LOUD #68: 'It's not the thing but how'

LOUD ISSUE 68 - MARCH - JUNE 2017 DEPOT ARTSPACE

Barry Brickell enshrined the axiom by which he lived and worked in the world,

‘It’s not the thing but how’

Welcome to LOUD #68 - the Depot Artspace magazine showcasing exhibitions, events, artists, music, musicians and a host of other creative initiatives.

LOUD is a condensed representation of our values; a clear and informative voice as well as a practical guide to what’s happening at Depot Artspace.

LOUD is the voice of Depot Artspace.

LOUD is about respect, support, advocacy and promotion of the arts.

LOUD is about liberation of the arts from current narrow definitions.

LOUD is a forum for discussion and opinion.

LOUD is loud because it needs to be art is an incredibly undervalued aspect of our culture, significant to our history and our society.

All content Š Depot Artspace and the respective artists, 2017 For magazine contribution, comment or criticism contact Linda (09) 963 2331 or linda.blincko@depotartspace.co.nz

CONTENTS IT’S NOT THE THING BUT HOW 4 A Mantra for Modern Living Article by Linda Blincko WHAT IT ALL MEANS 8 Article by Lynn Lawton INTRODUCING... 9 Amber Lamana THE VERNACULAR LOUNGE 10 Article by Linda Blincko UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS 12

Continued...

UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS JOHN MCCALLUM 23 Photographer The Hokianga GROUP EXHIBITION - WHERE SHALL WE CALL HOME? 24 A Group Raising Awareness of the Plight of Local and International Refugees POCKET GALLERY & THE ART ROOM 26

FAIRBURN ROCKS 13 THE PIGMENT CLUB 15 DAVID BARKER 16 Fragments MEMBERS EXHIBITION 18 Be There, Be Square NIKI HILL 19 Photographer Fresh, Fur & Flesh BOB NELSON 20 Photographer Light Industry CELEBRATING DEVONPORT’S HISTORY OF PEACE ACTIVISM 22

Photography

ARTSLAB 27 Article by Jamie McEwan DEPOT PRESS - NEW PUBLICATIONS A Collective Memory of Barry Brickell’s Devonport Days 28 The Roaring Silence 31 A Compendium of Essays, Interviews, Art, Poetry and Prose about Suicide CAREERS LAB 32 A New Depot Artspace Iniative for the Creative Sector DEPOT SOUND 34 Article and Photos by Dave Rhodes MEMBERSHIP FORM 35

IT’S NOT THE THING BUT HOW A MANTRA FOR MODERN LIVING Linda Blincko CREATIVE DIRECTOR OF THE DEPOT ARTSPACE

The theme for LOUD is Barry Brickell’s infrastructure (4), demolition of historic personal axiom: it’s not the thing, but how. buildings (5). As well as these things there This underscores the Depot’s own ethos are the things that perpetrators of these as we find our way in a world questionable developments where the ‘thing’ is all. The less accrue to themselves; objects than salubrious statement, When the how, the of conspicuous consumption the end justifies the means such as big bank balances, increasingly dominates process by which the super yachts, super cars, and allows for all types of expensive artworks by heinousness to be enacted in things are formed ‘celebrity’ artists, (notice that the name of outcomes, which, ‘celebrity’ becomes a thing, without reference to the ‘how’ (or even not formed replacing ‘celebrated’ which have dubious content and is the feelings or mark of implications for the world. as process does not respect others have towards the artist), super-size houses The longer we work in and assume an outcome), in addresses dripping with with community the more status; all represented and evident this becomes. The is neglected we get reinforced by the Super City thing is regarded in and of they inhabit. itself, as an emblem of power, into quite a lot of an embodiment of success, When the how, the process by a badge of honour, worthy trouble as human which the things are formed of respect, even awe. The (or even not formed as process thing, however, without the beings does not assume an outcome), how is often full of flaws; is neglected we get into quite a leaky apartments (1), dodgy lot of trouble as human beings building materials compromising major because we’re ignoring the natural world construction projects (2), contentious urban whose way is ‘the antithesis of things.’ As developments (3), land with significant social Barry Brickell asserts in relation to creating, and heritage value requisitioned for Council ‘Everyone has his own manner of doing 4

something or seeing something. This is what art is connected with: it’s not a thing at all…...There’s no such thing as art. It’s a how, not a thing, and it’s not confined to activities like painting and poetry. It’s not confined to any thing: it’s not thing-bound. Whatever is done by human beings and that motivates human beings has potential for art. It’s essentially an inter-people phenomenon. a language...... a form of communication.’

Originally published in Art New Zealand 7,

Thing-ness is the progenitor of war; it generates envy, greed, desire, transforms almost everything into a commodity and fair game for ownership, from land to people and in doing so perpetuates individualism and the inflated ego.

This perspective is also reflected in the Depot Artspace’ mantra, “creating an environment that encourages creating”, written in a circular form to symbolise creation as a continuing and infinite process which has more to do with how one lives in the world than a particular discipline. Hence we chose the verbs ‘creating’ and ‘encourage’ to describe our essential raison d’etre along with the noun ‘environment’, which is boundless, unconstrained by a particular place or location.

