JustMona

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a Mona Visit, a Must

I went to visit Mona, I now believe in GOD.

After running the gauntlet of ‘stuff you don’t need’ at the airport. After being shot at high speed through clouds into a soft blue space. After landing with a slight rumble onto the tarmac at Hobart, we were ready for Mona.

Where does one begin with this amazing and magical place. I suppose at the start would be good. A ferry ride up the Derwent river to the Mona landing followed by 99 steps took us to the entrance. A wonderful way to arrive. However, before we entered the Museum of Old and New Art there was much to see outside. Set in a frame of heavy slabs of rusted steel, a border with the outside world, we wandered and wondered from one art piece to another.

A larger then life cement truck created from waste sheets of rusted steel welcomed us into the land of magic and wonder. Wandering on we found ‘Chapel’, a building created from similar rusted steel by the same artist. ‘Exquisite’ comes to mind. Next, a huge slab of aluminium, suspended in the sky, has a square hole cut in it. I sit below it and view a framed aspect of the sky. This simple but strong and beautiful work seems based on the concept of the Zen view.

Time to enter the museum. Two doors of black glass, situated in a wall of mirrored metal, slide silently open into the entrance and the world of magic. The magic of art, the magic of architecture, plus the magic of both brilliance and madness combined. One takes a circular lift into a subterranean world and lands into a space, I imagine, not unlike that of Alice in wonderland. The first artwork to be experienced, besides the astonishing architecture, which, by the way, reminded me of being in an Egyptian pyramid, was a work where water dropped from a horizontal pipe and in that dropping created words. One word after the other dropping from above. Random words. Readable rain. A mesmerising work. 

Between this work and the last, which was a full size Porsch, manufactured in fire-engine red plastic, (Imagine this car blown up and becoming very fat,) were many truly fantastic works to be enjoyed, to marvel at and be surprised by. Works such as an eerie room, like a tomb. You walk on stepping stones, set in black water, towards a platform with two coffins, one with a mummy and one with video of the same mummy, which slowly reveals the inside of the mummy. So, in time, a skeleton is revealed. A powerful piece. In another space, on a black wall is a line of 77 3d white porcelain prints of vaginas. Each one different. Then there are numerous multimedia works and video installations. Plus throughout, special pieces of ancient art. One wonders where David Walsh, the creator of Mona, got these treasures.  

There was a clue when after a day spend in the museum, I once more wondered around outside and found his reserved car park. It stated in big bold letters ‘reserved’ ‘GOD’, with a slick car in front of it. GOD was home. Next to this was an equally shiny Mercedes with the words ‘reserved’ ‘GOD’s mistress’ on the wall.

That is why now, after visiting one of the most amazing museums I have ever experienced, I believe in GOD. Go and visit Mona. You haven’t lived until you do. You may even get a glimpse of GOD if he isn’t gambling somewhere, that is, to make more money to finance his wonderful museum.

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                                          At the cosmic filling station ask for a "full Tank"

 

Petrus

June 2015

thePleasuresofLearning

maeve staite with her sustainable house model

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The pleasures of learning

One of those wet watery windy winter days when the cold cuts right through your clothing no matter how warm you are dressed. I was walking up the bleakness of Vincent Street on my way to the Daylesford primary school to attend the sustainable housing expo, a project by the younger students of the school.

Entering the school I immediately became aware of ‘the warmth of welcome’.

This was carried right throughout my visit by the friendliness of both students and staff.

For this project the students of three classes had each made a model of a house with special attention to the possible sustainable qualities. Qualities which they had learned about as part of this term’s project.

There where as many different approaches to this brief as there were students. The variety of the work was enjoyable, impressive, inspiring and creatively exciting. I was once again reminded that whenever I see creative work by our young people I, as a member of the older generation, feel pretty hopeful that the future is in good hands, as I did once again when I viewed this particular expo.

I loved the creative answers the kids had come up with. The way things were interpreted. In some of the designs it was clearly evident that dad or mum had partaken in the task at hand, which I thought was another wonderful aspect of this project. Working together with your mum or dad. Working together with your son or daughter. Excellent outcome. In my mind’s eye I saw the family gathered around the table during a winter’s evening, knotting out the problems and finding answers. What stood out in all of this creation of architecture was the creative use of ordinary stuff. Stuff, that lies around the house, to interpret the various objects depicted as part of their buildings. For instance the use of a set of CDs as solar panels, or a drinking straw as a rainwater pipe. Simple. Effective.

This worthwhile project seems the natural continuation of the school’s kitchen garden project. Another project where kids are learning about care, wastage plus the growing, preparation and presentation of food. The thoughts entered my mind that in relation to my experience of primary school there was no comparison. Learning today seems such fun.

