This weather is awesome. Absolutely positively, magically, fantastically awesome.
Following the usual steamy Christmas day, after the rain rolled in, the mercury in Brisbane hasn't even come close to topping 30 degrees. As you can tell, i'm loving it. I hate heat and I hate summer, and this holiday has to be one of the most meteorologically comfortable Christmas breaks I can remember.
The past few days have seen me mainly playing the Nintendo. After about 24 solid hours of gameplay i'm still only half way through Zelda. It's a massive game.
Yesterday we had planned to to go 4-wheel driving up at Double-Island Point with my parents, but because of the forecasted rain (which really didn't eventuate) we decided to call it off.
Instead me and Despina headed down to SouthBank to check out the newly built Queensland State Library and Gallery of Modern Art.
I really like what they've done with the State Library: lots of open space and seating, and lots of computers. I was impressed that there is seemingly free internet access there too, I went up to a vacant random computer, opened a browser and went straight to this website without any prompts or notices telling me stuff.
In the State Library they also had a "National Treasures" exhibition, showcasing some impressive items from Australia's history. A few that I remember were some original writings of James Cook among others. Why is it that everyone back then had fantastically neat cursive handwriting, and why does mine look like a four year-old's?
Anywho, onto the Gallery of Modern Art: although the building is great, the content inside a pity. I've never been a fan of modern art. I don't get it, nor the purpose of it or why the crap is actually worth money. Some stuff is truly amazing, but when I see a canvas with about eight vertical coloured stripes on it, how is that art? Any six year-old could do it but here it's worth thousands of dollars, and it gets me with me thinking "i could pull something better than this out of my ...".
I personally don't consider a lot of 'modern art' art at all. A lot of it is merely the product of tripped out 'new age' people so high on acid trips that they want to record what their twisted minds hallucinate when they're in that kind of state. I know I'm painting with a thick brush here (pun intended), and a some of the art there I actually liked, but most is garbage that any homeless person could conjure together with some glue and paint.
I hope everyone is enjoying their holidays.
because the only records we have of writing 200 years ago were by the small number of people who were literate.
all things being equal, an increase in quantity will lead to a decrease in quality. fairly basic principle, happens to work in most areas 🙂
hehe true, I never really thought of that. And most of the records we have of writing are from the upper class of the literate society anyway...
Ah Lucas my dear, the problem with you and many others who dislike modern art is that you say things like 'I could've done that' or 'a two-year old would've done that'. What you really should be asking yourself is: 'Would I have thought of doing that?'. That's what sets modern art apart, people pushing boundaries and deciding to go against the status quo and experiment.
Don't get me wrong, some of it does look ridiculous, but just keep in mind that this is imagination at work. People thinking outside the box and whatnot.
End Rant. 😀
To answer your first question: yes, I have thought of stuff like that, and in some cases I have done some stuff like that (thinks back to year 8 art...). The difference is mine is sitting in my parent's garage and is worth less than what I paid for the materials, and the one in GOMA is worth many thousands of dollars by some new age artist.
What makes his/her work any more valuable than mine? Neither are ground-breaking, nor unique, nor did it even require more than an average amount of talent or effort to create. They both look crap, and in truth, there is no difference. (Thinks of the Simpson's episode with the 'new age' art).
The other really tripped out weird concoctions that are actually very different and unique, and some of which I like but most I don't, I can see why they are in a Gallery of 'Modern' (aka weird and different) art.
The rest is a waste of my money (my tax-payer money helping to fund the government grants that built that building and that buy a lot of the junk in it). I'd rather the money be spent on schools and hospitals where it's needed rather than rewarding the spaced out alcos and drugos that are using them (the hospitals).
End my rant. 😉