Last month I went up north to the nation’s capital, Canberra (yes, it’s actually not Melbourne, nor Sydney), to see the Masterpieces from Paris – Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cézanne and beyond at the National Gallery of Australia. This breakthrough exhibition (it is the first post-impressionist devoted exhibition in Australia) boasts 112 of some of the most famous works of modern art from the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, a major museum of 19th-century art. Selected artists no doubt ring a bell with most people: Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Paul Cézanne, Georges Seurat, Pierre Bonnard, Claude Monet, Maurice Denis, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Edouard Vuillard, among others. I’d been really primed for this exhibition months before (I had previously missed the Edgar Degas exhibition, owing to uni commitments, so I truly was determined to make it this time round!), but as I queued up early that Monday morning I tried not to heighten my already great expectations, especially having travelled so far from home. I’m aware of the criticisms that come with these so-called ‘blockbuster’ exhibitions, but where’s the harm in being swept away in the flurry of mystique, tragedy and exoticism that colours these many paintings?
Archive for the ‘Art’ Category
Review: Masterpieces from Paris: Post-Impressionism from the Musee d’Orsay
Sunday, January 31st, 2010Review: Salvador Dalí—Liquid Desire @ NGV
Saturday, October 3rd, 2009
For the lucky Melburnians and visitors in town, the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) for today only is showing Salvador Dalí: Liquid Desire for 24 hours, from 10am till 10am tomorrow morning. It’s the last day today to see it! Isn’t that brilliant? Sure, they’re probably just trying to squeeze in last minute cash, but I’m sure they’ll be successful tonight. I for one love the idea of popping by at 3 in the morning; if only I felt safe enough to do so. I visited twice on two Art After Dark Wednesdays (poor student that I am). I stayed five hours on the latter Wednesday, not really because it was that “omg awesome!”, but I was frantically jotting down hundreds of notes for my essay, which I’ve published below. The exhibition just bursts with so much detail and diversity; 300,000 people have attended already, but it begs the question—what makes Dalí so popular, given his eccentric, exuberant life and career?
Illustration Friday: Voices, Rambunctious, Similar
Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008Three weeks worth of Illustration Fridays. Whoopsies!
Voices
I grew up with Enid Blyton, and I love how the Magic Faraway Tree could speak to the children through its leaves and branches: “wisha, wisha, wisha, wisha!”
Rambunctious
So sue me. I thought of Joker.
Similar
For the indecisive person, this is a nightmare.
Golden Age of Couture: Paris and London (1937–1948)
Sunday, December 21st, 2008Last Monday, as planned, I went up to Bendigo with my folks, mainly to check out the featured exhibition at Bendigo Art Gallery, The Golden Age of Couture: Paris and London (1937–1948), direct from the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. It was overall a fantastic show of outfits, ranging from refined afternoon wear to the more flamboyant evening gowns, with also a collection of fashion photography from the likes of Richard Avedon on display.
Bendigo is a lovely city. Clean, vintage and with friendly people. And there was a Katies store that was closing down with the cheapest clothes! $5 a piece for most garments, zomg! Not even DFO can compare!
I sort of splurged on the gift range… The bag is beautiful and cute however, and well worth it.
Now I wouldn’t be a true type fan without noticing the amazing signage around this historic city! ‘Total Abstinence Society Inc”—well, that’s one way of putting it, eh? I love the little flourishes and the Nouveau/Deco typefaces.
The flourish in the ‘AND’ is beautiful! But I love the little stencil someone grafittied on top of the sign. It completes the set. 
Summer Exhibitions I Wish to See
Wednesday, December 10th, 2008So… I haven’t been to an art gallery in a long time. I think the last time was NGV’s Art Deco. That’s a long time in my book. For me, it’s a good way to chillax and rejuvenate some of my creative vigour, and usually an excuse to hang about the NGV Shop (which I love).
The National Gallery of Australia in Canberra is hosting the first (and biggest) Edgar Degas exhibition in the country from this Friday! I wouldn’t have known about it if I hadn’t been watching the 7:30 Report while doing the dishes tonight. Oooh I would really love to go. I missed out on the huge Warhol and Picasso exhibitions in Queensland, but I should really love to see some more Degas. I’m a real sucker for the Realist and Impressionist movements (although Degas himself hated the term “Impressionist”). I suppose I could make it a day trip. Airfares with Tiger Airways are usually cheap (I’ll never forget my $10 trip to Hobart) and I imagine I could stay a night and get home the next day, if it came to that… But I suppose I’d want to sight-see just to take advantage of being in the actual capital (yes, this sleepy city is the official capital). I haven’t been since I was seven years old.
