The Artist Aaron O’Brien, AKA: AaronArts
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Art of /about the “Simulation and Simulacrum”
To understand the meaning and context of my artwork, it helps if you have read some philosophy especially “Simulation and Simulacrum”, it follows closely the Philosophies of French Philosopher Jean Baudrillard which for me as an artist was a life changing book, Baudrillard’s insight’s and theoretical extensions of plato’s and others past philosopher’s, Philosophical ideas he puts him self on Par with both with Plato and Socrates. Baudrillard see’s man and the world he has designed around himself as living in a simulation within a simulation, I look next door someday and I swear I see another me, this sublime recognition of living in a suburban simulation with our simulated Santa , simulated Christmas trees and simulated fairness of society most live with total disregard that they are now part of the simulation because they feign to live in reality,with all the other living creatures on the planet. One way that we have come to this way of living is through petroleum oils found in at least 70% of products in some form, from this this abused substance one can make a Plastic Flower that simulate’s the formal structure of a flowers image, seeing that the plastic flower cannot have a consciousness of being a simulation the creator of the plastic flower is well aware of the simulation, but feigns it is not dangerous or feigns it dose not even exist. This makes multinational mega corporations pretend that there business are for the good of the community s and pretends there is no trade of to the real world, but the more you see plastic flowers the less you will see the real flowers, till one day there is no real flowers, that’s when the simulation comes full circle and is at its most dangerous . The Movie The Matrix was written around Jean Baudrillards theories of the simulacrum. The Matrix is based on parallel world that already has robots and Artificial intelligence , Man sometime later see’s the AI an dangerous and try’s in Vain to kill it but the AI is many steps ahead, as a threat to itself and the planet, when man saw that most energy for AI and robots came from the sun, man blackened out the sky and gave birth to the second renaissance, the AI saw that it had no choice an started harvesting and propagating humans into a bio battery for the machines, to keep man alive as a bio battery it had to trick his subconscious into believing he was alive and living in the real, thus was born the Matrix a synchronized digital simulacrum of the pinnacle of man’s existence with in the year 1984. The Matrix is just one of the many rabbit hole ‘s that can lead to the ultimate denial of the real due to the perfect control and design of the Simulation simulacra, be weary.
The title for this work is “A Model for the world-A world that’s a model” completed in 2014, the imagery of the art work based around photographed image’s of Flinders street station taken by myself on a canon 50D, appropriated images of soldiers, sheep and an African man being detained are all off the internet and have been manipulated to look like toy soldiers, this helps retain the idea that we are living in a simulated world of man made objects and ideologies, taking reference from Jean Baudrillards “simulations and simulacra” and Plato “Simile of a Cave”, from Platos ‘The Republic’, which is over 2000 years old and it as relevant today’s it was back then. Here is the link to the 7th chapter in Plato’s Republic where Socrates presents the most beautiful and famous metaphor in Western philosophy: the allegory of the cave, https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/p/plato/p71r/introduction7.html .
By Aaron O’Brien
About The Painting “War of the Arts” from the series “Melbourne at War Series”-2011
War of the Arts” from the series “Melbourne at War Series” By Aaron O’Brien
Melbourne at War Series-War of the Arts , 2011, computer mixed media, by Aaron O’Brien. Sold, the original work was purchased by The Dean of the Victorian Collage of the Arts for the university’s private collection. I am not sure if this will be for sale at the Exhibition.
Supporting the call to Boycott the 19th Biennale of Sydney (2014)
Envirometal Art
- Featured Image Kuwait after-burn, FireWalker. Because the same image and others 3 from this series are also in the war, politics and capitalism folder, because it was an ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER in Kuwait when Saddam set the oil fields alight.This was as much of a strategic move in the war between Iraq and Kuwait as it was an Environmental Disaster bellowing plumes carbon into the atmosphere.
Mother Earth, 1995, oils on board, By Aaron O’brien, For Sale.
Mother Earth chasing Man,1995, oils on board, By Aaron O’brien, For Sale.
Mother Earth in control of the hands of Man, 1996, oils on board, By Aaron O’brien, For Sale.
