Govett-Brewster - News

Curator revives 'lost art'

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:00:00 GMT

An internationally significant collection of art may have faded into obscurity if not for a series of serendipitous connections that led Govett-Brewster Art Gallery curator Mercedes Vicente to track down the artist, an unsung hero of the Taranaki art world. Natalie Finnigan reports.

Mercedes Vicente had long been a fan of Taranaki artist Darcy Lange. Although not well known at home, Lange was a highly regarded videographer in Europe and the United States during the 1970s.

When Vicente arrived in New Plymouth from her native Spain in 2005 to take up a job as curator at the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, her mission was to track Lange down.

Unfortunately, she did not meet him, as he died within three months of her arrival. However, she did track down his work, and has staged a series of international exhibitions during the past five years, including an exhibition in Spain which runs until April.

When Vicente contacted Lange's family, she discovered a large amount of his personal possessions and work were in a shed on the family farm at Urenui.

"It was remarkable to find Lange's old crates from his time in Europe during the 1970s intact in the shed," she said.

"We piled everything into bags and took it back to the gallery to be fumigated, before starting a long process of sorting it all out and archiving it properly."

She asked the family for permission to vest Lange's work and professional documents in the Govett-Brewster Gallery, so they could be restored and preserved.

"I don't think Darcy's family had any idea how important his work was, because he had not received the same recognition in New Zealand as he had overseas."

Lange, a pioneering videographer, had made a significant contribution to the art world in the 1970s, but had barely been heard of since he moved his young family back to Urenui in 1984.

The ties he had formed with the international art community were severed by distance, Vicente said.

"They did not have email or the internet, so it was very difficult to maintain a connection."

Lange was a mixed-media artist who had studied sculpture at the Royal College of Art in London, but his most notable work was with video.

During the 1960s and 1970s, he pioneered a style of video practice that was essentially social documentary, whereby he filmed people at work in real time, in a range of working environments such as schools, factories and mines.

Lange's art was primarily concerned with social structure and the politics of class, which is why his studies of working environments are historically significant.

Vicente's connection to Lange began in 1978, when world- renowned art historian Benjamin H D Buchloh, of Harvard University, met Lange at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD).

Lange had been invited to teach at the college by American artist Dan Graham, and Buchloh was an editor at the NSCAD Press, where he was responsible for publishing books by and about contemporary artists.

Although they had little contact after their 1978 meeting, Lange's impression on Buchloh was such that he maintained an interest in and respect for the importance of Lange's work.

When Buchloh met Vicente in New York in 2001, a professional relationship was formed that resulted in Vicente co-publishing an anthology of his writings in 2005. It was Buchloh who led Vicente to Lange's work when she announced her relocation to New Zealand, and was intrigued about Lange's artistic activities since his return to New Zealand in 1984.

Once Vicente obtained the tapes from Lange's family, the painstaking process of converting them to a modern format began.

The 1/2-inch tapes were converted one by one, a costly process largely funded by the New Zealand Film Archive, and later as part of the overseas exhibition budgets.

Lange's collection was first displayed at Govett-Brewster in 2006, and during this time, Vicente began work on a book titled Darcy Lange: Study of an artist at work.

The release of the book coincided with the first international exhibition of Lange's work at world-famous Ikon Gallery in Birmingham in 2008.

The art community sat up and took notice of the exhibition, since the history of video art that had been written and revised during the 1990s and 2000s had largely excluded Lange because of his absence.

"Lange's work had been largely unseen over previous decades, and therefore he was left out of most of the written history of video art.

"I was compelled to bring attention to his legacy and significant contribution and seek the recognition it deserved," Vicente said.

After the Ikon exhibition, Lange's work was shown around the world: in New York, Yale University, Austria and Switzerland.

But back to the Spanish connection. While studying in London in the late 1960s, Lange would take summer sojourns to Spain to study under flamenco guitar master Diego del Gastor.

Lange formed a strong connection with Spain, and became passionate about capturing the beauty of the landscapes and the people in his work.

In 1975, he conducted a study of work in Spanish village of Cantavieja, in southern Spain.

This study was similar to agricultural studies he had conducted in Taranaki and the King Country in 1974.

In Vicente's book, she quotes Lange's view on what he captured in the village of Cantavieja.

"It is tragic that the American advisers and tractors provided to the feudal estates have cut the olives, turned Andalusia into a desert and denied the right to work to these beautiful Andalusian towns. They did it as if to take the last breath of Andalusian life from the people," Lange said.

One person who was aware of Lange's work in Cantavieja was Lorenza Barboni, curator at the gallery Espai d'Art Contemporani (EACC) in Castellon de la Plana, a coastal town between Valencia and Barcelona in Spain not far from Cantavieja.