Bendigo Art Gallery currently has The Golden Age of Couture: Paris & London exhibition which opened last Sunday, and looks really good from the previews I saw in the Herald. I’m lucky Dad is willing to drive me there next Monday. Y’know, I’ve never been to Bendigo. I’ve lived here all my life and I still haven’t been to the big rural cities (hmm, that sounded oxymoronic)
ACMI is currently showing Setting the Scene, which “[explores] the sets of Baz Luhrmann’s Australia, plus over 300 works that reveal the inspired designs behind cinema classics including Metropolis, Mon Oncle, A Clockwork Orange, Cabaret, Alien and The Matrix.” Looks set to be really inspiring. I enjoyed going through the filmmaking process last semester.
And of course, NGV has Andreas Gursky’s photography on show this summer. I studied some of his work in photomedia last year—he focuses on giant architecture and landscapes.
Those are the big ones. There are plenty of other local artists exhibiting as well. See Flinders Lane, Gertrude St, Brunswick St, etc, or check out The Vine and Indie Art and Design.
Oh yeah, THE DARK KNIGHT is out today, BABY! I’m probably getting my DVD tomorrow. If I can be bothered walking the 800m to JB… (ofcourseIcan!)
Illustration Friday: Opinion
Thursday, November 27th, 2008
Am very late with this prompt, but I had the idea as soon as I saw the word last Friday. Meh. I’m a very indecisive person—my head is full of rationales as to why I should do this and why I shouldn’t do that. The lazy typography is pretty telling, huh? But this isn’t a full-fledged work; it’s spontaneous and fun and breaks all the rules. 
Illustration Friday: Wise
Monday, November 10th, 2008Yes, after nearly 2 years of not participating in Illustration Friday, I am back in full swing.
Whenever I think of someone wise, I think of them as having attained a certain self-awareness, or being completely at ease with their lot in life. That’s a point at which you’ve become wiser.
I haven’t painted for a while. I bought some new inks a couple weeks at the uni bookshop; they don’t seem all that different from my gouache paints, although the texture feels nicer. Reminder to self to buy more indian ink.
Lights, camera, action!
Friday, October 10th, 2008Now that the damned essay has been handed in (it was utter agony like I’ve never imagined, yeesh!), there is only really studio and film to be worried about this week. The weather’s been improving, albeit the fluctuating winds remain as intense as ever. Shooting for my short film is on Sunday; unfortunately my partner and I left it to the last minute, well, not entirely last minute, but since it’s a still image film, we’re basically just going to be spending longer time in the editing room (not that we have one), probably at uni, since it has all the juicy programs: iMovie, AfterEffects, Final Cut Pro… Ah, the art of film making was never easy. 
Anyway, Fel was very generous in lending me her Canon D-SLR camera to me. I would so love one; I’ve been eyeing the Canon EOS 1000D and the slightly upper-class EOS 450D for a long time, but at the rate I’m saving up I probably won’t get it til mid-2009 or sommat. That’s OK. I can wait. There’s always the possibility that I’m going to China/Hong Kong after I graduate (if I decide not to pursue Honours), so I could get a camera for a significantly cheaper price, but insurance might be an issue. However, I’ve had cases where it’s valid anywhere in the world? Not sure about the particulars.
In addition to the image, we’ve got to consider sound. We’ve thought that a pensive, somewhat childish but whimsical piano tune would suit very well. Been scouting for royalty-free music on the net. You’d be surprised by how much bad stuff is out there, but inversely how much great free stuff there is as well. It’s fantastic. If I had a musical bone in my body I would compose a score in GarageBand, but I was not blessed with such a talent. Ah, well.
I’ve enjoyed studying film this semester though—I’ve been exposed to many influential directors who wouldn’t cross my mind at first. I still entertain some dream of breaking into the film industry, but I guess I will finish my degree before I think about that. And sprucing up my rustic portfolio would be a good thing to do as well…
