Category Archives: Arts & Culture

Everything and anything to do with our arts and cultural activities

Public Health

climate change, design, governance, health & well being, legislation, People, sustainability,

Re-Posted from UK Landscape Institute

Public health and landscape: creating healthy places (November 2013)

The UK Landscape Institute believes that greater priority needs to be given to prevention of ill health in public health and social care. All those involved in creating healthy places, public health professionals, planners and landscape architects, need to recognise that landscape has enormous potential to improve our health and wellbeing. In Australia, despite all the evidence being available, it has been a struggle to have the Australian Government recognise the importance of the links between our public spaces and the population’s health and well being.

 Click here for UK Landscape Institute Public Health Policy links

 

 

Exhibition Catalogue

Arts & Culture, visual arts, , ,
Review: Visual Arts

The Souvenir Genre, an essay by Mel Campbell on exhibition catalogues, published in Meanjin January 2014.

One aspect of visiting exhibitions is the catalogue. Sometimes we flick through it and sometimes we purchase a copy. The catalogue may be purchased as a souvenir of the exhibition but once away from the exhibition, the publication has a life of its own.

There are several exhibition catalogues in the queue to be reviewed through this blog. The first in line is most likely to be Australia, from the 2013 Royal Academy exhibition in London. This exhibition was partnership with the National Gallery of Australia. There is an interesting story there to come concerning reviews and the response from the NGA as well as an interesting perspective from a Sydney commentator.

Meanwhile here’s a recommended article by Mel Campbell on exhibition catalogues.

 

———————————————–

Paul Costigan, 4 January 2014

sustainable communities

climate change, design, governance, sustainability,

Re-Posted from Island Press

Seven Rules for Sustainable Communities

Design Strategies for the Post Carbon World, Parick M Condon 

Questions of how to green the North American economy, create a green energy and transportation infrastructure, and halt the deadly increase in greenhouse gas buildup dominate our daily news. Related questions of how the design of cities can impact these challenges dominate the thoughts of urban planners and designers across the U.S. and Canada.

With admirable clarity, Patrick Condon discusses transportation, housing equity, job distribution, economic development, and ecological systems issues and synthesizes his knowledge and research into a simple-to-understand set of urban design rules that can, if followed, help save the planet.

No other book so clearly connects the form of our cities to their ecological, economic, and social consequences. No other book takes on this breadth of complex and contentious issues and distills them down to such convincing and practical solutions. And no other book so vividly compares and contrasts the differing experiences of U.S. and Canadian cities.

Continue reading sustainable communities →

Public Art

Arts & Culture, travel, visual arts, , , ,
Review: Public Art

Sculpture of Ben Chifley and John Curtin, Canberra

chifley-curtin02

I have driven passed this sculptural piece, by Peter Corlett, many many times. The pair of sculptures look very natural on the corner to the extent that I dare say the casual observer and busy drivers may pass by and miss that they are bronze figures. There’s no plinth. They have been attached directly onto the footpath.

Continue reading Public Art →

Journalism

Arts & Culture, journalism, Opinions
Guardian Opinion

Antony Loewenstein’s wish list for journalism in 2014

Reporters have a choice: to either continue being regarded as untrustworthy, or to be seen as willing to hold the powerful into account. Here are my suggestions for better journalism:

Click here for his article in the guardian

PS: If the ABC could cease having politicians on Q & A, maybe the program format could deliver real debates and possibly become watchable. We need engaging commentators not politicians or their stooges on such programs.

Art Gallery Exhibitions

Arts & Culture, cultural, photography, travel, visual arts, , , , , ,
Review: Visual Arts

An overview of accessing Australia’s major visual art gallery exhibition programs though their websites. Date: Christmas 2013.

stairs-Wei-P1010762

This is an overview of what visual arts major art galleries are telling us is available around the country this Christmas. Our major art galleries endeavour to have their local audiences come through the doors. The challenge is to convince someone interested in all manner of visual arts, including photography, to spend some of our discretionary leisure time and dollars to travel (pay airfares and accommodation) to see the collections and special exhibitions.

