The work of Bay of Plenty artist Brett Taylor has a classical and yet very Kiwi aesthetic. His sculpture explores the human body and nature via cast bronze and glass – two particularly difficult to master art forms – and yet remain solidly grounded and real, seemingly drawn up from the earth around us. His work can be found everywhere from Taupō (where the seven-metre-tall ‘Heartland Taupō’ sculpture makes a commanding presence beside the Taupō Museum), to private collections in Washington and Hong Kong.
PLENTY Did you follow in her footsteps and go to Elam? BT No! I dropped out of school. In those days the school system never really related to right brain thinking – I think they do a bit better now – but in those days you had to fit into a very, very small box, and I wasn’t ready for that. But it’s not easy to stay in the art world, and in my early years I used to pump gas in order to be able to keep doing my art. I used to work night shifts so that I could spend the day doing art; as long as I had bread and butter, I could keep doing what I wanted, which was drawing and painting.
Originally from Auckland, Brett Taylor has made the Bay of Plenty his home for 18 years, with his current studio nestled on the cliffs overlooking the Matatā coast (and incidentally, the dunes of Ōtamarākau – see our history feature on page 60). Part workshop, part art gallery, part foundry, the studio shares the cliffs with an ancient pā site and an organic avocado orchard, and The Winsley Twins paid it a visit.
Eventually I studied graphic arts at Auckland Technical Institute, but I studied design, which wasn’t really right for me, and then eventually went back to Auckland Arts Academy a few years later. I was there literally at the time when they said, “Throw away your pencils, it’s all going to be computers from now on,” which is unfortunate because that crams you into a certain genre of work. And my ‘analogue’ approach has remained with me to this day – I like tactile things and I like drawing, I like clay. I think a part of the reason is that there are so many more surprises in those mediums – and as artists, or humans for that matter, we’re always in pursuit of the things we don’t understand. So those surprises that come with tactile things, the mistakes, the wrong turns, the effects of gravity! All those are invaluable. They’re gifts from the process.”
PLENTY Did you come from an artistic background? BT Yes, very much so. My mother was one of the first students at Elam School of Fine Arts, there with people like Toss Woollaston, but in those days’ artists were considered to be the fringe dwellers of society. They probably still are, but we’ve managed to weasel our way into polite society a bit more in recent years! My mother was part of that crowd and at a very dynamic time in New Zealand art, but ultimately my mum chose another canvas – she had a family. But when I grew up there were always paper and glue and things like that around on the table, there were always things going on, so art just seemed a part of life. As opposed to something ‘other’ as it is for many Kiwis.
AN INTERVIEW with Brett Taylor
INTERVIEW THE WINSLEY TWINS WORDS & PHOTOGRAPHY ANDY TAYLOR IMAGES SUPPLIED
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P L E N T Y . C O . N Z // P O U T Ū - T E - R A N G I 2 0 2 0
