The Association of Sculptors of Victoria is an inclusive, not-for-profit collective of contemporary artists whose purpose is to inspire,stimulate and advance the appreciation, creation, and exploration of three-dimensional art in society.

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE JUNE 2009

The Extraordinary General Meeting held on 10 June voted decisively to change the Constitution to allow for two types of member in future, being Ordinary Member and Associate Member, each of which shall have voting rights but only the former having exhibiting rights. Argument was made in terms of simplicity, equity, difficulty of agreeing any alternative, practicality, and legal advice that all paying members should have a vote. Brief mention was made of some tax advice on the tax deductibility of donations to the organisation: an extract is included in this newsletter. The Constitution clauses advocated by the Department of Consumer Affairs were adopted decisively.

This dry beginning to the evening was relieved by Andrew Barcham’s slides on indoor and outdoor photography of sculptures using a variety of beautiful lighting effects.

Some Committee changes have been made this last week with John Bishop becoming an Ordinary Member on the Committee, Michael Meszaros becoming Vice-President, and myself becoming President (rather than Acting President). Patrick has agreed to be Acting Secretary for the AGM.

Some of you may have noticed the withdrawal of some editorial comments from the last newsletter, with a cross-reference to a web site blog. The Committee felt that the comments would be confusing to members in view of the tie on preferences on the membership clause previously expressed by members in May, and the Committee’s extensive deliberations and recommendation.

You are urged to send views on any resolutions for the AGM to the Committee by July 1 in order that the AGM Agenda can be firmed up for a detailed notice to members.

Patrick has sent out membership renewals for the 2009-2010 year, with the help of Jenny and Ronit. Please consider the Committee and other positions to be filled for the 2009-2010 year.
In view of the shortage of volunteers for key positions we are reviewing the employment by the ASV of selected paid professionals in future, at our next Committee meeting. If you have particular recommendations in this regard please advise Patrick as Acting Secretary.

Geoff Williams
President

ASV Diary Dates

Meetings are held in the Boroondara Community Arts Room, rear 360 Burwood Road, Hawthorn and start at 7:30pm.

Annual Subscription
Renewals 30th June

Monthly Meeting 8th July
Lise Toft, Valda Cuming and Suzanne Kaldor will talk about their experiences including working and workshops overseas.

The ASV Annual Exhibition runs from 15 July to 31st July.
Opening and presentations: 6pm Wednesday 15th July 2009

Tesselaar Sculpture
Exhibition 2009
An Application Form and the Terms and Conditions can be downloaded from the ASV website on
www.sculptorsvictoria.asn.au/tesselaar_2009_application.pdf and
www.sculptorsvictoria.asn.au/tesselaar_2009_conditions.pdf
Closing date for entries is Friday, 17 July 2009

Monthly Meeting 12th August
This will be our Annual General Meeting. Additional nomination forms can be downloaded from www.sculptorsvictoria.asn.au/nomination2009.pdf. The meeting will be followed by a talk by a tax advisor - seriously not to be missed.

19th September
Watch for further information - Graeme Wilkie has invited us to Qdos Gallery in Lorne - car pooling will be arranged.

Tesselaar Sculpture Exhibition
16th September to 13th October

Summary of Minutes of Extraordinary General Meeting 10 June 2009

Geoff Williams Acting President took the chair at 7.30 pm, and established that a quorum existed.
Patrick Culshaw (acting Secretary) advised the meeting there were 123 financial members as at 10/6/09. Also, that he had received 26 proxies for the meeting
The chairman explained that only items on the agenda could be considered at a Special General Meeting.
Motion 1 was a procedural motion allowing the meeting to take all the membership change clauses together. The motion was proposed by Michael Meszaros, and was carried 35 for, 5 against.
Motion 2 was the substantive motion dealing with the change of membership clauses. It was proposed by Michael Meszaros and was carried 37 for, 2 against, with one abstention. The change established two classes of members, Ordinary and Associate, with both able to vote and only the former able to exhibit works.
Motion 3 was a procedural motion allowing the meeting to take all changes to the constitution required by Consumer Affairs together. It was proposed by Michael Meszaros, and was carried 40 for, and nil against, with one abstention.
Motion 4 was an omnibus motion including clauses required to be included in our constitution by the Dept of Consumer Affairs. It was proposed Michael Meszaros, and was carried 37 for, 2 against, with one abstention
The meeting closed at 8.00pm