Continue reading Art Gallery Exhibitions →

Innovation

Opinions, politics, technology, ,
Opinion: about manufacturing and innovation
and a few more topics

While I am not too worried about the closure of GM’s (Holden) manufacturing plants in Australia in 2017, I am concerned as to whether manufacturing as an Australian industry and its associated innovations are not being supported. It is hard to find intelligent comment on these subjects in the Australian media.

Continue reading Innovation →

Monash Gallery of Art

Arts & Culture, cultural, visual arts, ,
Review: Visual Arts

Claudia Terstappen: In the shadow of change, Monash Gallery of Art

There’s a must see exhibition of landscape photography on at Monash Gallery of Art (Melbourne). This gallery is the Home of Australian Photography.

This body of work is an example of an artist expanding the great traditions of photographing our planet. It is obvious from the photographs that Claudia Terstappen has a romantic view of our landscapes and wants us to be positive about appreciating the world around us.

You are urged to set off for the Monash Gallery of Art and allow time to sit and enjoy.

The exhibition closes 26th January 2014 – check the website here.   and ..

Continue reading Monash Gallery of Art →

Botanic Gardens

Arts & Culture, green infrastructure, parks, photo-essay, , , ,
Review: Australian National Botanic Gardens

botgrdn-P1020270

On the western edge of Canberra’s CBD, next to the Australian National University, on the side of Black Mountain, sits one of the National Capital’s often overlooked treasures, the Australian National Botanic Gardens. Although it figures in tourist brochures, I am not aware of large numbers of visitors. I am also not convinced that local Canberrans visit this site very often or that they think to take their visitors there.

Continue reading Botanic Gardens →

Christmas Stories

Arts & Culture, photo-essay, photography,
Photo-essay: Photographs of Christmas 2013

A collection of photographs gathered more or less locally.  

there two more collections – here and here

We were traveling back from Sydney and made a stop over for dinner at Bowral. There’s a good take away noodle shop half way down the main street.

I took the time to observe the Christmas decoration in the local shops. (click on any image to enlarge them)

Here’s an image in the R M Williams window.

bowral-Christmas01 Continue reading Christmas Stories →

Distraction

Arts & Culture, distraction, Opinions, random, technology, ,
Opinion: Damon Young: Distraction
blame the mind, not the machines

An interesting few words from Damon Young on the machines that distract some people. Damon likes to observe – here’s one of his people observations. I think that too often I have observed his subject.

An ordinary suburban cafe, with an ordinary sullen teenage waitress and faux-friendly barista. The tables are unvarnished barrels. The cups are marmalade jars. And the coffee is bitter, weak and overpriced.

Continue reading Distraction →

Sponsorship

Arts & Culture, Opinions, visual arts, , ,
Opinion: About some of the not so nice links that come with sponsorship and funding.

packer2It was this story on Crikey “Packer’s Sydney arts donation a lay-down misere‘ that took me back to discussions I had been involved with over several decades including when we used to debate such issues openly in the arts. In recent years, all sorts of Sydney groups joined the public debates about the horrors of gambling and in this instance campaigned, unsuccessfully, against the granting of the license for a second casino.

As the deal was signed, it was arts organisations in Sydney who had agreed to take money from James Packer as the payment demanded for the granting of the new casino license. James Packer has never shown an interest in the arts.

 

Continue reading Sponsorship →

Photography

Arts & Culture, travel, visual arts
From the Guardian Australia

How photographing events stops us living them

I identify with Jillian’s comments – click here or on the image above. Many times I witness people wander up to an art work or some scene, and without any thought, they quickly pull up the camera, iphone or ipad, snap and then walk on. They do not even take the time to really look. Got the photo, move onto the next one.

Outside the National Gallery of Australia, people sometimes bring their car to a halt, jump out, snap a few, then it is back in the car and off they go. They have done the National Gallery! and have the photo to prove it. Where was the enjoyment in all that.

Scandal

Arts & Culture, television, ,
Review: TV series on DVD

Scandal

scandal800Trash TV is alive and well. There is real trash such as Revenge (a review some time soon). Then there are programs such as Scandal that come with a fictional framework with a touch of reality, that really tries to be serious, but moves back and forth from potentially being a reasonable political crime drama to a fluffy and unrealistic soap opera. It can be fun to watch but depends on your mood and what you are looking for entertainment.

Warning; We are half way through series two – so if you have not seen these episodes, spoilers may follow.