Barboni travelled to Birmingham's Ikon exhibition in 2008, and had hoped to see the Cantavieja tapes.

However, although Vicente had been thrilled to find the Cantavieja tapes among the collection from Lange's estate, she did not have the budget to convert them in time for the Ikon show in 2008.

In 2009, they were converted to be shown at an exhibition in Ljubjana, Slovenia, at which point Barboni began to plan an exhibition of Lange's work at EACC in Castellon.

This venture came to fruition last month, when Vicente travelled to Spain on behalf of the Govett-Brewster to curate the exhibition.

So far the show has received positive reviews from the Spanish art press. However, the most interesting aspect of the exhibition for Vicente came when two special visitors arrived at the gallery on opening night.

The men had travelled to Castellon for the exhibition because they had heard it would include the Cantavieja tapes, which featured footage of a local farmer hard at work.

Javier Tena and his brother had never seen the footage of their father, who died many years before. However, they knew an artist from New Zealand had filmed him as part of an art project in the mid-1970s.

They recalled their father talking about the artist he familiarly called "El senor ingles", and 37 years after the footage was shot, they were overwhelmed to see their father on film.

Vicente was more than happy to fulfil their request for a copy of the tape, as in a way it brought Lange's connection with Cantavieja full circle.

"I feel like have done what I set out to do with Darcy's work," says Vicente.

"As a curator, an important part of your work is to preserve the legacies and promote the work of under-recognised artists.

"It has been a long journey, and I don't expect to give so much to one artist's work again, but then again you never know what will happen."

ARTSPACE launches Dane Mitchell publication

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 11:00:00 GMT

Join Dane Mitchell and Artspace for the New Zealand launch of the publication
RADIANT MATTER I/II/III and the preview of his new Artspace edition on

Thursday 16 February, 6pm.

Radiant Matter I/II/III was a series of exhibitions by Dane Mitchell presented at three public galleries across New Zealand in 2011.
Radiant Matter I, at the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, Radiant Matter II, at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery and Radiant Matter III, at Artspace, each operated in autonomous ways and yet shared similar aesthetic, conceptual and material concerns.

RADIANT MATTER I/II/III has been designed by Tana Mitchell and features texts by Cay Sophie Rabinowtiz, Chris Sharp, Aaron Kreisler, Dane Mitchell with a foreword by Ariane Beyn. It is co-published by Berliner Künstlerprogramm DAAD (Berlin) and Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, Dunedin Public Art Gallery, and Artspace.

Radiant Matter I/II/III was a series of exhibitions by Dane Mitchell presented at three public galleries across New Zealand in 2011, each exhibition operated in autonomous ways and yet shared similar aesthetic, conceptual and material concerns.

Radiant Matter I, at the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery involved the sculptural possibilities of perfume and vapours in their various states of transformation, and the means of containing, diffusing and releasing these into the air. Radiant Matter II at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery, extended these concerns — working with witchcraft, glass vessels, obsidian, and a hand-engineered perfume produced with French nose Michel Roudnitska. Radiant Matter III examined perfume and the 'vaporous', the state of suspension or in-between poetic potential of liquids, gases and solids by again working with Roudnitska to develop a synthetic scent of 'The Smell of an Empty Space’.

Co-published by Berliner Künstlerprogramm DAAD (Berlin), Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, Dunedin Public Art Gallery, and Artspace.

Editor Dane Mitchell
Copy Editor Sriwana Spong

Design Tana Mitchell

Texts by Ariane Beyn, Aaron Kreisler, Cay Sophie Rabinowitz, Chris Sharp and Dane Mitchell

Photography by Krzystof Zielinski, Bryan James, Bill Nichol and Sam Hartnett

2011
ISBN: 978-3-89357-123-9

Hard cover, 220 x 295mm
93 pages

English
NZ$50

enquire about this publication

Darcy Lange show reviewed in Spain

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:00:00 GMT

Darcy Lange: Study of an artist at work, currently showing at Espai d’Art Contemporani de Castellón (EACC), was recently reviewed in Spains leading newspaper El Pais.

Here's a rough translation into English...

It began in the seventies when New Zealand artist Darcy Lange (1946-2005), traveled to England and was surprised by the class difference. He then decided to conduct a study to examine the eating habits of the upper class and working class, recording in 16mm a family meal at home from each of these two classes. These two recordings can now be seen in the exhibition at the Espai d'Art Contemporari de Castelló (EACC) dedicated to this pioneer video artist.