Summary Minutes of Committee Meetings

ASV COMMITTEE MEETING
28th APRIL 2009.
Election of Secretary
Geoff Williams was appointed as Secretary following the resignation of Leon Frankcom

Membership Clause for Constitution.
The Committee discussed the correspondence from John Bishop summarising member votes on the preferred membership clause to submit to an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM). Patrick advised the Committee that there was one additional vote that had been sent to him in error, instead of to John Bishop. The Committee agreed that this additional vote should be taken into account, and the result treated as a tie between the numbers preferring alternatives A and B.
After considerable discussion it was agreed that parts of both Proposal A and B were to be used to form a resolution for members at an EGM, with Associate Members having voting rights, but no exhibiting rights.

Swinburne University Web Site Project.
The Committee discussed the correspondence with Swinburne University, and it was agreed to follow up with Jenny and David

Ola Cohn Centre.
The Committee discussed the use of Ola Cohn Centre. Michael observed that the ASV case had been weakened by there being no mention in the Ola Cohn will, although Women Printers and Sculptors were mentioned, and the centre was left in the guardianship of the CAE. He stated the ASV members had contributed significant service in restoring her works. A CAE offer of Friday nights for meetings was not practicable due the difficulty of parking on a football match night. The Committee agreed an alternative to Hawthorn was necessary for meetings.

Treasurer’s Report
The Treasurer presented accounts to 30 April 2009.

Annual Exhibition.
Marija reported an advertisement had been placed in the National Gallery of Victoria magazine; the exhibition will run July 15 to 31, with the opening booked for 6.00 pm to 8.00 pm on Wednesday 15 July.


Personnel:
Marija reported contact with a commercial service group, to be followed up.
It was agreed that Leon’s suggestion of a ring around members be deferred to next year’s Committee.
It was agreed that some positions may be taken by country members, and in particular the membership officer, newsletter editor, and service and supplies director.


Extraordinary General Meeting
A date of Wednesday 10 June was agreed to (a) vote on the change in membership clause in the Constitution, in accord with voting preferences expressed by members; (b) vote on including the deeming clauses required by Consumer Affairs.
Annual General Meeting
A date of Wednesday 12 August at 7.30 pm was agreed for the AGM, at Hawthorn.


ASV COMMITTEE AGREEMENT BY EMAIL 17 JUNE 2009
It was unanimously agreed that Geoff Williams relinquished positions as Acting President and Vice-President and was appointed President; Michael Meszaros relinquished position of Ordinary Member on the Committee and was appointed Vice-President; John Bishop was appointed Ordinary Member of the Committee. Further, it was agreed that Patrick Culshaw would act as Secretary at the coming Annual General Meeting on 12 August.
The appointments were made pursuant to clauses 6(6), 6(9) and 12(1) of the Constitution and continue until the AGM on August 12.

Extracts Tax Advice 14 May 2009

The following is a short extract from an email of tax advice from Webb Martin Consulting, taxation agents and advisors, to Geoff Williams, on 14 May 2009. Copy is available from any Committee member.

Endorsement as a deductible gift recipient (DGR)
The Tax Office has endorsed the Trust Account of the Association as a DGR, on the basis that the Trust Account is a public fund on the Register of Cultural Organisations (the Register).
Will the changes to the membership of the Association affect its deductible gift recipient status?
As the Association has been endorsed as a DGR for the operation of the Trust Account as a public fund on the Register, it is obliged to self-assess its entitlement to DGR status. In our view, both the past and proposed changes to the constitution of the Association in relation to the membership clause should not affect any of the criteria for eligibility for DGR status (of the fund) as described above. Here, we have assumed that the principal purpose of the Association remains as the promotion of a visual art/craft (i.e. the promotion of sculpture).

