Tasmania-5 years on
I arrived in Hobart yesterday. First time I've been back since I left 5 years ago.
Mixed feelings. It's kind of the same really, a small state that has many wonderful natural attributes but a localism that partly protects it and partly restricts it. This evening I was briefly talking to some of my friend's crowd and was thinking how nice they were-educated but not snobby, relaxed but intelligent-and of course they were all PhD students: science no less, well rounded and interested people. Louis had fun mugging in his beanie for them. This was at Rektango, the regular Friday evening gig in Salamanca Square, where an outside bar is set up, a band plays and people and children mingle. Louis got adopted by four boys, who were about 7-8 years old, who thought he was very cute and were delighted by his ability to give "High Fives". This was the highlight of the night for him, having 4 big kids dance with him and pat him and pay him attention, once they left, he ran amok through the crowd, tried to grab band equipment and when I carried him, he kept tapping strangers on the back to get their attention. One of the crowd I talked to was lucky enough to divide his year between Austin, Texas and Hobart, which he said is useful as his mother lives there and has a disability... but really I was unable to have a great conversation with any of them, because my son was arching his back and cranky that he wasn't allowed to run loose anymore.
Today we picnicked at Cornelian Bay, which has lovely boat sheds and a dog walk that takes you up to a great view of the Derwent River and the bridge. Then we went to MONA, the multi-million dollar custom built art museum on the grounds of Moorilla winery. After we visited the gallery, we sat on the lawn on one of the many beanbags provided for visitors; this may have been the highlight of my MONA visit.
So MONA was alright, it is quite majestic in concept, the water installation at the entry downstairs (falling words, constructed from water) impressed me and in the B1 gallery there was a good collection of contemporary photography and paintings by the like of Boyd, Nolan and other artists that I hadn't yet encountered, to justify the visit. He also had some pieces by Fiona Hall, but seeing a piece in isolation doesn't compare to the advantages of seeing an entire collection.
Yesterday I walked for a few hours along Elizabeth street (lower North Hobart) and criss crossed Liverpool Street and Macquarie Street before descending to Salamanca Lawns, past the Parliament House, Retro Cafe and Knopwoods. Not much had changed there; there was some highly expensive art/craft available (conceptual clothes, art etc); a funky jeweller with lots of great resin necklaces and rings, but I wondered if was admiring it for the how the entire collection looked? It was quite staggering how unchanged, overall, the region was-a few different cafe/restaurants but almost entirely the same as 2007! Unfortunatley for me, the CWA shop was closed, they always had great knits in there and excellent cakes...
Petra and I noticed Tasman is playing at the Cygnet festival, where we're next headed. He and his Dad are performing as a Hawaiian ukelele duo, and he's running a master class. His dad played with a band called Captain Matchstick or something similiar, he still works as a musician and his Mum is an angry woman who irons underwear. Petra wondered if Tas would want to see her again (things didn't end so well with them), but I suggested that now he has a paid job and is no longer supporting himself as a ukelele player, but is running a master class at a festival, he would have an even larger following of mature aged ladies than ever before (he attracts women of the plus 50 category). The last time I saw Tas was at the CW Stonehouse King gig at the Republic Hotel, when he danced whilst hugging himself to what he said was the saddest song he'd ever heard.... no-one else would have been unable to pull off being that pretentious, but Tas, Radio National loving, James Valentine doppelganger, managed it.
Mixed feelings. It's kind of the same really, a small state that has many wonderful natural attributes but a localism that partly protects it and partly restricts it. This evening I was briefly talking to some of my friend's crowd and was thinking how nice they were-educated but not snobby, relaxed but intelligent-and of course they were all PhD students: science no less, well rounded and interested people. Louis had fun mugging in his beanie for them. This was at Rektango, the regular Friday evening gig in Salamanca Square, where an outside bar is set up, a band plays and people and children mingle. Louis got adopted by four boys, who were about 7-8 years old, who thought he was very cute and were delighted by his ability to give "High Fives". This was the highlight of the night for him, having 4 big kids dance with him and pat him and pay him attention, once they left, he ran amok through the crowd, tried to grab band equipment and when I carried him, he kept tapping strangers on the back to get their attention. One of the crowd I talked to was lucky enough to divide his year between Austin, Texas and Hobart, which he said is useful as his mother lives there and has a disability... but really I was unable to have a great conversation with any of them, because my son was arching his back and cranky that he wasn't allowed to run loose anymore.
Today we picnicked at Cornelian Bay, which has lovely boat sheds and a dog walk that takes you up to a great view of the Derwent River and the bridge. Then we went to MONA, the multi-million dollar custom built art museum on the grounds of Moorilla winery. After we visited the gallery, we sat on the lawn on one of the many beanbags provided for visitors; this may have been the highlight of my MONA visit.
So MONA was alright, it is quite majestic in concept, the water installation at the entry downstairs (falling words, constructed from water) impressed me and in the B1 gallery there was a good collection of contemporary photography and paintings by the like of Boyd, Nolan and other artists that I hadn't yet encountered, to justify the visit. He also had some pieces by Fiona Hall, but seeing a piece in isolation doesn't compare to the advantages of seeing an entire collection.
Yesterday I walked for a few hours along Elizabeth street (lower North Hobart) and criss crossed Liverpool Street and Macquarie Street before descending to Salamanca Lawns, past the Parliament House, Retro Cafe and Knopwoods. Not much had changed there; there was some highly expensive art/craft available (conceptual clothes, art etc); a funky jeweller with lots of great resin necklaces and rings, but I wondered if was admiring it for the how the entire collection looked? It was quite staggering how unchanged, overall, the region was-a few different cafe/restaurants but almost entirely the same as 2007! Unfortunatley for me, the CWA shop was closed, they always had great knits in there and excellent cakes...
Petra and I noticed Tasman is playing at the Cygnet festival, where we're next headed. He and his Dad are performing as a Hawaiian ukelele duo, and he's running a master class. His dad played with a band called Captain Matchstick or something similiar, he still works as a musician and his Mum is an angry woman who irons underwear. Petra wondered if Tas would want to see her again (things didn't end so well with them), but I suggested that now he has a paid job and is no longer supporting himself as a ukelele player, but is running a master class at a festival, he would have an even larger following of mature aged ladies than ever before (he attracts women of the plus 50 category). The last time I saw Tas was at the CW Stonehouse King gig at the Republic Hotel, when he danced whilst hugging himself to what he said was the saddest song he'd ever heard.... no-one else would have been unable to pull off being that pretentious, but Tas, Radio National loving, James Valentine doppelganger, managed it.
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