The title of David Cauchi’s MFA thesis was always guaranteed to get a reaction: ‘A strange book of incomprehensible nonsense: Or how I became an intertemporal avant-garde artist and went completely batshit insane.’
So my first question for David had to be about his thesis.
“It was about time-travelling to meet the Renaissance painter Piero della Francesca, with digressions along the way. I argued that early 15th century painters were just as much avant-garde artists as early 20th century ones,” he says.
All perfectly reasonable for an artist who blogs under the banner of ‘Pointless and absurd’, and who is actively interested in ‘collapsing categories’ and time frames.
Understanding the art tradition of ‘the absurd’ is one way to get to grips with his work. “Strictly speaking, I'm more of a nihilist than an absurdist, but let's not quibble,” he says.
Absurdist art emerged post-WW2 when there was a real sense that the horrors of the war, the dawning of the nuclear age, and accompanying social, political and economic upheavals meant that the old rules literally no longer applied. In fact many artists and writers found that an ‘irrational’, tangential and chaotic response was the only valid one for the times.
David’s paintings are all roughly head sized, with a uniform style of almost cartoonesque line and unmixed watercolour with oil glazes, with imagery ranging from portraits of his friends and family, to religious figures, comics and popular culture.
“The main idea is that a painting about the size of the viewer's head hanging on the wall at about head height is like having a conversation with someone standing in front of you,” he says. “Some people use the term 'domestic' for small-sized works, but I prefer the term 'intimate'.”
The strange juxtapositions remind me of Dada and Surrealism. “I'm not trying to elicit anything in particular from the viewer. I present the work, and how people respond to it is entirely up to them. Whether viewers treat each work as a standalone or juxtapose them with their neighbours is part of that. I wouldn't want to dictate how people should look at my work.”
David completed his studies at Massey University in 2012 and many of the paintings here are from his final show. Prior to that he was exhibiting at the Robert Heald Gallery in Wellington, and Ivan Anthony Gallery in Auckland, which he is continuing to do, working towards an exhibition in Wellington in February 2015.
Mark Amery gives an apt description in EyeContact: “Cauchi recognises that art is a set of signs to live by and rail against.”
Currently showing at Aratoi: David Cauchi: 'Memories of the future', until 12 Oct; ‘John Lawrence: What happened in the Blitz, Grandad?’, until 12 Oct; Mauri Ora – King Street Artworks, until 12 Oct; Breadcraft Wairarapa Schools art 2014, until 2 Nov. School holiday programme.
Wairarapa stories
Joseph Potangaroa, who has written widely on Wairarapa landscape, history and wildlife, and well known local storyteller Gaye Sutton will be speaking at Tarragon Cafe, Carterton as part of the Wairarapa Word monthly programme. Joe is currently writing a series of bilingual children’s stories set in the Wairarapa, assisted by Gaye. An afternoon of spiritual and historical stories suitable for all ages. Sun 5 Oct, 3pm. Koha.
Wairarapa Museum of Art and History