Headlands: Thinking Through New Zealand Art

Last updated

Headlands: Thinking Through New Zealand Art was an exhibition of New Zealand art organised in partnership by the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA), Sydney and the National Art Gallery, Wellington, in 1992

Contents

History

Headlands: Thinking Through New Zealand Art was a partnership between the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) in Sydney, Australia and the National Art Gallery, New Zealand. (Note: during the development of the exhibition the National Art Gallery was restructured into a new National Museum Te Papa Tongarewa). [1] The exhibition was shown at the MCA in Sydney from 1 April – 28 June 1992 and at Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington from 5 September – 1 November 1992. In Sydney the exhibition included a comprehensive film programme curated by Jonathan Dennis and Merata Mita. [2]

The exhibition

The MCA presented Headlands alongside ‘Tyerabarrbowaryaou: I Shall Never Become a White Man', [3] an exhibition of contemporary Aboriginal art. Headlands was curated by Robert Leonard and Bernice Murphy with John McCormack, Cheryll Sotheran and Cliff Whiting. [4] Bernice Murphy, Chief Curator of the MCA, explained that the intention of Headlands was to include multiple voices and experiences and ‘to probe how the cultural traditions of Maori and Pakeha have interacted and evolved new forms’. [5]

Artists

Headlands presented 128 works by 35 artists. They were Laurence Aberhart, Sandy Adsett, Rita Angus, Lillian Budd (Merylyn Tweedie), Derrick Cherrie, Julian Dashper, Shona Rapira Davies, Neil Dawson, Don Driver, Andrew Drummond, Lyonel Grant, Bill Hammond, Terrence Handscomb, Jeffrey Harris, Christine Hellyar, Rangimarie Hetet, John Hurrell, Michael Illingworth, Megan Jenkinson, Richard Killeen, Alison Maclean, Colin McCahon, Julia Morison, Milan Mrkusich, Michael Parekowhai, Peter Peryer, John Reynolds, Theo Schoon, Marie Shannon, Michael Smither, Dennis Knight Turner, Gordon Walters, Ruth Watson, Christine Webster, Cliff Whiting. [6]

The publication

Unlike many national exhibitions Headlands was organised into seven themes: Designs for living, Headlands, Turangawaewae/A Place to Stand, Model Behavior/Self Defence, With Spirit, Inside/Out and Mod Cons. [7] These were curated by Robert Leonard and designed to suggest new perspectives for looking at New Zealand art. This ambition was also reflected in the essays for the publication written by Bernice Murphy, Priscilla Pitts, Alexa M Johnston, Cliff Whiting, Rangihiroa Panaho, Roger Horrocks, Tony Green, Robert Leonard, Christina Barton and Francis Pound. [8]

Reception of Headlands in Australia

The critical response to Headlands in Australia was positive and thoughtful ranging from ‘a revelation’ to ‘difficult but rewarding’. Most critics saw Headlands as either an opportunity to see how ‘New Zealand responded to the same kinds of influences found in this place…’ [9] or as an opportunity to view artists, ‘thoughtfully combating an oppressive, conformist Anglophile past while coming to terms with their Māori present. [10] Writing in Art andAustralia Daniel Thomas, art historian and the National Gallery of Australia’s inaugural Senior Curator of Australian Art, [11] said of the exhibition ‘In Headlands, New Zealand art looked extremely interesting and very good’ and of one of the key works, ‘Whew! What irreverent bounce, what style!’. [12]

Reception of Headlands in New Zealand

It was planned to show Headlands at three venues in New Zealand: The National Art Gallery, the Auckland Art Gallery and the Dunedin Public Art Gallery. Before its return, however, both Auckland and Dunedin declined to show the exhibition. [13] In addition, the 180-strong film programme was not included when the exhibition was shown at Te Papa Tongarewa. [14]

This negative response was echoed in the critical reaction to the exhibition in New Zealand. Although the exhibition was large, [15] much of the criticism focused on the absence of specific artists from the 35 selected. Some critics presented their own lists of artists they felt had been unfairly left out. Hamish Keith, a past Chair of The Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council, for instance, lamented the absence of Jenny Dolezel, Dick Frizzell, Alan Maddox, Denys Watkins and Tosswill Woollaston. [16]

