art all artists alliance magazine issue 104 / spring 2011
artists alliance
Artists Alliance is a non-profit organisation established in 1991 to represent and advance the professional interests of the visual artists of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Features
Staff Executive Director and Managing Editor: Maggie Gresson Administrator: Amberleigh Carson
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Education Programmes Manager: Jude Nye
Board
Finding Neitherland Luke Willis Thompson reviews Tautai’s fourth tertiary show
John Eaden, Matt Blomeley, Juliet Monaghan, Naomi McCleary, Justin Morgan
Acknowledgements Artists Alliance acknowledges the support of: Artstation, Studio Art Supplies and Auckland City Council
Address
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1 Ponsonby Road, Newton, Auckland Ph (09) 376 7285, Fax (09) 307 7645 admin@artistsalliance.org.nz
Five questions Our most frequently asked questions ‌ answered
www.artistsalliance.org.nz www.watchthisspace.org.nz This issue and more at: www.artistsalliance.org.nz The opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the Editor or the Artists Alliance Board. Artists Alliance recommends that our members join www.thebigidea.co.nz
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ISSN 1177-2964 Design: Verso Visual Communications
Feature Gallery Calder & Lawson Gallery
Printing: Soar Print, Auckland Artists Alliance receives significant funding from Creative New Zealand and ASB Community Trust.
Cover: Alan MacDonald, Quantum Fido (2011). Alan is a year 3 student, Bachelor of Design and Visual Arts, Unitec, and winner of the Artists Alliance 2011 tertiary cover image competition.
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Professional development
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5 First up
9 Opportunities Awards, residencies and exhibitions
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issue 104 / spring 2011
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In every issue Editorial
artists alliance magazine
What precisely is copyright infringement? David McLaughlin
A ‘cracker’ of a show Eden Art Trust launches a new Arts School Award
Mapping a path ahead Three past mentees talk about their careers in the visual arts
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Dr Paynt Some of the questions Dr Paynt can answer with a good old art to art …
Wintec's School of Media Arts A multidisciplinary learning environment
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Of late – in short
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Regional arts worker Kathryn Tsui – Artstation gallery coordinator
Bill Cooke
30 Postcard from Seville Emma Pratt
Contributions should ideally be received by email [maggie@artistsalliance.org.nz] and with the author’s name and contact details.
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#105 Summer 2011 Booking deadline: October 28 Copy deadline: November 11 Distribution week: November 28
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From the editor On page 20 Jude Nye catches up with previous participants in the Artists Alliance Mentoring Programme, as well as documenting the inaugural Eden Art Trust’s Arts School Award on page 19. In this issue of Art All we introduce a new column, ‘Of late – in short’ which will run news and stories on artist run spaces and initiatives. This column was put together by Artists Alliance intern Michelle Beattie. Our other intern Luke Willis Thompson has written a review of Finding Neitherland, Tautai Contemporary Pacific Arts Trust’s fourth tertiary show held at St Paul St Gallery in Auckland. Michelle and Luke are part of the Artists Alliance Pilot Intern Programme which is running in 2011 with the very generous support of ASB Community Trust. Amberleigh Carson answers some FAQs on page 11. These questions
come from all artists, both emerging and established. If you have a question of your own, please send it to admin@ artistsalliance.org.nz and we will do our best to answer it. If I may just return to the Art Fair; it was good to see how many students and recent graduates worked as volunteers over the four days. While we are champions of artists being properly paid for their work, sometimes, just sometimes, it is okay to be a volunteer. From what I can gather the volunteers had lots of opportunity to look at interesting art, get their heads around how it all works and have a few strategic conversations and flirtations – if the rumours be true! Happy reading Maggie Gresson
First up Top Five ways to get yourself noticed by the media
Kim Knight, Sunday Star-Times, acting editor – ‘Culture’.
Make friends (and influence reporters) Get to know the journalists covering arts and entertainment rounds. Some media outlets don’t have specialist reporters – but every newsroom has someone with a particular interest in the arts and these are the people you want on your side. Invite them to openings, personalise your emails, phone them up (but not on deadline).
Make your point quickly
Think outside the press release
Newsrooms deal with hundreds of unsolicited approaches daily. Don’t presume we have the time (or the systems capacity) to open your email attachment, visit your website or look at your YouTube clip. The less clicks required to make your point the better. And don’t make us look too hard for the where-when-why info we need to pass on to readers (an astonishing amount of material I see doesn’t include opening dates, for example). Also, jpeg files for images please, and always have high-res versions on hand to send if requested.
‘Furniture’ is media slang for permanent fixtures (like this column, for example). Can’t get a news story on your show placed? Look for the spaces that need feeding – what’s on my bedside table; my favourite place in the world; guest rants, etc. Most of these slots have a space at the end to plug whatever you’re flogging. Warning – unsolicited approaches may fail, best to email ahead.
Make us feel special It’s competitive out there. Consider offering exclusive content or first options on a story. Break your story into different angles and offer every media outlet their own unique take. Know the product you’re pitching to – national media, for example, need an extraordinary angle to consider running a story on something only a percentage of their audience can attend.
Don’t take it personally You rang on deadline. An earthquake pushed you out of the news cycle. Your pitch wasn’t interesting enough (‘I’ve got a show opening soon,’ just doesn’t cut it). And no, we won’t send the story back to you for copy approval – because we don’t have time, and because we wouldn’t presume to tell you how to make art. If you don’t succeed first time, find out why and change your approach. Kim.knight@star-times.co.nz
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The Artists Alliance team has just spent four days at the Auckland Art Fair. The general feeling seemed to be that this year’s event was a huge success. I am sure the numbers are still being crunched but I would be surprised if visitor numbers weren’t up on previous events. I had to barge my way through the crowds waiting for the doors to open in the mornings; and the café had to battle to keep up with coffee orders. As for sales, well, that is the dealers’ business. The Spring issue is generally considered to be our Tertiary focused issue. Our annual student cover competition is alive and well, with many entries being received. The winner is Alan MacDonald a student from Unitec in Auckland. This year there appears to be more of a focus on new graduates.
New ARTSPACE director Caterina Riva
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Artspace recently announced the arrival in New Zealand of Artspace director Caterina Riva. She joins Artspace after three years as the co-director and curator of FormContent (www.formcontent.org), an innovative not for profit space she co-founded in East London. I am extremely excited by this new professional and personal challenge and very humbled by my appointment. I have started work at ARTSPACE this week where I will be presenting a lively programme responsive to the local community as well as projected towards international visibility and recognition. Caterina Riva (b. 1980, Varese, Italy) is a curator who has been based in London since 2006. She studied in Italy and the UK where she received her MFA in Curating at Goldsmiths College, University of London.
Letter to the editor Dear Managing Editor Art All Magazine, As proprietors of an art supply store that stock and support a wide variety of quality brands, including Winsor & Newton, we are compelled to respond to the ridiculous pseudo-eulogy (R.I.P. A great British brand) written by Dr Paynt and printed in your Autumn issue. A properly poignant piece about the end of an era that allowed a time honoured manufacturer to print ‘Made in England’ on their product labels would have been fitting. Instead, Dr. Paynt chose to predict the death of the Winsor & Newton brand simply because it was bought and relocated by another larger company. We were dumbfounded that the Dr was able to deliver such a premature prognosis since there were not then, nor now, any symptoms indicating that Winsor & Newton are ill, let alone knocking on Death's door. And, aside from the remarkable visionary capabilities of his crystal ball, Dr Paynt has no other evidence to support his prognosis. The truth is Winsor & Newton are alive and well. Yes, they have suspended manufacturing in England and moved it to France (not China). However, the Winsor & Newton Research and Development team are still based in the U.K. while with the support of ColArt the manufacturing plant has been relocated to Le Mans along with many of the
Over the past three years at FormContent, her artistic programme has focused on exploring curatorial and artistic strategies, combining exhibitition making, independent publishing and the production of events and performances, to critical acclaim. Riva has worked on a number of notable exhibitions, including The young people visiting our ruins see nothing but a style at GAM, Turin, Italy (2009), The Responsive Subject at MuZee, Ostend, Belgium, (2010), and The Filmic Conventions at FormContent, London (2010). Previously she was the coordinator of the Advanced Course in Visual Arts for Fondazione Ratti in Como, Italy, from 2004 to 2008 working alongside young international artists and distinguished visiting professors such as Alfredo Jaar,
senior production and operations staff. None of the formulations, ingredients, manufacturing and testing will be altered so there isn't any reason why quality would be negatively affected. Dr Paynt didn't mention any of these very positive facts in his disjointed misdiagnosis, so we must assume that he is either incompetent or he has ulterior motives for deliberately besmirching the reputation of the Winsor & Newton brand. We are certain that the latter is true. That while as incompetent as Dr Paynt appears to be he has in this case taken one of his infomercials to an all time low. In other articles the Dr has been satisfied with just gushing over the brands that afford him the highest profit margins. But now he has chosen to slam a brilliant brand by shedding crocodile tears over the relocation of a manufacturing facility. He even goes on to wonder if the relocation will affect the quality of the product. That's rubbish. Winsor & Newton is a top brand that isn't in trouble and isn't going away anytime soon. Dr Paynt just wishes it would be so, so he and the rest of the Gordon Harris chain can sell more Schmincke and Golden products. Aside from that, it's laughable to us that the Dr would fret over being acquired and relocated since that's exactly what happened to him and Studio Art Supplies when Gordon Harris acquired and moved them to their current location. We're confident that Dr Paynt would attest
Marjetica Potrc, Joan Jonas and Yona Friedman. She was an international delegate for the Edinburgh International Art Festival (2009), participated to the 6th Berlin Biennale’s curatorial workshop (2010), and was curator in residence at Gertrude Contemporary, Melbourne, Australia (2010).
