I don’t like criticising towns and cities simply because I come from a town that was looked down upon by the white bread, privileged of Western Australia when I was growing up. I have friends who come from Canberra and they agree that the nation’s capital is an odd place to say the least. Little has changed since I visited 40 years ago other than more suburbs and roundabouts that have their own postcodes.
The city is a gigantic concrete vessel that intersects with some beautiful native bushland and consists of seemingly little human activity. Parliament House, with it’s upside down funnel sitting atop our so called fearless leaders, stares down on the great unwashed like some foreboding institute of excess. We were there for International Women’s Day, and looking forward to a key note address from the PM and the Attorney General, but alas they were a no show.
The reality is, not a lot of vision has been produced in that place for a long time and the staleness of the House and the plethora of government buildings that are scattered everywhere, can’t help but create an atmosphere devoid of soul. The architecture isn’t dissimilar to East Germany in the 70’s, indestructible and bland with no distinguishing timber being used in its construction.
So, what do you do to avoid sucking on a tail pipe in Canberra? See some art, that’s what. Fortunately The National Art Gallery and National Portrait Gallery saved the day. Both galleries are a 2 minute walk from each other and despite being part of the Canberra family of East German Stasi architecture, their interiors were very nice.
The National Gallery is 3 x stories high with tons of room to move. Large exhibition spaces for installations and effectively no roof over any sections so you are always looking up to a 3 x storey high ceiling which I loved. The gallery is known for housing the infamous Blue Poles painting by American Jackson Pollock. It was bought for $1.3m in 1973 which caused a furore at the time. It’s estimated worth now is $500m. It’s the first time I’ve seen a painting in Australia set back from the public accompanied by full time security staff. We’ve seen a lot of Pollock’s work overseas and I would have to say Blue Poles is the best by some margin.
The security guard was great. A bloke who looked and sounded like a council worker, but had a genuine passion for art having worked there for 15 years.
Me- What do you think of Blue Poles?
Guard – Grouse, but I reckon they’ll sell it.
Me – Who?
Guard – The government. Only a matter of time. They will want to build a new wing up at the “House” and this is where they’ll fund it. I’ve watched major works disappear from here plenty of times over the years. They’re scum.
Me – Bastards.
Guard – You bet. Zero consultation with anyone.
Me – Are there any Van Gogh’s here?
Guard – Only at the current sponsored exhibition but there are 2 x Monet’s, a Gaugin over there, a Rembrandt to your left, a couple of Turner and Renoir’s impressionism across there and some stunning Pissarro’s next floor down I can highly recommend.
Me – Thanks Terry 🙂
Guard – No worries champ.
We were over the moon to find an installation from Yayoi Kasuma, one of the world’s great contemporary artists. We first experienced her work on the Art Island of Naoshima in Japan. A giant pumpkin at the end of a pier was the start, followed by exhibitions and selected pieces in various cities so before long we were huge fans. These are photos from Naoshima, Seattle and the NGV where Kasuma had an installation at the Biennial a few years ago which we attended with my eldest daughter Corrie.
Naoshima Japan 
Seattle Museum of Art 
NGV Melbourne 
Naoshima Japan
This installation was amazing and had a room inside a room, which contained Kasuma’s pumpkins inside the small room and reflected using mirrors. Difficult to explain and photograph for that matter.
There was another exhibition by Chinese artist Xu Zhen which included a sculpture that looked like a giant Spanish donut that had a sensor in it which made the donut follow you around. Quite bizarre but a good example of how the gallery is able to facilitate large installations. A special mention has to go to the indigenous art collection which was stunning and plentiful. Easily the best collection we had ever seen. There is a slideshow below with a few images.
A most enjoyable few hours after 3 x hours at the War Memorial but we were stuffed. We decided to call it a day and see the Portrait Gallery first thing the next day before heading to Newcastle to see close friends Karl and Liane and then onto Mullumbimby to see our youngest, Mia.
The National Portrait Gallery is another large space within another cold exterior. They were in the process of setting up another exhibition so they only had limited permanent paintings and photos, however there was a Pub Rock exhibition which was right down our alley. Apologies for the reflections from the glass, but these are some images from the Pub Rock exhibition in a slideshow.
I was a bit disappointed with the permanent pieces as I had imagined a heap of Archibald Prize winners given it’s all about portraiture. Nonetheless, the big thing I gleaned from having read the achievements of the subjects on display is how insignificant my life has been! So many of these Australian giants of arts, literature and science I had never heard of. Not a footballer anywhere to be found! As my old mate Greg would say, “you won’t see these people on the back of the Herald Sun.”
Entry to both galleries is free but you will need to book on line. www.nga.gov.au and www.portrait.gov.au.
Thankyou Canberra. I can’t say we’ll be in a hurry to return unless Parliament House burns down, then I’ll be front and centre toasting marshmallows. 🙂 Won’t happen though. Too much concrete.