Is the Association validly entitled to endorsement as a DGR?
The principal purpose of the Association is therefore critical to the DGR status of the Trust Account. In the event that the activities of the Association are such that its principal purpose is the advancement of members interests (and not the promotion or advancement of sculpture), then the Association would not meet the requirements for listing on the Register. In this case, the Trust Account would also not be operated for the principle purpose of the promotion of sculpture. This would mean that the Associations Trust Account would not be entitled to DGR status.
The Association must also meet the conditions for maintaining a gift fund. For example, a separate bank account is required for a public fund.

Annual Exhibition and Awards

The Association of Sculptors Victoria is holding its Annual Exhibition and Awards earlier than usual this year at the Manningham Gallery in Doncaster. The Exhibition is the highlight of our exhibiting year and a culmination of a year’s work when members are acknowledged and encouraged by the presentation of awards. We have a wonderful number of entries this year. The works show diversity in style, form, ideas, technique and medium. For each visitor to the gallery the work will have its own message, conveying different mood, atmosphere and emotion. All members will receive 2 hard copies of the invitations. Electronic copies of invitations can be downloaded from www.sculptorsvictoria.asn.au/invite_asv.pdf. Please forward as many as you can to friends and family.

More invitations are available for distribution by contacting
• Gillian 95791221 gmps.govan@bigpond .com
• Bronwyn : 9857 9153 patwyn@bigblue.net.au
• Marija: 9489 4537 marijapat47@yahoo.com.au

If anyone has the time and inclination we would be grateful if invitations could be distributed to local art shops, restaurants, hotels etc. The Exhibition will open on Wednesday 15th July at 6pm with music and light refreshments. Please come along and bring friends and family. It is a great venue and we have been delighted with the cooperation and friendliness of all at the gallery. The opening is a great opportunity to meet other members socially and for new members to meet fellow artists and to see what we can achieve. The Exhibition will be held at:
Manningham Gallery 699 Doncaster Road Doncaster Melway 33 F 12
From 15th July to 1st August 2009
Gallery hours are: Tuesday to Friday 11am to 5pm
Saturday and Sunday 2pm to 5pm
Gillian Govan

Proof Reader’s error! Apologies to Kay Salehi and Catherine Tait
whose names are misspelled on the invitation - sorry sorry sorry!

Members' News

Rudi Jass sent a movie of his kinetic sculpture “Breeze”. This is the first time I've uploaded a movie... let's see how it goes. Rudi hasn’t put any movies on his web site yet - but it is certainly a great way to show kinetic work, and sculpture in general. Still not quite as good as being there - but closer.

Viv Parry sent an image and the reflection inspiring her work in the Annual Exhibition. As with all sculpture - you just have to be there to get the full impression of the work, so get to the annual and look at all the work and use the opportunity to talk to each other.

The Contemporary Art Society sent an invitation: Our next exhibition opportunity is our Brooch the Subject III - a small-format 'wearable' artwork show, to be held at the Fitzroy Library (Melbourne) which is open to all artists and you are most welcome to enter. ENTRY & ARTWORK DEADLINE FRIDAY 17TH JULY. See our web page for more details... http://www.contemporaryartsociety.org.au/spaces/fitzroy/Brooch_Show/Brooch_Show.html

If you are not already a member of CAS, you are most welcome to apply for
Membership and enjoy the benefits... http://www.contemporaryartsociety.org.au/membership/membership.html

Our next
BIG exhibition (open to CAS Members only) is our Annual Exhibition at Eckersley's Open Space Gallery 97 Franklin Street Melbourne running 7-19 September to be judged by Graham Fransella (with great prizes). See... http://www.contemporaryartsociety.org.au/exhibitions/annual_exhib/annual_exhib.html