Darcy Lange: Study of an artist at work reflects the artist projects, developed during the seventies in the UK, New Zealand and Spain, which recorded the rural work in Cantavieja, the Spanish town in the Teruel province. In this work, conducted in 1975, Lange recorded scenes of now extinct agricultural activities, including plowing with oxen, tractors, cows and mules, hand mowing and harvesting.

"Many of these jobs have already disappeared, so these works are not only interested in the context of video art," says exhibition curator Mercedes Vicente, who notes that Lange was a pioneer in using video.

Espai visitors can also see photographs and videos of Lange’s work in England. Vicente explains that since 1971 the New Zealand artist worked in British factories and mines.

"He's very interested in the analysis of work in still and moving image," she says.

But his work goes beyond merely the documentation of work. "Lange is not only interested in recording the theme of work, but includes also scenes of leisure for these workers," Vicente says.

With these pieces Lange became one of the first artist to incorporate the long take to record in real-time the working world. It was not until later when he begins to plan and structure the recordings. He starts recording with a preset order and chooses a group of workers to document in film, video and photography. "I wanted to highlight the differences between film and video," says Mercedes Vicente.

The exhibition also includes Lange’s documentary on New Zealand Maori activists and their land rights struggles.

Darcy Lange was a lover of flamenco guitar and studied in Seville with his master Diego del Gastor.

The exhibition is open until April 29.

Immersion Photography postponed to this Sunday

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 11:00:00 GMT

Due to the rough weather last weekend, the Immersion Photography event to be held at the Todd Energy Aquatic Centre was posponed until this Sunday 15 January.

Come along to the pools, plunge in and create your own otherworldly underwater images inspired by Vincent Ward’s exhibition.

Gallery staff will be photographing with an underwater camera but bring your own if you have one, then share your photographs on Govett-Brewster’s Facebook page.

Special discounted entry charge to pools for this event

Carmen Rupe 1935- 2011

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 11:00:00 GMT

We were saddened to hear the news of Carmen Rupe’s death in Sydney this morning. We are privileged to have in our Collection this beautiful image of Carmen, taken by Taranaki artist Fiona Clark.

“Carmen at Miss New Zealand Drag Queen Ball, Auckland, 1975” was shown in Fiona Clark’s exhibition “Go Girl” at the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery in 2002. The exhibition featured Fiona’s photos from Auckland’s gay, lesbian and transgender community taken in the 1970s combined with more recent portraits and video interviews with some of the original subjects.

Carmen Rupe had a significant impact on society on both sides of the Tasman – she will be much missed and our thoughts go out to her family and friends.

Thank you to Fiona Clark for permission to show the attached photo.

Dick Bett, AM 1947 - 2011

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 11:00:00 GMT

Director Rhana Devenport and all Govett-Brewster Art Gallery staff deeply regret the recent passing of Dick Bett. Dick was the Gallery’s Director from 1979 – 1984. After leaving the Gallery Dick and his family settled in Hobart, Tasmania, where he established and ran the Bett Gallery for 25 years. His children Emma and Jack Bett will continue to run the Bett Gallery along with Dick's wife Carol. Dick was also the curator of Sculpture by the Sea, Tasman Peninsula in 2001 and for the Olympic Arts Festival in 1998.

Dick’s directorship of the Govett-Brewster oversaw several major developments in the Gallery’s history. Significant exhibitions included Billy Apple’s seminal Alterations (1980) and the Parihaka Centennial Exhibition (1981). Important acquisitions included Gordon Walters’ Painting H (1975), Peter Peryer’s Self-portrait with rooster (1977), Don Driver’s Produce (1982), Tony Fomison’s The man of peace and the man of war (Te Whiti and Titokowaru) (1980), Christine Hellyar’s Cloak Cupboard, Dagger Cupboard and Meat Cupboard (1981) as well as several photographs by Taranaki artist Fiona Clark.

During Dick’s time as Director the Len Lye Foundation was established and the Len Lye Collection and Archive was successfully transported from Lye’s studio in New York to its new home at the Govett-Brewster.

We recognise the enormous contribution that Dick Bett made to the Govett-Brewster and to art in New Zealand and Australia, and send our deepest sympathy to Carol, Emma, Jack and family and friends at this sad time.

Don Driver 1930-2011

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:00:00 GMT

Director Rhana Devenport and all Govett-Brewster Art Gallery staff deeply regret, with much sadness, the passing of Don Driver yesterday. We send our sincere condolences to his wife Joyce, his family and friends including his son-in-law Chris Barry, our Gallery educator. Don will be much missed and remains much loved.

