Day 35 - MONA

Sunny day today but temperature remained low. It is Easter Friday and all is well.

After doing some caravan duties and a minor repair on the car we visited the Museum of Old and New Art, known as MONA.

Some of the following edited description of MONA is with the compliments of Wikipedia. 

MONA is an art museum located within the Moorilla winery on the Berriedale Peninsula in Hobart. It is the largest privately funded museum in Australia. The museum presents antiquities, modern and contemporary art from the David Walsh collection. Walsh has described the museum as a "subversive adult Disneyland."

030415 The entry to MONA, including the Moorilla Vineyard

030415 The entry to MONA , including the Moorilla Vineyard

030415 Exiting MONA

The precursor to MONA, the Moorilla Museum of Antiquities, was founded in 2001 by Tasmanian millionaire David Walsh.  It closed in 2007 to undergo $75 million renovations. The new museum was officially opened on 21 January 2011. 

The single-story MONA building appears at street level to be dominated by its surroundings, including the original Moorilla Vineyard, but its interior possesses a spiral staircase that leads down to three larger levels of labyrinthine display spaces built into the side of the cliffs around Berriedale Peninsula. The decision to build it largely underground was taken, according to Walsh, to preserve the heritage setting of the two Roy Grounds houses on the property. Walsh has also said that he wanted a building that "could sneak up on visitors rather than broadcast its presence ... 'a sense of danger' that would enliven the experience of viewing art".  Most visitors approach by ferry up the River Derwent.

030415 The interior of MONA showing Berridale Peninsula's sandstone 

030415 Reflections when photographing the entry to MONA

030415 The ferry servicing MONA

There are no windows and the atmosphere is intentionally ominous. On entering the museum, visitors descend a "seemingly endless flight of stairs". To see the art, the visitor must work back upwards towards the surface.

Visitors are provided with a personal hand held device with a GPS locator which enables you to locate any item on display and be provided with its name, history, artist, age etc and often with sound support eg artist interviews.  

There were too many items to photograph of course, so we have provided a selection. We could photograph any item but we could not use flash.

030415 Not a boat keel but an inverted attic

030415 Stone blocks from Hiroshima

030415 "Thevirath ha Kelin" - paper and glass

030415 The "Fat Car" - underneath is a Porsche

Some of the artwork was on the outside too.

030415 A display in MONA's grounds

030415 What imagination, what patience, what an outcome 

030415 Quite intricate metal lacework wouldn't you say?

Needless to say, the ostentatiousness of the whole place was demonstrated by the parking places for the bosses.

030415 That humour again.  Parking spots for the bosses.
Note the power connection for recharging the Tesla

0030415 God's car is a Tesla, full-sized plug-in electric five-door, luxury
liftback and his Mistress's is a V8 Kompressor 2 door sports car

This was an interesting experience to say the least and not to be missed by anyone visiting Hobart.

Our day concluded with a fine dinner at our cousin's home in Sandy Bay, with a great Houghton's Shiraz to warm ourselves and to top off an unusual day.