Joseph Stanislaus Ostoja-Kotkowski

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Also known as:

J.S Ostoja-Kotkowski

Stan Ostoja-Kotkowski

"The Man with Light in his Eyes" photo by David Beal 3
"The Man with Light in his Eyes" photo by David Beal 3

Joseph Stanislaus Ostoja-Kotkowski AM was born in Golub, Poland in 1922 and died, second of April, 1994 Stirling, South Australia)

His work included painting (instrumental in developing geometric art in Australia), photography, filmmaking, theatre design, fabric design, murals, kinetic and static sculpture, stained glass, vitreous enamel murals, op-collages, computer graphics, and laser art.

He was best known for his ground-breaking work in chromasonics, laser kinetics and `sound and image' productions he earned recognition in Australia and overseas for his pioneering work in laser sound and image technology.

One of Australia's most dramatic performance artists Stelarc, said this of Ostoja: “Well, at a very young age I admired the work of J.S. Ostoja-Kotkowski, who was one of the few, perhaps the only, Australian artists working with technology and lasers at that time. He's a Polish artist who did most of his mature work in Australia. I was pleased to recently pick up something and read a reference to him. I think he is an Australian artist who deserves more credit. It seems we still have difficulty ascribing importance or relevance to Australian artists and we have to somehow authenticate Australian art with overseas references. I was highly influenced by his use of technology, of searching for an alternate aesthetic that wasn't based in the traditional media.”2

Quoting from an essay about him by Laurie Thomas we get the first understanding that Ostoja had a fascination with light.

What set him on this course? It turns out that it began by rubbing his eyeballs.

The iridescent, kaleidoscopic, luminous and unbelievable images which come to sparkling light behind the shadow of the eyelids when pressed after the light has dazzled its way to the retina, forced him to think of the source of light as being the origin of all colour and all imagery.

It became especially so when he spent some time in Central Australia and looked straight at the white light and into the eye of the sinking red sun.

That was not long after he came here in 1949...migrated, trained for two years under Alan Summer and William Dargie in the art schools of the National Gallery of Victoria and went bush before settling in Adelaide. Thomas quoted Ostoja as saying, when he visited his studio in 1968:

“The terrific iridescence you can get behind the eyes in Central Australia forces you to think of the source of light-whether it's beam, lantern or sun-and to think of it as the most impressive, most flexible and richest tool imaginable for an artist, the life-giving source.You come across phenomena which seem to wipe everything else off..something like the aurora.”

“This is what I'd like to do, to create an aurora which involves not only a three-dimensional but a more-dimensional space in which time is involved.”

“Why couldn't a painting change its shape, form and colour? Nature does, the universe does. In order to capture a portion of life it doesn't have to be dead in movement. It can have its beginning, its middle and its end and then repeat itself in a second, or a month, or a year, as a tree does or the life span of a man does.”

“It seemed to me that you could achieve this by using light as a tool and that the closest thing to the source of light we know and can handle confidently is electronics.”4

Ostoja held this fascination with light throughout his career.

[edit] BIOGRAPHICAL SUMMARY OF WORKS

1(Thanks to Ken Scarlett for permission to use material from Australian Sculptors)

1940-1945

Ostoja studied drawing under Olgierd Vetesco in Przasnysz (Poland).

1945 – 1949

Ostoja completed studies at the Düsseldorf Academy of Fine Arts in Germany after winning a scholarship, and migrated to Australia.

Arriving in Melbourne, he enrolled at the Victorian School of Fine Arts National Gallery School under A. Summer and William Dargie and studied while he was working as a manual labourer.

1950-1955

Ostoja introduced the new abstract expression of Europe both to lecturers and students at the Victorian School of Art, Melbourne.

Settling in Stirling, in the Adelaide Hills, South Australia, he had his first one-man Exhibition At the Royal Society of Arts in Adelaide.

1956 - 1957

Ostoja collaborated with Ian Davidson in the production of the short film, "Five South Australian Artists", and became involved in stage and theatre set design.