that the move did not affect the quality of the store adversely. Finally, the question that begs to be asked, is why would a publication produced by an organisation that claims to ‘represent and advance the professional interests of the visual artists of Aotearoa New Zealand’ allow such absolute drivel to appear on its pages? The Artists Alliance should be taken to task and held accountable for the nepotism that condones these blatant advertisements disguised as artist advice columns written by a self proclaimed Dr who already has paid advertising in each issue. If in fact Dr Paynt (Gordon Harris) is paying additional advertising dollars to publish his ‘column’ then the word ‘advertisement’ should appear on the page so there is no confusion as to the real purpose of the content. Sincerely, Jim Auckland & Sandy Collins Takapuna Art Supplies Artists Alliance has had a long and much valued business relationship with Studio Art Supplies and Gordon Harris who are generous supporters of the visual arts sector. Both Studio Art Supplies and Gordon Harris have always paid the going rate for their advertisements. Dr Paynt is a columnist in Art All at the invitation of the editor. – Ed.
Artists Alliance is pleased to announce Jessica Pearless as their inaugural artist-in-residence!
She ended her life like a character from one of her novels, and like most stories (good and bad) it had a beginning, a middle and an end. We are all our own story that is re-told ad infinitum to friends and strangers alike until it becomes ad nauseum, and whether we walk into a river with stones in our pockets or get hit by a number 33 bus going over Hammersmith bridge is of no consequence, we are still a complete story with a beginning, a middle and an end. End of story. Jessica Pearless, the inaugural Artists Alliance artist-in-residence. Image courtesy the artist.
Artists from New Zealand and the United States join in Ambassador’s Exhibition Earlier this year Artists Alliance member James Brown along with American artist Nathan Huff were approached by the United States Embassy to find between 10 – 15 artworks by various New Zealand and United States artists. The selection will be exhibited at the United States Ambassador’s residence in Wellington for the duration of the Ambassador’s term in office. Brown remarks on the process: We formed a theme, a group of artists and a body of works together in an on-going process that involved an openness [as] to what the artists contributed and how their works related to an open-ended theme of ‘place’. While places depicted in art are often noticed first for the location represented, artists whose investigation evoked an emotional tie to a location increasingly intrigued us. We appreciated artists who engaged with critical commentary about the construct of an image of a place, and others who used illusion, displacement, and intentional intervention in the space to draw attention to the ‘placeness’ of the work. Throughout this process the open-ended
concept of place matured into something quite specific evoking the artists’ intention to draw attention to the place within the work rather than simply depicting it. Nathan and I developed a great understanding of each other and a close friendship during the process, and we made works specifically for the exhibition which, while dealing with the theme of place, also commented on the process of collaboration involved in the exhibition. Brown and Huff began curating the show in January. The curatorial process included a trip for Huff to New Zealand and to Los Angeles for Brown. The show entitled Encountering Place was finally installed in July and will open on August 24 at the Ambassador’s residence in Wellington: Camperdown, 99 Ludlam Crescent, Lower Hutt. The show involves United States and New Zealand artists: Anne-Marie Jean, Christina Shurts, Devon Tsuno, Ingrid Boberg, Nathan Huff, James Brown, Jae Hoon Lee, Jonathan Anderson, Karley Feaver, Mica Still, Nancy Vogeli, Melissa Kauk and Claudia Morales.
Jim McGregor
Claudia Arozqueta joins Enjoy Public Art Gallery On July 18, Claudia Arozqueta took up the position as Enjoy’s new Curator and Manager. She is a critic and curator who has a BA in History from The National University of Mexico and an MA in Media Art Histories from Donau-Universitat Krems in Austria. She has lived and worked in Mexico City and Moscow. Claudia’s recent curated exhibitions include: Crossing Boundaries, II Moscow Biennale of Young Art, Winzavod Contemporary Art Center, Moscow, Russia (2010); Manimal, National Centre for Contemporary Arts / International University Moscow, Russia (2009); Behind the Dream, Manuel Álvarez Bravo Photography Museum, Mexico (2008); A Place in Time, Contemporary Art Month (CAM), San Antonio, Texas (2006). Previously Claudia held a position as coordinator of CANAIA, a non-profit space for contemporary art and curatorial experimentation in Mexico and has been a regular contributor to academic publications and international art magazines such as Artforum.com (USA), Flash Art (IT), ArtNotes (ES), Umelec (CZ), and The Moscow Times (RU).
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This residency invites Jessica Pearless to work within a reconfigured office and studio space during a highly concentrated seven week period from September 1 – October 23, 2011. Pearless intends to use the residency opportunity to progress her on-going research into non-objective abstract painting and to develop some recent drawing and installation site work. Artists Alliance welcomes Pearless and her ten year contribution to her field. Pearless will present an open studio and artist talk on Saturday October 15 at 11am as part of Auckland Art Week.
Stones in her pockets
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Opportunities Awards, residencies and exhibitions New Glass Review Competition: A Call for Entries Application deadline: October 1, 2011
New Glass Review Curatorial Department The Corning Museum of Glass One Museum Way Corning, NY 14830-2253 U.S.A. For more information: Email: curatorial@cmog.org IMPORTANT: Full application details available on the website: www.cmog.org/dynamic.aspx?id=2632
Call for Proposals | ABC Gallery Application deadline: September 30, 2011 ABC is now accepting proposals for its 2012 exhibition programme. Submission of proposals should be emailed to abcprojects337@gmail.com. If sending film works, please send DVD disk (limit to 10 minutes) to:
CALL FOR ENTRIES: 25th Waitakere Trust Art Awards 2011 Application deadline: October 28, 2011 Call for entries 25th Waitakere Trust Art Awards Incorporating Quality Hotels Lincoln Green Sculpture Awards 2011 and Project Twin Streams Awards. Entry forms available from: www.waitakere-arts.co.nz (09) 838 5733 wccac@xtra.co.nz Project Twin Streams: www.projecttwinstreams.com Entry form and entry fee must be received by Friday October 28, 2011. Mail to: Art Awards Entry, WCCAC, PO Box 21-447, Henderson Please make your cheque payable to WCCAC. Awards Evening November 17 from 6pm. Exhibition November 18 – 27, 10am – 4pm daily.
Call for Proposals for Enjoy Gallery’s 2012 Programme Application deadline: September 4, 2011 Please refer to the guidelines for submitting proposals and send your proposal as a PDF file to curator@enjoy.org.nz Guidelines for Submitting Proposals: • Exhibition proposals will be accepted from August 1 – September 4, 2011. • You will receive email confirmation upon submission. • Selected projects will be notified by email on October 4, 2011. • Enjoy accepts proposals for solo and group shows for the gallery space and also for public art projects. • Three exhibitions will be accepted and scheduled sometime between March – December, 2012. • Enjoy will not consider proposals for exhibitions that have been previously
exhibited in New Zealand. Only new and innovative works created especially for Enjoy. •S ubmissions are limited to 700 words maximum, emphasising and explaining the idea behind the show. Please visit the Enjoy website for further details on the floor plan and wall plan. •P lease include up to five images (sketches, renders, drafts, drawings, previous works, etc.) that will give a realistic sense of what your planned exhibition is likely to involve. •P lease provide a short bio or a concise CV as support material. •P lease send proposals as a PDF file to curator@enjoy.org.nz
2011 Whanganui National Art Exhibition and Awards Application deadline: September 7, 2011 The 2011 Whanganui National Art Exhibition and Awards entry form has been released for artists aiming to submit to the competition in September. The exhibition is open to all artists living and working in New Zealand. The 2011 entry form is available to download from www.24bar7. com and http://media.tripod.lycos. com/1855353/1725408.pdf. The Whanganui National Art Exhibition and Award Trust are the conveners of the exhibition. The trustees are pleased with the growing recognition of the event. The Best in Show Award includes a $500 prize. Two Certificates of Merit carry a prize of $100 each. Receiving days are September 5 to 7, 2011 at the Wanganui Community Arts Centre. The Awards Presentation will be made at the opening function on September 9, 2011. The exhibition runs till October 2 at the Wanganui Community Arts Centre, 19 Taupo Quay, Wanganui. Facebook Whanganui National Art Exhibition and Award for regular updates For further information contact: Aaron Potaka, Chairman, Whanganui National Art Exhibition and Award Trust, Mobile: 021 296 4451, Email: contact@24bar7.com
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All glassmakers, artists, designers, and companies are invited to participate in New Glass Review 33. Only glass designed and made between October 1, 2010 and October 1, 2011 may be submitted for this annual survey. Each year, The Corning Museum of Glass conducts a worldwide competition to select 100 images of new works in glass. A committee drawn from designers, artists, curators, and critics makes the selection. The publication is intended to keep its audience, which includes museums, artists, libraries, collectors, scholars, and dealers, informed of recent developments in the field. Objects considered excellent from any of several viewpoints – such as function, subject matter, aesthetics, and technique – will be chosen. The objects selected will be published in colour with the names of the makers and brief descriptions of the pieces. The New Glass Review competition will be judged in early December. All entries, accompanied by a $20.00 USD entry fee, must be postmarked no later than October 1, 2010 and sent to:
ABC, 337 Lincoln Rd, Christchurch, New Zealand. For proposal outline visit: www.abcgallery.net/proposals.html
CELEBRATING
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10 JOHN DRAWBRIDGE ALUMNI HALL OF FAME
2009
OLD SCHOOL NEW SCHOOL: an art and design history of New Zealand An exhibition that is part of the REAL New Zealand Festival, with funding assistance from the New Zealand Lottery Grants Board. 28 SEPTEMBER - 5 NOVEMBER
BLOW 2011 Creative Arts Festival and Hall of Fame Alumni Gala Dinner (tickets on sale now). 5 - 18 NOVEMBER For more details see:
creative.massey.ac.nz
LUCY McINTOSH FASHION DESIGN
2010
Five questions Our most frequently asked questions … answered
I have seen my artwork used somewhere without my permission … what can I do about it? We get this one a lot. There is usually no quick answer to this, as copyright is a tricky issue and breaches of copyright can come in many forms. We have heard it all and we are frequently shocked at what goes on. More often than not it is ignorance to blame (on the copier’s side). While artists often see court cases looming in the future, we usually find that these disputes can be settled without any lengthy court proceedings or expensive lawyer bills. Usually having open discussion can get to the bottom of the problem and keeping a cool head certainly helps. If you do experience something like this – do call us, we will be happy to sound out the issue and if necessary offer moral support via a letter or email to those involved. We can also highly recommend David McLaughlin of McLaughlin Law, who we will often refer members to if there are questions we cannot answer. David specialises in arts and entertainment law and is a regular contributor to Art All magazine.
