This years main Australian Photographic Expo is in Melbourne, May 3-6. The show is run by the Photo Marketing association of Australia and the Photographic Imaging Council of Australia.

A feature of every years show is an exhibition of photographs from the Australian Institute of Professional Photographers.

This year however the organisers would like to invite members of the Melbourne Flickr groups to submit images to be used in a special ‘Electronic Gallery’.

In keeping with the sharing nature of Flickr, we have created a wall of LCD frames of various sizes that will feature a constant electronic slide show of images of Melbourne. This Electronic Gallery will feature nothing but images of Melbourne taken by Flickr members.

I won’t be able to make it to this event. If you are in Melbourne though, please check it out and tell me what it’s like.

Come along and see Tezuka: the Marvel of Manga, a special exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria, before it finishes on the 28th of January. It’s $12 to get in and we can meet beforehand this Saturday 13th January 2:30pm at Federation Square.

TEZUKA Osamu is heralded as an icon of the Japanese manga movement; acknowledged in Japan as an artistic master, and revered as the figurehead of the manga and anime industries. Creating over 700 manga titles during his lifetime, he is best known in the West for his cartoons of Astro Boy and Kimba the White Lion, which were serialized for television in the 1960s. Tezuka’s work is acclaimed for its complexity and originality and his drawings showcase an extraordinary calligraphic dynamism. His prolific manga work contains two main streams: manga ‘comic pictures’ for a youth audience, including Astro Boy, Kimba and Princess Knight; and gekiga ‘drama pictures’ – more seriously-toned, adult oriented narratives such as Song of Apollo and Ludwig B, that stress realistic effect and emotional impact. This exhibition features both aspects of his work, introducing Western audiences to the complexities and extraordinary range of the manga form.

This exhibition has been negotiated through Tezuka Productions in Tokyo. Comprising original drawings, designs for manga covers and posters, the exhibition will introduce Western audiences for the first time to the full scope of Tezuka’s artistic output.

What grabbed my attention is a few of the podcasts from curator Philip Brophy, in particular:

3. Philip Brophy talks about postwar Japan and the birth of Astro Boy (duration: 11 mins)

   Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

6. Philip Brophy talks about how, in Japan, ‘cute’ is not always cute (duration: 9 mins)

   Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

8. Philip Brophy delves into the darker side of manga (duration: 8 mins)

   Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

ADVISORY MESSAGE
Life is full of interesting stuff. If you need your parent/guardian to hold your hand, perhaps you should stay at home and live a sheltered life.

Woah! Well let’s say the advisory message should be acknowledged. Among the expected cutie characters drawn up on the walls, are some ideas, concepts and characters that certainly took me by surprise. After discovering mountains of porn on a visit to Fuji-san, some of Tezuka’s sexual content on show didn’t raise an eyebrow. What did catch me off guard, was some of the psycho imagery and depressing stories. Some such as humans contracting a disease that brings out canine features, may be explained by the fact that Japan suffered for decades after the infamous A-bomb was dropped. However, others including a murdering phantom horse, write your own religion, and an ongoing theme of gender-switching folk gave me something to think about. The great contrast Japan is renowned for: there is nothing hidden about Tezuka’s mindset, yet Japanese society remains the most secretive I’ve ever known. Let’s call that a love-hate thing.

Last Friday my favourite cousin and her classmates displayed their creative talent at the 2006 Ceramic Graduation Exhibition, aspect(s).

Fashionably late, Kate and I got along to the Yarra Sculpture Gallery (at 117 Vere Street, Abbotsford) just before the 8pm finish time. Joining the large crowd of enthusiasts, we checked out some of the works but mostly chatted with relatives over free wine. Lynette’s installation definitely posessed the WOW factor, we were most impressed. Well done, you can take a rest now.