Friday 26 October 2012





Proposal proposal 2012
Lakeside Joondalup Shopping City
George Egerton-Warburton






















Subject: Joondalup Invitation Art Award piece

Dear Troy,

I hope this finds you well.
I am one of the artists that have been invited to submit a piece for the invitation art award this year. I have also submitted works in 2011 and 2010. 

For the award this year, I’m submitting an artwork that is slightly unusual for the context of a community art award, because it is actually a proposal rather than a finished artwork. The proposal is to install a permanent plaque, set into the floor beneath the central canopy of Lakeside Joondalup shopping centre. The plaque will assert that the Shopping City itself is a readymade artwork. 

The proposal also designates the plaque as the location of an annual performance by the Mayor of Joondalup, at a date convenient to you. Whilst I will not go into detail at this early stage of correspondence, I can imagine that this may raise some hesitation to you, and I can promise that it will be very short- around three minutes, and not at all embarrassing. If anything, it would be a display of good humour and engagement with contemporary art on your part, made visible to the entire community in a place that one would least expect to see it. 

The approval and commencement of the entire work is conditional on it actually winning the major acquisitive prize. However if it does not win, I will still ask the viewer of the proposal to consider it as an artwork in itself, inclusive of the proposal’s imagined outcomes and it’s failure to fulfil itself. 

If the work does win the prize, it will be up to your office and myself to work collaboratively to realise the outcomes of the proposal, and share the costs of installing the plaque. I should be able to cover most of this with the prize money, but I thought that your office might be able to muster some in-kind support. 
At this early stage however, I was wondering whether you might be willing to have a look at the proposal and adjoining contract, and see whether you might be interested in participating in this artwork.

Please let me know as soon as possible what you think about this, and I will arrange for the proposal to be delivered to your office. 

All the best,
George Egerton-Warburton











troy.pickard@joondalup.wa.gov.au to g.egertonwarburton@gmail.com 09/10

Hi George
Thanks for your email. I am happy to have a look at your proposal, however to manage expectations if I am honest I am not excited about the concept as you have described it as I don’t feel it is in the spirit of the Invitation Art Award and at this stage would be reluctant to participate as you have described. Saying that, to make a full assessment I would be prepared to review your proposal.
Yours
Troy
Troy Pickard
Mayor - City of Joondalup
 

Post:
 PO Box 21 Joondalup WA 6919 
Tel: 
(08) 9400 4450  Fax: (08) 9400 4502
Email: troy.pickard@joondalup.wa.gov.au
Web: www.joondalup.wa.gov.au

The information contained in this communication may be confidential or commercial sensitive information. If you are not the intended recipient you must not copy this communication, disclose its contents to any other party; or take any action in reliance on it. Please delete and destroy all copies and immediately notify the sender on 9400 4450 or by reply message.

































Dear Troy,

Thank you for writing and agreeing to review the proposal. The proposal and contract are attached to this email. 

I have to say that initially I was surprised by your lack of enthusiasm after I have offered so little information, however I do know the feeling of apprehension that one experiences when encountering something unfamiliar, and I certainly encourage you to be wary of artists. You are probably familiar with Queen Victoria speculating: “Beware of artists, they mix with all classes of society and are therefore the most dangerous.” Just this morning I began a conversation with a man that was walking along the street and checking parking ticket machines for forgotten change. He told me how he was an illegal immigrant from Nigeria who arrived five years ago, and could not get work as an electrician because Australia did not recognise his accreditation, and he was not fluent at English. I think that a common problem with Australia is that it does not realise the potential of activating transferrable skills, instead hinging on bureaucratic network designed by a few key expensive institutions. Anyway, this man on welfare gave me some advice on soldering and here I am, writing to the distinguished Mayor of one of Australia’s prominent cities. 

I have tried to keep the proposal brief for the moment, as I think that some of logistics are not important at this early stage.

I will provide some key points of reference to frame the proposal before you read it:

Many of Western Australia’s artists rely on public sculpture commissions for their living. Although I have never completed one because I am a low-income earner and I don’t have the necessary resources or knowledge to make an informed proposal, this small-scale gesture is a tribute to those artists that give our communities an image, and a tribute to the “percent for art” scheme itself. 

