From the Art Sign Series

Riccarton Rotary Market, Christchurch

Do I sense something hopeful and unduly optimistic about this sign?

August 2009 Ajr

Visual Connections

I am a gatherer of things. One peek through the windows of my house would show you that. Every room is a testament to the layer upon layer of visual stimulii and memory that I have gathered over a lifetime so far. I am fascinated by the whole concept of collecting – why we even have the urge, what we choose to collect and how we choose to display it – or not, as the case may be. I have thought long and hard about why I surround myself with so much stuff – much of it completely valueless in a monetary sense. I’m not sure I have come up with any concrete and completely satisfying answers but I do know it is not about materialism. For me it is more about the notion of things – colours, textures, forms and the subtle combinations of all three – triggering some deeply-stored memory. For the writer and artist in me, those memories form the rich, creative storehouse that feeds and drives my output. I couldn’t be without them - and believe me I've tried. Not all creative people work and think this way or course; not all respond to visual stimulii; and those who gather things are not all engaged in creative pursuits. I was reminded of this recently when I stayed with friends in Auckland. I went about photographing things in their house – the things they have arranged to stamp their home with an individuality that can’t readily be replicated; at least not replicated in any way that comes from the heart. I saw recurring colours, recurring patterns, repeated forms, often-missed links – as the photographs here aptly demonstrate. It pleased me. More than that, it excited and inspired me and gave me a deeper insight into them as people.

I have returned to this topic on this blog many times and now that I sit here considering the matter (looking at my office windowsill crammed full with its little displays of birds’ eggs, seed pods, wooden cotton reels, feathers, stones, cones and a small Buddha), I am also reminded of an interview I did for a magazine last year. The owner was a complex character with a huge and impressive collection of modern art, furniture, design items, antiques and quirky collectibles.

It was like stepping inside a small private museum curated by someone with an inherent understanding of what moved them visually, emotionally and intellectually. Every space had a purpose and every treasure a place. It was an interior that combined history, design principles and personal stories. “I am a hunter and a gatherer,” the owner said. “But it is more than just collecting. It is about the manifestation of a certain consciousness – the almost subconscious gathering of aesthetically pleasing things that are subtly linked. Things are put together around central themes - that is what makes a house alive. The more contemporary downstairs is all about looking forward and outward and the more traditional upstairs is about looking backwards and inwards.” To illustrate his point, he drew attention to the simple black and white design elements in twelve fabric posters made in 1852 by the London Workingmen’s Educational Union (discovered in a Christchurch antique shop) and the stylistic similarities they shared with the exquisite hand-painted Fornisetti desk from Fornisetti in Milan. “It all comes together around subtle connections,” he said. “Individual items become something different when they are placed within a certain context. They expand and become alive – full of soul and spirit.” Someone else who has written about this subject recently is Christchurch art historian, Cheryl Bernstein. You can read her excellent piece "The Accidental Curator" on her blog, http://cherylbernstein.blogspot.com

The Beauty of Broken Art

Christchurch. July 2009. Ajr When I was out walking on Sunday, I took myself off to one of my favourite art spots, The Kiosk, a tiny Tardis-like exhibition space that stands at the juncture of High, Manchester and Lichfield Streets courtesy of The Physics Room. I was saddened to see vandals had finally taken to it – that the glass box had been smashed in and piles of broken glass had fallen in on the exhibition piece. At least I’m ASSUMING it was an act of destruction. One never quite knows with contemporary art. There’s always the danger that, what I think to be an act of vandalism may actually be a total piss-take by some over-energised creative mind. But I’m going with my first instincts – that this magic little ‘showroom’ has been wilfully destroyed. That said, there seemed to me a strange beauty there – something chilling and austere and broken that fitted the freezing climes of the day. I loved the changes in texture and the way the light shone through glass clear and opaque, whole and shattered. I liked the peep-hole effect, through and over the work, to the architecture of the streetscape beyond. It’s hard to know what the artist was originally intending of their exhibit – and sorry, I don’t know who the artist is/was – but judging by the flimsy, inconsequential remains, I’d venture to say (somewhat critically), that the work has gained strength in the demolition. But that’s only my opinion. You can see The Kiosk in many of its earlier guises by clicking on The Kiosk in the label line below this post. www.physicsroom.org.nz

