Junctures - The Journal for Thematic Dialogue

Crogan, Patrick

English

"Real Lives 2004": The Devil You Know

Snyman, Johan

Grouping Selves and Others: The Art of Willem Boshoff

Regan, Josephine

Art, Occupation and Play

van Ditmarsch, Hans

Serious Play

Denzin, Norman K

Sacagawea’s Nickname, or The Sacagawea Problem

Barrington, Judith

83
JuDITH BARRINGTON
IN PRAISE OF NOT KNOWING THE NAMES OF BIRDS*
I cannot name the one with the scimitar beak and the mohawk
 who spends all day drilling holes in tree trunks.
I cannot name the enormous one with the white stocking cap
 on his head, hounded by glory and flags, poor devil.
I cannot name the thumblet with wings that whirr 
 like the new kind of dentist’s drill — “Rupert” or “Rufus” 
 come to mind when I watch her at the scarlet feeder
 but I cannot be sure: the flash of her arrival
 too swift for color, is what matters in the long run.
I cannot name the one who hoots
 the one who dives from treetops
 the one who stands on chopstick legs
 waiting for sushi.
I cannot even name the caged one who calls himself “pretty”
 and mocks the world with his nasal chant
 nor the big white one on the beach who stabs
 the rotten flesh of his dead brother.
 Then there are those with the red vests or speckled chests:
I cannot name them either (or perhaps I simply will not).
 Unnamed, brownish ones doze on telephone poles
 hunched and grumpy as old men 
 while the black-jacketed strut in the road
 rolling like sailors and holding up traffic.
I cannot name the tiny chirper who follows me along the creek
 moving so fast that I see nothing of bird, nothing
 of shape or weight or color or sex, nothing
 to look up in a book if I had a book or wanted a book.
I cannot even hazard a guess:
 She might be the spirit of my dead horse.
 She might be nobody.
Judith Barrington is the author of three volumes of poetry and of Lifesaving: A Memoir, winner 
of the Lambda Book Award and finalist for the PEN/Martha Albrand Award. She has won many 
prizes and is published widely in literary journals. She teaches at workshops across the United 
States and at The Poetry School in Britain.
*Copyright Judith Barrington, 004. Reprinted from Horses and the Human Soul, by Judith Barrington, Storyline Press, 005, 
by permission of the author and publisher.
Barrington – In Praise Of – Junctures, 6, June 006


"In Praise of Not Knowing the Names of Birds"