Continue reading Scandal →

The Fiction Gallery: Patrick Henderson

Fiction Gallery: Patrick Henderson: On being not here

Do you now a Patrick Henderson?

Patrick-Henderson

Patrick Henderson attends meetings called to carry out the business of the gallery for which he is a company director.

When Patrick sits at the table he remains very alert to the presence of his mobile and aware that there may be emails, text messages and tweets that require his attention.

Patrick’s commitment to these distractions is such that he cannot ignore them. Because of his lack of control of the technology, poor Patrick has become one of the many who are physically present somewhere but are rarely mentally completely there.

Continue reading The Fiction Gallery: Patrick Henderson →

Sidney Nolan

Arts & Culture, visual arts, , , ,
Review: Visual Arts

The Nolan Collection at the Canberra Museum and Gallery

Canberra has been blessed with two major collections of Sidney Nolan. One is on permanent exhibition at the National Gallery of Australia. There is also the important special collection at the Canberra Museum and Gallery (CMAG)

nolan-P1020381

I recommend a visit to the Canberra Museum and Gallery to see this collection (and at times maybe the other exhibits). Although you may have to bring in your own chairs to spend any time in this exhibition. I am not sure who thought that to perch on those silly vinyl foot-stools in the middle of the room would enhance a visit.

Continue reading Sidney Nolan →

Cultural Writing

Arts & Culture, cultural, journalism, the media, Urban, visual arts, , ,
Opinion: Cultural Criticism

The current state of Cultural Reviews and Critical Comment

amstrdm-40018

Recently the Guardian ran an opinion piece on the Barangaroo development on the eastern edge of Sydney’s CBD. The author pointed out that she had been involved in the project.

I suggest that the author failed to declare that they had been more than just simply ‘involved’. In fact they had been a leading professional on the team that had won the design competition, that had then seen their designs criticised publicly by people such as Paul Keating, then had their wining design rejected by the client and a new design developed and the contracts awarded to other teams.

Continue reading Cultural Writing →

Julia Gillard

Arts & Culture, politics, women/equity,
Announcement:

Anne Summers Conversation presents Julia Gillard on DVD

Anne Summers has announced the release of the two conversations with Julia Gillard.

For more information, click on the image to the left (or here) to be taken to Anne’s website.

Anne’s “the Looking Glass” has other useful links and information so please support her work by at least having a look – click here.

Philosophy in the Garden

Arts & Culture, books & readings, , ,
Review: Book

Damon Young, Philosophy in the Garden

Melbourne University Press

From Damon’s own blog:

Damon Young explores one of literature’s most intimate relationships: authors and their gardens. For some, the garden provided a retreat from workaday labour; for others, solitude’s quiet counsel. For all, it played a philosophical role: giving their ideas a new life. This book reveals the profound thoughts discovered in parks, backyards and pot-plants. It does not provide tips for mowing overgrown cooch grass, or mulching a dry Japanese maple. It is a philosophical companion to the garden’s labours and joys.

Continue reading Philosophy in the Garden →

The Media

Opinions, random, the media, ,
Opinion: The state of Australian Media

The Democracy experiment continues to be under threat

An article from the Asia Sentinel hits the mark on the media issues in Australia.

A milestone of a dubious kind was passed in Australia recently when it was discovered that the number of public relations practitioners had for the first time exceeded the number of journalists actually working as reporters and editors. (Hamish McDonald)

The full article is a good read. Click here.

Food: in japan

Arts & Culture, photo-essay, random, travel
Photo-essay

Japan and food – an image

A photograph taken in 2006 of lunch time on a busy back street in Tokyo.

lunch-L1040534

The food was great.  Ordering in such places is always interesting as no-one there spoke English (and this is the usual off the tourist areas) and we spoke absolutely no Japanese. We managed through hand gestures and pointing and thanks to the politeness and very friendly nature of the owners. This experience was repeated often whereby the locals were both helpful and courteous to these foreigners who did not speak their language.

