Music can bring nations together and Roger Foley is good at presenting
music along with his light productions. We need more!"
Ask out about our latest Light Sculpture, Art Installations, Roger Foley Fogg’s updated CV
Heritage Architecture Light Designs, Lightshow Concerts, Liquid Lightshows - Wetshows
and for a recent bibliography, books, periodicals and Roger’s talks about our generation of Artists from the 60s to NOW
My 60s Explosion
a personal view by Roger Foley-Fogg also known as Ellis D Fogg.Albie Thoms, David Perry, Gary Shead, Ubu, Oz Magazine, Richard Neville, Richard Walsh, Martin Sharp, Mick Glasheen, John Allen, The Arts Factory, The Human Body, Rex Cramphorn’s Performance Syndicate, Willy Young now William Yang, Sydney University Underground Society, Victor Kay, Watters Gallery, Mike Brown and Vivienne Binns, and many other young people were all ‘happening’ in Australia during the 60s and the best of them were included in my evolving Elli D Fogg Lightshows and Lumino Kinetic work.
Like many others such as Albie Thoms, my work as an artist rebelled against the usual model of exhibitions of paintings and other work on white walled Galleries, we considered this to be boring and wanted a total multi disciplinary art theatre. Frank Watters chaged this in 1971 when I was asked to create a total environment “WOOM” with Vivienne Binns in his Gallery and was subsequently invited by Albie Thoms to create a room at The yellow House, The Capsule Room.
The press covered all this experimentation extensively and it became very popular and hip which encouraged many others to produce one off lightworks and theatre pieces with varying degrees of success. In my particular area of Light Sculpture, Environments and Lightshows, Albie Thom’s Ubu group were the only other innovators that consistently came up with new ideas and productions. To finance these developments both Ubu and Fogg offered our art to commercial businesses as long as we were still in control of our work and retained artistic integrity.
Our concerns as young people included: The Vietnam war, censorship, sexual liberation, state political and police corruption, the white Australia policy, republicanism, apartheid, the voting rights and civil rights marches in the USA and the treatment of our own black people. women’s liberation, the pill and contraception, abortion, sexual repression and the general repression, malaise and boredom of society. I worked at making my Lightshows reflect these concerns in a manner that was entertaining.
Our disrespect for authority figures and encouragement to think for ourselves came not only from Albie Thom’s obscenity trial, the trials of the Oz, nor from Timothy Leary’s writings but also from the fact that Nazi war criminals were denied the defence ‘only following orders’. The 1961 Eichmann trial was a reminder that you have a responsibilty to think for yourself and to not blindly follow authority.
I had been brought up by strong and artistic women, my mother Hazel Foley and my Aunt Eileen Foley, a musician, who had encourage my interest in art. I had wanted to be a sculptor since I was 12, and had played with anomalous light and colour and imagined that I would work in theatre, perhaps making sculpture that could be used on stage. When I left school in 1959 my Aunt advised that the coming big thing would be guitars and lights and my mother advised I should learn something that could support me financially so I worked in a factory learning to use hand and machine tools during the day, went to University and then Art School at night and worked in the Lighting departments of various theatres in my spare time.
I was aware of the influence of Ghandi’s India and the colourful Hindi Gods on the counter culture movement then sweeping the Western world - young folk particularly liked the fact that multinationals such as Coca Cola were banned in India. I was also inspired by New York’s The Living Theatre - still performing in 2012, Albie Thom’s Theatre of Cruelty at Sydney University and the American West Coast Hippy movement which became Flower Power, the contrasting Andy Warhol Exploding Plastic Inevitable with Lou Reed and The Velvet Underground on the East Coast. And the power of Rock and Roll music and its message which I added to my theatre shows, first at a small hall in Kensington for The Psychedelic Party, Mixed Media and Banana Freakout show with Brian Robson’s band and then later at The UNSW Roundhouse with Tully where we had a full house with a thousand people who could not get in to the show watching through the glass walls.
I continued to make Light sculptures, first maquettes and then larger versions to use on stage. I devised designed and directed and produced the Lightshows utilising the best artists I could find. Ubu films, Victor Kay’s curved screens and handmade 35mm films, Aggy Read’s hand painted slides, Eddie Van Der Madden’s Wetshows and beautiful handmade Kaleidoscope projectors, Geoffrey Rose’s painted scenery, Alex Boyd’s stroboscopes, Vivienne Binn’s paintings, Christine Koltai’s dance, with some very impressive bands and musicians including Tully, The Nutwood Rug, Company Caine, Heart and Soul, The Turkish Green Electric band, Jeff St John, Wendy Saddington and the great Jean Lewis. This work led to later productions with Jazz men such as John Sangster and with composer Peter Sculthorpe and the Sydney and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras.
