Growing Old and Pacing Yourself - of Mountains and Valleys.

This February marked the opening of a print exhibition I shared with two other artists (potter and a painter) at Darfield. It was stressful because I worried excessively about how the glassed and framed works would survive the air trip from Hamilton - they did.

Paradise - the Upper Waimakariri

After the opening and catching up with friends I made the most of my presence in the South Island and took off for the hills about Arthur's Pass for a few days with Mike White and Jim Wilson, 'old' climbing friends for more than sixty-five years. Sadly, Dave Elphick, the other of our climbing 'quartet', passed away a little while ago.

We spent much of the time based at Rough Creek Shambles, the Wilson family batch at the 'Pass'. From there we did day trips to the Upper Otira Valley, to the top of Avalanche Peak and had a three day excursion to the Pfieffer Bivi to the west of Arthur's Pass. There were heaps of stories from the past and we managed to even repeat a few of them during our trip! And the others would politely wait until you'd finished before telling you you'd told it two days ago!!

Mike and Jim

The Rocky Knoll

One of the Pfieffer Basins

Pfieffer Bivi

The highlight was probably our trip to Pfieffer. Apart from the return day the weather was magnificent and we spent the middle day resting and taking photos of the surrounds. The big lesson for us was finding that our times were more than double the guide book times. The suggested 4-6hrs in to Pfieffer took us close to 11hrs. This was a wake-up for us who (it seemed only a few years ago) prided ourselves on doing trips well under suggested times.

Our trip up the Otira Valley was full of memories - joint memories of both joy and sadness. It is still one of our favourite valleys.

In the Upper Otira Valley

And then there was a great lunch with John (Jim's brother) and Ash - full of good stories from Ash - and us. Isn't it great when folk who know one another well, get together - there is never a lost word.
And everywhere about Arthur's Pass was the hyperactivity of the Coast to Coast - in full swing as we climbed Avalanche - more memories.

We nearly didn't make it to the summit of Avalanche Peak - managed it by having a good rest and adjusting our pace downwards. On top it was like the United Nations - young back packers from Israel, France, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, Holland, Germany, America, United Kingdom, several from Asia and a few Kiwis. And they were just the ones we found out about. All good company - as is usual when you meet like-minded folk in the mountains.

Slowly Upwards Towards Avalanche Peak

Edelweiss

Little Leafed Celmisia

A Kea scans our lunch with a wicked eye.

Mt Rolleston and Crow Neve from Avalanche Peak

We didn't seem to be going slowly - the others were just faster and the clock wasn't fibbing. I guess that out average age of over 82 had something to do with it. But we enjoyed ourselves and felt pleased with our achievements. Still planning more get-togethers in the mountains.

Here is a quote from something I read about 65 years ago :

… he who loves the mountains for themselves and for their eternal beauty will never grudge them their everlasting youth. He will turn to them again and again, knowing they will never fail him. And when he can no longer do more than lift his eyes to the hills he will still find that the promised strength is unfailing – not strength of body but of spirit, garnered from long days in nature’s tranquillity and peace.

Andre Roche “On Rock and Ice”

A Meal As An Art Form

Has it ever crossed your mind that food could be seen as the ultimate artistic endeavour?  Just think about it.  It is probably the only artistic experience that encompasses all of the senses - sight, taste, sound, touch, smell and there may be others.

Just consider the various combinations of light and shade, colour, composition on the plate, texture, sweetness, tartness, the feel in the mouth, hot and cold, crunchiness, the many aromas and spices.    On top of it all there is the timeliness of a good meal and the fact that every meal is an ephemeral piece of art.  And then there are the two, three or more courses.  And it has a functional element too, although we don’t give that too much thought.  It is three-dimensional but with time as another dimension.  My word, Einstein would be pleased with me.

Desert as an Art Form - Courtesy of WinTech Students, Hamilton, NZ

If it is to be a meal of any consequence a great deal of forethought will have gone into it both in the procurement of ingredients and in the preparation. It goes beyond the material presented on the dinner plate.  There are the invitations and preparatory  customs, the pre-dinner drinks (the play of light through a glass of red wine for just a start), the experimental, emotional and expectational aspects of  a great meal. Great movies have been made about a single meal.  I once saw a movie where the time for euthanasia was determined by the dying person’s refusal to drink or eat magnificent fare. And no, I am not suggesting euthanasia for those not interested in good food and drink. But, for those without any interest in food, you'd have to wonder about their enjoyment of life.

And my apologies to those out there who cannot even get a meal of any sort.  That is another matter - needing different considerations.

GibbsFarm - Al Fresco Art

Some may see it as a display of wealth but I view this magnificent al fresco art display as public service. Irrespective of whether or not the wealth comes from hard work, clever innovation or just old fashioned inheritance, it doesn't matter. To conceive and then share this grand idea with the world is just too good to be true. Can you imagine any local authority trying to create art on this scale!  Think of the uproar it would create.  Not only does Alan Gibbs ask some of the best large scale artists on the planet to give their best efforts to this project but he then invites them to supervise (with help) their installation while he foots the bill. That is called supporting the arts.  There must have been great excitement among those involved in all of these projects - imagine the risks of erecting some of the works - imagine nearly sinking a ship loading it with iron?

