bioneural.net » art

The incredible dissolution of being

Bruce — Sat, 10 May 2008 20:25:51 +0000

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? The Memorial to the Victims of Communism is located in Prague's Lesser Town, on the lower slopes of Petrín Hill (since my image and this post are geotagged, you can retrieve the exact coordinates). This work by Olbram Zoubek, Jan Kerel, and Zdenêk Holzel was unveiled in 2002 and is succinctly described in this passage: It contains seven "phases" of a man living in a totalitarian state—from the first statue being a full man, up to the last statue where only a part of him remains. This evaporation represents the gradual physical and [psychological] destruction of a man who is ruled by any undemocratic regime. The man disappears due to censorship, secret police, no freedom of thoughts and expressions etc. Click thumbnail to enlarge imageThe incredible dissolution of being Very powerful imagery, I think reinforced by the shallow depth-of-field in this photograph which helps to blur the detail (and even the existence) of the more distant figures. It's not a great shot—taken in light ...

iPhone features Maori carving wallpaper

Bruce — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 02:35:28 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

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). The Maori style is typically curvilinear (most Polynesian art is rectilinear in style). The face in the wallpaper looks very similar to the one on the New Zealand 10 cent coin: Wallpapers on the iPhone (© Apple, Inc.) It's a bit hard to make out much detail in the screen capture. Here is a wall figure (representing an ancestor) from inside Tokomaru Bay Marae which better demonstrates the intricacy of many such designs: Maori ancestor (© B McKenzie, available here)

Maui's fish and the origin of myth

Bruce — Sat, 12 May 2007 05:51:04 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

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. Some of my favourite line illustrations, published in An illustrated encyclopedia of Maori life by A.W. Reed, are 100 years old this year. It thus seems fitting that they should be brought to life in a stage production. In one of his many escapades the demigod Maui and his brothers determine to trap the sun-god Ra—according to some accounts, with the purpose of slowing his rapid pace across the sky. As I watched the show it was as if these old drawings had become animated, leaping out of the page in a spectacle of light, aerial movement, and sound. Maui takes on the sun-god Ra. Image credits: Left: Dittmer, Wilhelm, 1866-1909: Maui's fight with the sun [from Te Tohunga. The ancient legends and traditions of the Maoris, London, Routledge, 1907]. Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand, must be ...

Uplifting, Uprising

Bruce — Fri, 04 May 2007 22:39:18 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

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. Jackie was born in 1979 and gained a Bachelor of Maori Art from the Toimairangi School of Maori Visual Culture, Te Wananga o Aotearoa, in Hastings. She says this diptych is the first of a new series based around her leaving Toimairangi and becoming an established artist. The kite (manuote) represents the soaring spirit while the kowhaiwhai on the second piece represents the mana (loosely "pride") of the land (whenua). Kites were traditionally made of raupo or toetoe stalks bound with strips of flax, sometimes bark cloth, and decorated with feathers. As well as being entertaining they may have had a spiritual purpose: Depending upon the tribe, the names of Maori kites usually included the word manu (bird) and, as throughout Polynesia and Micronesia, Maori made their kites in the shape of a bird, possibly in the belief that birds were the communicators between humans and the spirit world. It was thought that the soul or spirit of a person was in the form of a bird so that the kite ...

Great NZ logos

Bruce — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 22:12:47 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

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. I've previously mentioned a proposal for changing the New Zealand flag to a design that represents the nation rather than its former colonial power. One of the reasons for the suggested change merits repeating: The job of a flag is to instantly signal the country of origin in the simplest, quickest, most potent manner. This means utilising a single powerful image rather than several elements and thereby diluting the potency of the symbol. In my humble opinion the "preferred" design promoted by the campaign does just that: Proposed new flag (© NZFlag.com Trust) Next up is one that's been around for a while; the simple outline of a kiwi in the Buy New Zealand Made logo: Buy kiwi for kiwis (© Buy New Zealand Made Campaign Ltd.) The national airline carries a New Zealand symbol to distant corners of the globe. It's not hard to spot the Air New Zealand tail-fin at airports around the world, sporting a highly recognisable koru: A koru with wings (© Air New Zealand) Anyone who enjoys rugby will be familiar with the Canterbury of New Zealand clothing label: Activewear that's hard to rip (© Canterbury of New Zealand) And you can't mention rugby without mentioning the All Blacks, wearers of the silver fern logo on their shirts: Activewear that's hard to trip (© All Blacks) The Department of Conservation do a great job ...

New Zealand cultural icons

Bruce — Mon, 24 Oct 2005 20:31:29 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

Ngã Tãonga o Aotearoa is a multi-platform set of 5 icons from Manchester-based designer Mischa McLachlan. The set comprises kiwifruit (do try Golden Kiwis if you find the familiar one too tart; you can get them in Tesco), a greenstone (pounamu) fishhook or lure (a common motif; see here), a kiwi, NZ documents, and a Buzzy Bee. You can download them from Zyotism:Aesthetics here:

Souvenirs from home

Bruce — Thu, 07 Apr 2005 14:05:09 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

It's amazing what corrugated iron, a spiral or two, a bit of wood, a chunk of beef bone, and a piece of shell can say about New Zealand. In 1999, in a Queenstown gallery, we came across the work of Jeff Thomson (and subsequently in Te Papa, Wellington.) Unusual to be sure, not to mention unique. Have you listened to the sound of heavy rain on a corrugated iron roof? It may seem a strange association, but it is a powerful one for me as I spent several years as a student in wood-built colonial style houses with such roofing. It is a soothing, somehow comforting sound, and one captured for all time in these iron "lace" wall sculptures made in 1997: You probably can't make it out from the photo, but the iron is imprinted with various newspaper clippings relating to (surprise) corrugated iron! There were 7 pieces on the gallery wall; we bought three. I wonder what became of the others... In 2005, in a Napier gallery, we were struck by the carvings of Josh and Amelia from Wanaka. My piece, Hei Pa-Kahawai, "an ancient lure", is composed of Blue Rata wood, NZ paua sheel, beef bone, and a hand-braided waxed nylon cord. My wife's piece, Manawa Ora, "the soul of life", is composed of beef bone and a hand-braided waxed nylon cord: Beautiful reminders of a beautiful country. Note that the koru motif features in both sets of work. This spiral shape is derived from the unfolding fern fronds that populate ...

New Zealand icon set

Bruce — Sat, 19 Mar 2005 06:04:04 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

Cian Walsh at Afterglow recently spent a year working in New Zealand. He decided to commemorate his stay by turning some kiwi icons into, well, icons. The set includes icons for All Blacks, Alt. NZ Flag, Bach, Beehive, Buzzy Bee, Cricket, Greenstone, Jandals, Kiwi, Kiwi Fruit, L&P, Maori Flag, Marae, Moko 1, Moko 2, Mount Taranaki, Nuclear Free, NZ Flag, Peter Jackson, Rugby Ball, Sheep, Silver Fern, Skater Cap, Tomato Sauce, Tramping Boots, Truck with Dog, and Whale Watching. The only one I can't identify with (speaking of which, shall we change the flag?) is "Skater Hat"—but this might just be a generational thing ;-) The set is available to download for both Mac and Windows: Cian's site has additional fantastic icon sets and a good deal more eye candy that showcases his obvious talent. Go see, and get NZ on your desktop: