Biography
Stephen Jones : Exhibitions and Publications
Stephen Jones (born 1951) is an Australian video artist, curator, video engineer and conservator of long standing. Since 1976 he has provided technical support for many artists and major exhibitions including the Biennale of Sydney (1976) and Australian Perspecta (1981).
2023
Philippa Cullen: Dancing the Music (2023) Curated exhibition on the dancer and electronic sound artist at McClelland Gallery, Langwarrin, Vic. May-July, 2023.
2022
Video installation for Australian Cybernetic. Porta-pak video of Philippa Cullen dancing during Computers and Electronics in the Arts, ANU School of Cybernetics.
2020
Curator: Cognitive Dissidents (2020) a collection of important Australian video artists at Griffith University Art Museum, Brisbane.
2019
Catalogue essay: for Solid Light: Josef Stanislaw Ostoja-Kotkowski, McClelland Gallery & Sculpture Park, Langwarrin, VIC. 2019.
2018
Exhibition: Antitheses: Experimenting with the Medium, Mars Gallery, 7 James Street, Windsor, VIC, 3181. [28 June – 14 July 2018] Some video work by Stephen Jones. My video works were of the psychedelic style being generally highly coloured and produced with the aid of video synthesisers, oscilloscopes, early forms of computer graphics and especially experiments with video feedback.
2017
Video Works by Stephen Jones at SNO Gallery, Marrickville, NSW. (2016). Self-curated video retrospective.
2016
Dancing the music: Philippa Cullen
An Archival Exhibition for Philippa Cullen
1950 – 1975
curated by Stephen Jones
at
SNO (Sydney Non-Objective) Gallery, Marrickville
23 April – 22 May, 2016
photograph of Philippa: Lillian Kristall
2015
Stephen Jones, (2015), “The Theremin as an Interface: Early Interactive Art in Australia,” paper presented at AAANZ 2015, https://aaanz.info/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/AAANZ-2015-Abstract-Booklet.pdf [PDF page 1310]
2013
This is Video (2013), Curated exhibition of early Australian video for ISEA 2013 at Artspace, Sydney, June 2013. Curated the collection and wrote the extensive catalogue.
Stephen Jones, (2013), “Video Art at the National Gallery of Victoria: 1973 – 1978”, Art Journal of the National Gallery of Victoria, 52.
2012
Stephen Jones, (2012), “Relational Processes in the Production of Art”, Paper presented at the 2012 Art Association of Australia and New Zealand, conference, Sydney.
Stephen Jones, (2012), “Bush Video: towards a new secular electronic notion of the divine,” in Sean Cubitt and Paul Thomas (eds), Relive: Media Art Histories. Leonardo Books, MIT Press, January 2012. In press, accepted January 2012.
2011
Tell Me, Tell Me (2011) : Glen Barkly (curator) : MCA Offsite at National Art School Gallery. Stephen Jones works included were Performance Work as Social Work (1977) and Hunting for the Future: Paik and Moorman in Australia, 1976 (1977). The exhibition then travelled to the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul, South Korea.
Image: Moorman and Paik with TV Cello in the Art Gallery of NSW, during their exhibition [sponsored by John Kaldor] March, 1976.
Stephen Jones, (2011), “Early Interactive Art in Australia,” paper presented at Re-Wire, Liverpool, U.K., Sept 28-30, 2011. Liverpool, U.K., Sept 28-30, 2011.
Stephen Jones, (2011), “Towards a Taxonomy of Interactivity,” paper presented at ISEA 2011 Istanbul, 14-21 September, 2011. Available at https://www.isea-archives.org/docs/2011/proceedings/ISEA2011_Full_Proceedings.pdf [PDF page 1310]
Stephen Jones, (2011), “A Systems Basis for New Media Pedagogy”, Leonardo, vol.44, no.1, pp.88-89.
2010
Circa 79: Signal to Noise (2010) Modular Records, Sydney Festival exhibition at Seymour Centre. Exhibition consisted in the ephemera of the post-punk music scene in Sydney c.1979. It included video works by Stephen Jones for Laughing Hands and Severed Heads. < https://concreteplayground.com/sydney/event/circa-1979-signal-to-noise > Session 3
2009
Stephen Jones, (2009) “A Systems structure for understanding New Media practice”, paper presented at the Media Art Scoping Symposium: Media art education at the intersection of science, technology and culture, Melbourne, 4 July, 2009. See <http://mass.nomad.net.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Media%20Art%20Scoping%20Symposium.pdf [page 90of pdf] >
Stephen Jones, (2009) “Bush Video”, paper presented at Re:Live Media Art History 09 conference, Melbourne, Australia, 26-29 November, 2009.
2008
Stephen Jones, (2008) “The Confluence of Computing and Fine Arts at the University of Sydney 1968-1975” in Andreas Broeckmann and Gunalan Nadarajan (eds) Place Studies in Art, Media, Science and Technology: Historical Investigation on the Sites and the Migration of Knowledge. VDG-Weimar, Germany.
Stephen Jones, (2008) “Frank Eidlitz: Design and the origins of computer graphics in Australia.” Paper presented at the Art Association of Australia and New Zealand annual conference, Brisbane, December 4-6, 2008.
2007
Stephen Jones, (2007) “The Confluence of Computing and Fine Art at the University of Sydney, 1968–1975”, paper and presentation at Re:Place 2007 – On the Histories of Media, Art, Science and Technology, Berlin, Germany, 15-18 November, 2007.
2005
Stephen Jones, (2005) “A Cultural Systems Approach to Collaboration in Art & Technology” in Proceedings of the Creativity and Cognition 2005 Conference held at Goldsmith’s College, London, April 2005.