Toilet rolls of WA, 1997, oils on canvas, By Aaron O’Brien, For Sale
Oil V World on land, 2011, oils on Canvas, By Aaron O’Brien, Enquire if for sale.
Oil V World At Sea, 2012, Commissioned Flag of the wold designed in photoshop, By Aaron O’Brien. For Sale
World War 3- An EenvironmentalWar, Appropriated images composed in photo shop, 2013, By Aaron O’Brien, For Sale
World War 3- An Environmental War, Appropriated images composed in photo shop, 2013, By Aaron O’Brien, For Sale
Burning Wallaby, 2011, Photograph , By Aaron O’Brien, For Sale as a print, This Image was made in response to the consistent yearly event over summer the Australian bush fire which Decimates the natural native bush life, this would not happen if the aborigines still did controlled burning and looked after the land, Westerners mainly only know how to take, not share or give. If we have bad fires this summer I will make enough images of different animals made of fire for an exhibition and donate 20 percent of any prints sold towards an animal shelter that rescues and helps burnt animals due to horrific bush fire’s.
Melbourne At War Series
Featured Photo “Flinders st Sniper” 2008, photograph of flinders street by me, the image of the sniper is appropreated off the internet, then fused together in photo shop, By Aaron O’Brien, For Sale I actually did a realist painting in oils on canvas in 2008 which was purchased by Victoria University for there private collection
If you would like to book one of these limited edition prints to buy when the exhibition is on please get in contact with me through email they will printed in editions of at least 5, 8, or 12 all will be signed by me on the back or front if you so wish, I am also working on a certificate of authenticity. The actual size of the works will be around A1 if you desire a particular size I might be able to help.
Exhibition for the “Melboure at War” series is Coming Early Next Year I willl keep everyone updated on the Exhibition Date and Place still yet to be Confirmed. The Prints will be sold in additions of 6 Depending on demand, Please feel Free and email me to Pre Book a print to make sure you do not miss out, once sold out no more editions.
Melbourne at War Series-Town Square, 2010, computer mixed media, by Aaron O’Brien
Melbourne at War Series-Contemplation in Simulation, 2011, computer mixed media, by Aaron O’Brien
Melbourne at War Series-Wrapped up in a simulation, 2011, computer mixed media, by Aaron O’Brien
Melbourne at War Series-The Spectical Of Capitalism, 2012, computer mixed media, by Aaron O’Brien.
Purchased by the Dean of the Victorian Collage of the Arts (VCA) for their private collection in 2011, titled “War Of The University’s” or “War Of The Arts” It’s the height of A3 paper and length I think was about 120 – 140cm, original photo of VCA and Appropriated images of machines of War off the internet and composed in Photoshop, I abstracted the sky into large Blocks or pixels which helped add to the drama and also the abstraction is a literal word to be used when finding the multiple meanings of the work. the for ground objects of war have been painted over with oil paints 2 or 3 Glazes, which over time I am hoping the background will fade away and war machines are left standing alone in a negative space, which is the last meaning that cannot be deciphered till that happens , so I thought to give it away, The war machines never seems to change its just the environments around them that do , the buildings, streets, people, cars they all mostly change and look different over time, but to me war and war machines of man seem to have an endless similarity to the next generation of war soldiers and war toys, although this is only in regard to what I have seen as second hand information and should not be taken as my accounts to the real, for I have not been to war before, hence the sky is abstracted looking like huge pixel’s, these are related and pointing to my supposition that the majority or most people in the west born after world war 2 have been abstracted from the past and ongoing war’s in Asia, south America, Middle East, Balkan peninsula, Caribbean, etc especially stand over wars like Afghanistan and Iraq because they are not fought in western countries, so only our soldiers sent to war by politicians experience war and the majority left in the west are ignorant to it, not you though brothers and sisters of the Arts and Arts lovers we try to understand!!!
