# Bek Coogan

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**Bek Coogan** (born 1972) is a New Zealand multidisciplinary artist and musician.

## Background

Coogan was born in 1972 in [Palmerston North](/source/Palmerston_North), New Zealand, and has lived in [Wellington](/source/Wellington).[1][2] She is currently based in [Paekākāriki](/source/Paek%C4%81k%C4%81riki).[3] Bek is related to [Steve Coogan](/source/Steve_Coogan) through their fathers, who are cousins.[citation needed]

## Education

Coogan completed a Master's degree in Fine Arts (First-Class Honours) at [Massey University](/source/Massey_University) in 2004,[4] and a Graduate Diploma in Secondary Teaching at [Victoria University of Wellington](/source/Victoria_University_of_Wellington) in 2012.[2]

## Music

Coogan first appeared on the New Zealand music scene in 2004 as part of art-rock band [Cortina](/source/Cortina_(band)). Their music was described as a fusion of "heavy metal guitar (courtesy of Ace Hurt aka [Matt Hunt](/source/Matt_Hunt)), odd synth noises, and bizarre lyrics (“ILLUMINATI! JENNY SHIPLEY!”)."[5]

[Gareth Shute](/source/Gareth_Shute) described her stage persona and dress as "an insane, but stylish 80s housewife: tight jumpsuits, tinted sunglasses, and headbands. At one show at Bodega, Wellington, she squeezed a pie out of the slit in the front of her satin/lace one piece jumpsuit and began scooping out pieces to feed to the crowd. One another occasion, she was recovering from a car accident and completed a national tour wearing a neck brace with “fucked off” scrawled across it."[5] Luke Rowell of [Disasteradio](/source/Disasteradio) characterised her performances as "breaking down the hierarchy between performer and audience."

In 2013, she formed the group [Fantasing](/source/Fantasing) with [Sarah Jane Parton](/source/Sarah_Jane_Parton), Claire Harris, and [Gemma Syme](/source/Gemma_Syme).[5] A combination of installation art and live performance, they were the [Audio Foundation](/source/Audio_Foundation)'s artists in residence in 2016.[6] Coogan described the group's emotional and artistic support of each other as central to their practice: "Sometimes that is kind of the art."[7] She has also performed solo as Oona Verse and Sheville, and was a member of the band [Full Fucking Moon](/source/Full_Fucking_Moon).[2][5]

Coogan is part of the [Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra](/source/Wellington_International_Ukulele_Orchestra), with whom she toured various parts of the world between 2012 and 2016, including a month at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2013.[8][9][10] Member Andy Morley-Hall describes Coogan: "My mum calls Bek The Original Rebel. I reckon she's like a cosmic whirlwind of new and refreshing ideas. She doesn't see the world quite like the rest of us do. Though she thinks deeply about things she is the opposite of earnest."[11]

Coogan performed the role of Janet in *Frankensplurta*, a musical prequel to the *[Rocky Horror Picture Show](/source/The_Rocky_Horror_Picture_Show)*, in the March 2018 Dunedin Fringe Festival.[12]

## Art

Coogan first exhibited her drawings in 2002, which began an ongoing practice based around a character called Sheville and referencing a mythic female utopia. Her influences range from the painter [Colin McCahon](/source/Colin_McCahon) to feminist, punk-inspired drawing and collage.[2] She has continued to exhibit and perform widely, including shows at [Enjoy Gallery](/source/Enjoy_Public_Art_Gallery), [The New Zealand Film Archive](/source/Ng%C4%81_Taonga_Sound_%26_Vision) and [Depot Artspace](/source/Depot_Artspace) in [Devonport.](/source/Devonport,_New_Zealand)

Coogan was a contributor to the New Zealand women's comics anthology [*Three Words*](/source/Three_Words_(book)), in which she describes her practice: "Coogan is a multidisciplinary artist who likes to test what Art is. Bek sees Performance Art, Video, Bands and Drawing as an active and politicised ideology. Art is a call to the wild or to the source, which Bek endures the shit-fight to get back to using whatever medium she can get her hands on, a vivid or a microphone drawing it up from the earth...There was, and is still now an idealistic aspect to this practice, positing an alternative female and mythic utopia. "But why the farg is it even idealist?" says Sheville, "this shit is normal where I come from."[13]

Coogan has also been the subject of paintings by [Liz Maw](/source/Liz_Maw).[14][15]

## Publications

- Bryce Galloway, Caroline Campbell, Gavin Hipkins, David Hall, Bek Coogan, Adrian McNabb, Clem Devine, Jason Lingard, John Douglas (2002). *Incredibly hot sex with hideous people #8 : Exquisite corpse II*.
- Coogan, Bek (Summer 2006). "Sheville" *Natural Selection* 5
- Full Fucking Moon (2009). *Still Life With Black Light*. Edition Künstlerhäuser Worpswede (12" EP)
- Coogan, Bek, & Tilly, Torben (Spring 2009). "On The Subject Of Fate & the Destiny of Objects", *Travelogue: Tactical Objects* 2.
- Coogan, Bek, & [Up, Ari](/source/Ari_Up) (2011). *Typical girls: comedic feminist video from Wellington*
- Coogan, Bek (2016). "Squinting Towards Sunlight". *Three words an anthology of Aotearoa/NZ women's comics*. Auckland, New Zealand. Beatnik Press, ISBN 9780994120502
- Coogan, Bek (2017). "Savage" *Sonic Comic*, ISBN 9780473390082
- Coogan, Bek (2017). "Rita Angus" *Femisphere* 1

## References

1. ["Coogan, Bek"](https://findnzartists.org.nz/artist/3245/bek-coogan). *Find New Zealand Artists*. Retrieved 2019-07-01.

