net images/postcards don't really do his work justice. i saw his exhibition last year and it was AMAZING. he really captures that latent 'settler nightmare' or colonial gothic image of nz, and avoids the stereotypical tacky icons.
-- Rubyredd, Thursday, May 1, 2008 5:30 PM
what size were the installation pictures? like 2m by 1?
― jergïns, Friday, 2 May 2008 00:38 (seventeen years ago)
no, they're actually quite small (most of them) - like, (hmmm i'm trying to remember) maybe 12"x12"? there were some bigger ones, but also a lot of really small ones. some of my favourites were the ones he took of his kids when they were little, back in the early 80s. can't find any of those on the net :/
really REALLY want his monograph, but it's about $120.
jergz, have you heard of robert and shana parkeharrison? jordan's parents bought one of their books and it is so beautiful, so engaging.
― Rubyredd, Friday, 2 May 2008 01:35 (seventeen years ago)
the other thing you can't see unless you see them for realz, it the toning (platinum and selenium) which is hugely important to the atmosphere of the photos. the dude uses a 100yr old camera which has an exposure time of something crazy like 7 hours. i can't remember exactly, i'll dig the essay tonight.
― Rubyredd, Friday, 2 May 2008 01:45 (seventeen years ago)
ok jergz, here's the aberhart paper for you. it's not really a paper, just a brief review of nature morte which i'm sending you.
Laurence Aberhart (b. 1949), ure Morte (silence), Savage Club, Wanganui, 20 February 198603. Framed without glass front. Approximately 8” by 10” black and white photograph.
From the “View / Camera / View” series. Exhibition initiated and toured by City Gallery Wellington; conceptually developed in association with Dunedin Public Art Gallery.
Aberhart works with a one hundred year-old 8” by 10” Korona view camera. This choice of camera means that the photographic process is both time-consuming and inconvenient (technology-wise), but also provides greater precision of detail. The printing out paper on which the photograph is presented is a nineteenth-century style which prints directly in sunlight or ultra violet light. The date within the title describes the date at which the photograph was actually taken, while the second date is indicative of when the print featured in this exhibition was produced. The lack of a glass plate over the photograph removes illusions created by reflections; this was something I found to be a problem with several of the other works, particularly the Prisoners’ Dream series. The reflections and dim lighting may have been intended for some kind of deliberate effect, but only made it harder to view the detail contained within each piece. Nature Morte, however, was in one of the more well-lit areas of the gallery space at City Gallery. Although the photograph is relatively small, the detail is very fine: the texture of the wood surfaces within the image are apparent, as is the fine coating of dust at the feet of the carved Maori figure. This particular piece is set on plain white cardstock and framed with a slightly rough, matte, white-painted wood; the presentation complements the dimness of the image and its predominantly darker tones.
The image features three main objects: a speaker box, a Maori carving of a figure, and a text sign (“silence”). The main subject of the photograph seems to be communication; the juxtaposition of the modern idea of the speaker box against the historical nature of the Maori carving suggests some kind of communication between European New Zealanders and Maori. But the fact that the speaker box looks archaic and has the actual speaker painted over adds ambiguity to this interpretation. The composition of the piece, with the eyes of the carved figure located outside of the frame emphasises the nature of verbal communication. Connecting these two objects is the text sign, “silence”, which overlays a koru (Maori spiral design) carving. The text sign is directly adjacent to the open mouth of the figure: is the figure speaking the word “silence” or is the figure being silenced by the text? Although the text sign could be seen as a type of speech bubble issuing from the mouth of the figure, by overlaying the koru design it also implies a kind of silencing of the Maori culture. The ambiguity of the juxtapositions and their meanings also seems to express the kind of ambiguity and misunderstanding that occurs within cross-cultural communications. The text sign could also be a symbol of the written culture of Europeans, in contrast to the traditionally oral culture of Maori; by placing the sign in a dominant position over the koru design, there is a suggestion that the written tradition of European New Zealanders is placing itself above the oral tradition of Maori. In this narrative the speaker box then comes to represent a melding of the two cultures: the oral tradition continues, but is supported and encouraged through European-imported technology. Another ambiguous aspect of the composition is the size of the objects in relation to one another: the carved figure is the largest object and dominates the photograph with its dimensions; but the text sign and the speaker box, while being smaller, are lighter-toned and seem to stand out more against the dimmer tone of the carving. While the text sign is the smallest of the three it has the most impact because of the black block text laid on white. This would seem to signal more than anything else that the image is about communication, or the lack of it.
As a New Zealander, I can not help but view this photograph from a post-colonial perspective. But how does this photograph read for someone who does not have knowledge of the colonial impact on New Zealand and the ongoing problems with race relations in this country? Even without knowledge of New Zealand’s cultural history, I think that the juxtaposition of obviously tribal-style/indigenous images with those of European origins signals to the viewer that some kind of dialogue between cultures is being expressed. Seen in context, this image has a massive impact: as part of a retrospective spanning more than thirty years and over two hundred photographs, the exhibition itself gives a view of New Zealand that is at once familiar (to those of us who live here) and also dream-like and subtly gothic in tone. The photographs taken within New Zealand are amongst other series taken in Macau, and what is emphasised to the New Zealand viewer is this country’s own exoticism – something which we perhaps do not often consider because we do not stand in a position of alterity. The description of the series asks the viewer “what is a photographic image – what does it reveal and what does it hide?” In Nature Morte much is revealed about the nature of communication between Maori and Pakeha, but much is ‘hidden’ in that it remains ambiguous where the photographer is positioning himself on this issue. By leaving out a definite authorial statement, Aberhart allows the viewer to decide what is ‘revealed’ within the work – through interpretation.
― Rubyredd, Friday, 2 May 2008 13:42 (seventeen years ago)
two weeks pass...
two weeks pass...