Brisbane: the city that tries too hard

I think this may be a suitable logo for Brisbane. (I still smile when I remember Glasgow’s catch phrase ‘ s’miles better’ from….the 1980’s I think…not sure if it was true, never been there). I think I’ll mention it to ‘Can Do’ Campbell, our Lord Mayor, next time he consults me for advice. Grin.

What we didn’t do

For our anniversary we were going to go to a lovely place called secerets at the lake in Montville, in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland. Romantic, luxurious cabins for two, giant spa baths in front of picture windows overlooking the lake, fancy breakfast baskets delivered to the door etc etc, and we thought three nights would be nice. Overnight hardly gives you a chance to calm down before you are packing up again (we have been there before for our ersatz honeymoon a few years ago, and it was lovely, even managed not to talk about the kids while relaxing in the spa). But we couldn’t really afford it, and Mum couldn’t really cope with the kids for three nights (and vice versa I suspect). Hell, we can hardly handle the kids three nights in a row, not without drinking lots of red wine anyway!

River from Botanical gardens.

Hoi polloi

So we canned that idea, and decided to go into the city for the night. We stayed in the ‘executive suite’ of a hotel overlooking the river and botanical gardens. It was quite a nice room, no gold swan taps and faux marble fittings ,or anything over the top – the furnishing were quite restrained, but the room was luxurious in the little ways that count – large towels (and more than we needed), large complimentary soaps (I hate those weeny little soaps- you feel like you are going to lose them somewhere on your person … only to discover them dropping from your armpit, or elsewhere, at some inopportune time), the obligatory water saving showerhead was one of the good sort, not the needles of water that rip your skin off, and yet don’t seem to leave you wet. A king sized bed. A well stocked mini-bar (which was actually a bit of a pain – took us ages to empty it out so we could keep the home brew cold), and two rooms – a sitting/dining room and bedroom, both with TV’s …we needn’t have even seen each other if we didn’t want to. The place even had valet parking and porters who brought our bags (and esky full of beer) up to our room. Of course we booked it through wot-if, one of those discount internet things. Trouble is with these cheap rates the posh hotels are now not very exclusive… the place was full of hoi polloi……with their St Vinnies suitcases, eskies of beer, daggy clothes, gardening magazines …did I mention the lifts had mirrors in them? Ok so we weren’t the most hill billy couple in the place, but it was a close call.

GoMA

Anyway we decided to spend the morning acquiring a bit of, sorely needed, culture. We went to the Gallery of Modern Art (or GoMA as the City That Tries Too Hard want us all to call it). Now I am not so crass that I walk around an art gallery saying things like ‘my kids could paint that’. I might think it sometimes, though, but I’d never admit it. I suspected that our visit might have been like that, but I was pleasantly surprised. I actually liked a lot of what I saw.

One thing I liked was this:

Anish Kapoor Untitled 2006–07

Gallery 3.2, GoMA

This magnificent work is a fine example of Anish Kapoor’s practice as one of the most significant sculptors of our time. Kapoor’s work draws on metaphysical theory and ideas of the sublime, while his use of colour emphasises the sensory in his sculpture. His spectacular and extraordinary works engage the viewer both physically and psychologically with their large scale and saturated colours. This commissioned sculpture is dedicated to former Queensland Art Gallery Director Doug Hall, AM, in recognition of his 20-year contribution to the Gallery and to Queensland.

 
 

It is huge and I know it looks a bit like a half sucked lifesaver here (a lolly with a hole in it, not someone who rescues people) but in reality it was really impressive- it was HUGE.*

Michel Tuffery
Povi tau vaga (The challenge) 1999

Michel Tuffery is one of the Pacific’s most established contemporary artists. He is celebrated for his witty and insightful comments on the cultural, environmental and political issues of the region.

Povi tau vaga (The challenge) 1999 consists of four bulls made from branded corned-beef tins. These bulls became part of a major collaborative project between artists Tuffery and Patrice Kaikilekofe (Futuna/New Caledonia) at the Gallery’s ‘Third Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art’ in 1999.

The performance brought together dancers from the island of Futuna, as well as local performers from the Samoan community and Indigenous people from Brisbane.

With this work, Tuffery comments on some of Polynesia’s major ecological and dietary problems resulting from increased modernisation. Changing eating habits, for example, afforded corned-beef the status of food staple and ritual gift.

In the Povi tau vaga performance, the two larger bulls represented Polynesia and French Polynesia (Tuffery and Kaikilekofe’s respective regions), and were used as metaphors for social tensions within islander communities.

There were four bulls/calves made from corned beef tins, and I actually worked out some of what the artist was trying to express, without even needing the read the plaque on the wall. Whether this means he is a good artist, or just good at pitching art to people like me, I don’t know.

Ps: all this was shamefully ripped off from GoMA’s website, sorry guys.

Georgina McGlynn and other High School students

The other thing I really liked was a display of art from high school students. One of my favourites was by Georgina McGlynn, from Kings Christian College. She did a work titled ‘a significant past’. If she becomes world famous, you can all say your heard about her here! Do check out the link to the PDF – Georgina’s work is on page 30. Also check out Diane Pook on page 38.

What else…..oh a rant about coffee shops

We had coffee at the cafe near the cultural centre (ie state library, art galleries, performing arts centre etc), which was really nice. Top marks for providing coffee in real cups. I have been once to the Coffee Shop Which Shall Remain Nameless, and was extremely disappointed to be served a coffee in a paper cup. I pointed out that I wasn’t taking it away, and was informed that all coffee from the Coffee Shop Which Shall Remain Nameless was served in paper cups. I’ve never been back, but my mother bought some cakes from the Coffee Shop Which Shall Remain Nameless and they were stale. I am always horrified that the Coffee Shop Which Shall Remain Nameless - what the hell Gloria Jean’s – remains as popular as it does. I am surprised that people are willing to spend so much of their hard earned dollar on grande caramel swirl mocha-chino latte (bleeuurrk) in a paper cup and stale bought-in cakes….their loss I guess.

Books

We decided to treat ourselves and buy a book each. We should have done this at the quite fabulous bookshop at the State Library. (BTW: we poked our heads in the door of the State Library and there were lots of people plugged into machines and computers, but we couldn’t see any books…..odd)The bookshop was great though, I saw about 15 books for which I would happily plop $40 or so on the counter. But I don’t like to buy the first thing I see, so decided to keep looking. Seems to me if I want to spend money there is never anything I want to buy. Trawled around several independent bookshops I like, didn’t see anything I wanted to buy. Even went to the McBookshop, I mean Borders, three whole stories of books I didn’t want to buy. Every book in the craft section was a bit bleuggh (or I already had it, which might have been more the problem come to think of it). I ended up reading a Grass Roots magazine.

To be continued…….

I think I will save the story of dinner, the buffet breakfast (but luckily for you – not in between) and day two for another post………..

*this is one reason why I’ll never get a job at the art gallery.