1. ["Bek Coogan"](https://www.circuit.org.nz/artist/bek-coogan). *CIRCUIT Artist Film and Video Aotearoa New Zealand*. 2015-04-24. Retrieved 2019-03-23.

1. ["Luciano Chessa + Oona Verse - Tours at Undertheradar"](https://www.undertheradar.co.nz/tour/8385/Luciano-Chessa--Oona-Verse.utr). *UnderTheRadarNZ*. Retrieved 2019-03-23.

1. ["Fine Arts graduates explore our world in a new exhibition at the Bartley Nees gallery. - Massey University"](https://www.massey.ac.nz/massey/about-massey/news/article.cfm?mnarticle_uuid=EBA7554E-96BF-57FE-AF15-8A4156475A6B). *www.massey.ac.nz*. New Zealand: Massey University.

1. Shute, Gareth (2 October 2017). ["10 Wild Ones - part one"](https://www.audioculture.co.nz/scenes/10-wild-ones-part-one). *AudioCulture*. Retrieved 2019-03-23.

1. ["2016 Artist in Residence: Fantasing"](http://www.audiofoundation.org.nz/programmes/residency/fantasing-2016). *Audio Foundation*. Retrieved 2019-03-23.

1. Maher, Harriet (December 2016). *Looking Back: Contemporary Feminist Art in Australia and New Zealand* (MA). University of Melbourne. [hdl:11343/129233](https://hdl.handle.net/11343/129233)

1. ["USA Tour Collectibles No. 3: Bek Coogan"](https://www.ukulele.co.nz/single-post/2016/01/03/USA-Tour-Collectibles-No-3-Bek-Coogan). *Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra*. Retrieved 2019-03-23.

1. ["Interview: Wellington Ukulele Orchestra on how they do Edinburgh"](https://edinburghfestival.list.co.uk/article/54129-interview-wellington-ukulele-orchestra-on-how-they-do-edinburgh/). *Edinburgh Festival List*. Retrieved 2019-07-02.

1. Coughlin, Kevin (2 March 2016). ["A ukulele orchestra? From New Zealand? In Morristown? March 10"](https://morristowngreen.com/2016/03/02/a-ukulele-orchestra-from-new-zealand-in-morristown-march-10/). *Morristown Green*. Retrieved 2019-07-03.

1. Hunt, Tom (12 June 2009). ["Ukulele lads and ladies"](http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/lifestyle-entertainment/arts/779757/Ukulele-lads-and-ladies). *Nelson Mail*. Retrieved 3 July 2019.

1. Munro, Bruce (12 February 2018). ["Give yourself over"](https://www.odt.co.nz/entertainment/arts/give-yourself-over). *[Otago Daily Times](/source/Otago_Daily_Times)*. Retrieved 4 July 2019.

1. Joyce, Rae; Laing, Sarah; Neville, Indira (2016). *Three words: an anthology of Aotearoa/NZ women's comics*. Auckland, New Zealand: Beatnik Press. p. 44. ISBN 9780994120502.

1. Booker, Paula J. (2008). ["Channelling Rita"](https://search.informit.com.au/fullText;dn=960168399476105;res=IELHSS). *Eyeline*. **68**: 46.

1. Hall, David. ["Venus rising - The Listener"](https://www.noted.co.nz/archive/listener-nz-2009/venus-rising/). *NOTED*. Retrieved 4 July 2019.

## Further reading

- Ireland, Peter (Summer 2003). "Coogan’s Bluff" (article & artist page). *Pulp*:66
- Ultimo, Enrique (2004). "A Little Interview with Bek Coogan". *Foxymoron* 4
- Dean, Anna (2004). "Vrrmmm vrrmmm". *Staple* 8:44
- Cross, David (Winter 2005). "That Last Moment; Recent Video Art" (review). *[Photofile](/source/Australian_Centre_for_Photography#Photofile)* 74:77
- Reed, Phil (2005). "Born to be wild". *[Real Groove](/source/Real_Groove)* 143:37
- Kaye, Stevie (Autumn 2006). "Is Wellington band Cortina the savior of rock & roll?". *[Pavement](/source/Pavement_(magazine))* 71:18
- Gooding, Sarah (August 2007). "S.O.S. to the world" *[Real Groove](/source/Real_Groove)* 162:34–35
- Sillis, Daisy (February 2013). "Plucky ladies". *[The Australian Women's Weekly](/source/The_Australian_Women's_Weekly) (NZ edition):*60–63

## External links

- [Bek Coogan featured on TVNZ arts documentary series *The Gravy*](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xhdz3jpmTA)
- [S!p! Bull2000 – a video performance by Coogan](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71U4m-d1tCk)
- [Civilisation – a 2004 short film by Coogan](https://www.circuit.org.nz/film/civilization)
- 2004 [Cortina interview](https://web.archive.org/web/20050311175031/http://www.mattcouper.co.nz/cortinaint.html)
- [Bek Coogan interview](https://www.radioactive.fm/recharted-49-bek-coogan-thanks-to-nz-on-air-music/) on RadioActiveFM *Recharted* 49 (June 2019)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Bek Coogan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bek_Coogan) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bek_Coogan?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.