THE 80'S ARE BACK

Sydney's Power House museum is currently holding an exhibition called THE 80's ARE BACK. It ends on the 30th April.

THE 80S ARE BACK!

Sparked by a co

mbination of nostalgia, curiosity and the thrill of the taboo, the 80s revival just keeps getting bigger as a new generation looks to the decade for inspiration.

But what were the 80s really like? Were they one just one big party and an awful lot of big hair?

Or was there a lot more going on? And what did the decade mean for Australia as the ‘land down under’ took its place on the international stage? This exhibition takes you back to the music, the fashion, the parties, the politics and the people to find out… (Take from)

While I was there I saw a lot of toys that I had when I was very young. Some where from Macca's other where themed toys particularly the My Little Pony. There was a lot of musical instruments. I really liked the key-board guitar called a Keytar funnily enough. Also featured were Rob Hirst's the drummer Midnight Oils Doc Martins. But the item I enjoyed the most from the music area was Michael Jacksons Jacket and his famous single sparkly glove. Even more so was the quote as to why we chose to.

The next part of the exhibition was games from the 80's featuring 8 or so arcade style games.

Also a giant light up rubix cube which you could actually play with was featured in the exhibition.. It was a startling flashy in such a dark room very much from the 80's.

ART AROUND ACADEMICS

Below are some of the art pieces from around campus.

This is part of a group of artworks done by students. I like this piece because it bright and sunny. Reminds me of summer on those cold winter days.

Inscribed on the back of this is:

This stone marking the foundation of Macquarie University was unveiled by the honourable R. W. Askin. ML. A premier and treasurer of New South Wales. On 28th March 1966

Another student piece. Located near the library. Its very industrial. I like that the piece was designed to rust as it aged.

This piece is located outside of the library. It supposed to emulate graduation ceremony robes.

Underwater Photography

Underwater photography, if done well, is something that people look in awe at the beauty what very few have the opportunity to see. Mastering the art of underwater photography is quite a challenge, but done well, can show people the amazing life of the oceans. On a recent scuba dive, there were some amazing photographs taken by some of the divers on the team.

One of the photos (shown) is of a school of fish with a diver shown in the background. The beautiful effect of this photography is that the diver in the background gives something for the eye to look at other than the fish. The effect of the divers bubbles also gives the photo a nice relaxing feel to it.

Professional photographer Stephen Frink has truly mastered underwater photography, being one of the most published underwater photographers in the world. Check out his site at http://stephenfrinkphoto.com for some of his amazing works.

Autumn Life.

In Most Galleries currently, Autumn themes are predominant. So I took the time for a couple of my own snapshots. Standing upon the tree I aimed to capture three elements of life, in three levels. At the bottom are some maturing leaves, followed by an elderly tree, then my own lively foot, covered in aged grass.













The second, I captured while turning off a tap, the remaining water still falling. This was quite a melancholy picture to me, I thought suited the tones of Autumn.

Stop Motion Photography

This cute video was made with stop motion photography; when still images are taken of a slow process and then put in an order, sped up and played to create a moving storyline of photos.
The artist has used water-colours and a permanent marker, so very simple however it's very effective, as it's clear, colourfull, simple, and the stop motion allows a flow of photos to become tied together.To check out more of this work see http://www.youtube.com/user/andyradorfman

Storyboard for Arts Sideshow #1

So here is the blogs storyboard. heading picture at the top denoted by the purple square. The dark grey squares denoted the area where post will show up and the light grey areas denoted the standard applications and gadget that will in time be edited. The back ground oft he blog is black and the text will be a range of colours to fit into the colour scheme. The text font will be Verdana normal. the colour scheme is still being decided.

This week I visited the Museum of Contemporary Art, located in Sydney's Circular Quay. This fabulous very trendy - youth friendly and interractive Gallery is currently holding its Autumn exhibitions for 2010, first, second and fourth floor being free, while the third floor requires tickets to see the temporary autumn show casing.

The first and second floors presented a majority of indigenous abstract pieces reflecting their ideas about native flora and fauna, as well as the landscapes of Australia today. Traditional native techniques were amongst many of these pieces including dot painting and water-colours. What took my eye particularly within this floor was the ornate colour schemes used to present the autumn colours of Australia. Ildiko Kovacs's 'Lulu' of 1999 for example was an oil paint on ply wood, which enlightened me with its vibrancy.

The fourth (free) level was involved with French Film artist Sylvie Blocher's exebition 'What is Missing?' ; studies of individuals and groups in societies.

This floor was set up with screens presenting her film pieces separately in rooms or spaces. I felt her pieces touched heavily on human expressions of identity, migration, wealth, poverty and privilege, all of which were confronting to an extent, but also luring, and comfortable. One piece called 'Living Pictures / Extase' was very confronting, as to achieve this piece she gave the captured individuals a space of relaxation and pleasure and could utilize
their bodies without limits. Sexual expression and references are captured in this film, however the frightening realism is very effective in presenting authentic reactions to the above themes.

Another of her pieces 'The Lure of Paris' featuring Stephen Bush was a monologue piece timed specifically to enable certain points to be comprehended correctly. Stephen talked about the art of seduction, its benefits and disadvantages in a life of work and relationships. The timing enhanced therapeutic effect of the piece, which allows me to capture what he was saying with meaning and understanding.

The Gallery currently has weekly floor talks and performances, like the 'Auslin Tour' on Saturdays at 11 am - 12 noon. This tour involves an Auslin-interpreted tour of 'Take Your Time' by Olfer Eliasson, talking about key themes and practice. (Free for speech impaired)
There are also Colour Theory tours, and Artist talks running through out Autumn which are highly recommended!

There are a number of Special events being held at the moment like 'Vicious Threads'
for people to experience hands on fabric, stitch, and sculpturing for under $15.00 but you must book!

After the tour I spent some time in the MCA store, which was a pleasant surprise of gifts and items that amazed me. I was particularly interested in the artist books and catalogs for sale, as well as (on a cheaper level) cute I Love MCA badges. After a very artistic day in the Museum of Contemporary Art, I was so impressed as to buy myself an artist-style kaleidoscope; very impressive.

To check out more about the fabulous MCA in Sydney visit http://www.mca.com.au/



Level of Recommendation : 4/5 Stars