Senior art students visit MONA
On Friday 8 March, the senior art students were given the opportunity to visit MONA, the Museum of Old and Modern Art, located in Tasmania, beside the Derwent River. The day began in the early hours of the morning, with the students arriving at school at 6:15am (and no later). While this was deemed a stretch by several of us, the trip made was entirely worth it! We jumped on the bus, made our way through hectic Melbourne’s morning traffic and got on the early flight for Hobart.
Looking at the museum itself, the viewer can understand that it is an architectural masterpiece that encompasses and exhibits the essence of the gallery before they have even stepped through the door. This idea continued into the gallery, as we transversed our way down the spiral stairs to the bottom level, we were immediately immersed in controversial exhibits that were perplexing to view or that provoked our thoughts and imagination. The pieces enveloped the senses and demanded us to look at everything differently. The museum is privately owned by David Walsh and houses over 1,900 artistic works from Walsh’s private collection, along with a museum café, restaurant and bar, dispersed within the building. MONA specifically displays pieces that are created by artists whose aim is to defy the principles and boundaries of what society deems acceptable to observe. We came out of the day, tired, yet inspired, enthralled and captivated from the works we had viewed and thought maybe one day, some of our work could also be displayed there.
by Phoebe, Emily and Tess, Year 11