My shows are always sexy and pushed the boundaries because conservative attitudes to censorship and sexuality have never gone away. Beautiful girls were always coming up to me at concerts wanting to take their clothes off and dance around the band as living screens for our projections. I always said yes. Then late in 1969 I met Gretel Pinniger a beautiful arts student who earned money as an artists model, by making leather clothes and by working the strip club circuit at Kings Cross as Madam Lash. We struck up a friendship and determined to put her handmade costumes and her friends in our Lightshows which we did at the beginning of the following decade. So that is another story.
I acknowledge the archives of Albie Thoms for assistance with this memoir.
Roger Foley-Fogg September 2012
“The title of this art exhibition - Racism and Reconciliation - will indeed go a long way in establishing friendship between our two countries. And yes you're right, art and the feelings artists bring out with their works will certainly help in bringing our countries together."
"Despite the monsoon, It was an amazing exhibition of superb masterpieces of light. Extraordinary creativity and humour to change our way of seeing."
Gaadmungungardi - Light and sound for the private, indigenous and sacred KALACC FESTIVAL 2008 – for the Arnbarda Community at old Mt Barnett Station, Gibb River Road, The Kimberley, Western Australia.
JOY to the World 08 - Darling Harbour, Sydney
“The most stimulating art event of the season may well be the Environmental Happening arranged by Roger Foley, Vivienne Binns and Ellis D Fogg in the upper room of Watters’ Gallery… One is left with the impression that art has taken on a new dimension and that in the future it will involve the spectator as a much more active participant in the experience.”
“A superbly restrained happening of great beauty and sensitivity.”
Art Concerns, With Love from Australia..?! cyber Contemporary Art Magazine, India, April/May, 2010.
Art & Deal, Contemporary Art Magazine, India, Issue #31, Soundbytes from Australia.
indeterminate & ephemeral Fogg Sculpture movie by Dhiraj Singh
Christa Hughes sings ‘good luck’ at Hazelhurst
Diwali Lightshow at Saikripa Childrens Home, Noida,India 2009, with comments by viewers.
Fogg interview on CNN at Diwali, 2009
Lumino Kinetic Exhibition – opening night in the monsoon
Lumino Kinetic Exhibition in the dark, movie by Hazelhurst Regional Gallery and Art Center
definitions of art and light; LIGHTING INDIA Magazine, March/April 2009
Fogg’s 60s lightshows were influenced by India: LIGHTING INDIA Magazine, May/June, 2009
Christmas tree of Light – Joy to the World, 2009
newsreel – 7 aspects of light, work in progress
Art Concerns, India’s leading Contemporary Art cyber Magazine. April/May, 2010
Art & Deal, Contemporary Art Magazine, India, Issue #31
LIGHTING INDIA Magazine March/April, 2009 “An Artists Approach to Light” Part One definitions of Art and Light
LIGHTING INDIA Magazine May/June, 2009 “An Artists Approach to Light” Part Two Fogg’s 60s Lightshows were influenced by India
ILLUMINATE Magazine, April, 2004 “Architectural Theming”
ILLUMINATE Magazine, June 2004, “Aboriginal Performance lighting”
LIGHTING Magazine, December 2003 “Worlds Brightest Christmas Tree”
LIGHTING Magazine, October 1997 “ Lighting for Architecture”
ARTLINK Magazine, Autumn 1992 cover story. “ The face of Luna Park projected on Hyde Park Barracks”
MONUMENT Magazine, May 1996 “ Architectural and Festival lighting”,
CONNECTIONS Lighting Magazine, June 1997
“Mr Fogg’s Music Hall” Programme and Futurist Manifesto, March 2001,
SONGLINES FESTIVAL-The Blue Mountains: Programme
ENTECH AWARD for Lighting Design / Architectural Theming, 1997
BEST FLOAT AWARD, Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras 1989.
GOVERNMENT SUPPORT
Received two grants from the then Australian Council for the Arts for experimental theatre work.
See what other folk say about us.
Google: Fogg Productions Pty Ltd Australia
Wikipedia: Ellis D Fogg
Note to those who refer to Fogg in the past tense… he is alive and still doing it better and is more focussed and focused than ever.
