“There’s nothing like a few hours at MONA to clear your brain…” I said to an older woman I shared the lift with a few hours ago. In contrast to her view there was “so much to think about”, my view is that a visit to MONA helps you “not think”. You come in, forget about the world, and immerse yourself in a world of creativity. Even though I’ve visited MONA a few times before, it still overwhelms me: the beauty; the thoughtfulness of the works; the passion.
Visiting today, I really loved this work, featuring topical words projected on an artificial waterfall.
Like “White Rabbit” in Sydney, MONA is a “gift” from a wealthy individual, that easily outranks many of the public galleries in Australia. It’s understandable, since the public galleries are hopelessly underfunded in comparison with what the multi-millionaire/billionaire owners of these two private galleries are able to offer.
Unlike the public galleries who face scrutiny for every purchase they make (undoubtedly, it’s part of the legacy of the controversy of the early 70s purchase of Jackson Pollock’s Blue Poles) these gallery owners can pretty much purchase whatever their credit cards will afford. And it pays off. For me at least, since I prefer “edgier” work.
Here’s some of my favourite works from spending a few hours at MONA earlier today.
As a post-script, I should add this is not a slight on public galleries.
I don’t know why exactly, but for the last few days I’ve found myself a little addicted to the music of Veronica Maggio. Almost exclusively, I’ve been listening to her albums, “Och vinnaren är…” and “Satan i gatan”.
She’s a Swedish pop/soul singer I first discovered in 2008 thanks to her song, “Måndagsbarn” (“Monday’s Child”). I loved the innocence of the video clip. I loved the clarity of her vocal. And I loved the fact that she sang in Swedish.
Even for domestic consumption, a lot of Swedish pop singers are singing almost exclusively in English these days which I think is a bit of a shame. I completely understand the desire for international success, but I think it’s a little sad that Swedish pop music in Swedish seems to be in decline. I know there’s lots of independent stuff in Swedish, but if you look at the charts, you’ll see what I mean. Interestingly, however, the Swedish language material sells very very well. In fact, it seems to outsell the Swedes who perform in English.
The next big musical revelation came when I discovered the song, “Inga problem” (“Not A Problem”), her collaboration with the Swedish hip-hop band, Snook.
Är det så här det känns att va lycklig?
Det är inga problem
Är det så här det känns att va lycklig?
Det är inga problem, det är inga problem
…which translates, roughly, as…
Is this how it feels to be happy?
It’s not a problem
Is this how it feels to be happy?
It’s not a problem, it’s not a problem
She also collaborated with one of the fathers of Swedish hip-hop, Petter, with the song, “Längesen” (“A Long Time Since/Ago”) which I love very much for both the melody and the lyrics.
The sweet lyrical refrain from Veronica this time is…
Varje gång är som den första gång vi sågs
Även om det är över nu
Allting har förändrats
Men du finns kvar
Allt var svävande men nu så ser ja klart
Roughly translated, she’s singing…
Every time is like the first time we met
Even if it is over now
Everything has changed
But you are left (behind)
Everything was suspended, but now I see clearly
And then earlier this year, she gave us a teaser of her latest album with a rather controversial video clip. Although we never see the faces properly, it’s clearly evident the clip features a much older woman in a long passionate kiss with a MUCH younger man. Dare I say, “boy”?
Anyway, I hope you like the clips and her songs. I think she’s fab.
“Remember your credit card has a limit, not a target” was one of my favourite lines delivered at the Now Hear This story-telling night at the State Library of NSW.
Now Hear This is a radio project I’ve had some involvement in over the last couple of years.
Most of the time it’s a story-telling slam, where people stand up before a live audience and tell a story of about five minutes duration. I’ve actually done it myself once. The stories are recorded for radio, and many of them end up on air.
Tonight’s show was a little more “celebrity” than others with broadcasters like Sally Sara and Sarah Macdonald, appearing alongside author, Linda Jaivin, politician, Malcolm Turnbull and others.
Malcolm Turnbull delivered my other favourite line from the night, as he reminisced about how we’ve quickly become a culture where virtually everything was “forgotten” (unless it was written down or passed on from generation to generation) to a culture where virtually nothing is “forgotten”.
The recorded program goes to air later in December on RN.
