Comings and Goings

Entered the studio after spending a day at the Museum of Contemporary Art. Decided I would like to spend more of my days in museums, libraries and parks.

Listened to BBC Arts and Ideas podcast while walking through Jubilee park in Glebe. Philip Dodd spoke with Tudo Historian David Starkey who made an interesting observation about how identity will be invented for you unless you take up the reins yourself. Also listened to ceramic artist Grayson Perry discuss how contemporary artists will step [...]

Purchased an Imagewall by Compuvision at Mitchell Road Aucitons with Kenzie Larsen and James Brown. The Imagewall consists of nine televisions that stack together to form a wall and an old school computer that converts one image to display across the nine televisions. Couldn’t get it to work.

Bill Henson featured in the Good Weekend. David Marr treading softly softly. Boring read about the whole Henson event that says nothing and explains less. I still might buy his book but I will wait to be impressed by his Sydney Ideas talk.

There was a man wearing an orange helmet hanging outside my window this morning. Window cleaning. I remembered abseiling as a child. Walking down a cliff face. Facing the ground beneath me. It was as if the world had turned sideways.

Arrived after a few days away due to a cursed fever. The grounds are empty. Mid-semester break. Have decided to do things differently today.

Spent the morning sitting in the cafe. Two cappucionos. Last week the waitress asked my name, curious after a year of my daily sittings. I introduced myself but forgot to ask her name. Now I sit in the cafe and wonder when it is appropriate to ask for her name.

Woke up to read that a 61-year-old man was stabbed to death at the pizzeria around the corner from where I live. Watched an excellent Australian film, Noise, last night on SBS. 6 people were shot to death on a train in the film. I had strange dreams.

Watched a 1958 movie of The Old Man and the Sea last night. There was some nice shark camera work in it. Read that Amanda Vanstone overturned the deportation of suspected Mafia 14 months after the Liberal Party received a donation from the man’s brother. She is the ambassador to Italy now. As John Howard [...]

Came from a lecture by John Conomos that was part of the Sydney Underground Film Festival Symposium. Conomos said “Theory is good. Poetry is more important”. My camera has photographed some stranger entering and exiting my studio in my absence. She looked confused. Don’t know how she unlocked the door.

Listening to Scott Walker on arrival. Thinking about learning to play cello. Brendan Nelson has been evicted. I wonder if Malcolm Turnbull will be agreeable or disagree on principle.