All the world’s a stage
‘Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury
Signifying nothing.’
Will Shakespeare ‘Macbeth’
A connection exists between Law Courts and the stage. University Law revues are frequently the beginnings of a career on the stage. A disproportionate number of comedians and actors started out as novice lawyers before turning to comedy and acting.
A theatrical production took place earlier this month in Tasmania at The Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. A man was suing privately owned MONA (Museum of Old and New Art) for denying him access to a women’s only installation titled ‘The Ladies Lounge’.
Apparently, Jason Lau was put out because he felt his rights were being violated. He represented himself and claimed MONA’s Ladies Lounge art installation violated Tasmania’s Anti-Discrimination Act. He claimed gender discrimination.
Having paid AU$35.00 for his entry to MONA he expected a ‘fair provision of goods and services.’ But in actual fact, it costs AU$500 for two women to attend the Ladies Lounge Tickets for its High Tea for Two.
Male butlers provide a lavish spread along with suitable adult beverages and the ladies get to spend time with some Picasso paintings and lovely antiquities collected from around the world. On the MONA website it states – ‘Any and all ladies are welcome’.
The curator of MONA, Kirsha Kaechele pointed out to the presiding judge that women in Australia only won the right to drink in public bars with men until 1965. Until then they could only sit in what was quaintly known as a Ladies Lounge and were charged more than the male patrons who drank in the males only bars on the same premises.
Kaechele emphasized she was inspired by the inequities of the former Ladies Lounges and her own experience as a woman in Australian society. She stated quite clearly that at MONA all women – including those who identified as a woman – were welcome to gather in the installation space.
Kaechele stated in court ‘I have taken something that was used to keep women down and repurposed it into a triumphant space for woman that excludes men. It addresses historical inequities …’
For those who aren’t familiar with Hobart’s MONA, it was established by the Australian professional gambler, art collector and businessman David Walsh. Walsh is the owner of MONA and the Moorilla Estate in Tasmania and is currently married to Kirsha Kaechele.
I greatly enjoyed Walsh’s 2014 autobiography, A Bone of Fact and got the impression he’s a maverick with a wicked sense of humour. He also possesses an engaging intellect and effortlessly explains complex mathematical concepts pertaining to gambling.
Walsh studied Mathematics and Computer Science and developed a system for betting on racehorses and other sports events. Early in his career he worked briefly for the Australian Tax Office.
Walsh reckons he spent most of his time shirking work, taking extended sick leave and gluing ashtrays to the ceiling of a shared office. At one point the ATO sent a staffer to his house to ask him to return to work. I got the impression the ATO staffers probably missed the light, colour and movement he bought to the office.
When I visited MONA a few years ago, I arrived by ferry and climbed the steep, long outdoor staircase up to the entrance. However, there is another more accessible entrance to the gallery. I really loved the architectural design and the way it had been carved into the landscape but I found his acquisitions somewhat lacking. There were only a few outstanding pieces in the collection along with a few that were astonishingly beautiful and engaging. This included an indoor rainfall installation which included projected lines of poetry. It was exquisite.
I wondered if the collection was somewhat lackluster because when Walsh established his gallery he concentrated on purchasing art pieces he personally found engaging, witty or interesting. Thus sex and death featured prominently. However, no doubt things have changed as Walsh now employs professional curators to expand his collections. I’m looking forward to going back to Tasmania and seeing the newer acquisitions.
Getting back to the Hobart court case. It became a newsworthy sensation because MONA’s curator, Kirsha Kaechele framed it as a performance piece. She led a group of over 20 women into the court. They were all sleekly attired in dark women’s business suits with pencil skirts, bold red lipstick and strands of pearls.
With them was a man wearing a stunning electric blue skirt suit. In court the ‘ladies’ performed silently, coyly displaying their painted fingernails, toying with their pearls, crossing and uncrossing their legs and adjusting the no-nonsense spectacles they all wore.
Kaechele also lightened the mood by leading her posse of ladies in a synchronized dance outside the courthouse to the tune of Robert Palmer’s, Simply Irresistible.
‘ … She’s a craze you’d endorse, she’s a powerful forceYou’re obliged to conform when there’s no other courseShe used to look good to me, but now I find herSimply irresistible …’
I wish I’d been there, for unlike most court cases – which are frequently tedious and terribly dull – journalists seemed to find it meaningful, enjoyable and comedic.
Unfortunately the judge ruled that MONA must stop turning men away from its women-only Ladies Lounge installation. However, it’s not yet over. Kaechele stated she’s prepared to take her case to a higher court. She also made clear it clear she’d rather close the MONA installation down than let men in.
In conclusion as Nathan Feld commented in The Age newspaper letters section,
‘The world is coming apart at the seams … Let’s tie up the courts on the big issues facing all of us and let art remain in the realm of mystery and intrigue. It’s art Jason, accept it for what it is.’
Photo: The Curator of MONA, Kirsha Kaechele (far left) accompanied by her lawyer, Catherine Scott leading her stylish ‘ladies’ into court.