by, and the initial ‘shock of the shock’ has cooled down, the only word that I am left with is: ridiculous.

I find it totally ridiculous how a naked man in the context of art, with no sexual intention, can provoke a society to execute censorship, especially when our entire media world is overloaded with intentionally sexual images; and often women wearing until nothing as the bait for the consumer in advertising, and further more the nonchalant acceptance of advertising of brothels around town on mobile billboards.

As censorship isn’t my subject or passion, it has during the past two weeks been difficult to answer questions regarding this subject, as I am lacking knowledge in the history of censorship in Australia; and I have been forced into the position where I have had to consider if I had ‘taken a step too far’. The truth is that I didn’t even consider that a censorship of my work could happened; nor did I think that my work was provocative as my intention of my work was to speak about the human being stripped on all the cultural layers that we are dressed up with as a part of our individual identities.

I was therefore forced to think that what happened to my work was a form of ‘culture-clash’ due to that I, with my Scandinavian upbringing, have a more easy relationship to the naked body.

This has in it’s turn provoked me with questions regarding what can be read into the actual artwork and how clear the artist’s intentions ever can be, and how much is read into the artwork by the viewer, and how the interpretation of the work can be colored by the viewer’s (in this case I must say) ‘dirty minds’.

When I'm now reading about Henson’s work I can nothing else than be angry. As I haven’t had a chance to see the images (as they have been taken by the police and the gallery has been forced to take them of their webpage), I can’t speak about the contents of these exact photographs, but I believe that I can simply dare to say that is there really anyone who believes that Henson would go through all the trouble of putting on a solo art exhibition if all he were was a dirty pedophile? It is just ridiculous. And once again has the artist’s intention to talk about a contemporary issue been overridden by some form of very strange conservatism. A form of conservatism that in my eyes only speaks about the actual viewer or executer of the censorship, that in these both cases seam to have a very filthy mind as they have managed to read a naked body into something shameful and harmful.
I just can’t understand it. I just can’t understand how i.e. if Henson’s model was only a few years older, it would be totally accepted for her to screw people for money as long as she paid tax to the state (legal prostitution), but being naked as a part of a intellectual conversation in a gallery or public space is acted upon as it was a crime. (I might just add that in Sweden, prostitution is illegal and it is by law classified as ‘violence against women’…)
I could probably write about this for hours, and go further into the discussion in terms of where the origin of the ‘shameful nudity’ comes from – the sin, the church etc. And why not bringing up the subject of the pornographic industry in Canberra, pedophilia in the Catholic Church, female university students supporting their studies by stripping at Men’s clubs, sex crimes and murders in St Kilda, Acceptance of plastic surgery – fake breasts, lips, bums and face lifts = acceptance of self mutilation of women (and to some degree men)… and the list could go on...

And don’t you dare telling me to go home to ‘where I belong’ – I’m here for the long run - so we might just keep communication...

If you want to read more opinions on this subject: http://melbourneartcritic.wordpress.com/2008/05/22/more-art-censorship/

The Bon Scott Project, Freemantle Art Centre, WA May 2008

This has been such a fantastic show to be involved in! I could unfortunately not make it to the opening as it happened to be on the same opening as The Puma (…) show here in Melbourne. Long live Bon Scott!

Invite:

' Bon Scott' (2008)

'When I lost my virginity with Bon, my backyard, Sweden, 1989' (2008)

'She's Got Balls' (2008)

'It's a long way to the top (if you wanna Rock and Role' (2008)

Please find more info at:
ABC new's Video about the Bon Scott Project:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/video/2008/05/16/2247674.htm
Fremantle Art Centre Web Page:
http://www.fac.org.au/bon_scott_project.php
ABC National Radio inteview with Jasmin Stephens, me and Lucas Ihlein. Hosted by Amanda Smith.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/artworks/stories/2008/2246909.htmThe Ugly Sexy Factor Bon Scott and fashion; http://www.thevine.com.au/gig-guide/fashion/the-ugly-sexy-factor-_-bon-scott-and-fashion-.aspx
Article Newspaper The West:
http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=182&ContentID=71799
Lucas Ihlein's Bon Scott blog:
http://www.bonscottblog.com/

Article from the magazine the Rolling Stones

The Shock of the Nude!

