While Fairfax Media is hell bent on giving
the visual arts as much grief as possible via the Dominion Post and Sunday Star
Times, pity the Capital Times. This Wellington freebie focuses on local news
and tried to do a story on Michael Parekowhai’s exhibition at Te Papa On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer. They called up to get some answers to a few
questions but no one was “available” to talk to them. Too busy? Too lofty? Too
nervous? Who knows.
So the CT turned to five dealer galleries.
Would they say something about on why the red piano was of national importance and whether
separating it from the two bronze pianos was the right thing to do? Turns out only one of them (Jenny Neligan of Bowen Galleries) while the rest wouldn’t stick their necks out to comment.
The journalist at the Capital Times was surprised that “the arts community, so
often critical of media coverage, are too scared to comment when given the
opportunity.” Given that Te Papa
has the biggest budget for the purchase of art in the country, he really shouldn’t have been.