NZ potter Paul Melser reflects on this phenomenon with reference to the changing focus of craftwork in the 1950s and ‘60s. In a piece titled It’s NOT the thing, it’s HOW, (sic) he contrasts pre-industrial craftwork, made by an ‘unknown craftsman’ with the thrust of the contemporary craft movement.

‘The best work was considered to come from the tradition of village manufacture for the use of the people in ordinary life. The object’s anonymity, its usefulness, its humility and the traces of the hand that made it was what made its beauty… The best pots, clothes or woodwork were unsigned so that the user was free to ‘own’ and use the object free of any deference to the maker.

Creating and peace-making are synonymous, and perhaps the creative process is the last manifest aspect of peace.

‘In the last twenty or so years that original craft movement ideology has been discarded and replaced by the competitive

August/September/October 1977

Creating and peace-making are synonymous, and perhaps creative process is the last manifest aspect of peace.

5

branding and celebrity individualism we are surrounded by in today’s consumer society.’ http://paulmelser.co.nz/its-not-the-thingits-how-by-barry-brickell/

THING THINK

eschewed the increasingly ‘thing bound’ life, and its infiltration of the arts. ‘The process of making the pot is of more importance than the completed article. (status symbols, tools).’ He continues, ‘there is nothing wrong with making money when the individual throws his spirit into it, but when it is an endurance for the sake of the thing, such as the weekly pay packet, it should be avoided at all costs.’ Function and Form, process of Futility and Fertility. P.21 NZ

Once individualism, usually accompanied by excessive The Potter, Vol.7, No.2, 1965 ego, monopolises ‘the making the pot is of how’, ‘the thing’ becomes As this situation proliferates both ends and means. For more importance example, in relation to and intensifies we understand leaky or earthquake prone why the ideological than the completed accoutrement, ‘work-life buildings, ‘the thing’ for their developers is not the building balance’ has been spawned; article. (status it justifies existentially but the fiscal rewards. ‘Thing think’, rearing its head most meaningless activity as a explicitly during Muldoon’s symbols, tools). ‘natural’ component to our lives.

Think Big era of the ‘80’s, Barry Brickell 1965 has spawned innumerable And in relation to the arts in catastrophes in every sector where money is to be made particular, Victoria University or power to be gained. It’s a phenomenon lecturer in Political Science, and producer of TVNZ arts programme Focus (1963) R.L. with which we are all familiar and to which we could all add examples. Here are a few Roberts admonishes artists to keep their work unpretentious and sincere, despite the on my list: the Christchurch CCTV building; numerous leaky buildings throughout the dictates of the arts institutions, portending country; Chase Corporation of the ‘80’s that otherwise the ‘Zombies of the official art world will cause your real strength to lie and demolition of the iconic His Majesty’s Theatre and Brown’s Mill Market; fracking; in shards.’ Carping. P.36 NZ Potter, 1965 ibid Pike River; the Unfortunate Experiment; the sale of McCahon’s bequeathed ‘Storm Such has become the direction of the world Warning’ by Victoria University. and while some artists may have been seduced by the culture of ‘the thing’, the In 1965, at just 30 years old, Barry vehemently arts do remain the last bastion of liberation 6

in which ‘the how’ informs, embodies and enriches its outcome, adding truth and meaning to the world.

village-set-for-Lake-Rd (4) Opposition builds to Mangere housing development James Ireland, May 1 2015 http://i.stuff.co.nz/auckland/

(1) Owner row over $20m leaky payout Anne Gibson:

local-news/manukau-courier/68124471/Opposition-

Property editor of the NZ Herald March 2015 http://

builds-to-Mangere-housing-development

www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_ id=3&objectid=11414466

Homes could go for huge water-treatment plant in Oratia, in the Waitakere Ranges foothills Bernard

(2) Opportunist builders, dodgy steel and shonky

Orsman Super City reporter for the NZ Herald. February

standards create new building crisis ‘worse than leaky

21,

homes’ Amanda Saxton October 23 2016 http://i.stuff.

cfm?cid=1&objectid=11804310

2017

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.

co.nz/business/industries/85508913/Opportunistbuilders-dodgy-steel-and-shonky-standards-create-new-

(5) Auckland’s unique heritage townscapes – if we want

building-crisis-worse-than-leaky-homes

to keep them we may have to fight for them Mike Lee, November 3, 2015 http://www.mikelee.co.nz/2015/11/

(3) 600 bed retirement village set for Lake Rd Tom Dillane

aucklands-unique-heritage-townscapes-if-we-want-to-

October

keep-them-we-may-have-to-fight-for-t h em /

11

2016

http://i.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-

news/north-shore-times/85158118/600-bed-retirement-

Auckland’s unique heritage townscapes – if we want to keep them we may have to fight for them

Mike Lee, November 3, 2015

The ‘disappearance’ of the beautiful Erewan villa in Jervois Road. 2015

‘It was predictable but still disappointing that Auckland Council has revealed there is no heritage merit in thousands of houses and buildings across the garden suburbs of

Auckland – effectively leaving them open for demolition’ Mike Lee, Waitemata and Gulf Ward Councillor

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W H AT I T A L L M E A N S

Lynn Lawton DEPOT MANAGER

Only when the mind is tranquil – through self-knowledge and not through selfimposed discipline – only then in that tranquility, in that silence, can reality come into being. It is only then that there can be bliss, that there can be creative action.