 

Art in the Street

Arts & Culture, visual arts, , ,
Review: Art in the front yard

Canberra 16-17 November 2013

Take a quiet little street in Downer. Local artist Stephen Harrison is a resident. Stephen asks the neighbours if he can take over the street and their front yards for the weekend. They say yes. Stephen then brings in the work of  about three dozen artists. And so a fun weekend arrived……

Continue reading Art in the Street →

Photography and The Tableau

Arts & Culture, photography, visual arts, ,
Review: Anna Carey – Contemporary Photography

For travelers of urban space and cities, there is nothing more enjoyable as roaming streets and observing both the unusual and the ordinary. In reality most of time the ordinary and the unusual do tend to blend. Anyone who is an observer of street behaviour realises that there is not much that is ordinary about how people behave as they wander, rush or simply promenade about our urban thoroughfares. The streets of our cities are packed with these constantly changing tableaux. The realities are fun to observe as well as those things we conjure up in our imaginations about the buildings and the streets and the parks and the cosmopolitan mix of people.

Continue reading Photography and The Tableau →

NGA: Turner from the TATE

Arts & Culture, visual arts, , ,
Review: Exhibition at the NGA 2013

Turner From The Tate
exhibition at the National Gallery of Australia, June – September 2013.

Having visited this exhibition three times while it was in Canberra , once in Adelaide and having five times visited Turner in the Tate in London, I have been contemplating these experiences and offer the following comments as a review.

Continue reading NGA: Turner from the TATE →

Art in the Streets

Arts & Culture, Urban, visual arts,
Street Art – A collection of images – in progress

Much of the current crop of graffiti and street art consists of the signatures and/or some brightly coloured clichéd scrawls. There’s also the more subtle and creative.

The latter is so much more fun. And things that bring a smile when everyone wants to be ever so serious about anything and everything, must be a good thing. Bring it on.

Continue reading Art in the Streets →

Halloween

cultural, Opinions, random, ,
Why do we do this?

I do not get this one. The supermarkets and other retailers  have again attempted to convince us that Australia celebrates Halloween and we should be encouraging children and teenagers to wander around and knock on doors to demand sweets. I do not think so!

I’ll migrate that appropriate saying from that other not so relevant event: Bah Humbug.

Continue reading Halloween →

Untangling The Web

Arts & Culture, books & readings, technology,
Review: Book

Untangling the Web, Aleks Krotoski 2013

If you are reading this then you are on the web. After more than twenty years of being on the web it’s timely to benchmark what is happening?

In her book, Aleks takes us through some of the questions such as just how much have we changed because of the world-wide web, Facebook, twitter and google and all internet thingys.

Do not expect her to supply you with all the answers as the internet is very much a work in progress.

 

Continue reading Untangling The Web →

The Art Gallery

visual arts,
It’s About Seating

The visitor experience – seating

on-the-phoneP1010760

The entry spaces and seating within our major public galleries are not the most user-friendly. For reasons I cannot understand, most of our public art institutions have not made their foyers friendly spaces so that it could be easy to meet up and to have that initial chat before moving off to see what there is to enjoy.

Continue reading The Art Gallery →

William Eggleston

Arts & Culture, visual arts, ,
Review: Book (and exhibition)

William Eggleston, Paris, 2009

I like William Eggleston’s photographs. Big Time!

I purchased this book having seen London exhibition by William Eggleston in January 2010. The exhibition had more recent work than was in the book. It was great.

The book I purchased later and have just been looking through it again. I also took out a copy of the 1976 William Eggleston’s Guide. I was fascinating to read the essay by John Szarkowski after all these years. He mentioned Kodachromes; wonder how many remember what they were? The essay still makes for a good read.

Continue reading William Eggleston →

End of the Road?

Arts & Culture, books & readings, politics, , , ,
Review:  Book

End of the Road?, Gideon Haigh, Pengiun Specials, 2013

It’s a tough life taking an interest in your country. Traditionally the main sources of information for most people has been the media. In the last decade this source has become totally corrupted, especially the mainstream media and the ABC.

When it comes to the rhetoric around the car industry in Australia, the ideological arguments that are trotted out do nothing but harm and mislead. Thank god (or whoever is out there) Penguin has these ‘Penguin Specials’ and thank you to Gideon for his research and information that goes a long way to providing a reality check on where the country is at when it comes to having a car industry.