War Politic’s and Capitalism
Tank study 3, oils on Canvas ,2008, by Aaron O’Brien. For Sale
Tank study 1, oils on Canvas ,2008, by Aaron O’Brien. For Sale
Tank study 2, oils on Canvas ,2008, by Aaron O’Brien. For Sale
Tank study 4, oils on Canvas ,2008, by Aaron O’Brien. For Sale
Kuwait Afterburn 1-FireWalker, 2009, oils on canves, By Aaron O’Brien for Sale.
Kuwait Afterburn 2-FireWalker 2, 2009, oils on canves, By Aaron O’Brien for Sale.
Kuwait Afterburn 3-FireWalkers, 2009, oils on canves, By Aaron O’Brien for Sale.
Kuwait Afterburn 3-FireWalkers 2, 2011, oils on canves, By Aaron O’Brien for Sale.
Christ Tank, 2009, oils on canves, By Aaron O’Brien for Sale.
Puppets of War, 2009, oils on canves, By Aaron O’Brien for Sale.
The Spectical of war, 2010, Computer composed image in photo shop, By Aaron O’Brien, for Sale.
The Spectical of war, 2010, Oils On Canvas, By Aaron O’Brien, for Sale.
Flinders Street Snipper, 2011, Oils on Canvas, By Aaron O’Brien, Sold to Victoria University For the Library’s Private Collection.
Desensitized, 2010, Oils on Canvas, By Aaron O’Brien, for Sale.
Toy War, 2010, Oils on Canvas, By Aaron O’Brien, for Sale.
WaterColor Paintings
Suclents 1, 2009, water color paints and pencils on high Gsm Paper, By Aaron O’Brien. For Sale
Suclents 2, 2009, water color paints and pencils on high Gsm Paper, By Aaron O’Brien. For Sale
Suclents , 2009, water color paints and pencils on high Gsm Paper, By Aaron O’Brien. For Sale
Suclents with Green Vase, 2009, water color paints and pencils on high Gsm Paper, By Aaron O’Brien. For Sale
Geranium Leaves 1, 2008, water color paints and pencils on high Gsm Paper, By Aaron O’Brien. Sold
Geranium Leaves 2, 2008, water color paints and pencils on high Gsm Paper, By Aaron O’Brien. For Sale
Living Creatures Series-Sacata, 2009, water color paints and pencils on high Gsm Paper, By Aaron O’Brien. For Sale
Living Creatures Series- Smiling Grass Hopper, 2009, water color paints and pencils on high Gsm Paper, By Aaron O’Brien. Sold
Living Creatures Series-Grass Hopper , 2009, water color paints and pencils on high Gsm Paper, By Aaron O’Brien. For Sale
Living Creatures Series-Perching Bird, 2009, water color paints and pencils on high Gsm Paper, By Aaron O’Brien. For Sale
War and Peace, 2008, water color paints and pencils on high Gsm Paper, By Aaron O’Brien. For Sale
Bug riding Rhino, 2007, water color paints and pencils on high Gsm Paper, By Aaron O’Brien. For Sale
Stand Over Men, 2010, water color paints and pencils on high Gsm Paper, By Aaron O’Brien. For Sale
Static Doll parts, 2011, water color paints and pencils on high Gsm Paper, By Aaron O’Brien. For Sale
Art work “Desensitized”
This painting is oils on canvas, it was inspired by the writings of Plato in his philosophical writings ” simile of the Cave” which is about illusion, control, fear and a simulated world, similar to Jean Baudriallards simulations and simulacra. Completed in 2010 it was exhibited an Melbourne University student Gallery, it was also a finalist work in the Exhibition The Undergraduate at Toyota community spirit Gallery in 2011. It is still for sale please esquire about the price if there is any interest in buying.
“A Model for the world-A world that’s a model”
The title for this work is “A Model for the world-A world that’s a model” completed in 2014, the imagery of the art work based around photographed image’s of Flinders street station taken by myself on a canon 50D, appropriated images of soldiers, sheep and an African man being detained are all off the internet and have been manipulated to look like toy soldiers, this helps retain the idea that we are living in a simulated world of man made objects and ideologies, taking reference from Jean Baudrillards “simulations and simulacra” and plato’s writing’s in genral.