As if that wasn’t enough, there are those benefits of this project that you cannot see but that are just as important, if not more so. The fact that the kids who had taken part in this project will, from now on, have a new awareness about housing. When out and about, they will notice the things they have learned about in the environment around them and take notice. Thus they will keep on learning. The subtlest result of this project

With a project such as this, many aspects of learning are touched upon. Art, design, mathematics. model-making etc.

It is commonly understood that most students who take art as a subject at school will not become artists. However, those who attend art classes will have their lives greatly enriched by the way they have learned to look and see. This goes for all the other subjects as well. Learning about these things creates a greater awareness and thus a richer life experience.

Here I realised we were also presented with another very important lesson. That learning does not only happen in one’s head. Learning also happens from engaging the world with one’s hands, through one’s hands. Learning does not only come about from sitting at a desk. This rather narrow approach of desk learning does, for many students, at times more harm then good.

Looking at the result of this project and the absolute enthusiasm with which the students answered my questions and explained their work, it was obvious that this approach of making is successful and all involved should be commended for the creation of joy and pleasure in the learning process.

Petrus July 2015

for the NGV collection

series: the magic of the forest

title: 'intense silence

       falling leaves'

series: the magic of the forest

title: 'layers of leaf matter

 layers of history'

 

These two bowls

have been selected 

by the NGV 

for their collection

petrus

 June 2015

Mona AMustSee

I went to visit Mona, I now believe in GOD.

After running the gauntlet of ‘stuff you don’t need’ at the airport. After being shot at high speed through clouds into a soft blue space. After landing with a slight rumble onto the tarmac at Hobart, we were ready for Mona.

Where does one begin with this amazing and magical place. I suppose at the start would be good. A ferry ride up the Derwent river to the Mona landing followed by 99 steps took us to the entrance. A wonderful way to arrive. However, before we entered the Museum of Old and New Art there was much to see outside. Set in a frame of heavy slabs of rusted steel, a border with the outside world, we wandered and wondered from one art piece to another.

A larger then life cement truck created from waste sheets of rusted steel welcomed us into the land of magic and wonder. Wandering on we found ‘Chapel’, a building created from similar rusted steel by the same artist. ‘Exquisite’ comes to mind. Next, a huge slab of aluminium, suspended in the sky, has a square hole cut in it. I sit below it and view a framed aspect of the sky. This simple but strong and beautiful work seems based on the concept of the Zen view.

Time to enter the museum. Two doors of black glass, situated in a wall of mirrored metal, slide silently open into the entrance and the world of magic. The magic of art, the magic of architecture, plus the magic of both brilliance and madness combined. One takes a circular lift into a subterranean world and lands into a space, I imagine, not unlike that of Alice in wonderland. The first artwork to be experienced, besides the astonishing architecture, which, by the way, reminded me of being in an Egyptian pyramid, was a work where water dropped from a horizontal pipe and in that dropping created words. One word after the other dropping from above. Random words. Readable rain. A mesmerising work. 

Between this work and the last, which was a full size Porsch, manufactured in fire-engine red plastic, (Imagine this car blown up and becoming very fat,) were many truly fantastic works to be enjoyed, to marvel at and be surprised by. Works such as an eerie room, like a tomb. You walk on stepping stones, set in black water, towards a platform with two coffins, one with a mummy and one with video of the same mummy, which slowly reveals the inside of the mummy. So, in time, a skeleton is revealed. A powerful piece. In another space, on a black wall is a line of 77 3d white porcelain prints of vaginas. Each one different. Then there are numerous multimedia works and video installations. Plus throughout, special pieces of ancient art. One wonders where David Walsh, the creator of Mona, got these treasures.  

There was a clue when after a day spend in the museum, I once more wondered around outside and found his reserved car park. It stated in big bold letters ‘reserved’ ‘GOD’, with a slick car in front of it. GOD was home. Next to this was an equally shiny Mercedes with the words ‘reserved’ ‘GOD’s mistress’ on the wall.

That is why now, after visiting one of the most amazing museums I have ever experienced, I believe in GOD. Go and visit Mona. You haven’t lived until you do. You may even get a glimpse of GOD if he isn’t gambling somewhere, that is, to make more money to finance his wonderful museum.

Petrus

June 2015

ContainerContained

 The other day i had a good idea

and when you have a good idea 

you should act upon it, which i did

the good idea was to obtain a container

and to paint it white and place shelving around it

but then when i had placed all the brackets 

i couldn't help myself 

and do something different

just for a photo

which i did

 when, after a while

i installed the shelving

plus the bowls

it looked great

then, when this was finished,

(just have to install the led strip lights

which i will)

as a celebration of this result 

i took a walk in the forest and was rewarded 

with this beautiful image

-->' Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage'

 

NoMoreWordsAreNeeded

no more words are needed

(Click on the image for an enlarged version)

