...not whinging, just MoNA in Green

Shane with Key ring from Jason

G’day Possums,

Mrs Wombat, daughter No:1 and I had another trip to Hobart  its surrounds and particularly to MoNA.

Oddly, it seemed the days were warmer here than in the home burrow of the Tardis State where, today it has been lightly snowing again.

We had some encounters too that reminded us that not all politicians are as putrid as those we will refer to later in Wombat Droppings.

The light in Hobart is wonderful, crisp and clear, a pinging delineation of flora, which is at times quite different to the mainland and where history and its actions seem much closer to the surface . 

Recherche Bay 

In the far south at Recherche Bay where Bruni d'Entrecasteaux sheltered in his search for the missing explorer La Perouse and made friends with the local indigenous people, which later did them no favours. As they happily ran toward later arrivals, English Redcoats and waving branch fronds as a greeting, they were shot down. 

Sandy Bay Rd near Albuera

There’s a small park on the side of Sandy Bay Rd near Albuera Primary school that had a melancholy feel and I took a couple of shots only to discover the next time I walked past that there was also some broken graveyard headstones fashioned into a monument as well.  Bones had been recovered during works on the playground and the saw marks on some of them seemed to indicate the cadaver(s) may have been used some medical procedure. 

Max

Then we met Max and Ruby. Ruby was very quiet and secure in Max’s care but Max was very affable.

Max and Ruby

And some locals, possibly trying to upstage part of the exhibition at MoNA, who said they did Samian ( I think) craft and one who indicated she rode a very pretty bike which was parked just around the corner. 

Two sisters at Salamanca Market waiting for their snacks…. 

Two sisters at Salamanca Market

…and Larry the American on his way to same…. with supplies. 

Larry the American

 A restaurant dinner that night saw us sitting next to Greens ex-Leader, (and inspirational hero to daughter No#1) Dr. Bob Brown who told us he was doing a book signing next day at The Hobart Bookshop ( www.hobartbookshop.com.au ) and said he wouldn’t mind me taking pics.

Dr. Bob Brown at The Hobart Bookshop

His book, “Optimism” is a good read and a suitable antidote to what Federally, is presently ailing us.

Also seen at Salamanca Market were “Mangus” who made a very fine noise… check them out.

Mangus

 We hopped onto the MoNA ferry, which is really the only way to go there if you are capable of ascending the 99 (zillion, trillion) stairs after disembarking. The quirky pointed humour of the owner David Walsh is present on the ferry too, as you are just another part of a live shipment being transported to another world. 

MONA Ferry

Which is probably as good a place as any in which to conflate this week’s Wombat Droppings…. The “ Fortress Australia” mentality of “Rabbutt-the-Hun” is grandly represented in the rusting steel walls of the gallery

MONA

And it’s Byzantine interior walkways reflect his meanderings into oblivion….. 

MONA

…as does the sculpture by (?)

MONA

 which encapsulates the feverish fripperies of “The-Coots-With-Queer-Ideas-From-a-Parallel-Universe” the IPA whose machinations have all seemed to have come unstuck at the same time to whit: “Blot-on-the-Landscape’s” 18C fiasco for  George "Bigot" Brandis; the same incompetents’ bungling of the Metadata explanation, then Eric “Vichy” Abetz’s foot-in-mouth conflating abortion with breast cancer to curry favour with the “Septic-Tanks” “ultra-right-happy-clappy” brigade. 
All this coupled with the loss/sacking of a pair of foul-mouthed candidates means it’s been a nasty week for a nasty bunch of people.

Dr. Lauren Rosewarne opined (Age 10-8-14) that “…social media is a very tricky game for some people.”  I would venture, good manners, too!

MONA

Joe “Cereal-Toyota-Killer” Hockey is blaming Labor and the Greens' obstruction of his fiercely unfair budget for the worsening employment rate which is odd ‘cause he’s the one whose decided that manufacturing is soooo C19th! 

But then, unlike art….

MONA

…politics is not a game.

Jason (who made the key ring) and Friend

Repetitive perhaps, selling the same thing in different guises perhaps and not all is as it seems. 

MONA

But if you drill down long enough you might just see the light....

...and with contemplation, find the truth…

 

MONA

as unpalatable as it really is...

 

MONA

...it’s enough to drive you to drink.

Hoo-roo, Petals,

Shane

Hobart Noir

Art in Hobart and other pornographies

G'day Possums,

Shane at MoNA

Mrs Wombat and I took a trip to Hobart to visit The Museum of Old and New Art.

What an exciting place.

The eclectic approach to presenting works by theme rather than by style or chronology was inspiring.

Sculptures, MONA Hobart

Many of the works are not labelled; a deliberate choice of the collections' owner David Walsh in a move calculated to force the veiwer to consider the piece in its own context and that of the overall context.

It was interesting just how much this seemed to free you to consider things less rigidly and discover other relationships and meanings that you reflected on later in front of other works.

There are IPads to carry around which can inform you of work details and which have a funny symbol of a penis and testicles if you wish to a read of some curatorial "art-wank", as it is called.

Although very useful the IPads have a consequence somewhat more irritating than traditional labels as people do tend to stand in front of the works reading the bloody thing.

Patrons with IPads MoNA, Hobart

 The arcitecture is stone, concrete and steel and its lighting allows works to be isolated and considered seperately as you wander this joyous maze of discovery.

Water Sculpture MONA Hobart

This water piece had people spellbound as it "read" the news as it happened from the internet and re-inforced its concept that we only take in about 20% of that we see.

It also reminded me of an idea (ignored) I put forward for image projections on Lake Wendouree for the BIFB coming up in September.

Video work MoNA, Hobart

And you will never look at "The Voice"  or any more of those "talent" programs in quite the same way after veiwing this video work. It was both excrutiatingly funny, pointed and poignant... rivetting stuff.