The brass didactic panel that suggests the entire shopping centre is an artwork references a long history of the concept of the “readymade.” Perhaps the best way to understand this history is to think about Piero Manzoni’s work “Base for the World,” 1961. “Base for the World” was an inverted plinth, suggesting that the whole world was an artwork. I like the sense of scale that “Base of the World” prompts us to think about, which will also be present in the Lakeside Joondalup Shopping Centre plaque. There is an implicit acknowledgement of the scale of the human body in its environment. The text (and title) on the plaque is an anecdote from my current diary, where I am obviously considering daily oral and aural history of shopkeeping.  

If you still have hesitations, I would be very curious to hear what they are, and I am interested to know what you define the spirit of the Invitation Art Award to be. Regardless, I have always admired the important role it plays in WA’s artistic calendar. 

Please do not hesitate to query me on any element of the artwork. 

All the best,
George

2 attachments- Download all attachments
Public artwork proposal.pdf 1853K
Joondalup contract 2012.doc 658K
LAKESIDE JOONDALUP SHOPPING CENTRE PROPOSAL PROPOSAL 10/10/12
This contract is written with the purpose of confirming that the Mayor of Joondalup will do an annual performance beneath the Grand Canopy of Lakeside Joondalup Shopping City. The annual performance will begin with the 2012 Mayor, Troy Pickard.
The performance will take place beside the didactic panel that asserts the Shopping City and everything that it encompasses is a readymade artwork. 
The performance will begin with the following announcement over the PA system of the Shopping City:
“On October 8th 2012 a conversation began, and it is still unfolding. Like our community, the conversation was not designed, which is what makes it beautiful, dangerous and evocative. Would all workers and consumers please pause and stand silently for the duration of the following song.”
At the conclusion of the statement, the current Mayor will lay on the floor near the panel, in their best “playing dead” pose. When the Mayor has settled into position, the song Meet me halfway by the Black Eyed Peas will commence over the PA system. At the conclusion of the song, the Mayor will rise, and the performance will be over.
The performance can be done on any day convenient to the Mayor, as long as photographic documentation is sent to the following email address: g.egertonwarburton@gmail.com
I, Troy Pickard, Mayor of Joondalup, vow to perform the above stated performance annually, for the duration of my term as Mayor. I will also encourage each new Mayor to participate in the annual performance, which will project the image of a community engaged with the arts at all levels, from the Shopping City’s floor to the pinnacle of local government.
SIGNED:





Troy Pickard
Mayor of Joondalup


George Egerton-Warburton
Artist



George Egerton-Warburton
PUBLIC ARTWORK PROPOSAL: LAKESIDE JOONDALUP SHOPPING CITY

Project Description
For Lakeside Joondalup Shopping City, I would like to propose a new public artwork that engages directly with the site. The work will be simple, poetic, and conceptually bound to ideas of fostering community, generational movements, and how we perceive ourselves physically, geographically and emotionally in the context of the entire known universe at any point in time.

I would like to propose that a didactic panel is installed on the floor in the space underneath the grand canopy of Lakeside Joondalup Shopping City. Taking the form of a brass plaque, the permanent panel will suggest Lakeside Joondalup Shopping City is a readymade artwork.

The complete work will also include an annual performance by the Mayor of Joondalup, beginning this year at a date convenient to the Mayor. A contract with the directions for the performance is provided in this proposal for the Mayor to sign.

It is up to the Mayor to gain permission from Lakeside Joondalup Shopping City for the installation of the plaque and the use of the PA system and property during the annual performance.

The work encompasses this proposal, the process of getting it approved, and the outcome. It reflects not only on the ideas communicated in the work, but with its new context, the public sculpture industry that many West Australian artists depend on for their livelihood.

