The current work at Conical gallery on Rochester St is an installation of metal sheets with an abstract soundtrack of mechanical noise, voices and abrupt changes in tone and volume. It"s confronting and not particularly enjoyable, and would probably be frightening to small children.

I amused myself for five minutes while experiencing it by imagining a corporation broadening their art collection by installing something like this in their fuck off massive foyer. Imagine this playing amidst the orange leather bench thingies at BHP on Lonsdale St, for example. The suits would walk through it each day feeling nervous, but reassuring themselves that it qualified for a tax deduction. Rock on... until June 13, when it finishes.

The opening night of the winter exhibitions at CCP on Thursday 4 June was well attended by people with impressive hairstyles. I realise now how jaded I have become about opening nights when I head for the drinks, grab a glass of wine and nearly steal it before realising that at this launch I have to pay for it. I"ve been spoiled at Gorker and Lamington Drive openings with free drinks. I paid and apologised to the confused woman behind the bar so she did not need to wrestle me to the ground.

The best work now showing at CCP is a video triptych called "Folly" by Arlo Mountford. The work is a computer animated re-interpretation of three paintings by sixteenth-century Flemish painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder. It shows three scenes of rural life in a pre-industrial setting and is quite beautiful in its naive movement and delicate colouring.

The photography was good too - Louis Porther"s featured super saturated colours with travel themes are a pleasure to look at.

The final work is a study in occupational health and safety risk management. "Fashioning discontinuities" by Bianca Hester is a series of obstacles in the entrance gallery that proved quite a challenge for the large crowd to negotiate, especially with a drink in hand. I"m glad I didn"t break it. I suppose you"d call it sculpture. I found it annoying. To be fair, it probably needs to be seen as a whole work in a mostly empty space rather than when the space is full of people.

Has The Age turned hostile on the Lord Mayor?

Melbourne City's Lord Mayor John So has since yesterday received flak from The Age over his over-spending and budget-redirection last year, his popularity suggested to be the result of a very successful but expensive media campaign. It is also suggested that the Council's expenses had been progressively increasing since he had been in office.

Has The Age suddenly turned hostile on Melbourne's favourite Lord Mayor?

Apparently, no. I did a search through The Age's archived articles and have come with the impression that The Age has consistently been either non-chalant or criticising of John So's endorsements. I may be wrong - correct me on this if I am.

What's up with that?

Another Post on Transport!

Power went down on the Swanston Street trams lines for at least an hour this evening. If you were anywhere near Swanston, you were obviously aware of this. If you were trying to get home, you were also aware of this.

It's a really obvious point, but all the apocalyptic-looking, empty trams reminded me once again of how susceptible train/tram transport is to failure. You can reroute buses, but if it's on straight rails, it's going nowhere.

Anyway, thought I'd open up the comments to more generalized bitching about the public transport. Do you think anyone anywhere is happy with their public transport? London? New Yorkers love the subway, but complain constantly about the track changes (and fair enough). Chicago is a disaster, especially now that they've shut down an entire set of tracks for two years worth of work. Paris is pretty good.

Check out this website with maps of public transport to scale. Pretty cool (also a friend of mine - hi Neil!)

A Brief Blogstory of Melbourne - Part 1

Exploring the past is one of my passions, and I thought it might be nice to apply this to the place where I live. So, i present to you...

A Brief Blogstory of Melbourne

Like the majority of big cities in the world, Melbourne sits along a river. We're next to a bay that opens into Bass Strait, and we get a temperate seasonal climate. We're well north of Antarctica and well south of the tropics, but this geographical position is a relatively recent one for us - and it won't last.

Continued reading A Brief Blogstory of Melbourne - Part 1...

The Cutting Room Floor of the Melb Model

Last month, I wrote about the Melbourne Model, the new concept for Melbourne Uni launched in April. I mentioned that a friend had seen her program alter radically from Gender Studies to Development and Gender Studies.

Other students are displeased as well:

Adelaide Fisher, who moved from Sydney to study creative arts, said she was enticed and excited by subjects offered. Having planned a double major in creative writing and film scripts, she said she was now being advised to consider history and politics to finish her degree.

"If I had known then what I know now, I never would have done this course," she said.

The Student Union is representing the students and they are initiating the formal grevience process. They are also considering legal action.

There is apparently a protest today at the Parkville campus, but I don't have the details. I would reckon that someone at the Union probably does if you're feeling protesty (you know, if you didn't get you march on for International Workers Day yesterday).

Dudded, say Melbourne Uni students [The Age]

300 & Spiderman 3 at IMAX

Neil:
I'm a big fan of IMAX but Melbourne rarely plays any mainstream movies. Well, I can only hope they got the message from my previous post, as they are showing 300 and starting this Thursday, Spiderman 3.

From one of our readers, Pierrotee:

I went to see a film in IMAX last weekend and was blown away by how much it enhances the cinema experience. I would suggest everyone try to take advantage of this amazing technology we have here in Melbourne. While they are at it, the can take in a trip to the Museum adjacent. One small plea though, if you are planning on seeing a movie at IMAX, like any other cinema, please arrive in time to get a seat and shut up once the lights go out!

Conversation.

Darren:

Buskers are all over town on Saturdays. This busker-audience pair looked nearly perfect.

Queen Vic Market goes Mercado

The Queen Vic Market is hosting La Plaza de Mercado, a Spanish and Latin American-themed event today. I'm a little alarmed that the picture on the website is of a huge sign reading Copacabana, but my desire for a tortilla that
isn't made by Old El Paso outweighs my skepticism. The copious lack of Mexican food on every corner here really gets me down.

The event runs from 10am to 4pm today in the back of the Market (where Night Market is held).

I'm sorry but I have to say it.... Olé!

That is officially the stupidest thing I've ever written. Enjoy.

Pic and info from the Vic Market Website

Farm Animals at Victoria Market

anybody catch the farm animals that were at victoria market last weekend?

i wonder what they were for.