Temporary art space to whet the appetite

admin — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 00:05:12 +0000

Temporary art space to whet the appetite

Reproduced from Otago Daily Times On-line edition

Article written By Nigel Benson on Sat, 14 Apr 2012

A temporary shop which challenges perceptions about art has opened in the main street of Dunedin.

“Fruit and Small Sculpture” opened for business in Princes St on Thursday as part of the 2012 Dunedin Public Art Gallery visiting artist programme.

[DPAG visiting artist Fiona Conner can be seen working at Fruit & small sculture 110 Princes St, Dunedin, just south of Moray Place]

The shop, open until April 31, would sell and trade fruit, vegetables and small sculptural works, Los Angeles-based artist Fiona Connor said.

“I wanted to set up a studio with a shop front. Basically, it’s an artist-run space that presents both fresh fruit and vegetables alongside art.”

The shop would also be a forum for the artist to engage with a wide range of people, without being in the context of a more formal art space, Connor said.

“I wanted to look at sculpture as being temporary and site-specific. Things like fruit, vegetables and cheese have sculptural qualities and when you go into a grocery shop people are familiar with how to read and approach it.

“Yet, when people go into an art gallery to look at sculpture, they sometimes feel a distance between them and the work. I was interested in challenging that, because perhaps artists just want you to relax and let the work speak to you.”

International artists and Otago Polytechnic School of Art students have also contributed sculptural works to the project.

- nigel.benson@odt.co.nz

Call for submissions

admin — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 05:53:53 +0000

‘Art on Campus’ in association with the Blue Oyster Gallery

Call for submissions

go to www.ousa.org.nz for more details

Fiona Connor at DPAG (from 5 May)

admin — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 21:26:17 +0000

Fruit and small sculpture: Fiona Connor, at DPAG

5 May – ongoing

Los Angeles-based New Zealand artist Fiona Connor will be spending 10 weeks in

Dunedin as part of the Gallery’s Visiting Artist Programme. Her project involves setting

up a store front operation in which she will sell a range of goods, including fresh

produce, printed matter and small sculptures. A series of workshops and critique

sessions will feed back into her final installation. Being involved in this process would

get your students thinking at a deeper level about their art making.

Rachel Rakena at school of art (seminar 5 April),

admin — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 21:25:44 +0000

Dunedin School of Art News:

Art Seminar

Thursday 5th April > 12.30—1.30

P152 Lecture Theatre

Rachel Rakena > Recent Projects

Becky Richards and Barbara Smith @ Blue Oyster Gallery

admin — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 06:44:18 +0000

The Blue Oyster cordially invites you to the opening for three exhibitions next Tuesday 6 March at 5.30pm:
Becky Richards: Castles from the Back Lot
Barbara Smith: A Diverse Cast

Exhibition Preview: Tuesday 6 March at 5.30pm
Exhibition runs: Wednesday 7 March – Saturday 7 April 2012

Barbara Smith and Becky Richards are both installation artists, though that is perhaps where the obvious similarities end. On Saturday 3 March the artists will descend on Dunedin – Smith from Hamilton, Richards from Christchurch via Melbourne – and begin to occupy the Upper and Darkside Galleries of the Blue Oyster. The pair will install their work together, but separately. A kind of un-collaboration where the gallery space is yet to be allocated and the artists’ interventions will take them meandering around the space, overlapping each other, figuring out just what they can do as they do it.

Smith’s body of work, A Diverse Cast, will see the installation of a number of objects created in her studio in Hamilton transported down to Dunedin in the back of her car. A road trip of sorts with resin, metal and perspex characters bumping around in the boot. At the final destination they will take up new positions in the gallery, perhaps a little jumbled. When Smith leaves the space it will be almost as if someone has shaken a Boggle box and left the letters lying for the the next willing participant to solve.

Richards will also bring her favoured materials with her, in this case a trailerload of recycled construction materials from the fractured realm of Christchurch, to divide and conquer the space; splitting it into fiefdoms populated by rock fortifications and grasses. If Smith intends on releasing inhabitants into the Blue Oyster, then Richards will attempt to give them gardens and borders. Miniature land art for the masses.