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everal years ago I visited Driving Creek, amazed at the railway Barry carved out of the Coromandel landscape and pondered how. Skill, engineering knowledge, blood, sweat and tears, I am sure only part of the ‘How’. Although Barry accomplished so much throughout his life in terms of ‘things’, his frequent words were ‘it’s not the thing but how’.

I am observed to be and told, and readily acknowledge, I am a task and goal focused person. Nothing wrong with that of course in my thinking since task and goal achievement requires much ‘how’. However, given the quantity of Barry’s achievements and yet his unrelenting focus on the ‘how’, I am left wondering if I am missing something.

I am currently inching my way through The First and Last Freedom by Krishnamurti. Not the first time I have attempted to access his writings and yet for some reason this time making progress. Most pages I read and reread many times before the words begin to find place and understanding for me. Last night I read the paragraphs below, the words melded strongly with my contemplation of Barry’s words: Before we can begin with what the end purpose of life is, what it all means we must begin with

ourselves. To follow oneself, to see how one’s thought operates, one has to be extraordinarily alert, so that as one begins to be more and more alert to the intricacies of one’s own thinking and responses and feelings, one begins to have a great awareness, not only of oneself but of another with whom one is in relationship. The difficulty is that we are so impatient; we want to get on, we want to reach an end and so we have neither the time nor the occasion to give ourselves the opportunity to study, to observe.

The more you know yourself, the more clarity there is. Self-knowledge has no end – you don’t come to achievement, you don’t come to a conclusion. It is an endless river. As one studies it, as one goes into it more and more, one finds peace. Only when the mind is tranquil – through self-knowledge and not through self-imposed discipline – only then in that tranquility, in that silence, can reality come into being. It is only then that there can be bliss, that there can be creative action.

Selections from The First and Last Freedom by Krishnamurti

(p32 & 33)

As I consider Barry and Krishnamurti’s words, I realise how I live infuses how I approach and bring into being ‘anything’. It’s the ‘how’ that is important because it shapes the meaning and the experience of the ‘thing’ for myself and others.

Amber Lamana

INTRODUCING...

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s Gallery Manager, Amber oversees the Depot Gallery and the Pocket Gallery. Recently relocating from Edinburgh, Amber has experience in exhibitions and arts administration, including co-curating exhibitions and organising cultural events.

She has quickly immersed herself into the Depot culture to assist in further development

GALLERY MANAGER

of the diverse exhibitions programmes and the Pocket Gallery. Her highly attuned organisational skills are much appreciated, as is her smile and joie de vivre. She has also brought a campanion into Mia’s life, so we are delighted to say that the gallery now has two hosts to greet our visitors.

Teddy relaxing in his bed in the office, recuperating after a playful time with Mia.

NEW LOOK GALLERY

The summer Rembrandt Re -mastered Exhibition required a new 5x4m wall for ‘The Nightwatch’.

This worked so well we decided to keep it and has become part of our reconfigured spaces.

Auckland Council have funded and installed new lighting throughout the galleries to enhance the artwork as well as 9 reduce our power bill.

THE VERNACULAR LOUNGE Linda Blincko The Vernacular Lounge is an intimate living room which sheds a light on the influences that shape Aotearoa New Zealand’s evolving and distinctive cultural identity as defined by its art, architecture, literature, film and other cultural forms.

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he Depot is prone to neither whimsy nor Construction seek to build intensive housing reactivity. Change is made consciously here. http://www.noted.co.nz/currently/ and as a result of careful analysis of many environment/ihumatao-and-the-otuatauafactors and trends: demographics, both local stonefields-a-very-special-area/ and national; economics; politics; trends in art and art sales; changes and The Vernacular Lounge is an diversity in arts markets.

Cultures are not intimate living room which manufactured by artists sheds a light on the influences As a result of these or declared by committees. that shape Aotearoa New changes we welcome the They are the responses of Zealand’s evolving and return of the Vernacular peoples, in a particular distinctive cultural identity Lounge in response to time and a particular as defined by its art, increasing interest in an place, to that time and architecture, literature, film evolving Aotearoa New that place...They are and other cultural forms. In Zealand cultural identity, not shaped by social a contemporary, globalised especially as big business, revolutions but by a context the vernacular is intensive urbanisation and continuous accumulation an even more important globalisation homogenise, of personal rebellions. component of the Depot’s and in some instances They are enriched by the raison d’etre. The ‘lounge’, decimate, our environment, tensions of challenge. while not peculiar to New heritage and history. For They are about difference Zealand, is traditionally and example, IHUMĀTAO, an more than they are about typically the social hub of integral part of the Otuataua sameness Hamish Keith the New Zealand home and Stonefields Historical Reserve it is in this spirit and form in Mangere, and a sacred site for that the Vernacular Lounge will host Maori is under such threat as Fletcher and initiate exhibitions, publications, 10

events and showcases, that explore and develop our cultural vernacular.

