Tag Archives: controversial

Fabulously Fractured Facades in Metro Melbourne, Australia

We had just moved back to Melbourne, Australia in 2002 and this contentious and expensive cluster of buildings and paved courtyards were completed that same year. I remember the first time I saw Federation Square (now generally known by the shortened title of Fed Square) and it seemed raw, unfinished looking, and very windy at the time. But over the years it has grown on me and I now find it ‘interesting’ if not beautiful.

Housing the NGV Ian Potter art museum, ACMI (Australian Centre for the Moving Image), SBS Television and Radio Broadcasting Centre, and a range of cafes, bars, shops, and other cultural offices, Fed Square continues to provoke a love-hate response from both tourists and the citizens of Melbourne. Click on the first link in the article to read about some of the controversial decisions, negative reviews, and blow-out costs that surrounded this project.

$The fractured and fragmented facades of the modern buildings at Federation Square in Melbourne, Australia are a sharp contrast to the more traditional structures all around it.$

The fractured and fragmented facades of the modern buildings at Federation Square in Melbourne, Australia are a sharp contrast to the more traditional structures all around it.

The buildings of Federation Square in Melbourne, Australia contain a cluster of arts organisations, a television and radio broadcasting centre, and several cafes and restaurants..

Another corner of Federation Square in the heart of Melbourne, Australia

Iconic Graffiti-Covered Laneway Gets A Makeover in Melbourne

I was surprised to read in this morning’s newspapers online here in Australia that Hosier Lane, a rather well-known graffiti-covered spot in the heart of Melbourne, has had a makeover this week.

This tiny but historic street is amidst the old garment district of Melbourne and the laneway’s name tells you what was once there — hosiers — makers of socks and stockings. I was just there last week taking the photos below, but now it has had a fresh ‘undercoat’ placed on the brick walls and laneway paving so that the graffiti artists can come back and create fresh artwork on a ‘blank canvas’ of blue paint. Curious, or perhaps intentional, that blue was chosen as the background colour since the laneway has a distinct blue overtone due to the quality of light that sifts into the narrow street as the taller buildings loom over it.

Interesting idea — or simply strange? Some of the previous ‘artwork’ was surprisingly well done. It’s all a matter of individual taste and some people will never enjoy the tiny slice of over-the-top-colourful Melbourne across Flinders Street from Federation Square on Hosier Lane.

Graffiti covered Hosier Lane in the heart of Melbourne, Australia

Graffiti covered Hosier Lane in the heart of Melbourne, Australia with the Federation Square entry to the NGV Ian Potter art museum at the end of the laneway across Flinders Street

Graffiti covered Hosier Lane in the heart of Melbourne, Australia

Inside The Pompidou Collections in Paris

As promised, here is a glimpse at some of the artwork within the Centre Pompidou in Paris, France. The collections are vast, so this is just a tiny snippet from a few galleries plus a few shots from a current special exhibition.

Any of the smaller versions of photographs will expand if you click on them and you will be able to see more detail.

The current special exhibit is devoted to the life and work of the artist and designer Eileen Gray. We have been admirers of her work for quite a long time and until we sold off all of our furniture in Australia prior to our 2-1/2 year round-the-world jaunt, we had one of those glass and chrome side tables that you see pictured in the museum shop photo.

The lines to purchase tickets at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, France

A photographic portrait of designer & artist Eileen Gray

Examples of the forward-thinking tables and chairs designed by Eileen Gray in the 1920s-1940s which are still relevant in today’s contemporary decor.

Curved leather divan designed by Eileen Gray in the 1920s

Authorized reproductions of Eileen Gray design pieces which are for sale in the shop at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, France

And here is a tiny selection of some items in the permanent collection inside the Pompidou.

A red metal man sculpture by Olivier Mourgue

Hanging neon sculpture at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, France

A selection of colourful paintings with sexual themes

A huge punched metal sculpture that practically fills a room inside the Centre Pompidou in Paris, France

A very large hanging sculpture named Fruits de la Passion

Pompidou Photo Essay — Part 2

Here we go with a continuation of the Pompidou photo essay!

Did you ever wonder what the inside of the Pompidou looked like? Or what all of those clear plastic tubes on the exterior of the structure were for? These photos should answer some of that.

The vast interior lobby of the Centre Pompidou

Walkway through one of the clear plastic tunnels at the Pompidou

Even the elevators between the exhibit floors go through the clear plastic tubes on the outside of the building!

View of the Parisian landscape from the VERY top of the Centre Pompidou in Paris, France

Come back soon for MORE from the Pompidou including pieces of artwork inside!

Perfectly Wonderful Pompidou

We simply adore Paris and from past experience I know that staying in just the right place makes all of the difference in how much you enjoy your visit. Our very small but simply wonderful apartment in the Marais which I had sourced from airbnb enhanced our brief citybreak in Paris on several levels. The neighbourhood was wonderful and a mere few blocks from our front door was the Centre Pompidou.

A few hours after our arrival in Paris, we strolled through a misty rain down the street at dusk and past the Pompidou. It is an astonishingly odd building and it continues to be controversial. Many people snicker at the exterior facade and the brightly coloured ‘plumbing pipes’ that look like nothing else in the neighbourhood. It grew on me!

Centre Pompidou at dusk

Close-up of Centre Pompidou in Paris, France

Then we walked around to an open plaza in back and took photos of the wonderful sculptural objects in the Stravinsky Fountain.

Stravinsky Fountain next to the Centre Pompidou in Paris, France

Moving elements within the Stravinsky Fountain next to the Centre Pompidou in Paris, France

Next up — photos of the inside of this vast museum and some of the wonderful artwork in the collections.

Toast The Tax?

Saw this poster in a window here in Newcastle Upon Tyne in the UK and I thought it was worth following up on. What did it mean? Were toasted sandwiches really going to be taxed on top of the cost of the sandwich?

Poster in the window of a shop in Newcastle Upon Tyne protesting the government’s application of a 20% tax on toasted sandwiches!

That turns out to be exactly what is happening. As this online e-petition explains, the UK government has decided to apply VAT of 20% onto what is charged for toasted sandwiches even though the other countries in the EU have already done away with it.

What an insane and greedy grab for cash by the government in a time of extreme financial hardship!

A Wanderful Life

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