Tiny Town + Big Art
March 27, 2017 2:27 AM Subscribe
Coonalpyn in South Australia, 200kms out of Adelaide, population 300. Onto a group of 30-metre working grain silos Brisbane artist Guido van Helten, mounted on a cherry picker, has painted huge, astonishingly detailed portraits of five local children. Work commenced in early February and is now complete. "In a lot of small towns," says the artist, "people really want to focus on the past and history of the town or the industry. All those themes I really wanted to avoid. The children represent the future of the town."
The mural is one part of an arts-renewal program aiming to engage the community and attract more visitors to the town. "Creating Coonalpyn has been developed by Council as a model of regional renewal; a suite of artist-led community arts projects with public art outcomes designed to activate spaces and reinvigorate our small rural community." More pics on Instagram.
Last year some defunct silos in the tiny Victorian town of Brim, pop. 100, got the van Helten treatment. Here's their story: Brim silo artwork: the tall tales and colourful characters behind Guido van Helten's paintings.
The mural is one part of an arts-renewal program aiming to engage the community and attract more visitors to the town. "Creating Coonalpyn has been developed by Council as a model of regional renewal; a suite of artist-led community arts projects with public art outcomes designed to activate spaces and reinvigorate our small rural community." More pics on Instagram.
Last year some defunct silos in the tiny Victorian town of Brim, pop. 100, got the van Helten treatment. Here's their story: Brim silo artwork: the tall tales and colourful characters behind Guido van Helten's paintings.
So pleased to see Australian artists get the opportunity to work at such a large scale. It's been happening overseas for so long and the Australian art scene deserves it. Congratulations to Guido on such great work. Don't stop!
posted by bigZLiLk at 2:59 AM on March 27, 2017
posted by bigZLiLk at 2:59 AM on March 27, 2017
I saw the name and recognised him as the Brim silos artist. I grew up vaguely in that region and my parents still live there. The silo painting has been HUGE for that town. People take bus trips to see it, locals are selling coffee and food to tourists, it's brilliant. I'm wondering if it was the inspiration for the nearbyish town of Quambatook to start having town movie nights with films projected on to their silos. I agree, don't stop.
posted by Trivia Newton John at 3:43 AM on March 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Trivia Newton John at 3:43 AM on March 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
"In a lot of small towns," says the artist, "people really want to focus on the past and history of the town or the industry. All those themes I really wanted to avoid. The children represent the future of the town."
That's the crux, isn't it? The past is static; it can be reinterpreted when new information comes to light, but it can't change. The future has yet to be written, and can develop in unpredictable and embarrassing ways. What is the town going to do if one of these children grows up to be a serial killer, or a Liberal Party politician?
posted by Faint of Butt at 6:42 AM on March 27, 2017
That's the crux, isn't it? The past is static; it can be reinterpreted when new information comes to light, but it can't change. The future has yet to be written, and can develop in unpredictable and embarrassing ways. What is the town going to do if one of these children grows up to be a serial killer, or a Liberal Party politician?
posted by Faint of Butt at 6:42 AM on March 27, 2017
'...where are the aborigine children'
...what??
posted by Salamander at 12:37 AM on March 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
...what??
posted by Salamander at 12:37 AM on March 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
> Nice, but where are the aborigene children.
3% of Australia's population is indigenous, and the distribution is uneven. It wouldn't surprise me at all if a town of 300 has zero indigenous residents.
posted by nnethercote at 3:24 AM on March 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
3% of Australia's population is indigenous, and the distribution is uneven. It wouldn't surprise me at all if a town of 300 has zero indigenous residents.
posted by nnethercote at 3:24 AM on March 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
In the 2006 census, Coonalpyn had 5 people of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin. They don't say what percentage of the 33 children aged 5-14 are, ethnically, but the primary school report states that they had one indigenous student in 2014. One reason for this seeming homogeneity may be due to the concentration of Aboriginal peoples nearby in Raukkan, clustering around the Raukkan Aboriginal School, of which there is a nice photograph with a bunch of Raukkan and Coonalpyn children playing together on the playground wearing the exact kind of ugly hat we all had to wear until we went to high school.
Here's an article about the kids and what they personally think of having themselves painted thirty feet high, which I found cool (spoiler: they all think it's neat, I personally would have died from shame at same age).
Also, on the website there's lots of cool van Helten art featuring diverse ethnicities!
posted by monster truck weekend at 7:45 AM on April 1, 2017
Here's an article about the kids and what they personally think of having themselves painted thirty feet high, which I found cool (spoiler: they all think it's neat, I personally would have died from shame at same age).
Also, on the website there's lots of cool van Helten art featuring diverse ethnicities!
posted by monster truck weekend at 7:45 AM on April 1, 2017
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