Out and About With the Ronnies

Christchurch. July 2009. Ajr

I took time out from writing the Frommers manuscript yesterday afternoon and went roaming around the city (Christchurch) with my camera. It’s been almost six weeks since I’ve taken a photo – almost six weeks since I unchained myself from the computer in fact and actually ventured out in any real way at all! I felt like a freed bird and although the weather was grey, gloomy and totally freezing, like the wayward prunus tree I found in full blossom on Oxford Terrace, I was brimming over with unseasonal excitement. I started at Christchurch Art Gallery – they have after all, been teasing those of us on Twitter with shamefully vague images of the new Ronnie van Hout show, “Who Goes There?” I was determined to see for myself. So you may ask, who does go there? Well, in short, LOTS of Ronnies. In addition – aliens in pyjamas, a divine little miniature Bananaman, cast resin fruit, a rather disturbing ‘Failed Robot’ and strange, shadowy figures standing in doorways. Ronnie van Hout was born in Christchurch, now lives in Melbourne and was awarded an Arts Foundation of New Zealand Laureate Award in 2005, for his contribution to New Zealand art. The show includes sculptural works created over the last ten years, many of which give you a little chill down the spine as they tug as some half-remembered childhood nightmare. There’s an urge to move quickly on (plenty of viewers did), coupled with that bizarre horror fixation we have that makes us want to peep through our fingers one more time. Yet oddly, the works are also witty and funny, sleek and so beautifully made you can’t help but be drawn in. The one that is still eating away at my brain – well…two works are actually…the fantastic tiny Bananaman, who I wanted to rescue from his glass case and bring home – he was holding a sign that said ‘Help Me’ after all; and the other, the bizarre-yet-wonderful “End Dolls,” a collection of nine identically-dressed little Ronnies (very realistic self-portraits) in little wooden boxes. Are they coffins? Are they the little boxes retail dolls are displayed in? Are they price tags on his multiple arms? Or Mortuary tags? Ronnie himself (the miniature Ronnie that is), has a disturbingly lifelike quality to him that made me want to laugh and run at the same time. I suspect I might have nightmares tonight but at least if I do, I suspect I’ll wake up laughing.... or maybe not? To top off the exhibition, I kept ‘bumping into Ronnie’ all over town – his ‘Failed Robot’ makes the best art poster I’ve seen in ages. http://www.christchurchartgallery.org.nz/

When the Coast Shifts

South Coast Gallery, Wellington. April 2009 Ajr

I loved this little slither of a gallery - just a few feet wide and tucked between two scruffy Cuba Street businesses. It's the new premises of South Coast Gallery, who have shifted into the centre of town from Island Bay. Their Island Bay gallery is now open by appointment only. www.southcoastgallery.co.nz

Art Events Galore

Christchurch Posters. March 2009. Ajr

It's all happening in Christchurch.

Along with the Ellerslie International Flower Show this week, there's also a bounty of art events. The city has been brightly coloured with lively posters and dozens of retailers have gotten on board with a floral theme for the flower show. I went out walking last night with my camera and was, as usual, more than happy to snap more than my fair share of photos.

Accidental Art

When an Unknown Rusty Brown Material

On a City Wall

Accidentally Becomes Abstract Art

Accidental Art

Christchurch. Dec. 2008. Ajr

I'm a little puzzled by my own (photographic) fixation with cranes - can't explain it - not even going to try. Suffice to say I LOVED this little scene discovered down a Christchurch backstreet in a semi-industrial area. The combination of graffiti with the sculptural forms and colours of the cranes had me shrieking with delight.

Accidental Art

Red Paint Spill

Papanui backstreet

Christchurch