I'm up in Shepparton for what might conceivably be the last time - my sister's family takes possession of their new place in Macedon next weekend! (And in a stroke of incredible good luck, they seem to have found a buyer for the place here, too.) Today we drove up to Benalla, the capital of Moira Shire (what a name for a county!). It's got a lovely botanical garden, and an art gallery with an interesting collection.The painting above caught my eye. It's called "M for Mortal but Happy Days Ahead," and was painted by the young Melburnian artist Mark Threadgold last year. (The image is from his website.) He's got some work to do on perspective - don't people learn about cylinders and cones in art school anymore? - but the painting still works somehow, evoking with wit but respect the Flemish vanitas tradition which is among my favorite painting genres. Is our culture too fast foody to understand stillness, the lifeless life of objects? Or is it in fact in the heart of the happy meal that we sense the vanity of it all, or would, if we allowed ourselves the time to behold it?