I'm lost for words! I would never have thought that a nude male could create such a madness!

Inteview with me at Sweish Radio SBS Sydney:

http://www20.sbs.com.au/podcasting/index.php?action=feeddetails&feedid=62&id=12852

And please read the whole The Age article @:

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/05/10/1210131335180.html

The Age, 11 May 2008 1st Page

Page 5

And then.... the editorial voice on page 18 same day... Confusing!! Headline news:
City Council of Melbourne covering my work with black cloth:

The Age 18 May 2008; Public responces As I never had the intention to create a controversy, I’m in shock of the shock! And I have been contacted by people around the world and I found the story on various different blogs etc. I.e. have a look at this one: http://www.nakedmalenews.com/2008/05/melbournes-minders-decree-that-no-nudes.html


And this is how my mail out invite ended up like:

Hi everyone,It has been a very strange week of media madness and an un-predictable twists to Trevor Flinn's and my show The Puma, The Stranger and The Mountain and it is still so fresh that I am not 100% sure what I think about it. The only thing i do know is that it is all happening on behalf of mine and Trevor's 12 month hard work; as this show never had the attention to be anything about nudity nor censorship. However once presented whith this obstacle it is hard to look away. And in hope to justify the events I have worked closely with Next Wave and Platform to try to create a good outcome for: 1./ the actual show 2./ the censorship discussion. The first date is now on Friday the 16th of May 2008, which is the official opening date for our show as well as Hiromi Tango's beautiful work Absence which is all a part of the Next Wave Festival 2008. More info at: http://2008.nextwave.org.au/. Our opening and the Degraves Street Subway will also be visited by the architectural project and the 'inflatable art bar': the Esky (Keg de Souza and Christie Petsinis) during this evening. Read more about the Esky on: http://www.whereisesky.com/. During this opening evening, I believe that the City Council of Melbourne has promised that we can show my entire work (without black-cloth-censorship) as Platform is during this night changing from being a public space to an enclosed art space for a few hours. So please, come and join us all for an exciting evening and drinks in the name of Closer Together and Next Wave Festival! Opening runs from 6-8 pm @ Degraves Street Subway Melbourne: http://platformartistsgroup.blogspot.com/ The second date to put in your calendar is Friday the 30th of May 2008, @ 5 pm which is the date that I, with much help and support from Next Wave and Platform, have organised as the time for the open discussion of censorship of art in public spaces. My censured work will be 'reviled' during this evening, however rather than that this event will be turned into a 'peepshow' of my work, I would like us all to contemplate questions of what censorship is and how the decision making process of the censorship is executed. As well as a member from Next Wave and Platform, someone from the City Council of Melbourne will be present during this forum to answer anyone's questions regarding the censorship. The City Council of Melbourne decided to censor my work after one single member of the public made an complaint of male nudity in a public space. Both Next Wave and Platform have been 100% behind me when neither of us believe that the nature of my work is neither sexual nor provocative. However, when the City Council of Melbourne is a major sponsor of both Platform and Next Wave, the situation quickly turned into an very delicate situation. And we were given no other option than covering the work, something I accepted but refused to take a physical part of. I also refused to just 'cover up the genitals with black dots' when I believe that that were to sexualise the image, and put the focus on the genitals; something this work isn't about. Questions has been raised regarding on which grounds this has been judged, as the first point in the council's Protocol on Artworks: • To encourage lively, critical debate and public conversation in an understanding atmosphere. This contributes to the perception of Melbourne as a city which manages its arts and related issues, however contentious, in an intelligent and informed manner (Protocol on Artworks, City of Melbourne 2005) Furthermore the situation has provoked questions regarding gender issues; as full fronted female nudes has been exhibited at Platform before without any complaints or censor actions - and as this is one of the a reoccurring subject in my art practice I am more then welcoming this conversation (Funny enough thou that this particular body of work 'The Puma(...)' was not meant to provoke any questions regarding this matter. However, my work has been in the subject of censorship before when i.e. my 'Three Wolfmen' performance during the Melbourne Art Fair 2007 was told "to cover up their (male) nipples or leave", even thou the rest of the Art Fair was full of everything from David Bromley's golden nipples to other explicit nude female images incl. genitalia.)All I can ask is: What is that all about? I have in this email attached my artist statement for The Puma, The Stranger and The Mountain, which includes a short response to what have happen with this 'shock-of-the-nude-cover-up-outcry' (The Age 11th May 2008). To read the article from The Age 11th May 2008 go to; http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/05/10/1210131335180.html Thank you for your time. Regards Cecilia Fogelberg

