"Temple of Boom" by Adam Newman and Kelvin Tsang

Inside the Grollo Equiset Garden at Melbourne’s National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) sits the “Temple of Boom”, a recreation of and tribute to the Parthenon on the Acropolis in Athens with a modern and whimsical twist. The work created by Australian architects Adam Newman and Kelvin Tsang is part of the NGV’s annual Architecture Commission series, which invites Australian architects to create site-specific work in the gallery’s garden. The eye-catching installation transports audiences back to Ancient Greece while inviting them to consider the effect of time on architecture, as the structure will gradually transform with murals and other artworks from local artists, having started in November 2022 and continuing through August 2023. Built as an homage to the Greek Goddess Athena in the fifth century BCE, the Parthenon has changed use and form over generations, being used as a temple, a church, and a mosque. With the Parthenon once considered an apex symbol of Western civilization, “Temple of Boom” invites viewers to consider physical structural transformations with those societal transformations which exist more in the abstract and posits reimagination and beauty as constants. 

“Cow Up a Tree” by John Kelly

In celebration of Australia Day yesterday, we thought we’d share one of our favorite installations in one of our favorite cities. “Cow Up a Tree” is the aptly-named bronze sculpture by Australian artist John Kelly on the shore of Melbourne’s dockland precinct that depicts a cow helplessly stuck in the branches of a gum tree. Displaying his quirky Aussie humour and bringing an inside joke in Australian history to life, Kelly’s sculpture is an homage to helpless victims of flood waters and Australian artist Sir William Dobell, who when tasked with camouflaging airfields during World War II, filled them with paper mâché cows in hope of fooling Japanese pilots.

Year of the Rat

Every year over the Lunar New Year, we love seeing the incredible Zodiac Spectacular at the atrium at Crown Towers in Melbourne, Australia. This display features twelve large-scale luminous animals of the Chinese zodiac with over sixty lanterns. This year, the Year of the Rat, the exhibit also features a traditional wishing tree with red envelopes where Melburnians can express support and raise funds for wildlife relief and recovery through the work of Zoos Victoria. Visitors are encouraged to leave messages of hope as well as donations. In honor of the Lunar New Year on January 25, the Atrium also features performances by a lion dance team to “chase away evil spirits” along with a Hawker-style food market. We came across some dancers rehearsing for their performance tomorrow, and my hotel also provided some lovely Lunar New Year treats. The first animal in the twelve-year Chinese Zodiac, rats are known for “being clever, inquisitive and resourceful, which translates into a great year for new experiences and opportunities for success.” We like the way that sounds! Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Year of the Pig

One of our favorite Lunar New Year exhibits is the incredible Zodiac Spectacular at the Atrium at Crown Towers in Melbourne, Australia. This display features large-scale luminous animals of the Chinese zodiac. In honor of the Lunar New Year on February 5, the Atrium also features daily performances during the first ten days of this month by a lion dance team to “chase away evil spirits.” (There is also a Hawker-style food market with roving entertainers along the Crown Riverwalk and a fireworks display on February 9.) Back here in New York City, revelers can celebrate with the annual Firecracker Ceremony in Roosevelt Park on February 5 and the famous New Year Parade and Festival in Chinatown on February 17. Feng Shui Master Marites Allen has forecasts and advice for the Year of Pig: “Possible upheavals may happen as economies of certain countries may be largely disrupted due to changes in rules and market conditions.” And: “Be more considerate, understanding and avoid discussions that could lead to you being misinterpreted. Display your peace and harmony emblems at home.” Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Between Two Worlds

Escher X nendo | Between Two Worlds is a visually stunning exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria (known as NGV) in Melbourne featuring over 150 preparatory sketches, drawings, woodcuts, mezzotints, and lithographs of famed Dutch artist M. C. Escher along with work by the internationally-acclaimed Japanese design studio nendo. The pairing is appropriate since both Escher and Oki Sato, nendo’s founder and principal designer, “share common interests in their love of spatial manipulation, optical illusions and playful visual devices.” In this exhibit, which I thoroughly enjoyed, Sato and his design house nendo have created an immersive installation where visitors can experience Escher’s brilliant 2D graphic world along with nendo’s inventive 3D design world. Sato chose the house shape as a motif for the exhibition because he wanted to create “a house for Escher.” The house motif is repeated in various formats in the exhibition rooms and playfully interspersed with Escher’s own works. In the exhibition’s largest room (the above photo), a grid of black-and-white houses with both open and closed roofs act as a maze that forces visitors to walk through the space to discover tabletop light-boxes displaying works by Escher. Sato says: "I sort of feel like I became best friends with Escher, even though I never met him.” Visitors to the exhibit might feel the same. Escher X nendo is on display at the NGV International through April 7, 2019.

This Is Melbourne

During my most recent trip to Melbourne, a city I absolutely love, I was lucky enough to hire an experienced tour guide (the little guy is pictured above) to show me around. He took me on a whirlwind tour.  Although I have been to Melbourne a number of times, there is always something new to learn: 1) Melbourne was originally going to be called "Batmania" after one of the city's founders, John Batman; 2) five of the six tallest buildings in Australia are in Melbourne’s Central Business District; and 3) thirty-eight per cent of the population in Melbourne were born outside of Australia (go immigrants!). My tour guide really knows his stuff!

Go Roger!

I was thrilled to be in Melbourne last Sunday to watch the great Roger Federer win his 18th major title at the Australian Open. Federer, back after a six-month hiatus due to a knee injury, fought against his old nemesis, Rafael Nadal, who was also returning to play after a bad wrist injury last year. Over their career thirty-four matches, beginning at Miami in 2004, they have demonstrated that they are two of the best players in tennis. (Okay, my preference is clearly Roger but others may disagree.) The victory was especially sweet since they have previously met eight times in final matches and Nadal has emerged as the winner in six. Not this time. Go Roger! See you at Wimbledon!

Luna Park

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Entrance to Luna Park in St. Kilda, Melbourne, where the temperature is slightly warmer than in New York City.