He co-produced several experimental films again with Ian Davidson, including "The Quest of Time." in 1957

Ostoja's work in abstract expression began to receive accolades. He won the Cornell Prize for the canvas "Form in Landscape", and designed the set for the play "Six Characters in Search of an Author" by Luigi Pirandello

1958

The artist designed the set for the South Australian production of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot. He began to work with the Elder Conservatorium of University of Adelaide, designing sets for Gaetano Donizetti "Elixir of Love", employing startlingly new modified light settings and modulations.

1959

Ostoja won the Cornell Prize Exhibition of the Contemporary Arts Society of South Australia. He designed the set for "The Egg" and a new, light/colour abstract presentation for two performances of the South Australian Ballet Theatre. His innovative new techniques were then used by the Elder Conservatorium in their Opera Workshops.

1960

This year he designed sets for a new opera group which would eventually grow into the South Australian Opera Company. Among other theatrical events, he designed and executed the scenery for "Moon on a Rainbow Shawl" by Errol John, and The Teahouse of the August Moon by John Patrick, (an Adelaide University Theatre Guild Production). He received artistic satisfaction but little financial reward for these efforts. In this year also, he staged a visual production on the theme of Orpheus", using dance, music and voice with several projectors.

This was the first attempt at quadraphonic sound in Australia, and also the first demonstration of "Chromasonics" - the science of translating sound into visual images. Ostoja then designed innovative "abstracted" scenery for a production of “ The Marriage of Figaro ", and Benjamin Britten’s "The Turn of the Screw (opera)."

1961

Ostoja designed the sets for the controversial South Australian production of Patrick White’s “Ham Funeral” - also Alan Seymour’s "Swamp Creatures", both performed by the Adelaide University Theatre Guild. He designed and constructed six stained glass windows for the Refectory at Adelaide University, South Australia. In this period Ostoja designed special lights and gauzes for difficult effects required in an ambitious production of the Opera “Don Carlos" by the Opera Workshop, for the Elder Conservatorium.

1962

Ostoja designed and built sets for the production of"J.S", by Archibald MacLeish, for the second Adelaide Festival of Arts. He exhibited vitreous enamel works in Melbourne's Argus Gallery. Max Harris, in The Bulletin of 20.10.1962, praised Ostoja's sets for l'Cousin from fijin 'Union Theatre, Adelaide, and his technique of rear screen projections as later adopted throughout Australia.

1963

Ostoja continued to develop Multi-Image projections, demonstrating for the first time in Australia the concept later to be known as 'audio-visuals!'. Ostoja gave Sir Herbert Reed, the art critic, a personal viewing of one of his visual presentations. At Christmas, in the Elder Conservatorium, Ostoja gave what was probably the world's first "visual concert", using special projectors and incorporating music, colours and shapes.

1964

Ostoja co-designed a dance and stage production in Adelaide. For the Adelaide Festival of Arts of that year, he designed the largest light mosaic ever staged up to that time, upon the facade of an 11 storey building. Ostoja was invited to New Zealand, and exhibited the first electronically generated images in Australia in Melbourne, at the Argus Gallery. His extremely innovative design for the 60 foot bass relif mural on the new B.P. building in Melbourne was the subject of a film which won the "Blue Ribbon" Award in the American Film Festival in New York.

1965

Ostoja designed and made the first light kinetic mural in Australia, and continued to evolve theatrical works using multi-screen and Multi-projector techniques. The Production of Jean Genet’s ‘ The Balcony’ was very controversial. with Elizabeth Dalman, Ostoja produced new dance forms for Melbourne Television. He introduced Op Art to Australia, both at South Yarra Gallery in Melbourne, and Gallery A in Sydney.

1966

With John Dallwitz, Ostoja was invited to present more "Sound and Image” experimental theatre. he incorporated Australian poetry into the sound, music, and visual images. The architect Robin Boyd commissioned Ostoja to design two large Op murals for the Australian Pavilion entrance at the Expo 67. Ostoja was awarded a Churchill Fellowship, which enabled him to have extensive world travel, comparing art and technology in many countries. He began to work with language, contemporary poetry and prose, and computers.

1967

In Berne, Switzerland, Ostoja received the "Excellence F.I.A.P." Award for innovative photography.

1968

At the Adelaide Festival of Arts, Ostoja staged the first combined 'Sound and Image" production in the world using a laser beam. This included the first science fiction play (by Ray Bradbury) performed in Australia. Ostoja's theatre methods were increasingly attracting the attention of critics to how plays were staged. "Chromasonics", developed and introduced by Ostoja, was now being used extensively in the entertainment industry.

