Here I am wheeling Barbara Henderson into the welcome party that was held for me a week or so ago. Barbara is the person who was responsible for architect Ernst Plischke coming to Alexandra, from Wellington by bus in 1950 to design and build this house, the house in which I am now living for a year. Barbara now lives in a rest home near here although she maintains a studio on this 3 and a half acres, to which she comes, with a nurse, every Tuesday afternoon.
The Portrait
During my career I have, intermittently, taken portraits, sometimes of my friends, sometimes of those who I have only recently met.
Above is a photo that I took last week of Michiko, my daughter-in-law. Michiko is a chef and was at this time cooking a magnificent meal, one of the most memorable that I have ever seen let alone let pass through my lips. It was art.
I was brought up in a Catholic family. I believed in its dogma totally. I was an altar boy who wanted to become a priest.
Recently, I was asked if I would take part in a Stations of the Cross exhibition at the Gus Fisher Gallery in Auckland. The Gus Fisher is a satellite of Auckland University’s extravagantly named ‘National Institute of Creative Arts and Industries…a centre of excellence and innovation in contemporary creative arts and industries, research, education and practice.’
Even though I am now an atheist I decided to take part in this exhibition. I had done the rounds of the Stations of the Cross so often in my upbringing that I felt that I could make it.
The allocated Stations were drawn out of a hat so I didn’t know which one I was going to receive. I wanted
one of the flagellation ones. I think that they would have been easier. still I’m happy with this image.
Remember, that if you click on the image it will come up bigger and more readable.
The Obelisk
Yesterday I went up to the top of the Old Man Range, just to the west of Alexandra. Access is via a rough and in places steep road, really only accessible with a 4 wheel drive, not the family Toyota. There are about 5 gates to open.
This is a well known tor called The Obelisk, visible from a very long way away. I’ve been photographing rocks steadily since I arrived in Central Otago two months ago and this one was on my must see list. Impressive as it is as an object I’m still not sure whether the photo really passes or not. I’ll think about it.
Similarly with the one below. There is a clarity to it as well that attracts me, but I’m not sure. It may work, certainly it is a contender for the calendar that I am working on.
Again, I’ll live with it for a while and let you know later.
These two photographs of mine are in an auction catalogue, published by Art + Object in Auckland. The auction takes place on April 17th.
The top photo, on the catalogue cover, was taken in 1977. Christine Mathieson was a stylish and striking red-haired young woman who I had the good fortune to meet at the time. I think that she may have been at Elam Art School, but can’t check because unfortunately we have lost touch. She readily agreed to sit for some portraits and this was the one that I chose.
I didn’t print up many at the time, perhaps half a dozen. I may own one or two still, somewhere in my archives, but this one doesn’t belong to me. I don’t know where it has come from because, rightly so, auctioneers do not disclose that information.
The suggested price on it is $7000-$10000.
The chasuble has great significance for me. I was brought up a strict Catholic and to see celibate, educated men dressing in these soft, silken, embroidered garments made a lasting impression on me. Equally important was that they dedicated their life to a non-material ideal. For me they were like the archetypal artists, much changed now of course, where art is increasingly seen as a career, not as when I was young and inspired by these priests, a calling or a vocation.
I never printed many of these photos which is one of the reasons why the estimate on the sale price of this print being, $9000-$14000.
Today I have to fly to Auckland to supervise the printing of some large
photographs, there is so much at stake that I really need to be there. They are in preparation for a forthcoming exhibition opening on May 9th. As well as the printing, I need to talk to the framer.
I’ll be back on Friday afternoon, and may not be able to put up any postings before then, in which case I apologise in advance.
Meanwhile, the photo above is of some badges that I had made some time ago. I wore one to a welcome that was put on for me here on Friday and luckily had the foresight to fill my pockets with some spares. I was asked about it so many times that I ended up giving away 20 or 30. I enjoy sprinkling them around this community like fairy dust.
Falcon
In this area there are our endangered native falcons,
elegant creatures that perch on
cliff faces. I love seeing them. Sometimes they glide over this house.
This specimen is in Central Stories, our local museum. It is of course, dead.
One of the great delights of coming to live here in Central Otago is that I have met
an entomologist who is an expert on butterflies. At his home he has, as well as a beautiful Japanese wife, a comprehensive collection of butterflies from that country. This photo is of him showing me a book of specimens from Okinawa. These I would like to see for myself some day.
Correction. These are moths not butterflies! Thank you Brian.