Maybe it’s because it’s not so long since these kids were playing with blocks for real that the idea of the latest Aratoi school holiday programme really took off. Or maybe it’s just that messing round with blocks is inherently fun. Whatever the reason, tutor Tina Rae Carter, who led last week’s workshop, said the degree of concentrated activity and focus was exceptional this time. “The kids seemed to run with this idea and they achieved some amazing results.”
Their brief was to study Martinborough artist Annabelle Buick’s current show ‘I See I Saw’ which employs geometry and optical illusions through weaving. She donated a large stash of wooden blocks of different shapes that she has used in her work. From these, the children created their own 3D work mounted on wood. They also explored optical illusions with water, mirrors and light, and did paintings based on interesting optical effects.
Tina had supplied lots of imagery to get them started but was surprised by the ingenuity they showed in their designs. “They found the process of moving the blocks around and working out different designs very absorbing. I guess it works because it is close to play.”
Local photographer and framer Pete Nikolaison donated screws and D-rings so the pieces could go straight on the wall once they got home. Annabelle Buick’s show, which is a contemporary take on traditional Maori and Pacific weaving techniques, runs until 9 August.
Make time for this week’s lunchtime ‘art bite’
The second of a series of lunchtime talks on New Zealand art history and the Rutherford Trust Collection is happening today. This time the speaker is Aratoi curator and registrar Susanna Shadbolt, whose topic will be John Bevan Ford. Ford worked both as an artist and educator throughout his career, introducing Maori Visual Arts to Maori Studies programme at Massey University in 1986. A traditional carver, weaver, painter and sculptor he is perhaps best known for his highly detailed style of using coloured inks, graphite and liquid acrylic. In 1990, he became the first New Zealand artist to present a series of lectures about his work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Weds 22 July, 12pm - 12.15pm.
Exhibitions at Aratoi: I See. I Saw, until 9 August; Selections from The Rutherford Trust Collection, until 16 August; King Street Artworks Annual Exhibition until 9 Aug; Settling the Land: Order Out of Chaos, until 16 Aug; Wairarapa Whakaputa Mohio: Settling the Land, until 31 Dec. Events: Lunchtime Art Bites: Rutherford Trust Collection public talks, Weds 22 July; 5 & 12 August, 12pm - 12.15pm.
Wairarapa Museum of Art and History