UA31316 Lumen Spring 2024 Final Digital - Flipbook - Page 8
Occasionally I receive emails from well-meaning academics who
suggest that I add a QR code to my posters so people can find out
‘all the facts’. It’s generally an older person who’s still labouring
under the assumption that knowledge pivots around ‘access to
information’. They’re not wrong. It’s just that they’re accustomed
to the university environment where a captive audience of students
are incentivised to pay attention. My posters are made for the street
where you’re lucky to be noticed at all.
I should say a few final things about my posters: I print them
by hand and stick them up myself. So, if you see one on the street
you know that I put it there personally. I use black acrylic paint
on brown Kraft paper and apply the colour with acrylic ink and
a brush.
There are certainly easier ways to produce posters, but I enjoy
the hand-crafted quality of my process. It’s also simple enough that
I can produce the quantities required for a national campaign.
Besides, art isn’t about getting ‘all the facts’. On the contrary, it’s
about making space for our imagination to play, so we can identify
with one another and form bonds of empathy.
Most importantly, doing it all myself means I’m not answerable
to anyone. The alternative of pleading, waiting and negotiating for
an opportunity to exhibit my work would be difficult to bear. That’s
why I rarely accept commissions. In this case the image was too
good to pass up and I was also excited to revisit my personal
connection to the University of Adelaide for the pivotal role it’s
played in my life.
We don’t identify with Edith based on reason or facts. It’s not
a choice but an aesthetic experience. We see her image and
somewhere inside our imagination we say ‘that’s me, I’m her’ and,
for a moment, the boundaries between us fall away. When art can
do that, why degrade its purpose to the mere transmission of facts?
Peter Drew is an Australian artist and a graduate of the University of
Adelaide (2007 BA Philosophy and Psychology, 2012 Grad Dip Art
History) and the Glasgow School of Art. His work has been exhibited
at major arts institutions around Australia and is featured in the
University of Adelaide collection.
Every day we’re sprayed with unwanted information posing as
facts. It’s not just the quantity of information but the constant
conflict of competing narratives. Against this onslaught of
aggravated ‘facts’ we build walls to protect our sanity. But therein
lies the danger because we also wall ourselves in, cutting off our
avenue for empathy, and then we’re trapped.
His most prominent works are installed on city streets. He is best known
for his AUSSIE poster series.
Which brings me to the greatest temptation artists face today: the
temptation to take sides in the war of facts and reduce their art to a
weapon. It’s tempting because ‘culture war’ is what so many people
seem to want, and it’s become a cheap and easy way to get
attention. Personally, I think the trick is to exploit that energy
without being captured by the crushing dumbness of it all.
Generally, it’s worth the risk because art can sometimes pull people
out of that world, whereas argumentation only fuels the conflict.
You have an opportunity to win one of these posters. See our contest
details on page 31.
We have a short video on our website of Peter talking about his creative
process as he works in his studio, creating the Edith poster:
lumen@adelaide.edu.au
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