Maree Faulkner .... thoughts on an artist

Knowing artists is a "thing", especially for those of us who are not artists, or artistically inclined to put pen, ink, or paint to paper, canvas, or any surface (no, I am not including sculptors here, or performing artists and the like). Artists are often perceived as strange, intriguing creatures, or, where it is not about the artist themselves, the art is captivating and the creator not necessarily of interest, or perhaps only in passing. A good example is Brett Whiteley versus Ken Done - one of them is wondrously complex, and the other rather bland. Of course appreciation, or love of art is an individual thing. It can be emotional, intellectual, obsessive, cursory, passing or permanent. It can be personal or group / subject-based. It can be one or more of these things. "I like that." "I don't like that one, but this one here is nice." "How much?" "I only collect Modernist lithographs." ..... Such comments are heard in galleries, museums, auction houses, homes and online, or expressed in words and actions through videos, social media, blogs, journals, magazines, exhibition catalogues and scholarly tomes.

Recently (December 2023) I was gifted two small works of art by the late Wollongong-based artist Maree Faulkner (b.23 September 1954 - d.13 November 2012). I had known Maree briefly and in passing during the 1990s and early 2000s, bumping into her at various art shows and protest rallies, usually in the middle of the  city. Maree was obviously a very sociable and community-engaged person, with a wide circle of friends and acquaintances, both within the art world and outside. Her prodigious output reflected this public and private persona.

Anti-Poverty Week stall, Wollongong. Source: Illawarra Mercury. Pictured l to r: Sharon Callahan, unknown, Maree Faulkner.

Maree's name was often mentioned to the present author as one of the most interesting of a coterie of local artists, usually graduates of the Gladstone Avenue Wollongong Technical Collage which had operated since the late 1950s, or the post-1975 School of Creative Arts at the University of Wollongong. I suspected that elements of Maree's art were what local gallery director and curator Glenn Barkley and others would refer to as Outsider Art. One definition of the work of an Outsider artist is as follows:

Their work is created outside of mainstream fine art. Outsider artists simply create for themselves, in order to make sense of their experiences, interests and the world around them. Outsider artists engage with their surroundings on their own terms and do not follow the rules of the art world. (Rawvision n.d.)

This is a very broad definition. However, in many respects, it appears that Maree Faulkner was not, during select periods of her life, a traditional oil on canvas painter adhering to one or more of the so-called Academy traditions. Her art, at times, exhibited a more eclectic aspect - personal, perhaps Pop cultural, and what some art prudes may disparagingly call naive, though it is obvious Maree could also play the Academy game, and her art evident of an ever maturing oeuvre. The preset author was aware that, despite being presented with an outline of art history by Bill Peascod during the early years of his degree course in electrical engineering at the University of Wollongong between 1975-78, he was personally drawn to art in non-Academy categories, such as political and psychedelic concert posters from the 1960s and1970s by artists such as Martin Sharp and Michael Callaghan, and movie posters from the 1920s. The former were especially of interest, with their bright, dayglo and florescent colours. Some of Maree Faulkner's art was in this vein - strong line, colourful, topical and with a narrative flair.

When unexpectedly and euphorically elected to the Australian federal parliament in October 2002 as the first member of the Australian Greens to sit in the House of Representatives, the writer recalls that sometime shortly thereafter he was at an event at the Wollongong Art Gallery and Maree walked up and said: "I'm going to do a work on you and the election." The response was enthusiastic, with the author looking forward to seeing such a finished work, and hopefully acquiring it. Subsequent to that encounter, he never spoke to, or saw Maree again, such was the hectic pace of life and the vagaries of fate. He was in parliament until the end of 2004 and spent the next decade getting back into the workforce and dealing with family matter. He never did find out whether Maree ever completed the Cunningham 2002 federal election work as promised. Over the following decade he cannot remember giving it any further thought, though it all came back briefly in 2018 when made aware that the Wollongong Art Gallery had recently (2 December 2017 - 25 February 2018) held a retrospective exhibition of Maree's work - which he did not see, unfortunately - and that Maree had passed away during November 2012. The exhibition was officially opened by Amanda Buckland, with a tribute by Byron Faulkner. A link to a Facebook page with 52 photographs from the Retrospective is included below.

