Sunday, October 17, 2010

To the nunnery, the photo exhibition and the movies

Hoddle Street and Collingwood Town Hall from
the overpass

I did indeed go to the Abbotsford Convent today - thanks to the GPS on my mobile phone. I forgot to look up exactly how to get there before I left home. Yay for technology.

Although the convent's numerous buildings have been rescued from ruin, many of them are still in a shabby state. Of course, I didn't mind at all. There was a market on, but I was more interested in the buildings than the wares on offer. (See Girl in Melbourne for photos)


After I left the convent I walked up Johnston Street to visit the Centre for Contemporary Photography (CCP) in Fitzroy...only I turned left when I should have turned right into George Street. But I didn't mind because George Street has so much character  - an appealing mix of lovely old terrace houses and grunge. Sometimes being on the wrong path has its own rewards...

Look at that fabulous brick and bluestone! (Stupid light pole)

The exhibition I saw at the CCP was US photographer Taryn Simon's An Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar, a series of photos taken in places in America that most people never get a glimpse into (if they even know they exist). I really enjoyed it - it was fascinating, but also a little disturbing.

Today I learnt that there's a Braille edition of Playboy. I guess the vision impaired are the only ones who can genuinely claim to read it for the articles.

From there I walked to Carlton and decided on a whim to see Boy, an independent New Zealand film I'd heard good things about. It was funny and a little sad, with beautiful cinematography. I loved the shot of the old, ramshackle house overlooking the beach near the end -  it fit the theme of my day quite well.

I walked into the city and then trammed it home, very tuckered out.

1 comment:

Gillian said...

Hoddle Street looks very clean and fresh despite having lots of traffic; nice trees too, especially for a heavy traffic area.

I really liked the brick mix on the old house, bluestone, red brick as well as the dark and cream bricks on the front of the house. I wonder if the whole house was originally bluestone or is it usually used for the lower parts of houses? AND loved the fancy (don't know what to call it) gargoyle type thing (although it looks angelic it's in the spot a gargoyle would be) near the lamp post.

Talking of braille editions of Playboy, did I tell you that the library used to have audio versions of it for the vision impaired. When we first got them (about 20 yrs ago) we had a giggle imagining them saying (in a breathy voice) "Hi my name is Sarah, I'm 36, 24, 36. I have long blonde hair that curls down my back, waaayyy down my back" etc. Just made me smile thinking about it :-)

Perhaps the Braille edition also has dots around the girls shapes ;-p