ACelebrationOfSilence

 the landscape

is divided into halves

by the linear road ahead

on the road to lake mungo

although the earth is deep red

and the sky is liquid blue

there is a greyness about the vegatation

as if everything is covered 
in an ancient coating 

of spidery fine dust

on the edge of the lake

which has been empty for 15.000 years

is a huge woolshed

which has been empty for probably 

one hundred years

on this raised spot 

i feel as if i am standing on the edge 

of a huge shallow bowl

filled with desert delight

the delight of silence

to be in this tremendous stillness

the lure of the desert

the healer of the spirit

 The soft airbrushed sand of the edge, the lunette, 

of the lake

 the wind carved sculptural forms

of the edge of the lake

 no sooner had the sun set in the west

when the full moon, like a coin, 

appeared from a slot in the horizon

in the east and rose majestically into the darkening sky

where it hung suspended silently,

filled with promise

a small fire at the end of the day

as a companion to enjoy the night sky 

and a single song bird

Ahhhh......

"the pace of happiness is calm"

 

Spronk'sSpring'sSprung

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With the blue grey greens of the winter forest, 

for a background,

 Spring's palette is emerging 

with  a wonderful brilliance in the garden. 

As bright as the colours squeezed straight from the artist's tube. 

There are:

Dobs of Yellow in the cups of the daffodils,

Splashes of Red around the tulips,

A hush of Blue of reflected sky in the bird bath

Shades of Purple in the Dutch Irish,

Flames of  Orange in the wall flower display

While the fresh  sea of Green fills in all the remaining space.

At Spronk’s place Spring's rainbow is springing about.

'Everything you need is close at hand'

ForThoseWhoThinkArtIsJustAHobbyAndArtistsShouldGetARealJob

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Keeping 'the art of making' alive in our community becomes an important responsibility. Why? Because we, the homeless artists of door3, believe society and the community needs artists. Artists are important because they are brave enough to still play. To play with old and new materials, with old and new techniques, they reveal the magic which is inherent in them.

Consider this, and then imagine the alternative, life without art and poetry. I mean the art and poetry of everything. Doing without the art of sculpture, the art of architecture, the art of ceramics, the art of dance, the art of cooking, and on and on. Without 'the art' all of these activities would be dead. Meaning, they would not inspire, they would not excite, they would not enrich. Art, like science, is important because it inspires both exploration and greatness in all fields of human endeavour. 

The artist, for whom I speak, plays, and through his or her play with ideas and materials, occasionally comes up with a revelation, a beautiful idea, an exquisite object, a great building, an intriguing story or a moving poem. 

The artist and the poet explore and share the possibilities of magic in an otherwise ordinary world. They show, in one way or another, that there is always another way. The artist and the poet are important in our community because they teach us to play. They remind us of something as simple, but relevant, as our childhood, when there was much magic. Much learning. The magic found in experiencing things for the very first time. Things new. 

This is what the artist and poet do, they awaken in us a sense of wonder, which is the driver of a creative life. They take us on a journey, a special journey, in a world where we are perishing for want of wonder, not for want of wonders. 

ShowingOffWithoutShowingOff

A wonderful amorous peacock 

struts his stuff around Jubilee lake

a grand display of an exquisite design

there is a saying  in Korea: 

It is so beautiful no words are needed

'everywhere I go an artist has been there before me'

WhatIsInAName

i received this today

it was taken in the south of France

which has to be a plus

when you are confronted with your name

(which, in my case, is already somewhat unusual)

in such an surprising expression of it

it makes you feel 

a little strange

a little familiar

a little confident

a little grateful

and then to find out that Petrus 

is also the name of one of the best wines in France

makes it even more special

it reminded me of my personal project while i was in France

 

i hitchhiked through France a few times 

(a terrible country to hitchhike through by the way)

i would thank the driver for stopping 

and then in my best french i would introduce myself 

and tell him/her where i was from, and that i was on a quest

this was to find the best red wine in France

and the answer to that was that each time

the wine from their village was the very best.

 

as a result of this idea i would quite often be taken to 

a hotel, or house or farm and offered a glass of excellent red wine

i have drunk many glasses of excellent wine

and once i was offered a glass of wine 

to try it out and to give them my opinion 

i was always offered a snack of cheese, pate, sausage and bread

(because the french, being civilised, 

do not drink without eating something at the same time)

by then we would be buddies and i was able to ask 

where i could set up my tent

 

i did the same in Germany with beer

and in Holland with cheese

 

(working on the pride of the country)

 It is never too late to have a happy childhood

AJourneyOfBowls

i have been running the 

red star window gallery

in hepburn springs,
the smallest gallery in victoria,

without fear or favour

for almost three years

during this time we have shown 

one artist/crafts person per month

it is free

Ed the owner of the red star cafe

does not charge for the space

and i do not charge for 

the admin, installations, keeping the window presentable

and organising the events

i thought that for this month (august)

i would present my own work

a series of works from the early 80s till today

a journey of bowls

' being an artist is like starting each day like someone else'

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