Monet

Hi,

As I wrote, turning 40 is often a big deal. For me it brought into focus some painful realizations, like my life was developing a comfortable inertia that I suddenly find uncomfortable, or that I may have many fewer days ahead of me than are behind me.

Happily Jacqui is far more grounded (even though she is the New Age Goddess in the house) than am I, for Jacqui it was an excuse for a good time. So it was that I booked a suite in a 5 star hotel in Wellington, to see the Monet exhibition at Te Papa.

We drove down the East coast of the North Island and arrived at the suite. Ieuan came too (even though his 'Nana Gail would have looked after him) and he was instantly impressed by the suite. He wanted room service, and I declined. I think he wants to be a cash-rich plutocrat when he is older. I hope he succeeds!

Te Papa is New Zealands national museum. If I were to make a suggestion, I would say it tried to do too much to too little effect. The country should have a Natural History, Cultural and National Gallery. Doing all 3 in one building results in skimmimng, and overcrowding.

We paid our 35 Dollars, and entered the hall, where there were 50 plus works by Monet, Cezanne and Renior (as well as many others). It is hard to put into words the absolute beauty of the works in this hallway. They were far more beautiful in the paint than on even the best photographic representation.

I found myself getting impatient with the dullards looking at the works from 4 feet away, getting in my view. Learn how to view art, before spoiling my view. Up close, you could see the way Monet used the texture of the paint to create depth, At 12 feet the paintings were ethereal and dreamlike, as if this is how I would see the World, if I only had better eyes.

Of course there were other artworks in Te Papa, and some of them were very good (and some absolute tripe), but even the best must have felt like the man who takes his golf GTI to a race, when everyone else has Ferrari F50's. The Impressionists were just in a different class.

I have seen other great artists 'in the paint' (Turner was superb, as was Lucien Freud) but this was certainly the best exhibition of an artistic movement I have ever seen, I feel privileged

Be Good