I want to take the next step and begin exhibiting – what is the best approach? It can very difficult to find your place in the art world and it does take quite a bit of personal research to get there. It’s important to figure out where you and your work best fit into the larger picture. There are many ways to be an artist. It pays to think about where you want to aim and what opportunities there are in your area. For example – do you want to be exhibiting in a traditional gallery context? Or maybe in an alternative venue? Are there arts events that might be happening in your area that you could aim to be a part of? Perhaps you would rather create your own exhibiting experience by setting up a show yourself? (note: a free downloadable publication on artist-
run projects is available on the Artists Alliance website – it’s aptly titled The Oily Rag Project). It is a good idea to visit as many galleries, art spaces and local arts events as possible prior to approaching them to discuss exhibiting. You will need to establish an idea of the kind of work they already exhibit and how your work may or may not fit in. Galleries will often have a certain ‘flavour’ or they may have a certain audience that comes into the gallery. It’s important for both artist and gallery to be presenting work to the right crowd so that both can be successful. Also, some galleries are just plain full in terms of their quota of artists – this is particularly true at the moment. Once you have established which galleries / events / venues are appropriate possibilities it is a good idea to go along as a ‘punter’ and see that you are happy with the way things work there. Then approach them in a professional manner (don’t expect them to have time immediately to look at your work), it might pay to have an initial conversation, then arrange a time to talk to them properly or offer to drop in a portfolio / CD (a CD with your best works and a brief amount of info on you and your practice is a good idea – keep it short and sharp for maximum impact). The more professional you are the better, galleries get approached on a daily basis by artists and you want them to notice your approach is serious. Alternatively you may want to explore other means of exhibiting, like your local community arts centre, artist run space or similar. The most important thing is to find where you fit (or would like to fit) amongst it all and focus on the most appropriate approach to achieve it. Also – it pays to keep a close eye on opportunities such as competitions, awards and residencies. If it takes you a while to establish an exhibiting practice it is also important to continue building your artistic CV during this time. Even making the shortlist for an award looks great on your CV.
Should I have a website / be more active in social networking to promote myself? Increasingly we are encouraged to be part of online social networks and to have a ‘web presence’. In some ways this is vital in others it’s a potential minefield. In terms of having a website for your art practice, it can be an excellent platform for presenting yourself and your work to a potential audience. If you know how to build a website, have a high level of design experience and the time to maintain it, a website could be a good idea. If you don’t you will either need to pay someone to design, build and possibly maintain it for you (or teach you how to maintain it). The other alternative is to join an existing network like Artfind or similar where a lot of the work is done for you and it is more of an online hub for artists. Or simply
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A large part of what we do at the Artists Alliance office is answer questions from artists and arts organisations on all sorts of topics. We actually believe this is one of the most valuable things that we can offer the arts community. Although it’s common to get a question we haven’t had before, on the most part we are hearing similar issues arising on a regular basis from different parts of the country. We thought it might be a good time to address some of these in a general sense in this issue’s ‘Five Questions’. The answers below won’t necessarily suit every situation – so remember that if you want to run something by us, need some general advice, or require a recommendation on an industry professional (maybe an arts friendly tax agent? They do exist!) you can get in touch via email: admin@artistsalliance.org.nz; in person at 1b Ponsonby Road, Auckland, or on the ‘ole dog and bone’: 09 376 7285, we’re an approachable bunch!
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Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York / Anna Miles Gallery / Anna Schwartz Gallery, Melbourne / Art Basel / Art Beijing / Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney / Art Los Angeles Contemporary / Artspace, Auckland / Artspace, Sydney / Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, Brisbane / Asia Society Museum, New York / Auckland Art Fair / Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki / Auckland Triennial / Auckland War Memorial Museum / Blue Oyster Gallery / Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris / Biennale of Sydney / Bonn Museum of Modern Art / Bortolami Gallery, New York / Brussels Biennial / Cannes International Film Festival / Centre for Contemporary NonObjective Art, Brussels / Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris / Christchurch Art Gallery / City Gallery Wellington / Corbans Estate / Darren Knight Gallery, Sydney / Dunedin 12 Public Art Gallery / Enjoy Public Art Gallery / Galerie Mark Müller, Zurich / Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane / George Fraser Gallery / Gertrude Contemporary, Melbourne / Govett Brewster Gallery / Gow Langsford Gallery / Gus Fisher Gallery / Hamish McKay Gallery / Hawkes Bay Museum and Art Gallery / Headlands Center for the Arts, Sausalito / Hong Kong International Art Fair / Hopkinson Cundy Gallery / IMO Gallery, Copenhagen / Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane / Istanbul Biennial / Ivan Anthony Gallery / Jensen Gallery / Jonathan Smart Gallery / Lopdell House / Mangere Arts Centre / Melanie Roger Gallery / Melbourne Art Fair / Michael Lett / Monash University Museum of Art, Melbourne / Musée du quai Branly, Paris / Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney / Museum of Modern Art, Belgium / Museum of Photographic Arts, San Diego / National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne / Neuer Berliner Kunstverein, Berlin / New Museum, New York / New Zealand International Film Festival / P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, New York / Page Blackie Gallery / Patio Herreriano, Spain / Peter McLeavey Gallery / Physics Room / projectspace B431 / Renwick Gallery, New York / Rm / Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney / São Paulo Biennial / SCAPE Biennial / Singapore Biennale / Starkwhite / Sue Crockford Gallery / Tauranga Art Gallery / Te Papa Tongarewa / Te Tuhi / The Amory Show, New York / The National Gallery of Australia, Canberra / The New Dowse / The Poor Farm, Wisconsin / The Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam / The Suburban, Chicago / The Walters Prize / Tjibaou Cultural Centre, New Caledonia / Two Rooms / Venice Biennale / Victoria and Albert Museum, London / Vienna Art Fair / Witte de With, Rotterdam…
our graduates show here and there Study Fine Arts at Elam Find out more: 0800 61 62 63 or www.creative.auckland.ac.nz
choose not to have a website at all. If you don’t spend a lot of time online and you don’t want to – then having a website might not be for you. It’s much worse to have a bad or out of date (old content) website than none at all. Social networking … what goes online stays online! If you are going to engage in social networking (Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, etc.) then be careful about what you choose to share. For some people it’s okay to combine their personal and professional presence online – but quite honestly it doesn’t work for most. Even if it’s important to your practice for your audience to know something of you personally, it may still be wise to create a separate Facebook page for your personal life and a more professional page for your audience to follow. As with any decision that relates to your practice, give this a lot of thought before you jump into websites and social media – it can be a fantastic opportunity to speak directly to your audience … but it’s not essential. It has to work alongside your long term career goals.
