Trainer's portrait wins Bald Archy prize

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A portrait of racehorse trainer Bart Cummings has won this year's Bald Archy spoof art prize.

[keywords] => prize, art, painting, portrait, Bald Archy, Archibald, Cummings, Brennan, Cups King, racing, horse trainer [content] =>

A portrait of racehorse trainer Bart Cummings has won this year's Bald Archy spoof art prize.

James Brennan's portrait Old Owl Eyes Is Back shows Cummings holding a pair of binoculars.

It was the second win in a row for Mr Brennan, who took the award last year for a portrait of the Danish royal family.
 
That painting showed Princess Mary breastfeeding Prince Christian while Crown Prince Frederik drank a beer.

The artist said he was inspired to paint racetrack stalwart Cummings after winning a trifecta in last year's Melbourne Cup.

Cummings, 81, is one of Australia's most successful horse trainers.

Archibald Prize spoof

He is nicknamed the 'Cups King', as his horses have won the Melbourne Cup a record 12 times.

The Bald Archy was established in 1994 as a parody of the Archibald Prize, Australia's most prestigious art award.

Organisers claim the competition is judged by a sulphur-crested cockatoo called Maude.

This is not the first year the prize has seen a racing-themed winner; in 2003, Louise Klein won for What Odds?, a picture of trainers Robbie and Gai Waterhouse.

Other entries in the contest included several nude portraits of artist Bill Henson, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd as a cowboy and Julie Bishop and Julia Gillard as cats fighting.

 

[start_date] => 09 March 2009 | 12:08:13 PM [comments_allowed] => 1 [source] => SBS staff and agencies [commentCount] => 0 [video] => [image] => Array ( [caption] => Bald Archy winner James Brennan with his portrait of trainer Bart Cummings (AAP) [useRegularImage] => 1 [media_library_id] => 65737 [site_id] => 1 [media_library_group_id] => 0 [media_usage_id] => 0 [filename] => site_1_rand_1191837870_bald_archy_winner_0903_b_aap.jpg [title] => bald_archy_winner_0903_B_aap_1191837870 [description] => file:site_1_rand_1191837870_bald_archy_winner_0903_b_aap.jpg [type] => [height] => 338 [width] => 450 [source] => [video_hi] => [video_lo] => [section] => [display_order] => 0 [create_date] => 2009-03-09 16:33:13 [active] => 1 [media_usage] => Article Large [usageWidth] => 300 [usageHeight] => 225 ) [imagePath] => http://media.sbs.com.au/news/upload_media/ [audio] => [reporter] => [relatedLinks] => Array ( [3] => Array ( [id] => album-149 [label] => Archibald portraits 2009 [display_order] => 0 [type] => Gallery ) [2] => Array ( [id] => 1010760 [label] => Blind singer's portrait wins Archibald Prize [display_order] => 0 [type] => Article ) [1] => Array ( [id] => 1009681 [label] => Flacco portrait wins Archibald Packers prize [display_order] => 0 [type] => Article ) [0] => Array ( [id] => 542454 [label] => Breastfeeding Mary portrait wins prize [display_order] => 0 [type] => Article ) ) [relatedArticles] => Array ( [0] => Array ( [article_id] => 1009681 [headline] => Flacco portrait wins Archibald Packers prize [abstract] => A painting of the comic character Flacco by Sydney-based artist Paul Jackson has won the 2009 Packing Room Prize for Archibald entrants. [content] =>

A painting of the comic character Flacco by Sydney-based artist Paul Jackson has won the 2009 Packing Room Prize for Archibald Prize entrants.
   
The head storeman at the Art Gallery of NSW, Steve Peters, chose the portrait of the character created by comedian Paul Livingstone.

It wins a cash prize of $500 and a $500 Myer gift card.

But it's not necessarily good news for New Zealand-born Jackson - the Archibald's never been won by the same work chosen for the Packing Room Prize.

But Jackson and Livingstone remain confident, telling reporters they'll not only win the Archibald but the People's Choice award too.
   
Flacco - a character described as a verbal gymnast with a wondrously absurd, sorrowful take on life - is shown in the portrait with a finger pointed on his bald head surrounded by his distinctive quiff of hair.
   
"Most of us are transported in some way by what we do, but in this case Flacco's work is informed by language, by the use of language, by the use of text, as is my work, even though it's a visual medium ..." Jackson said on Wednesday.

"And if you have someone who looks like the mini-me of the grim reaper you're going to find something in there to say about this person - a kind of Dr Jekyll and Mr Snide.

"I therefore decided it was time to represent Paul Livingstone as Flacco to show the internal structure of Flacco, who is in fact Paul Livingstone."
   
Livingstone, who posed for photographers at the gallery on Wednesday in an attitude similar to that of his Flacco portrait, said: "I'd much rather be popular than artistically relevant."

The $50,000 Archibald Prize, first awarded in 1921, will be announced on March 6.

On the same day, the $25,000 Wynne prize for landscape painting or figure sculpture and the $20,000 Sulman Prize for subject/genre painting and/or mural work will also be announced.
 

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Artist Guy Maestri has taken out the prestigious Archibald Prize with his portrait of blind Aboriginal singer Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunipingu.

New South Wales native Maestri, 35, painted Gurrumul after meeting him for just 40 minutes at Sydney Airport one Sunday morning.

The artist used those precious few moments before he flew out to New York for a series of concerts to study the singer's distinctive face.

"I got a sense of his presence and this determined the nature of the portrait: quiet and strong.

Maestri said the portrait marked a departure from his normal style.

'Emotional experience'

"I usually work in a very liberal, gestural way but this time I built up the image quietly and slowly with many glazes in an attempt to capture the beautiful quality of his skin.

"I worked on it for over a month, mostly while listening to his music. I made sure to read the lyrics and understand the meaning of each song.

"The whole process became quite an emotional experience."

Already a fan of Gurrumul's music after seeing him in concert on New Year's Eve, Maestri is full of admiration for his subject, who he describes as an "inspiring, amazing man".

Gurrumul, who was born blind, lives a traditional lifestyle on Elcho Island in Arnhem Land and sings in his native Yolngu language.

Haunting voice

But his haunting voice has ensured that his fame has spread far beyond his Queensland home.

He won two coveted ARIA Awards, and was named NT Australian of the Year for 2008.

The Archibald Prize is Australia's most important award for portraiture. 

Winners take home a cheque for $AU50,000, and are assured pride of place in the annual Archibald Prize exhibition at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

Established in 1921, in memory of former Bulletin editor JF Archibald, the contest attracts entries from artists across Australia.

See some of this year's contenders for the Archibald Prize in our gallery
 

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