Creature Comforts on Art

Guilty secret

There's something lovely about receiving good old-fashioned postal mail. Particularly when it's art. In this case an edition bought online from an artist-run-space in Los Angeles. Will post an image of it some time.

The internet 1: making life in the provinces that much easier.
The internet 2: making it harder to look real-space dealers in the eye.

Market driven model

One of the standout works for me in Reboot: the Jim Barr and Mary Barr collection show on at City was Ryan Moore's White Pin. Something about the space afforded to it, the simplicity, the artist's background appeal, as does the fact that a few people I've spoken to about it didn't even see it.


Given the context for the work though, I'm really tempted to discreetly switch it for a red pin.

Champing at the bit

At the risk of sounding a little too Louis Theroux's Wild Weekends, I've just discovered there's a Horse Ornament Museum in the Taranaki Hinterland. I'd post photos this Monday following a visit this Sunday (10-4 or by arrangement), but you'll have to wait a week.

And now for a 2 wheeled interlude

I was a huge fan of Q-boats in WWII: boats that looked like small coastal freighters, but were secretly armed and armoured.

Vaguely similar story with The New Bike. While this may look like an old-school steel bike (well, my mum thinks so), it is in reality cutting edge, and on bikes cutting edge = really rather fast.

And rather fast = rather good fun to ride, which may explain the last 10 day's 300km.

Automation has hit the provinces

Marketing 101 teaches us that every business needs a unique selling proposition in order to differentiate from the competition. I'd never thought of automatic doors as a USP, but good on them for trying.

Despite my love of the new, and the titillating invitation to try them, I didn't. I'm saving the experience for the next rainy day I visit Moturoa.

Teenage kicks

I've heard rumour of a guy just north of New Plymouth who has an active interest in taxidermy. While this in itself isn't necessarily so interesting, he has a stuffed Polar Bear.

I'm in the process of hunting him down, so to speak. Actual photos to come.

Dream home

For anyone who hankers for that wonderfully eerie 70's charm of an Yvonne Todd or Anne Noble photograph, you can now live the dream.



I'm seriously tempted.

Back

Apologies for the lengthy hiatus. It hasn't been wasted, with a new bike, a new job, a new city, two pairs of new pants, and a number of plots to take things over (as you'd expect).

Bullet points:

• WOMAD was good, and apparently we have our own ukulele orchestra here which I got invited to join (yes, that thought terrifies me as well).


• Jack Johnson was also good, crazy busy, but I didn't go surfing with him in the end.


• The world triathlon series race was good, with somewhat inspiring cosequences. More on that later.


• The Govett-Brewster's new shows are very good. Two thumbs up, and I'm still a fan of their events - the Monica Brewster Club is a very good thing. It's the round of shows after next I'm really excited about though.


• Any free bike is a good bike, but when it's a custom speced Cotic, it is a great bike. We're getting some serious mileage in. Full reports pending...


• Work is bloody interesting, and it's nice to have some cool new projects to get stuck into, without the drama (real or imagined) of Parliament. Also nice not to feel compelled to yell at the tv on a regular basis. In fact I haven't watched any TV at all in over a month. Oddly liberating.


• The coffee in New Plymouth is stunning. A little on the expensive side, but then for the most part it is fair trade. Believe me, I'm as surprised by this fact as you are.


• The Len Lye Centre debate is good and healthy, although a little one-sided at this stage. I've a number of plans to rectify that, of course, so watch this space.


• New Macs are brilliant. The iMac even comes with a remote control, for those rare moments that you're using your computer from a distance further away than arms reach. I'll even forgive Apple for blatently cribbing the design notes from 1960s era Braun, it's that good.
  
• We've even gained a handful more works for the collection, which is currently living in two large crates, which is quite sad, but a necessary short-term evil.

So you might say that, on the whole, things are pretty good.