First up: to hell with ‘Five things for Friday’ We did say we'd try it out and we did and we don’t like it and reading through the piles of mail that have come since starting it, one of you doesn't like it either. So here’s what we’re going to do. Once a week, probably Monday, we'll do a longer piece and for the rest of the week post stuff as it comes. If there’s nothing there’s nothing if there’s lots there's… you get the idea. If we see it and think it’s interesting we’ll put it up on OTN and let you know about it via FB and Twitter. So good luck with that.
Heirs Most visitors to the McCahon House
in Titirangi (you should go if you haven’t, it’s kind of amazing) come
away with the same story, ‘Did you see that room where the McCahon kids
had to sleep under the house?’ The three-walled bays with bunks for the
kids to sleep in were constructed under the house in the mid-1950s
although they also had their own separate bedroom from around 1958. The
bunkroom with one wall open to the elements and bugs may feel harsh
today but anyone who grew up in the fifties will know about parents
obsessing over fresh air. ‘Go outside and play’ was the mantra (some
personal bitterness creeping in here, perhaps?). From the forties
government Health Camps were scattered around the county all designed to
fill little lungs with life affirming oxygen. It was a thing of the
times and as the McCahon bunkroom was probably only used over summer
(and just for a couple of years) it was maybe not so harsh after all.
After all, in places like Stockholm, parents leave their babies outside in their prams in -5C (23F) temperatures. Harden up NZ. 
The Doctor will paint you in a moment “The professionalization of art production – congruent with
specialization in other postcapitalist industries – has meant that the
only art that will ever reach the market now is art that’s produced by
graduates of art schools.” Chris Kraus in Akademie X: Lessons in Art + Life.
Discuss.
Dream job Ambitious curators in New Zealand will be all aflutter with the news that Juliana Engberg has resigned
as the Artistic Director at ACCA in Melbourne. She is off to Denmark
after 13 years in the famous rust-coloured building. Engberg has been a
good friend to New Zealand artists over the years although, curiously,
picked just one, Shannon Te Ao, for her 2014 Sydney Biennale. ACCA is a
big prize for any curator with Engberg leaving behind a reputation for
smart shows and attitude. While Melbourne’s not an easy ride for
outsiders (as Rodney Wilson found out when he did his year as Director
of the National Gallery of Victoria in 1988) it would definitely be
worth a try and might look attractive to curators who have already
worked in Australia.