Barbara Smith graduated from Whitecliffe College with an Masters of Fine Arts in 2010. Becky Richards graduated from Ilam School of Fine Arts in 2011 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts majoring in Sculpture, she now co-runs White Elephant Arts Warehouse in Melbourne.

Monique Jansen and Frances Hansen: Alongside Project
Exhibition Begins: Tuesday 6 March at 5.30pm and runs until Thursday 8 March at 5.00pm.

On Tuesday evening in the Lower Gallery Monique Jansen and Frances Hansen will have been working on Alongside Project for around six hours. Operating as artistic tourists, Jansen and Hansen begin the process by scouring local shops in the vicinity of the exhibition site. They will collect materials that will then be deconstructed and incorporated into an improvisational drawing process, which will form a kind of site-specific urban bricolage. Jansen and Hansen will be working and able to talk with visitors in the space during opening hours from Wednesday 7 March – Friday 9 March.

Place exhibition at Dunedin Art School

admin — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 05:25:50 +0000

Index to Public art Controversies articles

admin — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 04:25:37 +0000

Public Sculpture: Is it time to rethink the role of the DCC? A discussion article published in the Otago Daily Times Jan 3rd 2012
Haka Peepshow, Octagon Dunedin, during Rugby World Cup 2011
DCC Art in Public Places Policy [current 2011]
1998- DCC Sculpture in Public Places [Critical Sites - Artists and Communities meet in Dunedin's Landscape, by Lloyd Edwards]
Public art: `…it would have been better, and cheaper, to have planted a tree.’ [extract] Timothy Morrell. Art Monthly Australia, March 2000, #137

Public Sculpture: Is it time to rethink the role of the DCC?

admin — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 04:15:04 +0000

This article was published in the Otago Daily Times (page 19) on Tuesday 3 Janiary 2012

Stone arches, 1998 by Rebecca South and Jesse Stevens [photo credit Bill Nichol] was commissioned under the original DCC Sculpture in Public Places policy

Kuri / Dog, 2008 by Stephen Mulqueen [photo credit Paul Sorrel] was commissioned under the current DCC Art in Public Places policy.

(We believe these sculptures represent examples of successful outcomes in terms of the commissioning process for each respective DCC public art policy.)

In the light of the controversy, particularly over the last two years, regarding installation of sited public art works in Dunedin, we, the Otago Sculpture Trust, feel it is our role as an independent body of professionals to add our voice to the debate, in the hope of creating better understanding around issues of public art here.

The Otago Sculpture Trust was established in 2002 by a group of practicing sculptors with a general aim of doing what we can to foster and develop sculptural practice across Otago and beyond. The trust seeks to promote public sculpture in its many forms, including accessing resources and influencing public art policies as a lobby group.

Public spaces are important to people. Sculpture adds value to public places via the interaction and response of people. Some community involvement in the selection and placement of public sculpture is a vital component of a sense of public ownership. Anomalies between the original and current DCC art in public places policies have perhaps accounted for the deterioration in community liaison

In 1994, the DCC adopted the ‘Sculpture in Public Places Policy which included in its aims to;

“involve communities artists and planners within the development of specific sites where the creative articulation of space was timely and appropriate and of value to the community involved
grow confidence, investment and ownership in the Public Art Policy, its processes and the works created as result of those processes.”

In 1996 the first sculpture was commissioned under this policy. The process involved approaching a local community (at St. Clair in this instance) to form a focus group and select a site in collaboration with the DCC. Artist submissions were then called for and a shortlist of three were funded to develop their concepts. These were then publicly displayed for three weeks and voting took place. ‘Boat’ by Ruth Myers was selected. This policy became so successful that communities began to approach the DCC requesting subsequent commissions.

A criticism of this policy might be the notion that art by committee or by consensus can sometimes lead to uninspiring work. The policy was a work in progress, and after review it was replaced with the DCC ‘Art in Public Places’ policy.

In section two, ‘People’, the new policy states “…the key principles that this policy adheres to about people and art are that:

Art enhances the social and economic environment of the city
Art is a way of valuing people and their communities
Art is for people and must be accessible
Art is a reflection of who we are
Art involves and engages communities
Art is a tool for building relationships between developers, communities and arts practitioners”

Direct community involvement completely disappeared from the policy. From one extreme to the other it would seem. Over the past four years, a DCC Art in Public Places subcommittee has placed two sculptures (three if you include the Haka Peep Show) under the current policy.

