Skoda
A very stylish 1961 Skoda, built in Checkoslovakia and taking part in a vintage car rally here on the weekend.
The engine is basically the same one that was used in the New Zealand built Trekka, a rather ugly vehicle but one that gained some fame recently when Michael Stevenson used it as a centrepiece for his work in the Venice Biennale.
in New Plymouth.
I fell in love with this Fiat Topolino, immediately. It doesn’t have a flat surface anywhere, every panel is perfectly curved. It was modern and still looks modern.
Topolino means something like little mouse.
The black 8 cylinder Buick behind it is strong too in a gangsterish way.
The engine is 500cc. The solid looking wheels especially appeal to me.
European Hare
A couple of weeks ago I took delivery of 10 prints of this image, a portrait of a European Hare. The prints were made in Sydney.
Here is one of the prints at the framer, being prepared for the Auckland Art Fair on the 29th where it will be exhibited on Hamish McKay’s stand.
It is my most recent photo, taken about 6 months ago. There haven’t been any photos since then, but I’m not worried, it is something to look forward to. After a longish gap there may be a shift.
The photo is, including frame and gst, $4000. Unframed $3750. 3 have gone. Any enquiries phone Hamish 0274368368
The NCEA Best
There is a show touring NZ, recently set up at the Govett-Brewster here in New Plymouth by our national educational authorities who want to instruct teenagers of our country on how to become famous photographers.
Local secondary school students of photography were brought, even by bus, to see these portfolios, the top scoring ones from last year. They were being shown what the look was that the examiners were wanting. The remarkable sameness to the portofolios was, as usual, for they look similar year after year, truly alarming. Clearly it is a house style.
Once, a decade ago at Selwyn College, I tried to teach this approach to photography even though I knew that I would not be able to pass this exam myself. I quit after a year because I was ashamed to be part of such a questionable approach.
Back at the Studio
I’m back in my New Plymouth studio and trying to put things in order. Tomorrow I have an architect coming to help me make some decisions about opening up the roof. The house has good bones of Rimu and Matai but the old corrugated iron is springing leaks. The water is coming through my fibrous plaster ceilings and I store my photos here so treatment is urgent. As I’m going to put on a new roof it is a good time to think about opening it up to the light. And insulating.
