never too late....

Hallandal, Tsunami, 2009, Winner of Dobell Drawing Prize 2009

I love these stories...

You know...The ones that make you think that life can always be exciting new and magical. Where age is a state of mind and change and good fortune can befall you when you're 100! Recently the arts industry has had two of these stories occur and I just had to make mention of them as they made me smile...

The first was the announcement of The newly established Balnaves Foundation Sculpture Prize of $60,000 and it was awarded to 91-year-old Australian sculptor May Barrie for her work 'Time and tide granite monolith II' at the 13th annual Sculpture by the Sea exhibition!

It was a fantastic announcement if not a little controversial, as the piece was not a favourite of many who viewed the show... When I saw the granite piece by Barrie I was taken aback. BUT it is an organic, quiet and reflective work - a bit zen if you will! Usually a major prize is awarded to an artpiece with all the bells and whistles! But not this, and May is a deserved winner at 91....

She commented by saying:

I know it's a good work and now I'm glad that other people agree. I'm surprised and pleased to have been given this award - I hope I'm not just dreaming this! I'd like to thank the Balnaves Foundation for their support of the arts and Sculpture by the Sea.

May is inspirational as is the 81 year old who won this years Dobell Prize!

A week after May won the sculpture prize, Pam Hallandall became the oldest winner of the Art Gallery of NSW's $25,000 major drawing prize. The Melbourne based artist won the prize back in 1996 but has led a relatively quiet career teaching at a craft college for 30 years . The work entitled 'Tsunami' is based on the images and her feelings on witnessing the horrific events that happened in the 2004 with the Tsunami disaster. Judge Nick Mourtzakis said there was 'subtle and powerful poetry of form at play and it was deeply moving'.

It is just so brilliant that these two women in the late careers can display such a beautiful touch with their work and be as exited as ever about their artwork and in exhibiting it to the public!...

I hope to be that dedicated, motivated and excited at their age...

Speaking of quiet dignity and drive to learn at an older age, I found this image the other week in the SMH... The man in the image below is a shoe polisher from Kabul who took a break to quietly read...
And I was absolutely drawn to it!

Its a beautiful image of a man in a crumbling city who had found a corner with which to work, reflect and learn...

Now that is poetry...