Shadowers, The
Prod Monica Tichacek / 2004 / Australia
This title has been included as AN EXAMPLE OF OFLC POLICY. it has not been censored.
The censors are always keen to flex their muscles. This piece of video art by Monica Tichacek was first shown at the Australian Culture Now Festival in Melbourne in 2004.
It was exhibited in Sydney at Artspace from April 14th until May 7th 2005. During this time the gallery received a call from the OFLC stating that it should be classified. The exhibition was eventually allowed to continue for the remaining two days after the OFLC granted a one off exemption.
The whole episode was seen by the arts community as the start of a push to bring galleries under OFLC control. Artists would need to pay a fee for the privilege of having their work classified.
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Tania Doropoulos from Artspace in Sydney
"I was contacted by the board [office] stating they were aware we were screening the work and that we needed to apply for classification,"
"We left it for a while and they recontacted me and said according to Australian law all forms of video art practice fall into this heading of 'film'. You now need to make an application, get an exemption or make an application for classification."
"Since that happened, I've spoken to other gallery curators and directors. No one was really aware of this and it's really shocking,"
"For one particular type of contemporary art practice to be classified is absurd."
The money [to classify] would probably more than likely come out of the artist's own pocket which is really quite unfair because video work is usually made on such a low budget.
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In June 2005, Sherman Galleries in Sydney also exhibited the work. Taking the warnings from the OFLC, they decided to play it safe by only showing still images from the work.
Lisa Corsi from Sherman Galleries.
"I had been in conversation with Tania [Doropolous] and was well aware of what she'd been going through,"
"We decided it would have been better to show the Sydney audience a different aspect of Monika's practice and at the same time avoided issues with the OFLCB."
"I think people need to reconsider what the meaning of art is,"
"Are no shocks allowed? If you start imposing on artists to spend money on classifying their works, in the end, artists will be like, 'Bugger that, I can't afford it', and you end up sterilising creativity.
"Art is not meant to be something that just goes with the colour of your couch."
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In this case the censors won. At the time the OFLC fees were $770 for the first 15 minutes of footage, a huge amount for an artist.
Des Clark from the OFLC attempts to justify his stance.
"There is a requirement that all film should be classified or should have an exemption and that fits very much with video that's shown in art galleries."
"I think artists have tried to keep away from the OFLC and art galleries and museums as well, but because there's so much dependence on film now to show all nature of product, that these requirements are beginning to kick in."
"Technically speaking, as soon as you have moving images for public exhibition which is not advertising, you are required to have it classified unless you can get exemptions for a festival,"
"As soon as you have an artist whose work is more controversial and you are potentially showing that to children or school groups, you have to have regard to whether the content is it suitable to be seen."
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In November 2006 the work won the Anne Landa Award for video and new media arts from the Art Gallery of NSW. The director of the gallery, Edmund Capon...
...... described the violence in Tichacek's 35-minute film as more stylised than graphic.
The Shadowers will be shown at the gallery in a darkened room shielded by a velvet curtain. A sign will warn visitors the work is not suitable for children.
In an interview last year Tichacek said the Office of Film and Literature Classification had told her the video required classification before it could be screened in public.
The office's director, Des Clark, said all galleries were required to apply for either classification or an exemption for any moving image. "I expect that an appropriate application will be made [by the Art Gallery of NSW]. It is up to them to understand the law."
But Mr Capon said the gallery had made no application, even though the work would be part of an exhibition that opens today.
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You can see THE SHADOWERS from 17th November 2006, until 11th February 2007.
www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au
Anne Landa Award
17 November 2006 - 11 February 2007 Rudy Komon gallery, Upper Level
Philip Brophy • Daniel Crooks • James Lynch • Tony Schwensen • Grant Stevens • Monika Tichacek • Daniel von Sturmer
The Anne Landa Award is the first award exhibition in Australia dedicated to moving image and new media arts. It was initiated by Sophie Landa and Edmund Capon in 2004 to honour Sophie's mother Anne Landa, a long serving trustee of the Art Gallery and enthusiastic supporter of the arts. The award includes the presentation of recent work and the commissioning of new projects
The individual approaches demonstrate some of the methodologies artists are employing in relation to the moving image, including endurance performances, hand-painted animations and images warped or entitely produced by digital applications. From a focus on the body, to text, dream pictures and objects in space, this year's Anne Landa Award presents an array of diverse and challenging work.
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At the Art Gallery of NSW the 35m 15s work screened with the following warning at the entrance.
Please Note
This work contains stylised violence and is not suitable for people under 15.
under 15s must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
This is the equivalent of the Classification Board awarding it an MA15+ rating. The work itself contains no sex, and the most violent image is the woman having her tongue pinned to a piece of wood. If the Classification Board can award MA15's to ultra-violent, and far less serious films such as THE DEVIL'S REJECTS, then the warning was correct.
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The above quotes are from the following articles.
The Shadowers Review The Age 04.05.05
Video art under scrutiny from Office of Film, Literature Classification 14.06.05 ABC Online
Video art caught in censor's web. SMH 23.06.05
Dark work put back in spotlight. SMH 17.11.06