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Someone has commissioned an artwork from me – do I need a contract for this? Contracts are important. Whether it be a handwritten note or a ten page detailed agreement, it is important to have an agreed upon contract when dealing with a commissioner, a gallery or any other aspect of your practice which requires you to collaborate in some way. You wouldn’t start a new job without checking your responsibilities and entitlements, so treat your art practice with the same level of professionalism also. It’s a matter of covering your ‘arts’. Unfortunately we hear about a lot of commission agreements which ‘go bad’ or have complicated issues where there has been no clear contract or agreement at the start. Contrary to what most people believe, you can draw up your own contract. Things to remember to address in the contract are: time frame, payment (amount, how it will be paid and when), cancellations, disputes, viewings (will they expect to see progress throughout?), copyright (remember that copyright has different rules for commissions!). We would be happy to assist you in putting together a contract for commissions, or point you towards some resources which may provide helpful information – just let us know.
I’ve been approached by an international gallery / art fair to exhibit my work – is there anything I should look out for? Am I being conned? I have an entire inbox folder dedicated to this type of question! We are getting an increasing number of enquiries from artists who have been approached by international galleries, art fairs or publications via email, asking them to be part of an exhibition or publication in desirable cities overseas. There are of course, legitimate opportunities out there and we don’t want to suggest that you shouldn’t look at your options… we just ask that you do your research (or let us do some for you!) before you get into an expensive and frustrating situation. Quite often it’s the hidden costs and future ‘career costs’ that are the dangers in these situations. It may not be that a gallery offering you a show will actively ‘rip you off’ or break the law in any way – but they may take advantage of you by using flattery (sorry – but we know this to be true!) and by neglecting to point out the small print.
Here’s an example of some questions you should ask yourself before agreeing to anything: •W hat are my responsibilities if I take part? •W hat are the gallery / art fair / publication’s responsibilities? •W ho pays for the freight, packaging, insurance and duty costs? • I f work is unsold or needs to be returned who pays for those freight, packaging, insurance and duty costs? • Is there a cost just to take part? •W hat percentage of sales will be taken and how will I be paid and when? What happens if no sales are made? hat are the terms for me to pay my costs? (For example: •W how long will I have to pay my outstanding bill?) •W hat is the agreement for the gallery / art fair / publication’s use of my imagery in relation to advertising? (remember copyright laws differ in different countries). •W hat happens if my work is damaged in transit or during the exhibition? •W hat is the gallery / art fair / publication’s reputation? This one’s a MAJOR! If you aren’t confident searching the web thoroughly to find this out – then please ask us. We have quickly found damning information on certain ‘opportunities’ just by knowing where to look. Usually artists will blog or post to forums about this type of thing if they feel others are being conned or taken advantage of. Lastly, ask yourself if you are considering this opportunity because it is genuinely beneficial to your long-term career objectives, or whether it is just a glamorous, flattering and expensive one-line addition to your CV. Amberleigh Carson, Artists Alliance
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Want to know how to make money from your ORIGINAL ART? Its Easy!! 1. Supply me the original. 2. I’ll photograph the art and reproduce onto stretched canvas 3. Sell the limited editions and keep the original!
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Of late in short 15 art all spring 2011
New artists run spaces and projects are popping up all over the country. Here are some notable ones of late. Personal Best opened its doors earlier this year on Auckland’s Karangahape Road, with the visiting instructions to ‘go round the back up the stairs’. Opening with a Fundraiser Raffle event which saw winners walk away with art by Dane Mitchell, Dan Arps, Rohan Wealleans, Peter Madden and many other artists, Personal Best has continued to roll out a strong programme of exhibitions. Worth a mention was Synergistic Affiliate Solutions Suite by artist Zak Penney, an online artwork that included an off-site opening event at a local internet café. Another Karangahape Road local RM gallery and project space, hosted a discussion to examine artist in residence programmes. A selection of artists who have completed residencies locally and internationally, contributed their experiences; and it proved to be an insightful afternoon. A little further down the road the Audio Foundation opened its ‘Hub’ at Poynton Terrace, in central Auckland, with ample space for their office, gallery, live audio performance, video projections and possibly a summer BBQ or two. This space is a hidden treasure that more could take the time to visit. During July Hue & Cry released issue five of their literary slash art journal; much time was spent eagerly checking the mailbox for this book of exceptional writing and design. Hue & Cry’s latest website feature artist is Tahi Moore, with video Blanks cant gurus YouTube edit, a fitting work for an organisation so fond of the written word. More on reading – Enjoy Public Art Gallery advertised the launch of a reading group, which aims to develop discussion and debate around a set of linked texts about ‘photography and the everyday’. Perhaps a model such as this will pop up in other centres. Property on Mars went under the spotlight in Pioneer City, a project by Barbara Holloway-Smith in association with Lettingspace. To set up house on Mars one only need visit Colonial Real Estate agency in Wellington. rice and beans opened in early 2011 in Dunedin, with the mission to provide space for ‘art created cheaply for purposes other than those of good taste, professionalism, and CV building’. Their website has documentation of past shows and is worth browsing, so long as you don’t have epileptic tendencies (the background colours change at rapid fire pace). In the web world lately http://handshakejewellery.com/ has been a site to visit often, where selected jewellery graduates team up with their idol jeweller in a long-term mentor project. August will see the jewellers come together for their first exhibition in Sydney; it will be interesting to see how the wide variety of art practices are united and presented.
Image courtesy of Hue & Cry.
Another art show taken to international shores; the folks behind Window have taken a group show to Ostrale’011 in Dresden. The exhibition In Any Case features work by some great up and coming artists, and the documentation at http://window. auckland.ac.nz leaves a resounding impression of having seen the work in person. Until next time. Michelle, Artists Alliance Intern This is a new column in Art All. We like to be in the know, so send us a line if something new is happening in your area or you have any feedback. admin@artistsalliance.org.nz
Finding Neitherland Tautai’s fourth tertiary show
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Finding Neitherland is Tautai’s fourth tertiary show held at ST Paul St Gallery in Auckland / Tamaki Makaurau (July 22 – August 12). Curated by Graham Fletcher, Finding Neitherland follows chronologically from Make/Shift 2010 curated by Nina Tonga, Don’t Pacify me 2009 by Charmaine Ilaiu, and the inaugural exhibition Strengthening Sennit by Leanne Clayton in 2008. The exhibition format asks a curator to devise a curatorial concept and to call for interest from students who attend tertiary art institutions and who identify either primarily or among other things as Pacific people. From there, the curator arranges studio visits and organises an exhibition over the course of the year. Fletcher is slightly unique to previous curators, in that he is a practising artist who has adopted this role specifically for this exhibition. This need not be significant in itself, but Fletcher draws so clearly from his own personal methodologies of being an artist to develop his curatorial concept, that this filters into the tone and position of many of the works. Overall, it results in a show that could only be artist-curated. So what is this concept and why is it significant? It is here I should probably expose the fact that I was one of the artists in Make/Shift. This is stated, not to reveal any particular bias, but simply to note I have been through this same process and so can personally relate and perhaps suggest some of the pressures that doing this show might amount to. Fletcher’s concept is a theory that the artists have the option of using or not. Unlike using a thematic framework or a historical standpoint as a curatorial device that groups or corrals ideas put forward by their artists, Fletcher has asked his artists to adopt certain strategies to act as tools to dissipate the pressures that an ideological, political or historical framing can cause. The artists are encouraged to manifest ‘casualness’; to ignore the discourse they are implicated in simply by participating in a show where one’s ethnicity is of relevance1. Why this is significant in this context is rather than empty out any meaning or depoliticize any aspect to the show, it tends to do the opposite. We fall, as viewers, into the precise trap hinted at in the last line of Fletcher’s catalogue essay: ‘go Mayan get lost in the thickets, manifest casualness and don’t give a shit, because soon enough others will be doing it for you’. As Fletcher predicts, the artists’ casualness becomes our anxiety. As an audience, we aren’t given the clues to tie the divergent aspects of the various artists in any neat or comfortable way, instead we are forced to accept the paradoxes and to go along with them, to approach the questions of one’s place, meaning, politics, identity, in a myriad of discourses of formalism, politics, and post-colonialism, at the exact same time the artist themselves may be figuring this out. Quite simply we are made to work alongside the artist. I should here note this line of thinking was nowhere more
pronounced than when standing in front of the exquisite wall work by Pilimi Manu in gallery two. Set in the exact same position as Mele Mafile’o installation of last year, Manu’s install recalled Mafile’o’s formal placement concerns and dripping surface. However devoid of saccharine substance that related to the informal Pacific economies of both sweets and sugarcane, Manu’s could just as easily be referenced to Banks Violette as Mafile’o’s work of 2010. The architectural drawings that accompany the piece are equally challenging to place or historicise over. Overall I found myself trying to mine the work in terms of a conversation around building and architecture but was totally unsure of whether the relationship with a Pacific context existed or needed to. My judgments, or ideas are suspended trapped somewhere in a work that may be purely a formal investigation into certain materials and light, and yet I still keep the context held in my mind, so somehow this remains politically challenging the whole way through. In Jeff Wall’s essay Depiction, Object, and Event he states: ‘Not even the greatest scholar of art can know what the next individual’s going to discover in his or her experience of even the best known work of art.’2. We can’t determine the capacity of a work in advance. We do not know how we will be moved by a work or where to. We are never sure if Finding Neitherland is an intention or a statement. Part of its allure is in the chiaroscuro in that confusion. Are we talking about finding a Neitherland, a space where oppositions are dissolved so that we may be, naively or uncomplicatedly so? Or are we talking post-finding Neitherland? And here I am so acutely reminded that this is a tertiary show and what it means to be a Pacific student at a tertiary art institution. How you may be in the kind of utopia you’ve always wanted to be in but also be struggling to deal with its inconsistency, its colonialism? Where perhaps the gulf between you and your high school friends is widening? Or you and your parents, and I hint at the painful mix of pride and shame being at a university and studying art may bring. Zadie Smith writes, ‘… my father and me, a vital link between us when, classwise, and in every otherwise, each year placed us further apart. As in many British families, it was university wot dunnit. When I returned home from my first year at Cambridge, we couldn’t discuss the things I’d learned … because Harvey had never learned them.’3 This ambiguity seems overwhelmingly evident in two of the artists’ contributions. Both pieces seem so splinted in intention that I am forced to fall back on the bad critic’s habit of simply describing the adjacent parts. The first is Michael Lee’s shit storm: the work seems even to rip its own title off the wall and place it screwed up but legibly in one of its many crusty fish tanks, a DVD player whose styrene packaging forms its own plinth, and a neon light hangs inches from the ground, creating
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Michael Lee: Shit Storm, 2011, fish tanks, sellotape, printer ink, paper, polystyrene, found sound, 5.1 surround sound system, fluorescent light, chain. Keva Rands: Much more smarter, 2011, photographs. Photo: Marlaina Key.
