ACTease June 2013
The talk of the town in Canberra this month has been Patricia Piccinini’s Skywhale hot-air balloon. This unidentifiable half bird/half beast has Canberrans divided. Ian Warden of the Canberra Times eloquently summaries Canberra’s bewilderment: “Now whole classes of Canberrans (like, say, the Summernats classes, and their children) who know and care nothing about art and who don’t want to have anything to do with the centenary or any deep analysis, have a right to be disappointed by Skywhale … Perhaps in thinking of the best balloon for the centenary messrs Archer and Piccinini should have done the demanding work of imagining something that had mass appeal, that gave delight rather than a challenge.” FM104.7’s Scotty and Nige recently questioned if it would be such a bad thing if the world’s biggest set of airborne boobs put Canberra on the map. If Piccinini’s intention was to prompt a reaction (good or bad), I’d say she’s succeeded with all the flying colours of her Skywhale. We’d love your thoughts – ‘love’ or ‘hate’? Read more…
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