Events and exhibitions in the Vernacular Lounge have included tributes to Don Binney and Ralph Hotere, an exhibition of

vernacular architecture and a history of peace protests in New Zealand. They have explicitly or implicitly explored the question; in the midst of diversity, is there an elusive quality, a ‘national identity’, which binds us all?

CULTURAL ICONS CONVERSATIONS WITH ICONIC PEOPLE www.culturalicons.co.nz The Cultural Icons project celebrates people who have shaped New Zealand’s arts & culture scene.

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valuable, informative and accessible series of recorded interviews, conducted between contemporaries, with the aim to sharing the histories, stories and experiences of some of New Zealand’s most significant arts and culture contributors.

Denys Trussell,

Cultural Icons patron

UPCOMING

EXHIBITIONS

A.R.D.FAIRBURN

4th March - 22nd March MAIN GALLERY 4th March 2.00 - 3.30 pm

DAVID BARKER

25th March - 12th April MAIN GALLERY 25th March 2.00 - 3.30 pm

MEMBERS EXHIBITION

15th April - 3rd May MAIN GALLERY 15th April 2.00 - 3.30 pm

THE PIGMENT CLUB

15th April - 30th April VERNACULAR LOUNGE 15th April 2.00 - 3.30 pm

Fairburn Rocks Opening

Fragments Opening

Be There, Be Square Opening

Opening

NIKI HILL

6th May - 24th Mayl MAIN GALLERY 6th May 2.00 - 3.30 pm

BOB NELSON

27th May - 14th June MAIN GALLERY 1 27th May 2.00 - 3.30 pm

C E L E B R AT I N G DE VONPOR T ’S HISTORY OF PEACE ACTIVISM

27th May - 14th June MAIN GALLERY 2 27th May 2.00 - 3.30 pm

Fresh, Fur & Flesh Opening

Light Industry Opening

Opening

JOHN M cC ALLUM The Hokianga

Opening

GR OUP EXHIBITION Where Shall We Call Home?

Opening 12

27th May - 14th June VERNACULAR LOUNGE 27th May 2.00 - 3.30 pm 17th June - 5th July MAIN GALLERY 17th June 2.00 - 3.30 pm

FAIRBURN ROCKS ‘Fairburn Rocks’ is an exhibition of rare rock drawing panels hand-blocked on to fabric by the Devonport poet and artist A.R.D. Fairburn in the 1950s. The exhibition marks the 60th anniversary of his premature death in March 1957.

The poet A.R.D. Fairburn (19041957) was deeply interested in art.

He attended Elam School of Art when young, was a watercolourist, belonged to the Auckland Society of Arts, became acquainted with Frances Hodgkins, worked with British patron of the arts Lucy Wertheim to affect her gift of more than 150 art works to the Auckland Art Gallery, and lectured in the history of art at Elam.

In 1947 Fairburn had been sent tracings of prehistoric art on the walls of South island caves and

shelters recorded by the DutchIndonesian artist and photo-grapher Theo Schoon.

Schoon had been overwhelmed by their ‘beauty, purity and baffling originality’.

With Schoon’s blessing, in the late 1940s and early 1950s Fairburn handmade lino blocks based on the tracings. He then handblocked various natural fabrics with the designs. The panels of fabric were of different sizes and each was unique.

Many were sold in the United Nations

4th March - 22nd March Opening 2.00 - 3.30p.m

MAIN GALLERY

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Gift Shop in New York. Also, in 1949 the Governor-General’s wife, Barbara Freyberg, commissioned Fairburn to hand-block curtains for Government House in Auckland using his shell design.

In 1954 Fairburn sent a dozen full curtain lengths of rock drawing fabric to his good friend John Male, then Secretary to the U.N. Commission for Human Rights and today recognised as New Zealand’s major war poet. The curtains hung in John’s Connecticut home and then in his Mahurangi house for a total of 50 years, until he died in 2003. Male had come back to New Zealand in 1964, where he cofounded the New Zealand Peace Foundation.

FAIRBURN ROCKS

exhibition of rare Remnants of thoseAn 60-year-old rock panels curtains have survived anddrawing have been framed and put behind hand-blocked onto conservation glass to form the by the fabric “Fairburn Rocks” Exhibition. They Devonport poet and are artefacts with an interesting Fairburn history – see theartist John A.R.D. Male timeline at the exhibitionin– the and 1950s. also beautiful creations in their own right.

March 4-22

28 Clarence St. www.depotartspace.

Opening: 2pm, 4 March

This exhibition was collated by A.R.D Fairburn’s daughter, Dinah Holman.

It is a great tribute to her Father and his friends. We have been privileged to work alongside her.

T H E P I G M E N T C LU B Issy and Jack Harris Pigment Club Members Where did pigment club come from?

Pigment club came from our imaginations we didn’t want colour club because it was already taken so we thought lets be more specific about the name. So we chose pigment because it’s a name to be free with whatever crazy ideas you have in mind.

Rules about pigment club.......

• there is no such thing as ‘I can’t draw’.

What is pigment club?

Pigment club is about experiencing new things and not being afraid to let your crazy ideas explode and it’s not about the best artworks it’s about who it came from because you need to be proud of your abilities for art.

