weston culture » art

Brilliant! Guerrilla crafters strike again in Pomona (Qld, Australia)

trish — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 01:51:06 +0000

In December, I wrote about stumbling across some guerrilla craft adorning a post in my nearby town of Pomona (Qld, Australia). Well, knock me over with a crochet hook, they’ve been at it again this week and the results are spectacular. The little nature strip at the entrance to the main street has been beautified with the woolly and the wild. We have cosies for rocks, beanies for bollards, wool ties for grasses, pom poms, tree sweaters, crocheted flowers and felty critters galore.

I can’t tell you how much I love this. It makes me smile everytime I see it. And I love the fact that nobody knows what to think of it.

Go Po crafters. You are brilliant.

More unexpected moments in street art: Craft graffiti in Pomona and Rogue Cosies in Brisbane

trish — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 00:46:24 +0000

I love finding unexpected moments of knitting and crochet on the streets.

My favourite is Rogue Cosie who has adorned the streets of Brisbane (Australia), San Francisco, Boston and New York (and I’m sure more…) with crocheted and knitted (?) delights. My favourite installations are the thanksgiving turkeys in SF and duck shawls in Boston. I like the cut of their cultural jib.

And, of course, Guardians of the Bridge is awesome for its scale and audacity.

Street art of the aerosol or crafty kind is usually found in urban areas so I was caught unawares when venturing out for my supplies to Pomona (Qld, Australia) early this morning, when I was greeted at the newsagent by this wonderful crafty rainbow newcomer. I was so surprised to see this in sleepy ol Po that I squealed with delight.

Go the guerrilla crafters! Can’t wait to see more…

Up The Coast: A history of the Sunshine Coast through photos, art, memorabilia.

trish — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 01:12:42 +0000

Up The Coast exhibition: Final day today at the Cooroy Butter Factory

If you’re up the coast today be sure to check out the exhibition on display at the Cooroy Butter Factory.

Up The Coast: Our Stories, Our Collections brings together memorobilia, art and photos that tell the stories of the Sunshine Coast as a holiday destination.

My formative years were spent holidaying in fibro shacks at the beach (albeit “Down the Coast”) so this collection is not only a great history of the region but, for me, it brought back memories of carefree days in truly laidback destinations.

Here are my favourites from the exhibition. (There was also a Model T on display but I didn’t get a photo).

Sunshine Coast surfing legends, Ma and Pa Bendall

Early surfboard.

Swoon. A photo of classic fibro beach house on the Sunshine Coast. From the collection of Roger Todd.

And… my favourites by Susan Schmidt …

"Sunseeker" - 2009 (print) by Susan Schmidt

"Welcome" 2009 (print) by Susan Schmidt

Up The Coast is on at the Cooroy Butter Factory until 30 October 2010. (Today! Go, Go, Go!)

When Pride is Not a Sin: Prejudice and Pride exhibition at the Museum of Brisbane

trish — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 18:17:33 +0000

Damnation Poster International Lesbian Day 1993? On display at Prejudice and Pride exhibition, Museum of Brisbane, 2010, poster by trishweston

I wrote this a few months ago after seeing the heart-swellingly wonderful Prejudice and Pride exhibition in Brisbane. The exhibition finishes on 17th October 2010 …

I had a few hours spare while in Brisbane on a Saturday afternoon recently and decided to check out the Prejudice and Pride exhibition that’s currently on at the Museum of Brisbane.

Not only was I captivated for hours by this amazing exhibition but I also came away having rediscovered my own pride – for the people who have lived according to their own truth in a culture that has often violently repressed their authenticity.

I am of course talking about all the gays, lesbians, transgenders, queers and every other permutation of other-sexuality and gender you with to throw under the GLBT umbrella.

The exhibition explores the GLBT history of Brisbane through stories, flyers, magazines, letters, photos, videos and other ephemera. It’s not easy being different but throughout all the items collected here, I saw the common thread of people standing up and saying, “This is who I am. This is how I live.” I could only imagine the courage it would have taken to be gay in sleepy old 1950s Brisbane – when homosexuality was still considered a sexual deviancy. (We are talking pre-Kinsey). And yet folks did.

I was beautiful. It is beautiful.

The personal is still political

On the same weekend I visited the exhibition, I saw Nick Douglas’s film People, Parties, Pride & Politics. Nick’s film explores DIY culture and activism in GLBT Brisbane and the impact of decriminalisation in 1990. So once I got to the exhibition I was quite sentimental for a life I used to live, where I belonged to a community, where I felt appreciated and loved, where I got to use the skills and talents I had (as well as develop a few unusual ones – spray painting anyone?) and where I could be myself. (Well, at least if I wasn’t in the company of the PC Police…)

The exhibition was personally touching for me as some of my posters (above) from the period were on display. These were posters / artwork that had been accidently thrown out in one of my house moves and so to see them again just brought back so many memories.