One of Taranaki’s most celebrated artists and one of New Zealand's finest, Don was born in Hastings in 1930. He moved New Plymouth with his family as a child. Don remained in Taranaki throughout his life and it was there that he forged his highly original and influential career as an artist.

Don is widely regarded as one of New Zealand’s most individual and independent artists. His assemblage works, made from found, or discarded objects, consistently stimulated and challenged his audiences as he tested new materials, perception and visual form. He could never be tied to any one movement or medium; his works often transcended boundaries and classifications.

Don Driver has been closely linked with the Govett-Brewster throughout its entire 41 years. His works ‘Flyaway’(1966-1969) and 'Black Relief' (1969) were purchased for the Gallery’s Collection in 1970 and many other key works such as 'Produce' (1982), '50kg' (1978), 'Painted relief no.12' (1972) are highlights of the Collection. Don gifted several of his works such as 'Sentinel' (1967) and 'Five part piece' (1972) to the Govett-Brewster.

A Don Driver retrospective exhibition was presented at the Govett-Brewster in 1973 and 'Don Driver: Wall Hangings and Sculpture’ was held in 1977. Another retrospective followed in 1979. A commissioned sculpture project, 'Elephants for Sale', also now in the Collection, was presented in 1986.

The most ambitious retrospective at the Govett-Brewster was held in 1999. 'Don Driver: With Spirit 1965-1998'. The exhibition was accompanied by a significant publication and was toured nationally.
Don’s work has been regularly included in collection exhibitions such as 'Viewfinder: Four decades of the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery collection' in 2006 and 'Pathfinders: Collection focus' in 2007.

A solo exhibition, 'Don Driver: Banners' was held at the Govett-Brewster in 2008 and in 2010, as part of the Gallery’s 40th year celebrations, 'Elephants for Sale', Don’s important 1986 installation inspired by the artist's significant visit to India, was specially reconstructed and exhibited in close collaboration with Don and Joyce Driver.

As well as being one of Taranaki’s leading contemporary artists, Don was employed by the Gallery’s inaugural director John Maynard before the Gallery opened in 1970. Over the next 24 years Don continued to work at the Govett-Brewster in various positions, including for a time as acting director.

Director Rhana Devenport says, “Don Driver unquestionably remains one of this country's most highly original and influential artists. His fearless traversing of different materials coupled with his relentlessly inquisitive and brilliant mind to produce marvellously unexpected and often powerful works. Don was prolific and his art soared from sublime colour-field abstractions to accumulative banner works, and from witty collages to the provocative assemblages and installations that so challenged the sensibilities of the day, and truly expanded the parameters of art practice in late twentieth century New Zealand. Don contributed profoundly to the Govett-Brewster's formation and history, not only as an artist, but also through the extensive roles he played at the Gallery in presenting contemporary art to our audiences. Don was a vitally important and pivotal member of the Govett-Brewster family and will remain in our hearts always.”

Govett-Brewster hosts cyberformance festival

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 11:00:00 GMT

The Govett-Brewster Art Gallery hosts the fifth annual festival of live, online performance on 11/11/11.

From 11am on 11/11/11 in New Zealand until 11pm on 11/11/11 in Europe, a selection of cyberformance is presented at 11:11:11, the fifth UpStage Festival.

Using the web-based platform UpStage, performances are created by artists, from school students to established digital artists, who collaborate using a range of digital media.

Anyone with a standard internet connection and browser can attend the festival, or view performances showing at physical venues in galleries, museums, theatre spaces, media workshops and schools.

This year more than 30 artists are collaborating around the world to produce 12 live online performances.

Coinciding with Armistice Day, the first show, Cyberian Chalk Circle, takes a Brecht classic to the Eygptian uprising, and questions what we have learned since the horrors of WWI.

Among the performers are three groups of primary students from South Westland who weave tales of mystery and navigation, familiar fairytales and rhymes and add a unique perspective through plot twists, audio and visual trickery.
The shows will be interspersed with works by artists from Scotland, Italy, Serbia, Netherlands, USA and Korea, performing classic tales, dance and cultural concepts from ancient and modern times.

The full schedule is online with links to each stage going live on the day: http://upstage.org.nz/blog/?page_id=2828

Old Genes: Artists reading Len Lye

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 11:00:00 GMT

Old Genes: Artists reading Len Lye opens at the Govett-Brewster
10 December 2011

Old Genes: Artists reading Len Lye, presents a fresh look at the importance of Len Lye within contemporary New Zealand art.
Sound, vision and the verbal were frequently intertwined in the work of New Zealand-born artist Len Lye (1901-1980).