What does pigment club do?

It encourages any ages to express and experiment new or their own abilities and ideas to go wild in their own big or small or tiny imaginations to paint a vivid picture in the minds.

• never ever!!!!! brainstorm because it makes it to difficult for the mind and its ideas.

• let your imagination run wild.

•

BE HAPPY!!!!!!

Everyone is welcome to come down during gallery hours to participate in Pigment Club

15th April - 30th April Opening 2.00 - 3.30p.m

VERNACULAR LOUNGE

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Some paintings demand more time than others, but for me all share an element of chance or risk. Each is but a ‘fragment’, a fixed format, a visual patch of life passing by.

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FRAGMENTS DAVID BARKER paintings of sea shells, sheds, ships, and skyscapes

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he paintings in this exhibition originate from a number of different sources.

Nevertheless the works share a common set of principles, connected by technique and vision. They are indeed ‘fragments’ of my imagination.

The two centre pieces are free standing bifold screens, each a montage of images. One of ‘sea shells’ the other of ‘ships’. The precision of these nautical forms contrasts with a visually chaotic foundation of sedimentation of the artist’s pigments, ultramarine blue and burnt umber.

The reverse sides of the screens are covered with beautiful Fortuny designs from the original fabric screen printing studio on the island of the Giudecca in Venice. One of the designs is called ‘Maori’.

The four ‘shed’ paintings are based on location sketches, made in New Zealand and British Columbia.

These works are carefully designed, depending on the near invisible phenomenon of perspective, and architectural precision.

The idea for the ‘skyscapes’ occurred to me after my first flight in a Boeing Dreamliner over the considerable breadth of Canada. I marvelled at the shapes and colours of the long summer evening clouds.

I find clouds as challenging to paint as the reflective surfaces of water and glass. Volumes and spaces, soft and sharp edges are essential components of these vaporous compositions.

Even with years of practice, painting has never become easy. I cannot say how long it takes to do a specific painting. The duration varies. Some paintings demand more time than others, but for me all share an element of chance or risk. Each is but a ‘fragment’, a fixed format, a visual patch of life passing by.

23rd March - 12th April Opening 2.00 - 3.30p.m

MAIN GALLERY

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MEMBERS EXHIBITION BE THERE, BE SQUARE 10” X 10” 10” x 10” squares will form the basis of your work and apart from the size and a ceiling sale price of $250, subjects and mediums are entirely up to you.

Your work doesn’t need to be limited to a wall or a 2D form – you may decide on a sculpture or diorama on a 10” x 10” base.

Entry fee is $10 per work for up to 4 works of 10” x 10” each.

The size, but not the sk y, is the limit!

A People’s Choice award for a $100 voucher for the artwork receiving the most votes is sponsored by Takapuna Art Supplies.

15th April - 3rd May Opening 2.00 - 3.30p.m 18

MAIN GALLERY

FRESH, FUR & FLESH NIKI HILL Photographer

The surrealist moment captures your mind.

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his is a contemporary Still Life collection of artwork with a unique take on fashion and conversation. Review the bizarre and tantalizing artwork of Niki Hill.

This is a collection of photographic work undertaken since 2008.

Hill takes the ephemeral nature of the traditional ‘Still Life’ convention and gives these tableaux the unconventional twist

of contemporary conversations that range from fashion, fantasy, fairytale whimsy, brand marketing and environmental issues. Each image has the perfectly lit aesthetic of a product advertising shot that lures the viewer’s interest, then just as you feel delighted the trap is set and the awkward question snaps as the surrealist moment captures your mind.

6th May - 24th May Opening 2.00 - 3.30p.m

MAIN GALLERY

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AUCKLAND FESTIVAL OF PHOTOGRAPHY

Light Industry

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nfluenced primarily by the New Topographics movement (New York 1975), Bob investigates the geometric and colour permutations evident in the New Zealand

Photographer

BOB NELSON

industrial landscape.This ‘accidental abstraction’ has fascinated Bob and has been fuelled by his conviction that the everyday and common place is not without beauty and wonder,

AUCKLAND FESTIVAL OF PHOTOGRAPHY

The everyday and common place is not

without beauty and wonder, ‘it all depends on how you look at things’.

‘it all depends on how you look at things’.

The source and inspiration for this exhibition were in the industrial zones of not just Auckland but those found in smaller provincial towns which according to Bob, ‘show a surprising variety in design and colour choice. These areas are often considered an eyesore, the so called blot on the landscape. But

strong primary colours and general disregard for aesthetics are my preferred raw material from which I attempt to find order and beauty.

I try to bring clarity to what might otherwise be seen as trite, banal or just downright ugly’.

This topical exhibition explicates the aesthetic tension between the industrial and the social in urban environments.

I try to bring clarity to what might otherwise be seen as trite, banal or just downright ugly”.

