One day in OTN’s PR/Marketing Department

Marketing CEO: You have to say it, OTN is incredible.

PR Manager: OTN is incredible and soooooo interesting.

MCEO: Yes, our 15,327 readers do get the very best of the best.

PRM: Funny. Engaging. Topical. Fearless. Intuitive. Cute… too cute sometimes.

MCEO: And to think that today is exactly OTN’s 10th birthday.

PRM: Yes, 10 years of funny, engaging, topical, fearless, intuitive and cute stuff from OTN direct to its readers.

MCEO: We need to do something to celebrate.

PRM: Something big.

OTN Director 1: Wow, 10 years old eh.

OTN Director 2: Time to shut it down.

And that is what they did.

Praise be

OTN is beyond thrilled to announce the exhibition of its acclaimed website and outstanding publication Tiny Furniture. This remarkable once in a lifetime opportunity to be immersed in the thrilling spectacle of John Parker’s exquisite theatrical set models has been made possible by the partnership of a master ceramicist and theatrical wizard, the renowned art museum Te Uru and the award winning blog OTN. No one will be left unmoved by this extraordinary experience which has been described by leading commentators as ‘outstanding’, ‘unforgettable’, heart-stopping’ …ok that’ll do it.

Image: two extraordinarily evocative views of the hauntingly powerful exhibition

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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.

Heads up    When we were in Brisbane last year we saw Michael Parekowhai’s sculpture As the world turns for the first time in its final location. The last time we'd seen it was as it was being craned up through the roof of the foundry in Auckland (it was too big to go through the door). The sculpture is of an elephant standing on its head so it was cute to see in one of the museum shops a shelf of toy animals which someone had playfully turned into a copy cat.

Time out

OK OTN is taking a breather for four weeks. We’ll be back on 20 January. We had our hearts set on the 19th but it’s public holiday and OTN is  a hard-line rules-based organisation as you know. The plan for next year is to post twice a week unless something newsworthy comes along. Any additional posts will be tweeted and Facebooked. Monday will probably be something OTNish and Friday a catch up on what we thought was worth knowing from the previous week. You can still expect an eye to be kept on our art institutions and any gossip that's even halfway credible (usually something we hear from at least three sources is a god-given fact) will be run up the OTN flagpole for you to make your own minds up about. Will you ever see another painting animal on OTN? Well, as we’ve said many times before, not if we can help it. Have a good break, enjoy Christmas and join us in the new year. If anything crops up before then we'll use Twitter and or Facebook.

When collectors pose on furniture

Take advantage of OTN’s holiday clear-out final editions.  Not one but 16 art collectors all posing on furniture. No seriously, it’s a pleasure.

Images: top to bottom left to right, Danielle Ganet, Garrett and Marina Leight, Ron and Ann Pizzuti , Nelson Blitz and Catherine Woodard, Alexander Ramselaar, Dani and Mirella Levinas, Peter and Jamie Hort, Joshua and Sonya Roth, Regina Pinho de Almeida, Valeria Napoleone and (apologies all round) Dasha Zhukova

Enough already

Saturday was an eight-year anniversary for OTN. A lot has changed since we started; museums weren't selling artist product, Gambia Castle hadn't opened, Twitter wasn't yet a year old, Gordon Walters korus belonged pretty much to Gordon Walters and just about every zoo in the world didn’t have an animal painting project to help with funding. In our time we've thrashed a lot of ideas that felt good at the time -- we’re looking at you lookalikes, where are they now?, art in the movies, artist street names, artists as brands, comic books, one day in the …, art in ads, artist brands and copycats. And as for Te Papa, a list of its very modest 2005-2006 art purchases made our third post. And while this is an institution that might do many things, it's not going to change its take on art.

So OTN is going to change instead. We're not sure how this will work right at this moment but early next year we'll front-end with Twitter and Facebook or whatever everyone is scanning at the time rather than with the blog. Our sense is that you're most interested in backgrounders and opinionated commentary on art news as it breaks, so that will remain a mainstay. We'll also put more time into OTNSTUDIO and making hard-to-get art documents and information available. Of course we won’t be able to hold back on the odd chart or hilarious joke but no more foyer art, promise. Thank you for your time and attention, you may now resume your seats.

The ping and the pong of it

You say painting machine. We say robot table tennis.

The rest is silence

We’re going to knock off for a few weeks and let the staff of OTN (reporters, photographers, editorial, research, legal and all the basic-wagers and teams of interns who do so much behind the scenes) take a break over Christmas. If anything world shattering happens we’ll post on it and link it via the OTN Facebook page and OTN Twitter feed. Hope you have enjoyed another year of OTN, we’ll be back on 13 Jan.