Euthanasia installation piece. MONA, Hobart

...and a more sobering work that moved its viewers.

Grace L.  in front of Sidney Nolan's Serpent, MONA

to this young lady Ms Grace L. who happily happened to be in the right spot and kindly let me photograph her.

Go see MONA... this little teaser shows little of the place or the Old Art for that matter and can't show the friendliness and helpfulness of the staff or the attention to detail in customer service.  A great experience.

 In wandering around Hobart some people and things fell within camera range so here you are.

Hobart montage

 

 St Davids Park, Hobart

 

The Verandahcoots, Hobart

 

Angus Webb, Busker Hobart

 

A Red-Hatter

Wombat Droppings

And real political pornography.

What is the relationship between 1.3 million people watching “Celebrity Splash” and Tony (the rabbott) A’s current popularity?

Standing on the doorstep of Adelaide Ice Service, (27/4/13) Tony (Rabbott) Abbott claimed the company was one of the "many thousands and thousands and thousands of Australian businesses which is being badly damaged by this toxic tax (Carbon Price)". But what poor old Tony didn't know - or at least didn't say - is that Adelaide Ice was set to end up better off from the price on carbon in the form of thousands and thousands of dollars in industry assistance.

The company was awarded a $90,000 grant as part of the carbon price-funded Clean Technology Food and Foundries Program, which will see a solar power system installed in its manufacturing plant and actually reduce energy costs by up to $20,000 a year. Truth is, Adelaide Ice is better off with a price on carbon.

Tony may still need a coal-powered nightlight, but most Australians have realised that the carbon-bogeyman was just a made up fairy tale.

From: “Get-Up”

Joe (Oh-what-a-feeling) Hockey (alleged opposition Finance Minister} says re: the Fed’s  defict:…  “We’ll all be roooned, roooned, I say….but  I can’t tell you how we’ll fix it…  vote for us… …..please”!

 He and Peter (I-Had-a-Baton) Costello carry on in interview like they are auditioning as replacements for “Zig and Zag”….. and are just as funny ….not.

What is the relationship between 1.3 million people watching “Celebrity Splash” and T A’s current popularity?

Campbell(Il Duce)Newman, probably because of the federal election, has “put-on-hold” Costello’s suggestions of selling off schools and public housing in the Deep North…. Armageddon can wait for a more propitious ide.

What is the relationship between 1.3 million people watching “Celebrity Splash” and T A’s current popularity?

Clive (Titanic2) Palmer wants to be Prime Minister. 

This is not a joke, he does!

What is the relationship between 1.3 million people watching “Celebrity Splash” and T A’s current popularity?

Leigh Sales (ABC’s 7:30) had another “Hissy-Fit” with Treasure Wayne (What’s-a-Surplus?) Swan t’other night.

Pity she wasn’t as even-handed with Abbott “Rabbott” earlier in week.

I’m beginning to wonder if she’s attempting to protect her position after the Liarbril’s romp home in the election and ABC funding gets slashed. 

Then the dead hand of conservatism can say, “Look they can’t produce popular programs, so let’s sell it all off to Rupert(The-Ugly-American) Murdoch.

What is the relationship between 1.3 million people watching “Celebrity Splash” and T A’s current popularity?

Napthines Mantra....

Pretend Premier, Dennis (Inutilus Rusticus) Napthine (ex Liarbril Geoff (Fiddles) Shaw is the real power) thought that the construction union marching to the wall that fell and killed three people to demonstrate workplace safety was in bad taste. Hmmmm,  I supposes he thinks the “buck-passing” between the Tardis State (where-all-goes-backward) Govt. and the Melbourne City Council over who issued the permits for the wall is not? Or having mounted police at the march to make it look like there was going to be a riot is not bad taste either?

“Inutilus Rusticus” has announced a surplus and put some money back into schools and hospitals which beggars the question, if you had a surplus in the first place why did you initially slash funding so severely?

“Fiddles” Shaw looks like getting the bonus he wanted and whilst Teachers, Nurses, Ambo’s and other Public Servants have to dog-fight for salary increases the Tardis State (Where-All-Goes-Backwards) pollies are going to increase their own entitlements which could be as much as $40,000 a year!

This is real political pornography.

“Inutilus Rusticus” has also announced a big new multi-billion dollar road tunnel which solve all our traffic problems for 15 seconds!

Rail is sooooo C19th!

This is to be funded partly by the Tardis State, The Feds and Private investment. Given that governments can borrow at much better rates than private corporations and therefore at less cost to the taxpayer in the long run, you wonder why people still believe the myth of Liarbrils being competent economic mangers or that they have any capacity to think beyond the election cycle and actually Govern for the State.

What is the relationship between 1.3 million people watching “Celebrity Splash” and T A’s current popularity?

Vic police have been franchising their services to Bikie Gangs…. Some-thing smelly in the Tardis State?

Federal Liarbril’s announced their Industrial Relations Policy…. Which means that ''non-monetary benefits'' will become part of your pay. Imagine offering your bank manager 100,000 coffees as a deposit on the house you wish to purchase?

Sound stupid…see page 36 of the Liarbril brochure.

What is the relationship between 1.3 million people watching “Celebrity Splash” and T A’s current popularity?]

Myer chief executive Bernie Brookes complained that the National Disability Insurance Scheme’s 0.5% levy increase was something that would hurt his company's profits: that it was money that consumers would have spent at its stores.

What a hero, what a speciman!

These two Myer workers are probably not smiling as much now as they cop “sprays” from customers about their mindlessly greedy boss.

What is the relationship between 1.3 million people watching “Celebrity Splash” and T A’s current popularity?

Cheers Petals, Hoo-Roo,

Shane