The images reveal an amazing body of work, with those paintings and drawing from Maree's latter years nothing less than stunning. The introductory blurb to the exhibition noted the following:

Presented by POVO Arts, Maree Faulkner’s vibrant, complex imagery reflects ongoing struggles both personal and collective, where there was always plenty of something coming out of nothing. Colours pulsing with life-force and rascal intent. Skewed jagged lines melding figuration and abstraction, where the smallest scribble, tracing politics and heart, becomes the gentle art of gift-giving. Showcasing decades of creativity: from rarely seen early work, to dolly making and activist projects, writings, postcards, autobiographical characters like Poor Beggar and Nutter, and the celebrated larger scale gouaches of later years.

This variety of work is merely hinted at in this article, though revealed in the aforementioned Facebook link.

Tom Dion, Maree Faulkner, photograph, circa 2000.

The present writer loved / loves Maree Faulkner's work. Why? Because it is colorful, energetic, local, and endlessly interesting. Some of the works from the 1990s and 200s are like a Where's Wally tableau, though not as claustrophobic, with incredible detail and a liveliness reflecting Wollongong's coastal vibe. For this author it was right up his alley, as they say, and his brain / inner voice could not help but proclaim: "I want one. You will get me one...." Every picture told a story - at least those elements of Maree's art that attracted the writer, away from the figurative and abstract works he was subsequently made aware of. Neither was he at the time knowledgeable regarding her artistic background, but simply loved those works in gouache that were comic, socially and politically biting, and slightly surreal or magical. The author's work during the late 2010s in listing the art of Sydney’s Toby Zoates immediately brought Maree to mind, in their Outsider individuals connection and use of a comic graphic style with strong social commentary and political content. The two small works by Maree that I was gifted, and dated from 1998, were good examples of that. One was a busy landscape of Wollongong Harbour, whilst the other was an equally busy interior.

Maree Faulkner, Wollongong Harbour, 1996, ink and gouache on paper, author's collection.

Maree Faulkner, Interior by botanical garden, 1996, ink and gouache on paper, author's collection.

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Some art works

* 1972 - [Abstract with female figure], acrylic on canvas, signed and dated Maree '72. Source: Facebook. Early work when living in Bondi.

* 1989 - Fruit Church, oil on canvas. Source: Facebook.

* 1995 - Love's Reflection, ink and gouache on card, 10 x 12 cm, private collection.

* circa 1998 - [Garbage dump], ink and gouache on paper, private collection.

* 2006 - Rainbow Waters, ink and gouache on paper, private collection. Source: Facebook.

* 2004 - South Coast Unemployed Miserables Soapbox Sunday, ink and gouache on paper, private collection, 2004, private collection.

* circa 2006 - Ultimate Recyclers, gouache on paper, private collection. 

* 2006 - Pin Him, gouache on paper, private collection. Source: Facebook. The head of Prime Minister John Howard which calls to be pricked in the mind of Maree.

* 2010 - Blue Dog, gouache and ink on paper, 35.2 x 46.5 cm, Wollongong Art Gallery.

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Lucia De Giovanni, Maree Faulkner, 26 June 2010. On a train from Sydney to Wollongong.

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References

De Giovanni, Lucia, Maree Faulkner, Click Denver - A Photographer's Journey [blog], 26 June 2010.

Maree Faulkner, Facebook, accessed 27 December 2023. Memorial and sale site created February 2013.

Organ, Michael, Witchworks Posters 1984-1984: A Feminist Poster Collective [blog], 22 January 2017.

POVO Arts presents Maree Faulkner - a retrospective @ Wollongong Art Gallery [event notification], Facebook, 1 December 2017.

Rawvision, What is Outsider Art?, outsidersandothers.com, n.d.

Retrospective: The Art and Life of Maree Faulkner [exhibition], Wollongong Art Gallery, 2 December 2017 - 23 February 2018.

Thompson, Angela, Remembering the inimitable Maree Faulkner, Illawarra Mercury, 16 November 2012; updated 19 March 2013.

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Last updated: 28 December 2023.

Michael Organ, Australia (Home)


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