Inspired by Australia’s most iconic rock and roller, The Bon Scott Project is a multi-faceted program celebrating and critiquing the life and times of BON SCOTT, lead singer and co-lyricist of AC/DC (1974-1980). The exhibition is presented by Fremantle Arts Centre, in the city where Bon grew up and where his grave, now listed by the National Trust, is the most visited in Australia.
Opinion about Bon Scott is remarkably unified. His sensational live performances aside, he is universally regarded as exemplifying the larrikin spirit. He is loved for his boisterous and bawdy temperament. The rock and roll calling is to live with abandon – to be more open, sensuous, immediate, adventurous and sexually potent, to be less complicated.
He is widely viewed by his fans as having lived life the way that men would live if they were not hemmed in by suburban, domestic, feminist and corporate constraints. The word ‘authentic’ is constantly invoked by them and they are untroubled by the term. For many, Bon’s greatest claim is that he resisted the seventies pressure to ‘go glam’. In their eyes he remained true to a particularly unsullied expression of masculinity. In this manner he is celebrated for the same attributes that have long been ascribed to the romantic male genius in western European art. That Bon met his demise, alone in a car sleeping off one of his habitual drinking bouts at the age of thirty three, is tragically on cue.
Adam Cullen, GENE-SPLICED IMAGE – TRANSUBSTANTIAL PORTRAIT OF BON SCOTT/ADAM CULLEN, 2008, acrylic on canvas, 122 x 122 cm, Photography: silversalt photography. Courtesy the artist and Kaliman Gallery, Tolarno Galleries, Greenaway Art Gallery and Heiser Gallery © the artist.
The Bon Scott Project
Nineteen Australian and internationally-based artists have created works inspired by the intense ‘taking life by the balls’ spirit of Bon and his music. The works are often irreverent, unconventional and exciting, and explore notions of masculinity, remembrance and rebellion. Curator Jasmin Stephens selected artists who were interested in Bon, but not necessarily fans. “Scott’s fans have shared codes and vocabularies. We wanted artists who are not necessarily fans to break open some of these conventions with a range of responses.”Curated by Jasmin Stephens
Featuring
Card written to friends Gabby & Darcy from Bon Scott in 1976, courtesy Gabby and Darcy.
Bon Scott Letters Exhibition
An exciting highlight is the first curated exhibition of the singer’s letters, compiled by Katie Dyer and consisting of over 20 documents. “Bon was a prolific letter writer, keeping in touch with the many women he’d met on his travels, often trying out in the letters the lyrics composed and rehearsed while on the road,” says Dyer.
Bevan Honey, Apparition, Stirling Highway Bridge, looking towards East Fremantle, 2008, photography: Bewley Shaylor, courtesy the artist and Galerie Dusseldorf, © the artist.
Apparition
Bevan Honey’s Apparition taps into the depth of local affection for Bon. A work that changes depending on the atmospheric conditions and the time of day, Honey has installed an image of Bon on the southern pylon of the ‘new’ bridge linking Fremantle to Perth. Apparition is best viewed at dusk.
Bon Scott Blog
bonscottblog.comEqually central to the Project is the Bon Scott Blog www.bonscottblog.com. Created by Sydney based artist, and now die hard Bon buff, Lucas Ihlein is documenting his rite of passage and experiences as he criss-crosses the continent in search of Scott exclusives. Ihlein has swapped his chinos for black denim, his Thriller for T.N.T., and has been gorging himself on a banquet of Bon ever since.
In a more external display of obsession, Ihlein and a global network of Bon fans have co-opted the LED Welcome to Fremantle sign, and Bon’s lyrics and messages from fans will greet travellers as they cross Fremantle’s Stirling Highway Bridge, the link that connects Fremantle and North Fremantle where Bon’s Mum, Isa, still lives. For more information on how you can contribute, visit bonscottblog.com.
The Ugly/Sexy Factor: Bon Scott & Fashion
Thursday 12 June, 8pm Fly By Night Club, Fremantle.Bon Scott was the quintessential figure of ‘70s Australian masculinity. With his tattoos, skinny jeans and puffed-out chest, Bon’s authentic, working class persona offered a manly alternative to the glam rock figures of the time. As part of the Bon Scott Project, FAC hosts The Ugly/Sexy Factor: Bon and Fashion.
Speakers will trawl through a number of never-seen-before Bon images to dissect Bon’s multitude of looks and discuss core themes such as masculinity, remembrance and rebellion. They will also attempt to answer the key question – if Bon wasn’t conventionally handsome, what was it that made him so damn sexy?
Featuring:
Dr Vicki Karaminas (NSW): A senior lecturer in Fashion Theory and Design Studies at the University of Technology Sydney, Vicki has also published in the area of contemporary fashion. She is the author of Queer Style (forthcoming, Berg) Designer Kids: Children’s Fashion with Michelle Bakar (forthcoming Berg) and co-editor of The Men's Fashion Reader (forthcoming Berg).
Sue Ryan (VIC): From the early 1980s Sue Ryan wrote about popular music, interviewing musicians and reviewing shows and recordings, for various newspapers. In the ’90s her writing moved from music to fashion and since 2001 she has worked at RMIT University in the Frances Burke Resource Centre and lecturing in Fashion.
Marcus Canning (WA): As the Director/CEO of Artrage, Marcus has had longstanding involvement in WA’s arts industry.
Niall Lucy (WA): Niall is a research fellow at Curtin University and the author of several books on cultural theory and philosophy. He is currently co-editing a book on the music of David McComb and The Triffids. His latest book (with Steve Mickler), The War on Democracy: Conservative Opinion in the Australian Press, has been shortlisted for the Gleebooks Prize at the 2008 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards.
All tickets $10, on sale at Fremantle Arts Centre.
FAC/DC
FAC/DCAnd because Ugly/Sexy Factor wouldn’t be a night of Bon without music, FAC’s commissioned band FAC/DC will channel the man himself for an explosive set of Bon-era AC/DC. Featuring:
Vocals – Clair French (Sure-Fire Midnights)
Guitar - Dom Mariani (The Stems)
Guitar - Steve Joines (The Kill Devil Hills)
Bass - Vanessa Thornton (Jebediah)
Drums - Warren Hall (The M-16s)
…Facca Dacca will round off the night just as Bon would have wanted.
Ron Krueger, It’s a long way to the top (if you wanna Rock n’ Roll), Dolomiten Polka Band, photography: Mat De Koning.