Last, Andrew

 54
Figure 1. Cellulight, derived from the form of a gliding parachute, 1997, aluminium, perspex and light fittings, 
180 cm (length).
Last – Vast Terrain – Junctures, 5, Dec 2005
 55
ANDREW LAST
Vast Terrain : Exploring Uncommon Ground
I am currently involved with the Vast Terrain project, which was instigated by Form Contemporary 
Craft and Design in Western Australia. The project is a unique collaboration between arts and 
industry through the partnering of Form with Alcoa World Alumina Australia. The Vast Terrain 
project explores and celebrates the various cultural meanings of aluminium in relation to 
contemporary Australian design. The exhibition of this project shows an intimate enquiry into 
the practices of three of Australia’s metalsmiths, whose careers have been characterised 
by a spirit of experimentation and innovation with the material of aluminium – Frank Bauer, 
Robert Foster & myself. This exhibition is currently touring Australia, having opened at Form 
in Perth, and then at Object Gallery at the Sydney Opera House.  Vast Terrain will be shown 
at Museum Victoria in Melbourne before travelling to the Jam Factory in Adelaide in 2006. 
As an artist, I work primarily with aluminium and I explore and extend the possibilities of this 
material in my practice. Since its discovery, aluminium has been linked to innovation and 
new technology, especially in its application within the aviation industry. The lighting works 
for my Aeroware series tapped into that symbolic resonance of the material. The works were 
all primarily referencing aeronautical paraphernalia. 
Last – Vast Terrain – Junctures, 5, Dec 2005
ARTIST’S PAGES 
 56
Cellulight (see Figure 1*) was, for example, derived 
from the form of a gliding parachute; while Ramplamp 
(see Figure 2) is based on the engines that are slung 
under the Concorde. Along the way – through their 
interpretation and construction – the objects began to 
assume some organic qualities as well. The concluding 
work in that series was Calyx Light (see Figure 3) which 
initially came from the shape of a particular kind of jet 
engine intake. However, through its interpretation it 
took on quite a distinct floral form. “Calyx” is the Latin 
word for cup and if all the petals are removed from a 
flower the remaining element is called the calyx. The 
work is a deliberate amalgamation of both aeronautical 
and botanical inspiration. 
Figure 2. Ramplamp, based on the engines slung under the Concorde, 1997, aluminium, perspex and light 
fittings, 180 cm (length).
* Images courtesy of the artist.
Figure 3. Andrew Last with his Calyx Light, referencing both a particular kind of jet engine intake 
and a distinct floral form, 1998, aluminium, perspex and light fittings, 120 cm (length).
Last – Vast Terrain – Junctures, 5, Dec 2005
 57
This work signalled a shift of primary reference from flying machines to botanical growing 
mechanisms. The immediate outcomes of this shift were the Pincushion & Banksia lights 
(see Figure 4) – spherical forms interpreting the shape of Australian flora in aluminium tubing. 
These works represent a design solution stemming from an investigation of the geometric 
structure of spherical flowers. A further investigation into that geometry led to an awareness 
of Phyllotaxis, a pattern of plant growth characterised by intersecting spiral geometry, clearly 
demonstrated in the formation of seeds in a sunflower (see Figure 5).
Figure 4. Pincushion Lights and Banksia Light, 2004, commission for Taxi Restaurant, Federation Square, 
Melbourne, aluminium tube and light fittings, 60 and 120 cm diameters.
Last – Vast Terrain – Junctures, 5, Dec 2005
 58
Figure 5. The formation of seeds of a sunflower.
The works for Vast Terrain reflect a respect for harmonic systems inherent in the plant kingdom 
and the mathematics used to interpret them. The design process generates a visual response 
to the mathematics of Phyllotaxis. The mathematics that explain and forecast such patterns 
is related to the numerical series, the Fibonacci Sequence (in which each successive number 
is the sum of the preceding two: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21…) and the constant Phi (the Golden 
Mean, a number approximately equal to 1.618).The rhythm of the pattern, and its accuracy 
and order, are emphasised and the way this contrasts with an apparent collapse toward the 
centre of a circular formation (or the poles of a spherical geometry as realised in the Phiball 
light – see Figure 6, the culmination of the exploration of this pattern in three dimensions). 
Last – Vast Terrain – Junctures, 5, Dec 2005
 59
Figure 6. Phiball Light, 2005, aluminium, 120 cm diameter.
Last – Vast Terrain – Junctures, 5, Dec 2005
 60
My design process makes extensive use of computer modelling programs. Building on a 
decade’s experience with computer-aided design (CAD – see Figure 7); the Vast Terrain 
work incorporated the program Xfrog (see Figure 8), stumbled across midway through the 
project’s development. Devised for digitally ‘growing’ plants for use in architectural modelling, 
the program allowed a manipulation of the Phyllotaxis pattern which satisfies my formal 
curiosity and aesthetic sensibility. The pattern was then translated into other programs for 
further exploration. From the modelling phase, the forms were then developed into a variety 
of objects, such as the jewellery, bowls (see Figures 9 and 10) and light (see Figure 6 again) 
created for Vast Terrain.
Figure 7. Phiball, 2004, CAD drawing using Rhino Software.
Last – Vast Terrain – Junctures, 5, Dec 2005
 61
Figure 8. Computer Drawing, 2004, using Xfrog Software.
Last – Vast Terrain – Junctures, 5, Dec 2005
 62
Figure 9. Phibowl (detail), 2004, aluminium, 50 cm diameter.
Last – Vast Terrain – Junctures, 5, Dec 2005
 63
Figure 10. Xiphi Bowl, 2004, aluminium, 120 cm diameter.
Last – Vast Terrain – Junctures, 5, Dec 2005
 64
Andrew Last is an Australian metalsmith, currently living and working in New Zealand. 
He has employed aluminium in the production of jewellery, homewares and lighting 
designs for the past decade. Initially enrolling in Materials Engineering at Monash 
University during the early 1980’s, Last did not complete the degree, but has 
subsequently translated his understanding of engineering technology into his creative 
practice. He undertook a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Gold and Silversmithing at the Royal 
Melbourne Institute of Technology and worked extensively with aluminium during 1988 
whilst undertaking a craft traineeship under leading Australian jeweller, Susan Cohn, 
whose own work with the material has redefined the symbolic position of aluminium 
within contemporary Australian design.
Andrew Last at work in his 
metalsmithing studio, 2005.
Since graduation, Last has exhibited in Australia, New 
Zealand, Korea, Japan, England, Germany and the 
United States and has undertaken numerous guest 
lecturer and guest speaker positions. He returned to 
RMIT in 1992 to complete his masters degree. His 
critically acclaimed Aeroware series of lighting designs 
went on show at Object Galleries in Sydney, Wagga 
Wagga Regional Gallery and at RMIT in Melbourne, 
from 1998 to 1999. Since 2001, Last has been 
based in Dunedin, New Zealand, where he is a lecturer 
in the Jewellery and Metalsmithing Department of 
Otago Polytechnic School of Art. Last is represented 
in numerous collections including the Art Gallery 
of Western Australia, Queensland Art Gallery, The 
Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory and 
the Australian National Gallery, Canberra.
Last – Vast Terrain – Junctures, 5, Dec 2005


Not a member yet

"Real Lives 2004": The Devil You Know

Grouping Selves and Others: The Art of Willem Boshoff

Art, Occupation and Play

Serious Play

Sacagawea’s Nickname, or The Sacagawea Problem

"In Praise of Not Knowing the Names of Birds"

"Vast Terrain" : Exploring Uncommon Ground

Colophon: Junctures, Issue 9:voice

Postcolonial Peace

Representation, Use and Participation: Three Ways of Looking at Art/Science

283

335