I have a (not so good) history with Modern Art – some has left me wondering “WTF” and others have caused me so much emotion (usually anger) that I need to leave the gallery immediately whilst muttering to myself. I’ll probably never understand “The Rose” (white canvas painted white) at The Philadelphia Museum of Art, the camping equipment display at The Whitney, or the pile of rocks at the Chicago Art Institute.  I get annoyed that if I arranged garden rocks in a circle no one would pay me thousands upon thousands of dollars and call it “art” (My garden is full of rocks so anyone wanting to buy “my art” let me know). I don’t understand the video of an ice cream cone melting that I saw in Dunedin, New Zealand (lots of people were fixated to watch minute by minute of the dripping ice cream).  I have no idea the metaphor or what it was to represent?  Life slowing dripping away?  The need to lick or bit the ice cream and enjoy the moment?  Who the hell knows?  So imagine my surprise when in Hobart, Tasmania which is part of Australia (yes, really folks), I happened upon an art museum referred to as MONA.  MONA is the abbreviation for “Museum of Old and New Art” but it’s really an “FU” to the art world in my opinion and for that reason, I had so much fun with art that I felt in on the joke in some way.  MONA Tasmania is a MUST DO for all visitors to the city.  After days of unending rain during my visit to Australia, the ONLY sunny day was when I booked my visit to MONA which had me singing a few notes of Alanis Morrisette’s “Ironic” as I spent the only sunny day indoors underground with modern art.

Note: I visited a few years ago and the experience has stuck with me even now. I didn’t write about it then because my Australia trip was during a challenging period where emotions were raw and I didn’t want to revisit that trip for a while. Now I want you all to know about MONA- the exhibits will change but you’ll understand the general feeling hopefully. 

MONA Tasmania – Background History

The ancient, modern and contemporary art is from the collection of the David Walsh (noted as GOD in the parking lot), a professional gambler from Australia who is also an art collector and businessman.  His former museum, Moorilla Museum of Antiquities, opened in 2001 and closed in 2007, underwent a massive four year renovation to open as MONA, the Museum of Old and New Art, in 2011 on the grounds of his Moorilla winery and built into the rocks. The MONA architecture inside and outside is art all to itself.

There are many themes you will pick up along the way (hopefully) – sex and death are two but for me just life and what we make of it was key. All the possibilities of life and yet all the ways we might waste time, opportunity and chances.  Read the website introduction to MONA and then judge each piece of art for yourself – believe or don’t believe in the artist vision.

Very Interesting Ferry Ride from Hobart to MONA

Should I sit on the sheep was a valid question I was asking myself as I boarded the yacht which functions as a ferry to transport visitors from the Hobart docks to MONA (takes about ½ hour to sail).  The military camouflage colors of the boat were already the first impression that this won’t be like any other museum visit in the world.  Onboard there was street art graffiti on some of the walls and animal sculptures on the outside decks to sit on.  Of course we all let the kids have the animals but when there was a free sheep, the adults all looked at each other wondering “should they jump on”, “can they forget they are an adult and enjoy like a child” and “really?, what would x think”.  Ok, so this is what I was thinking and just assumed everyone was to.

With my first day of sun in Tasmania, it was a lovely ride on the water to see the city and surrounding suburbs.  The passing sailboat did give me pause to wonder if I should really be spending hours inside an art museum rather than enjoying my time on the water.  I had already had two action packed water adventures (in chilly weather under the cloudy sky), one of which was surprised by a whale swimming past us.  Everyone was surprised by the whale and that was a feeling that followed me to MONA. That unexpected glee….for art?

Entrance to MONA

With each part of the journey, MONA was already a surprise.  When we arrived and climbed up the stairs to the lookout and entrance, we encountered art outside and a tennis court in the front entry.  Yes a tennis court which signified what?  Is a tennis court art?  Or does it become art when out of context and in this case part of the entrance apron?

Upon entering the Museum of Old and New (MONA), each guest was given an IPod loaded with directions, art information and interactive feature.  The interactive feature asked for your email address and then at each art installation you can mark thumbs up or down for your thoughts on the work.  You would then receive the information by email.

I screwed something up because at the end, my IPod erased my visit instead of sending the data.  How fun it would have been to get a list of the art I liked and didn’t like.  But again, I hummed more of the song “Ironic” The iPod has GPS in it (your phone doesn’t work here but this does) so it tells you what artwork is nearby.  It also had all kinds of information to dive into such as a summary of the work, curator notes, David Walsh notes/comments as well as tidbits like artist interviews, quotes and features.  For the art that piqued my interest, I was able to deep dive into the works which really added value for me during my visit.

First View of the Museum of Old and New Art

MONA is built into the side of the cliff and goes underground so there is little natural light. When I first looked down and over the museum, I had this flash of “Batman’s underground cave” or a scene from Star Trek.  It was pretty cool how the natural stone and finishes were themselves works of art – architectural art.   The interior spiral staircase was the first thing I encountered to begin my visit – you walk down the three flights of stairs.

