25 March 2006

Sculpture by the Sea

This little adventure happened
back in early November, but because of other events at the time, was never posted. Sculpture by the Sea is the world's largest annual free outdoor exhibition of art. It comes to Sydney every year in November, and is displayed on the scenic walk between Bondi and Tamarama Beach. For 2005,
105 pieces of art were on display, and were seen by over 400,000 people. A large number of these came on the first weekend, which is of course when we went, too. The exhibit included silly/goofy art and serious/thought provoking works, and a little bit of everything in between. As with most art collections, there was also a fair bit that made you
wonder what the artist was thinking when he created it. I have tried to include a representative sample of this diversity for you here. Our little Look Right tour will start at Bondi and head toward Tamarama, just as Heather and I did that day. The first picture is of the "Wave of Steel" (all titles
here are mine), constructed on a cliff overlooking Bondi. It is clearly visible from the beach, and when we went back to Bondi in December after the exhibit, it seemed kind of strange not having it up there. This was Heather's favorite piece. Next on the tour is "Stone Faced". I have
no idea what this "means" or anything, I just thought it looked cool. Around the corner from "Wave" and "Faced" was "Lots of Crushed Cans", which consisted of (I think) ten square bundles of crushed cans. I suppose it was a reminder to recycle, not to litter, and conserve our planet. I liked looking at the cubes and
picking out the different brands of drinks they included. Near "Cans" but closer to the ocean overlook was "Dogs". There were three, but only one is pictured here. We thought the cutouts were interesting, and made sure to get a picture with an ocean view. We tried to get one with a beachfront view, but the way the dog was positioned wouldn't allow it. Moving on to Tamarama, we have "It's Hot Enough Out Here to Fry an Egg", which was kind of the Official Artwork for Sculpture by the Sea Bondi 2005--it was pictured on the adverts for the event. Finally, we have the "Giant Lounge (and Thongs)". Please click on the picture and note that Heather actually has the strap of the thong between her toes. Very impressive. Everyone was getting a picture of themselves in the sandals, but no one actually got on the chair. In fact, I didn't even think about getting in the chair until writing this. I guess that would have been too intrusive, but if there is a similar piece next year, I might have to try it.
We both look forward to seeing the exhibit when it returns this November, although we might have to avoid the first weekend this time. If you have any ideas about the "meaning" of any of these works, post a comment--I'd like to hear your thoughts. I know some of you are much more in tune artistically than me.

3 comments:

Ruby Blathergab said...

Really wonderful photos! I'll be back. :)

Anonymous said...

peace up...a-town down. heather needs to work it out.

Chris said...

The "peace" was a shout out to one of her co-workers here. I'm sure a-town will be working again in a few weeks.