27th May - 14th June Opening 2.00 - 3.30p.m

MAIN GALLERY 1

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AUCKLAND FESTIVAL OF PHOTOGRAPHY

CELEBRATING DEVONPORT’S HISTORY OF PEACE ACTIVISM

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n 1987, 30 years ago, Aotearoa New Zealand’s Nuclear Free Zone Act was introduced. In 1981, 6 years earlier, Devonport Borough had declared itself a Nuclear Free Zone, New Zealand’s first. It was an expression of Council’s concern at the proliferation of nuclear weapons. By November, 1983, 33 other municipalities around the country had joined Devonport

in declaring themselves nuclear free. This exhibition, organised by Ruth Coombes on behalf of WILPF (Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom) and the Devonport Peace Group, celebrates Devonport’s stance and features images depicting the peace protests that took place on both land and sea from that time on.

27th May - 14th June Opening 2.00 - 3.30p.m 22

MAIN GALLERY 2

AUCKLAND FESTIVAL OF PHOTOGRAPHY

THE HOKIANGA Photographer

JOHN M C CALLUM

The Hokianga has a long history. Much of it is recorded in

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memory and passed down by mouth to ear. Because of this and in some respects a relatively untouched way of life there, the connections to its past are at once accessible whilst at the same time seemingly shrouded in the mystery over lore and legend.

his exhibition is assembled from images made so far through differing seasons since 2008, and is intended to offer glimpses of a way of life that is largely lost to modern New Zealand. By examining, often at the boundaries, how the local people and visitors have caused changes in the fabric of nature, insights can be revealed as to what we basically need to live

in a community with a very long history of human inhabitation, in a place where the forces of nature govern the individual way of life and not the other way around. In these characteristic changes can easily be seen the constraints of the philosophy of treading lightly on the land (and a desire for Kaitiakitanga) as well the economical use of available resources.

27th May - 14th June Opening 2.00 - 3.30p.m

VERNACULAR LOUNGE

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Where Shall We Call Home?

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A GROUP EXHIBITION RAISING AWARENESS OF THE PLIGHT OF LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL REFUGEES

isual artists Fiona Barrett, Belinda King, Gaël Rowntree and Brenda Liddiard discovered that they all shared deep concerns over the current international refugee crisis, and the welfare of those who manage, after unimaginable experiences, to make their home in New Zealand.

They all felt moved to create work expressing this concern, and approached Amnesty International with the idea of mounting an exhibition to raise both public awareness, and funds to assist refugees. All works are being donated by the artists, and several auxiliary events are planned to take place alongside the exhibition, including a public talk by former refugees, a film screening and a fundraising concert.

Our intention is to raise awareness and empathy for the plight of refugees (both overseas and in New Zealand), and to raise funds from the sale of the artworks, and ticket sales for the concert, which will be donated to local charities 24

for their work in assisting refugees.

We are currently talking with Red Cross NZ and the Asylum Seekers Support Trust about our ideas.

We believe that, as artists, it is our duty to hold a mirror up to society, and to reflect and comment upon our own time and what history will show to be our defining narrative.

It is our intention to also invite other artists to contribute works to the exhibition, including 10” x 10” canvases to be mounted in a montage format, filling one whole gallery wall. Holly Sanford, the internationally respected glass artist, who lives in Devonport, has already agreed to consider contributing a piece of her work.

We will also be asking Allie Eagle if she would donate one of her paintings.

The photographer, Maureen Tan, is a friend of Belinda’s, and is keen to contribute.

Through this project, we hope to give other artists and the community the opportunity to voice their views and hopes for refugees by becoming involved,

Artwork by Brenda Liddiard

We believe that, as artists, it is our duty to hold a mirror up to society, and to reflect and comment upon our own time and what history will show to be our defining narrative. through creating or collecting works. It is also hoped that our combined voices can help to put pressure on the Government to

increase New Zealand’s refugee quota, and to do more to help refugees successfully begin a new life in our country.

17th June - 5th July Opening 2.00 - 3.30p.m

MAIN GALLERY

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POCKET GALLERY Small objects at affordable prices The Pocket Gallery is a Depot Artspace initiative showcasing high quality, handmade art, craft and design. As the name suggests, our focus is on small objects at affordable prices. This is a curated gallery with works selected through a simple submission process.

As the air gets cooler and the night gets shorter this season, we will be keeping it fresh in Pocket Gallery with a diverse range of works. If you would like to join our team of exhibitors then please head to www.depotartspace.co.nz/proposals to download a Pocket Gallery guide book, or swing by the Depot to get your copy and check out the gallery.

THE ART ROOM Eclectic & lively

The Art Room is a new retail salonstyle gallery, the Depot wants to capture the sense of vibrancy that these places manifest and to become a destination for visitors keen to

discover and engage diverse new work. While eclectic and lively, The Art Room will be a curated space that ensures exhibited work is featured to its best advantage.

Artwork by Celia Walker Artwork by Clare Caldwell

ARTSLAB Jamie McEwan

W

hile the ArtsLab team’s ‘thing’ is achieving and maintaining a number of employment placements for Work & Income clients, the ‘how’ is our drive to consistently do everything we can with our creative professionals to have a positive influence on their lives. Our work is inspired by the Depot Artspace’s values; so working in ways that are empowering, encouraging and innovative enable us to rise above the simple task of getting people into work.

