S P E C T R U M S P E C T R U M S P E C T R U M

M I K E R U D D B I L L P U T T . C O MM M I K E R U D D B I L L P U T T . C O MM M I K E R U D D B I L L P U T T . C O MM M I K E R U D D

a separate realityr

September Renée Magritte's wife Georgette beckons M&M Less is less in Morwell 29.9.17 - Maria and I took the poodle for a bit of a drive up the M1 to Morwell in the Latrobe Valley today. What the hell could there be in Morwell to lure us up the highway to, well, Hell? I hear you intone. An exhibition is what, at the recently refurbished Latrobe Regional Gallery featuring a collection of Renée Magritte's home movies and personal family photos, as well as some photos he used to model for some of his iconic paintings. (I feel Magritte's work really does deserve the 'iconic' label for a change). We got there not long after midday, bought our tickets and made our way into the exhibition after being advised there were to be NO photographs, even in the foyer! We both enjoyed the exhibition, even though a great number of the photos were very tiny and defied close inspection. After about 90 minutes of this we tried watching Magritte's home movies but had to give up due to lack of concentration. We were astonished the café in the Gallery wasn't open but were directed to a restaurant just over the road by the helpful staff. This turned out to be booked out by the Morwell Sales Rep's Male Voice Choir with apparently only the one employee in attendance so we searched Morwell in vain for something else that was even open - which was when we realised it was a public holiday here in Victoria. The AFL parade! Of course!

September 1) The odd couple - Mike and Stew 2) M&M, Stewart Macfarlane, Robbo and Keaton 3) M&M, the shot (pics Peter Lamont) Lust for life - Stewart Macfarlane's latest show 6.9.17 - It was pissing down all the way into town, which didn't worry me particularly until I realised that I'd left my brolly at home. Fortunately it had eased off considerably when we were looking to find a parking space and we walked in to the Australian Galleries dry in every respect. I resisted the impulse to grab a glass of something quite ordinary on the grounds that I'm still recovering from the lurgy that so inhibited my performance at the Corner on Friday - and against expectations I enjoyed that aspect of the night so much I might make a habit of it. We immediately came across Robbo and Keaton, (pic 2) followed in quick succession by Peter Lamont and the artist himself, Stewart Macfarlane. (pics 1 & 2) I thought Stewart's new paintings were even more luminous than usual and M commented on how they came up so much better than the invitiation. M wandered off to have a look at the exhibition in the next room - and came back in company with the her 'cousin' Gina and husband Gerry who were coincidentally there to see that exhibition. Later we wandered across the road to have a look at the exhibition there, which we also enjoyed, and then back to Stewart's show to have the pics taken before Stewart gave me his latest CD and we headed off home.

M I K E R U D D B I L L P U T T . C O MM M I K E R U D D B I L L P U T T . C O MM M I K E R U D D B I L L P U T T . C O MM M I K E R U D D