“Honey, you’ve come at just the right time…” we were told by an fantastic looking older woman. “This is Harlem Week” she said with a great deal of passion and enthusiasm. Even though she no longer lives in Harlem, she came back especially for this, she told us. Though we had no idea it was on, it was a wonderful discovery. “If we’d gotten off at 125th street as most people do, we would have missed this completely”, Michaela added.
Harlem WeekRapping at Harlem Week
We had in fact planned to come to Harlem for two main reasons: for Michaela to revisit some of the places she used to live, and to have a meal at a place called “Red Rooster” which had been recommended to us both individually. Though the phrase “Red Rooster” conjures up images of barbecue chicken in boxes, this restaurant has a “modern take” on “soul food” (watermelon salad, fried chicken etc) as well as Swedish meatballs. Yes, köttbullar. More on that later.
The day started with a coffee at Konditori, the Swedish Espresso Bar I’d discovered in our neighbourhood of Williamsburg. They even had kanelbullar (cinnamon buns) on the menu, though there were unfortunately out of stock. The coffee was very good, though not as strong as I’d normally like, and probably not as strong as the coffee you would find in Stockholm’s similarly trendy Södermalm. It was good, though, since I had low expectations about coffee in New York. Over the years, people have told me horror stories of weak drip coffee, whereas all of the coffee I’ve had so far has been quite good. I had a coffee in a diner the other morning that was awful, but otherwise very good.
Fashion at Harlem Week
So after my coffee we set out for the day with three main plans: to meet a friend of Michaela’s at the nearby Brooklyn Flea; to visit Harlem; and to visit the bar, Hogs and Heifers, suggested to us the other day (because it’s a legendary bar which is closing down next weekend).
It wasn’t long after arriving in Harlem that I discovered the main difference between it and Manhattan. Manhattan seems to have a pharmacy on every corner. And when I say pharmacy, I mean places that also sell cigarettes and beer. Go figure. In contrast, in Harlem we only saw a few pharmacies, but we lost count of the number of hairdressing salons.
And upmarket restaurants and bars, as Harlem is going through a gentrification. I won’t share them here, but I took some photographs of a couple of signs which angrily protest the change.
We were so pleased to have timed this visit with Harlem Week, a massive street fair with food, music, dance, history and fashion.
And then after a couple of wines at a nearby yuppie bar, we had dinner at “Red Rooster”, owned by the Swedish celebrity chef, Marcus Samuelsson. Yeah, more Swedes. And adding to the gentrification of Harlem, presumably :) We started with a watermelon salad, and then had fried yardbird. The chicken was, probably, the best fried chicken I’ve ever eaten. The service was excellent, and the atmosphere was great. As we left, a jazz band had started up.Can I take a photograph of you and your hat? Sure, people have been taking them all day.
Though it would have been fun to stay a little longer, we needed to head off. We were on a mission to visit New York’s legendary “Hogs and Heifers”. Located in the meat-packing district (hence the name), the bar is being forced to close due to escalating rent. Like Harlem, the area is undergoing massive gentrification, and so the owners can no longer afford to be there.
They can’t afford to repair their pool table, either from the looks of things, with gaffer tape repairs. The answer to why I was playing so badly was also evident in the lack of a felt tip on my cue.
Hogs & Heifers
There was a moment when we thought this was honestly the worst bar in the world, as the wait staff were spending an awfully large amount of time talking to each other, and not serving anyone. That’s when we realised, they weren’t employed to serve. Their role was to wear bikini tops, dance on the bar, and to give attitude to the customers, yelling abuse through a megaphone. Once we realised that was the case, we had the time of our lives.
Though there were a few locals there, the customers seemed to comprise tourists like us (we met some Australians, some English and an Irish guy); and a bunch of yuppies who had obviously read about the closure, and decided they would visit. “Don’t you wish you had come earlier. Are you sad because it’s closing…” one of the wait staff yelled with irony and saracasm through the microphone to a couple of yuppies, who obviously had done just that.
“I’m sure they’ll find another place. They’ll be reborn”, a bloke called Byron told me, in contrast, with an almost evangelical tone in his voice.
When considering the world’s most iconic Christmas trees, some instantly come to mind: the dazzling spectacle at Rockefeller Center, the festive charm of Covent Garden’s centerpiece, the elegant display at Galeries Lafayette, the grandeur of Red Square’s towering fir, and the symbolic beauty of the Vatican’s tree in St. Peter’s Square. However, allow me to make a case for the Christmas trees of Lismore.
