Calendar: May 2009

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NGV Collection

It seems that rainy days inspire me to visit to the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV). The intent for my visit was to see the ‘Dressed to Rule‘ exhibition (which I will write about shortly), but I also wanted to see if the exhibit of items from the jewellery collection had changed.

My last visit was less than a month ago, so I was a little surprised and pleased to see a new exhibit. On this visit, items from the collection were exhibited in one of the larger cases: a promotion! There were eight items last time, and this time there were twenty-seven; with Otto Kunzli being a major focus of this grouping.

page 1

• Nel Linssen, Necklace, 1995; paper – there are fantastic images on his website
• Nel Linssen, Necklace, 1999; paper
• Gert Mosettig, Necklace, 1998; aluminium, brass
• Theresa Hilbert, Brooch, 1999; silver
• Theresa Hilbert, Vessel, Pendant, 1996; silver

page 2

• all of these are by Otto Kunzli, Wallpaper Brooches, 1982

page 3

• Otto Kunzli, Gold makes you blind, bracelet, 1980 – this is a well-known piece by Otto, where the gold bracelet is covered in black rubber
• Otto Kunzli, ‘Oh Say!’ Brooch, 1991 – again, another very well known piece, an acidic commentary on American life
• Gerd Rothman, ‘For him for her for Mo Stahr’, bangle, 1990; gold
• Karl Fritsch, Ring, 2005, 2005; oxidised silver, glass – I like the playful stacking of riotously colourful glass gems
• Helen Britton, Red blue brooch, 2007
• Helen Britton, Yellow structure, 2008
• Peter Bauhius, Vessel, 2004; silver

page 4

• Judy Onofrio, Circus Trick, brooch, 1993; found object – it was almost impossible to draw this one
• Marjorie Schick, Liberty torch brooch, 1997
• Thomas Gentille, Endless pin, brooch no. 43, 1997; aluminium

I thought the photography policy of the NGV was not to allow visitors to take any photographs. However, on this one visit alone I saw two people taking photographs of items in the permanent collection; one even doing so with a guard standing right nearby – so is it okay?!

The NGV website offers good information on note-taking and sketching in the gallery, but it took a deal of searching to find their general conditions of entry where it is stated that: “Whenever you are on the NGV Premises you must not:

• use photographic or recording equipment in areas where this has been restricted;
• use flash photographic equipment without the express permission of the NGV;
• use mobile phones and other devices in artwork display areas;
• touch, or in any other way, interfere with artwork on display;
• smoke in the building;
• eat or drink in artwork display areas or other places where this is restricted; and
• bring animals on the NGV Premises, except for guide dogs”

So, that must mean that photography in these areas was not ‘restricted’ – though I saw no clear signage as I wandered around various exhibits and gallery rooms, which areas were ‘restricted’ and which weren’t. Next time I will ask for photography permission … though I do like sketching….

Update (25th June): clarification on the policy was later achieved! see this post

Julie Carter @ Small Space Jewellery

I regularly check the websites of the jewellery galleries / retail spaces, looking out for new work or notifications of upcoming exhibitions. Recently I found that Small Space was advertising new work by one of their in-house designers, Julie Carter. The image on the site was just beautiful, so I decided to visit.

From the Small Space site: “Inspired by an old tradition of children’s story telling using shadow against the wall created through hand movement.”

from Small Space website

The work has been popular, and by my visit (later in the month) there were a handful left. And it’s no wonder they are liked, for there is a joy and innocence in them, for of course they remind us of games we played as children. And the flat two-dimensional representation perfectly suits the imagery.

For me, they particularly remind me of shadow games I played with my family during the electricity strikes in the early 80s in Queensland. Night after night we had no electricity, only candle-light, by which I would read Charlotte’s Web and sometime play this game with my family when we were bored of reading…

photograph taken with gallery permission

Small Space Jewellery is at 365a St Georges Rd, Fitzroy North – it’s worth a visit. Julie’s work is in the window for the month of April.

for thought…

in favour:

• “Happiness depends upon ourselves.”
  Aristotle (384 BC – 322 BC)
• “Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”
  Mahatma Gandhi (1869 – 1948)
• “Remember that happiness is a way of travel – not a destination.”
  Roy M. Goodman

against:

• “A person is never happy except at the price of some ignorance.”
  Anatole France (1844 – 1924)
• “To be stupid, selfish, and have good health are three requirements for happiness, though if stupidity is lacking, all is lost.”
  Gustave Flaubert (1821 – 1880)