We see a huge range of people through our programme, from recent graduates energetic to begin their careers to professionals with decades

of experience looking for a change of direction, so feedback like this means a lot to us. We are proud of it because it affirms the effect we have on all these people and shows that how we work is considerate, adaptable and doesn’t discriminate. What follows this ‘how’ though is the knowledge that by having a positive impact on such a large number of people, we can be certain that we are strengthening the wider creative community. This is both another of the Depot Artspace’s values and a more admirable and satisfying ‘thing’ than a number in a spreadsheet.

The ArtsLab team recently received this praise from a Work & Income staff member familiar with what we do: Well done on this placement and the many other placements the Depot has helped clients to achieve. They are so much more than placements! They are confidence. They are success. They are purpose. They are independence.

You are a very important part of that journey. We value all the support and assistance you provide for our mutual clients. And so I thank you.

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N E W P U B L I C AT I O N S

D

epot Press titles are published by Depot Artspace. Although Depot Artspace may be best known for its galleries and recording studio it also offers a variety of facilities, services, publications and events that support the creative community and provide opportunities for participation and appreciation.

Established in 1996 the Depot has been involved in independent publishing since its early days. LOUD is the Depot’s publication dedicated to the creative activities of the Depot community 60th issue in August last year.

Yo u can stay updated on Depot Press by visiting www.depotpress.co.nz

A Collective Memory of Barry Brickell’s Devonport Days A bricolage of anecdotes, memories, photographs and doggerels celebrating our much-loved Aotearoa New Zealand cultural icon, potter, painter, engineer, Barry Brickell, and his Devonport days.

Thoughts from co-ordinator Loretta Riach

the idea of creating a booklet celebrating Barry’s life and Devo roots.

How did you know Barry Brickell?

Loretta Riach was one of the ‘key three’, along with Editor and Designer Julia West and Linda Blincko, in putting together the book, A Collective Memory of Barry Brickell’s Devonport Days. In true ‘not the thing, but how’ fashion, Loretta describes how she became involved, what she did, what it meant to her and what she takes with her in life through her involvement.

How did you come to be involved in producing a book on Barry Brickell?

I’ve been working with Linda at the Depot as part of my Duke of Edinburgh award, and Linda mentioned 28

Barry was a friend of my mum’s, who met him at the Michael King Writer’s Centre where she works, while he was writing both Rails to the Sky and Plastic Memories. I’d been introduced to him a few times, while he was around at our house for afternoon tea (asparagus rolls and muffins!) and a chat.

What was your part in the producing the book?

I worked with Linda to contact our contributors (Barry’s friends and family), research his Devonport life, and select works of his own from his ‘doggerels’ and ‘wrertings’ to include in the publication.

What were the highlights of this project for you?

I loved hearing stories from Barry’s life from all of our contributors. It was great to see how his passion and quirk have left a permanent mark on the Devonport community.

What did you learn from working on this project?

I definitely have an appreciation of Barry’s work in a new way now! So many people were influenced and inspired by his works and eccentric nature. I’ve also seen a lot of what it takes to put a publication of this manner together - there’s a lot of hard work involved.

What does Barry’s saying, ‘It’s not the thing, but how’, mean to you?

I love this saying of Barry’s! To me it really sums up his attitude and energy for his projects - it’s not just about your work, it’s how much passion and effort you’re willing to put into it. It’s a great message to do what you love with enthusiasm and drive.

Thoughts from Editor and Designer Julia West Amelia: So Julia, the LOUD magazine issue is called ‘It’s not the thing but how’ - which was basically the working title for the book, for quite a while, wasn’t it?

Julia: It was!

Amelia: On that theme of how, can you tell me how you became involved in this book?

Julia: I became involved because, as you know, I had already worked with yourself on ‘The Roaring Silence’ and then Linda (Depot Creative Director) just asked me if I was interested in pulling this project together.

Amelia: Can you tell me how this publication has been different from other publications you have been involved with, because you have been involved in publishing for quite a while now right?

Julia: For me personally, it is the first time in a lifetime that I have been given free creative reign on a project.

I didn’t even know who Barry Brickell really was. I knew his name, and I knew he was a potter, but I didn’t really know anything else about him. Linda just gave me a folder, an

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Continued...

A Collective Memory of Barry Brickell’s Devonport Days

orange folder of material she wanted included in the book. I met with her and Loretta and we just went through it Amelia: Can you tell me something about your thinking, being in the process, you being exposed to a lot of creative ideas, sorting everything out. It seems like the content you were given was guiding you a lot of the time?

Julia: I had this folder of random bits of paper, some handwritten, some typed, some written by Barry himself, letters to and from other people, and then contributions Loretta had already received from half a dozen people. As I looked through that I got a feel for who he was, for his supreme individuality and originality, that he was very much a free spirit, true to himself. So that really appealed to me, that was something that resonated with me, that characteristic of his.

Amelia: How has the material influenced your thinking about creativity? I know you’re studying Arts Therapy at the moment and investigating that side of things yourself?

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Julia: What I’m noticing is that it’s really important to incubate ideas, to give them time, to allow them to gestate and mature. As you know as an artist, that often happens when you are mowing the lawns, doing the dishes, walking down the beach, sitting in the car. All that is incredibly important. You’re fermenting the ideas and putting that time and consciousness into it, something really lovely comes out. That’s how it felt. It felt like giving birth to it, like nesting an egg, that’s what it felt like, and then one day, when I saw the deadline looming, it all came together!