Appropriation controversy

Although there was some controversy over the cost of Headlands and the loss of two venues in New Zealand, [17] the harshest criticism was directed at one of the essays in the publication written by art historian Rangihiroa Panaho. Panaho had highlighted a published statement by artist Gordon Walters’ commenting on his koru series of work initiated by the painting Te Whiti in 1966, ‘The forms I have used have no descriptive value in themselves…’ [18]  Panaho argued that Walters had appropriated the form of the koru and stripped its cultural significance. The reaction to this critique of a senior artist was heated. Art historian Michael Dunn described it as a ‘mean-spirited attack’. [19]   Art historian Francis Pound (a key Walters supporter during the Headlands’ controversy) [20] wrote two years later in his book The SpacesBetween [21] that Walters had in fact improved on the Māori version of the koru ‘giving power back’ to the originators. He also suggested that Walters’ forms presented the koru at ‘its maximum power’. [22] Over time views shifted and Panaho's commentary was seen in a broader context. In a substantial retrospective review of Headlands in 2013, art historian Christina Barton, after noting that Headlands had had ‘a profound impact on New Zealand art and discourse…’, found that the appropriation debate initiated by the exhibition was ‘not so easy to quell’ and that it continues ‘to surface in the work of artists like Shane Cotton, Peter Robinson, Marie Shannon, Wayne Youle and even jeweler Warwick Freeman…’ [23] In 2018 critic Anthony Byrt wrote that in his view Panaho had little intention of diminishing Walters’ contribution and ‘had every right to raise his concerns about Walters’ use of Maori motif’. For Byrt, Panaho had made Walters’ work seem ‘more complex; thornier examples of a peculiarly local modernism.’ [24]

Additional reading

Louise Garrett, Reading Headlands, unpublished master's thesis, Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington, 1997

Related Research Articles

Gordon Frederick Walters was a Wellington-born artist and graphic designer who is significant to New Zealand culture due to his representation of New Zealand in his Modern Abstract artworks.

Shona Rapira Davies is a sculptor and painter of Ngātiwai ki Aotea tribal descent. Currently residing in Wellington New Zealand.

Jolene Douglas is a contemporary New Zealand Māori artist who has been exhibiting since 1983. Two of her art works are in the collection of Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. She is currently living in Gisborne and been a curator Tairawhiti Museum since 1995. Douglas was born in 1950 in Matamata, New Zealand.

Michael Te Rakato Parekōwhai is a New Zealand sculptor and a professor at the University of Auckland's Elam School of Fine Arts. He is of Ngāriki Rotoawe and Ngāti Whakarongo descent and his mother is Pākehā.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cliff Whiting</span> New Zealand artist

Clifford Hamilton Whiting was a New Zealand artist, teacher and advocate for Māori heritage.

Wayne Youle is a New Zealand artist of Ngapuhi, Ngati Whakaeke and Ngati Pakeha descent. His bicultural heritage is reflected in his work, addressing issues of identity, race and the commodification of cultural symbols. He often uses humour to make his point. Youle's work is held in national museums and public galleries. He lives and works in Amberley, New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fiona Pardington</span> New Zealand photographer (born 1961)

Fiona Dorothy Pardington is a New Zealand artist, her principal medium being photography.

Emma Camden is an English-New Zealand glass artist.

Jacqueline Fraser is a New Zealand artist of Ngāi Tahu descent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maureen Lander</span> New Zealand weaver, multimedia installation artist and academic

Maureen Robin Lander is a New Zealand weaver, multimedia installation artist and academic. Lander is a well-respected and significant Māori artist who since 1986 has exhibited, photographed, written and taught Māori art. She continues to produce and exhibit work as well as attend residencies and symposia both nationally and internationally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lisa Reihana</span> New Zealand artist (born 1964)

Lisa Marie Reihana is a New Zealand artist. Her video work, In Pursuit of Venus [Infected] (2015), which examines early encounters between Polynesians and European explorers, was featured at the 2017 Venice Biennale.

Robyn Kahukiwa is an Australian-born New Zealand artist, award-winning children's book author, and illustrator. Kahukiwa has created a significant collection of paintings, books, prints, drawings, and sculptures.

Emily (Emare) Karaka is a New Zealand artist of Māori descent Her work is recognised for "its expressive intensity, her use of high key colour, and her gritty address of political issues related to Māori land rights and the Treaty of Waitangi".

Saffronn Te Ratana is a visual artist of Māori descent, born in Palmerston North, New Zealand. Te Ratana went to Palmerston Intermediate Normal School, followed by Palmerston North Girls’ High School.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brett Graham</span> New Zealand sculptor

Brett Graham is a New Zealand sculptor who creates large scale artworks and installations that explore indigenous histories, politics and philosophies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandy Adsett</span> New Zealand artist, curator, educator

Raymond Henry "Sandy" Adsett is a New Zealand visual artist and educator. He is acknowledged for championing the art of kōwhaiwhai painting, creating a context for the artform within the development of contemporary Māori art.

Marie Shannon is a New Zealand artist and educator who makes photography, video and drawing. Her artwork is in the collections of Te Papa, New Zealand's national museum, and Dunedin, Christchurch and Auckland city galleries.

