Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

  Connecting and Interpreting : Story #2 from the ATASDA Collaborative Golden Cape The  Golden Cape  is a new collaborative project for ATASDA members. 50 present day members will each receive an image of one of 50 yesteryear members artworks, to use as a muse, to create new artwork based on the past. Inspiration can come from textures, colours, style, design, subject, culture or history of the original artwork.  (from   https://atasda.org.au/50-years-of-atasda)  The second story in this series highlighting the narratives behind the creative stitching on the contributions to the ATASDA  Collaborative Golden  Cape is a topical and poignant social commentary.  As I contemplate what happens after the disappointing defeat of "The Voice " referendum, I think of the word   ‘Makarrata’, a multi-layered Yolŋu word understood as the coming together after a struggle. It involves truth telling. A beautiful response by Karen Rivers, ...

'Imitation is the highest form of flattery" - or is it? In art, there is always speculation about how much you are influenced by another artist's work .... can we measure  the amount of inspiration,  interpretation , collaboration or outright copying in an art work? What makes an art work truly original?   Let's not get into the discussion of copyright and the grey areas of   appropriation, imitation, and plagiarising.   Perhaps there are not so many questions when the medium used  is different from the original or when you are in the business of making reproductions.  (like my Van Gogh socks pictured above) ?  Why has this topic been on my mind ?  In a recent textile art challenge, set by ATASDA ( Australian Textile Arts and Surface Design Association), current members were asked to respond to artworks created by members from past  years , to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the group in 2024. Each of the small artwork...