Is there really anything fundamentally wrong with Dunedin’s recent policy? We’ve had some good sculpture and some ‘appearing out of nowhere’. And we have had a great deal of public annoyance. Debate needs to be constructive and surprise can be energising in a positive way; people now are visually more astute thanks to a greater range of influences. We believe that the strongly negative opinions expressed by some people are not the opinions of everyone.

What would encourage a more inclusive process for selecting our public art works? Perhaps we can have constructive debate both before and after works are commissioned and placed.

Is it time for the DCC to take a step back from such direct involvement in sculpture in public places? The Queenstown Lakes District Council and the Wellington City council have both successfully done so. In both cases the respective council provides seed funding to a not-for–profit art or sculpture trust, which obtains additional funding through donations and sponsorship and commissions public sculpture. The Wellington City Council still directly commissions public art work from time to time.

The Otago Sculpture Trust in its current form cannot take on this governance role.

In 2002 Dunedin the Otago Community Trust published the Hudson Report which it had commissioned. The report was a culmination of many meetings of a focus group comprised of gallery directors and curators and the DCC Community Arts Advisor of the time. Their thorough report proposes the formation of the ‘Southern Sculpture Foundation’ and in great detail outlines the role of the foundation and how it would operate. Unfortunately none of the proposed recommendations could be implemented due to the collapse of the share market and consequent financial restraints of the time.

With recent publicity surrounding public art in Dunedin, perhaps a group of respected and influential people can be persuaded to accept the exciting challenge of providing Dunedin with public art. Public Art which delights and helps to tell our stories, while also acknowledging it has the important role of stimulating discussion, and challenging expectations of ‘public’ as simply meaning~ homogenised, and without difference.

This article was written by four board members of the trust; Chairman Peter Nicholls, Secretary Pam McKelvey, Peter Mason, and the Treasurer Mike O’Kane.

Haka Peepshow in Dunedin’s Octagon during RWC

admin — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 04:48:45 +0000

Haka Peepshow- DCC Cara Paterson

25 September 2011

[source; DCC website]

Genesis of a creative dream

This item was published on 12 Sep 2011.

Rachael Rakena’s 3D video artwork, Haka Peepshow, unveiled in the Octagon last Friday, has been a dream long waiting to be realised.

Ms Rakena says she has had the concept evolving in her imagination for quite some years, but partly due to lack of access to the necessary technology, she wasn’t able to realise it until now.

Approached late last year by the DCC Art in Public Places Committee, Ms Rakena seized the opportunity presented to initiate the development of her concept and begin the journey to create this provocative and memorable artwork.

The timing seemed to be right, with funding available from NgÄi Tahu, and the willingness of the Otago Polytechnic to offer resources and space.

Suzanne Ellison, spokesperson for Kati Huirapa ki Puketeraki says, “Kati Huirapa ki Puketeraki congratulates Rachael Rakena on capturing, in sumptuous 3D, different faces of haka from the youthful exuberance and energy of our rangatahi through to the most experienced and skilled exponents of the art of haka. Her work gives visitors and residents alike a ‘peep’ into the world of haka.”

While Haka Peepshow was not finally funded by the Art in Public Places Committee, but rather through the DCC’s Marketing budget, its significance to Dunedin’s artistic landscape has been lauded by members of the Committee and members of both of the city’s runaka.

Edward Ellison, Chairperson of Te Runanga o Otakou says, “The art work and the conversation the artist brings to the city is creative and will enrich our understanding of the underlying issues it draws inspiration from.”

The sense of synchronicity was enhanced further just before the unveiling of the artwork, as Sky Sports announced its intention to run commercial breaks immediately after RWC 2011 teams perform their haka, and before kick-off.

Contact details

Contact Cara Paterson, DCC Community Advisor for Arts on 477 4000.

Haka Peepshow- background

24 September 2011

The Otago Sculpture Trust acknowledges

www.hakapeepshow.co.nz/ as the source of this extract. Visit the website for the full article.

