Michael Lindeman

Born 1973, Sydney
Bachelor of Arts, Fine Arts
Graduation show: 1997
Graduation ceremony: 1998

Artworks in Space YZ

Not Pop, 1999
Vintage shopping trolley, steering wheel lock
Varied dimensions 

Futuristic Walking Stick, 1998
Walking stick, trolley wheel 
Varied dimensions

Belts on When Seated, 1999
Vintage chair, car seat belt 
Varied dimensions

Dragster Wheel, 1997
Bicycle wheel, vintage Bean Bag
Varied dimensions

Thong on Wheels, 1998
Rubber Thong, castors
Varied dimensions

The Littlest Australian, Prinztronic, Dessies, 1998 
Set of 3 small veneer cabinets stacked on top of each other
50 x 56 x 26 cm (each)

Collection of the artist and private collections

My works in Space YZ aimed to invite an absurd dialogue with the viewer. I was, and still am, a big fan of Duchamp, Nouveau Réalisme, and anything else that rocked the boat.

Like most undergraduate art students, I had no money but plenty of ideas. Most of my materials were sourced by trawling second-hand stores – vintage wallpaper, bean bags, intercoms, bicycle parts, shopping trolleys, computer games, records, etc. A lot of the early work was a fusion of two or more banal objects, sculptures that were created after carefully selecting readymade materials for their unfashionable aesthetic, with the intention of subverting their function.

The early works called into question how financial and cultural value is attached to various branches of creative activity. In direct contrast to the notion of artist as genius, I was seeking a willful idiocy combined with a cerebral analysis that went out on a limb, an attempt to contribute innovation and sidestep vacant fashionable aesthetics. 

UWS allowed space and time for me to research and make art like a mad man. The art school was a mixed bag of wayward characters, straight edge horse painters, misfits and conceptual gurus.

I didn’t really belong to any tight group - anti-fashion, anti-scene, just how I like it. I was happy to escape the shit going down in my life, redirecting rage and energy into jamming the studio with stuff that entertained me and confused others. That’s when I realised art was therapy. 

On studio visits Cheo Chai-Hiang would sip tea and utter some good info, I think Rhett Brewer often walked away puzzled (sorry Rhett), Donal Fitzpatrick was always compelling to listen to and pushed me to work across disciplines, and David Hull was just cool – he introduced me to Beefheart and made a cassette tape recording of Trout Mask Replica for me.

Probably the best studio visit I witnessed at UWS was Andy Webb (hope he’s still alive) with Susan Norrie. Andy was a punk drifter who had no fixed studio space, we got messed up together whenever he dropped in. He came in one day really fucked up not realising his assessment was on, and lined all of his works on the floor along the corridor. Man Boiling in Bath while Dog Watches on, 1996, was my favourite from his impromptu presentation. Andy then laid down on his side, propping his mohawked head up with his hand and waited for the feedback. I don’t think he got a HD but was one of the best artists there, I just wish someone took him under their wing. This art thing is dog eat dog.

Z block at UWS was obviously a low budget operation hidden down the back of the university deep in the western suburbs, yet, somehow it kept cranking out diamonds in the rough, distinctive artists who were very Australian.

Learn more about Michael Lindeman via his website and at Sullivan+Strumpf.