Melbourne / Design

A view of Melbourne imagined by the Design profession

Taylah Kleid 3281725

Emma White 3236714

Deborah Woodall 3282443

Artefact #1: Sista Bella Sista Bella is a café/bar located down one of Melbourne’s less commercial laneways. From an exterior view, only the entrance door can be seen. Inside, the split-level interior is heavily decorated with quirky wallpaper and roof-hanging decorations.

Sista Bella was chosen as a communication artefact of Melbourne as it personifies the thriving café culture that is often associated with urban life. It is viewed as a socially desired and desirable “institution”, considered unique to Melbourne. It is unique to Melbourne in terms of all elements of its design – where it’s located, the unsuspecting exterior contrasting the café/bars’ interior, the kinds of people who go there, how the space is used; socially and commercially.

As a ‘space’ of design, cafes are novel and uniquely social. They have arguably reshaped the world to how we know it today; a world for a “life accentuated by coffee” (Cowan 2005, p.2). However, at the time coffee was introduced into society, it was seen as controversial and the commercial and social success was not a given (Cowan 2005, p. 3). Such fact severely contrasts the view of coffee today, as coffee has become an integral part of urban living, and is a significant aspect attributed to Melbourne city. Melbourne is known for its prosperous café culture, which Sista Bella has newly become a part of.

Along with being known for its lively café culture, Melbourne is iconic for its laneways and alleyways. They are a key feature of the design and layout of the city. Over the years, the image of the laneways has been designed, reworked and promoted through the design profession and others such as Advertising and Public Relations to portray a sense of mystery, potential for discovery and urban sophistication (Fung 2006, p. 3). Through its placement and location in our city, Sista Bella embodies these same alluring representations and ideas that the laneways do. Melbourne’s laneways are promoted and advertised as something you don’t just ‘see’, you ‘experience’; similar to how all reviews of Sista Bella will tell you it’s not just a place to get a drink, it’s a whole ‘experience’. The design and marketing of the laneways has produced ideas of them as separate, functional ‘spaces’, of “enchantment, quaint beauty, cosmopolitanism and sophisticated leisure” (Fung 2006, p. 4). These characteristics could also be interchangeably used to describe Sista Bella’s atmosphere.

One view of Melbourne city is that it is a place characterised or accentuated by coffee, therefore the Melbourne scene is highly dependant on the cafes the city

offers. Relative to this is the view of Melbourne as a city with secrets and treasures to be found down unsuspecting lanes and alleyways. Sista Bella “completely encompasses what is epitomized by Melbourne Bars” (Alley Life 2009). It is part of our city’s character, identity and culture, holding a strong relationship with Melbourne’s social reputation. Sista Bella is celebrated as exclusively ‘Melbourne’ due to its hidden away location down a graffitied laneway; it could easily be missed yet is vibrantly busy once inside.

Artefact #2: Centre Place Graffiti The graffiti of Centre Place laneway in Melbourne is just one of the many locations of street art throughout the city. Bringing warmth to the city and inspiring a sense of artistic culture, these paintings are a direct expression of the Melbourne’s identity.

Located in such an integral part of the CBD the laneway’s graffiti’s are viewed daily by both locals and tourists. More often than not, individual’s can be found embracing this art, admiring its uniqueness as they pass by or stop to have lunch. As the artist’s of these paintings choose to remain anonymous, time and date of conception remains unknown. However, being exposed in such a common place, immediately, they represent the cities many hidden beauties.

Covering the walls in vibrant colours, the graffiti at Centre Place is constantly transforming, belonging to an endless list of artists. As a design concept, it is aesthetically pleasing yet at the same time provokes a certain ‘rugged’ image about Melbourne City. Additionally its ‘edginess’ is unique, something different to all other cities in Australia. As such locals are instilled with a sense of pride not only of fellow citizens but of their hometown too.

With the influence of London and New York, graffiti in Melbourne is often an opinion of the artist, valued and shared by members of the public. For this reason, most graffiti is so conveniently designed in the streets, as its target audience is every day people. As the alias of these artists signifies modesty, one can only appreciate that they are not seeking praise or credit. Additionally, addressing the public it is evident they are not waiting for the approval of the art world. Ultimately, in terms of design, this strategy allows graffiti artists to convey their message faster as it’s audience excludes no one.

Embodying freedom of speech graffiti conveys a youthful rebellion and with preservation displays an appreciation for the opinions of younger generations. As a Banksy fan discusses on YouTube (2008), graffiti is no longer seen as a form of vandalism. Rather it is seen as a “living art form” (Gibson & Pendlebury 2009, p. 151). Despite this notion, Melbourne’s council do define certain restrictions regarding placement and provision of street art. This however, simply reinforces graffiti’s role as a design artefact. Not only is the artwork artistically designed, it is strategically designed to compliment the city as a whole.

