The National Gallery of Victoria - Australia, (the one in Federation Square, not St Kilda Road), is showcasing The Australian Quilt - 1800-1950. By now, if you've been visiting here a bit, you know I'm not a hard-core cyber punk biker goth, but neither am I the ultra crafty capable arm-knit your own bespoke tree-beach … Continue reading Review: Piecing it together II
Art
Review: Piecing it together I
For about another week, the Australian Centre for the Moving Image is home to The Nightingale and the Rose, a short film and exhibition reinterpreting the story by Oscar Wilde. The film is an animated lyrical piece featuring the art work of Del Kathryn Barton with filmmaker Brendan Fletcher. You don't need to be familiar with … Continue reading Review: Piecing it together I
De rigueur Degas
I thought I would have more to say about seeing the works of Edgar Degas at the National Gallery of Victoria and maybe I will. However, more time is required to mull viewing more than 200 pieces all together in the first major retrospective since 1988. It's true that I learned things, both from the art and … Continue reading De rigueur Degas
Darkness & then Light
If the work of Jan Sensbergs was heavy with the portent of industrial annihilation, across the corridor at the National Gallery of Victoria (Fed Square) it was all feathery lightness. I wanted to see Sensbergs, but the bonus was remembering Luminous: Australian Watercolours 1900-2000 was also on display. It was a welcome contrast. The art … Continue reading Darkness & then Light
Sensbergs & Observability
Just before it closes I finally got around to seeing Jan Sensbergs' exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria (Fed Square). His lines and perspectives appealed to me and his vision of cities and interior spaces are not bleak exactly, but not happy. I feel like he and William Blake could agree on the damaging modern … Continue reading Sensbergs & Observability
Finding out what we lost
Humans are very good at destroying things. Just look at the stark bones of the Great Barrier Reef. Bleached, it could end up being the largest thing visible from space that was once alive. Yet, it's almost too large to comprehend, which is ironic, given it is made of microbes. Our human brains don't really … Continue reading Finding out what we lost
Poiesis-ly speaking
Poïesis is derived from the ancient term which means "to make". First I decided to attempt art for the Sketch Book Project. In (re)making the book it sent out, albeit a 16 page one, I made space for further creativity. Yes, there was commentary, yes there are sketches and doodles over water colours, and collages and colouring … Continue reading Poiesis-ly speaking
Exhibition Review: things borrowed, all of them blue
I ducked in to see Alchemy of Colour at the National Gallery of Victoria, as a kind of respite. It was a dark retreat from a Friday afternoon in the city. It was quiet, and peaceful. It was everything I needed. It was blue. Although the exhibit closes on April 3, most of the works are … Continue reading Exhibition Review: things borrowed, all of them blue
I can has art now
I've made a book. Or rather written/illustrated/compiled a thing. It's been a late rush, as it's due in a couple of weeks, but it's all coming together, almost like a plan. It's for the Sketch Book Project, which is run by Brooklyn Art Library. My lil book will be kept there and will be available … Continue reading I can has art now
Stick together and defend
Seldom do Aussie pub rock anthems get recognition for their assistance in solving writing dilemmas, but this changes here. By the way that's not a sentence I'd ever thought I'd have to come up with, but there you go, writing is strange like that. We know that ideas come from anywhere. Like today, when I was driving … Continue reading Stick together and defend