2004
Stephen Jones, (2004) “Interaction Theory and the Artwork” in Edmonds, E. and Gibson, R. (eds), Interaction: Systems, Practice and Theory, proceedings of a Creativity and Cognition Symposium, University of Technology Sydney, 16-19 November 2004.
Stephen Jones, (2004) “Philippa Cullen: dancing the music” Leonardo Music Journal, vol.14, 2004.
Minds Eye (December, 2004) Scrolls from Constructed Memories shown at Jan Manton Gallery, Brisbane.
A Fun Night Out with Severed Heads (June, 2004) dLux Media Arts showcase of Severed Heads video work at Dendy Opera Quays during the Sydney Film Festival.
2003
Stephen Jones, (2003) “The History of the Electronically Generated Image in Australia” in Leonardo, vol.36, no.3. 2003.
Constructed Memories at Stills Gallery, Sydney, May 28 – June 28, 2003 large scale digital photo collages constructed as scrolls and presented in a site specific manner.
2001
Intersections of Art and Science (July 2001). Ivan Dougherty Gallery, curated by Nick Waterlow. Showed a set of photo-collages relating to the Brain Project with the Reading Machine (see 1998, below).
The Reading Machine and six ink-jet prints included in Intersections of Art and Science at Ivan Dougherty Gallery, College of Fine Arts, UNSW, Paddington, NSW, June 7 – July 14, 2001.
Momiji: an Autumn in Japan (May, 2001) Gallery East, Clovelly. A series of visual/textual inkjet printed scrolls by Stephen Jones accompanying photographs by Sandy Edwards.
1998
Synthetics: The History of the Electronically Generated Image in Australia. A 2 day Symposium curated by Stephen Jones, for dLux Media Arts, presented at the PowerHouse Museum, Sydney, July, 1998.
The Reading Machine: Towards the realisation of Charles’ and Ada’s future. A Brain Project installation at ArtSpace, Sydney, July 2 – 25, 1998. The Reading Machine was also a finalist in the National Digital Art Awards, 1999 and was shown at the IMA, Brisbane, Oct. 15-30, 1999. A short description titled The Brain Project is at < http://www.thehandstand.org/archive/february2007/articles/fibreculture.htm >
1996
The Brain Project Forums, (August, 1996) Performance Space, August. Five days of discussions I led covering the topics of the Brain Project research.
1994
Feeding Back, a responsive video installation shown at POSTcode (Feb. 1994) at Performance Space, curated by Denis Wilcox.
1988
Chasing Skirt (1988) an interactive video installation by Severed Heads at the Biennale of Sydney, 1988.
Also in the Melbourne (NGV) tour of the Biennale. Later shown at Video Positive ’91, Liverpool, UK.
1986
Curator and Sponsor [as Heuristic Video]
Australian Video Festival (1986). Tapes from the Severed Heads work, including Petrol.
1984
Numerous Severed Heads performances and tours both in Australia and overseas (North America and Europe). 1984 – 1992.
1982
Future Imagery (July 1982) Video Metro. Installed the video synthesiser in the Metro Video studio for a day, demonstrating its use with Severed Heads. This is where the period of work with Severed Heads began.
Permutations/Portraits (1982) an interactive video synthesiser work shown at the Biennale of Sydney,1982.
1981
Laughing Hands (November, 1981) Live performance of video synthesiser with improvisation band Laughing Hands, at the Departure Lounge. < >
Noise and Muzak (1981) Ewing and George Paton Gallery. Live performance of video synthesiser with improvisation band Laughing Hands.
1979-80
Video Tapes from Australia: (1979-80) Curated by Stephen Jones with Bernice Murphy as executive producer. This exhibition toured North America in 1979-80, being shown at the Kitchen in New York, Video Free America in San Francisco, LAICA in Los Angeles and the Video Inn in Vancouver, Canada. I travelled with the exhibition, installing the show and speaking about it at each venue.
1980
Subsequently it was presented as Project 30: Some Recent Australian Videotapes at the Art Gallery of NSW from whence it toured a number of institutions in Australia. A second copy of the collection was presented at the Venice Biennale, 1980. That programme included Stonehenge, TV Buddha, Tai Chi Transforms and Untitled (Dance Piece)
1979
Video Plus Four (1979) Open Channel, Melbourne. Showed Stonehenge, Tai Chi Transforms, Untitled (Dance Piece).
1978
Curated and produced VideOzone at the Ozone Cinema, Paddington Town Hall, July, 1978. Programme included Stonehenge and TV Buddha.
1977
Video Spectrum at the Latrobe University Union, September, 1977.
Open Processes at Watters Gallery, February, 1977: An open invitation experimental video production facility installed in Watters Gallery, Sydney. I developed the program proposal, installed the video system, and produced much of the video.
1976
Feb-March 1976 I provided technical support for Nam June Paik & Charlotte Moorman (April 1976) at the Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney. [In which I built the exhibition version of Paik’s TV Buddha, with a JVC VideoSphere TV found by Paik in a pawn shop in King’s Cross and a Maitreya Buddha statue provided by John Kaldor.]
Regions (October, 1976) Performance Room, Music Department, University of Queensland. Live acoustic and electronic music, dance, video improvisation. Add cast and crew.
Experimental Video Tapes (September, 1976) Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane. Very early works including Syntheses: Horizontal Music (1975-76) and Tai Chi Transforms (1976).
Synamorphs/Syntheses (January, 1976). One evening showing: TVAA, Architectural Association, London.
Over the period 1975 – 1978 I was technical producer at Paddington Video Access and made several video art works of my own.
November 1976: technical support for the Biennale of Sydney 1976. [Thence 1979, 1982, 1984, 1988]