Thankyou to whoever put this in:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellis_D_Fogg
MR. FOGG’s QUANTUM LECTURE – Seven aspects of Light – in Futurist style for Screensound- The National Film and Sound Archive-Australia:
http://www.nfsa.afc.gov.au/…
LIGHTING ART and SCIENCE Magazine Website:
http://www.lighting.rala.com.au/directory_f.htm
OUTDOOR DESIGN SOURCE:
http://www.outdoordesign.com.au…
INSIDE RETAILING: Aussie Christmas Displays:
http://www.insideretailing.com.au/…
CX – Entertainment Technology Magazine: Early History:
http://www.juliusmedia.com/…
About Martin Sharp a major influence on Fogg’s work by Emma Collerton:
http://www.zootopia.slq.qld.gov.au/…
The Lime Spiders website: The man who assembled the Lightshow for Midnight Oil:
http://www.limespidersmusic.com/press.html
From the COFA (College of Fine Arts-Sydney) site:
Mr Fogg recommends Penny Arcade:
https://mail.cofa.unsw.edu.au/…
Robin Hughes interviews Peter Sculthorpe:
http://www.australianbiography.gov.au/
Work with Katie Pye:
http://www.cyberfibres.rmit.edu.au/biogs/TRC0204b.htm
Work with Vivienne Binns:
http://www.suttongallery.com.au/…
MR. Fogg’s “Garden of Delights” for Parramatta City Council:
http://www.parracity.nsw.gov.au/…
Duncan Kimball’s almanac of 60s and 70s Oz History
http://www.milesago.com/almanac/1970.htm
Answers from Answers.com:
http://www.answers.com/topic/ellis-d-fogg
Alison’s Website- Roger Foley – FOGG artists statement and good pictures:
http://www.alisonholland.com/…
Ellis. D. Fogg (Roger Foley): “Throwing Some Light on Discord”, The Australian, 1st November 1983, story by Antonella Gambotto:
http://www.antonellagambotto.com/…
Interview with Bruce Jackson – Sound Engineer Extraordinaire, founder of JANDS:
http://www.prosoundweb.com/…
From the list of Notable Old Newingtonians – we should do some networking here!
http://en.wikipedia.org/…
From Elaine Paton – TALKING-BRIEF:
http://www.talkingbrief.com/…
This is very flattering:
http://www.hollywood.com/…
Hey Pooter nice to be included but why the past tense? Fogg is still doing it!
http://www.pooterland.com/…
From the Kings Cross Times – History of The Cross: – Sydney
kingscrosstimes.blogspot.com/…
And
http://kingscrosstimes.blogspot.com/…
From State of the Arts magazine about “FIRE” with the Gija mob:
http://www.stateart.com.au/…
Jim’s Photoarts website for his favourite photographs. Thanks Jim
http://www.photoarts.com/…
http://fogg.com.au/wp/pages/manifesto_3.html
Selected Works of Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, published by Farrar Strauss & Giroux – 2nd September 1913
gleaned from the archives of Albie Thoms and edited by Jim Anderson for Mr Fogg, 8th March, 2001
In the early 60s Fogg worked the lights on children’s theatre productions for The Pocket Playhouse, Tempe. Then to 1966 Fogg worked in theatre, attending some university lectures, and continued playing with light in a shared student house in Darlinghurst. Note that in those days theatre lighting people mainly fixed the fridges in the dressing rooms. However Fogg decided that it might be possible to survive as an independent light artist provided he could retain his integrity in the arts establishment and the commercial world and not compromise with either. In a Fogg production the Lighting People are in charge.
This allowed Fogg and his fellow light artists the luxury of paid research time as well as the time for pro bono work for other artists and to experiment with the new 60s liberated freedoms producing interesting and spiritually uplifting, positive events. Psychedelic events in the original sense of the word – mind enriching, expanding ones knowledge and awareness. This income stream allows Fogg and his associates to remain independent and to stay innovative in technology as well as in art.
The term “Lumino Kinetic Art” was first used in 1966. by Frank Popper, then Professor of Aesthetics, Paris University and the author of the defining publications about Kinetic Art.
A “Lightshow” is the use of lighting, fx, video, film, action & staging usually but not always in an improvised manner.
The word “Psychedelic” was first used in a letter from Humphrey Osmond to Aldous Huxley in 1956. As commonly used the word has two meanings:
1) Mind manifesting, expanding ones knowledge and awareness.
2) Bold abstract images using vivid contrasting colours.
About titles:
In “Traditional Theatre/Film” the creative controlling force is called the “Director” however this role is often called “Producer” for many other theatre forms.