Contemplative Walls
Dunedin is blessed with two free-to-enter museums that warrant wanders: the Otago Settlers Museum, next to the photograph-me splendour of the railway station, and the Otago Museum, just off Otago University. As with most museums, both feel a little naff in places, especially where the quiet ambiance is punctuated by snatches of earnest audio-visual presentations, but it would be boorish to complain at this price. Of the two I found the Settlers Museum the most successful, its narrower focus allowing for a more coherent experience in comparison to Otago Museum's occasional overreach. Or perhaps I was biased by the Dunedin Sound exhibit that cycles through the full videos of "Tally Ho!", "Death and the Maiden", "Pink Frost" and Look Blue Go Purple's immortally infectious "Cactus Cat".
Wandering through a replica of the bunks in a galley at the Settlers Museum (a terrible photo of which you can enjoy below), my first thought was how luxurious it seemed in comparison to a 6-bed backpackers dorm with laughable ventilation.
Occupying a spot on a central side of the Octagon, the Public Art Gallery is another experience which can be had free of charge, provided you walk brusquely past the donation boxes. The main gallery mixes contemporary and historical pieces, some dating back as early as the 17th Century. Despite being arranged thematically ("colour", "scale" etc.), it all felt a little haphazard. The presence of rigorously studied classical works also had the unfortunate effect of highlighting the deficiencies in the contemporary ones. At the time of my visit I was fortunate enough to see the piece they had on loan from Hell, where it adorns every wall:
A floor up was an exhibit by a local artist, Kushana Bush. I had zero hopes but was pleasantly surprised by the technically accomplished quasi-religious cartoon orgies I found. Where downstairs I strolled about as if I were absently window-shopping, here I appeared as an honest-to-goodness patron of the arts, observing with curiosity rather than emptiness. I can't speak with any real authority on the artist's merits, but the exhibit unquestionably received the lion's share of my interest that day. Shall we compare the below image to the preceding one?
Wandering through a replica of the bunks in a galley at the Settlers Museum (a terrible photo of which you can enjoy below), my first thought was how luxurious it seemed in comparison to a 6-bed backpackers dorm with laughable ventilation.
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Occupying a spot on a central side of the Octagon, the Public Art Gallery is another experience which can be had free of charge, provided you walk brusquely past the donation boxes. The main gallery mixes contemporary and historical pieces, some dating back as early as the 17th Century. Despite being arranged thematically ("colour", "scale" etc.), it all felt a little haphazard. The presence of rigorously studied classical works also had the unfortunate effect of highlighting the deficiencies in the contemporary ones. At the time of my visit I was fortunate enough to see the piece they had on loan from Hell, where it adorns every wall:
A floor up was an exhibit by a local artist, Kushana Bush. I had zero hopes but was pleasantly surprised by the technically accomplished quasi-religious cartoon orgies I found. Where downstairs I strolled about as if I were absently window-shopping, here I appeared as an honest-to-goodness patron of the arts, observing with curiosity rather than emptiness. I can't speak with any real authority on the artist's merits, but the exhibit unquestionably received the lion's share of my interest that day. Shall we compare the below image to the preceding one?
I am reminded of this artwork by Hieronymus Bosch, aka the cover of the self-titled Fleet Foxes record.
ReplyDeletePoints for the joke at the expense of the backpacker dorm.