The folly of Naada Balu or Sydney Modern is coming home to roost in all kinds of ways. It was a catastrophic mistake the gallery was ever gifted this strategically significant land belonging to the Royal Botanic Gardens for nearly two centuries. What we've got now is an ugly, impractical building that blocks views and forever spoils the sense of arrival to the RBG. There were many other site options for the gallery extension that were not considered, including the Registrar General's building on the corner of Art Gallery Road, and, shock horror, Parramatta, which after the $2 billion Powerhouse spendathon will remain the only city in NSW without a gallery. Imagine what the RBG could have done with a design competition for a new garden from the ridgeline to the fuel bunker, lifting the lid to create a series of hanging gardens cascading down the ridge. Unfortunately for Sydney, critical cultural decisions are predetermined behind closed doors by supine politicians influenced by ill-informed trustees and business lobbyists, all of them demonstrably lacking imagination. Just look at what Victoria is doing with the Melbourne Arts Precinct and weep. While Sydney concretes its parklands, Melbourne is master planning The Fox NGV Contemporary along with18,000sqm of urban gardens. Wow. This will put an end to the confected Sydney Melbourne rivalry.
Apparently the children love those huge hideous grotesque ‘sculptures’ at the entrance to the what’s it called new wing. How much did those ghastly things cost, I wonder.
It is interesting to see this vaguely artistic placemaking exercise 'democratise' privileged spaces (although I doubt many of its visitors will be voting anytime soon), because prior to that it has been imposed from above on the public square.
Hewson garnered publicity with his commission to install cabbage palm trees on poles and keeled over as swings in Wollongong mall in 2017/18. 'Illawarra Placed Landscape' is an apt colonial metaphor for Wollongong, where longstanding human disrespect of our natural endowment is hoisted triumphantly as a perverse welcome to all those visiting the city.
In effect, it has been a half-million dollar council-funded stepping stone to greater things in Sydney, one where the artistic brand moves on while the community is left with an installation that is contractually too costly to remove: https://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/8711530/high-cost-halts-wollongong-palm-tree-relocation/ (pay-walled, but essentially a million dollar cost to relocate/free the trees).
I get it. Even if it's ironically fitting for Wollongong's urban ugliness, it doesn't mean you have to like it. Public art is almost always imposed from above and rejected by the public. Often with good reason, although as you say, this doesn't seem to have put a spike on Mike Hewson's career. I've actually seen this piece and thought it looked like a tornado or an earthquake had uprooted trees and wrecked everything in sight.
Susan Sontag once wrote something to the effect that postmodernism was originally a fun playpen attached to the side of the museum and of her shock when she realised that the playpen had taken over the whole museum
How about treatng the NSWAG as a time capsule.
Sack all the staff, board the place up, keep 3 security guards stationed there to protect the collection.
Reopen it in 2070 to whole new generation and let them sort out the dross from the treasure.
For sure the adults today cant tell the difference.
I didn't know you were a Conceptual Artist, Harry
No, I've just got the old time religion .
My 2 1/2, 5 and 8 year old grandchildren couldn’t get out of there quickly enough.
They prefer playing with the sky overhead in nature. My daughter and I were repulsed like you.
You're right, it's a bit like playing in an industrial space. Nature's not in it.
The folly of Naada Balu or Sydney Modern is coming home to roost in all kinds of ways. It was a catastrophic mistake the gallery was ever gifted this strategically significant land belonging to the Royal Botanic Gardens for nearly two centuries. What we've got now is an ugly, impractical building that blocks views and forever spoils the sense of arrival to the RBG. There were many other site options for the gallery extension that were not considered, including the Registrar General's building on the corner of Art Gallery Road, and, shock horror, Parramatta, which after the $2 billion Powerhouse spendathon will remain the only city in NSW without a gallery. Imagine what the RBG could have done with a design competition for a new garden from the ridgeline to the fuel bunker, lifting the lid to create a series of hanging gardens cascading down the ridge. Unfortunately for Sydney, critical cultural decisions are predetermined behind closed doors by supine politicians influenced by ill-informed trustees and business lobbyists, all of them demonstrably lacking imagination. Just look at what Victoria is doing with the Melbourne Arts Precinct and weep. While Sydney concretes its parklands, Melbourne is master planning The Fox NGV Contemporary along with18,000sqm of urban gardens. Wow. This will put an end to the confected Sydney Melbourne rivalry.
Apparently the children love those huge hideous grotesque ‘sculptures’ at the entrance to the what’s it called new wing. How much did those ghastly things cost, I wonder.
It is interesting to see this vaguely artistic placemaking exercise 'democratise' privileged spaces (although I doubt many of its visitors will be voting anytime soon), because prior to that it has been imposed from above on the public square.
Hewson garnered publicity with his commission to install cabbage palm trees on poles and keeled over as swings in Wollongong mall in 2017/18. 'Illawarra Placed Landscape' is an apt colonial metaphor for Wollongong, where longstanding human disrespect of our natural endowment is hoisted triumphantly as a perverse welcome to all those visiting the city.
In effect, it has been a half-million dollar council-funded stepping stone to greater things in Sydney, one where the artistic brand moves on while the community is left with an installation that is contractually too costly to remove: https://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/8711530/high-cost-halts-wollongong-palm-tree-relocation/ (pay-walled, but essentially a million dollar cost to relocate/free the trees).
I get it. Even if it's ironically fitting for Wollongong's urban ugliness, it doesn't mean you have to like it. Public art is almost always imposed from above and rejected by the public. Often with good reason, although as you say, this doesn't seem to have put a spike on Mike Hewson's career. I've actually seen this piece and thought it looked like a tornado or an earthquake had uprooted trees and wrecked everything in sight.
There is a weird logic to all of this.
‘We need to attract a lot more people’
But
The masses aren’t interested in art etc ;
so the way to save the art gallery is:
Replace it with a fun park
PS
Susan Sontag once wrote something to the effect that postmodernism was originally a fun playpen attached to the side of the museum and of her shock when she realised that the playpen had taken over the whole museum
I think I'm becoming allergic to fun