This weekend I’m writing about Sculpture by the Sea, which is coming to a close at Bondi. This annual event has become a de facto arts festival in Sydney, attracting the kind of audiences that most art museums can only fantasise about. It’s never a perfect show – some years a little stronger, others a little weaker – but it’s one of the most valuable items in the city’s arts calendar.
It’s become customary for the show to conclude with a day-long sculpture conference, and this year I’ve agreed to participate, talking about contemporary Chinese sculpture. This is the relevant link:
https://sculpturebythesea.com/bondi/artists/sydney-sculpture-conference-nov-2018/
One venue that would like some of SXS’s numbers is the Art Gallery of NSW. When I paid a first visit to the Modern Masters from the Hermitage exhibition this week, I was surprised how few people were in attendance. The test is pretty easy: if you can stand in front of any picture you like, whenever you like, for as long as you like, in a so-called blockbuster, this is not a good sign. It does, however, make it much easier to see the work! I must confess a secret wish that all blockbusters were failures, as a really crowded show is no fun at all.
I’ve heard that the Kentridge and John Peter Russell exhibitions are doing quite well, so all is not lost. Perhaps people just dislike the idea of paying $28 to see an art exhibition? It would be a great thing if admission to a show cost the same as a movie ticket. Although it would only be a few dollars less (unless you go Gold Class), it might make a difference.
There is no lack of interest in Russian culture in Sydney if I’m to judge by the huge turn-out for the opening night of the Russian Resurrection Film Festival, now in its 15th year and getting stronger all the time. For the first night film, The Coach, Event Cinemas was packed, and the after-party was a riotous affair. The most telling moment came during a press conference with invited Russian actors and directors (three actors were also directors!), when someone asked the panel which Australian films they admired. A puzzled silence ensued, as everyone tried to think of an Australian film. Err… Crocodile Dundee? Came one unenthusiastic reply.
Why should the Russians know much about Australian film anyway? How much do we know about Russian movies, apart from the classics by Eisenstein, and perhaps, Tarkovsky? There’s a lot of room for cultural exchange between Australia and Russia, and the Hermitage show at the AGNSW is another small landmark in the process.
Russians aside, this week’s film being reviewed is Bohemian Rhapsody, the Freddy Mercury bio pic. Truth be told it’s a bit of a shambles, but the filmmakers manage to fudge their way to the finish line, largely on the back of the famous Live Aid Concert at Wembley Stadium in 1985. It confirms the logic of the Hollywood ending: that we’ll forgive a movie almost anything if it concludes on a triumphant note.