Museum of Old and New Art - MONA

A very discriminating friend of ours said, “If MONA was in New York City, it would be rated one of the best museums in the world.”. With an endorsement like that, how could we miss it? The day was cold, raw and rainy as we headed north of Hobart in the marina courtesy van to the Museum of Old and New Art aka MONA. MONA is the largest, privately-funded museum in Australia. It's owner, David Walsh, is a native Tasmanian whose career as a professional gambler has paid off in a big way. His penchant for collecting antiquities, modern and contemporary art led to the building of MONA to have a proper place to display his acquisitions and to share them with the world. He describes MONA as a "subversive adult Disneyland." When it opened The Age, Melbourne's daily newspaper, described it as “macabre and ungodly”. Lonely Planet compares it to the Guggenheim. Quadrant, an Australian intellectual magazine, described it as the art of a decaying society bereft of morality. Bizarre,unique, unusual, incredible… these are the words that come to my mind when I think of MONA. Also, superb, outstanding and extraordinary. Macabre, dark and disturbing fit in there somewhere, too.

We arrived at the unassuming mirrored entrance by walking first past by a winery, brewery and restaurant, then across a full-sized tennis court and a huge ornately sculpted, iron-rod cement truck. This was just the beginning of the surprises which awaited us inside. Those arriving by ferry up the Derwent River got a different view of the building, showing off its grandeur. The building itself, a three-level structure built into the cliffs of the Berriedale peninsula, is grand in the truest sense of the word … with large open spaces and great halls.

We paid our admission and they gave us a headset and an iPod touch with instructions. We headed down a set of spiral stairs to the first level of exhibits. First of all, the “O” system is the guided tour which appears on your iPod screen. There are no labels, signs, maps or commentary in the museum exhibit areas. A touch of a button uses a geo-locator to figure out exactly where you are in the museum and tells you what exhibits are closest to you. You scroll down to find the exhibit you're interested in and voila...there it is.... a description of the piece. There's an “artwank” option which provides curatorial commentary on the piece; “ideas” which gives some food for thought and our favorite “Gonzo” which are humorous comments made by David Walsh. I could “hate” or “love” each exhibit if I wished with subsequent comments appearing as to how many other visitors agreed or disagreed with my vote. Sometimes there was audio to accompany the piece.

The stairs going up and down and criss-crossing each other throughout the building were reminiscent of an M. C. Escher drawing. A maze of corridors led us past some wonderful and some outlandish pieces of art, begging the age-old questions: what is art? what is the role of art and the artist in society? We saw the mummy and coffin of Pausiris c.100 BCE. Only two people were allowed inside the Death Gallery at a time. Once inside the door, in a very dimly lit, black-walled room, we stepped on paving blocks surrounded by water which led to a pedestal where the coffin and mummy were most tastefully displayed. An x-ray machine showed the skeletal remains of the body. We saw several other mummies in the course of the day, but none so memorable.

There was a skull comprised of beetle carapaces; a euthanasia machine; a kitten trophy rug (really!). The Snake by Sir Sydney Nolan is a 46m x 9m mural which took up one whole wall of a hall. Cloaca Professional is a machine that takes in food, digests it and renders excrement at the other end. It's said to be a commentary on the fact that modern art is crap. We're not sure. It was certainly bizarre.

There was an entire room of tapas, the ornately decorated bark cloth found in the South Pacific. One piece of artwork was called “Remnants of a suicide bomber cast in dark chocolate”. I especially appreciated a collection of intricate carvings and ornate masks from Papua New Guinea. Some pieces were erotic and sexual to the point of pornography. Every piece was evocative or provocative; for sure each elicited some response. “Artifact” was a huge metallic head laying on its side with windows so you could look inside it, strobe lights illuminating mechanical animations within.

One exhibit took up an entire wall and extended up three stories. Entitled “bit.fall”, it was a digital cascade which displayed CNN-type headlines in jets of water, very cleverly symbolizing the flow of information. David was taken with “The Fat Car”, a bright red Porsche Carerra, fattened up and representative of the ultimate in consumer indulgence. The most disturbing exhibits were those in the Conflict exhibit which depicted art based on war. Men hung upside down with their genitals gouged out. Women screaming while being raped. Bloodied bodies strewn haphazardly on roadsides.

