Exploring Melbourne's Cultural Quarter - A Short Photo Parade

 

Every time I come to Melbourne, I spend a lot of time around the Cultural Quarter - the creative zone that stretches from Federation Square (opposite Flinders Street Railway Station), down to the National Gallery of Victoria. I've been there twice this week and the above photographs are a tiny sample of the hundreds I took. The first images relate to the NGV of course, where I went to see  Vienna Art & Design, marvellous exhibition which is due to finish any day. From there I wandered down to Federation Square (the hefty grey buildings shown above), which I've written about several times before on this blog. (You can read that by clicking on Federation Square in the label lines below).

That's where you'll find NGV's Ian Potter Centre and the Australian Centre for Moving Image, along with crowds of people enjoying the terrific public spaces. The entire area is marvellous for people-watching and photography and I will be sad to say goodbye to them when I leave Australia in two days' time.

Back to wobbly old Christchurch and reality.

Sightseeing in Australia - 8

I don't know why I spend so much time trying to photograph Australian gum trees - it's not as if we don't have plenty of the good old Eucalypts in New Zealand after all, but there's something special about them in their own Aussie environment; and they're so quintessentially Australian. Call it a challenge - and it is most definitely that. I have come home with hundreds of photos of gum trees and most have ended up in the delete bin. Turns out it's actually quite difficult to capture all those forms and shadows without it looking like...well.... a boring solid mass of trees. I was reasonably happy with this shot - taken one soft, sunny morning on a massive drive around the Fleurieu Peninsula, south of Adelaide in 2007. If you just happen to be travelling to Adelaide, I'd strongly advise you to pick up a rental car and make a day of it - better still a couple of days because there are plenty of wineries, beautiful landscapes and interesting towns to visit. The south of the peninsula also gives you access to Kangaroo Island. I love Melbourne's Flinders Street - that one mile long (exactly they tell me) stretch named after explorer, Matthew Flinders, that runs almost parallel to the Yarra River. It's where you'll find the incredibly busy Flinders Railway Station which is, in my view, just about one of the best people-watching places on the planet; and just across the road, Federation Square with its galleries, cafes, restaurants and events. I'm heading across the Tasman in a few weeks' time and you can be reasonably certain that I'll be spending an unnatural amount of time hanging out here with my camera. This is the very handsome State Library of Queensland in Brisbane, which is located in front of the Queensland Museum of Art. It opened after extensive redevelopment in 2006 at the hands of Australian architectural practice, Donovan Hill Peddle Thorp. In 2007, it was voted Australian Building of the Year by the Royal Australian Institute of Architects. I spent half a day in both buildings back in 2008, on my way home from a wild adventure in the Queensland Outback. Brisbane, it must be said, seemed tame and very civilised by comparison. A perfect little building in the Victorian town of Malmsbury - little more than a speck on the map, with just 587 people (or thereabouts), 96km northwest of Melbourne. Gold was discovered here in 1858 and the town became a centre for diggers on their way to Bendigo and Castlemaine. I discovered it in 2010, when I hit the road in rural Victoria with a map, a camera and an assortment of drinks and snacks. From Woodend, an hour north of Melbourne, I headed north past Kyneton, and turned off the highway, heading for Malmsbury, then in a giant loop back to the south, and north again to Woodend. It was one of those magnificent days of taking ten hours to do a trip that would normally take 3-4 hours - stopping all along the way to explore and take photographs. My idea of heaven.

A Small Melbourne Architectural Overview

The Melbourne Age building on Spencer Street may have caused controversy – both for its design and its location – but I like it. And, as a journalist myself, I suppose it’s only natural that I would like the giant screen that highlights the headlines of the day.

Even more controversial at the time of its construction, was the gigantic Southern Cross Rail Station (Grimshaw Architects) [completed 2006] that sits directly across the street from The Age. Its enormous waving roof construction adds a distinctive, modern form to the city that, to my mind, looks nicely ahead to the future. It’s also a perfect introduction to the Docklands area that it borders – a precinct that favours some stunning contemporary architecture that I featured on this blog in 2008. (If you click on Docklands in the label line below, you’ll be able to see a few examples).

