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Ralph Hotere, 1931-2013

25 February 2013 – 3.22pm

Te Papa is deeply saddened by the death yesterday of Ralph Hotere – one of the country’s greatest artists. Our thoughts go out to his family, his friends, and the arts community.

Marti Friedlander, ‘Ralph Hotere outside “first studio” on Flagstaff, Port Chalmers’, circa 1976, black and white photograph, gelatin silver print. Purchased 1999 with New Zealand Lottery Grants Board funds, Te Papa.

Ralph once commented that ‘There are few things I can say about my work that are better than saying nothing’. Keeping this in mind, to remember this remarkable artist and his incredible contribution to New Zealand art, here is a selection of his works in Te Papa’s collection.

Ralph Hotere, ‘Cruciform II’, from the series ‘Human Rights’, 1964, acrylic on wood. Purchased 1981 with New Zealand Lottery Board funds, Te Papa. © Reproduced courtesy of Ralph Hotere. All rights reserved.

Ralph Hotere, ‘Black Phoenix’, 1984-88, burnt wood and metal. Purchased 1988 with Mary Buick Bequest funds, Te Papa. © Reproduced courtesy of Ralph Hotere. All rights reserved.

Ralph Hotere and Bill Culbert, ‘Blackwater’, 1998-99, lacquer on corrugated aluminium, fluorescent tubes, cable, wood. Purchased 1999 with New Zealand Lottery Grants Board funds, Te Papa. © Reproduced courtesy of Ralph Hotere. All rights reserved.

Ralph Hotere and Bill Culbert, ‘Pathway to the sea / Aramoana’, 1991, fluorescent lamps, paua shells, rocks. Purchased 1993, Te Papa.

If you are in Wellington we invite you to come into Te Papa and view one of Hotere’s last great works, ‘VOID’ (2006) made with long-time collaborator Bill Culbert.

Ralph Hotere and Bill Culbert, ‘VOID’, 2006, neon tubes, rubber, glass, steel, paint. Commissioned 2006, Te Papa.

From tomorrow morning, the following work will also be on public display in tribute:

Ralph Hotere, ‘ Lo negro sobre lo oro’, 1992, mixed media on glass, Purchased 1997 with New Zealand Lottery Grants Board funds, Te Papa. © Reproduced courtesy of Ralph Hotere. All rights reserved.

- Megan Tamati-Quennell (Curator, Contemporary Maori and Indigenous Art) and Sarah Farrar (Curator, Contemporary Art)

Posted in Art, Collections Online, Māori, News, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Comments (1)

Can you help identify the yellow sack used in this artwork?

9 November 2012 – 4.14pm

This afternoon I have been sitting down to write a wall label about New Zealand artist Don Driver’s incredible work in Te Papa’s collection Blue and green Pacific (1978). I’ve become rather hung up on a particular detail: the yellow sack in the centre. I’d dearly like to know what it might have originally been used for. Can anyone help?

Don Driver, 'Blue and green Pacific', 1978, plastic tarpaulins, ropes, plastic sack. Purchased 1981 with Ellen Eames Collection funds, Te Papa

Don Driver, ‘Blue and green Pacific’, 1978, plastic tarpaulins, ropes, plastic sack. Purchased 1981 with Ellen Eames Collection funds, Te Papa

I’m guessing that Driver found this sack in or around New Plymouth, where he lived, at some point in the 1970s. The words that are visible on the sack read ‘PACIFIC / P.D.V. SCREENED / GRADE V43 / THROUGH 36 MESH 425 MICRONS / CERTIFIED TO B S S 998′. I’ve been wondering if it might have held an agricultural product. Is ‘Pacific’ a brand name, or a product?

‘I really cannot explain my passion for doormats and old bags. My wife says I should see a psychiatrist.’ – Don Driver, 1979.

Why is it important to know what sort of bag Driver used in Blue and green Pacific? Well, of course, it may not be in terms of understanding or appreciating Driver’s work. However, I am intrigued by Driver’s re-use of found objects and the sorts of materials he was drawn to. For example, consider his use of ‘Huttons skin and bone meal’ sacks in another work from Te Papa’s collection… not to mention the possum skins.

