“Change your ideas regularly like your underwear, lest they become dirty.”
– Tristan Tzara
Black Mark – a new name and a new image for the blog. “Black Mark” was what my biker neighbours called me because I was then, and I am now, dressed in black. I thought that it would be a good name for the Melbourne Art & Culture Critic, the critical assessment.
I also now have a Facebook page for this blog – Melbourne Art & Culture Critic (that I unfortunately created before I thought of the name change).
Along with a new name I have a new “Elegant Grunge” theme for this blog. “My Art” has been banished to my RedBubble page; I’m not trying to make a career as an artist but an art critic and my painting has been consigned to a hobby activity. (It is important to have several hobbies in having a balanced life – shopping, reading or being an audience are not hobbies, although they are also important for a balanced life. I have other hobbies but I won’t be writing about them.)
All of these changes have been prompted by a review of my blog by writer and editor, Peter Symons, a former colleague of mine at LookSmart.com. – thanks Pete. (I also must thank Evangeline Cachinero for the new Black Mark header along with her advice and encouragement in updating the blog’s image.) Peter Symons’s review was more substantial than just a question of style or theme and I thank him for that. I have been thinking about his comments for the last four days. So hopefully regular readers will notice other changes in this blog’s content. Even a critic needs a critical eye cast on them.
What do you think of the new image? Leave a comment (it is just below the Share This at the bottom of the post.)
Black Mark 
March 7th, 2011 at 10:17 AM
Hi Mark,
I love the new name for the blog – nice pun. The image is nice, too. Black is a colour very much associated with Melbourne and has a great feel about it. Good luck with the future of the blog, I am very much looking forward to reading it.
March 7th, 2011 at 10:44 AM
Oh, I also love the quote at the beginning of the entry: amusing and appropriate!
March 7th, 2011 at 10:54 AM
Tzara might have be a pretentious prat who went from Dada to the Communist party but he is still very witty.
March 7th, 2011 at 12:34 PM
Fabulous, however it does not include a contact email address for you, I wanted to invite you to Rising 5, a 3D exhibition on fashion, film and photography but don’t have an email address to send you the invite.
Cheers, jc
March 7th, 2011 at 1:05 PM
Hi JC,
I have just updated the about section and included an email address: melbourneartcritic@gmail.com Thanks for comment.
Cheers,
Mark
March 7th, 2011 at 1:36 PM
From Dada to the Commies? Nice leap.