Continue reading End of the Road? →

Laura Tingle Great Expectations

Arts & Culture, books & readings, politics, ,
Review: Book

Great Expectations, Government, Entitlement and an Angry Nation, Laura Tingle 2013
an expanded version of her previous Quarterly Essay

The beginning of the 21st Century is a time when something changed in society due to a rise in the lack of civility and anger over expectations not being addressed. This unrest has surfaced within the larger political debates as well as in more discrete arenas such as companies, community groups, societies and associations.

The media has had a great time fueling this dissatisfaction through the constant emphasis on problems, large, small and imaginary, about our  governments. Continue reading Laura Tingle Great Expectations →

Richard Avedon

Arts & Culture, visual arts, , ,
Exhibition Review

Richard Avedon at National Portrait Gallery, Canberra
August – November  2013

Claude and Paloma Picasso.Christopher Chapman of the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra is to be congratulated for curating this exhibition of a diverse range of Richard Avedon’s work.

For people not too familiar with his work, it is a great introduction to the scope of photography produced by this famous artist.

 

Continue reading Richard Avedon →

Flat Earth News

books & readings, journalism, the media, ,
Review: Book

Flat Earth News, Nick Davies 2009

Just when you though the media and news reporting was crap, along comes a book that proves your worst thoughts on current journalism.

Nick Davies went out on limb as he has criticised his own profession. I suspect he did not win too many friends.

He was reporting on the facts based on his own research and experiences from inside the tent on what had happened to contemporary journalism and why we are now subject to so much ‘churnalism’. Continue reading Flat Earth News →

Battlers & Billionaires

Arts & Culture, books & readings, politics,
Review: Book

Battlers & Billionaires, Andrew Leigh 2013

lc-leadn-malone-20130720164836879543-300x0Have you been wondering whether Australia is that egalitarian society we keep talking about especially in comparisons with other western societies?

As I write this review we are witnessing a millionaire, Clive Palmer, use his wealth to buy personal power in the Australian Parliament. At the same time the millionaire clan of Gina Rinehart and her children are locked in some court battle over a family feud over their millions. Continue reading Battlers & Billionaires →

Truth is out there?

Opinions, politics, random, the media, , , ,
Julia’s ‘murderous rage’

An article in a paper today by Alecia Simmonds stopped me in my tracks.

In the piece she discusses the reporting of the conversation between Anne Summers and Julia Gillard in Sydney. Alecia questions why the reporting concentrated on the statement by Julia when she referred to ‘murderous rage’. Alecia point was that such reporting was about manufacturing controversy yet again. There remains so many celebratory aspects of this event to be highlighted and discussed but too many reporters have yet again chosen to concentrate on making a headline as some form of criticism.

Continue reading Truth is out there? →

Public Art Altered

Arts & Culture, visual arts, , ,

Art in Public Places

Comment on altering a piece of public art

ANU Public Art: Dadang Christanto. Witness, 2004

The ANU has wonderful array of public art throughout their very nice campus.

One of my favourite pieces has been surrounded by fence.

I visited the site today and walked around and pondered:

Why the fence? Its presence just did not make sense.

Here’s a link to more on this topic, and more photos

Let me know if you can throw any light on this mystery.

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Paul Costigan, October 2013

Splendid

Arts & Culture, visual arts, , , ,
Exhibition Review

Adrienne Doig at Martin Browne Contemporary
September – October 2013

Adrienne Doig at Martin Browne Contemporary

I was introduced to Adrienne’s current work when visiting the 2013 contemporary art fair in Sydney in September.

I was intrigued. Her use of eBay purchased embroided patchwork struck a chord and I was hoping to see more soon.

The next day we were wandering over to see another exhibition when we realised  we were near to Martin Browne Contemporary and took the chance to see if her work was on exhibition. It was and I was again very interested. Continue reading Splendid →

Spirit Landscapes

Arts & Culture, visual arts, ,
Exhibition Review
Spirit Landscapes, Tracey Moffatt

Roslyn Oxley Gallery, Sydney, September 2013

I like a lot of Tracey Moffatt’s work and have seen quite a lot of it over the years. Some of her more recent works have been mixed and my jury is still out on whether they are great works. In most cases they no longer are photographs as they are mixed media usually based on some photographic manipulations. Continue reading Spirit Landscapes →

National Portrait Gallery

Arts & Culture, Urban, visual arts, ,
Review: Urbanity

A work in progress – reviewing the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra

The National Portrait Gallery of Australia opened in 2009 to much acclaim. This national cultural institution has become a very popular tourist destination. The gallery sits in amongst trees in the National Parliamentary Triangle alongside the National Gallery of Australia and the High Court of Australia.

