Temporary art

It was marvelous, the way she was engrossed in her art. Right there on the pavement, on the river bank, as residents and tourists walked by. Some even walked over the works made by fellow artists on the same path.

A place full of creative expression and impression, that’s what I thought. I’m talking about the South bank along Melbourne’s Yarra river. You meet sidewalk artists, and throngs of people visiting Victoria’s National Gallery, where the Guggenheim collection of modern are is on display. And just across the bridge, Federation Square features continuous gatherings of artists, musicians, and their audience.

People come to see, and be seen, for art, dining, drinking, shopping, and sports, which are all located along the river banks in this vibrant city. Not long ago, though, decrepit dockland buildings stood here, and the river was a polluted sewer, like most rivers still are in Asia. Until Melbourne’s residents started to embrace their river, and the river banks turned into prime property. What a nice thing to make happen.

I saw the same development in Brisbane, where citizens tore out the old docklands and replaced them with public facilities like galleries, convention center, state library, lots of eateries, and pathways for skaters, lovers, and just about anybody. Citizens now refer to the river as the city’s life blood.

In Melbourne, I cruised the Yarra river, visited its vineyards, including Yering Station, Victoria’s first, and drank plenty of nice white and red wines. After stretching my mind watching Guggenheim’s art collection, I lay down on a carpeted section of the museum to admire the stained glass windows in the ceiling. And an hour later I lay down on the grassy banks of the Yarra river under a gum tree (one of the hundreds of species of Eucalyptus), looking upward in space.

All this I did in the company of good friends, who treated me like only good friends will, and expanded my understanding of friendship in the process. With a friend, it’s so inspiring and easy to make nice things happen. And when you part ways, you know the coming together was good. Like an artwork on the pavement, an offering was made with trust into the future. It may seem temporary, but it lasts in the eye of the beholder.

Photograph: Art on the pavement (top), and Melbourne by the Yarra River (bottom).