Don Driver, 'Huttons skin and bone', 1984, mixed media assemblage. Gift of the Goodman Suter Biennale, 1986. Te Papa

Don Driver, ‘Huttons skin and bone’, 1984, mixed media assemblage. Gift of the Goodman Suter Biennale, 1986. Te Papa

It’s reasonably uncommon to find examples of contemporary New Zealand art that engage with the role that agriculture plays in New Zealand’s economy and society. Perhaps this is what gives Driver’s works some of their punch; while they are very much ‘of this place’, they reveal a side that we don’t often put on display.

Sarah Farrar
Curator of contemporary art

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‘Vacant lot of cabbages’ documentation enters Te Papa’s archives

2 November 2012 – 2.17pm

In 1978 contemporary New Zealand artist Barry Thomas undertook a public art project in inner city Wellington. Utilising a vacant lot on the corner of Willis and Manners Streets, the artist and his friends cut through a wire perimeter fence, delivered a truckload of top soil to the site and planted 180 cabbages.

Barry Thomas, 'Vacant lot of cabbages' documentation, 1978. Purchased 2012, Te Papa. Photo: courtesy of Barry Thomas.

Barry Thomas, ‘Vacant lot of cabbages’ documentation, 1978. Purchased 2012, Te Papa. Photo: courtesy of Barry Thomas.

The project Vacant lot of cabbages (also known as ‘The cabbage patch’) immediately caught the public attention and received extensive media coverage. Barry was interviewed in local newspaper The Evening Post where he challenged Wellingtonians to occupy the vacant lot and claim the site as their own. The lot was quickly filled with all sorts of objects—which the city council promptly cleared away—except for the cabbages. For several months the vacant-lot-turned-urban-garden became the site of informal gatherings, events and a one-week arts festival called ‘The Last Roxy Show’.

Vacant lot of cabbages featured in Jim and Mary Barr’s exhibition When art hits the headlines: a survey of controversial art in New Zealand at the National Art Gallery’s Shed 11 venue in 1987. The project is also discussed in Christina Barton’s history of temporary art in Wellington published in Wellington: a city for sculpture (Wellington: VUP and Wellington Sculpture Trust, 2007).

Journalist Chris Trotter has described Vacant lot of cabbages as ‘a conceptual artistic statement against the life-negating conservatism of the Muldoon years [which] quite literally grew into a life-affirming (and edible) challenge to Wellington’s bureaucratic soul’ (Dominion Post, 20 August 2010, full article here).

Barry Thomas, 'Vacant lot of cabbages' documentation, 1978. Purchased 2012, Te Papa. Photo: courtesy of Barry Thomas.

Barry Thomas, ‘Vacant lot of cabbages’ documentation, 1978. Purchased 2012, Te Papa. Photo: courtesy of Barry Thomas.

Te Papa has recently acquired Thomas’s archive of the Vacant lot of cabbages project for its collection as it documents an important moment in New Zealand’s art and social history. It is especially timely to consider the project in light of recent art initiatives (e.g. Letting Space in Wellington and Gap Filler in Christchurch)—not to mention wider social phenomena such as the Occupy movement, urban farming and guerrilla gardening.

Sarah Farrar
Curator of Contemporary Art

p.s. Wellingtonians take note – this Saturday 3-5pm at City Gallery there will be a discussion about recent temporary art  including Letting Space, Gap Filler and the Performance Arcade.

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Contemporary New Zealand art on display in China

18 October 2012 – 1.12pm

Two weeks ago I was in Shanghai for the opening of the exhibition Meridian Lines: Contemporary Art from the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa at the China Art Museum with artist Yuk King Tan and Wen Powles, Te Papa’s International Strategy Advisor.

The China Art Museum is the new home of the Shanghai Art Museum, which has relocated to the China Pavilion from the 2010 World Expo.

The China Art Museum in Shanghai. Photo: Hutch Wilco, Te Papa

The China Art Museum in Shanghai. Photo: Hutch Wilco, Te Papa

As part of their re-opening celebrations, the China Art Museum invited several international museums to contribute exhibitions from their collections. The other museums included the British Museum, the Rijksmuseum, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Victor Hugo Museum and the National Council for Culture and the Arts of Mexico.

