Van Thanh Rudd is an Australian political artist (Melbourne-based), who works within different media, including painting, graffiti and other public works.
Kevin Rudd has a political artist nephew. Who knew?
He is very much against the Labor party, which is to be expected when you are related to someone high up in the system.
Used Car Part From Afghanistan, 2009 is a work consisting of part of a tyre on a plinth, with associated text. It is part of a car that had been targeted by missiles in 2009.This work is clearly bringing a relic of war into the gallery space. I believe this work is directed at the audience to awaken them. I use the term ‘relic’ because that is how it appears. It is torn, blackened and has lost its purpose. It looks old, and is placed in the way a museum may place an ancient and interesting artefact. It is easy to imagine uncovering a piece like this after a famous battle. However, this was part of a family car, and it had been in one working piece up until last year. This work focuses in on a single object, representing one car belonging to a family. This work is reminding the viewer of the problem of civilians caught in a war zone. We are in a position where we are not in danger from our soldiers or the people they are fighting, so it is easy to not think about it.
Another work - if it is a work - that interested me was Rudd’s decision to run against Julia Gillard. It is an election campaign which aims to be a genuine, but is also an attempt to further blur the lines between art and life. To be quite honest, I’m not sure how it is any different from any other member of a party running for a seat somewhere.
Here is an art critic (Mark Holsworth) writing about it.
Part one:
http://melbourneartcritic.wordpress.com/2010/07/23/van-rudd-vs-julia-gillard/
part two:
http://melbourneartcritic.wordpress.com/2010/08/13/political-junkies/
Used Car Part:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/10/05/2705160.htm
Video for Used Car Part:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28LuVRKSVBY
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