I think the other thing that was important, was that I got positive feedback from yourself and Linda.

The collaborative approach was really important, so even though there was creative freedom, which is a huge gift, there was also the comfort that I could run ideas or suggestions past you and Linda and that I trust your judgement, and you’d give me feedback that was constructive or otherwise and I’d be really receptive to that. I was lucky I had my bases covered. Teamwork! Collaboration is the way to create great work and especially books.

How we made a book that addresses suicide We recently launched the book ‘The Roaring Silence’ - a compendium of essays, interviews, art, poetry, and prose about suicide. The book is 160 pages long, with 79 fantastic contributions that address how we can reduce suicide in New Zealand.

(Order it by emailing margaux.wong@ depotartspace.co.nz - $30 + postage)

• We asked them to keep in touch. With 79 contributors, we have a community of people that are interested on speaking up about this important social issue • We want to continue the dialogue by developing a tumblr for future contributions: http:// theroaringsilence-webtumblr.com/

With a sensitive topic like suicide, the ‘how’ became really important. Here’s a few of the ‘hows’ that were essential to the process of making this book.

• We communicated with the contributors individually, and checked in with some of the writers of more ‘raw’ work, so make sure they had good support systems around them • We really listened to people.

Giving someone your whole attention can sometimes be a simple way of supporting them • We encouraged people. We celebrated the contributions and the contributors and encouraged them to make more

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CAREERS LAB A New Depot Artspace Initiative for the Creative Sector

A

t Careers Lab we assist people with career decisions, job search strategies and creative mentoring. The people we help are looking to make a change because they want to grow into a newer version of themselves. They may not know what the ‘thing’ is that they are looking for so they are mystified by the “how” and don’t know where to start. That’s where we come in.

Careers Lab Team:

Lynn Lawton, Lila Pulsford, Jamie Mc Ewan, Margaux Wong Photography by David Bailey

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W

e know that the ‘how’ is the same, regardless of the ‘thing’.

The‘how’of making effective change is to be curious, to take risks, to be persistent and, most importantly, to welcome experimentation as a necessary step in the learning process. We know that new jobs or career paths are actually often temporary because questions always persist and adjustments are always needed. At Careers Lab we know that our capacity to have an impact rests on our ability to focus on the quality of our interactions with our clients and so the ‘how’ we

offer our clients is always kind; it is always gentle.

We like to frame change as an adventure because what should be fun about career decisions is the search. What is wonderful about finding a new job is the curiosity it draws out of you and the experience of the quest. We focus on the ‘how’ because our goal is to contribute to our clients’ sense of peace and wellbeing by clarifying their next direction in life, a direction that takes their values, their hopes and their life commitments into account.

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D E P OT S O U N D Dave Rhodes

I

t’s been an exciting few months in the studio. This year we have finished albums by Lakes and the Magic Band, Ghosts Of Electricity, The Floral Clocks, and The Gemini Effect as well as singles and EPs for Head Like a Hole, Blue Ruin, and Emma Cooper Williams.

We recently upgraded the headphone system with a Hearback set up that allows musicians to balance their own headphone mix, which is a huge help especially for live recordings. The studio has also just taken possession of a very nice Warm Audio WA-2A compressor which sounds wonderful and smooth on vocals.

There are still lots of cool projects on the go and more to come this year.

Singers, Sharon Emirali and Gail Tipene

Andrew from Head like a Hole

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Patrick, the drummer from Ghosts of Electricity

Indonesian Artists Cultural Exchange with the band High Sparrows

Join... ...... and you’ll be joining a creative community offering a range of opportunities. You will also be supporting the Depot Artspace and its objectives.

BENEFITS: • LOUD magazines and monthly e-newsletters • Invitations to all exhibition openings and special events.

• Opportunities to exhibit in the Galleries.

• Get involved by becoming a Volunteer.

• Use of the Recording Studio (charges apply).

Membership Rates (for one year membership) Individual $30 Family $40 Organisation $40 International $35 Youth (under 20) $10

To join the Depot Artspace fill out the Membership Form below, drop it in to our front desk or pay online, bank account # 12 3015 0013510 00 Please place your name and the word ‘membership’ in the reference section.

Depot Artspace 28 Clarence St, Devonport, Auckland, 0624

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Devonport Law C L I E N T

C E N T R E D

S O L U T I O N S

Devonport Law is an independent legal practice based on the North Shore of Auckland, New Zealand.

We are committed to working with our clients to make a difference to their lives.

Services we offer include; • • • • • • •

Banking Commercial Law Farming Dispute Resolution & Litigation Conveyancing

• • • • • •

Trusts Wills Family Law Trans Tasman Corporate Law Senior Law

For further information please get in touch today.

Devonport Law Suite 2 10 Victoria Road Devonport Auckland New Zealand

This coloured editon of LOUD, for our members, has been sponsored

by Devonport Law. 36

Phone 09 445 3105 0800 DEVLAW (0800 338529) Fax 09 445 3107 Email enquiries@devlaw.nz