MONA - The Museum of Old and New

After Port Arthur I headed back across the Derwent to check out MONA - The Museum of Old and New. Many years ago in 1975 there was a pretty significant accident involving the the bulk ore carrier "Lake Illawarra" and the Tasman Bridge. Essentially the Lake Illawarra collided with the bridge and cars went plummeting off the edge. This event quite literally divided Hobart and saw 12 people killed including both motorists and ship's crew. It was huge news when I was a kid. It was across this very bridge that I travelled to get to MONA.

Don't Cross This Line

This is a place not easily categorised. It is one man's vision of what a Museum could be. David Walsh, a professional gambler, has completely self funded it. So you have ancient Roman gold coins displayed next to Sydney Nolan paintings. There are stunning Mesopotamia friezes alongside far more recent video art installations. I actually found it to be refreshing and invigorating to be viewing the museum's contents it this way. It broke down prejudices and made you pay attention to things that you may not have normally considered.

You Can Read All Of These In No Time

The whole thing was incredibly well layed out and had been curated in a way that a novice like myself could appreciate. It was not without its faults however. There was no visual information available next to any of the artworks. As part of your entry you are given an "ipod" like device which updates showing nearby artworks. You then press any image that takes your fancy from the screen's selection if you would like more information about one of the pieces. 

Google Fountain (The Words It Displays Come From Google Queries)

The categories of information for each artwork could be things such as a "summary" (i.e. oil on canvas, painted in 1955 by Sydney Nolan). Other options included "art wank", where you got the traditional explanation about the artist's ideas and what he/she was hoping to achieve with the work. Then there was "gonzo", which usually contained a riff on something related to the art or its subject matter. There were also a couple of other options, one being audio, which I didn't use as it would have only further disconnected me from the act of viewing what was on offer. This method of sharing information had plenty to commend it but it was a bit like watching a foreign film in that instead of watching the action on screen you are too busy concentrating on the sub titles.  You could also "like" or "dislike" the different pieces in a further nod to the facebook generation. 

Some of the oldies were clearly perplexed despite the best efforts of the staff. Speaking of the staff, they were very much middle aged to older people on the most part. I'm not sure whether that was by accident or design but it was refreshing not to have to talk to someone still wearing nappies to conduct a transaction or ask a question. The one exception to the great staff was a gallery minder who firmly chipped me for getting too close to an exhibit. It was not because I was trying to breach any protocol but again I was so engrossed in my ipod instead of the art I quite literally stepped over the line (see big red car above - its actually a Porsche and the fat I believe is a commentary on our slothful behaviour. 

Car Parking Options

MONA seemed to have both sex and death as its central themes. While nothing was particularly grautuitous they did highlight which parts of the display were not suitable for children for those who felt they needed to shield their kids from its contents. There were staff everywhere and in the main they were incredibly helpful. The museum's patrons seemed to be made of art wankers from the mainland and confused, perplexed pensioners who didn't really know how to behave (I myself fell into the category of confused wanker). MONA is a serious undertaking and well worth a look, but is not for the prudish. You can view (and operate without the fatal consequences) the Dr Death suicide machine or watch (and smell) a mechanically engineered human stomach that eats, digests and defecates.

The cost is $ 20.00 (free if your a Taswegian). It is worth checking out just for the experience. It will question your preconceptions of what a museum is, or should be, on almost every level.