1969

Ostoja staged Krzysztof Penderecki's St. Luke Passion, a controversial, contemporary religious work. The South Australian The Advertiser (Australia) wrote an extensive critique of Ostoja's work. Robin Boyd commissioned Ostoja to build a 'chromasonic" exhibit for the Expo '70 in Osaka.

1970

Ostoja presented an Australian Aboriginal Dreamtime (mythology) theme in his "Sound and Image" theatre, working with leading contemporary figures in poetry, music and dance. This was the first production of its kind in Australia, and appeared after the Festival in Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra and Perth. Ostoja's "Space Scape" mural, sixty feet long by Ten feet High, won the Australia wide competition for a mural for Adelaide Airport. His 120 feet high 'light and sound' structure for the Adelaide Festival was the first of lts kind in the world.

1971

Ostoja awarded a Creative Arts Fellowship at the Australian National University Australian National University, Canberra. His 18 month stay resulted in the design and building of a "Chromasonics unit-laser", a 100 feet Chromasonic tower, and a world premiere of a "Synchronos" concert.

1972

With Don Burrows and Don Bank Ostoja presented "Synchronos 72", where one could "hear the colours and see the sounds". Ostoja added "Cymatics" developed during the Fellowship to his workshop repertoire. He was invited to exhibit his photography in the National Gallery, Melbourne.

1973

Ostoja received a Fellowship from the Australian American Education Association to study art and technology in the U.S.A. He studied laser art and technology, using a newly developed material in his optical collages.

1974”

Using several lasers, Ostoja designed sets and a special curtain for the complex work The Excursions of Mr. Broucek " by Janá ek, the first opera produced at the new Adelaide Festival Theatre complex.

l975

The artist 's "Laser - Chromasonics" ( 1972) and "Laser Chromasonic Tower Mark III" exhibited for the Festival of Creative Art and Sciences, Canberra. Ostoja commissioned to design a vitreous enamel mural for the Earth Science building, University of Melbourne.

1976

Ostoja exhibited works in Vitreous enamel on steel, optical collages, and for the first time in Australia, collages incorporating Kirlian photography. The Premier, Don Dunstan, opened this exhibition at Lidum's Gallery, Adelaide. Ostoja's "Theremin 74", using electronics and stainless steel, purchased by the Tasmanian Art Gallery. Ostoja commissioned to produce a large bass relief mural for the new Nauru House, in Melbourne.

1977

Ostoja displayed exhibits of vitreous enamels, optical collages, and kinetics with six lasers at the Australian Galleries Exhibition in Melbourne. He was commissioned to undertake a feasibility study for a solar mural by Melbourne University University of Melbourne.

1978

The artist's computer poem "Tidal Element" (the first computer poem composed in Australia) featured in a special issue of "Australian Literary Studies" (Adelaide University). Ostoja created a new Laser Chromasonic Tower, which produced kinetic laser images and incandescent lights, for the Royal Adelaide International Expo 78. Ostoja's experiments with a Argon laser gave rise to a new organic image in his work laser images, including "Astroid" and "Harmonics".

1980

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation produced a half-hour documentary on Ostoja's work, the program screening on 13th of April, 1980.

The Governor-General and his wife visited the artist's studio in Stirling. Christopher Hunt, Artistic Director of the 1980 Adelaide Festival of Arts, invited Ostoja to exhibit his laser kinetics in conjunction with a holographic exhibit from the New York Museum.

The show, "Futuresight", in the Melville Hall, Adelaide, was opened by Sir Mark Oliphant.

The magazine "Scientific Australian" published an article on this Exhibition in the No.4, Volume 4 Edition.

1981 – 1982

Ostoja prepared for an exhibition in Sydney, and became interested artistically in Australian jade. Commissioned by Dr Nina Christensen of Melbourne University to construct a jade window. At this Adelaide Festival of Arts he presented a different kind of laser concert. "Art in Australia", Vol. 19, No. 3 published an extensive article on Ostoja's works, covering a twenty year period.