Federation Square on Flinders Street is another of my favourite Melbourne architectural statements. I hear so much about the need for modern architecture to be ‘contextural,’ for it to conform to the style of the surroundings; but to my mind, a city should reflect its many layers of time and style and if architecture is done well, it will fit regardless of the surrounds. Take Federation Square for instance; it sits happily across the street from the classical elegance of St Paul’s Anglican Cathedral, the classic grandeur of Flinders Street Rail Station and in the rear, across the Yarra River, the unmistakable contemporary form of Eureka Tower piercing the sky.

The rather spectacular Flinders Street Railway Station, which always reminds me of being in India.

Thinking Melbourne, Thinking Fed Square

Federation Square, Melbourne, Australia. November 2008. Ajr

This is where I was this time last year – spending much of my time slouching around Melbourne’s cultural centre, Federation Square, colloquially known as Fed Square. Designed by the Melbourne architectural practice, Lab Architecture Studio, the complex was built (2002-2004) on top of a concrete platform that straddles the busy railway lines below. Chief among its collected buildings is the National Gallery of Victoria’s newest and second premises, the Ian Potter Centre – the entrance pictured above, the rear of the gallery photographed from the riverbank, below. I love this whole area and last year was lucky enough to visit at the same time as a major sculptural award, with works scattered in and around the square. (If you put Melbourne of Federation Square into the blog index top left, you’ll be able to view many of those works). Quite apart from that, the place teems with people day and night and it’s a fabulous place to sit to get the feel of Melbourne as a city. It’s also home to one of my favourite restaurants, The Chocolate Buddha and I can't wait to get back there is a month or two. www.ngv.vic.gov.au www.labarchitecture.com www.federationsquare.com.au www.chocolatebuddha.com.au

Remembering 'Fed Square'

I was in Melbourne, Australia this time last year, photographing up a storm - especially in Federation Square. It's one of my favourite Melbourne spots. I love the architecture, the busyness, the fabulous people-watching, the art galleries, the restaurants......need I say more?

Little Boxes

"Untitled 2008" John Nixon. Federation Square, Melbourne, Australia. Nov 2008. Ajr

There’s not a lot to say about a series of coloured boxes scattered around Melbourne’s Federation Square cultural complex – other than: this is “Untitled 2008” by Sydney artist John Nixon. His nine enamel-painted plywood boxes – finalists in the 2008 Melbourne Prize for Urban Sculpture – are a bright accent in quiet corners.

Part of the Crowd

Flinders Street Intersection, Melbourne, Australia. Nov. 2008 Ajr

As a seasoned people-watcher I love a good crowd.

You're guaranteed of a good crowd when you hang out around Flinders Street Station and Federation Square in Melbourne. Flinders Street Station is the busiest suburban railway station in the Southern Hemisphere with more than 10,300 passenger-carrying train services operating to and from the station each week. That's about 110,000 people traipsing through every day so you're assured of interesting foot traffic.

Watching You Watching Me

"Watching You Watching Me," Sue Buchanan & Eli Giannini. Melbourne Nov 2008. Ajr

One of things I love most about Melbourne’s Federation Square – apart from the architecture and my favourite restaurant, Chocolate Buddha – is that it is a fabulous people-watching place. Melbourne artists, Sue Buchanan and Eli Giannini recognised that when they created their installation “Watching You Watching Me,” which is another of the ten finalists in the Melbourne Prize For Urban Sculpture 2008 currently showing throughout Federation Square. Plastic chairs with reflective tape have been arranged to create the allusion of ‘an invisible audience’ looking back at the viewer. You can also see “Measuring Up 2008” by Pamela Clements in the background – construction workers’ overalls on scaffolding, which references the interaction between people and place; and the physical labour required for the construction and habitation of buildings. For other finalists click on this website www.melbourneprizetrust.org or on Melbourne Prize For Urban Sculpture in the label line below.

