Another ART Sign

Same Day

Same Jet Stream

(as Below)

Different Art Gallery

COCA www.coca.org.nz

Art on a Roll

COCA. Photos courtesy Centre of Contemporary Art. I’m a big fan of giving a whole lot of creative people one idea, one medium or one ‘canvas’ and letting them run free with their ideas. The end result is often a gathering of innovative works that makes us think afresh – especially if the brief is for the artists to focus on something we might otherwise take for granted – a table for instance, a chair, or, in this case, a skateboard. “Board Art 2008” is a colourful and imaginative display of works on skateboards now showing at COCA in Christchurch (until August 9). It includes a wide range of talent from emerging artists to the solidly established and the range of materials is equally as diverse – everything from acrylics, mixed media and pencil to laser printed vinyl, car enamel, stitching and my personal favourite – a spiky little job with around 1,000 sharpened pencil tips protruding from the skateboard surface. Three cheers for the celebration of ‘underground art.’ To my mind, we don't do it nearly enough.

Give Me a Sign

Coca, Christchurch. August 2008. Ajr

There’s nothing like a strong sign to get my camera clicking. COCA (Centre of Contemporary Art) is a popular target.

I took a much sunnier view of another of their signs last month.

See 'Art & Architecture' in July

Art & Architecture

July 2008. Ajr.

I love the interplay of geometric architectural shapes and geometric graphics in this little scene on the roofline of COCA Gallery in Gloucester Street.

Posters & Art

"All What Trucks" (top) City Alley, Christchurch. June 2008.Ajr
Christchurch artist - and one of New Zealand's most highly regarded - Philip Trusttum is dominating the city. Not only is his show "All What Trucks" been showing at COCA Gallery, as a film clip at Rialto Riccarton and on giant city Billboards, some of the works are also keeping company with posters - all over the place. I like the way these sophisticated works merge so seamlessly with street art and advertising graphics. It goes a long way to making contemporary art more accessible to the man in the street. www.trusttum.co.nz

More Boys Toys

The photographs I took of Philip Trusttum's "All What Trucks" billboards a week or so ago were a bit 'dark and distant' (a dull day and fast moving traffic didn't make it easy), so I have visited his current exhibition at COCA Gallery, here in Christchurch. It's the first time in a while that the huge scale of the gallery has seemed 'right' because, as always, Phil's works are HUGE. They look perfect here. This is a series featuring toys from Mattell Inc, Tonka and Matchbox - the artist's preoccupation with his grandson, William's toys. Philip is only the second New Zealand artist to be awarded the Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant (2001). www.trusttum.co.nz