While many of these institutions selected important historical works from their collections, we decided to present a selection of contemporary art from New Zealand. Meridian Lines includes works by Bill Hammond, Ralph Hotere, Ani O’Neill, Michael Parekowhai, John Pule, Yuk King Tan and Gordon Walters.

Here’s a glimpse at our exhibition…

From left to right, artworks by Yuk King Tan, Ralph Hotere and Gordon Walters. Photo: Hutch Wilco, Te Papa

From left to right, artworks by Yuk King Tan, Ralph Hotere and Gordon Walters. Photo: Hutch Wilco, Te Papa

The response to the exhibition was really quite overwhelming with a strong level of interest from both the local Chinese and other international visitors. Yuk King Tan’s work was reproduced on the second page of the English language South China Morning Post newspaper and one morning I discovered the show being featured on a Chinese television station.

Yuk King Tan’s work featured in the 'South China Morning Post', 2 October 2012.

Yuk King Tan’s work featured in the ‘South China Morning Post’, 2 October 2012.

The China Art Museum anticipates that approximately half a million people will visit the museum by the end of the year, when our exhibition closes.

Listen to Mary Kisler discussing the exhibition with Kim Hill on Radio New Zealand National.

Sarah Farrar

Curator of Contemporary Art

Posted in Art, Exhibitions, Museums, Māori, News, Pacific, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments (2)

Farewell Don Binney

16 September 2012 – 1.02pm

We are saddened to hear that contemporary New Zealand artist Don Binney has passed away.  Our thoughts are with Don’s family and friends.

Don Binney, 'Pacific frigate bird', 1968, Te Papa

Don Binney, ‘Pacific frigate bird’, 1968, Te Papa

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Unforgettable: Michael Parekowhai’s ‘On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer’

8 September 2012 – 6.03pm

If you live in the Wellington region then I really hope you’ll come to Te Papa and visit Michael Parekowhai’s On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer, which is on show on Level 5 until 23 September 2012.

Rather than describing my own experience of these works, I thought I’d share with you some of our visitors’ comments instead…

Hear Courtney Johnston talking about it on Radio NZ.

Excerpt from a letter to the editor from Wellington’s Capital Times, 5 September:

My ten year old boy and I visited Te Papa while the beautiful Steinway, carved, inlaid and painted to within a semi – quaver of its life, was being played. Have you ever seen the insides, let alone put your head beneath the lid (and under the watchful “Don’t Touch!” gaze of the attendants) of a grand piano, as Chopin is being played? We neither. Until today!  

The beautifully played music (thanks Ariana Odermatt) and the applied imagination of Parekowhai filled the exhibition space, as it did my body, mind and heart. This installation reflects and celebrates my understanding of bi- culture. Far out! Kia ora! 

Tom White, Island Bay (abridged).

Find out more about the exhibition and about a special event next Thursday night.

If you’ve already seen the works and want to share your response, please feel free to leave a comment below.

Sarah Farrar

Curator of Contemporary Art

Posted in Art, Collections Online, Events, Exhibitions, Museums, Māori, News | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments (2)

Born in a manger, found in a barn: Te Papa offers assistance to Futuna Chapel

6 September 2012 – 4.44pm

Over a decade ago Jim Allen’s carved Christ figure was stolen from John Scott’s architectural icon, the Futuna Chapel in Wellington.

Its whereabouts remained a mystery until it was recovered from an abandoned Taranaki farm  last week. The New Zealand Police returned the Christ figure to The Friends of Futuna Charitable Trust at a moving ceremony at the Chapel earlier today, Thursday 6 September.

In recognition of the importance of the chapel as a national treasure Te Papa has agreed to assist the Trust by holding the figure in storage until it goes back on permanent display in the chapel next March. While in temporary storage at the Museum, the Trust will arrange a conservation assessment and any restorative work that may be required.

NZ Police carrying Jim Allen's Christ figure into Futuna Chapel. Photo: Phil Reid, Fairfax NZ.

NZ Police carrying Jim Allen’s Christ figure into Futuna Chapel. Photo: Phil Reid, Fairfax NZ.