There's No Stopping Creativity

"The Federation Square Skateboard Series 2008" Jason Waterhouse. Nov. 2008 Ajr

There seems to be a belligerent streak to my nature that rather enjoys seeing some of our more ‘subversive’ cultures – graffiti/street artists and skateboarders for instance – making public statements and stirring up the status quo. So it was predictable that I would relate well to “The Federation Square Skateboard Series 2008,” by Melbourne artist, Jason Waterhouse. His is another of the ten works – finalists - currently being exhibited as part of the Melbourne Prize for Urban Sculpture 2008. Like graffiti, skateboarding is something of a thorn in the side of urban planning organisations but try as they might, they rarely seem able to quell either activity for long. Creativity will always have its way. Jason Waterhouse’s work makes that very clear. His coloured boards are placed throughout Federation Square. www.melbourneprizetrust.org www.jasonwaterhouse.com For other finalists click on Melbourne Prize for Urban Sculpture in the label line below.

Art Announcements

Exhibition Poster, Federation Square, Melbourne, Australia. Nov. 2008. Ajr

The late Australian artist, Rosalie Gascoigne had her first exhibition in 1974 when she was 57. She went on to become one of Australia's leading contemporary artists and this year, the Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia is staging a major exhibition of her work from December 19 to March 15, 2009. Included in the show will be my favourites among her work - those created from discarded soft-drink crates and reflective road signs. www.ngv.vic.gov.au

A Time For Waste

"Tritonic Jam Session 2008." Louise Paramor. Melbourne Nov 2008. Ajr

This is another of the finalists in the 2008 Melbourne Prize for Urban Sculpture – “Tritonic Jam Session 2008” by Louise Paramor. Made of plastic and steel pinning it is one of an ongoing series of her works that use contemporary industrial waste to explore the fundamental principles of Modernism – form, colour, spatiality. It is named for the twelve white ‘Triton’ water barriers that are often seen marking construction and demolition sites, road works and other ‘disruptions’ in urban Australia. I think it looks fabulous against its high rise backdrop. I’ll be posting images of works by the other finalists in this award - currently on display at Melbourne's Federation Square - but if you can’t wait, you can check them out at www.melbourneprizetrust.org

A Glass Act

"Reflections" Elaine Miles. The Atrium Federation Square. Nov. 2008. Ajr

Imagine 185 handblown Venetian-style plates hanging precariously from a soaring ceiling. Melbourne glass blower, Elaine Miles did – and she went one step further….suspending them in the huge atrium at Federation Square. Her installation is one of ten works in this year’s $60,000 Melbourne Prize for Urban Sculpture (all located around Federation Square) and it’s the one I liked the best. Called “Reflections” the work is delicate, ethereal and generally gorgeous. It casts wonderful shadows and reflections and it chimes and tinkles as the plates sway and touch each other. www.melbourneprizetrust.org

More Melbourne Eating

Chocolate Buddha, Federation Square, Melbourne. Nov 2008. Ajr

If you're a fan of Japanese food, make sure you visit one of my favourite Melbourne restaurants, Chocolate Buddha, which you'll find in that splendid architectural icon, Federation Square - also home to the National Gallery of Victoria, the Melbourne Visitors Centre and a number of other cafes and restaurants. It's all just across the road from the famous, the hectically busy and the endlessly fascinating historic Flinders Railway Station. The interior here is simple and beautiful and the food is exquisite. www.chocolatebuddha.com.au

A Curl of Glass

Glass Art, Kirra. NGV Melbourne Nov. 2008 Ajr

I adored this gorgeous piece of glass art - spied in the window of Kirra in the National Gallery of Victoria complex at Melbourne's Federation Square. Not however, an easy piece of hand luggage, so I decided to leave it where it was.