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Bill Henson exhibition (1 Viewer)

winicat

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For those who are interested Bill Henson currently has an exhibiton at the AGNSW (8 Jan - 3 April) Check the website for more info AGNSW
 

Cellie

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Bill Henson's works are really amazing!

My art/drama excursion to Sydney - we went and saw his works and they were absolutely entrancing, especially the bigger sized ones.

I like the way he has depicted the dramatical and emotional life of teenagers...full of ambiguities through the balance of light and dark - very interesting how he created such intriguing images.

There was a show on ABC a few days back for half an hour about Bill Henson and his work. Wonderful. It is truly amazing when he works with teenagers, how he has the ability to capture that specific moment or appearance/look, so much patience.
 

Pierotte

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I agree, i went a week agp and loved it. Usually im not a big fan of photograpghy cuz i dont find it very emotive and i dont really know how to take it, but bill henson is something different. I love is more contemporary stuff. How bloody freeaky was the room with the 5 m celeing and the huge photoes than had all wreck and carn age and stuff in them that went right up to the celing.... he just captures feelings and teenage angst so well....accually all of it was pretty damn intense. Heh one of my friends is convinced he is a pedophile... bah silly people. Anyway 10/10 for a phtography exhibition
 

Bonna

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its too full on!.. he can capture so much in so little.. but too confronting.. depressing.. dark and morbid for my likeing.. :'(
 

Cellie

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lol, the one that had that church-like feel to it, the huge dark room, rather intense i think from the others. The one with the guy and girl with tears was emotional and sad, a little bit of insecurity and such.

Yeah, these were amazing photographs, although - if can recall back - i think he said he doesnt classify his work as photography but rather classed as an art piece - if you get me. lol, i dunno, i cant remember.

But, like i said its all cool.
 

Cellie

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Yes, it is confronting. But there is alot involved with such simplicity of his work, which i think makes it so good.

The dramatical emotions that comes out of his artwork are very strong, which also makes it good although they are, as you said "depressing.. dark and morbid", we feel them very strongly, unlike other works that shows very little emoitional feelings that the audience can feel through the artwork.
 

duckofdoom

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Cellie said:
Yes, it is confronting. But there is alot involved with such simplicity of his work, which i think makes it so good.

The dramatical emotions that comes out of his artwork are very strong, which also makes it good although they are, as you said "depressing.. dark and morbid", we feel them very strongly, unlike other works that shows very little emoitional feelings that the audience can feel through the artwork.
That's the point. His work is confronting and that's what makes it so different. People are afraid to voice their opinions through art,they want to make a pretty picture. Bill Henson is an inspiration to me. People who think he's perverted don't understand the subject matter and the meaning behind his work.

I saw his exhibition with my school and we were lucky enough to meet him on the day, we even got a photo of him with someone in my art class. That was a good day.
 

fi_babezy

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Cellie said:
Hey Fi! We saw it together :D

:p, yeh i remember. Let's see, if you can remember my favourite of the collection ...hmm, when you walk into the largest room it was the work on the right :uhhuh: .
 

fi_babezy

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duckofdoom said:
That's the point. His work is confronting and that's what makes it so different. People are afraid to voice their opinions through art,they want to make a pretty picture. Bill Henson is an inspiration to me. People who think he's perverted don't understand the subject matter and the meaning behind his work.

I saw his exhibition with my school and we were lucky enough to meet him on the day, we even got a photo of him with someone in my art class. That was a good day.

haha, ;) our teacher gave us this little booklet with a tiny picture of him and told us he would be walking around the gallery that day.... :chainsaw: :lol: We were there for the whole day, after lunch i swear this guy who looked exactly like the picture was looking :guitar: at some works in the classical section, so i roped cellie (haha yeeas!) into politely asking him if he was Bill Henson.

He was not.
 

bolst

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yeh im kinda split down the middle for bill henson's work- i dunno the guy is definately a great photographer and has had so much experience and i love his colour photography(i wish i could get the contrasts that he does in my own photos!!!), but the exhibition really didn't strike me as impressive as all the hype suggested it to be...i love the way that he cuts up the actual photo and changes it, so that it almost becomes metaphorical of the subject, but today i really dont think that what he's doing is that different anymore....his direction seemed kind of blurred to me
 

need2study_girl

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I saw the Henson exhibition about a week ago and thought most of it was pretty boring in my humble opinion. But thats probably a really superficial opinion considering i didn't get to long in there. Although i really liked the 4 or 5 pictures of the teenegers.. i thought they were really intense though i thought they would have had more of an impact if they had of been shown together instead of all over the place. I also didn't understand what they had to do with the landscapes they were amongst. I looked out of place to me or am i just not getting it??
 

Cellie

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Yeah, his works on adolescents had greater impact on me than the others. In a way, i can relate to these alot more and my moods are greatly affected.

The way he uses colours are great, because theres that intense feeling that grabs my attention and looking at his works stirs my moods/emotions....

Also, chiaroscuro being used adds more dramatic effects and dynamic compositions. In which Carrovaggio also uses :). I love his work also.
 

yesgentlemen

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I am in love with Bill Henson, but not in that sort of way.
The dark room with the high-ceilings was absolutely breathtaking. I ended up seeing the exhibition three times in total and for hours at a time.
I was annoyed however, as one day I went with my school, and there were kids from other schools there probably from the senior years, and they were complaining about how boring it was and how they were hungry or whatever was their problem. It sort of makes me ashamed to be a student
 

Cellie

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i luv that room too!!!!!!

mmm, yeah. i cant sort of understand that.............
well before, when we had excursions to museums and stuff alike, i found them interesting as well as boring too. i like looking at the artworks and stuff but then afterwards it got boring...........

and now that we have been talking/researching etc in class about artists and their artworks
- the conceptual framework - and all other stuff unlike before, i have deeper understanding and appreciation for art.

so now, when i go to museums and exhibitions and such, i dont find them at boring as i found them before because i appreciate art and such............lol i dunno how else to say it or if you get me....

knowing about an artist and their work is really good cozyou find that you have that sort of connection between them and not having not background information doesnt make you give a stuff about the artwork, so perhaps some ppl find it boring

lol
 

James87

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Bill Henson's work definitely faced the extremities, evoking a strong emotional response either way - you love him or hate him, nothing inbetween.
I saw the exhibition twice, first with a friend, then with school. At first viewing, I honestly hated it, couldn't wait to get out. It was oppressive, overwhelming, confrontational, dark, verging on pornography etc. - Henson was merely a dirty old man with a skilful eye and great technique, which he utilised. Second viewing, with art teacher/after floor talk I was fairly taken back by the naivety of my initial reaction. It was meaningful, and once you understand the lighting, exhibition set-up, you can immediately realise the highly planned/constructed nature of his exhibition.
 

cate_7x

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This was probably my favourite exhibition I have seen. I am such a fan of Bill Henson - his works are just so beautiful - and he can capture depressing and dark images but put this delicate twist on them - it's just wonderful.
 

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