There was something very special about that time and that community. Homosexuality had just been decriminalised in Queensland and this major victory had me believing that I could indeed make the world (or at least our little corner of it) a better place.

But I also appreciate that I was able to experience the joy of belonging to a vibrant, exciting community and part of something that was bigger than me. It’s made me wonder how I can create that vibrancy and sense of belonging in my life now.

If I take a moment to look, I see it is there – albeit in a different form. The players may be different but those communities still exist. I still get to discover new talents – mostly legal nowadays. And most importantly, I still have the belief that my actions can contribute to the world becoming a better place.

Pride is not a sin

A few years ago I came across a reference to pride as a negative emotion (see Power vs Force by David Hawkins). I really wrestled with that as a concept, because for me, pride is a positive. It’s about believing you are as worthwhile as the next person. But our culture insists on loading it up with religious baggage – giving it a ‘deadly sin’ status and insisting that it is merely a precursor to an ignominious fall.

However, after spending time with the stories of the Prejudice and Pride exhibition, I knew I could trust my experience of pride. The feeling I had on leaving the exhibition was overwhelmingly positive. I didn’t think myself better than anyone else. I had merely glimpsed what it means to be human and feel worthwhile.

Happy International Lesbian Day!

Ahh, there was a time when you could win awards for being a lesbian. Miss Stray Cat trophy award to Ms Gai Lemon 1992.

Pushing buttons.

Dykey Bridge, West End, early 1990s

Craig fesses up: Original Notes From Chris

trish — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 00:22:19 +0000

New York bus stop Note From Chris by Todd Lamb

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about some strange posters appearing around Melbourne inviting people to meet up with someone named Craig. (See Craig’s Other List) Well, it turns out that Craig’s notes were, um, inspired by a New York project by writer/director/maker, Todd Lamb entitled Notes From Chris.

Todd describes the project as “Notes stuck around NYC from a man named Chris who wants to do tedious things with people.” And when you check out Todd’s four original Notes From Chris, there is a striking resemblance.

When I heard about Todd’s work (thanks Neatorama reader, AP!) I wondered if it was an international collaboration. But no, Craig just liked Todd’s work and adapted it to his own neighbourhood.

Says Craig, “I have no connection with Chris I just liked the work that he’d done and thought I’d play with the concept locally in Melbourne. I didn’t expect it to take off like it has. And no, Chris isn’t happy so I must apologise. In my defense, Chris wrote 4 notes, I have written 18 so they’re not all copies, but the original concept is all his.”

Congrats to Todd for the original idea and to Craig for running with it.

You certainly got people talking!

Todd Lamb’s Notes From Chris

See zoomdoggle

See three thousand

Apparently, Andy Warhol said

trish — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 02:10:17 +0000

Apparently, Andy Warhol said, “Being good in business is the most fascinating art”.

I love how Warhol refers to business as an art. Business is usually presented as this rational, hard-headed thing – and it rarely is. Being good in business? He’s right. That is an art.

Craig’s other list: Guerrilla graffiti brings humour to the streets

trish — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 01:16:21 +0000

Bizarre notices have been popping up on lampposts around Melbourne.

On the surface they seem like legitimate notices you’d see on community noticeboards: items for sale, lost and found, and invitations to join groups with those who have similar interests. But once you start reading them, you realise that something is amiss. The item for sale is the lamppost the note is attached to (“Meet me at midnight. You may need a spade.”). The lost item is a sweatband. (Reward for its return? “We could go and see a movie. G or GA only.”) The found item is a free newspaper with a half-done crossword (“So you should be able to identify it”). Oh, and they are all signed off by someone named Craig.

I like graffiti. I see it as art, expression, and often, a much-needed political statement. Before blogging and the internet, it was one of the few ways for those with little power or influence to express themselves publicly. But I have to admit that I am a graffiti snob. I have preferences. And one of them is for the graffiti to have some wit about it.

Craig’s notices are full of wit. They bring humour to the streets. How often do we get a chance to stop and smile as we’re rushing through our day? A little moment of joy. A reminder that life can be ridiculous.

What I really like about Craig’s humour is that, unlike a lot of humour and pranks floating around the internet, it’s not taking the mickey out of anyone. There are no casualties. Even its form is light – an A4 sheet of paper loosely taped to a pole.

Brilliant!

Thanks to Gai for passing these on.

UPDATE: Text art! It’s text art. Thanks Ev for the reminder. Oh, and I didn’t mention anything about the reclaiming of public space through art … but that will come in a later post …. in the meantime, enjoy!

UPDATE 2: If you read the comments below, you’ll realise that Craig’s notes caused a bit of a kerfuffle internationally… Read the update, Craig Fesses Up: Original Notes from Chris. Okay, now you can enjoy!!