NGA

Jeremy Likes:

Austracism by Vernon Ah Kee (2003)

This image was my personal favourite at the NGA or at least, my favourite image that I am able to explain why. For me, this artwork does 3 things.. One, It conveys very obvious message, Two it really hits the nail on the head, and Three it is a very powerful atwork. Located in the Indigenous arts section of the Gallery, it stands out like a (I was going to say needle in a haystack, but that's the wrong metaphor) sore thumb.. All the other art works are dot paintings, and if not, have the typical aboriginal earthy colours.

I've always been a fan of artworks that, if they contain a message, make it nice and simple to see. Having never studied artists or art history, I've never known which artist painted when and how and why and what context they were painting in etc. Therefore I've never been able to look at an artwork and say "mm yes I see why he painted this way" or "oh yes he was really a master of his times" the best I can do is say "wow.. he paints very... lifelike" So when this artwork tells it's story very simply and effectively, it ranks quite high in my books.

Other Jeremy likes: Waterlillies by Claude Monet (I can see why everyone loved the guy, it is an impressive painting), The Lovers by Rene' Magnitter (The couple without a face to me seems like a scamming way of getting out of painting their faces.. but more seriously it is just stunning), Women in front of Mirror by Pierre Boward (well.. I gotta be honest, I'm a fan of painting of half naked chicks, esp when they painting looks this cool)

Jeremy Dislikes:

Well.. I know it may be cheating, or maybe it is to broad.. but to be entirely honest I really have to say pretty much anything in the Abstraction gallery is not cool with me.

When anyone asks me what I'm doing this year, I tell them I am studying 3 days a week and working 2. They skip the boring (work) and ask me what I'm studying, to which I reply "Commercial Photography at CIT".. the conversation usually at some point gets to "so what do you hope to do after CIT" or "why CIT and not ANU" etc etc.. and (the reason I am telling you this is coming trust me) I respond saying.. "I want to be a Commercial photographer.. At ANU they are all arty and abstract and *puff puff* and I want to make money from my photos"..

This then, at least to me, might explain my personal taste for abstract art.. if not, I'll spell it out a bit for you... I don’t like it.. I just don't like not "getting" it.. I am a nerd and I'm proud of it.. so something I don't understand really gets on my nerves. Images with skewed dimensions really mess with me and when I see stairs leading somewhere then the floor is upsidedownlefty.. I get a bit confused, don't understand it and thus really don’t like it!

Other Jeremy dislikes: anything where it requires context to understand the artwork.. like the chair/glass dryer etc until it was explained to me