Photos, paintings, photos

Went to the "Colour In Darkness: Images From The First World War" exhibition at the State Library. In my opinion, the colourisation process didn't make the images look more real. On the contrary, it gave a lot of them a painting-like quality. What it did do was render them different enough to the average B&W WW1 scene to demand close inspection. And there was plenty to inspect - multiple rooms full of shots depicting everything from Australian lighthorsemen trooping through the desert to King George V in military dress to a biplane that crash-landed on top of a house, miraculously injuring no-one. At the risk of trivialising an impossibly terrible conflict, my favourite photo showed a Belgian man driving a cart (not a sled) pulled by three dogs. Oh, and I enjoyed the secondary captions by a present-day teen, which provided a fresh perspective. "Colour In Darkness" was so interesting, I immediately returned to the beginning and gave it a second viewing.

Also saw "Frida Kahlo And Diego Rivera - From The Jacques And Natasha Gelman Collection" at the Art Gallery Of NSW. It was one of those timed exhibitions and, even with the limiting of patrons, felt crowded for a Thursday morning. The cult of Frida is strong, I guess. I didn't come away wanting to join said society, but seeing her vibrant, quirky portraits IRL did increase my appreciation of her art - and my understanding of why so many revere the woman. I realise, too, that this adoration isn't just about her works but also her uncompromising honesty, the fact she was self-taught and the way she bravely persevered through an adult life of pain and medical procedures. The inclusions done by Frida's hubby Diego had a primitive bent but were not without their appeal.

Took in the "Wildlife Photographer Of The Year" pics, which had moved across town from the Australian Museum to the National Maritime M. While aspects of the collection were aquatic in nature (so to speak), the shift seemed a bit odd. Anyway, I thought it was very hit and miss in 2016, though I hasten to add that the hits alone were worth the visit. One shot that sticks in my mind was of a temporary snow tunnel in southern Spain, with its floor of flora and arched roof of ice thin enough to admit light and patches of colour. Gotta love a hidden world! As with "Colour In Darkness", I went around the whole shebang twice and wasn't sorry that I had. "W/P/O/T/Y" cost me $20, two dollars above what I paid for entry to the "F/K/&/D/R" exhibition. "C/I/D" was free.