Modern Art

Have I mentioned that I am not a fan of contemporary art?  Well to be honest I just don't get it. A "body" under a crime scene bag, complete with feet sticking out in a side room is "art".  A selection of styrofoam pieces stuck on a black wall is "mosaic".   On to Plan B, people watching.  Apart from the rank school kids (secondary students) who should know better, it was the Asian students who intrigued us.  They must be studying art or design somewhere in Sydney as they were all madly taking notes about or sketching the artworks.  Interesting to watch, with some way out fashion decisions on show.  Frank was rather partaken with a blue haired blonde.

Dogs

Dog count is seriously lacking so far, with only one dog seen - twice.  It has become a tradition for me to count dogs each day and record the count as I travel.  To make matters worse, the dog spotted belongs to a homeless man, and as such is a sympathy vote for collecting money from people.  Not sure I agree.  That said, at least that is more honorable than robbing peoples

homes. We decided to head to the Art Gallery of NSW for the afternoon.  This is one place I have loved to visit since first coming as a child.  That said, as an adult I have made it two or three times only to visit, but always enjoy it.  For me it is partly the atmosphere of the building, compared with say the modern concrete bunker that is QAG.  More than anything though it is the collections.  Where else can you see Australian Art 101 replicated on the walls so beautifully?  Tom Roberts, beside Arthur Streeton, adjacent to Frederick McCubbin....then across a hallway, E Phillips Fox and Ellioth Gruner. A highlight for me was seeing William Dobell's 1948(?) portrait of Margaret Olley adjacent to Ben Quilty's 2011 portrait.  Both pieces award the Archibald prize for portraiture.  Amazing. For me, my favorite part of the collection though is the 19th and 20th Century European artists.  Pre-Raphaelites and Victorian works that tell a story or depict a myth from times long gone.  The bride who marries an old man instead of her young lover, the dog who mourns his dead master. As for the visit of the Queen of Sheba.  Wow.  The monkey nestled in the bottom left hand corner is beautifully positioned.  As for the frame - indescribable.  Have always loved the pomp and ceremony of this particular painting. Did I mention we had a very nice lunch at the restaurant.  View of the Cahill expressway included.