Unatural selection

One of the strangest initiatives by CNZ at Venice is the $125,000 Reading Room. Clearly CNZ is struggling to identify the kind of contemporary visual culture that will be of any interest to the international curators, critics, collectors and museum directors who attend Venice. There is only one monograph (Judy Daragh) with high quality books on Michael Parekowhai, et al, Richard Killeen, Ralph Hotere etc etc all omitted. There is only one catalogue of a public gallery exhibition, and neither of Francis Upritchard's recently published books or anything written by Justin Paton are represented. CNZ sponsored digest Speculation is not there (Brian Butler has since told us that Speculation was not sponsored by CNZ - sorry for any embarrassment) or the round up of Artspace exhibitions published last year.

CNZ's list of books presented in its Reading Room at the Venice Biennale:

ARCHITECTURE
Long Live the Modern; New Zealand’s New Architecture 1904-1984
edited by Julia Gatley

CHILDREN'S BOOKS
Creatures Aotearoa x 2
Dylan Owen

CONTEMPORARY ART
Art at Te Papa
Editor William McAloon

The Frangipani is Dead
Contemporary Pacific Art in New Zealand x 2

The Image Always has the Last Word: On Contemporary
New Zealand Painting and Photography
Laurence Simmons

New Zealand Sculpture A History
Michael Dunn

Pacific Art, Niu Sila; the Pacific dimension of contemporary New Zealand Arts
Sean Mallon & Pandora Fulimalo Pereira

Rita Angus; Life & Vision
Edited by William McAloon & Jill Trevelyan

Seen this Century; 100 Contemporary New Zealand Artists: A Collector’s Guide
Warwick Brown

So….you made it?
Judy Darragh catalogue ed. Natasha Conland
Taiāwhio; Conversations with Contemporary Maori Artists
Taiāwhio II; 18 new conversations Contemporary Māori Artists

MAORI AND PACIFIC CULTURE
The Art of Māori Weaving
Miriama Evans & Ranui Ngarimu, Photography, Norman Heke x 2

Maori Architectrure from fale to wharenui and beyond
Deidre Brown

Maori Peoples of New Zealand; Nga Iwi o Aotearoa.
From Te Ara the online encyclopedia of New Zealand

Mau Moko; The world of Māori Tattoo
Ngahuia Te Awekotuku with Linda Waimarie Nikora
Speaking in Colour; Conversations with artists of Pacific Island heritage
Sean Mallon and Pandora Fulimalo Pereira

FILM
A Coming of Age; Thirty years of New Zealand film
Duncan Petrie & Duncan Stuart

Contemporary New Zealand Cinema From new wave to blockbuster
Edited by Ian Conrich and Stuart Murray, I.B. Tauris
Shot in New Zealand: The art and craft of the Kiwi cinematographer
Duncan Petri, Random House

Soundtrack 118 Great New Zealand Albums
Grant Smithies
MISC NEW ZEALAND CULTURE
At Home: A century of New Zealand Design
Douglas Lloyd-Jenkins Godwit/Penguin Group NZ

Icons Ngā Taonga; From the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Te Papa Press 2004

The Illustrated History of Dance in New Zealand
Tara Jahn-Werner Random House New Zealand
Ready to Fly: The Story of New Zealand Rock Music
David Eggleton, Craig Potten Publishing