a visual line between floor and ceiling, yet illuminating nothing (a move I jealously saw him perform in an earlier Elam corridor, minus the neon, with humbler materials such as sticky-tape). All the pieces buzz and whorl upon themselves. The second is Keva Rands’ installation of photographic images which intentionally restages an incomplete narrative. We can trace from some images; a white (?) guy pulling the fingers. A girl (the artist?) crying. The same guy in a large portrait cut in two but installed complete. Is this a young lover’s spat made all the more complicated by ethnicity? I could easily be wrong, Rands plays this out with loose ends and dialogical strands of imagery, but you do leave feeling something. This feeling, present in both Rands’ and Lee’s work, and among others of whom I regret not mentioning, never breaks the cultivated coolness that surrounds it, which is what makes Finding Neitherland that most haunting and compelling show of the series to date. Luke Willis Thompson is one of Artists Alliance’s 2011 graduate interns.
1. A Copy of Fletcher’s essay: Finding Neitherland: or, the fine art of not giving a shit can be found at http://www.tautai.org/blog/ July 26, 2011. 2. Wall J, Depiction, Object, Event, 2006. Pg 26. Available online at: http://www.hermeslezing.nl/hermeslezing2006_eng.pdf as at 29/07/2011.
Pilimi Manu, Archive, 2011, mixed media. Photo: Marlaina Key.
3. Smith Z, ‘Dead Man Laughing’ in Changing my mind: Occasional essays. Britain, Hamish Hamilton, 2009.Pg 241.
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Laken Whitecliffe. 2010. BFA Fine Arts Year 2
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A ‘cracker’ of a show Eden Art Trust launches a new Arts School Award
institution are handpicked by their tutors – ‘it took some time before we settled on ours!’ said McIntyre. The competition is stiff and as Eden Arts Chair Nigel Copas noted, the inevitable rivalry ‘can only lead to an extremely exciting standard of entries’. ‘I think it will be a cracker,’ McIntyre concurred. In true spirit of collaboration it was agreed that the exhibitions would rotate around the four art schools. This year’s show was curated by Elam Associate Professor, Megan Jenkinson, and hosted by Elam. In 2012 the show will be at Unitec, AUT in 2013 and Whitecliffe in 2014. The judges, appointed by Eden Arts Trust, were NBR arts writer John Daly-Peoples, gallerist Kate Mullins and new ARTSPACE Director, Caterina Riva. They were not told the student’s names, or their institutions, before judging the twentyfour artworks. The inaugural awards ceremony was held at University of Auckland on July 28. Said John Daly-Peoples on the night: ‘We were impressed with the overall quality of work from all the art schools. The works showed a high degree of technical skill as well as refined thinking about their practices. Students used the art of the past and present to make relevant and illuminating comments on personal, social and environmental issues.’ Jude Nye
Award Winners: From left to right: Highly Commended, Dominic Oldrey (Unitec), Chelsea Rothbart (AUT); Overall Winner, Donna Summers (Whitecliffe) and Highly Commended, Loretta Walton (Elam).
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Opportunities for emerging artists and particularly students are few and far between. With no set career path in store graduates must create their own path in ill-defined territory; no easy feat. So when Eden Arts Trust, announced a new Eden Arts Schools Award for undergraduate students support was strong. This is a great initiative and long overdue. Offering a total of $8,000 in prize money this new award brings together for the first time, central Auckland’s four major art institutions: Elam, Unitec, AUT and Whitecliffe. The overall winner receives $5,000 and three highly commended graduates receive $1,000 each. Eden Arts Trust already sponsors the Young Artists Award for 16 – 25 year olds in the Mt Eden area. However, interested in widening their reach to include tertiary students in central Auckland they approached the Auckland art schools to gauge their level of interest. The schools enthusiastically embraced the idea recognising the opportunity not only to profile talented students, but also to include a wider range of media than is the norm in such competitions. After preliminary discussion an agreement was formalised in February this year. AUT’s Head of Visual Arts, Simon McIntyre, commented that while it was an Eden Arts initiative, ‘the art schools had a major part in deciding on a raft of conditions surrounding the award – for example, the number of students per institution (six), what sort of work would be accepted, timing, exhibition venues etc.’ The six students per
Mapping a path ahead Three past mentees talk about their careers in the visual arts
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Asking the question ‘what is being an artist?’ is a bit like asking ‘what is art?’ It can lead to spirited debate as everyone from the man on the street, to arts practitioners, to art theorists espouse their opinions, beliefs and justifications. In fact we all have our personal take on the topic, and why not – it makes for interesting discussion. But when new graduates leave the art school nest and embark on a ‘career’ as an artist, it is no surprise that they feel thrown in the deep end. What to do? We’re tired of the ‘starving artist’ cliché, and even more so of those irritating questions we’re constantly confronted with: ‘Why don’t you get yourself a real job?’ and ‘You’ll never make any money you know.’ However it’s probably true. Most artists, even though they may be true masters of their ‘craft’, technosavvy and 100 percent committed, still struggle to earn a viable living from their practice alone. So uppermost in the minds of emerging artists and new graduates is this issue of sustainability – how to sustain one’s practice and at the same time make a sustainable living, how to navigate a path through the unknown territory of the fickle art world. Some artists prefer not to treat their practice as a ‘career’, others are proud of the fact that they have never had ‘a real job.’ Some vigorously market their ‘brand’ in the interests of commercial success. Some give up their personal practice to work in the wider arts community. It’s obvious some choices ensure a more secure income, while others allow for independence but incur financial risk. Whatever the choice there are many different ways to pursue a career as an artist, and no two people will pursue the same route. A career in the arts is about creating your own path, as there is no prescribed formula or pathway. We decided to map the trajectories of three past mentees on the Artists Alliance mentoring programme: Sharon Fitness (mentee in 2008), Matt Blomeley and Krystie Wade (both mentees in 2005), and find out what paths they have forged.
Sharon Fitness I graduated from Auckland University at Manukau School of Visual Arts in 2007 with a broad spectrum Bachelor of Visual Arts, majoring in contemporary jewellery. I learnt as much as I possibly could at art school and still use many of the skills learnt in the other disciplines in my degree: photography, moving image, sculpture, non-traditional drawing and contextual studies. I was very lucky to be invited into some big shows and granted an Artists Alliance mentorship in my first year out which was a huge confidence boost. In order to support myself financially I worked part time at Masterworks for the first few years and I am now a 3D Technician at Manukau School of Visual Arts three days a week, which is the perfect job for a practising artist and allows the perfect combination of days working and in the studio. Great shows and gallery invites have continued to come my way, but the most exciting things for me have been the projects and networks I have become involved in. The first project, Kristin
Matt Blomeley As an adult student at Unitec in the early 2000s I completed a four year bDes (hons) programme in visual communications, majoring in painting. The two years subsequent saw several solo exhibitions, a curated exhibition project and a number of exhibition publication essays. Participating in the Artists Alliance Mentoring Programme as a mentee in 2005 provided a supportive platform to talk one-on-one with someone working in the industry about a wide range of professional practice-related themes, possibilities and interests. I greatly value the Artists Alliance Mentoring Programme and have subsequently been involved as a mentor for three recently graduated artists in 2007, 2008 and 2011. Deciding not to continue making art, I was appointed to the role of Programme Coordinator at Objectspace in January 2007 and held this role until May 2011. I am currently Arts Advisor, Arts and Culture North at Auckland Council and a member of the Artists Alliance board.
