Diary Of An Artist In A New World

Walking With Surreal Horses, Leaves, And Rain

I love rain. It is a wonderful warm experience to wake up with heavy rain on the roof. It starts as a sound as if a distant part of a dream and then the realization that the wet is outside and the sheets are dry causes a womb-like feeling of protection and safety. It doesn't happen very often so it is a mixture of familiarity with unreality.

Later I had to go to Macquarie Street to take photos to upgrade a website. On the way back I saw dozens of Sacred Ibis digging worms in the park. Photographing them lead to photographing reflections on the path and then to leaves and then to two leaves that seemed to interact with the lights and darks on the wet path in an extraordinarily beautiful way. I couldn't stop. Well, I could, but only after around 300 photos and the battery was getting low. I loved those leaves.

Walking further I discovered blue shed like constructions around two large equestrian bronze sculptures. A Japanese/German artist, Tatzu Nishi has enclosed Gilbert Bayes bronzes so that they now appear to be inside a room. My favorite is the one in the photo that looks like the horse and rider are stepping onto a bed. I know that it is a rather fashionable idea to dress up someone else's artwork to give a new appreciation from a new perspective, but this was a particularly good version of that genre. Like the rain on the roof it had a delicious unreality about it, as if it was a Magritte painting that had just come to life.

Real Refusés XII

The afternoon was busy with hanging and dealing with the difficulties artists present hanging crews. It seems many artists think that somehow magic is involved in holding an artwork on a wall because sometimes there is no easy way to get excessively heavy, warped, and poorly constructed "stretchers" hung in any kind of professional looking manner.

Miracles are necessary. A little swearing sometimes helpful. But some how, some way, the last of the paintings were hung just as the first visitors arrived. Just enough time to quickly change into a suit and get presentable for the show.

My role from there is to greet visitors and speak. Lesley welcomed everyone, then I did a small talk and thanked everyone and then introduced our official opener - alternative media publisher Lawrence Gibbons.

At the exhibition opening visitors vote for the Peoples Choice award. This year it was a thousand dollars donated by a lawyer who likes life drawing and remaining anonymous. Her generosity is appreciated by all.

Christo And Jeanne-Claude In Person

Yesterday I had the great privilege of listening to Christo and Jeanne-Claude talk about their work, and afterwards actually meet them. As a couple they are as fascinating as their art works. Two beautiful people with an extraordinary vision. They are a delight to listen to. Like great performers they know their lines well, and have developed impeccable timing. They play the audience like puppetmasters, yet for all that they are open, and surprisingly candid about the intimate details of how their work comes to fruition.

How Robert Mapplethorpe Contributed To A Great Museum's Troubles

The Corcoran Gallery Of Art in Washington D.C. is widely regarded as one of the world's great collections of art. What is less well known is the up-hill struggle the Corcoran has to keep its doors open these days.

Founded in 1869 as a private art gallery its mission was to encourage American genius in art. By that measure it has been wildly successful, at least in its early days, but with a strategy so nebulous it was bound to have difficulties once more finely focussed (and state supported) institutions opened their doors starting with The National Gallery Of Art in 1937.

In this light public perceptions are hugely important, and for many years substantial private donations kept the Corcoran's coffers awash with sufficient cash reserves to enable them to initiate the planning for a Frank Gehry designed new wing estimated to cost $115 million. By 2001 it was reported that they had raised $60 million, yet 2005 the project was cancelled due to lack of funds.

Now in 2007 the Corcoran spends $2 million to stage a huge exhibition called "Modernism", attracts 60,000 less patrons than the 2002 exhibition "Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years" and appears to have lost as much as $500,000 yet the Corcoran leadership describes Modernism as a "smash success". Huh?

Art And About

Each year in Sydney there is an exhibition festival called Art And About. I am most familiar with it due to the photography exhibition which happens in Hyde Park and I have to walk past it on my way to the city. The photographs are printed on large (about 2 meters x 3 meters) canvas and then strung beneath the fig trees on the main promenade. It is always engaging. This year my favorite is one called Fly Boys by Quentin Jones of a whole lot of children flying model planes in a swarm, but there are several other images I like a lot. Being outdoors in a public park the exhibition is viewable 24/7. Recommended.

Inventions Of Leonardo Da Vinci

A travelling exhibition of models of Leonardo's machines is in town at the moment over at Fox Studios (now re-named Entertainment Quarter). 60 of his inventions and devices are on display, many of which can be operated with handles and so on. It is possible to go inside his room of mirrors to see your own back and so on. The catalog is a useful addition to my library for my Leonardo web site still in progress. The whole exhibition is very timely for my writing. Here are some highlights.

TAP Gallery 18th Birthday

Lesley Dimmick has finally come of age. 18 years of running the best underground gallery in Sydney. Literally thousands of young artists have had their first show at TAP.

Ten years ago I met Lesley when I wanted to stage the first Real Refuses exhibition. That started a close friendship that has endured while I have seen TAP grow slowly year by year. I remember TAP's 10th birthday party. It seems like it was only a couple of years ago.

So tonight Lesley celebrated with an exhibition, with a band, with friends, and with a wall of photos of the madcap people and events of recent years.

Happy Birthday Lesley and TAP