The Exhibits at MONA

I visited MONA on my last Australia trip, adding Tasmania because why not?  With close to 2,000 works of art on exhibit from the collection, I’m not sure if what I saw and experienced is still there but no doubt you will have a memorable experience like no other.  The exhibits at the time were video, interactive as well as a section I’ll call “I have no idea what this is”.  For me, it felt a bit like a “wink, wink” on the whole concept of modern art and for the first time, I didn’t run screaming.

I did have a few choice words but chose to view this as an experience – an individual experience that in itself is performance art maybe?  A bit meta – I’m creating art by interacting with art and my art is different than your art.  See, this place had an instant effect on me especially when I saw and heard others reacting to the art.  Don’t worry I didn’t become an instant convert (see my time at The Whitney and the sneakers and camping equipment).  But I could appreciate a collector who bought pieces that spoke to him, even if made with elephant poop.

Highlights of MONA

The Red Queen exhibit occurred a few years ago and of course we all know (or should remember) Through the Looking Glass (Alice in Wonderland).  The exhibit was to challenge the question of evolution and how we might meld into the environment around us rather than run toward goals and change. A messy life congealing with what’s around us in television, on our phones, etc.

There was a musical trampoline that obviously sounds different with each person’s weight, jumps and falls. The line to experience the art was long and filled with more adults than children.  This was the first of many interactive art installations.   I didn’t get to jump during my visit as the lines were long with folks filming friends and family and of course, I was solo and not keen to jump alone in front of all the people.

A room full of recliners and televisions.  The room was filled with familiar patterned recliners of my youth (think 70’s patterns, colors and goes well in wood paneled rooms – so basically a bit ugly but in a good way. Of course, I tried to find my family tv and crazy chair) placed in front of a variety of televisions all in a show to make you think about how television is consumed and in some ways part of a cult (ok, my interpretation).  Getting sucked into television as a medium to share stories and create an escape.

The pink playroom required me to take my shoes off and climb inside.  As it was empty at the time, I climbed inside the uneven surfaced pink shag rug filled room and tried to steady myself only to fall into one of the carved out spaces in front of the video monitors.  I put the headphones on and dialed up a video about wedding planning and bridezillas.  Sure, this sounds like reality television or a documentary – but one is often considered an art film and the other mindless escape – you know which is which.  But is the reality show art due to all the facets or building the final product – the script, the setting, the cinematography, the lighting, etc.  At what point does visual art deviate from being seen as “art”.

The puffy car was about excess fat, consumption and a lavish lifestyle (of Americans IMO).  I felt bad for the car, I felt bad for the perception of Americans, and I felt bad that I wanted a cookie after viewing the puffy car.

The library of white paper, white books and everything blank was….interesting. I had a moment of waiting to go all Jackson Pollack in there because it was the perfect canvas.  But of course there was a larger meaning in the exhibit by Wilfredo Prieto was about the importance of the books that are never read. This is part of the permanent collection.

The Madonna video room was all about the “Vogue” as we were surrounded by people singing to the song and dancing to “Vogue”.  At my age, I remember we all were “vogue-ing” but now to be surrounded by the videos, it was fascinating to see the diversity included in the videos at the time.  You couldn’t help yourself and you had to sing, dance and vogue.

Ugh, I smelled an awful smell – rotten eggs crossed with something else.  This room was all about the body, digestion and excrement (yes, really).  The mechanical art was ingesting food and processing it.   I didn’t last long in that room, it was to show what our bodies go through in digestion – I’d rather watch a movie about it than smell it.  The name of the piece is Cloaca Professional by Wim DeIvoye, a Belgian neo-conceptual artist.  This is in the permanent collection.

When I walked into the room with video screens of data and what seemed like the forthcoming world of AI, I stood still mesmerized by the light, colors and overwhelmed by it all – data paralysis of sorts.

As I wandered and tried to visit each and every piece in the museum that day, I scored thumbs up or thumbs down on my guided device.  Approaching the “art” with a sense of quirky sarcasm, I had more thumbs up than down which to be honest surprised me. The “FU” sense of curating art for MONA allowed me to view the different types of art differently.

Unlike the decapitated Barbie heads or glasses filled river water and sticks I’ve seen in Philly or the pile of candy in Chicago or the gold shoes in NYC at The Whitney, MONA was about art that poses a question about life and death and our experience with it.  Death can be the final act or it can be the loss of love, friendship and possibly the loss of your spirit and soul on a daily basis.  Life can be interpreted in many ways as well.  And so can art – experience it, interpret it in your own way. And of course, there was the broom….and ping pong table…because I can’t not have my head explode in a museum and need to apologize for cursing under my breath.

Final Thoughts – MONA Art Museum Tasmania

I spent a few hours at MONA knowing that I was sacrificing the gorgeous blue skies of Tasmania outside.  Acting like a vampire shunning the sun consumed by the art and questioning my own sense of art and messaging was fascinating to me on so many levels.  It was an intellectual pursuit deeper than my normal museum experience.

As I exited squinting at the brightness of the sunny day, I took in my final views of the art outside before making my way back to the boat to sit on the sheep. MONA had made me a sheep – I was part of the flock who had experienced the Museum of Old and New Art and I was ok with that. I’m sure there’s more meaning to the sheep and my choices that day but at the end of the day, it’s really just a thumbs up from me for MONA.  Go see for yourself next time you travel to Hobart, Tasmania in Australia. You’ll never forget MONA!