At the last meeting

At the last meeting we enjoyed a very informative session with Andrew Barcham of Screaming Pixels. He was kind enough to enlighten us (with our different level of understanding of digital photography) on all the basic differences and similarities of the still and digital cameras. He generously shared his secrets and the aids he uses to get good results.
The basicly we can take digital photos in any environment so long as the focus, the angle, and lens opening are carefully controlled. A tripod is a handy adjunct to good photography. Save your pictures as Jpeg format so it allows for manipulation in Photoshop; but email it in the PDF format.
Andrew takes his pictures in “raw” format as with the aid of Photoshop or Photoshop Elements he can enhance the colours, change the back ground, elongate the object etc.
The narrower you make your lens opening, the greater the depth of the zone of sharp focus on the object. A shallow depth of field may also be appropriate to blur the background and focus on the sculpture. He suggested from 2.5f - 4.5f lens opening would be good for our purposes
Still pictures, his suggestion was to taken if is possible with natural light on an overcast day or indoor take two or three diffused lights sources (never use a clear globe!)
White paper held against the camera blocks out harsh glare from an automatic flash. And white walls can be a source of bounced light. He frequently uses matt black back grounds.
When Andrew came to my studio he had rolls of black and white material (umbrellas, and different lighting props).
The end result of our photo sessions was incredible. No one should underestimate the value of years of experience that someone has to make the most of an art work!
Presentation, an introduction of a good piece ......... my advice is have a professional to shoot the pictures.
I always thought that my photography was acceptable until I took my friend’s advice and asked Andrew ........... it was worth it.
Next time we have a session come along and share the learning curve with us. You always can learn or be generous and contribute to the discussions!
Suzanne Kaldor

A Day in Pompeii

ISS Institute is delighted to work with Melbourne Museum to assemble a team of renowned professionals to bring to life
A Day in Pompeii
exhibition through a series of workshops.

The workshops are:
  • Ornate and Formal Gardens of Pompeii - courtyard workshop with John Patrick
  • Beware of the Dog: Mosaic Workshop with David Jack
  • Fresco Painting Workshop with Sarah Tomasetti
  • Stone Carving Workshop with James Charlwood
  • Captive Forms. Casting Workshop with James Charlwood
Each workshop will comprise an illustrated lecture followed by a hands-on project. There will be ample opportunity for individual and group discussion.
More information is available from ISSI http://www.issinstitute.org.au/train/index.html

A moment of realisation...

A moment of realisation occurred to me as I was preparing for this newsletter: You don’t see many people volunteering to do what they do in their paid work. It’s pretty logical really - why would anyone do something all day for money and then turn around and do the same thing for no pay? Volunteers need to be extending themselves, to be gaining something from their donation of time and effort. The on-the-job training that we give our volunteers is vital in the grand project of keeping the learning pathways growing. And it’s safer to assume that a volunteer is new to a discipline rather than an old hand who can do the task “standing on their head” and without being fully briefed.

It’s reasonable to assume a few things about volunteers:
  • They are in it to give something to the association and to the art
  • They are in it to learn a skill - or two or three and they don’t necessarily know all there is to know about the job, its possibilities or how best to tackle it.
  • They are intelligent people with plenty of initiative - or they wouldn’t have offered
  • They may also be a bit over optimistic about their knowledge and capacity - being outside their normal work experience.
I think we should plan the succession of important skilled positions by getting in advice or even a consultant to look through the task and set it up with the new volunteer so that they can learn and perform in the task.
Food for thought.
Jenny Rickards

New ASV Members

New ASV Members! This month we welcome Lois Basham, Patrea Cook and Zoe Ellenberg