The new exhibition Old Genes: Artists Reading Len Lye presents a fresh look at Lye as five contemporary New Zealand artists respond to his legacy and the role of language in his work.

Open at the Govett-Brewster from 10 December 2011 to 26 February 2012, the exhibition features Lye’s films, poems and sculptures alongside new works by Phil Dadson, Tessa Laird, Dane Mitchell, and a collaborative piece by Andy Thomson and Daniel von Sturmer.

In a new video work, Dadson contemplates Lye's Universe and the language of the body, and Laird's drawings explore Lye's sketchbook copy of fragments from Sigmund Freud's Totem and Taboo. Working with a glassblower, Mitchell read some of Lye's poems into molten glass to create capsules, while Thomson and von Sturmer create a box of colour, language and movement.

Len Lye Curator at Large Tyler Cann says languages evolve over time as new speakers shape conventions passed on from previous generations, and the same is true with visual art.

“Contemporary artists' responses to Len Lye's work will shape his legacy in important ways. This dialogue with the recent past also seems to be way of articulating a sense of the present,” Cann says.

Director Rhana Devenport says the exhibition is one of an important ongoing series offering new insights, perspectives and intersection points between the work of Len Lye and that of contemporary international artists.

Also presented at the Govett-Brewster from 10 December 2011 to 26 February 2012 is the first survey of filmmaker Vincent Ward’s work within an art museum context.

Breath – the fleeting intensity of life draws together Ward’s career as a feature filmmaker and his early training in fine arts. His recent exploration of the still image presents works that coalesce photography, painting and digital imaging alongside filmic vignettes and sound.

Image: Dane Mitchell Snowbirds 2010. Courtesy the artist and Govett-Brewster Art Gallery. Photo by Bryan James

ENDS

For more information, high resolution images and to arrange interviews please contact:
Rhana Devenport
Director
Govett-Brewster Art Gallery
rhanad@govettbrewster.com
+64 6 759 0850

Kelly Loney
Communications Coordinator
Govett-Brewster Art Gallery
kellyl@govettbrewster.com
+64 6 759 6717

kids' art club moves to a weekday

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 11:00:00 GMT

The Govett-Brewster's art club for children moves from the weekends to a week day, starting next year.

Traditionally held on Sunday afternoons, Young Visionaries will now run on Wednesdays from 3.30pm to 5pm.

Young Visionaries is an art club that expands and deepens the art experience of 9 - 13 year old students by involving them in making their own art and viewing other people's art and creativity.

Check in to the LEARN section of this website soon for more details on the Term 1 programme. Bookings are essential, phone 06 759 6060.

Darcy Lange work at Gasworks, London

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 11:00:00 GMT

Darcy Lange's Work Studies in Schools is included in the exhibition All I Can See is the Management at Gasworks, London from 7 October 2011 - 11 December 2011.

Darcy Lange: Work Studies in Schools features a series of videos taken in the classrooms of three schools in Birmingham, examining the processes of teaching and learning. Each school selected specifically to represent the different social classes.

Donation moves plans a stage closer

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 12:00:00 GMT

By Matt Rilkoff / Taranaki Daily News

Detailed architectural plans necessary to push New Plymouth's Len Lye Centre through the building consent stage are being drawn up.

The go-ahead to spend another $500,000 or so on the plans got the green light last week when a $2.5 million donation from Todd Energy was announced.

This brought the total of funds collected for the centre to 80 per cent of the $10m needed.

Last month the New Plymouth District Council agreed to commission the detailed plans as soon as 75 per cent of the money was raised.

The plans are necessary for the ambitious centre to get building consent and if all goes according to plan construction can start in October next year. These are not the first plans for the centre.

Council had already paid $500,000 for concept designs of the stainless steel curtained centre by Auckland architect Andrew Patterson. With $1.128m budgeted for professional fees, the necessary detailed plans could potentially cost a further $628,000.

The cost of all designs will be paid from a $4m government grant, made in June.

As well as this money and the $2.5m Todd Energy grant, the council has received $1m from TSB Community Trust and $500,000 from the Lottery Grants Board.

Construction of the centre will not start until the remaining $2m is found.

Council customer services manager Cathy Thurston said yesterday Todd Energy's additional grant of $100,000 a year for five years for school education programmes at the centre would have no impact on its forecast annual operating cost of $310,000.

She said the funds would allow them to run education programmes they would otherwise not have done.

