All posts filed under: Art

Fun at the art gallery

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Auckland Art Gallery has been prettied up and re-opened a couple of weeks ago. 15,000 or so works in the collection with 800 on display at any one time. We visted twice in one day and noticed things that were there in the afternoon that weren’t there in the morning. They must really be having fun with switching around the artworks. It’s been years since I visited and there were many familiar pieces as well as new ones. Bill Hammond’s Japanese painting is one of my favourites there and worth visiting just for that. Most artworks are not to be touched. But one exhibition encourages interaction with kaleidoscopes and tables of paper, stencils, paper punches and colouring pencils. Afternoon craft time is fun for kids both big and small.

Eszter Burghardt’s Edible Vistas

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I recently stumbled upon some amazing photography by Canadian based Eszter Burghardt. She uses food as props for her landscapes. More of her work can be found here. Is this food photography or landscape photography? They remind me of very specific New Zealand landscapes. These 4 photos conjur up memories of places that I have visited and loved in this country: The emerald lake at Tongariro Huka Falls Thermal pools in Rotorua Milford Sound What do you think?

Spraypainted bunnies

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The boys were painting a wall so I had a practice with their spraycans on some bits of board. This was my first time freehand painting with spraycans. I’ve used stencils before, but it’s not the same. With my puny paws and wimpy wrists, these bunnies were all I could paint before getting too tired and sore.

White Temple. One for the bucket list

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The next morning we left Chaing Khong and drove to Chiang Mai via Chiang Rai. At Chiang Rai we visted Wat Rong Khun – the White Temple by artist Chalermchai Kositpipat. A glaring white and covered in tiny mirrors, this glorious beacon encourages dark eyewear. This temple is unlike any Buddhist temple you have ever seen. The red skull road cones that we passed on the way and the life size Predator stuck in the grass outside were fairly bold suggestions. The decapitated heads hanging from trees was a pretty blatant give away that this was no serene place of meditation. If you find all this fairly interesting, you must go inside the White Temple. No photography was permitted but the unfinished murals on the wall inside are incredible. The artist relies heavily on pop culture icons as well political figures to create an inspiring, modern scenes of doom and glory. Bush, Bin Laden, Avatar, Neo from The Matrix, Spiderman, Batman are a few of the unconventional characters found on the inside walls of this …

Japanese Art Festival photos

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The Japanese Art Festival over the weekend was a great success with the new venue of Aotea Centre and increased publicity. On Saturday, there were speeches, nibbles and drinks as well as a half hour Taiko drumming demonstration at Aotea Square. The drumming was phenomenal and the acoustics in the square were amazing. There was a great turn out and got lots of people interested in the exhibition inside. On Sunday I took my family through the exhibition and also participated in a live art demo in the afternoon. The bunny and origami drawing I did was quite popular with the young, female audience and after a bit of a bidding war, fetched $61 for charity. Here are some photos from the festival… (click on the thumbnails for a larger view)

Japanese Art Festival starts today

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The Koala and I have been busy this last month with the lead up to the Japanese Art Festival. We’ve done all the graphic design for the festival, a 30+ page prospectus for one of the event sponsors and have been working on brand new paintings to exhibit. It has been a real work work work month. Well, the work has all paid off because the festival starts today. It’s free and it’s on from today until Sunday so if you’re in Auckland this weekend, come down to Aotea Centre and check it out. Saturday lunch-ish is the best time to go as there will be Taiko drumming and live art. There will be collection for Japanese earthquake relief and many artists will be donating full or percentage of sales. The Koala and I will be donating 50% of our sales to the Japanese earthquake relief. So please come! I leave you with a teaser from my pieces…

Painting Japan

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Last week’s horrific events in Japan hit me while I was sitting under our reproduction of Hokusai’s The Great Wave Off Kanagawa. I spend a lot of time sitting under this piece of art and it takes up a big wall in our lounge. I saw it with fresh eyes. With one eye glued to Facebook to check on my Japan based friends and the another eye on the TV watching the news unfold. Watching video footage of the earthquake I noticed how calm the people were. The sounds of voices talking, not screaming. People at their desks waiting for the earthquake to be over. Holding computer screens up. Not fearing for their lives. They do get a lot of earthquakes, but I don’t think that is it. People have been questioning why there hasn’t been footage of looters in Japan. I am embarrassed that our society has come to expect looters to arise in tragedies. Some countries have been known to bring in military assistance to stop the looters. Not Japan. I really admire …

