All my friends are leaving Brisbane
At the moment I am facing the prospect of a hometown (Brisbane) with far fewer friends than has been the norm. You see, they’re dropping like flies. Fleeing for greener pastures. Heading for fairer shores. Striking whilst the iron is hot. Movin’ on up and movin’ on out. Leaving me to my own devices. Leaving the building. Gettin’ outta town. Gettin’ outta here. Gettin’ out while the going’s good. Gettin’ out when the going gets tough. Getting on with it. They’re shaping up and shipping out. They’re making like a banana and splitting. Making like a tree and leaving. They’re bailing before the host notices. They’re blowin’ in the wind. Blowing us off. They’re blowin’ this ol’ popsicle stand.
They’re leaving Brisbane.
So to make myself feel better, and to get you, my dear fellow Brisbane-dwellers, a bit more in the know, here is a whole lot of things Brisbane has got going for it.
Presenting: Nobody in the Art World’s Spotlight on Brisbane
Jan Jorgensen | Landmarks, Red Hill
!MetroArts
109 Edward Street, City, Brisbane
I like how !MetroArts precedes itself with an exclamation point. Just to get you a bit excited before you’ve even read the name.
And you better be excited, because if you have never been to !MetroArts on Edward Street before, you are truly in for a treat. !MetroArts isn’t just a gallery, it’s an entire entity. It is a development program for artists (visual and performing) and you can see some really cool stuff there. For cheap. All the time. Especially performing arts. Do it.
Also there is an awesome Italian restaurant/bar/exhibition space downstairs called Verve. Do it now.
IMA
At the Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts, 420 Brunswick Street, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane
In case you weren’t aware, the IMA is arguably the edgiest art space in Brisbane. It is established enough to ‘matter’ in the art world, yet intelligent enough to not have a kiddies section.
Here I am with my children-hating again.
What would I recommend? The current Scott Redford vs. Michael Zavros exhibition has been described as a ‘pitting against each other’ of two eminent Australian post-critical artists.
Post-critical, you say? Let us deconstruct.
Imagine the trajectory of art going something like this: modernism »’avant-gardeism’ » post-modernism » post-criticalism. Post-modernism is a thinking kind of art. Post-criticalism is a “we’re sick of being so god-damned critical let’s just have a bit of fun now” kind of art.
Let me quote the exhibition’s description, which seems to be rather more intelligent than I.
“Seemingly infuriated by the old avant-garde presumption that artworks should criticise an challenge their publics (post-modernism) and the art of the past (avant-gardeism), the artworld is currently enjoying what Rex Butler has dubbed a ‘post-critical’ turn. Pop Life, a show which recently debuted at London’s Tate Modern, celebrates artists who aim to please and entertain, who embrace commercialism and populism, and want their audiences to like them. They include Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons, Damian Hirst and Takashi Murakami.”
To get an idea of the likes of Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons and Damian Hirst, refer to my previous post on the experience in art.
Doggett Street Studio
85 Doggett Street, Newstead, Brisbane
Doggett Street Studio holds a special place in my heart, having done my first ever exhibition review on an artist exhibiting there - Robert Brownhall - when I was only sixteen.
Robert Brownhall | Night City from North Quay | 2001
Robert Brownhall | Red Hill Fish and Chip Shop - Homage to Red Hill | 2003
Not quite sure how I managed to stumble upon such a great artist at such a young age, but that’s the kind of artists Doggett Street Studio exhibits. Great artists. Established artists. Usually little known, great, established artists. Since I first saw Brownhall’s work here, he has actually become quite prolific, recently completing a work commissioned by Queensland Government House. And rightly so.
Doggett Street Studio’s current exhibitions include Ted Barraclough, Jan Williams and Linda Jones, Cath Brophy and Milkana Kirov.
Flipbook Gallery, West End
8 Greet Street, West End, Brisbane
So this is a new one for me and I haven’t actually been here. Flipbook Gallery was recommended to me for its grass roots attitude to art and artists. It is a gallery space available for cheap for up and coming local artists. Pretty sure you can see some cool stuff there. Pretty sure I will be checking it out some time soon.
The Brisbane Festival
… is coming to town. And who doesn’t like Brisbane Festival?
Brisbane Festival has much to offer, but from a visual art perspective I would recommend that you don’t miss the Douglas Kirkland retrospective of celebrity photography (I’m talking Marilyn Monroe-‘celebrity’ here, not the Kate Ritchie kind, ew).
QAG & GoMA
Ron Mueck goes on and I really would recommend you go and see it if you haven’t already. Read all about it here.
Coming soon at Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art are exhibitions from one of Australia’s greatest artists, Hans Heysen (July - October), along with a much anticipated Valentino retrospective (August) (yay), and something that comes around every year, the Premier of Queensland’s National New Media Art Award.
Valentino (detail)
And for the love of God, don’t forget GoMA’s cinematheque program, currently featuring a selected retrospective of Harold Lloyd.
So, go forth fellow Brisbane-dwellers, there is so much to see. We are not alone; we must stand together.