ReGenerating Community: Arts, Community and Governance

Registrations now open: ‘ReGenerating Community: Arts, Community and Governance’
National Conference, September 2-4, Melbourne
RMIT University and the Cultural Development Network are pleased to announce:
ReGenerating Community: Arts, Community and Governance National Conference Sept 2 - 4, 2009, RMIT University, Melbourne
Registrations are now open.
http://www.cdn-generations.net.au/register.htm
Register early for early bird prices.
ReGenerating Community Conference is about ways in which global issues are being addressed locally through collaborations between artists, communities and local government.
Conference themes:
* addressing global issues locally through collaborations between artists, communities and local government
* the links between creative communities and civic engagement
* the ways creative processes can mobilize communities for positive social change
* cultural citizenship and cultural rights, as an aspect of a broader human rights agenda
International speakers: Anmol Vellani, Indian philosopher, theatre director and Executive Director of the Indian Foundation of the Arts and Bob McNulty, founder and president of Partners for Livable Communities, USA.
The conference will also feature presentations about ‘Generations’, a three year project about the relationship between arts, community and local governance. Generations was initiated by the Cultural Development Network to explore the links between engagement in community based arts activities and active civic engagement. Artists and communities from Latrobe, Greater Geelong and Wangaratta Councils in Victoria, Liverpool in NSW, and Charters Towers in north Queensland will present their artwork and experiences.
Cultural Development Network and RMIT Globalism Research Centre are hosts for a conference that promises to be...regenerating.
Conference website:
www.cdn-generations.net.au
Kim Dunphy Program Manager, Cultural Development Network
kim.dunphy@culturaldevelopment.net.au
www.culturaldevelopment.net.au
Ph: 03 9658 9976 or 0417 038 824
Fax: 03 9658 8436
PO Box 324 Flinders Lane, Victoria 8009 AUSTRALIA

Compare and Contrast

I did a compare and contrast exercise on two articles in the Age this last week. One was a report on the stance of a few artists not to donate work - their art that they live off - to Google to enhance the new web browser Chrome. Google acted a bit surprised that artists wouldn’t do that for the exposure. As Laszlo Biro said - people can die from exposure. The other article reported a court ordering $2.4 million in damages in a music piracy case - we are in the wrong game!
Jenny Rickards

Glass Shortcourses

The Glass Studio at Monash University has offered courses in glass art since the mid 70’s making it the oldest tertiary glass studio in Australia. It continues to run the only degree course in Victoria within the Department of Fine Arts, Faculty of Art & Design.
In June/July 2009, the Glass Studio is offering 2 short courses - Intermediate Glass Blowing and Sand Casting and Open Mould Casting. To find out more about these classes and to download the registration form, please visit
http://artdes.monash.edu.au/news/glassart.html.
Kind regards,
Adori Kearns
Department of Fine Arts, Monash University

The Light in Winter is on at Federation Square

The Light in Winter is on at Federation Square.... not square and was it ready for the centenary of federation - hey we are human... there are some pretty interesting art works there - and some with slightly scrappy production - art doesn’t have to be amateur to be inspired or good or whatever does it? Well the well-made ones appeal as well, so get along - one evening before the 5th July and work out how you feel about it - also get there in daylight hours to get a map of the exhibits. I’m sure I haven’t seen them all.
I certainly enjoyed a real fire in the square - there was a security guard to stop me burning myself/invading the artwork and to feed the fire.
Jenny Rickards


Image: Leempeeyt Weeyn’
Vicki Couzens in collaboration with Elders of Melbourne’s Indigenous Communities

Boring

Did you find this newsletter boring as bat shit? Well come on give me some pictures to publish! Hopefully next issue will have some cool policy articles from people actually contesting the officer positions for the ASV. Let’s inject a bit of life into the meetings - instead of the members sitting back and saying yeah yeah whatever - give a bit of passion! Here’s an idea for sculptors who can’t get enough ... challenges....
How about taking the Annual and Awards Exhibition back to the city- the Annexe at Federation Square maybe?
And then let’s not assume that our officers can take off and run the ASV on their own - vote them the technical support they need - you’ll get a better job - the combination of knowledge from consultants and the courage to do stuff from sculptors who are not afraid to carve into a surface to create form, or build up a concept out of mud!
yeah me! Jenny

Current ASV Committee

President
Geoff Williams bh 9670 0824

Vice President
Michael Meszaros bh 9853 9610

Acting Secretary, Treasurer and Public Officer
Patrick Culshaw 9857 9153

Committee members
Marija Patterson 9489 4537
John Bishop 9885 2660