Mahmoud Bakhshi, Tulips Rise from the Blood of the Nation's Youth, 2008,
neon, tin, wood, plastic, electric engines, courtesy of the artist and
Khastoo Gallery, Los Angeles


'Last Ride in a Hot Air Balloon' is the title for the 2010 4th Auckland triennial
which is on show from 12 March - 20 June. Watch the video of the curator,
Natasha Conland discussing the art show.
Youtube conland348. MP4
Use the information from the video and
on the Triennial website to answer the following questions;

1.What are the themes behind the title "Last ride...' for the Auckland triennial?

The themes behind the title "Last ride in a hot air balloon" are exploring the ongoing relationship between adventure and risk taking in contemporary art today.

2. What does a curator of an exhibition do?

The curator of an exhibition is in charge of a number of different things, including the acquisition and displaying of art, caring for the displays and generally organising the event, such as marketing, budgeting and education programmes etc. Basically they are in charge of the event.

3. Which countries are represented in this year's triennial?

Countries from all around the world are represented in this year's triennial.

4. Is Auckland the only country to have a triennial? Are there other similar art shows?

No, Auckland is not the only country to have a triennial (Especially since Auckland is a city, not a country, but I assume this question refers to New Zealand). There are various art triennials that happen around the world, some of the examples I could find include the Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary art (http://qag.qld.gov.au/exhibitions/apt) and the Australian Indigenous Art Triennial (http://www.nga.gov.au/Exhibition/NIAT07/)

5. Name 4 artists who will be showing work in the show.

Artists showcasing their work in the 4th Auckland Triennial include Alex Monteith, Martin Boyce, Shilpa Gupta and Mike Parr.

6. Select an artist's work from the website, copy the work to your blog and write a short
comment on what the work is, and what it represents.(Reference your sources)

This is "Singing Cloud" by Shilpa Gupta, the top 2 images at the top of the blog entry. It is a giant cloud formed by four thousand microphones, each with its own different acoustic track. It represents the sub-conscious and whispers in the absence of a listener, the crys of many that fall on deaf ears.

(http://www.flyinthe.net/09singingcloud.htm)

7. Comment on why you find this work interesting, how does it relate to your own interests?

Firstly the shape and looks of the piece caught my attention, it has the look of some kind of amoeba or insect like creature just hanging there in the middle of the gallery. It sort of reminds me of the smoke monster from lost, especially with the eeriness and mystery about it. It gives me a strange sensation like I really want to approach it slowly, like some kind of creature that a sudden move will set it off, which I thought was a really cool effect. Plus the idea of using microphones in such a way intrigued me, the entire structure composed of four thousand microphones, each with its own seperate acoustic track, the amount of hours gone into this piece must be mindblowing! After reading about it I also loved the ideas behind it, that with so many problems in the world many fall on deaf ears, with all the separate music tracks representing this by making one big racket of noise, unintelligible as everything hits you at once. All in all the piece really caught my interest, in both how it looks and its meaning, I'm now considering going to see it in person.

Students doing the commentary should comment on their partners answers, and answer questions 6 and 7.

Just a fun lil addition here, if anyone reading this has a DeviantArt account lemme know haha, I love that site