"It is a gratification to me to
know that I am ignorant of art, and ignorant also of surgery. Because people
who understand art find nothing in pictures but blemishes, and surgeons and
anatomists see no beautiful women in all their lives, but only a ghastly stack
of bones with Latin names to them, and a network of nerves and muscles and
tissues." -Mark Twain, 1906
----
I'm not sure whether the resonate
buzz of endorphins from the previous night's festivities had anything to do
with my sincere appreciation and personal interest in all the pieces of work
throughout the National Museum of Victoria, but this was one of my favorite art
gallery tours I have ever been on. We all pretty much went off on our own
throughout the museum and took time to take in what we could where we could in
such a massive museum with limited time. I was moved with pretty much
every piece, though several stuck out more than other - particularly the oil
paintings on wood, and was inspired to delve into creating, or attempting in
any measure, art. The longing to become a Renaissance man took me over as
I realized how much time we spend idly watching TV or playing games and what
have you. If one spent even a portion of this time essentially wasted on
bettering yourself, who knows what kind of person you could be. Sounds
old fashion, but that is simply the feeling I got after looking through this
gallery. Some of the pieces that stood out are to follow, and I really
only took pictures of the ones I thought everyone could appreciate, either
funny or interesting:
 |
| Someone please get this guy a beer. |
 |
| Scene of a poisoning. Intense. |
 |
| Our very own Professor Peter Weiss' portrait. |
 |
| The original pimp cup. Step down lil' john. |
 |
| Lions are apparently predators of horses? Who knew? |
 |
| Interesting modern piece. |
 |
| Scotland, baby. And an example of why you should go to museums: this doesn't do a bit of justice. |
 |
| Kites EVERYWHERE. |
Quite the eclectic collection
throughout the gallery, and unfortunately we had barely enough time to cover
half of the museum. Fortunately,
however, we were off for St. Kilda, the main “beach” of Melbourne. I use this term blithely because I’m not sure
that it opens up to the ocean or not; I believe it is the beach along the main
bay that Melbourne lies on. Probably
should take a look at a map and figure that one out. Neither here nor there, we headed south from
the city to enjoy some beach relaxation, as per our usual regime everywhere we
go.
Not only did this beach not open up
to the true ocean which would expose it to the gnarly coastal tides and waves,
but the wind on this particular day was extreme. This created a situation ideal for kite
boarding, and on this particular day the bay was covered with about a hundred
kite boarders whipping back and forth, somehow avoiding a collision that could
potentially split atoms. We immediately
looked into lessons or rental, but, like everything else across this country,
the prices were a bit pricey for our blood when we could do it back home for a
fraction of the price. We instead opted
for a cheap lunch, cheap beer and enjoyed the pros showing off. Not the idyllic beach we had come accustomed
to messing around on, but this was uniquely stunning and more entertaining than
most.
 |
| Group a LOOP. |
We took the load off that night to
revive ourselves – something I am personally not too fond of. A necessary evil, I suppose, now and
again. It’s all about balance. Luckily the scale is tilted in favor of
action.
Cheers.
No comments:
Post a Comment