Friday 8 May 2015

Modern Contemporary





Several years ago now, Nicole Page-Smith and her husband, had the luxury of a residency in London for three months. This was 2004 and Nicole Page-Smith's first trip to Europe. Many trips followed for a similar purpose of residencies of three months, to view not only modern contemporary exhibitions but all the current scholarly exhibitions of old masters. Both Nicole and her husband are artists of a scholarly nature with a large amount of inspiration needing to be consumed for their artwork and the continued studio practice. When the pair are not traveling, inspiration, during the year, comes in the form of two private libraries of art books. Nicole and her husband are regulars at their studio complex working full-time like a wage earning job, ten to six. So, the ascension of night reading carries through their contemplative ideas for future resolve.










Traveling throughout Europe was a blessing and well earned deserve to catch up with the research of books. Nicole was disappointed that not all Europeans appear like the artists you read about in the books or they have all the gradations down to society artists, for example, those needing a "how to draw" book for amateur society artists, that one finds anywhere. However, unlike the Southern Hemisphere, top artists are the main stay in modern contemporary society with all the gradations to the top accommodated, accordingly. So, the main difference is a major venue of contemporary art work includes recent contemporary art of note and the other venues can have a mix of contemporary art back to early Modernism. Throughout the Southern Hemisphere, it is almost a society that lost its way and the last hundred years of modern concerns, including art, have not been attended to, so, very few examples of Western modern contemporary art exist. I wonder at this and when trade fell off the map. One simply has to look at the names of artists represented in museums and we have some English modern contemporary artists such as Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore with others including American artists like Jackson Pollock. Maybe, the pricing was a factor as in 1973, the "No. 11", 1952 painting, by Jackson Pollock was bought for (AUD) $1.3 Million dollars.   











Obviously, Southern Hemisphere museums fell off the trade map after the second world war and no business contacts have been made since. Frustrated by the lack of industry in the Southern Hemisphere and the lack of political awareness of museum personnel overseas, traveling inspired Nicole Page-Smith to google earth the world and find out who was managing the wonderful modern contemporary art museums, internationally. Much to Nicole Page-Smith's surprise, exhibition recommendations in European and American museums, were more than welcome, it is unfortunate, however, that Nicole had to recommend herself. Nicole Page-Smith has tried to facilitate the exhibition requests received, herself, as there was not one Southern Hemisphere museum who had one contact of Nicole's contact list, on their list of business associates. Nicole Page-Smith was horrified at the lack of response.

  










After, twenty seven years of commitment to the contemporary art industry, an international exhibition is well deserved and well overdue. Such an occasion, well observed by some of the top contemporary art professionals in their field of modern contemporary art, should have been Nicole Page-Smith's "one moment" not "fifteen minutes of fame". As letter upon letter of big museum debut support rolled in, progressively the music was turned up louder and louder but so far, it has only been a party for one. This happening, however, everybody from Nicole Page-Smith's ascension service list, caught up in the crossfire, seem to have forgotten what all the fuss was about, Nicole Page-Smith.    












Exhibition support only needs kindly recommendation and letters of support, accordingly, from those major museums going to benefit most from showing highly recommended art works. Deeply hurt that not one person bothered to do this correct job, a correction needs to be made, it is not that much of a mystery what the honorable job should be. So, too, is it no mystery to highly trained and highly educated professional museum personnel, what "the best" modern contemporary art work looks like. All artists know their worth as do all people. Every Tom, Dick and Harry who has ever been lucky enough to view Nicole Page-Smith's art work, in the flesh, have responded positively. Quite often, where Nicole Page-Smith currently resides, Nicole is continually asked if she works for "him" or Peter Jackson. Yes, Nicole's environment is not for the animation studios in Hollywood, although, the sculpture environment could loosely double up for the task.
    











Bored with the stories of every nominated artist being made a martyr, for ascending their art and studio life, Nicole Page-Smith knows that everybody knows the stories of artists suffering for society shame and would not trust any one of the stories. Shame on all of them. Why did Giacometti just stuff the money under the bed? Why did Modigliani throw his sculpture in the river? Why did New York take so long to show Louise Bourgeois? Why did Eva Hesse have her "own scene" going on? This is all just too failed. Fame breeds ugly demons. 












This is, therefore, an appeal for any of the general community to recommend an exhibition of Nicole Page-Smith's work to London or New York museums. Kindly letters of general support are all that is needed. Thank you kindly for your interest. All photographs supplied are of the nominated art works by Nicole Page-Smith.