HOW THE MONEY WILL BE SPENT

Site preparation: $310,000

New building: $7,570,000

Climate control (new building component): $462,000

Display lighting: $100,000

Professional fees: $1,128,000

Contingency (building): $400,000

TOTAL $9,970,000

Todd Energy makes generous pledge to Len Lye Centre

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 12:00:00 GMT

The Len Lye Centre project has attracted an outstanding corporate supporter, with the announcement of a $2.5 million contribution from Todd Energy towards the construction of the building. The announcement was made today by John Todd, Chairman Todd Corporation, at the opening of Todd Energy’s new McKee LPG Plant in Taranaki.

Todd Energy has also pledged an additional $100,000 a year for five years for an innovative education programme for the combined facility of the Len Lye Centre and the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, bringing their total contribution to $3 million.

Todd Energy’s support joins $4 million from the central government’s Regional Museum Policy fund, $500,000 from the New Zealand Lottery Grants Board: Environment and Heritage and $1 million from TSB Community Trust, bringing the total raised to date far for the construction of the Len Lye Centre to $8 million towards a $10 million goal.

The Len Lye Centre will be the new home for the care, research, preservation, display and engagement with the art and ideas of pioneer New Zealand-born modernist filmmaker and kinetic artist Len Lye (1901-1980).

New Plymouth District Mayor Harry Duynhoven said Todd Energy’s support is exceptional and one of the largest single capital contributions for the arts from the corporate sector in New Zealand.

“We are delighted and most grateful for Todd Energy’s support for this exciting project. It is an excellent example of a public and private partnership that will deliver outstanding economic and cultural benefits for the community,” said Mayor Harry Duynhoven.

John Todd, Chairman Todd Corporation, said that the contribution to the Len Lye Centre reflects the company's long-term involvement in the Taranaki region. “We are pleased to partner an innovative project that will have such a positive impact on the local community as well as being a draw card nationally and internationally. We congratulate the New Plymouth District Council (NPDC), the Len Lye Foundation and the Govett-Brewster, and we look forward to working with them to achieve this unique building and education programme.”

Govett-Brewster Art Gallery Director Rhana Devenport says that Todd Energy’s ongoing commitment to the education programme will enable the combined facility of the Len Lye Centre and the Govett-Brewster to greatly enhance its successful education programme in innovative ways.

“Todd Energy’s valuable support will enable us to deliver an expanded and inter-disciplinary education programme with relevance to science, technology, design, media studies and music, as well as art,” says Ms Devenport. “Todd Energy’s support will also contribute towards developing tool kits for the classroom, artists in schools workshops throughout Taranaki and a community connection programme to offer accessible and highly interactive programmes for Maori and Pasifika, youth, seniors, families, disabled communities and multicultural community groups.”

NPDC Chief Executive Barbara McKerrow says that this announcement now means that 80 percent of the funds towards the Len Lye Centre have been achieved. “This amount now allows us to instruct the architects to progress the detailed design to ensure that the project can be delivered on time in accordance with the timeframe set out in the Council’s Long Term Plan; the building of the Len Lye Centre is expected to begin in late 2012, with an estimated completion date of late 2014.”

The Len Lye Centre, designed by the award-winning architectural firm Patterson Associates, will be built adjacent to the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery and will operate as a unique combined facility with the gallery.

The Len Lye Centre project is a collaboration between the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Zealand’s foremost contemporary art museum, its owner and operator NPDC, and the Len Lye Foundation who own the Len Lye Collection and Archive.

Len Lye: All Souls Carnival, the largest retrospective of Lye’s work presented to date at the Govett-Brewster, is on at the gallery until 27 November 2011.

-ends-

Reporters: For more information contact:
Rhana Devenport on 06-759 6060 ext 8113 or 027 241 0899
Diana Price (Todd Energy) on 021 417 237

Notes for Editors
Todd Energy
Todd Energy is 100 percent New Zealand owned and operated and is a leading energy producer and provider focused on meeting New Zealand’s energy demands well into the future. As the only truly vertically integrated energy company in New Zealand, Todd Energy owns and operates its own natural gas, oil, LPG, electricity, cogeneration and solar hot water heating assets, enabling Todd Energy to manage the entire flow of energy from gas field to customer or from hydro generation to household. Employing over 300 dedicated staff Todd Energy continues to push the boundaries to deliver total energy solutions to our industrial, commercial and residential customers.

Len Lye
Len Lye (1901-1980) is one of the most important artists to have emerged from New Zealand. Legendary amongst experimental filmmakers, his ‘direct’ films made by painting and scratching on celluloid were part of Lye’s prescient vision for a new ‘art of movement’. His dynamic, motorised steel sculptures of the 1960s express a creative energy that Lye brought to film, painting, photography and poetry. The Len Lye Collection and Archive is housed and cared for by the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery in partnership with the Len Lye Foundation.

