Tag Archives: obituary

An eye for the unexpected: Don Driver (1930-2011)

9 December 2011 – 10.13am

The Art team here at Te Papa are saddened by the news that contemporary New Zealand artist Don Driver passed away yesterday morning in New Plymouth. Although Don had been ill for some time, this sort of news always catches you off guard.

Artist Don Driver in his studio, New Plymouth, March 2004. Photo: Jim and Mary Barr, reproduced with permission.

Artist Don Driver in his studio, New Plymouth, March 2004. Photo: Jim and Mary Barr, reproduced with permission.

Te Papa has a considerable number of works by Don Driver in the collection, including the terrific Lawn cuttings (1976), the large-scale installation Ritual (1982), and the banner work Blue and green Pacific (1978), among others. See all works by Don Driver in Te Papa’s collection

As Curator of Contemporary Art at Te Papa since November 2010, I have had the opportunity to spend a lot of time looking and thinking about Don Driver’s work. As I have been getting more familiar with his works in Te Papa’s collection, I have been – in turns – stunned, delighted and perplexed by Don’s singular vision and his approach towards art making.

I had been intending to make a trip to New Plymouth to visit Don and his wife Joyce a couple of months ago. For various reasons, the trip was postponed and I am sad to have lost the opportunity to personally meet this incredible artist.

Don Driver, Yellow skin 90, 1984, mixed media assemblage. Purchased 1985 with New Zealand Lottery Board funds, Te Papa

Don Driver, Yellow skin 90, 1984, mixed media assemblage. Purchased 1985 with New Zealand Lottery Board funds, Te Papa

In celebration of Don Driver’s remarkable work and to acknowledge his contribution to contemporary New Zealand art, Te Papa will install one of his classic assemblages, Yellow skin 90 (1984) next week within the Collecting Contemporary exhibition on Level 5. (Although Collecting Contemporary is Te Papa’s exhibition of recent acquisitions since 2006, we hope that you don’t mind us making this exception to the rule.)

There will be an opportunity to see Ritual early next year when Te Papa lends the work for the exhibition The Obstinate Object: Contemporary New Zealand Sculpture at City Gallery Wellington.

Our thoughts are with Don’s wife Joyce, their family, and friends.

Sarah Farrar
Curator of Contemporary Art

By Sarah Farrar | Posted in Art, Collecting Contemporary, Collections Online | Also tagged , , , | Comments (2)

A farewell to a stylish and generous man

30 July 2010 – 4.56pm

On Tuesday 20 July 2010 Gus Fisher ONZM passed away at the age of 89.

While many people today recognise Gus Fisher as one of the country’s most generous and enthusiastic arts patron Gus first rose to national prominence in the world of high fashion. Gus Fisher was the creative force behind one of New Zealand most celebrated fashion labels, El Jay. The label was started by his elder brother Lou Fisher in 1938. At the age of 17 Gus joined his entrepreneurial brother in the business. Following the Second World War, Gus took over the label with the ambition of transforming it into a high end, design-led label. The fact that the House of Christian Dior approached Gus to manufacture Christian Dior originals in New Zealand in 1953 testifies to his success. Gus held the exclusive licence to produce Christian Dior originals for the Australasian market for over 30 years, providing New Zealand women with a direct link to the glamorous world of Paris couture. Gus’ dedication to capturing the true spirit of Dior even inspired him to create a scaled down replica of Christian Dior’s Paris salon. Gus continued to create smart, high quality clothing for the discerning woman of New Zealand, until 1988 when he quite deservedly retired.

