Category: Arts

Posted on

Nice art, shame about the winner

Photograph from Pyrmont Art Prize

On Saturday ’Pong and I popped past the inaugural Pyrmont Art Festival. With the theme “Small is Beautiful”, some 200 paintings and other images were entered, all about a foot square.

Sadly we didn’t get a good look, and we didn’t taste any of the wine or beer. We arrived at 3.45pm and the organizers were already packing things away. Note for next time: on a sunny autumn afternoon, people might not be prompt. 10am to 4pm community events? How quaint! Not everyone’s a soccer mum.

However from what was still hanging, there seemed to be a good range of interesting pieces — plus the usual dross you get in community art competitions. Unfortunately I think one of the dross pieces won — that bland streetscape with the blue ribbon in the photo above. Yes, the dun-coloured walls do say Pyrmont, but it’s hardly unique and it’s hardly Jeffrey Smart.

If we’d had time, I’d have checked out the runners-up and the People Choice awards and named names. But I figure someone official will have done that.

Posted on

Photos of a world gone wrong…

Photo entitled Accidentally Kansas by Lori Nix: click for her gallery

“Irwin Allen’s model train layouts?” asks my friend Richard. “Fascinating.” And I reckon he’s right.

This image is Accidentally Kansas from American artist-photographer Lori Nix, who creates miniature landscapes “out of any material that will simulate a real landscape; for example faux fur becomes field grass, buckwheat flour becomes dirt.” She then photographs the results as evidence of a world gone wrong.

Richard found this stuff on BLDGBLOG, a blog about “architectural conjecture, urban speculation, landscape futures” — something that deserves exploration in its own right, by the looks. Thanks mate!

It’s also worth cruising through the whole photo-eye website and especially their photographers’ showcase galleries. Paying attention, ’Pong?

Posted on

Film: Paris, Je T’Aime

The movie Paris Je T’Aime (“Paris, I love you”) opens in Sydney today, a collection of eighteen 5-minute love stories from different directors. “Is this going to be heartwarming,” I grumbled before Monday night’s preview. “This had better not be fucking heartwarming!'” But no. ’Pong’s review is a bit harsh. I found it an acceptable chocolate box of entertainment, if French. And it’s the only time I’ve laughed out loud when someone was diagnosed with leukaemia! Cute cameo by Marianne Faithful. Warning: there is mime in one story.

Posted on

Zebras with crossbows

Last night I experienced Dylan Moran‘s solo stand-up show at the State Theatre. 90 minutes of superb observations from a bitter Irishman, highly recommended. This morning there’s still one of his images running through my head: “Zebras with crossbows fellating each other.” And I’m buggered if I can remember the context!

Posted on

Billy Law: watch this photographer!

Image from Billy Law's Pumping Iron series: click for the slideshow

Last night we had the very great pleasure of seeing our new friend Billy Law take second place in the inaugural Shutterbug 07 competition for non-professional photographers with his Pumping Iron series.

Billy got behind the scenes at the National Amateur Body Building Association competition to capture the real theatre and humanity — and humour! — of this event.

You can see more of Billy’s work on his Flickr stream, including his Mardi Gras set. Actually, take the time to check out all of Billy Law’s sets.

If you’re quick, you can see all of the images from Billy and the rest of the ten finalists at the Chauvel Cinema in Paddington tonight.

Oh, and just for the record, Jeremy Wilmotte won first prize with some astounding surf photography — including several images which took it outside that often-cliched genre. (I’m not sure if that link goes to his competition work, but it’ll give you an idea.) And Wacharachat (‘Oat’) Vaiyaboon came third with a series of waterscapes — a bit too “postcard” for my tastes, but very finely crafted.

[Update 29 March 2007: I’ve added links to Oat’s work. I seem to like it better tonight than I did at the cinema last night. Maybe I’m seeing it in its own right now, as opposed to comparing it to some very distinctive material.]