You probably weren’t aware, but I'm listed as an artist on the Art Gallery Of NSW website. Truly. Here it is...
How did that happen? I'll tell you in a moment.
Firstly, late last week finalists for the 2015 Archibald Prize were announced and they featured the glaring omission of a certain gigantic piece of paper masterpiece. I was grateful for the many kind commiserations but there is the secret I've been keeping. The Archibald isn't really a prize (so I didn't really lose). It's a rede d'être - a reason for being - for a few months each year for the 900 or so artists who enter.
The snare is that to most it’s an art prize (which means all but one will lose year after year).
And contests have a mysterious life of their own: Bob Dylan lost out to a tap dancing act in his high school talent contest and folklore has it that Charlie Chaplin was a distant runner-up in a Charlie Chaplin contest.
My first Archibald entry was as a 19 year old which taught me this enduring truth. So when I delivered my entry last year I took note of the unnoticed hero of the Archibald Prize, Charlotte, without whom entries could not have been taken and therefore awarding a prize impossible. I wrote a heartfelt thanks and sent it to her which unforeseen and unknown to me until recently led to my name being listed on the Art Gallery Of NSW website.
(And that you're reading this tale means I’ve already gained something special - a momentary occupation of your mind!).
I started this odyssey 3 months ago with this question: How can I to win the Archibald Prize? Truth is that the judges don’t announce the winner. Like the tap dancer who defeated Bob Dylan at the high school talent contest, she thought she’d won so too will this year's $100,000 prize winner. But it’s what Bob Dylan did next that determined the real winner.
Likewise, it’s what I do next. Keep watching (I’ve plans afoot as you read, so wish me luck).
(Here is Charlotte...and a closer look at the Art Gallery Of NSW website).
The complete series 'How to win the Archibald Prize'
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P.S - If you'd like an original print of my Archibald journey for $20 just go here.