In the middle of June the 'Friends of the Waikato Museum' filled a bus and journeyed up from Hamilton in dubious weather.  The rain never eventuated and, with winter now evident, the lack of foliage added to the already present sense of space so essential to this project. And at times the threat of squalls from the west across the Kaipara added to the dramatic sense.

The farm was green, the landscape manicured, the animals (and the staff) looked happy and the public were all smiles.  What did we see?  Iron work in massive curved vertical and horizontal forms, a red funnel to talk through to friends in Australia (well, you could pretend with your cell phone), an ejaculating fountain, a wind wand and a clever work representing a giant bent sheet of corrugated irion resting on a hilltop - all part of the day for us.

Corrugated Iron Resting (Neil Dawson work)

Iron Wall (Richard Serra work)

Talking to Australia (Anish Kapoor work)

The final entertainment for us was at the exit.  A tame ostrich could not be herded off the road in front of our bus.  It took ages for the staff member to get him to take off, which the ostrich did with huge display of pique and show. I suspect that the animal was intent on admiring himself (or was it a prospective mate he/she was eyeing up) in the front window of the bus - once I had a nerve wracking moment or two with a tame emu in a Melbourne zoo - I was too scared to turn my back on him!

Joan Travaglia – Printmaker – 1948 - 2012

Joan With Her Press

Just before I took off for adventures in the South Island I visited Joan Travaglia, my printmaking tutor, at the opening of her December 2011 Exhibition. She was happy and surrounded by family and friends and wished Catherine and me well in our little exhibition in Darfield. She and I had shared a common background in Canterbury where she still had several friends and I have family and friends.  We were both concerned about the impact of the earthquake and the continuing aftershocks and had seen the damage firsthand.  Joan expressed her love of Christchurch with the little cards she made and sold to raise relief for her beloved area. I took a photo of her with her press at her opening – I didn’t realise it would be the last time I saw her.

All her printmaker students, and I was one, owed her so much – and we were lucky to have her – she was one of the survivors of the Wahine disaster.

Dean Buchanan

Dean Buchanan- early stage of painting (Photo: Chas Tanner)

 At the New Zealand Alpine Club Unwin Lodge at the Hermitage, Chas Tanner, the lodge manager, informed us that an ‘Artist in Residence’ was present. Indeed the next morning we were greeted outside our bedroom window by the sight of this energetic busy man frenetically taking down one canvas and nailing up another. His open-air studio was the back of a building where a large sheet of ply had been nailed up to provide an easel. Other benches had been nailed in place to provide space for oil tubes and brushes. Although a cold morning, the sandflies were in force and voracious as I approached to ask if he minded my presence. These seemed not to bother him as he set about sketching his initial design onto the canvas – and at great speed – talking all the time. My presence and conversation seemed not to interfere in the slightest in his creative process; a commentary on the depth of my conversation, perhaps.

We soon established a rapport and, seemingly, empathy for one another’s ideas. The words flew. And the stories. It seemed as if all the imagery came from some evolving process lodged behind his eyes. I’ve since heard that he does plan his work but never directly from a landscape or a photograph.  There are sketchbooks but these are just a step towards the final explosion of effort. The whole final composition is performed at great pace – and the ongoing conversation seemed to only facilitate his creative process.

As his sketch lines develop I could discern different elements appearing – an overall composition – the height and depth of his subject matter – the strata of the mountains – the fracturing and shattering of rock and ice – colour comes later and with it a certain darkness and a limited palette. Here is an artist who has well and truly found his voice; one whose work you can easily identify, in much the same way that you can say – ‘this is a Nigel Brown’ or ‘this is a McCahon’. Bob Harvey has written a book about Dean’s work. Its title is well chosen: “Wild Beast”.

If I had to choose one word to describe Dean Buchanan, it would be ENERGY. The energy with which he attacks his work, his bush tramps, his cycle training and mountain climbing, his conversations, his art - everything.  That morning at Unwin Lodge the vicious sandflies were well and truly out of their depth.

Near Finished - View from Nun's Veil (Photo: Chas Tanner)

For someone nigh on 60 he is remarkable – at an age when many of us are thinking of slowing down he seems to be speeding up. He recently climbed Cook and Mts Aspiring and Madelaine. No sign that his passion for doing things is burning him up either.  Great advertisement for giving up the booze! 

Antarctica 2012

This coming summer is the 100th anniversary of the epics of Amunsden and Scott.  Catherine, my brother John and I  thought we'd celebrate these polar events with a little art exhibition at the Selwyn Gallery at Darfield near Christchurch where we had our 2009 exhibition ("Beyond the Road Ends").  Catherine will be painting, I'll exhibit some of my prints and John will concentrate on the northern polar regions with his photos.  It'll be called "Poles Apart".  It will be on for the month of February 2012 with the opening on Saturday 4th Feb.  Catherine and I will also be doing one on Antarctica at Arts Post in Hamilton, as luck would have it, overlapping with the Darfield one.  Not so bad for a printmaker but more work for the painter! Here are images of two of my prints.

Gateway to the South (Embossed Woodcut - BLS)

One Way South (Woodcut Monoprint - BLS)

And, by the way, if you are interested in Art on Antarctica have a look at Meliors Simms' blog where she is charting the construction of her next exhibition (Imagining Antarctica) of textile art to go on Display at Arts Post, Hamilton from the 19th August.  Cool stuff.

http://meliors.blogspot.com/