...and on the table

Today seven years ago we started OTN. Here’s a post from each year (you get eight thanks to OTN starting late in 2006)

The list of artists in Contemporary painters volume II December 2006
Here’s a piece of advice to anyone in the publishing business: never call anything volume I unless you are definitely going to come up with volume II.

Trip of a lifetime July 2007
When Helen Clarke threw a paddy over et al.’s selection for the Venice Biennale, Creative NZ made a big decision. Rather than send an artist to the next Biennale it would spend $56,000 sending a committee of five instead. They’d have a look around and see if it was worth going again some time. You can follow the committee and their Trip of a life time via the various links in this post.

My camera mon amour August 2008
Art in the movies, movies and art, what’s not to like.

When good sculpture turns bad December 2009
Our favourite Christmas photo of all time snuck into the ongoing series that looks at the perils of public sculpture

Spam November 2010
A classic sample of the unvarnished facts, reckless guesswork, insinuations and possible inventions sent in by our readers (Thanks to all of you)

Te Papa - go figure December 2011
How do the big institutions count their audiences? On their fingers as it transpires.

Last farewells April 2012
Over the last seven years OTN has been the sad recorder of the passing parade but none was sadder than saying goodbye to William McAloon.

And that is what they did November 2013
How do the the big decisions get made in the art world? Let us help you with that.

One day at an OTN editorial meeting

Editor 1: I’ve got a great second post for today.

Editor 2: What?

E1: It’s sort of a blurry photograph of a monkey painting something that a lookalike of a work we saw in a foyer that was named after an artist.

E 2: Brilliant.

E 1: I love doing the second post don’t you?

E 2: Highlight of my day.

E 1: But it does make you feel a bit guilty, doesn’t it?

E 2: You mean how we could be out there inventing a cure for something or other instead.

E 1: Exactly. Or just lounging around. One of the two.

E 2: We should just stick to one post a day and do the lounging thing.

And from Tuesday 12 November, they did.

Call for papers

In a cavern, somewhere deep beneath the art world, is the unseen stream of decisions and deal-making. Only a small group of people visit and even fewer know where to get tickets for the boat. For instance currently floating along on the stream is the 2014 Walters Prize panel, whoever they are, who will be looking (or if the last one is anything to go by, not looking) at exhibitions like mystery shoppers. There's also a bunch of people who will be deciding on the next commissioner for the Venice Biennale (surveying the field it's probably between Alastair Carruthers and Massey's Heather Galbraith with Carruthers as the current off course favourite) and of course another mystery group will be deciding who's to go to Venice in 2015.

So here's a question - why are all these decisions being made in the dark? The appointment of the artistic director of Documenta in 2017 will be announced this November but it's public knowledge as to who's on that very significant panel. Why can't we have the same level of information on NZ plans? There are no commercial issues involved and there would be some major benefit. The Walters selectors could surely do with some input on exhibitions in NZ and overseas that might be worth considering and the Venice juggernaut needs all the good will and interest it can get.

And then there are the delays. Even when decisions are finally made why does it take so long to announce them? It can't be in hopes of a publicity blitz as the media releases are seldom picked up and the only people really interested could be drawn from the mailing lists of about ten dealer galleries. So why restrict knowledge of the final decisions to the committee, their immediate families, a few friends they bump into and people they meet at parties, some of who (hell maybe most) don’t give a damn?
 
That was really what got us to start publishing  OTN back in 2006, to jumpstart communications. So if you hear any of this stuff let us know and we’ll make sure the rest of you find out. And yes, wild guesses and overheard conversations in public toilets are more than welcome.

Badge of honour

To get advance notice of important art news that is being kept under wraps (usually because of the timing of a media release), OTN has been offering lavishly hand-crafted gifts. We are delighted to announce that the 42 OTN caps we produced have now all been sent out to reward informants both in New Zealand and abroad.

To keep up the flow of information we have commissioned a new OTN product: the OTN Animal Art badge. Designed by OTN favourites Stimulus/Response (based on OTN animal art star Chola the painting horse) and created by master craftspeople here in Wellington, the OTNAAB will be an honour to be awarded and a pleasure to wear.

So, as we say at OTN, OTY.

Image: From top left to right. Original design by S/R, the machine used to create the metal template, master stamp, blank ready for enameling, badges awaiting attachments, badge worn discretely behind a lapel, badge on display

Ice cap

OTN reader chills out in London.