Personal interest in the project
I have always enjoyed spending time in Lakeside Joondalup Shopping City, and I think that the space beneath the central canopy has an ambience that must equate to a great Cathedral of sorts. Furthermore, as the readymade title on the proposed brass plaque suggests, I have an emotional connection to places of trade, as I have recently taken up a position as a purveyor of smallgoods.
This project will be quite an important step in my career as an emerging artist. Whilst I have worked on large-scale community projects, including my project “Chicken Stampede” for Next Wave festival in Melbourne that involved the participation of 250 members of the community, I have not installed a permanent public Artwork.
Furthermore, I am open to workshopping and working on developing the artworks with the City of Joondalup if there are any issues with the form or content of my proposal.

Timeline
Following confirmation, and the finalisation of design, the plaque can be manufactured and installed in the second week of November. The performance can be carried out at a time convenient to the Mayor Troy Pickard. 

Risk management
I have insurance from QBE Insurance Australia Ltd.
Limit of Liability:
Public Liability: 20,000,000 (Any one occurrence)
Products Liability: 20,000,000 (Any one occurrence and in the aggregate any period of insurance)
Professional Indemnity 5,000,000
Property in Care Custody/Control 100,000




Rendering of the brass plaque, 50x50cm





















troy.pickard@joondalup.wa.gov.au to g.egertonwarburton@gmail.com 11/10

Hi George

Thanks for your email and proposal. I have considered it and respectfully decline to participate. There are numerous issues I have, however in the main I don’t think it’s realistic to ask the shopping centre in the first instance to agree and in the second instance shoppers to comply. Additionally, there is no longevity to this project, only enforceable upon me and with my term finishing next year it could have a life on only one event which would seriously limit any objective you are attempting to achieve.

All the best.
Yours
Troy

Troy Pickard
Mayor - City of Joondalup
 

Post:
 PO Box 21 Joondalup WA 6919 
Tel: 
(08) 9400 4450  Fax: (08) 9400 4502
Email: troy.pickard@joondalup.wa.gov.au
Web: www.joondalup.wa.gov.au

The information contained in this communication may be confidential or commercial sensitive information. If you are not the intended recipient you must not copy this communication, disclose its contents to any other party; or take any action in reliance on it. Please delete and destroy all copies and immediately notify the sender on 9400 4450 or by reply message.



























g.egertonwarburton@gmail.com to troy.pickard@joondalup.wa.gov.au 11/11

Dear Troy,

Thank you for your prompt and thoughtful response.

I am currently in correspondence with the shopping centre to negotiate the installation of the brass plaque. I am thinking that maybe instead of installing the plaque on the floor, I will donate a bench to Lakeside Joondalup Shopping Centre, with the plaque already installed on the bench. This way I am inserting something of both practical and cultural value, a Trojan Horse if you will, entering the “City of Troy” without the added surprise of an imaginative Bronze Age siege.

This eliminates your reasonable concern that it is not realistic to ask the shopping Centre to agree to the installation of the plaque. 

As for the announcement, it is also malleable. I will begin negotiating with the Shopping Centre today. There is no pressure on the customers and workers to pause, it is just a choice that they can make. I might also make the announcement more abstract, so that it acts as a pleasurable aural disruption amidst the cycles of one’s working day. However if they do not think it is suitable, I am happy for the performance to go on unannounced. There is a long history of undocumented and spontaneous artworks by revered artists such as West Australian Tim Burns, American Robert Barry and Dutch Bas Jan Ader, and there is a certain elegance that is added to a work by making it so tacit, fragile or tenuous. 

I also consider your performance to be of this nature, and I would be happy for you to do your two performances, this year and next year, and if not reelected, simply encourage the next Mayor to participate in the project, as stipulated in the contract. It is not compulsory for Mayor’s of the future to participate, it is just compulsory for you to participate for the duration of your term, and then encourage the next Mayor to do so also. Furthermore, for all I know you may be running for Prime Minister in a couple of years time, however if you are still running for Mayor of Joondalup and you are willing to support my project, I will strongly encourage my colleagues in Joondalup to vote for you. I realise this is a small gesture, but it adds up nonetheless. 

If you are happy with these changes, I will revise the contract so that I am responsible for all aspects of your work except your performance, and send it through to you. If you still have more issues with it, I am happy to negotiate further. 

