Conversations with the Collection

Jasper Knight & Joseph Chun Yin Ku 

Collection Statement:

Contemporary Australian painter, sculptor and installation artist Jasper Knight’s work contains elements of a figurative, expressionistic and a neo pop-art style, which have been compared to American artists of the 1940s.

Inspired by a desire to represent his ideas with this pop aesthetic, Knight embraces the constructed nature of contemporary life with a heightened sense of energy and immediacy. By creating densely layered assemblages incorporating found objects, road signs, coloured perspex and textured wood panels, Knight questions the value of traditional painting and denotes the shift from traditional landscapes to portrayals of the urban-landscape.

Through these seemingly spontaneous constructions and multilayered assemblages, Knight also comments on the lost optimism of the past and highlights the rapid shift from traditional art forms into new stylistic representation of modern built environments.

Joseph Chun Yin Ku
Normanhurst Boys High School
Lost In Transmission (detail) (2001)
Drawing

ARTEXPRESS Artist Statement:

With the technological advances in our society almost everybody owns a handheld telecommunications device. Lost in transmission addresses this notion and the impact it has on our daily lives. Have you ever boarded a train during peak hour? Despite the overcrowded spaces, the predominant sources of noise are the screeching of the wheels against the tracks, message alerts and phone calls. All the passengers sit tight facing a uniform direction, immersed in their own individual sphere.

Curriculum Linkages
Frames:
With reference to the Post Modern Frame discuss Chun Yin Ku’s use of pop art style, colour and subject matter.

Conceptual Framework:
Both artists address the changing landscapes of modern life. Evaluate the success of each artist in portraying this concept. Consider the appropriation of a pop art aesthetic in your response.

Practice:
Pegboard is a commerical pre-drilled ready-made board most commonly used to hang tools in workshops and garages. Analyse how both artists have incorporated this material in their work. Does the knowledge of its purpose influence your reaction to the works? Why?

Download ARTEXPRESS 2012 Conversation with the Collections.