While I have seen nothing but praise for the building, I beg to differ.  Particularly when talking about the outside of the building and how it ‘sits in the landscape’. More on that later.

Continue reading National Portrait Gallery →

CITY of Trees

Arts & Culture, trees, visual arts, , ,
Review: Visual Arts

City of Trees, National Library of Australia, Canberra, 5 July – 7 October 2013

This review originally published  August 2013

One lazy Saturday afternoon I took myself over to the National Library of Australia. I had read all the advertising and was very much looking forward to an exhibition on the trees of Canberra.

Any exhibition that focused on the trees of Canberra has to be something to see, something to talk about, and something that would be most embraced.

P1010530the entrance with two light boxes   

In short, this one did none of those things for this reviewer. This exhibition in this prestigious national library exhibition space just left me wondering just what happened. Did the exhibition curators sign up a feel good Centenary Exhibition about one of the core features of the national capital; its fabulous trees. And then the pieces arrived and there was nothing to do but to make a good show of it. In this case it has been well laid out with all the usual fine aesthetics of good curatorship. But the content is just not there.

Continue reading CITY of Trees →

Take Your Best Shot

Arts & Culture, books & readings, politics, , , ,
Review: Book

Take Your Best Shot, The Prime Ministership of Julia Gillard, Jaqueline Kent 2013

It was a very strange three or so years in Australian politics. It remains difficult to make sense of it all.

The media, Tony Rabbot, Kevin Rudd and his ruddites and the shock jocks all part of the murky times. Then there was the uncivilised behaviour that morphed into accepted everyday behaviour and all those supposedly close colleagues who turn on you. What a time for anyone!

Continue reading Take Your Best Shot →

The Prince

books & readings, politics, religion, ,
Review: Quarterly Essay, The Prince, Faith, Abuse and George Pell.
David Marr, September 2013

This is one of those essays that I picked up knowing some of this story and already having opinions on religion in Australia, the associated politics and the horrible abuse issues.

I read this essay in one sitting and was totally taken aback by the details of events and the nasty side of human behaviour as told by David Marr.

This is recommended reading for anyone interested in the story of where this country has been and the issues we are yet to deal with properly. Continue reading The Prince →

Exhibition chatter

random, visual arts

When roaming the art galleries in Sydney recent, I came across a couple of women in Martin Browne Contemporary. As they slowly walked through the exhibitions they were chatting endlessly about all sorts of gossipy things and were not really stopping to look at any of the art on display.

They managed to meander through the two floors of the space without actually stopping to look and without pausing their conversations.

Amazingly I ran into them twice more at different galleries and they put on the same performance. Chat, slow wander, and no contemplation or discussion of the works.

They were not whispering. They spoke reasonably loudly, so it was hard to ignore, and the conversations were just plain boring!

what the F? was going on – it seems they were going through the motions of visiting galleries and exhibitions but in fact it was simply a meaningless social occasion.

The Stalking of Julia

books & readings, politics, women/equity

Book Review

The Stalking of Julia Gillard, Kerry-Anne Walsh

I should be able to say that there’s really no need for thinking and observant people to read this book.

The last three years in relation to the governance of Australia were just something totally unbelievable. We all think we know what happened.

I now consider that the labor government lost power well before the election. Was it because it was delivering fantastic economic management or was it because it did not deliver an outstanding set of national programs?

Continue reading The Stalking of Julia →

Misogyny Factor

Arts & Culture, books & readings, politics, women/equity, , ,

Book Review

The Misogyny Factor, Anne Summers

It was a month or so after our First Women Prime Minister had been removed from her position and following a number of not so nice events in my own life that I had started to wonder just what is happening to our Australian way of life and culture. What has happened to civility and respect.

There is a generation or two who seem to think that feminism is a cause now won and we should move on.

I find that certain men and women are fully capable of all sorts of weasel words about equality and the role of women in the workplace and act as if they champion such matters. Continue reading Misogyny Factor →