1983

The Hon. Barry Jones opened Ostoja's two major exhibitions at the Barry Stern Gallery, Sydney - one on optical collages, and a laser kinetics, music and sound exhibition. It is suggested that Ostoja donate his large, personal collection of photographs and a full documentation of his career, to Melbourne University's Australian Collection. The collection was subsequently deposited in the Baillieu Library.

1984

Ostoja used a vapour laser, then built by Quentron Optics in Adelaide. He presented a laser kinetics concert for the Ballarat Festival.

1985

Using computer generated images, Ostoja staged a laser concert at Wayville Showgrounds, Adelaide, to celebrate the finale of the inaugural Adelaide Grand Prix. Australia Post produced a stamp issue designed by Ostoja (using a laser), to launch the first Australian "electronic mail" system.

1986

Ostoja invited to stage a laser concert for the South Australian Jubilee Celebrations. He constructed the "Solaris", a continually changing, solar kinetic mural, at the C.S.I.R.O. Division of Applied Physics, Lindfield, N.S.W , and was invited to exhibit it at Expo '88 in Brisbane.

1987

Ostoja redesigned the shape of "Solaris" for the Brisbane Expo. For the Director of the new Scitech Discovery Centre [1], Perth, Ostoja designed, produced, and exhibited a work which reveals the affects of theremin and light.

1988 to 1989

Australian Bicentenary celebrations included a project sponsored by the Polish community to honour the name of Australia's highest mountain, Mt. Koskiusko. In collaboration with sculptor John Dowie, Ostoja constructed a geometrical, stainless steel monument at the entrance to the town of Cooma, New South Wales. Reading about Chaos theory and Professor Mandelbrot's "Beauty of Fractals", Ostoja began to work in this area. An article published in “ The Australian”, October 1989, revealed some of Ostoja's considerable output of work in the field of computer graphics in this new field.

1991-1993

Ostoja was Invited by the National Philharmonic in Warsaw, Poland, Ostoja staged "SYNKRONOS" concert - workshop using 13 blue green and red lasers and incandescent lamps to translate works of traditional and contemporary composers into kinetic laser images and shapes.

1994' Ostoja was involved in part of the 1994 Adelaide Festivals "Technilusions", He displayed some of his Fractals and Mandelbrots and was displayed with "current" and "state of the art" technologies Animation, Virtual Reality and CD-ROM. He died at home on April 9th 1994, in the cottage "Arbroath" on the Booth estate at Stirling South Australia, where he had lived under the patronage of the Booth family for over 40 years. His studio was on the same property.

1As recounted to Beverley Cranwell, 1991

2Stelarc, in an interview with Martin Thomas, " Just Beaut to Have Three Hands" in ' Continuum The Australian Journal of Media & Culture', Vol 8 N0.1 1994 -special issue Electronics Arts in Australia

3McGregor, Craig, 1933-, ed. Australian Art and Artists.In the Making / text edited by CraigMcGregor ; Photographs by David Beal, David Moore Melbourne. :Thomas Nelson, 1969. Edition: [1st ed.]. Description: 265p. : ISBN 0-17-001819-9 :

4Thomas, Laurie, 1915-1974.The most noble art of them all : the selected writings of Laurie Thomas. Published: St. Lucia, Q. : University of Queensland Press, 1976.Description: vi,321p. ; 25cm.ISBN 0-7022-1370-5 :

[edit] External links

Summary The group consists of files relating to J.S. Ostoja-Kotkowski's life and art; papers, programs, pamphlets, photographs, slides, negatives relating to his theatre designs, sculptures, murals, BP star, art, film, laser shows, computer graphics, stained glass and photography; computer disks; original art works; a theatre set model; models of sculptures; papers relating to his immigration and his relationship to his Polish family and the Polish community; films, videos and audio tapes.

Explorer in Sound and Light is a study of the works of Joseph Stanislaw Ostoja-Kotkowski, which argues his place as a pioneer in the development of experimental arts in Australia from his introduction of Abstract Expressionism to the Australian art fraternity, his development of Theatre Set Design, Sound and Image productions and his experimentation with electronic images, laser beam technology and performance.

Keywords:

Artists South Australia Biography Motion picture producers and directors South Australia Artists and the theatre South Australia Exhibitions Australia Immigrants South Australia Lasers in the graphic arts

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