we went to art gallery nsw to check out the archibald. the archibald is an annual prize for portraits. i can’t remember ever hearing about it before moving to AU but it’s a massive thing here that gets big media coverage… on the morning brekkie shows & evening news & in mags, etc.. the portraits are usually either artist self portraits, celebrities and (lesser so) relatively unknown aussies. last year’s winner was one of heath ledger.

it wasn’t til we were at the show that i realised it’s actually multiple prizes – portraits, australian landscapes and subjects done by an aussie artist. you can check out the winners here and the rest of them here. personally, i found most of them boring.

it was only by accident that we discovered inside art express on a different floor. here’s where we should have spent our time. i was gobsmacked that all the artists shown here are HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS. it was depressing that i’d never be able to produce anything as cool as some of their work but it was also inspirational (and hopeful that if they continue their work the archibald might be more interesting in years to come).

my favourite artist was estelle felix. her paintings were cool but she had 3 soft fabric pieces (the site only shows the orangey yellow one) with a craft sensibility that made me want to create interesting wall hangings. i hope estelle continues the art path as i’d love to see more.

then we headed to MCA. there’s something about the mca that always draws me back… a combination of the art and the beautiful harbour view i think. this is one of the places i discovered during my first trip to sydney 9 years ago and i have very good memories of the james exhibit and a lazy sunny afternoon.

i wanted to see yayoi kusama: mirrored years and discovered i could easily decorate my home by adapting her art. massive greyish ‘clouds’ cushions that i was dying to recline on? check. mirrored balls lying on the floor reflecting the light? check. closets turned into art by covering them in mirrors and scattering polka dot soft toys across the floor? sure – although i’m probably more inclined to go with the closet covered in mirrors with dangling xmas tree lights. i’d probably skip the water on the floor though.

u can check out her site and those in LA and NYC can see other exhibits of hers.

and yes, haven’t posted here in ages. almost 2 years! was busy with work. didn’t feel the ‘mba’ name was relevant anymore but couldn’t decide on a better name (and was too lazy to reinstall wordpress & create a new directory).

i’m now unemployed & finding a need for an outlet beyond facebook/twitter so i have returned.

i’m headed to the states the end of june but will miss this since it runs til mid june ;(

i also had
81% john edwards & dennis kuchinich & obama – all tied
75% hilary (who i will probably vote for)

and the last on my list was
35% duncan hunter (no clue who he is either)

we’re in san fran after really enjoying tokyo for a few days. although we havent posted anything to it, i did set up a trip blog

last nite while i was wordpressing away with the tv on in the background, i noticed the tv channel went to a live b’cast of bush getting off airforce 1 at sydney airport. yes. we’ll delay the existing program so we can show george walk off the plane, shake a few hands & get into his car. i did learn some interesting facts. did you know george brings about 600 people along? including his chef? and there’s an ambulance that goes with him everywhere? and that w/in the ambulances they have x amount of george’s type of blood just in case? did you know before he arrives they fly his own cars over (18 of them)? (numbers )

best is how even though this was about 11pm, they said all the roads to & around the airport had been closed since around 5pm. well that would be great for commuting or needing to fly.

anyone have any recommendations for me on a pda/phone combo? am looking at the moto qh, blackjack, blackberry pearl and maybe treo.

only 10 days til we leave!!!!!!!!!!!!!! woooooo hoooo!!!!!

does anyone want me to bring anything over from au?

virgin coverage looks pretty crap. verizon/vodafone looks like it could be pretty spotty also. which leaves t mobile or at&t. i always had at&t previously so any of u use t mobile??? comments?

both companies have ok pre paid plans (with at&t being slightly cheaper) so it’s probably going to come down to which doesn’t drop out as much.

booked flights yesterday to LA via tokyo (how EXCITED am i about tokyo???!!!!!!!!???????????!!!!!) and will be roaming around the united states from mid september to mid october. haven’t made any internal flight arrangements yet so more detail to come.

sorry london, i wanted to visit. you know i miss you. you know i still adore you. but tokyo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!