Lye's sculptures are found in the collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Albright-Knox Art Gallery and the Berkeley Art Museum. His films are held primarily at the New Zealand Film Archive in Wellington and also in archives at the British Film Institute, Museum of Modern Art in New York City and the Pacific Film Archive at the University of California, Berkeley.
Lye’s 45m-high kinetic sculpture Wind Wand has featured on New Plymouth’s Coastal Walkway since 2000, and Water Whirler has featured on Wellington’s waterfront since 2006.

Patterson Associates
Patterson Associates are acknowledged as New Zealand’s most internationally known architects. Their projects range from complex developments and urban infrastructure through to bespoke residential homes and three-dimensional strategic thinking. Established by Andrew Patterson in 1996, the firm is committed to sustainable methodology, innovative use of materials and creating simple, beautiful projects that encourage people to engage on many levels.

Pattersons, based in Auckland, designed the Michael Hill Clubhouse in Wakatipu which was selected as one of the nine best sports and leisure buildings in the world at the Barcelona World Architecture Awards in 2008. Pattersons are also multiple recipients of The New Zealand Institute of Architects’ NZ Supreme Award for Architecture. Another of Pattersons’ recent projects, the Geyser building in Auckland, has achieved New Zealand’s first six Green Star – Office Design certified rating. Six stars signify world leadership in sustainability.
Patterson Associates was named in May 2011 by prestigious publication World Architecture News in their 21 for 21 programme as one of five selected international architectural practices that are “set to shape the future of architecture in the 21st Century”. Renowned New Zealand architect Sir Miles Warren, often cited as the father of New Zealand architecture has said about the design for the Len Lye Centre: “Pattersons have designed a stunning building, a superb concept worthy to house and enhance Len Lye’s work.”

The Len Lye Centre
The Len Lye Centre is a partnership between NPDC, the Len Lye Foundation and the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery. It will be run as a combined facility with the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery and will offer a unique and complimentary programme of exhibitions and public engagement. The centre and gallery will share a management team and operating costs as well as facilities such as the education suite and commercial facilities including the Art and Design Shop and cafe.

Len Lye Foundation
Shortly before Len Lye’s death in 1980, arrangements were made to establish the Len Lye Foundation. In accordance with the artist’s Deed of Trust, his collection of work returned to New Zealand, the country of his birth.

Lye’s archives, sculpture, painting, textiles, and photographic work are housed at the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery in New Plymouth, where regular exhibitions of his work are held. The New Zealand Film Archive is the repository of the Len Lye Foundation’s film collection.
The Len Lye Foundation is registered in New Zealand as a non-profit incorporated society. Its function is to provide for the conservation, reproduction and promotion of the works of Len Lye and to make facilities available for research. The foundation holds copyright for much of the material it owns, and is empowered to issue prints of the artist’s films (where copyright and licence allow), authorise the publication of his written work, and to develop and edition reconstructions of his kinetic sculptures. From a vitally creative life of exploration and experiment, the foundation has inherited a substantial body of work. The existence of the Len Lye Foundation ensures that this work remains an active cultural force.

Preview len lye exhibition all souls carnival

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 12:00:00 GMT

In the lead up to the opening of Len Lye: All Souls Carnival on Saturday 10 September some of Len Lye's kinetic sculptures are installed and performing in the Gallery. These include Moonbead, Grass, Fountain II, Universe and the iconic Trilogy (A Flip and Two Twisters) performing at 12.30pm and 3.30pm every day.

This weekend Len Lye Films play all day, on both days, in the Govett-Brewster theatre.

All Souls Carnival is part of the REAL New Zealand Festival and will be the largest Len Lye exhibition in New Zealand to date.

Old School New School

Wed, 31 Aug 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Old School New School

28 September – 5 November 2011

Len Lye’s direct film Free Radicals 1958 will be screened as part of Old School New School, an exhibition celebrating 125 years of defining art and design education. The exhibition opens Wednesday 28 September at The Great Hall, Museum Building, Massey University College of Creative Arts and is part of the Real New Zealand Festival.

Meredith Robertshawe appointed Assistant Curator

Thu, 18 Aug 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Meredith Robershawe has been appointed Assistant Curator at the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery.

Meredith has worked in the position of Acting Assistant Curator for about two years. Her role includes organising the Gallery's public programmes, supporting the Gallery's curators and curating the Open Window exhibitions.

Courtney Johnston talks Len Lye on Nine to Noon

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Courtney Johnston spoke to Kathryn Ryan on National Radio’s Nine to Noon programme. Giving a brief background on Len Lye’s life and work, Courtney talked about the planned Len Lye Centre as well as New Plymouth’s Wind Wand and the Water Whirler in Wellington. Courtney also previewed the Govett-Brewster’s upcoming exhibition Len Lye: All Souls Carnival.