Kaupapa

Haka Peepshow is a celebration of the diversity of contemporary haka in Maori and broader New Zealand culture. In an era, when the haka is frequently a commercial branding device, this coin-operated peepshow invites viewers to take a fresh look at the haka and to consider it in the broader context of the sexualisation and commodification of Maori sportsmen and the representation of their masculinity and culture in the media.

Rachel Rakena. Haka Peepshow. Dunedin

18 September 2011

THE OTAGO SCULPTURE TRUST ACKNOWLEDGE’S THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES’ ON-LINE EDITION AS THE SOURCE OF THE FOLLOWING NEWS ITEM

http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/177968/overseas-reaction-concerns-artist

Overseas reaction concerns artist

By David Loughrey on Fri, 16 Sep 2011

The creator of the phallic work of art causing ongoing controversy in Dunedin says she is disappointed the “humour aspect” of the story is being picked up overseas.

Artist Rachael Rakena said yesterday of the strong reaction to the work: “I suppose it is to be expected.”

Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull yesterday repeated his support for the Haka Peep Show and “the pleasure it has generated around the city”.

But arts commentator Peter Entwisle said while it did have some merit as a work of art – a light-hearted work that was “fun and ribald” – in the context of Dunedin’s financial state it was always going to raise the ire of citizens.

Mr Entwisle also said Maori needed to be “thick-skinned and broad-minded” about the use of their culture, as did all other cultures.

The work of art, in the shape of the container used in a Rexona deodorant brand connected to the All Blacks, is a “towering black pou [post or pillar]” that houses 3-D video works of art featuring four haka performed by prominent Maori.

It attracted $50,000 of Dunedin City Council money, and $80,000 from Ngai Tahu.

The work was placed in the Octagon late last week, and Rakena has said it “considers the sexualisation and commodification of Maori and indigenous sportsmen through the use and exploitation of their masculinity and their culture, in the media”.

She said the shape was a phallic reference.

It has caused ructions within the council over funding and confidentiality issues, and the story has ended up on the US-based Huffington Post website, accessed by millions, as well as New Zealand newspapers.

Mr Cull said yesterday it appeared the feedback has been “overwhelmingly positive, and I’m grateful to Ngai Tahu for offering us the opportunity to share in this thought-provoking art work”.

On questions raised about ownership and the return on investment, Mr Cull said it was not usual for the council to look for a return on its marketing investment which, traditionally, was expected to raise the city’s profile and prompt people to visit the city.

Mr Entwisle said if he had been sitting on the committee that agreed to the funding “I would not have voted the money for it, because in the circumstances, it was bound to get people’s backs up”.

Rakena yesterday said she had received positive feedback about the work. She had not anticipated the controversy over the cost, which was a council concern.

Asked whether All Black Dan Carter selling underwear was not sexualisation, and the use of Scottish imagery in Highlanders’ advertisements was not commodification, Rakena agreed it was.

The haka, though, was specific to Maori, she said, and the work was a response to research she had done on the way of indigenous sportsmen were dealt with.

A complaint has been filed against Dunedin city councillor Lee Vandervis, alleging he broke Dunedin City Council confidentiality rules, it was confirmed yesterday.

Cr Bill Acklin said he sent the complaint to Mr Cull on Wednesday.

His complaint claimed Cr Vandervis had committed a “blatant breach” of the council’s code of conduct by discussing confidential aspects of the Haka Peep Show, Cr Acklin said, adding the issue was not about “a tit-for-tat between me and Vandervis”.

Cr Vandervis dismissed the move on Wednesday, saying if Cr Acklin “doesn’t like things to be transparent, maybe he should look for another job”. -

- Additional reporting: Chris Morris

Index to Sculpture ‘In Site’ Articles

admin — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 21:11:57 +0000

Illustrated and informative articles about local sculpture. These articles were written and generously contributed by Richard Dingwall. Previously published in The Otago Daily Times in the In Site feature column, they provide fascinating background information about Dunedin’s public sculptures.

Beech Leaf Stepping Stones

Corner of Gordon and Factory Roads, Mosgiel Siegfried Kogelmeir

Boer War Memorial

The Oval, Dunedin

Carlo Bergamini

photo: Bill Nichol

Byrd Memorial

Unity Park, Eglinton Road, Dunedin

Felix de Weldon

photo: Mike O’Kane

Cargills Monument

The Exchange, Princes St, Dunedin