ArtTravel: 2009

Sunday, 18 October 2009

Cafes and Food

Since the demise of the fabulously named Stomach Takeaways, my newest favourite name is a takeaway between Royal Oak and Onehunga. Only wish I could pronounce it. I will have to venture in next time I am going past.

Below is a Mexican dish at the Ponsonby Food Hall.

Stylish in design, and tasted great too. The Mexican stall does provide the most decorative and enticing options.

Wednesday, 7 October 2009

Art Tour Cities 1 - Brisbane

Most people consider the art and culture centres of Australia to be Sydney and Melbourne, and generally consider Brisbane to be somewhat less endowed with contemporary art. While Sydney and Melbourne do host the lions share of events and hold a good deal of the best contemporary art practice, other centres do have a lot to offer.

Brisbane's Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) form part of the cultural precinct, including the State Library, Museum and performing arts centre (QPAC). The focus for us here are the art galleries, which have a habit of attracting blockbuster shows. Highlights of the past include Warhol, Matisse, and the recently finished American Realism show from the Met.

GOMA also has a strong affinity and tes to the asia pacific region, and this is documented with its Asia Pacific Triennial, starting this year in December. The APT started in 1993, and this year will be the 6th event.
APT6 will show over 100 artists from 25 countries, and has become an important event in anyones calendar.
There will be an overlap in 2010 with the 4th Auckland Triennial which starts in mid March

On a recent visit in May there was an interesting show of chinese artists entitled The China Project. Though they had darkened the far wall with a bright red film which near blinded me, some of the works were fascinating.

A quick peruse of the Art Almanac lists a variety of galleries to visit, and of course there is also the important
Institute of Modern Art, directed by Kiwi Robert Leonard.

Brisbane is not without its cafe, bar and restaurant scene. On our recent visit we found some great cafes and bars a few minutes walk south of the South Bank area, and of course there is the couple of blocks of cool north of the CBD.

Of course Brisbane is in close proximity to that kiwi tourist magnet - the Gold Coast, but for me it's not much further on to Byron Bay, which has a simililar pull from a tourst point of view. Byron does have a good mix of food, culutre and beach, providing a great atmosphere, and a little more sophistcaion than you may get in places closer. It has a great alternate art scene, and the whole Byronshire is stacked full of small towns that each offer their own charm. My favourite was the small town of Bangalow, 10 minutes inland, great cafes, and when we were there a fantastic retro and vintage store - which I can not find a link to.

Art Tours will be visiting APT6 with Sue Gardiner from 19 - 22 March 2010, flying Air New Zealand from Auckland and staying at the Sofitel.
Enquire

Space

Space defined

Our property backs onto the local primary school, very good it is too. While some of the neighbours may complain about their view being blocked, lucky for us it stops right on the edge of our boundary. We have been able to watch the building works grow from the ground up, where once there was nothing there are now frames, foundations, the roof is going on over the pretty pink framing timber.

The concept of space being contained or defined has been interesting to follow over this project. It has helped start a small series of works. These relate to the patterns formed by the timber frames as they begin to define and enlose space. They have stood for weeks as a skeleton waiting for a skin, waiting for the finished product which will no doubt impress the neighbours in the end, to be formulated out of vacant nothing.

Works in progress

Monday, 24 August 2009

New Orleans Jazz Festival Tour has its own blog!

Follow Pauls updates here

http://jazzfestwithpaul.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, 18 August 2009

Pauls take on New Orleans Jazzfest

Paul Gurney

· Lead vocalist and guitarist with The DeSotos
· 30 years performing in the music industry
· Former advertising industry agency head
· Four time attendee of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival – ‘04/’05/’07/’09

Ok, so first things first. Jazz Fest, as it is universally referred to, is not just a jazz music festival. The word heritage in its name seems to cover just about every music form other than jazz; blues, country, bluegrass, jam band, funk, rock, zydeco…you get the idea.

If you are a jazz lover there is plenty of choice, with tents catering for all forms of contemporary and traditional jazz. But it is the sheer diversity of music that attracts so many people. The one consistent theme is the overall quality of both the acts and the sound mixes.

The USA invented the outdoor rock concert, and nobody stages an event as well as they can.

The festival is held over the last weekend of April and first weekend in May, and there are three days off between weekends where you can indulge in local tours of everything from a swamp to the local graveyard! Or go further north to cities such as Memphis or Nashville if that’s your thing.

I personally like to stay local as there is so much activity in New Orleans during this time it’s hard to leave.

Jazz Fest is held at the local racecourse, converted each year into a series of outdoor and tented sound stages – some 11 in all. And the mood is more WOMAD than BDO, with an array of food stalls delivering all manner of fabulous Creole and Cajun food, and many craft stalls selling the best of the local artisans’ work.

And then of course there is the French Quarter itself, home to some of the best architecture, night clubs and restaurants in the world.

This tour offers you the chance to share the Jazz Fest experience with a small group of like-minded music lovers and get the best tips on music, clubs and restaurants, while still being independent on the ground.

If you are up for the heat, the crowds, occasional thunderstorms, and the walking, then you’ll be rewarded with seven days of music heaven.

http://www.thedesotos.com/ www.myspace.com/thedesotos

Wednesday, 15 July 2009

Ellerslie Art Trail 13 - 27 July

The Ellerslie Art Trail and exhibition

is on again from 13 - 27 July

Come down and join the fun.

Auckland East Arts has its exhibition opening

Friday 17 July,

and there will also bve a local schools exhibition to follow

Tuesday, 14 July 2009

Courses on Berlin and Bauhaus in Auckland

Christiane Pracht's evening classes coming up in Auckland

Berlin. Biography of a City

Few cities capture people’s imagination as Berlin does: A political hot spot and cultural center for centuries, Berlin is one of the most diverse cities in the world. Artists and revolutionaries, scientists and poets have called the city their home and, in return, left their mark on Berlin. The course introduces you to Berlin’s history, its arts and culture and is perfect for those planning a trip to Berlin or who just want to learn more about Germany’s new capital.

22 July to 19 August 6.30 to 8.30pm

For more information or to enroll visit Parnell Trust's website and click on "Culture and Languages"

http://www.parnell.org.nz/Parnell-Community-Centre-Classes-Learning.htm

Bauhaus. A Revolution in Art, Architecture and Design

The foundation of the Bauhaus School in 1919 occurred at a time of political and cultural upheaval in Germany. This course will explore the concepts and ideas of Bauhaus and reflect on the socio-economic and political background from which they emerged. We will focus on the Weimar and Dessau years - 1919 to 1928 - and survey some of the work of Walter Gropius, the school’s first director, Johannes Itten, Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky, and Marcel Breuer.

27 July to 10 August, 6.30 - 8.30pm, University of Auckland Center for Continuing Education

For more information or to enroll:

http://www.cce.auckland.ac.nz/cce/continuing/index.cfm?P=7760

Christiane Pracht, native German and art historian, lived in Berlin for many years. Having worked in Germany’s arts industry Christiane has an intimate knowledge of Germany’s history, art and culture.