Cezanne7

Some Thoughts on Cézanne

Art fascinates. In a sense, spontaneity and intuition trumps intellect and I am drawn to the pioneers in art who threw away the rulebook. They wrote new stories. Paul Cézanne...

Cy Twombly: Poem Painter of Evanescence.

    Cy Twombly’s oeuvre covers a wide range of subjects, particularly history, ancient myths and poetry. Twombly used a range of mediums to work with, including house paint, oil...

    If you’ve taken a business class in school or college, chances are you have given some thought to why people consume (any product or service), how they behave...

A Mayan pyramid in Mexico. (Credit: Pixabay)

Looking at Pre-Columbian Art

  A part of history and geography that I find quite “unknown” is the Pre-Columbian world.  The fact that we call it “Pre-Columbian” itself indicates how obscure it remains in...

The Psychology of Collecting

  Going through the Instagram feed (@larryslist) of “Larry’s List”–the Hong Kong-based art market knowledge company providing insights, data and access to contemporary art collectors—I have been thinking a lot...

Famous Examples of “Preliterate” Art

The word “prehistoric” is very popular but when it comes to art made before the advent of settled life and writing systems, I try not to use it. Many believe...

Using our Shadow Side as Fuel for Creativity

One of my favourite contemporary thinkers is the American author Robert Greene (born 1959)—who has produced the bestsellers The 48 Laws of Power (1998), The Art of Seduction (2001), The...

Albrecht Durer and selfies

Who are you, and what are you doing here? You, there in the mirror, there in the lens of your phone: What do you see? asks Lawrence Farago in the...

Eva Hesse, No Title 1963

In the early 1990’s, while working in a part time job with the installation team at the NGV, an artwork by Eva Hesse, No Title 1963, struck me as being...

Grit and passion in a successful art practice

We welcome artist and teacher, David Palliser to share his art knowledge in this MAC newsletter, beginning with his discussion of a Gareth Sansom painting from the 2017 NGV retrospective....

Gareth Sansom – A Forensic Possibility 2010

From the dense and wonderful Gareth Sansom survey exhibition at the NGV in 2017, A Forensic Possibility was one of my favourite works. Gary is a friend, mentor, and adventurous...

There is a quote by Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) that I find very interesting: “They thought I was a Surrealist, but I wasn’t. I never painted dreams. I painted my own...

A Tale of Two Masters

Before I left for Europe, my father told me that I had to see the artwork of one of the greatest Spanish artists, Diego Velázquez. So it was a wonderful...

The Philosophy of Gardens

Anybody familiar with the great myths, legends and epics of history will know that gardens have long fascinated the human mind—from the tale of Gilgamesh to the Bible to the...

Lucio Fontana’s “Infinite Dimension”

A modern artist whom I find very intriguing for philosophical reasons is the Argentine-Italian painter, sculptor and theorist Lucio Fontana (1899-1968). Fontana was the founder of “spatialism”, a movement that...

Subjectivity and World Maps

There is an old Indian parable revolving around six blind men and an elephant (part of many religious traditions) that powerfully illustrates the perennial tension between subjectivity and objectivity. The narrative is...

Exhibiting students in Melbourne

We are extremely proud to announce that two of our students are exhibiting this month! Be sure to visit and experience their work and support them on their artistic journeys!...

MAC student Libby Hunter’s van Gogh studies

Copying masters’ works has been practised over the centuries. Before the Louvre was opened for public viewing, it was an unofficial artist retreat, offering artists the freedom work on site, recreating...