An icon of New Zealand architecture, the now deconsecrated chapel was designed by one of the first ‘modernist’ Maori architects, John Scott. The architect invited contemporary artist Jim Allen to collaborate on several aspects of the chapel’s design, including the coloured windows – a key feature of the building — and, of course, the crucifix.

‘Recovering the statue has been a goal of the Futuna Trust since it was established in 2003 to celebrate, restore and maintain the chapel, which is regarded as one of New Zealand’s modern architectural masterpieces.’ Nick Bevin, Wellington architect and chair of the Futuna Trust.

Te Papa currently has three important works by Jim Allen on public display on Level 5.

Sarah Farrar, Curator of Contemporary Art

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I will need words: collecting great quotes by NZ artists

30 May 2012 – 1.28pm

Recently Te Papa’s art educator Helen Lloyd and I have been working together to compile a list of some of the best quotes by well-known New Zealand artists. Quotes about art and art making. We’re interested in quotes which really get to the heart of why artists make work. Helen, being the educator, is particularly interested in quotes which could inspire children aged 5-8 years old.

Here’s an example:

“I only need black and white to say what I have to say. It is a matter of light and dark.” – Colin McCahon (told to his son William McCahon)

Colin McCahon, 'Scared', 1976, acrylic on paper. Purchased 2008, Te Papa. Reproduced courtesy of the Colin McCahon Research and Publication Trust .

Colin McCahon, ‘Scared’, 1976, acrylic on paper. Purchased 2008, Te Papa. Reproduced courtesy of the Colin McCahon Research and Publication Trust.

Can you help us?
Send us your favourite quotes New Zealand artists by commenting below. The best quote will get a free copy of either Art at Te Papa, or New Zealand Art: From Cook to Contemporary or the soon to be released 2013 Te Papa Diary, all published by Te Papa Press.

Sarah Farrar
Curator of Contemporary Art

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Into the Night: Jason Greig’s monoprints

23 March 2012 – 10.18am

When we were developing the Collecting Contemporary exhibition, I unconsciously developed a secret soundtrack – a mix-tape, if you like – of music that came to mind as I thought about the various works in the show. It was Jason Greig who, quite unknowingly, got me started on this track.

In addition to being a wonderfully talented contemporary printmaker, Jason is also a musician and is part of the rock metal band Into the Void, along with fellow New Zealand artist Ronnie van Hout.

Greig’s works contain a bewildering amalgam of literary, musical, and historical references and these are often alluded to in his titles. One work that appears in Collecting Contemporary is a terrific monoprint that he has called Seven years of labour for the instruments of time, 2003.

Jason Greig, 'Seven years of labour for the instruments of time', 2003. Te Papa.

Jason Greig, ‘Seven years of labour for the instruments of time’, 2003. Te Papa.

The title of this work is taken from a song by the Blue Öyster Cult, a 1980s prog rock band. The rock opera is called ‘Imaginos’ and it was released in 1988.

For the eagle-eyed among you, yes, this work featured in Jason’s survey exhibition The Devil Made Me Do It, some years back at the Christchurch Art Gallery.

Download the original brochure from that exhibition (PDF, 4.29MB)

Thinking about other works by Greig in Te Papa’s collection, other songs come to mind. Take The Phaedra Chain III, 2010, for example.

Jason Greig, 'The Phaedra Chain III', 2010. Te Papa.

Jason Greig, ‘The Phaedra Chain III’, 2010. Te Papa. (N.B. This work is not currently on public display.)

While Greig might be referring to the character of Phaedra in Greek mythology, he could as likely be referring to the subject of Lee Hazlewood’s ‘Some Velvet Morning’, originally released in 1968. Personally, the work makes me think of This Mortal Coil’s ‘Song to the Siren’ from 1983.

On the floating, shapeless oceans
I did all my best to smile
til your singing eyes and fingers
drew me loving into your eyes.

And you sang ‘Sail to me, sail to me;
Let me enfold you.’

Here I am, here I am waiting to hold you.
Did I dream you dreamed about me?
Were you here when I was full sail?

Now my foolish boat is leaning, broken love lost on your rocks.
For you sang, ‘Touch me not, touch me not, come back tomorrow.’
Oh my heart, oh my heart shies from the sorrow.
I’m as puzzled as a newborn child.
I’m as riddled as the tide.
Should I stand amid the breakers?
Or shall I lie with death my bride?

