Twins

Guess it was Ed Hanfling the Auckland art critic who wrote this glowing critique for Ed Hanfling the Modernist Abstract painter on TradeMe.
“Hanfling's style of abstraction is related to American Post-Painterly Abstraction, especially the 'Asymmetrical Chevrons' of Kenneth Noland. The painting is a clever play on the chevron motif, and also Noland's 'target' motif, with a touch of Jackson Pollock.”

If you hurry you can buy Hanfling’s Three Triangles for $35.00.

As the Hanflings also note, “You will love having this painting in your collection, and as Hanfling is a widely known critic, it is likely to increase in value.”

Window of opportunity

Walking through Wellington, thinking about Allen Maddox.

Here comes the judge

The judge for the Walters Prize is Catherine David the French born independant curator previously of Paris’s Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume, which spectacularly changed from its famous collection of Impressionists to exhibiting contemporary art in 1991 and Rottadam's Witte de With in Rotterdam. From 1994-97 she was Artistic Director of Documenta X and has curated shows by Eva Hesse, Godon Matta-Clark, Robert Gober and Stan Douglas. Catherine David has also shown a strong interest in artists outside the main centres, "You know, modernism was not simply a tennis match between Paris and New York."

Strictly one per customer

We’ve already mentioned Damien Hirst’s intention to have his next major sale of new works via an auction. Now you can see the Sotheby’s catalogue and the obligatory auction video, this one with gems like, “It’s actually the first time Damien has done a Spot Painting on gold” and, referring to a skull painting, “it’s all about being here today and gone tomorrow.” As one of the sales people says about a small Tiger shark in a vitrine, it’s “incredibly appealing.”

Images: Video clips. Top, Aurothioglucose (“…first time…”) Middle, D, A, B, D, A., The Immaculate Heart – Lost and Transience and Painting 2 (“…attractive price-points…”) Bottom, The Kingdom (“…appealing…”)

(….Titter)

Our interest in copy cats brings this story from the Palazzo Chigi, in Rome. Earlier this week, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi held a press conference in front of a copy of The Truth Unveiled by Time by Tiepolo. According to the Guardian, film of the interview clearly reveals that the breasts of the central figure have been covered up with a “gauzy bra”. The cover up was apparently “an initiative of those on the staff of the prime minister who take care of Berlusconi’s image.”

Fair and square

Looking at the cover of Instant! Maori, a book by Nick Theobald and Paaora Walker and published by Wadsworth Books, you can get an idea of how blurred copyright is becoming in the visual arts. Who owns what here? Inside this handy phrase book Foodstuffs are thanked for letting the authors use the Mr Four Square icon, but Dick Frizzell, surely the inspiration behind this mash-up, gets no mention. And have Foodstuffs unwittingly let loose the hounds of appropriation by giving this revisionist version of their logo a big tick? Frizzell probably still waits for the phone call from the lawyers of those notorious copyright protectors, the Disney Corporation. We remember there was a playground (or was it a toilet block?) in New Zealand that was forced to remove a Disney-like mural some years ago. Over the years Disney has successfully extended the time limit on their copyright protection in what is often known as Sonny Bono’s Mickey Mouse Law. That pushed items who's copyright lapsed in 1998 out to 2019. Our Mr Four Square obviously thinks he can mix it with whoever comes along. Good on him.

Good sign

Signs of wildlife at the entrance to Peter McLeavey and Enjoy Galleries in Wellington.

Resigned

Over the years we’ve done a few posts about dealer gallery signs, so when Julian Dashper told us he owned the New Vision Gallery street sign from the sixties, we asked him what he was going to do with it. He related what he had already done. First up, knowing that Te Papa owned the New Vision archive, he offered it to them on long-term loan. No thanks. Te Papa doesn’t accept anything into the building on loan that it won’t be using within the next five years. Next stop the Hocken. Not so much. It seems that as the Hocken doesn’t hold the New Vision Archive, they see no point in their having the sign. Auckland War Memorial Museum? Not today, all the same. Julian is thinking of putting it up on TradeMe. Watch this space.

Look alike

Left, Peter Peryer Self Portrait with Rooster and 31 years later David Lynch.

In July…

… we rode a bike through a Serra • wondered about Te Papa flogging the family jewels • saw some heavy art in Berlin • marvelled at the number of curators involved in the next Venice Biennale • found more Newmans than we counted on • recalled fond memories of Dan Graham • found a cheap way to buy a Jeff Koons prototype • thanked the Creative NZ Chair for his unfailing support of the visual arts (not) and discovered the lunatics had taken over the asylum
Image: Marlon Brando, who died 1 July 04, playing the guy the month’s named after

Takes the cake

This from the Ministry of Culture.

“We’re a creative bunch here at the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, as evidenced by a recent social club cake decorating competition. For my money, the outstanding entry was the three-dimensional recreation of Rita Angus’s well-known painting ‘Cass’, which depicts the rural Cass railway station and the looming mountains beyond.”

For more along the same lines go here

Art in the movies

Not such a big surprise that when the two big art entertainment D’s of the 1940s, Dali and Disney, got together they reached for a D word and called their animation Destino. It is based on a song by another D guy, Mexican Armando Dominguez, who also did the music. The war and financial difficulties in the Disney business stopped production which was revived by Roy Disney in 1999. The six minute version of Destino was first shown in 2003 at the International Animated Film Festival in Annecy, France. This film clip is only a trailer but still gives a good idea of Dali's contribution.

Seems like only yesterday they put his work on stamps

“Victory over death 2 comes up trumps in its hallowed halls, only to be overwhelmed by the smattering of ancillary works which garner that predictable thread of empty landscape despair and provincial malaise which comes abruptly to halt in the spiritual futility of McCahon’s beseeching.”
Harold Grieves tosses out a backhanded compliment and a couple of good kicks in the latest Art New Zealand.
Image: McCahon stamp set published in 1997

... and repeat

To our list of constantly recycled news stories about art, add “Missing paining found by x-ray”
Image: 'Lost' Van Gogh discovered in today's Dominion Post

This pic just received from the Melbourne Art Fair. It's Ronnie Van Hout's R.U.R. which sits, or rather lies, outside the Fair building. Seven New Zealand galleries are exhibiting, including the unlikely pairing of Sue Crockford and Michael Lett in a shared space. CNZ helped fund two of the seven under their international funding scheme, Gow Langsford with $10,000 and Bowen with $7,000.