TRAVEL DIARY

A weblog regularly updated by Jodi Rose.

Wednesday, December 15, 2004

9:39 AM
Posted by jodi rose

hello to all you lovely people, near and far.
thanks for the great email jane - I'm sure we'll cross paths at giulia soon!! It's a very strange time to be an artist in this country - I've been trying not to go there, because I'm well aware of how incredibly privileged my position is.... this year. It really is an extraordinary opportunity to have access to time and resources purely to make your own work. And now the programs are finally on air, it does feel more real, there's a public presence to all this obsessive focus and work. Listened to the Batman bridge on Late nights with Julian Day last night, it was so cool to hear my very strange bridge composition played on classic fm on his show.
Overall though, the cultural climate of this country is appalling, from government to everyday conversation. As you may be aware, when I started with the ABC residency, the long running audio arts program I was meant to be working with, 'The Listening Room' had just been axed - under the rationale that there was no longer any need for a specialised program and that kind of material would be spread throughout the classic fm programming.
Lucky I'm not actually an ABC employee, or I would be barred from making public comments like this.
Anyway, the rise of talkback radio as the dominant format (oh and the ABC is rating very highly especially for its talk shows- not that ratings were part of the charter for the national public broadcaster, but that seems to be what it comes down to these days) is symptomatic of a general belief that any kind of rigorous or in depth intellectual or cultural engagement is 'elitist'.
and that of course is self-evidently a bad thing.
this week comes the government restructure of the australia council, and under a similar rationale, both the new media arts and community cultural development boards have been 'dissolved.'
while this is not necessarily a catastrophe, and I am assured that the funding is not being swept into other categories, but will be set aside for 'hybrid' practices or 'weird sound art' in the music board category, it is yet another instance of the slash and burn approach to infrastructure and support for challenging and innovate artforms.
Sometimes it's hard not to feel that what you're doing is pointless and irrelevant....
especially when close friends, who are generally supportive and understand the struggle to make creative work, come out with comments like: 'well, the rest of us have to work' in response to discussion about getting funding to get to finland for particle wave next year.
... hello excuse me what the hell do you think I'm doing? sitting around drinking martinis? well, very occasionally but in general I'm head down in the studio or at the computer doing my damndest to keep this show on the road. without having to go back to waitressing, or mind-numbing admin or any other mcjob. Why the hell shouldn't I be able to earn a living using my skills and talents?
Read an article in the sydney morning herald this week about how many high profile australian arts people are working overseas, because there just isn't the support or opportunity here, and their skills aren't recognised or appreciated. so it's not just me ranting away.
not to mention the other close friend who basically thinks my work is completely self-indulgent and of no possible benefit to anyone. When I told her that I get emails from people all over the world, she said: 'that's bizarre'. Well, no actually I have an international profile and some people seem to find this project inspiring and worthwhile.
Anyway, it's doing my head in right now, and that's why it's so lovely to hear positive encouraging feedback from belgium to darlington, saying, hey we think you're doing a great job. keep it up! Thank you again for all your support and please keep writing and saying hi, I really need to hear it.

Have been meditating on inner peace - only for a few days, so give me a break! - and this morning walked via the lake at queen vic park. So beautiful, watching the ducks with white collars flounce around, those cute black round bellied waterfowl swimming, and a pelican gracefully fishing for breakfast. They're such cool birds. The waterlilies are in flower, absolutely gorgeous, vivid magenta and white.