At The Galleries

Every major arty farty building is centrally located downtown. Nothing is more than a quick 15-minute walk in this nice weather. As much as I frown upon Disney's fairy tales, I wanted to see ACMI's exhibition 'Dreams Come True' for the animated works. I put aside the disdain for the princesses and women in the tales and looked at the hard work of the cartoonists and illustrators. A pity I missed ACMI's winter headliner of Tim Burton's works, storyboards and dark gothic tales.

We continued to the 2 buildings of the National Gallery of Victoria- Australian and International.The curated works of Gustave Moreau are disturbing. I've never gravitated towards him because of how he portrays females in his paintings. Brilliance notwithstanding, Moreau's fixation on the 'Eternal Feminine' is a disturbing single-minded focus. Like what the man said, "This man has issues." Yea, you don't say! Moreau was radical of his time in terms of evoking controversy and brushstrokes. I admire the fire and color in his paintings as they brought to life the stories of the alluring women. The collections in the Asian and European galleries upstairs are more placid and agreeable.

I'm glad we also saw the works in 'Unnerved - The New Zealand Project'. It gave us a chance to see contemporary Kiwi art from another perspective. I mean, all I know of it are the fascinating Maori tattoos, seriously. Multimedia artist Lisa Reihana's 'Digital Marae' and portrayal of Maori gods and goddesses in film and digital media is compelling.

Feeling refreshed and inspired, we carried on and strolled across to State Library of Victoria to view the Australian illustrators and their beautifully illustrated books for children. I have a soft spot for these books, and while I might not like all the little tales in them, I like their soft pastels, colors and drawings. Very nice.