Presgrave place - art

Tucked behind the Capitol theatre and little sister to the bigger Howey place, Presgrave place is a little functional laneway with a hidden secret. Pushka cafe (here's an Age review) has become unofficial custodian to Presgrave place and has done a mighty fine job of it.

The plant-life notwithstanding, Presgrave place comes to life with artwork small and large, classical and modern. The waterfall tiles take the red bricks back to nature and the little gallery of classical prints just shows that nowhere is safe from a little bit of creative refuge.

BTW I can't believe after six months of Googling Melbourne laneways I haven't come across this before. Laneway Magazine! Yes, a website dedicated to the humble Melbourne urbanite.

> LOCATE THIS (sorry, Google streetview, this is a strictly pedestrian haunt)

Banksy's art vandalised in Melbourne

Wow, only 10 days after my last post, and the gray ghost seems to have struck again, or has it? In my last post I mentioned the grey painted billboard on the corner of Smith and Gertrude streets, and it's resemblance to the Gray Ghost of New Orleans.

Well, I'm not sure if it is the same person, but it looks like someone has decided to get back at Banksy.

Back in August Banksy toured New Orleans and mocked the locally infamous Gray Ghost in a series of news stencils.

Now, as reported in the Age the Gray Ghost seems to have got one back.

Is this a random coincidence or a shot at the heart of the mythology being created around street art in Melbourne?

(Image linked from the Age)

Smith and Gertrude Streets

Here's one from left field. Looks like the notorious Gray Ghost of New Orleans has struck in Melbourne. Only this time the table has turned.

The Gray Ghost of New Orleans usually covers up street art and 'graffiti' but this time the 'ghost' has hit what looks to be a legit billboard. Not sure what the billboard was but someone, possibly with a cheeky nod to the Gray Ghost, must not have liked it!

Can anyone solve this puzzle?

Rankins lane - art

OK, so I have finally started uploading my photos to Flickr so I can safely store them until Yahoo eventually dies and I loose my photos when the Yahoo computers get blown up in the final battle for computer domination ...

... back to the photos, these were taken in Rankins lane, just off Little Bourke Street. A great lane way for street art, and home to the McCulloch Gallery.

> LOCATE THIS

Bullens lane - art

The invasion continues. It's been a few years since Invader graced our shores, so it's good to see the space invaders are still monitoring our daily lives.

Here is a small invader monitoring the hustle and bustle of Little Bourke Street from the heights of Bullens Lane.

Also, I couldn't resist posting a picture of Astro Boy that was also protecting the good citizens of Bullens Lane.

> LOCATE THIS

Rothsay lane - art

More a functional alley for the Coles supermarket on Elizabeth St, Rothsay lane does throw up its own little surprise.

As you can see here, Rothsay lane plays host to an unloved space-invader piece by Invader. I almost passed it by, but the red really stands out, even behind all the tags.

The stained glass poster also gives an otherwise lifeless lane some inspiration.

> LOCATE THIS

Update: 20/01/2009



A kind soul has pulled out the cleaning equipment and given the invader a scrub. I think from this, we can say someone just wanted to make a point with the Banksy vandalism, that there are still more laneway art lovers than haters.

Is it art? A commentary on public transport

OK, so it might not be a artistic interpretation of the Melbourne public transport system - but if I took a better photo and hung it in a gallery you might believe me!

This was seen on the corner of Lonsdale and Elizabeth Streets.

New public art / seating

Wow, it has been more than a month since I've graced this blog with a photo of marvelous Melbourne!

Well what better occasion than the unveiling of some new art / seating on the corner of Elizabeth and Bourke Streets. Just outside the Galleria building you will find some shiny new balls.

Just like the money purse on Bourke Street Mall, the intersection between art and function is one where artists can be playful and stretch their creativity.

I can just imagine these silver balls slowly breeding across the city, popping up wherever a seat is desired, being loved by passers by and constantly polished by the bums of the weary.

