Yesterday, with some money kindly gifted from my parents, my new coat, a warm hat and a pair of gloves, I made my way into the city to meet Michelle, and go with her to the Monet's Garden exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria.
Me, outside the NGV
It was a blustery, freezing day, and I was glad of my extra layers. Mish forgot her gloves, and her hands ended up like small, oddly shaped ice-blocks (believe me, I felt them!). We met up at Nandos across from Federation Square, where she enjoyed a bite to eat. I ate before I went out, but I thought I would probably need something after the exhibition. We walked from Nandos to NGV, and I got a lovely surprise when I found out that I could pay a concession ticket to the exhibition, instead of an adult ticket. The perks of having a valid student card, eh?
The exhibition itself was absolutely mind-boggling, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who has an appreciation of impressionism. I have always preferred the works of Van Gogh to Monet, but seeing Monet's work in person was really something.
I knew from a tiny unit on art (that I did long ago in my New Zealand primary school) that impressionist works look better from a distance. Up close they take on the look of a more abstract mix of brush strokes and colour. I didn't really believe the distance you viewed a picture could really change the look of it until I went to the Monet exhibition. Looking at the paintings up close, I simply felt like I was looking at a very large, vibrantly coloured, finger-painting. Particularly in the paintings where he used similar shades, or (one of his favourite motifs) reflections in water. Those particular pictures tended to all meld together as splotches of dull grey and green, with the occasional splash of bright colour seeming oddly out of place. However, when viewed from the other side of the room, the paintings showed their true glory, emerging as lake, rivers, trees, flowers, people, and a wonderful assortment of scenic landscapes. My particular favourite, which I have been unable to find a picture of, was part of a set of three. It was a painting Monet did of the waterlilies in his garden, with the sunset reflecting over the water. Up close, it looked like someone had been murdered, and bled all over the canvas, but when I viewed it from further back, it looked so real that I almost felt I was looking out a window.
Claude Monet - Waterlilies
This is an example of his work, not the one I mentioned above as a favourite.
Photography was banned in the exhibition (probably because the NGV want you to buy their miniscule, over-priced prints in the gift shop), but there was a large mural at the end of the exhibition. It was a photo of Monet's Garden in France, and you could take a picture of yourself standing in front of it to show you'd been to Monet's Garden. I took one for Mish, and then she snapped one for me.
Me, in 'Monet's Garden'
After being suitably wowed by Monet, Mish and I got a train to Flagstaff, so I could go to a bakery nearby for lunch. Laurent's is a lovely, French styled bakery in the city, on William Street, and I'm a sucker for their pies. I treated myself to a beef and burgundy masterpiece, while Mish sipped a latte. I had my water, so I didn't spend extra on anything to drink.
After that, we headed back to Flagstaff and parted ways. The government's funded some works on the Sunbury line (the train line I use), so I had to get a special express to Flemington Racecourse, then a bus to Albion, and then back on the train to take me home. It's a pain in the neck, but it'll be finished before too long, and it's better that they do the works now, during the holidays, than during the school term, when the trains are full of students. The railways are slightly quieter now, while the students are off school.
Well, I suppose I better go and do something productive with my afternoon. I can't sit around blogging all day.
Until next time!
~ Australian Kiwi
