For all the Aunt Doll and Aunt Cush fans - please see an earlier post - we now have another delightful story from their grand niece Claire.  Enjoy! Aunt Doll and Aunt Cush were brought up in Mt Morgan, their father was an Irish mattress and furniture maker in Mt Morgan.  Their mother died when kids were small, the eldest (Mona – my Grandmother) was then in charge of raising the others, their sister Rene died in her early teens, and their brother Orm who was deaf, later went on to run a hardware store in Toowoomba.  Mona got married and moved to Longreach, Doll and Cush moved to Brisbane.  Doll played the piano at the silent pictures in Brisbane and Cush worked at the McArthur Chambers during WWII.  Doll worked at McDonnell and East for many years and Cushwas married for a short time to a man who was called “The Singing Policeman” (prior to traffic lights, the Police used to stand on the corners directing traffic).  Policeman Chapman was well known for singing while he was directing!  My Grandmother was the only one from the family to have children (twin boys) so my father and his brother were very close to their doting Aunts – and the Aunts doted on them too and were so very proud of them!  Mum and Dad and we four kids would pack the car up and drive down to Auchenflower from Dalby every couple of weeks to mow Doll and Cush’s lawn.  Always a lovely visit and Cush’s pineapple jam drops were always ready for us!  After our cup of tea, we retired to the loungeroom where we sat in the huge Genoalounge while Dolly played the piano and Cush played the viola, accordion or melodica.  When it was time to go home, Dad would always make a big deal of it and count the four of us off (like the Von Trapps) to get into the car – Doll and Cush (who obviously had no children) thought that was just the greatest thing!  They were immensely talented musically and spent their final days in Brisbane playing at seniors functions.    Wonderful, wonderful people.  I may not have followed in their musical expertise, but I make a mean pineapple jamdrop using of course Cush’s recipe. Claire McGovern

Art comes in many forms – painting, photography, sculpture, installations and much more.  And it’s not limited to visual forms. The Floodlines exhibition at SLQ showcases a unique response to the floods in the form of a soundscape – a collection of sounds gathered and compiled by soundscape artist Lawrence English. Lawrence collected sounds (both natural and man-made) from all over Queensland for over a month during the 2010/2011 floods. He also spent time recording the Brisbane river from different locations, in order to get a sense of how it flowed and moved. “The motion of water was something I became very interested in as it takes on a quite musical sound,” Lawrence said. The sounds used in the exhibition were chosen because the artist felt that they accurately portrayed the enormity of the effect of the floods, not just in Brisbane, but of Queensland as a whole. “I feel it’s important to realise that we fit into something bigger than the idea of metropolitan life,” Lawrence said. “The division of metro or regional for example is meaningless when it comes to Mother Nature, and I think there is a beauty in that”. The Floodlines soundscape can be experienced at the SLQ gallery, and Lawrence English – along with other contemporary artists – will share the fascinating concept behind his work at a free artist talk on Wednesday the 9th of May on level 2. Bookings required slq.eventbrite.com or 07 3840 7768.

Sixteen 3rd year design students from Griffith University’s Queensland College of Art, Southbank Campus visit SLQ in April to view a selection of Zines. A new collection for the Australian Library of Art, those recently acquired represent the work of zinesters fromVictoriaandQueensland, with some originating from theUnited States. We are keen to build the collection of zines at SLQ, welcoming the distribution of Queensland-created zines coming into the library. Although their popularity as a small press publication began in the 80’s and 90’s, we are very interested in building a representative collection of zines to complement the Artists’ books as an artistic medium of expression. Senior Lecturer, Transnational Design, Donald Welch welcomed the opportunity for his students to view a range of zines that demonstrate the principle of a self-published work. Links to Zines – the Queensland focus http://www.alternativepublishing.info/Zines.html http://smellslikezines.com/ http://open.abc.net.au/openregions/qld-southern-35EM1ah/posts/zines-the-pop-tarts-of-literature-63ui9ms http://bizoo.com.au/

If you tell me, it's an essay. If you show me, it's a story. - Barbara Greene Here's a visual recap of the TFI Interaction through Storify. Continuing on from my last post, I wanted to quickly touch base on e-Readers and other modes of addressing the traditional forms of literacy as well as new literacies (that don't require a working knowledge of HTML code!). IDEO showcased a series of e-reader concepts, proof of concepts for different ways of interacting with digital devices. The future of the book video showcases Nelson, Coupland and Alice. Each present a different mode of interaction that goes beyond technological specifications. Nelson looks at books from a larger perspective, showing users how books have influenced others and links a book’s subject matter to current events. this design also has built-in fact-checking systems and provides both sides of issues discussed in the text. Coupland, on the other hand, explores the social world of books by allowing users to share their reading with friends and colleagues. this software would allow people to see what others are reading and send recommendations. Alice takes a different approach, developing new ways that narratives can be explored across digital platforms. (via designboom) Inanimate Alice takes a different, trans-media approach, developing new ways that narratives can be explored across digital platforms. This platform requires user generated content to drive the story forward. Inanimate Alice is working hard to support teachers and schools to roll out this approach to story telling - the makers suggesting that "...Inanimate Alice is a new media fiction that allows students to develop multiple literacies (literary, cinematic, artistic, etc.) in combination with the highly collaborative and participatory nature of the online environment..." Exciting times ahead?