Monday Bunday: Giant Rabbit by ROA

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This Giant Rabbit was painted by Belgian street artist Roa on the side of a shop on Hackney Road in London in March 2010. This was painted with the owner’s approval and permission. Yet the council served the owners with a removal order in October, but after a petition and public outcry, the council decided against removing the rabbit. Thank common sense! Councils need to realise that good artwork can beautify an area and can attract people to it. Besides, what gives the council the right to remove artwork on land that doesn’t belong to them? Roa really does get around. This Dead Rabbit by Roa can be found in Williamsburg, New York City. This four story rabbit in Zaragoza, Spain. Maybe the most spectacular, at least technically, would be their lenticular piece on this London garage door. Viewed from the right: Viewed from the left: And viewed from the front: See more of ROA’s urban animals here.

Digidude

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I have a tripod at home. In fact, I own 2 tripods. They are retract down to the size of an umbrella but they’re still rather clunky and I have yet to bring a tripod out with me to events, parties etc. Is there any point in owning tripods when you are too embarrassed or lazy don’t use them? The solution? Digidude’s retractable tripod. Perfect for any photo enthusiast who isn’t quite geeky enough to carry around a full sized tripod. Choose from one of four dudes: iChomp, Snot Buster, Pinky Scorsese, BoltBot and G bling Money Son. I can’t choose a favourite, I want them all! $20US each from quirky.com.

The Spreading Tree

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There is a newly painted building not far from my house. Isn’t it sweet? On further investigation, it looks like it is new centre for artists from all different disciplines to converge and make experimental art.  

Cinzah’s first solo show and afterparty

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Photos from Cinzah’s show on last Friday at Rebel Yell Gallery and afterparty at Khuja Lounge. I love art shows and arty afterparties. Fun! Mural painted on Rebel Yell wall. Cinzah and fans. Simon (Cracked Ink) drawing at the Khuja afterparty. Cracked Ink goes bang. Gene drawing Jeff the Maori. Jeff the Maori. Doodle wall. They let riffraff like me draw! I did some bunnies and conjoined critters. Live art on stage. Liam (City King). Nice work guys!    

Ron Mueck Exhibition – review

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We got visit Ron Mueck’s exhibition in Christchurch last month (exactly 1 month ago today). It is on at the Christchurch Art gallery until 23rd January so there is still time if you want to check it out. I thought it was amazing the amount of detail and work that goes into these works. One thing that makes it a bit less creepy, is that none of these works are actual size. They are smaller or larger than us which makes it easier to examine without feeling like you are staring at another human being. It’s really worth going to because you just can’t get the same experience looking at photos. The realistic quality of the skin the texture, the colour etc. Each hair inserted individually, veins running underneath the skin. I’m not usually a photographer of feet, but something about Mueck’s subject’s feet really struck me. The toes were expressive! I’m sure most people that see this work asks the same question: how? Luckily there is a room with screens showing footage of the …

Cinzah’s first solo show!

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We’re going to the opening of Cinzah Merken’s first solo show tonight. He’s called it Big City Island Kids and it’s on at Rebel Yell Gallery in La Gonda Arcade at 203 K Rd, Auckland. From 6pm until 9pm with an afterparty with live art at Khuja afterwards. Cinzah also paints as Seekayem. Cinzah’s work is a kooky combination of illustration, graffiti and low brow art. His wall-eyed, bung eyed smiling characters will charm the pants off you, so wear a belt. Check it out! (click image for larger view)

Tulip Tree Presents: Images from Earth

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There’s still 1 day left for any creative minded readers who wish to submit a piece for Tulip Tree Present’s Images from Earth project. The project is work based on the music that was on a record that was sent into space in 1977 and is open to any kind of visual art. More info here. Here’s a sneak peak to my submission. Inspired by the song Cranes in Their Nest performed by Coro Yamaguchi.