Another former communist-occupied country visited, another monument to the fallen photographed. How did communism's lofty ideal of equality become so twisted and evil, delivering oppression and brutality wherever it was (or is) practised? Having seen the poignant sculpture in Moscow commemorating Stalin's victims, and the collected skulls from the Killing Fields of Pol Pot's Cambodia, I wasn't expecting to find a similar memorial in the Czech Republic so moving. But death is only one way you can hurt people: how do you physically capture the dissolution of a man's spirit?
Continue reading 'The incredible dissolution of being'
Tag archive for 'art'
Apple recently posted a tour of the forthcoming iPhone. Watching the presentation I was surprised to see one of the default wallpapers is the face of a tiki (a wood carving of the human figure).
Continue reading 'iPhone features Maori carving wallpaper'
I've always enjoyed the myth concerning the origin of New Zealand's North Island, said to have been hauled out of the Pacific by Maui and his brothers. This story is one of several so wonderfully captured in an illustration by Dittmer, reproduced in a book belonging to my grandmother, which I still have and recently re-discovered. But this myth has become something of a legend in itself, evolving throughout prehistory and during the cultural transition of colonisation to become a story that belongs to all New Zealanders regardless of ethnicity. The modern version was enacted before our eyes in Wellington earlier this week in the show Maui: One man against the gods.
Continue reading 'Maui's fish and the origin of myth'
MAORI MARKet was recently held at the TSB Arena in Wellington, showcasing contemporary Maori artworks. Many of the works on display were world-class in both execution and price tag, the range including carving in wood, stone and bone, painting, woven cloaks and baskets, jewellery and pottery (the latter not being a traditional Maori art form). On the look-out for a piece to complement our Jeff Thomson wall sculpture, we felt drawn to Whakatikanga (Uprising), a diptych by Hawkes Bay artist Jackie Hawkins.
Continue reading 'Uplifting, Uprising'
There are several symbols that are very strongly associated with a New Zealand identity: the kiwi, the silver fern, and the koru. Here is a small collection of notable logos that incorporate these symbols.
Continue reading 'Great NZ logos'
Ngã Tãonga o Aotearoa is a multi-platform set of 5 icons from Manchester-based designer Mischa McLachlan.
Continue reading 'New Zealand cultural icons'
