National Gallery of Australia (General Collection): Canberra, AUSTRALIA
The National Gallery of Australia in Canberra is like all the Australian public galleries... free entry. This is great, as there is quite a large general collection that ranges from quite old works... through to modern art, and Australian features. And like many general collections, it is just waaaayyyyyyy too big to take it all in in one visit... especially if you are visiting with kids. So, the free entry means that you can just come in... poke around, revisit some favourites... and then just leave without feeling guilty that you haven't gotten your "money's worth"!
So, here is a quick tour through the general collection... we didn't see everything on this day, and so the photos are just scratching the surface of what is available!
Now, near the entrance was a collection that was really up my alley... a more modern collection of the aspects of evil! I would definitely love to have these in my house... but my wife doesn't really like this style... and probably it is a touch dark for a household!
Now, one of the prize jewels in the collection is Jackson Boyd's Ned Kelly series... Ned Kelly is an iconic folk figure in Australian colonial history. A bushranger who challenged the police and went down in after dressing up in iron plate armour!
And just around the corner... a huge mix of interesting paintings (I the two one the left, a bit less so of the one on the right...), and then a metal plated tree log!
Some more modern art... I would sort of like this if it was a wallpaper for my computer or phone... but as a hanging piece of artwork, I just don't like it like that! Weird that context plays into whether I would like it or not...
Okay... this spray is pretty damn cool!
Nope...
IKEA?
Ah yes... this is really more in line with my music profession!
Strange and weird... but oddly compelling. It is like someone took a large Polynesian sculpture and then defaced it with a modernist graffiti style?
Another crown jewel in the collection... Jackson Pollock's "Blue Poles"... intriguing... but ultimately not my thing. Still, it is a touch mesmerising.
Bu I do prefer something like this!
... and then we walk into the gender/feminist area. Some of which is sort of interesting, but others seem more like they are just going for cheap shock value...
... ummm...
... sigh...
... and then we are back to a bit more of an older style. I do love this sort of thing, it is quite comforting... but my wife finds it a touch bland.
... but we all (including kids...) found this Japanese frieze quite interesting!
In the higher levels of the gallery, there is an interesting juxtaposition of indigenous art alongside old European artworks...
... and there we go, a whirlwind surface tour of the general collection of the National Gallery! I'll be back in the future... I did find some things quite interesting... and I do wonder if they will host concerts as well...
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I love galleries this large for the sheer diversity in art on display. You'll see a bit of everything. From Renaissance period to the modernism that just doesn't quite connect. I like them for that, though. You appreciate the ones you do like a little more as a result. In Turkey and here in Armenia I've visited two collections of Ivan Aivazovsky. I fell in love with how he paints sunsets on the water. In other rooms are works that focus on the modernism and the changes that came with the opening up of society. You get to see that evolution of art, like each room is a new period in art. Something to explore in time. Whether you like it in the end or not.
Agreed, I love the general collections so much more than the special exhibitions. There is something much more satisfying about viewing different styles and eras in comparison to a single (yet maybe great) artist.
Whole lot of weird stuff.... The Jackson Pollock is awesome, that's a beauty! The all black one was a definite winner... or not... Cool day at the museum, looks like a lot of fun!
Oh, you like the Pollock? I find it interesting, but don't quite understand the hype behind it!
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