All the best,
George












troy.pickard@joondalup.wa.gov.au to g.egertonwarburton@gmail.com 11/10

Hi George
As previously advised, I respectfully decline to participate. 
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/images/cleardot.gifYours
Troy

Troy Pickard
Mayor - City of Joondalup
 

Post:
 PO Box 21 Joondalup WA 6919 
Tel: 
(08) 9400 4450  Fax: (08) 9400 4502
Email: troy.pickard@joondalup.wa.gov.au
Web: www.joondalup.wa.gov.au

The information contained in this communication may be confidential or commercial sensitive information. If you are not the intended recipient you must not copy this communication, disclose its contents to any other party; or take any action in reliance on it. Please delete and destroy all copies and immediately notify the sender on 9400 4450 or by reply message.



































g.egertonwarburton@gmail.com to troy.pickard@joondalup.wa.gov.au 11/10

Dear Troy,

Thank you for your prompt reply. You really are at work very early!

I have to say that it does seem unfair that you have not considered all the changes I made to rectify the proposal in your eyes. It took a long time, and it is a sensitive process because it alters the integrity of the artwork. The fact that I am willing to negotiate even further makes the conversation even more sensitive and important, because I am really devoting a lot of my energy towards it. 

Is there anything at all that I can do to help you reconsider the proposal?

All the best,
George




































troy.pickard@joondalup.wa.gov.au to g.egertonwarburton@gmail.com 11/10

George

 

I have seriously considered your proposal and your changes and choose not to participate. There is nothing you can do to make me reconsider my position. Thank you.

All the best

 

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/images/cleardot.gifYours
Troy

Troy Pickard
Mayor - City of Joondalup
 

Post:
 PO Box 21 Joondalup WA 6919 
Tel: 
(08) 9400 4450  Fax: (08) 9400 4502
Email: troy.pickard@joondalup.wa.gov.au
Web: www.joondalup.wa.gov.au

The information contained in this communication may be confidential or commercial sensitive information. If you are not the intended recipient you must not copy this communication, disclose its contents to any other party; or take any action in reliance on it. Please delete and destroy all copies and immediately notify the sender on 9400 4450 or by reply message.





























g.egertonwarburton@gmail.com to troy.pickard@joondalup.wa.gov.au 11/10

Dear Troy,
Sorry that it took me a bit longer to reply, for some reason your email landed in my junk folder.
That’s a shame. I’m quite disappointed, and because you have given me no reasoning, I can only speculate that you are not a man receptive to the arts. By the looks of your Honorary positions on the City of Joondalup website, you are clearly more a man of action. 
Or perhaps you called my bluff- though my CV might stipulate that in the annals of my employment I have acquired some experience in local government, having worked as a Garbage man and a tree-lopper for the Cities of Melville and Cockburn respectively, I don’t know anyone residing in the City of Joondalup that could vote for you, nor would I recommend them to, despite building an impression of you as a nice man that I could be friends with from our email exchange. 
But the show must go on, and it will without you. It’s a pity because politicians often make good actors, and vice versa (think Arnold Shwarzenegger), and I think you could have been one of the great ones:


Anyway, it’s been nice getting to know you, and I won’t write to you anymore. See you at the opening perhaps. 

Best,
George






troy.pickard@joondalup.wa.gov.au to g.egertonwarburton@gmail.com 11/10

George, your speculation demonstrates that you are not connected nor engaged with our community. I am a strong supporter of the arts and culture, it is well known amongst the local art fraternity, always have and always will. Thank you for not sending any further correspondence on this issue.
Yours
Troy


Troy Pickard
Mayor - City of Joondalup
 

Post:
 PO Box 21 Joondalup WA 6919 
Tel: 
(08) 9400 4450  Fax: (08) 9400 4502
Email: troy.pickard@joondalup.wa.gov.au
Web: www.joondalup.wa.gov.au

The information contained in this communication may be confidential or commercial sensitive information. If you are not the intended recipient you must not copy this communication, disclose its contents to any other party; or take any action in reliance on it. Please delete and destroy all copies and immediately notify the sender on 9400 4450 or by reply message.




