Cocktail dress, 1950s, by El Jay. Purchased 2009. Te Papa

Cocktail dress, 1950s, by El Jay. Purchased 2009. Te Papa

In June, 2010 the exhibition Looking Terrific: The story of El Jay opened at the Gus Fisher Gallery, at the University of Auckland. The exhibition was an exuberant celebration of 50 years of El Jay, and was curated by fellow fashion designer, Doris de Pont. The launch was a packed and excited affair. Crowds, ranging from long-term clients, to seamstresses, house models and ‘bright young things’ for whom El Jay had become a desirable ‘vintage’ label, crowded into the gallery to celebrate the man and his work – to share fond memories of working for Gus, of wearing El Jay, of desiring El Jay. Throughout the evening Gus looked thrilled. At one point during the evening, I saw him pause from his socialising to rearrange the collar on a velvet coat on display,  ensuring that it sat as he intended when he made it. Gus was a perfectionist from beginning to end.

Woman's coat, 1950s, by El Jay. Purchased 2008. Te Papa.

Woman's coat, 1950s, by El Jay. Purchased 2008. Te Papa.

Te Papa was thrilled to be able to loan a selection of beautiful El Jay garments from the 1950s and 60s for the exhibition. View Te Papa’s wonderful El Jay collection on Collections Online.

Gus Fisher’s life was also characterised by a passionate interest in art. Gus and his wife Irene were collectors of great insight and commitment. For art as for fashion, Gus had an eye for the very best. They were also very generous lenders. They lent works for Te Papa’s exhibition Rita Angus: Life & Vision, sharing the works they loved with the hundreds of thousands of people who saw the exhibition up and down the country.

They came down to Wellington especially for the opening and were delighted with the exhibition, with how their works looked and the company they were in. Exhibition co-curator William McAloon remembers that Gus was positively beaming that night, and he was just as pleased a little over a year later when the exhibition opened at Auckland Art Gallery.  

Dress, 1960s, by El Jay & Christian Dior. Te Papa

Dress, 1960s, by El Jay & Christian Dior. Te Papa

Numerous exhibitions of New Zealand have enjoyed their support over many, many years, whether as lenders, as patrons or simply as lovers of art.

Post by Claire Regnault, Senior Curator History.

By Te Papa | Posted in Art, Collections Online | Also tagged , , , | Comments (2)

Alistair Te Ariki Campbell, BA, DLitt, NZOM, 1925–2009

18 August 2009 – 2.06pm

Te Papa acknowledges the life and writing of poet, playwright, novelist, and memoirist Alistair Te Ariki Campbell. His work is noted for its attempts to reconcile the complexities and displacements he experienced as a result of his New Zealand/Cook Islands ancestry.

Campbell was born in the Cook Islands and spent his first seven years there. His Cook Island mother died of tuberculosis in 1932, and his New Zealand father succumbed to drink a year later, with the result that Campbell and his brother were sent to an orphanage in Dunedin.

Despite speaking little English, within a few years Campbell was top of his class. He also represented Otago in soccer. But he never felt he belonged and struggled at university. Moving to Wellington, he fell in with a group of poets, including James K Baxter, Peter Bland, and Louis Johnson (the ‘Wellington group’). His first poetry collection Mine Eyes Dazzle appeared in 1950.

After gaining a BA in English and Classics from Victoria University, Campbell began work for School Publications (now Learning Media), putting his literary talents to good use as editor of the School Journal.

He produced poetry, novels, and radio plays at regular intervals throughout his long career. Negotiating between Cook Island and European traditions remained an ongoing concern. His name ‘Te Ariki’ links back to the chiefly origins of his mother’s father in the Cook Islands. He identified with the Ngāti Toa tribe of the Kapiti Coast area, where he lived, but said in 1965, ‘I am of mixed race. The years of solitude get you down. You are different. You are without a tribe.’

Campbell married poet Fleur Adcock in 1952, and they had two children, before later divorcing. He then married Aline Margaret (Meg) Anderson (1937–2007), with whom he had a further three children.  

In 1997, Campbell was awarded a Pacific Islands Artist’s Award, and in 1999 he received an Honorary DLitt from Victoria University of Wellington. In 2005, he received a Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement for his poetry, and that same year he was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit.

He is survived by his five children and his writing.

By Kirstie Ross | Posted in History | Also tagged , , , , , | Comments (2)
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 279 other followers