This is my opening post in a series to discuss approaches to the framing of paintings. This first one is a response to William McAloon’s post: Freedom to act and takes his blog post as a point of departure. I look at some of the issues involving the sympathetic framingRead more
I had a call yesterday from Wellington’s Dominion Post newspaper needing an expert to identify some fish found washed up on the Petone foreshore. Andrew Stewart, Te Papa’s fishes collection manager, identified them as porcupine fish. Andrew says that the porcupine fish lives around in-shore reefs, especially along our northern coastsRead more
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 spentRead more
In developing our new Collections Online site we wanted people to: get accurate, meaningful search results … and not have to wade through irrelevant content be able to browse freely and widely through the collections, following their own path of enquiry read narrative topics that help put the collections inRead more
Well … kind of! NZL 32 aka Black Magic will be barged tomorrow morning from Team New Zealand’s shed in Auckland’s Viaduct Harbour to its new home within the National Maritime Museum’s Blue Water Black Magic – A Tribute to Sir Peter Blake exhibition, opening in December this year. BlackRead more
No, it is not Christmas already. (Fortunately the year hasn’t passed by that quickly.) But this pohutukawa on Wellington’s waterfront, opposite Frank Kitts Park, seems to think so. It has been spluttering into flower over the last few weeks. The pohutukawa (Metrosideros excelsa) is New Zealand’s ‘Christmas tree’, its burstingRead more
Many people at Te Papa were saddened to learn of the death this morning of Julian Dashper. Julian had suffered serious illness over the past few years. He fought cheerfully and bravely, all the while continuing to make and exhibit new work. Our deepest sympathies go out to Julian’s family.Read more
Chief Executive Officer, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa 2003–2009. ‘What I’ve enjoyed most is developing the relevance of what happens inside the museum for the public.’ (Dr Bennington, 2003) E te Rangatira Seddon – He Poroporoaki He reo noa ka kore e rongohia e tangi ana i rotoRead more
Joan Wiffen, who found hard evidence that dinosaurs had inhabited New Zealand, died this month aged 87. I’m not a scientist, but I do have an interest in the history of science, and even I can see that Wiffen made historically significant and far-reaching contributions to scientific thinking. First findings In 1975, WiffenRead more
Avid art blog followers will now be familiar with Creative New Zealand’s NZ at Venice blog site. The project curators of Judy Millar’s Giraffe-Bottle-Gun and Francis Upritchard’s Save Yourself, and the venue attendants have been blogging regularly since the beginning of the installation period. Posts are coming in thick and fastRead more
To celebrate Te Papa’s tenth anniversary, the Friends of Te Papa commissioned artist Humphrey Ikin to create a lectern for Rongomaraeroa, Te Papa’s contemporary meeting house on Level 4. Humphrey Ikin is an artist working in wood, already represented in Te Papa’s collection with ‘Red Stave Chair‘. The lectern representsRead more
Aside from ferns, my main research interest is the group of trees known as Pseudopanax, for which I collaborate with Lara Shepherd from the Allan Wilson Centre. Pseudopanax includes the lancewoods and five-fingers. Several of the species are popular in cultivation, including fierce lancewood (Pseudopanax ferox). This species is soRead more
When making exhibitions here at Te Papa, teams have to install a wide variety of objects. You, the visitor, generally only get to see the polished final product – everything all beautifully laid out, ready for viewing. Have you ever wondered how we get the big stuff in? All IRead more
Te Papa’s collections have been built over nearly 150 years and range from miniscule lice and molluscs through to caravans, 22m long artworks and colossal squid. The collection is estimated to be approximately 2 million artworks, photographs, objects and specimens. Headaches A collection this diverse can create a number ofRead more
New Zealand’s plants have a bit of a reputation for pronounced promiscuity. There is supposedly a high rate of hybridisation, or individuals of one species breeding with individuals of a different species. I’m not entirely sure that this reputation is nationally deserved. Nevertheless, a striking example of hybridisation occurs inRead more