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D’Agostino’s Broach of the Month Club (broachofthemonth. blogspot.com) brought together 12 makers, 12 wearers and 12 brooches in a yearlong collaborative experience to broaden the audience of contemporary jewellery by emerging makers. This project is now in its third rotation thanks to Masterworks Gallery and includes some very big name makers and wearers. The BOM led to the regular meetings of seven Auckland jewellery geeks who have been getting up to mischief on subliminalinfiltrations.blogspot.com in an effort to get our work out there and seen. This also led to the geek subgroup: The Jewellers Guild of Greater Sandringham who produce the bi-monthly Overview publication which now goes out to over 150 jewellers, galleries and art institutions in Australasia. I am currently involved in a two year long mentorship project with my super hero Lisa Walker which can be viewed on handshakejewellery.com along with the mentorships of eleven other emerging NZ jewellers which will produce two travelling exhibitions and eventually a publication about the project thanks to CNZ. Very exciting!
Krystie Wade After completing the mentoring programme at Artist Alliance I exhibited at Whitespace Gallery in Auckland and have been exhibiting there ever since. In 2009, Kirstin Carlin and I showed at the Physics Room, Christchurch. The show, Speaking in Ramas was accompanied by a publication for which Matt Blomeley wrote the text. Later that year, I did an art residency in Spain, Can Serrat, not far from Barcelona. www.canserrat.org. I was living there with a number of artists from around the world for just over a month. We all had studios, and worked during the day, and talked about art and our ideas during the night. It was a very inspiring place to be, and came at a time where I felt I needed some concentrated time to spend on being creative without being overwhelmed by working, paying bills etc. At the end of that year I went to Japan and had an exhibition, where two different galleries featured my work, with sculptor Kenji Kimijima, www.youtube.com/watch?v=atBw_ jm35wo. It was an interesting experience and quite an unusual project to be involved in. Exhibiting in Japan was a rewarding experience but many things were difficult, due to the language barrier – but it all worked out in the end, and was well received. I have also been included in a few publications since being back from overseas, Seen this Century by Warwick Brown and another book which is being put together by Dick Frizzell, coming out later this year. I am now working on an international public art project which involves painting an artwork on a piano as part of Waterfront Auckland’s re-development of the Wynyard Quarter. The piano is located in a public space so anyone walking by is free to play it. I like the idea of people being able to express themselves creatively in a public space, and also the way that music brings people together, to share songs and conversation, which may not have happened otherwise. Jude Nye
Wintec’s School of Media Arts A multidisciplinary learning environment
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Wintec’s School of Media Arts is a multidisciplinary learning environment that provides tertiary qualifications for students wanting to pursue a career within the creative and media industries. Programmes of study are available at certificate, diploma and degree level, and a postgraduate Honours year and Master of Art is available to graduates from Media Arts or other degree programmes. Media Arts students and graduates are continuously involved in successful initiatives within the creative sectors, both nationally and internationally; the following four being recent examples.
Draw inc. Hamilton’s newest art gallery, draw inc., which provides opportunities for graduates and emerging artists to exhibit, network and sell works, is the initiative of five graduates of the School of Media Arts; Deborah Duffield, Anne Challinor, Craig McClure, Rochelle Jones, Adrienne Grant and third-year student Jack Gatasa-Shaw. After approaching Ree Varcoe from The Central Business Association for a space to hold a one-off exhibition, Deborah was offered a three-storey space at 35a Ward Street where she could not only hold one exhibition, but utilise it to pursue a series of exhibitions, workshops and space for artists in residence. Draw inc. successfully held their first exhibition, The Affordable Art Showcase, which ran from Friday July 1 – 22, 2011, selling over 70 artworks ranging from photography and paintings, through to sculptures and design. Upcoming exhibition; Under the Ivory Tower, opens on Monday August 15, coinciding with annual event, Spark Festival of Media Arts and Design, and will feature works of Wintec tutors, draw inc. residents and selected Wintec students. Sponsors supporting this initiative are Creative Hamilton, Creative New Zealand, Centre Place, Printhouse and Wintec.
Avalanche City Bachelor of Media Arts (Commercial Music) graduate David Baxter recently hit international success with his band Avalanche City. United States recording giant, Warner Music Group, signed up Avalanche City in June 2011, after song ‘Love, love, love’ sat at NZ’s number one spot for over a month. Music publishing executive Sony / ATV Manager Matt Coleman tells of the band’s success so far in New Zealand. ‘It’s been the fastest selling debut number one for an NZ group since they started recording digital music’. ATV’s John Campanelli works within a billion-dollar global market, putting music to television advertisements and commercials. Speaking on TVNZ’s Close Up, he conferred that Avalanche City is definitely a band to keep an ear out for.
‘Avalanche City is probably one of the best sounds I’ve heard coming out of Australia and New Zealand right now’.
iSupr8 2.0 Levi’s Film Workshop Edition Bachelor of Media Arts (Moving Image) graduates Klas Erikkson and Ryan Lind have just launched the latest version of their vintage video iPhone application, iSupr8 2.0. With their first edition released earlier this year allowing users to shoot and import external footage and give it a Supr8-type feel, their latest edition of the application was sponsored by American label, Levi’s. The application has been made to feature in Levi’s annual workshop, and is available free to download until the end of July. The app includes in-app downloads as well, allowing users to choose the type of film they use, and then share their footage via a newsfeed, and on Facebook, Snapr or email. Klas says that the interest in making iPhone applications grew from working at MEA mobile and learning about the possibility of the mobile platform as a means of creative expression. ‘iSupr8 was born out the current interest in the mobile market for retro photo app’s however there are not many video ones out there yet. This in combination with my passion for old film formats and the moving image medium is what created the idea for iSupr8. It’s the only app of its kind to shoot and process 720p HD and as such is a powerful production / postproduction tool’.
Waikato Independent Third year BMA (Communications) and National Diploma in Journalism student, Harkanwal Hothi has recently created an online newspaper called The Waikato Independent (www. waikatoindependent.co.nz), featuring news for the Waikato and beyond. It’s written, designed and produced by students studying diploma and degree level courses offered within the School of Media Arts. The site includes constantly updated multimedia stories that are written as part of the course under supervision of experienced journalists. Editor and Content Manager, Harkanwal, says that this site has been set-up as a way for the students to keep up with the ever-changing face of journalism. ‘Journalism is going through a fundamental shift, with news being increasingly read and shared online. This means that as journalists we need to adapt to the future and learn to innovate as well. The main reason for setting up a news website was to learn how news works online and to exploit the capabilities of storytelling that the web presents’.
feature gallery
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Calder & Lawson Gallery Amberleigh Carson spoke to Karl Chitham from Calder & Lawson Gallery in Hamilton. Karl is the Art Collection Curator at The University of Waikato.
The Calder & Lawson Gallery is based at the University of Waikato, do the gallery and the University interact? Do you also look after the University’s Art Collection? The Calder & Lawson Gallery is part of the Academy of Performing Arts, a teaching and event venue on the University of Waikato campus. My role as the Art Collection Curator for the University includes caring for and developing the University of Waikato Art Collection and developing the exhibition programme for the Calder & Lawson Gallery.
Who’s involved in the running of the gallery? As a space within the Academy of Performing Arts, the Calder & Lawson Gallery comes under the venue director who is also the person that has final sign-off of the exhibition programme. Although there are no gallery staff, we do have people on campus that help with the maintenance of the gallery, installation of the exhibitions and promotion of the programme.
What does your audience look like? We have a really varied audience that includes the local arts community alongside staff and students. Also, because the Academy of Performing Arts is a public events venue we have hundreds of people every week that pass through the space to attend plays, musical performances and private events.
How do artists get involved and / or what is the selection process? The gallery was previously orientated towards local communities and projects with local connections or content. When I started in my role I took some time to review what was happening at other
spaces in Hamilton and the wider Waikato region. It turned out that there were a number of spaces that were already focusing on local content and that what was missing was access to current contemporary art practice from outside the region. I developed the programme to bring a range of artists, disciplines and approaches from around New Zealand and internationally to local audiences.
What is the best thing about being based in Hamilton? There is a greater sense of connectedness and common purpose about the art community here in Hamilton. It is also a short drive to amazing places like Raglan, Pirongia and Karapiro so I am pretty happy to trade in the urban jungle for the time being (there’s also some great cafes here in the Tron!).