Selwyn Frederick Muru, also known as Herewini Murupaenga, is a New Zealand artist of Māori descent. His life's work includes, painting, sculpture, journalism, broadcasting, directing, acting, set design, theatre, poetry and whaikōrero. Muru was awarded the Te Tohu Aroha mō Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu | Exemplary/Supreme Award in 1990 at the Creative New Zealand Te Waka Awards.

Buck Loy Nin (1942–1996) was a New Zealand artist influential in the development of contemporary Māori art in New Zealand. His landscape paintings have been included in survey exhibitions of contemporary Māori art including Te Waka Toi: Contemporary Maori Art that toured the United States in 1992 and Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art curated by Nigel Borrell and opened in 2020. Selwyn Muru called him 'Buck Nin the Mythmaker'.

Robert Leonard is a New Zealand art curator, writer, and publisher.

References

  1. ↑ "Opening of the Museum of New Zealand - Te Papa Tongarewa" . Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  2. ↑ Headlands : moving images from Aotearoa/New Zealand. Jonathan Dennis, Museum of Contemporary Art. Sydney [N.S.W.]: Museum of Contemporary Art. 1992. ISBN   0-477-01576-X. OCLC   154257064.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  3. ↑ "Tyerabarrbowaryaou II: I shall never become a white man" . Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  4. ↑ Barton, Christina (2013). "Rethinking Headlands". Afterall Journal. 39: 101–102.
  5. ↑ Headlands : thinking through New Zealand art. Robert Leonard, Bernice Murphy, Mary Barr, John McCormack, Cheryll Sotheran, Cliff Whiting, Museum of Contemporary Art, National Art Gallery, Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council of New Zealand, Council for Maori and South Pacific Arts, Australia Council. Visual Arts/Craft Board. Sydney [N.S.W.]: The Museum. 1992. pp. 9–12. ISBN   1-875632-04-2. OCLC   30605052.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  6. ↑ "Headlands MCA" . Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  7. ↑ McDonald, Ewen (1992). "Headlands Pacifically Speaking". Art New Zealand. 64: 59–61.
  8. ↑ McCarthy, Conal (1992). "Headlands Assessed". Art New Zealand. 65: 34–35.
  9. ↑ McGillick, Paul (June 1992). "Headlands: Thinking Through New Zealand Art". The Listener and TV Times: 46–47.
  10. ↑ Mendelssohn, Joanna (21 April 1992). "Two Views of NZ: Two Versions of Isolation". The Bulletin.
  11. ↑ "Portraits: Daniel Thomas" . Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  12. ↑ Thomas, Daniel (Summer 1992). "A Trans-Tasman Encounter Art and Australia". Art and Australia. 7 (2).
  13. ↑ "Hands Across the Tasman". NZ Herald. 26 March 1992.
  14. ↑ "Film Omission Scandalous". Capital Times. 21 October 1992.
  15. ↑ "NZ Art Show Sydney Success". The Press, Christchurch. 15 May 1992.
  16. ↑ Keith, Hamish (Summer 1992). "Heartlands: Another View of New Zealand Art". Art and Australia. 3 (12).
  17. ↑ Sayle, Jane (26 September 1992). "Headlands no Full-stop". The Dominion.
  18. ↑ Dunn, Michael (1983). Gordon Walters. Auckland City Art Gallery. [Auckland, N.Z.]: Auckland City Art Gallery. p. 124. ISBN   0-86463-111-1. OCLC   11622922.
  19. ↑ Dunn, Michael (1992). "Headlands: Refiguring New Zealand Art". Art New Zealand (64): 53.
  20. ↑ Gordon Walters : new vision. Lucy Hammonds, Laurence Simmons, Julia Waite, Clare McIntosh, Auckland Art Gallery, Dunedin Public Art Gallery. Auckland, New Zealand. 2017. p. 31. ISBN   978-0-86463-315-6. OCLC   1011533889.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
  21. ↑ Pound, Francis (1994). The space between : Pakeha use of Maori motifs in modernist New Zealand art (2nd ed.). Auckland, N.Z.: Workshop Press. ISBN   0-9583312-4-3. OCLC   36104392.
  22. ↑ Pound, Francis (1994). The spaces Between: Pākehā Use of Māori Motifs in Modernist New Zealand. Workshop Press. pp. 167–168.
  23. ↑ Barton, Christina (2013). "Rethinking Headlands". Afterall Journal. 39: 110.
  24. ↑ Byrt, Anthony (July 2018). "'Looking for Mr Walters: are we any Closer to Understanding the Abstract Artist?'". Metro (418).
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.