The Crooked Christmas Tree
The Christmas tree in Lismore is crooked because it’s a Cook Pine, a species that naturally leans towards the equator.A previous Mayor, Jenny Dowell apparently once described the tree as “A bit bent, much like Lismore”. I love the way Santa is appearing to be holding the tree up,
The Recycled Christmas Tree
Every year for about ten years, Lismore has had a Christmas tree made with recycled goods. From old tires and road signs to agricultural drums, each year’s tree reflects the community’s creativity and commitment to environmental responsibility This year it has been made with plastic bottles. The tinny in the front is a reference to the “tinny army” who saved thousands of people’s lives in the 2022 flood which likely would have gone over the top of the tree.
The Shopping Trolley Christmas Tree
This is Lismore’s (in) famous shopping trolley Christmas tree. Located only one block from Lismore Square shopping centre (with a natural supply of available trolleys), this is genuinely a public art project which people contribute to. Totally unofficial, and controversial for some, but I think it’s fabulous.
In a world obsessed with picture-perfect Christmas trees, Lismore delightfully embraces the quirky and unconventional, much like the town itself, showcasing individuality and humor through its unique Christmas trees.
“Oh my goodness, there’s a naked man in the corner”, I noted to my friend Kate as we entered the new Shen Saomin exhibition at Sydney’s 4A Gallery. I’m not sure if he’ll be there all the time, or was just there for the opening night. But, there he was, a naked man, seated in the corner on an inflatable ring. He was within cooeee of the standout piece in the exhibition, the image of a naked, aged woman made out of latex (I assume) seated on a deck chair. In contrast to the young living man, the woman portrayed as very old, towards the end of her life. But she was still breathing, and if you looked closely you could see her chest rise and fall. In addition, the exhibition included lots of other “naked” works, all of them without hair/feather/fur.
Shen Shaomin opening at Sydney’s 4A Gallery
Shen Shaomin opening at Sydney’s 4A Gallery
Shen Shaomin opening at Sydney’s 4A Gallery
Shen Shaomin opening at Sydney’s 4A Gallery
Shen Shaomin opening at Sydney’s 4A Gallery
Shen Shaomin opening at Sydney’s 4A Gallery
Shen Shaomin opening at Sydney’s 4A Gallery
“This is one of the best openings I’ve been to”, I told Aaron Seeto who runs 4A. And then I asked, “how much salt is there”, to which he replied “enough”. What was a traditional gallery space was transformed into something quite magical, with the entire floor covered in salt. We all needed to wear blue coloured shoe protectors as we walked around the space.
Unlike some exhibition openings where you see people sipping wine, chatting to people, and with their backs to the work, those attending this exhibition opening were actively engaged with the works. I spent ages and ages looking at the works. I watched the old woman breath. I even sneaked a peak at the naked man. Other people even poked the naked man to make sure he was “real”. He smiled, though it must have gotten annoying after a while.
I was feeling a bit grumpy tonight so I decided to pop into town to check out the Christmas Windows at David Jones and the Nativity Scene at St Mary’s Cathedral.
The delayed bus service didn’t help my grumpiness by the way.
But by the time I’d arrived at DJ’s corner I was feeling much more relaxed.
The windows were quite busy, by the way, with loads of people, mostly families standing around, looking inside.
Even though it’s Christmas, you’d never know.
Well that’s not entirely true. There are lots of Christmas themed displays, but generally speaking you have to look closely to note their Christian basis. There’s only one or two where you look at them and realise, without hesitation, they’re about Christmas, and not something from Disney. Still, I guess they’re aimed at the general kids market.
Meanwhile over at St Mary’s, there’s a beautiful nativity scene which they’ve been dragging out for the last few years.
Unlike DJ’s, parents were loudly asking their kids questions about what it all meant. Bloody Catholics :)
At St Mary’s, they’ve also done a great job in lighting up the building crayon-like.
David Jones Christmas Window – I think it looks like HR Puf n Stuff
David Jones Christmas Window
David Jones Christmas Window
St Marys Cathedral for Christmas
St Marys Nativity
St Marys Cathedral
When it comes to Christmas lights, St Mary’s wins this year in my view.