What projects / shows can we look forward to for the rest of the year? The next exhibition in the programme is a fantastic project with Yvonne Todd called Self-Medicating. I invited Yvonne to develop a survey of her work from 2002 to the present. We are also putting together a catalogue which has pages from her visual diaries giving some insight into her working process. We then have an exhibition called Handmade Pixels in conjunction with an animation symposium happening here on the first weekend of October. This will include work by some amazing New Zealand and international animators. The last show for the year Koru Tuputupu: Redefining Kowhaiwhai is based partly on the University’s art collection and looks at the way Maori design traditions have developed in contemporary art. For more information about the programme drop me an email: chithamk@waikato.ac.nz
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What precisely is copyright infringement? Part one
important as in practice most copyright infringement falls into this category of cases where it appears substantial elements or aspects of a copyright work rather than 100 percent of it, have been used in another copyright work. The test for copyright infringement generally followed in New Zealand today has three separate steps: •D etermining if there is sufficient similarity between the original work and the so-called infringing work • I f there is some kind of connection between the two works in question that would have allowed the copying of one work for the purposes of the second work • I f the claimed infringing work has in fact copied a substantial part of the original copyright work. In determining if there is sufficient similarity between two works in order to base a claim of copying, there is a large degree of common sense that needs to be applied. Essentially this boils down to determining if there are notable similarity or similarities between the two works in question. This does not require that the works have just an overall similarity, it may just be that some elements or aspects to the supposed infringing work bear a striking resemblance to elements or aspects of the original work. Even if there is a striking resemblance between elements or aspects of one work and another, this does not necessarily mean copying in the legal sense has occurred. Firstly, it should be considered if the elements or aspects that are said to have been copied are so commonplace or lack such degree of originality that the creator of the original copyright work can hardly have been regarded as having been the true creator of them. This also leads to another important tenet of copyright law – that copyright protects the ‘expression’ of an idea rather than the idea itself. So for example just because I paint a picture of a house this does not mean that I get a monopoly copyright right in pictures of houses. Rather, if it is sufficiently original and a certain amount of skill and effort has gone into its creation I may obtain copyright rights in the precise design and layout of my specific painting of a house. So even if two works have significant similarity between them, if they both replicate a common idea or theme, copying from a legal perspective may not be deemed to have occurred. In the next issue of Art All we’ll be looking at the remaining two steps of the legal test for copyright infringement, as well as considering some other useful pointers when it comes to determining what is required for copyright infringement. David McLaughlin is a specialist arts lawyer with Auckland law firm McLaughlin Law (www.mclaughlinlaw.co.nz). He can be contacted by email at david@mclaughlinlaw.co.nz or on 09 363 2038. Disclaimer: This article is intended to provide a general outline of the law on the subject matter. Further professional advice should be sought before any action is taken in relation to the matters described in the article.
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In previous Art All columns we looked at different aspects of copyright in terms of what is copyright, some of the exceptions to copyright, and also some of the myths that exist in regard to copyright. However, one of the most common questions to do with copyright is – ‘exactly what is copyright infringement?’. In this edition of Art All and continuing into the next issue, we’re going to take a good look at this sometimes less than certain issue. In respect of copyright works, Section Two of the Copyright Act 1994 defines copying as, ‘reproducing, recording, or storing the work in any material form (including any digital format), in any medium and by any means’. Although this shows us that the legal interpretation of copying is pretty much what we would expect from a common sense perspective, the more difficult situation that arises is when there is not an exact 100 percent duplication of the original copyright work. In cases where there are only similarities between two works rather than 100 percent replication, how do you determine if the copyright in one work has been infringed by the creation of the other work? The law generally likes to be as certain as it possibly can about issues. However, when it comes to determining in any particular situation whether or not copyright infringement has occurred we step into a world that rather than being black and white is full of a lot of grey! And this is not just an issue for non-lawyers, even our courts and judges are constantly struggling with this issue. The comments of one judge in a particularly well-known case, that ‘a copy is a copy if it looks like a copy’ perhaps demonstrate this very well. However as copyright infringement, when you are not talking about 100 percent copying of a particular work it is always going to be a question of assessing varying degrees of use and the related practical circumstances – absolute legal certainty may unfortunately be something we can never hope to achieve. As a first step in determining when copyright infringement may have occurred it is perhaps useful to note one particular instance, which may not otherwise be immediately obvious. This is where a two dimensional design or drawing is replicated in a three dimensional form, or similarly when a three dimensional object is replicated in a two dimensional format. So despite all the grey that does exist in this area, this does show that our copyright laws do still intend to provide the most wide-ranging protection possible to copyright works. Whether we are talking about copying between the two dimensional and three dimensional formats or just straight copying between say two paintings we still need to understand how the law actually determines if copyright infringement has occurred when dealing with clear cases of 100 percent copying of one copyright work. To assist us in this the courts have over time developed a series of steps that help to tease out if copying has occurred, and if then in fact this copying can legally be regarded as an infringement of one party’s copyright. The overall test these steps create is very
Some of the questions Dr Paynt can answer with a good old art to art …
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Dr Paynt has provided technical assistance to many Artists Alliance members over the years. If you’re having technical problems you can email a description of your problem to him via the Artists Alliance. Here’s a selection of past Q & A’s:
Why is making art so expensive? Apart from (hopefully) taking up lots of your time, it’s not. You can buy a large sheet of good paper for $1.49 and a stick of charcoal or a decent pencil for $1.49 – that’s less than $3.00. Of course, if you want to paint a 2000 x 2000mm canvas … The three most expensive things in making a 2D artwork are: materials that don’t work; impulse purchases that you never use; and the most expensive – your time.
How do I go about varnishing a painting? Always practise on an old or unsuccessful painting until you are confident. Acrylic paintings can generally be varnished after a week, while an oil painting should wait several months, unless using a special retouching aerosol. Matte varnish will tend to flatten the picture plane, gloss varnish will deepen the colours, while satin or neutral varnish will be somewhere in between. Care should be made not to varnish on a wet day, as the moisture can cause the varnish to appear frosty. A wide synthetic brush is best to apply varnish, unless you choose an aerosol, which can be easier for large works. There is a more detailed account in ‘About Varnish’ in the Dr Paynt section of the Artists Alliance website.
How can I maximise the mixing potential of a few colours? Single pigment colours are the building blocks for colour mixing. Using just one colour source, they are the purest hues and so mix the most brilliantly. With eight single pigment colours, you can not only make an incredibly wide range of colours, but you will increase the colour harmony of your painting. ‘A Lesson in Pigments’ on the website explains this more fully.
Why do some of my colours appear thin and transparent even when I buy good quality paint? Some colours are naturally transparent (think: coloured glass) while others are naturally opaque. Ultramarine is usually always
transparent, as light is able to pass through the grains of pigment when it is in a painting vehicle (oil, water). Cadmium colours are usually always opaque, as the light scatters on the surface of the pigment. Opaque colours tend to be more matte than transparent colours, which are generally glossy (again, think: coloured glass). Traditionally, paintings were built up over an underpainting by using transparent glazes and opaque scumbles. There is more information on the website in the articles ‘Transparent & Opaque Colours’ and ‘Going Organic Pigments’.
Who’s going to buy my paintings? The million dollar question! A very experienced gallery owner once told me never to try and predict what the public will buy, because after a couple of decades they still couldn’t! Just keep doing what you do and eventually it will be good enough to persuade them to purchase it. I think that, being a language, your individual art needs to be familiar enough to people for them to understand it, so get it out there by any means possible! The first people you should target are friends and family. For a start, they know you and will therefore have more of an empathy with your work. If you can sell a couple of works a year to them, at least your materials will be paid for. If you have a question for Dr Paynt, just send it in – it’s free! Dr Paynt, Studio Art Supplies
Regional arts worker Kathryn Tsui – Artstation gallery coordinator What is your art practice? The practice involves photography, activity and objects that are taken from daily life. Observing what is local and immediate to me, my work often features public space and everyday objects.
What is your day job?
What is unique in your area? There is a huge diversity in the communities that make up the Auckland region. I am lucky in my job that I am able to connect with a range of local communities through their art and artists.
Local favourite artist? Earlier this year I got to work with artist Niki Hastings-McFall. I love how
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As well as making art, I am the gallery coordinator at Artstation Toi Tu, Auckland Council’s community visual arts centre and gallery in Ponsonby.
accessible Niki’s artworks can be to everyone, young or old and across different cultures. Niki has a wonderful community spirit and for The Auckland Arts Festival event, White Night, she stayed up past midnight making a lei installation with all the visitors and then hosted us for a nightcap. Now that’s giving!
What are you working on now? Currently at the gallery we are playing host to The Sole Project: The Exhibition a visual art collaboration between eight amazing rangatahi-youth and artist mentors. Produced by the incredible Sarah Longbottom, The Sole Project creates a platform for one-to-one creative arts mentoring for rangatahi in alternative education. Next up is an exhibition in partnership with Philip Patston from the Diversityworks Trust involving over 20 artists that delves into a dialogue about diversity.
Kathryn Tsui, Bed hair portrait series, 2011.
What can’t you do without? My supportive partner, friends and family including our cat Bram, and gluten free pasta!