For more views on this situation please read:

http://www.redbubble.com/people/colf/journal/1120833-melbourne-makes-an-idiot-of-itself

or

http://angel80.livejournal.com/

or

http://melbourneartcritic.wordpress.com/2008/05/22/more-art-censorship/

or

http://melbourneartreview.blogspot.com/2008/05/issue-censorship-and-puma-stranger-and.html

Invite and press for The Puma, The Stranger and The Mountain @ Platform May 2008

Article in Trouble Magazine: http://www.introuble.com.au/www2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=51&Itemid=65

All image credit Trevor Flinn

Read more about the show:

http://www.threethousand.com.au/goods/the-meat-eaters-merchandise/

The Puma, the Stranger and the Mountain, - with Trevor Flinn and Next Wave, Platform Artist Group INC, Melbourne, VIC May 2008

Read more about the show at Platforms Blog: http://platformartistsgroup.blogspot.com/

'Strange Landscape (after the burn off)'(2007)'They could chat for hours, they had so many things in common; they came from a strange place, had a past drug addiction and they both loved cats' (2007)
Untiteled (18 Balaclavas) (2003-2008)
E.T.
Mickey Mouse
You can also find more info about the show at: http://2008.nextwave.org.au/festival/projects/67-the-puma-the-stranger-the-mountain

Media: SUPER GROUPIE

The Age 1st February 2008. Read the article at: http://www.theage.com.au/news/music/rock-legends-stitched-up/2008/01/31/1201714153368.html
Swedish Newspaper: D.N. February 2008
Spencer P Jones Press Image:
The Age 15th February 2008

The whole Super Groupie Show can been seen at: http://www.myspace.com/supergroupie2008 where you also can read the exhibition essay by Simon Gregg

SUPER GROUPIE After Part @ Cherry Bar AC/DC Lane with R n' R from X and The Rackets

The Door Bitch and Spencer P. Jones:
Steve Lucas - X
Kim Volkman - X
Germaine Greer( however, she didn't make it to the afterparty):

SUPER GROUPIE opening night 30 January 2007

Wow, what a night! Over 300 people came!
SUPER GROUPIE's opening speech; guitarr solo by Spencer P. Jones
Steve Lucas

Januari 2008, SUPER GROUPIE, Craft Victoria, 31 Flinders Lane, Melbourne,VIC www.craftvic.asn.au

Installing @ Craft Victoria:

Mick Harvey:
Nick Cave:

Hamilton Spectator 8 November 2007

Local press:

November 2007, The Puma, the Stranger and the Mountain, - Collaboration with Trevor Flinn and Next Wave - The Old Station, Dunkeld, VIC

Opening of the Station and our exhibition:

Trevor Flinn's Sculpture The Puma
Micheal Porter in action:
Next Wave Crew @ Trevor's workshop:
My painting;"When I grow up I want to be like Damian Hirst"

2007, The Puma, the Stranger and the Mountain, - Collaboration with Trevor Flinn and Next Wave Regional Kick Off Grant - The Old Station, Dunkeld, VIC

The beginning of the Project:

June-July 2007, ‘Birdmountain Valley’, A-SPACE on Cleveland, 420 Cleveland Street, Surry Hills, NSW

Melbourne Art Fair 2007 - Off the Wall Melbourne Royal Exhibition Center

Dear People,
It has been a while since I have been able to access and even had time to do any updates or changes to my blog or webpage… however, I will in the next couple of months try to change the settings on my webpage so that I easier can update and do all the changes myself… I can’t wait to get all my new work up on the page!
Until then you are more than welcome to contact me on zillafogelberg@hotmail.com if you want an updated CV or just asking questions about what has been going on in the last year.
Bye for now
/Cecilia