Hear me sing: ‘Swim to me, swim to me, let me enfold you.’
‘Here I am. Here I am, waiting to hold you.’

The other work by Jason Greig in Collecting Contemporary is Gideon, 2010.

Jason Greig, 'Gideon', 2010, Te Papa.

Jason Greig, ‘Gideon’, 2010. Te Papa.

This work brings to mind Oscar Wilde’s novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, 1890 and, in some ways, also Major-General Horatio Gordon Robley’s contentious collecting of Māori moko mokai. For some reason, however, I have yet to settle on my internal soundtrack selection for this work. Pondering whether Julee Cruise’s ‘Into the Night’ from 1989 might fit the bill…

~
Sarah Farrar
Curator of Contemporary Art

Posted in Art, Collecting Contemporary, Collections Online, Exhibitions | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (2)

Creating small worlds: Jim Allen at Te Papa

2 March 2012 – 2.50pm

One of the highlights of the updated Collecting Contemporary exhibition is the inclusion of three important works by contemporary New Zealand artist Jim Allen (born 1922).

Artist Jim Allen with his work Tribute to Hone Tuwhare, 1969. Photo: Michael Hall, Te Papa

Artist Jim Allen with his work 'Tribute to Hone Tuwhare', 1969. Photo: Michael Hall, Te Papa

The three works – Small worlds, Tribute to Hone Tuwhare, and Space plane, environment no. 1 – were originally made for an exhibition at the Barry Lett Gallery, Auckland, in June 1969. This gallery was a hotbed of activity at the time: host to experimental art projects, poetry readings, and much besides.

Jim Allen’s 1969 exhibition Small Worlds: 5 Environmental Structures transformed the entire space into an immersive installation. While there were discrete works in the show, the overall intention was to creating a total, multi-sensory experience. Visitors to the exhibition were encouraged to walk through the works – to look, touch, listen, and read.

Archival photo showing the 1969 'Small Worlds: 5 Environmental Structures' exhibition at Barry Lett Gallery, Auckland. Photo courtesy of Jim Allen.

Archival photo showing the 1969 'Small Worlds: 5 Environmental Structures' exhibition at Barry Lett Gallery, Auckland. Photo courtesy of Jim Allen.

Archival photo showing the 1969 'Small Worlds: 5 Environmental Structures' exhibition at Barry Lett Gallery, Auckland. Photo courtesy of Jim Allen.

Archival photo showing the 1969 'Small Worlds: 5 Environmental Structures' exhibition at Barry Lett Gallery, Auckland. Photo courtesy of Jim Allen.

At the end of the 1969 exhibition, the works were dismantled and the various parts were destroyed. The exhibition has since come to assume an almost legendary status in the history of contemporary art practice in New Zealand. However, it escaped wider public recognition until Jim Allen made the decision to reconstruct the works in 2010.

The reconstructed works were shown in the exhibition Small Worlds at the commercial gallery Michael Lett (no relation to Barry), and in the Points of Contact exhibition organised by the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery in New Plymouth and the Adam Art Gallery in Wellington. In 2011, Te Papa acquired the full suite of works for its collection. Collecting Contemporary is our first opportunity to put the works on public display.

Collecting Contemporary exhibition

Image

On show now: The three works on display in the 'Collecting Contemporary' exhibition at Te Papa, March 2012. Photo: Michael Hall, Te Papa.

I could write many blogs about Jim Allen’s works (and, indeed, perhaps I will), but for now, I want to draw your attention to this video interview that Te Papa made with the artist, in which he discusses his original intention for the work.

Also worth checking out is a separate video in which Jim reads aloud the poem ‘Thine own hands have fashioned’ by New Zealand poet Hone Tuwhare (1922–2008). This poem features in Jim’s work Tribute to Hone Tuwhare. I’d like to thank the estate of Hone Tuwhare for permission to use the poem in this video.

See Jim Allen read ‘Thine own hands have fashioned’ by Hone Tuwhare

Sarah Farrar
Curator Contemporary Art

Posted in Art, Collecting Contemporary, Collections Online | Tagged , , , | Comments (1)
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