Bill Cooke Blaspheming in Nelson
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The relationship between art and religion has always been fraught. Religions – by which I mean only the Western religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam – make big claims about God and have found it very difficult to tolerate rivals or dissent. By contrast, the Asian traditions – Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism – don’t demand we believe A, B or C. They are more concerned with how we behave, and so are less inclined to persecute. But the claims of the Western religions centre around belief, and so how that belief is rendered matters a lot. It also matters how one chooses not to believe the claims being made. And the words given to the decision not to believe have been dangerous, bloodsplattered words: blasphemy, heresy. We are fortunate to live in a secular society, where heresy is now pretty much extinct as a crime. The Presbyterians tried it against Lloyd Geering in 1967 and failed. But blasphemy is trickier. To start with, it’s still a crime on the statue books in a way heresy is not.
he Presbyterians tried it against T Lloyd Geering in 1967 and failed. But blasphemy is trickier. To start with, it’s still a crime on the statue books in a way heresy is not. Section 123 of the Crimes Act (1961) allows for a year’s imprisonment for the publication of a blasphemous libel. A blasphemous libel is a writing which contains statements which scoff at, or irreverently ridicule or impugn (1) the doctrines of the Christian faith, (2) Jesus Christ, or (3) the Holy Scriptures. You may well be liable to some sort of prosecution for impugning Buddhism or Islam, say, but you could only be liable to a blasphemy charge if you are annoying Christians. But, so as to keep this potentially draconian item of legislation under some control, Section 123 also stipulates that no one can be indicted for blasphemy without the written sanction of the Attorney General. People have tried. Some Catholic reactionaries tried unsuccessfully to bring a blasphemy prosecution against Te Papa for showing the Virgin in a Condom in 1998. The only time the crime of blasphemy has gone to court in New Zealand was in Rex v Glover in February 1922, where John Glover was charged with blasphemy for the publication in October 1921 of Siegfried Sassoon’s war poem Stand To: Good Friday Morn. Glover was the editor and publisher of
The Maoriland Worker, a radical newspaper with a socialist and rationalist leaning. Glover was found not guilty but the court suggested to him that similar publications of such literature ‘should be discouraged’. I urge all readers to track down Sassoon’s poem and experience the reality of blasphemy. All very interesting, you might say, but so what? This is 2011. We don’t worry about that sort of things nowadays. And it’s true, or almost true. The twenty-first century variation of heavy-handed blasphemy indictments is the more sugarcoated claim to being offensive. This is what happened to Nelson artist Nichola Romney, whose untitled work, usually referred to as ‘the Adam painting’, was rejected by Arts Council Nelson on the grounds that the supposed brutality of its content rendered it inappropriate for a ‘family and community’ audience. It was the only one of 125 works to be so rejected. Arts Council Nelson’s mission statement declares its intention to ‘promote, initiate and support projects that stimulate and strengthen the artistic and cultural life of our communities.’ Sounds great doesn’t it? Right down to the recognition that the region known as Nelson is home to different communities which, presumably, look at things differently. How, then, is their mission statement served when this artistic project is clearly not being promoted, initiated or supported? And how do they suppose the artistic and cultural life of the communities of Nelson are stimulated and strengthened by this spineless act of censorship? Are we to infer from this that exploring themes of crimes committed in the name of religion does not ‘stimulate and strengthen artistic and cultural life’? We can be thankful that Te Papa was made of sterner stuff in 1998.
re we to infer from this that exploring A themes of crimes committed in the name of religion does not ‘stimulate and strengthen artistic and cultural life’? Three possible objections. Maybe Romney’s work was just too low in quality to show? Well, no, even the Arts Council acknowledged the work’s ‘commendable level of skill’. Romney has a European art training and has worked as a successful portrait painter. Also, the council has worked with Romney on other projects before, to each party’s satisfaction.
ven though these galleries had worked E profitably with Romney’s earlier work, they weren’t prepared to put on an exhibition going under the title ‘Blasphemy’. The first point to note about this exhibition is that none of the paintings are blasphemous, in the sense defined by law. They are intelligently critical of religious ideas, assumptions,
claims and prejudices; a very different proposition. Crucifixio, for instance, divides the canvass into two sections, and has a Jesus figure painted in the position of Vitruvian man on the left and on the right, under the heading ‘Fiction’ a lengthy passage of biblical text. Several of the paintings work along this left-right contrast format. Take the painting Unknowing. On the left side is a painting of a cross and on the right is Einstein. The Bible passage reads: ‘Trust the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto thine own intelligence.’ A clear dissonance is put before us: dare to think for yourself, or accept passively the dictates of others.
clear dissonance is put before us: A dare to think for yourself, or accept passively the dictates of others. Once or twice Romney oversteps herself, not in the paintings themselves, but in her printout accompanying the works. In her brief introduction to Unknowing, for instance, she claims: ‘Almost all scientists do not support religion. Fact.’ This, of course, is not a fact at all. Although the proportion is relatively small, there are, and always have been, scientists with a strong religious commitment. But the odd overstatement in her statement is nowhere near tantamount to blasphemy. Blasphemy deserves more exposure than it will probably get. Thank you to Arts Council Nelson for provoking this body of work to come to life. The small minded abandonment of its own mission statement was a stimulus to creativity. But it’s sad that valuable art is so often created in this way.
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Okay, maybe the content is too ‘brutal’, as the Arts Council claimed? No again. The offending work had Adam looking at the sins of the world committed in the name of religion: a woman in a burqa, slavery, a woman being raped and a priest with a naked man. Romney lessens the impact of the scenes by drawing them against a dark background. And the naked Adam is no more naked than Michelangelo’s Adam, or his David for that matter. The rape scene is a lot less graphic than any number of classic rape scenes. Think of Titian’s The Rape of Lucretia (1571) to name one of many. Who would want to condemn Michelangelo or Titian as unsuitable for a family and community audience? Well, maybe the rejected work really is dangerous in the sense of inciting hatred or violence? Once again, no. These are heavy themes, to be sure, but none of them incite hatred against the practitioners of any religion. Rather, they ask, as many aware religious people do as well, how these crimes are perpetrated in religion’s name. There is no sense of religious people being scoffed at, mocked, or impugned. Arts Council Nelson refused Romney’s requests to change its decision. As with most attempts to stifle artistic expression, Arts Council Nelson’s ban has been counterproductive. Incensed by the ban, Romney put together an entire exhibition along the theme of blasphemy, producing twelve works to accompany the spurned Adam painting. Three galleries were approached, two of them in Auckland, to exhibit this new body of work, but the Nelson disease had caught on. Even though these galleries had worked profitably with Romney’s earlier work, they weren’t prepared to put on an exhibition going under the title ‘Blasphemy’. So Romney turned to people who would be less worried by this, the NZ Association of Rationalists and Humanists. Their building, called Rationalist House, on Symonds Street, is a heritage building with large ceilings and well suited to operate as a gallery.
Postcard from Seville Hinterland
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My mother was born with the Pacific stretching out around her in all directions. She lived her childhood looking out over the sea from a bungalow on a hill. When the north wind blew, it rattled the windows and howled down the nook between the house and the hill. The sea would constantly change colour as the clouds would race over it and the wind whipped it. When she got married she left the coast and went to live in a little house as far inland and far away from her home as she had ever been. The drive was long, the roads windy. Letters and infrequent toll calls were all that kept her in touch with home. This was where I was born. I remember this when I feel isolated here on a peninsular of a continent far, far away. My mother had travelled as far away as I had. Perhaps because it’s where I was born and my first memories are there, I’ve always been drawn to the centre of the North Island. I’ve explored so much of it, on foot, by river and car. I feel such excitement to be able to pass through it whenever I return home as if it were a pilgrimage necessary for my soul. I’ve spilt my blood there, shed tears. I’ve laughed and felt pure joy. I’ve seen the most glorious sights of my life and beheld the silence that causes the sensation that you’ve physically disappeared and joined it. In the hinterland, the spirits have
passed over my head and lifted me in their wake and gently dropped me down with the heavy sadness of people’s passing. Quick anecdote: My great-great grandfather passed by there in the 1880s trying to find a village in order to discuss a school. He was a rather large man apparently and no spring chicken, so one can’t quite imagine how he managed through such rugged country on a horse. He never found that village, getting himself quite lost and unable to cross a river, so had to turn around and go back to the coast. In Spain, the first time I entered Extremadura, in the Spanish hinterland, I felt almost at home. It was the first time that a Spanish landscape spoke to me as if I had come from it. This vast expanse of isolated, stony, barren cattle country, is hot in summer, freezing in winter and its name means what it is: extremely hard. It can simultaneously uplift and oppress. nnihilation is an existential fear: the common – and A sharply overdrawn – fear that some part of you dies when you stop making art. And it’s true. Non-artists may not understand that, but artists themselves (especially artists who are stuck) understand it too well. 1
Emma Pratt
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As I said, the hinterland can lift you up or oppress. I’m stuck. I’m blocked, distracted. I can’t make work. I can’t find a thread. The more that happens, the more I read, the more knowledge I have, the more I live, the more life lives ME, the more I feel weighed down in the immensity of everything. I’m lost in a vast hinterland, lost in the chaos and calculation of life. It’s too hard and too much and leaves me en blanco (in white). It’s a white that roars in my head and stops me making art. So here I am, lost. With a hinterland that calls and challenges me to go on into the bareness, get scraped by the rocks and feel the hardness. It is a long solitary passing under an unending sky, thinking all those thoughts, countering all that weight. And while I’m in there, when I can, in the very brief spells of seeing sense in that thunderous whiteness, I try and make art, any art, anything, just to keep me going. Though sometimes I prefer to turn back and face the other way. I forget ‘art’ and enjoy how my two year old daughter jumps on the bed. My life isn’t about art. No, art is about my life, which needs to be lived as interestingly as I can, and not alone. Clara is re-enacting for me with expressions, toddler talk and gestures, how she waited for the waves to come in to her feet before she jumped over them at the beach on the weekend. It was the world’s greatest, most joyful discovery – we drove to the coast to see the sea.
7 Cockburn Street Grey Lynn, Auckland Phone (09) 376 3913
1. Art and Fear: Observations On the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking. David Bayles and Ted Orland.