Brumby needs a re-think

I applaud John Brumby on highlighting the importance of Melbourne's lane ways to Melbournes culture and Tourism. I am dismayed, however, that the same Premier while holding up lane way culture with one hand, can simultaneously throw lane way culture back 20 years with the other.

The latest comments and subsequent action by John Brumby in regards to Tourism Victoria's stand at the 2008 Epcot® International Food & Wine Festival in the USA is a blight on Victoria's cultural freedoms and lane way culture.

Melbourne's lane ways are a gastronomic AND artistic experience. Without one you would not have the other. Ask any lane way restaurateur or shop owner their opinion on street art in the lane ways and I'm sure they'd have a differing opinion to the Premier.

Safety cannot be an issue either. I personally feel safer in lane ways with more art. I know these lanes are popular and well looked after. The lane ways I don't like going down are the barren lanes left alone with no business at all.

If you feel the same way, I urge you to contact the Premier and let him know how you feel. Also contact Tourism Victoria and show your support in their efforts to promote tourism in the best city on earth.

The story breaks - 4 October

On October 4 Melbourne will be taking part in a project that aims to break a major news story via the power of the collective distribution of news imagery. TED Prize winner, James Nachtwey, will break a story via the projection of his news images on a global series of public TV screens.

Be in Federation Square at 9.50am on Saturday, 4 October, to witness the story break.

Corrs lane - art

Come to Chinatown and I recommend you can't go wrong with anything in Corrs lane. Great Chinese (Ants Bistro and Dainty Sichuan), Japanese (have eaten there but looks to have good write-ups) and drinks @ Eurotrash.

Also, I've decided to take a slightly different tact with my photos. If the photo I take with my trust camera phone (phone is awful but the camera on it quite good) isn't that exciting I'm gonna play around with the colours until it looks good. And if not good, then just plain fun.

> Locate this

Is it art?

Whether it's functional or not has nothing to do with it. There are so many things out there in the big city that could be classified as art. I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest that the good old rubbish bin can even be considered art.

Check out these two examples and tell me there is no artistic merit in the arrangement, composition and colour!?

I've decided I'm going to create a new series called "Is it art?" And the best bit is you get to decide!

QR Code

Scan to subscribe

Can someone with a QR Code reader please tell me if the scan to subscribe works? I hope that winksite doesn't subscribe you to p0rn or anything.

Space invader - Melbourne

An invasion is underway - did you know? Urban artist, Invader, is one of the many artists to take his art to the people, quite literally. Just keep an eye out next time you travel down a laneway in Melbourne, you might see the invasion taking place before your eyes.

Just like the good ol' game of space invaders there are points to be won! The system is from 10 to 50 points depending on size, location and style.

The one I've captured above is pretty big and in a fairly public spot, so I'm gonna call it 40 points.

If you want to see more of the invasion check out this Flickr cluster.

>LOCATE THIS ***not this time! You must hunt them out yourself!***

Lush lane - art

With a name like Lush lane, it'd surely have to be one of the most coveted lanes in Melbourne, alas, this lane is a very functional lane only for parking cars. Used for previous Laneway Commissions in 2004 and 2006, it is in a primo spot, yet does not have much 'cool' potential.

One link that I have bookmarked (delicious tag: Melbourne), is eMelbourne a website created by Melbourne University, it gives a great synopsis of each laneway's history, amongst other things.

Also found through the wonders of Google was the Melbourne City Council CBD Lanes Built Form Review ( I found A to L of lanes).

> Locate this
(Strange, there is a black spot in Streetview for this lane)

A weekend in widescreen

So this was my weekend in widescreen. I'm going to use one of these as my new header. Which one should I choose? Your vote.

Niagara lane - art

One of the new batch of laneway commissions, this one is right out there. I'm going to put this one into the "how did they, why did they, but?" basket. To me this is a bit of an insiders artwork. Hundreds of people probably walk past the stair case every day without thinking about it, but if you stop and have a good look that's when you appreciate the randomness of this installation.

As far as a laneway goes, I like Niagara, cool name, great looking old warehouse buildings, a few random chalk-on-wall quotes, oh and a nice sticker to end of with at Little Bourke!

> Locate this