You can listen online to the interview, which is about ten minutes, from Radio New Zealand’s website.

http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/20110817

Paul Brobbel appointed Len Lye Assistant Curator

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Paul Brobbel has been appointed Len Lye Assistant Curator. He was previously the Govett-Brewster's Len Lye Intern.

Paul will work with Len Lye Curator-at-large, Tyler Cann, who has moved to Birmingham's Ikon Contemporary Art Gallery to take up the position of Museum Curator.

Tyler Cann will remain involved with the Govett-Brewster for the next year to complete two major Len Lye exhibitions and various publications and to offer expertise.

Past and street present

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 12:00:00 GMT

By Kate Saunders / Taranaki Daily News

Josh Manu is surrounded by inspiration.

The 25-year-old New Plymouth contemporary artist was taught traditional wood- carving by his uncle and was heavily influenced by his grandfather, who was a talented man on a lathe.

Now, his exhibition The Birth of the Guardians is being shown at the Govett-Brewster Gallery, his place of work.

"My work has a lot of Taranaki influence and family influence. Obviously, there's a lot of clutter and wood involved and that stems from my granddad and my wood- working background. He was always a little bit of a hoarder and I took up that idea," Manu says.

Taniwha creatures and references to the Taranaki landscape feature strongly in the works, which were painted in acrylic or Indian ink on sanded-back wooden panels.

Nine of the 45 wooden pieces were turned on a lathe by his grandfather. The rest were found in places like hospice shops.

His uncle taught him the things that make the work truly Taranaki, such as arms coming through the mouths of taniwha, but he has also learnt plenty from his role at the Govett-Brewster as an information officer.

"You definitely get to meet contemporary New Zealand artists and catch up with them and learn about how they do their thing, and seeing the different art work is good as well."

Manu took just over four weeks to put the work together and having it displayed in the region he was born in is "just huge".

As a 2009 fine arts graduate of the Western Institute of Technology at Taranaki, he has always experimented with drawing and painting, but incorporates woodwork when he can.

Comic books, contemporary art and visits to other galleries also spur him on.

"But my work is definitely inspired by street art and that street aesthetic as well."

This isn't surprising, because like fellow New Plymouth artist Mikaere Gardiner (aka Eno), he is not too bad in the urban art arena.

Both have been selected as top 20 finalists for Oi You!, a national urban art competition. They will compete in Nelson next month, each recreating a painting live that they have already submitted as a concept. "It was great to get two of us from New Plymouth selected and it will be awesome down there, just being able to network with other artists."

Asked whether he and Gardiner are part of a new wave of youth artists changing the definition of art, Manu is typically self-effacing.

"I guess I'd like to think so. I think there should be more, though - bringing together artists and having more of a culture around it here."

As for his goals, working as a full-time artist would be living the dream. He cites Barry McGee as an example - a street artist in the United States who has made it into the galleries.

"There has been a tension in the past, but a lot of people can make their name on the street and use the publicity from that."

The Birth of the Guardians runs until August 28.

- Taranaki Daily News

Len Lye Curator Tyler Cann leaves for IKON gallery Birmingham

Wed, 03 Aug 2011 12:00:00 GMT

The Govett-Brewster Art Gallery's Len Lye curator, Tyler Cann, is leaving New Zealand to work as curator at Ikon contemporary art gallery in Birmingham, England.

Cann’s last day at the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery is Friday 5 August, 2011 and he will commence his position at Ikon this month.

Cann will remain involved with the Govett-Brewster for the next year to complete two major Len Lye exhibitions and various publications and to offer expertise. He will also remain involved as Len Lye Foundation trustee.

The US-born curator moved to New Plymouth from Harvard University in 2005 to fill the newly-created position of Len Lye curator.

"It is hard to leave, but it's an excellent opportunity and I feel I have achieved much of what I set out to do when I came here," Cann says.

"It's been a privilege to not only work with the archival material of Len Lye but also with artists, curators, writers and thinkers from New Zealand and all over the world who come to the Govett-Brewster."

Since being at the gallery, Cann has organised 11 exhibitions, produced six publications and lectured on Len Lye in New Zealand and internationally.

Govett-Brewster Director Rhana Devenport: “We are absolutely delighted for Tyler, this is a remarkable opportunity and well deserved. Tyler has contributed in an outstanding way to the Govett-Brewster over the last six years. His intelligence, ingenuity, engaging personality and inquiring mind will be greatly missed by his colleagues”.