I stand corrected
























Dear Anisha,

I just spoke to Lynn from customer service on the phone, who referred me to you. 
I'm looking to donate a bench to Lakeside Joondalup Shopping City, ideally to the interior of the shopping Centre, beneath the central canopy. 
I am referring to the type of bench that someone donates on behalf of an organisation, or a loved one, with a plaque on the back rest commemorating the purpose for it's installation.

Would you be open to receiving such a bench, and is there a system in place for such donations? For example, do you have a preferred carpenter to ensure that all the benches are uniform? 

All the best,
George







































Hi George,

Thank you for your email and kind gesture. Unfortunately we are unable to accept this as all furniture in the Centre must be the same as part of our presentation standards.

I would recommend contacting the City of Joondalup to see if there is somewhere they can put your bench, perhaps in one of the parks?

Kind Regards
Anisha

Anisha Advani | Promotions Manager - Lakeside Joondalup Shopping City | Lend Lease
420 Joondalup Drive, Joondalup WA 6027 Australia


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ATTN Infrastructure services!
To whom it may concern,

I am interested in donating a park bench to the City of Joondalup, as a tribute to the local art fraternity and symbol of my engagement with the community. I would like for the bench to be located within the North Ward of the City of Joondalup, preferably close to, or in the the vacinity of the commercial district surrounding Lakeside Joondalup Shopping City. 

I am not sure if you have a system in place for this kind of donation, or if there is an existing park bench which I could donate funds towards in turn for a plaque to be placed upon it. Of course it would be nice to donate a new bench. If possible, could you please write back with some kind of a rough quote.

All the best,
George





















Thank you for your e-mail to the City of Joondalup.  Your e-mail will be forwarded directly to the relevant officer who will deal with the matter.

If your e-mail indicates that it requires a response, you will receive a reply within 7 working days of receipt.

Should you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact the City on 9400 4000.





20/10/2012
Having made no real concrete progress on installing a pubic artwork before the commencement of the art award, I contacted Benchpress to print the preceding correspondence and proposal, and entered it into the art award. 




















Julia Watson to George Egerton-Warburton 23/10/2012


Dear George

Thank you for your enquiry regarding the donation of a park bench i am currently looking into this matter and i will keep you updated with the outcome.


Many thanks

Julia Watson
Administration Coordinator Infrastructure
City of Joondalup







26/10/2012
Over the course of the day, I have made many attempts to contact the Art Award coordinator and make sure that my work has been received and installed correctly. Judging occurred on Wednesday the 24th, so I assumed everything had gone as planned. When I called mobile numbers, they hung up and sent me text messages to contact Thomas De Gillet Burgess. Then I received the following email:










Mike Tidy to George Egerton-Warburton 26/10/2012

Dear Mr Egerton-Warburton
I am writing to notify you that the City has decided to withdraw your entry for the City’s 2012 Invitation Art Award titled “Proposal proposal, Lakeside Joondalup Shopping City” (2012).  As per the 2012 terms and conditions of entry for the City’s Invitation Art Award the City reserves the right not to accept works deemed inappropriate for the intent and location of the exhibition, in this instance the City has made that determination.
If you could please contact the City’s curator – Amanda on 9400 ---- to arrange collection of your artwork.
Regards
Mike TidyDirector Corporate Services
City of Joondalup Phone: (08) 9400 4344
Mobile: 0419 908 314
mike.tidy@joondalup.wa.gov.au










George Egerton-Warburton to Mike Tidy 27/10/2012



Dear Mr Tidy,

I am disappointed to be notified of this, just the day before the exhibition, without any explanation or opportunity to submit an alternative work. By the sounds of it, it seems that the work has been removed on fairly subjective grounds. I do understand that this is within your rights, however I think that without explanation it is disrespectful.

Could you please offer me an explanation for the work's removal? May I also ask who removed the work? Did the judges get to see it? Were they notified of the work's removal?

I would like to donate the artwork to the City of Joondalup art collection, so there is no need for me to pick it up. 

All the best,

George