In all, over 400 artistic works are displayed. We spent the better part of the day there and could have spent longer. But it was not over when we left the museum. We had the option of saving our “O” tour which MONA sent to us within hours of our visit. It traced our steps through the museum in a 3-D format and provided the same information we had seen on the iPod. We can relive this visit over and over.

Australia's Antarctic Division

Australia's Antarctic Division is located on the road to Kingston, not far away from us. It's an interesting facility, several 2-3 story glass, metal and white concrete box-like buildings all spread out and connected via pathways. I called and inquired about a Visitor's Center. There is one. It's not large, but the exhibits are good and informative. It was well worth the stop to see how Australia views its part in the preservation and exploration of the world's coldest, driest and windiest continent. Australia was the last part of the super-continent, Gondwana, to break off and drift away from eastern Antarctica. It's now some 4,400 miles away from Antarctica, and there's nothing in between. Because of its early exploration and scientific studies of the continent in the early 20th century, Australia lays claim to 42% of the ice continent as sovereign Australian territory. They maintain three year-round stations there, plus one station on sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island.

They're very interested in global warming effects on the polar ice caps and the subsequent effects it will have directly on the world and specifically Australia.... they're neighbors, after all. Antarctica's ice cap has a major influence on the world's sea levels and ozone levels. As the “engine that drives the world's oceanic circulatory systems and climate”, what happens there greatly affects the world's other oceans. It's well known to be a major driver of Australia's weather and here in Tasmania, we can really attest to that fact as icy Antarctic blasts from the south sometimes hit us like bullets.

The Kingston facility houses laboratories for physics, atmospheric sciences, glaciology, biology, oceanography, geology, botany, even a krill research lab to determine the sustainability and management of fishing in the Southern Ocean. It also provides a headquarters for equipment stores, communications, training and operational support. A cruising friend of ours worked there for 15 years as a lawyer specifically assigned to aspects of environmental contracts and enforcement of the Antarctic Treaty.

The Antarctic Treaty, by the way, which was signed in Washington, DC and went into effect in 1960, now has 50 nation signatories. It was the first and most successful international treaty of its kind limiting Antarctica to the pursuit of scientific study and research and preservation of its environment. Australia, as one of the original twelve signers, takes its responsibilities very seriously.

The two rooms designated as the Visitor's Center were interesting and provided lots of food for thought. I especially enjoyed the hands-on room which let kids (and me) try on Antarctic outerwear, take a look at the huskies that were previously used on expeditions and even touch feathered Emperor penguin skin and a flipper.

Wandering through the exhibits reminded us of our visit to the Antarctic Peninsular on the other side of the world in 2006. It was the trip of a lifetime. Ushuaia, Argentina is much closer to Antarctica than Australia (less than 1500 miles) and thus the trips are much more feasible. Antarctica's other worldly nature has made it one of the most spectacular places we've ever visited in our years of traveling and I doubt it will lose its place in our minds in the future.

Margate Train

Did you ever pass by something along the road, kind of wonder what it was, but never stop. That's how it was with the Margate Train. Margate is a little town we pass through along the Channel Highway every time we head to Kingston to grocery shop. The train is not a replica; it's the real thing and every time we went by, we said “We should stop there and see what it is”. But we never did ... until today. Originally known at the Tasman Limited, this 1950 English-built train was used for passenger service between Hobart and Launceston until 1978. In fact, it's listed as the last passenger train in Tasmania. Now it's a side-of-the-road oddity that attracts the attention of passersby who will hopefully stop to check out the shops and restaurants that occupy its carriages.

It was fun exploring every car to see how enterprising and imaginative shopkeepers had used their narrow, limited space to best advantage. There was a used bookshop which was closed up tight. The barbershop was open for business though, a traditional candy-striped pole out front, and a fellow sitting in the chair getting a haircut. I enjoyed the “lollie” shop. In American English, we'd call this a candy store. There was no doubt in my mind what they sold as soon as I walked through the carriage door. All things sugary sweet.

A dining car offered pancake breakfasts and light lunches plus the requisite cuppas if you needed one. A couple of the shops were boutiques with handmade, local crafts on offer. A warehouse across from the train sold mattresses and rugs...an incongruity in my mind, but folks wandered through. At the end of the train, an old apple-packing shed, the size of a large barn, sold antiques, used furniture and collectibles.

We bought nothing ...not even a lollie … but thoroughly enjoyed the look-see.