In depicting the relationship between a city and it’s people brought about by this art, Nancy Macdonald writes; “it flirts in the publics eye – we have no idea that the city’s wall’s are alive with its social drama” (p. 2). She goes on to claim street graffiti to hold some the biggest secrets of a cities culture. Such a secret is one of the many endearing aspects of Melbourne’s culture and appeals not only to locals but largely, tourists. Ultimately, in relating to ‘hidden beauties’, Melbourne becomes a city of mystery, one created by its people… waiting to be discovered by its visitors.

Artefact #3: Apparatus Sculpture The intention of public art in the city is to be aesthetically interesting or pleasing, and to stimulate thought and emotion. Take a stroll through Melbourne and you are certain to run into many of over 100 different public art displays, whether it be a sculpture in memory of an historical public figure, or a mysterious abstract piece; all communicate feelings in contrast to those conjured by the often bland inner-city landscape of soaring skyscrapers, and the bustling city population. Through the visual creation of ideas, art and design play a role in the city, adding to the ‘feel’ of Melbourne and helping to define the city as a whole.

A History Apparatus: Vessel, Craft and Beacon, is a steel and fibreglass sculpture by artist Chris Reynolds, and sits on the median strip in the middle of Russell Street, where it meets Bourke Street in Melbourne. The onlooker is allowed a moment to absorb it’s unusual form and location, and mentally escape to thoughts that question it’s meaning or appreciate it’s unique appearance, if only for a moment. The work, 24 metres in length, is placed atop the site of

Melbourne’s first underground public toilet, which was sealed over with sand and concrete in 1994. A city space, once occupied with a toilet that was aged and redundant, has been brought back to life through this artistic installation.

A History Apparatus is a collaborative effort between the artist, the Australian Metal Worker’s Union, Aerospace Technology of Australia, and the City of Melbourne, communicating ideas of the continuity of time as the element that anchors us, and the organisations involved, down in this world – the vessel represents the past, the craft the present and the beacon, the future. This idea is conveyed further through rough scribblings etched into it’s exterior. As Miles (1997) discusses, ‘the reception of public art is as important as, and linked to, its production’. A History Apparatus was clearly conceived with an idea in mind for Melbourne before its ‘production’. A lot of time was put into developing the ideas the piece would communicate before it was designed, constructed and placed.

However theorist Adorno (1969) stated, ‘it is self-evident that nothing concerning art is self-evident’, therefore the viewer may not accept the piece for the meanings the artist set out to communicate, and experience the piece in an alternate way.

This is a commissioned piece of public art, with this idea being an issue of growing importance in embracing culture in the city. It is an attraction for tourists and residents alike. Hall (2001) says ‘public art can help develop senses of identity, develop senses of place, contribute to civic identity, address community needs, tackle social exclusion, possess educational value and promote social change’. Although Hall challenges these notions, it is clear that public art does play an important role in helping to build the city. Through exploring Melbourne’s public art, the city is certainly presented as diverse, one that embraces its heritage, its people and multiculturalism, and some newer art installations such as A History Apparatus, definitely prove the city to be interesting, intelligent and fashion forward.

References: Adorno, T, 1997, Aesthetic Theory, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis Alley Life, 2009, Bar Review: Sista Bella, Alley Life, viewed 13 April 2010, http://alleylife.com.au/bar/sista_bella/#more-745 Banksy documentary 2008, short film, You Tube, New York, 13 April 2010, <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lGVDenUsOs&NR=1>.

Cowan, B 2005, ‘Introduction’, in The Social Life of Coffee: The Emergence of the British Coffeehouse, Yale University Press, New Haven, pp. 1-9.

Fung, P 2006, ‘The seduction of the laneways: making Melbourne a “world city”’, Crossings, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 1-12, viewed 18 March 2010.

Gibson, L & Pendlebury, JR 2009, ‘Values not shared: the street art of Melbourne city’s laneways’, in Valuing historic environments: heritage, culture and identity, Ashgate Publishing Limited, England, pp. 139-156.

Hall, T & Robertson, I 2001, ‘Public Art and Urban Regeneration: Advocacy, Claims and Critical Debates’, Landscape Research, Volume 26, Issue 1, pp. 5 – 26.

Macdonald, N 2001, The graffiti subculture: youth, masculinity and identity in London and New York, Palgrave, New York.

Miles, M, 1997, Art, Space and the City: Public Art and Urban Futures, Routledge, London, pg. 14.