Danger is part of human experience.  Art and creativity always have to come to terms with danger, both physical and psychological.

Evidence of danger is all around.  At airports in Europe it isn’t unusual to see soldiers carrying machine guns, all part of the continuing story of the ‘war against terrorism’.  Outside every school parents deliver and collect their children from the front gate because there is a constant sense of danger on the streets.

It isn’t new.  In southern France, at Le Cros de Caunes-Minervois, there are the remnants of a fortification that dates back nearly three thousand years.  It looks like a pile of rocks but it used to be an imposing defensive position.

Throughout France there are examples of fortifications, mostly castles, some in advanced states of decay, others preserved for tourists.  It appears that people have always had barricades as a defense against marauders.   Mostly, of course, life happened out in the open where people tended their crops, looked after animals and played.

Today the connected feelings of defense and aggression are stoked by rapid reporting of death and disaster.  It isn’t only about fighting and killing – economics and the environment have been turned into horror stories too.  Although there are some dangerous possibilities, we question whether they are worth the chronic fear which is generated by a constant diet of bad news.

The most dangerous aspect of fear is the inhibition of play.  Without play there isn’t much art and creativity.  Without creativity we’re not going to be able to respond effectively to danger.

Play is the starting point of TLC’s Diploma of Art and Creativity.  It’s a paradox.  The economy wobbling, the environment getting messed up, lots of fingers on lots of triggers, and we’re saying “hey, let’s learn how to play.”

Play opens hearts and minds.  There isn’t any single recipe.  Even a simple act of observation can be playful.  It’s as if the whole world is dancing and we are encouraging you to find a way to join in.

A beginning point of play is that it helps us get along together.  When people are getting along well they find it a lot easier to find ways to deal with the things they call ‘problems’.  It becomes easier to do science, make art and develop business.  It helps move us through protective barriers – the mental equivalents of the metal detectors and body-scanners – so that we can be ourselves.

TLC offers the play of engagement rather than the play of distraction.  Our programmes are about engagement with the world.  It’s about the audacity of fun.  If you’re not having fun, you’re not doing it right.

Jonathan Milne (Managing Director)

Save Our Land in Time: Wellington Artists’ environmental message.

Exhibition: Our Land in Time, an exhibition of paintings from Dan Wilkinson and Sandy Rodgers at Tamarillo Gallery, 325 Lambton Quay Wellington, 4 – 26 June 2010.

Our Land in Time is a darkly beautiful exhibition from two Wellington artists: Sandy Rodgers and Dan Wilkinson.

Sandy Rodgers is a talented painter, and passionate about her country.  Her latest work: ‘Protect our forests from mining’ directly addresses the mining issues facing our National Parks and Conservation areas. Rodgers is well known for her paintings referencing the history and origins of Aotearoa, and she says the body of work on display in this exhibition encompasses the history of New Zealand, but also where we are now and where we are heading. The anti-mining painting wrestles with the here and now, Rodgers says.

“Here we are today…this is just one issue that we are currently faced with. The faded flag (ensign) representing what can happen to our nation if we let the jewel in our illustrious crown be destroyed. (Our national parks and conservation areas)”

Sandy grew up in the Hutt Valley, before moving to London and spending six years travelling the world. After years of study, work, travel and general life experience Rodgers says she realised how little she really knew of not only her own heritage but all of New Zealand’s heritage and so made it her personal goal to study, research, read, question and create as much information as possible. She now resides in Island Bay, and her perspective on her home and country is enhanced by the years of distance:

“It is these places that we are still advertising on postcards inviting people to partake in our little slice of paradise.”

Her series also includes an older work titled “Adventure in Maoriland.”  Rodgers explains that this piece is about the settlement of both Maori and Pakeha cultures here in Aotearoa. The title comes from a series of postcards printed at the beginning of the 20^th Century in Wellington by Murray Lloyd Photography. The postcards showed photographs from all over the country of wild and tame New Zealand Scenery. At that time, New Zealand was advertised as a virtual wonderland filled with romantic images of happy and peaceful people living in an idyllic setting. There is also a huia feather in the image, which Rodgers identifies as a reminder of the danger that if we become complacent and take this Eden of ours for granted it can be destroyed, never to be restored!

Rodger’s paintings will be exhibited at Tamarillo Gallery alongside long time artist colleague Dan Wilkinson, whose works explores the physical and spiritual energy of the land. Wilkinson works from a studio on Wellington’s rugged South Coast; he says this inspirational landscape is notable in his new work:  “I am interested in stripping back the land and capturing what is unseen, what makes it so powerful.” Capturing the essence of his surroundings has lead to a more specific passion for the islands of New Zealand & the stories of the land. Wilkinson says he finds Islands such as Mana, Kapiti & Matiu/Somes very special as they are places with very little pollution and contain no predators.

“These are places where trees, insects, birds and the tuatara thrive. There is maybe a hint of what it used to be like before human intrusion. Marine reserves & bird sanctuaries have been a huge step forward into returning the local environment to its most natural state; they act a bit like role models for society.”

Wilkinson’s latest works also reflect his vision for a free flowing sustainable society. He believes that the people of Aotearoa have a responsibility to take care of the land for future generations.  This includes simple things like being aware of the environmental footprints each of us leave behind, with the array of things we consume on a daily basis.

Both artists studied Art & Creativity at The Learning Connexion, where Wilkinson has taught for over 10 years. Sandy Rodgers exhibits widely across the country and you can catch Our Land in Time at Tamarillo Gallery, 325 Lambton Quay from June 4 – 26.

Arts and Marketing and Administration with Eva Yocum

Weekend Class

Start date: May 29 & 30

Eva Yocum

Creating something marvelous is very different to getting it out into the world. This is a practical class on how to go about marketing and administering your art practice. We will create some basic resources, on top of pre-made material, which I’ll be handing out and we will also look at where to find resources in your community to help you with the business side of art.

Zen and the Art of Video Editing

Tutor – Kate Logan

Weekend Class

Start date: May 29 & 30

Editing is an art of storytelling and an art that is unique to the moving image. Not merely a matter of mechanically placing one shot after another; film and video editing is often referred to as the invisible art, because when it is well practised, the viewer can become so engaged with what they are watching that they are not even aware of the editor’s work.

Stanley Kubrick was once quoted as saying: I love editing. I think I like it more that any other phase of film making.

Yaniv Janson has just turned 18 and has already exhibited more art work than many people do in a lifetime. He began painting quite suddenly in 2008 and by the end of his second year of  painting he has featured in over 23 exhibitions, sold paintings around the world, published books and won many awards. Yaniv is the youngest artist to have been selected as a finalist by both the Wallace Art Award and the Waikato Contemporary Art Award, both in 2008.

Yaniv works mainly with paint, but is also trying out some printmaking techniques as part of his study at The Learning Connexion. He keeps a regular blog where you can keep in touch with what he has been up to. He uses this as an effective marketing tool to get his artwork out into the world and to communicate his ideas to his audience.

Yaniv was born ‘outside the square’ with Asperger’s syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder characterized by a difficulty with communicating. Making art has given Yaniv a voice and a language with which to share his ideas with the world and challenge himself. Yaniv’s success has been supported by his parents  who have enthusiastically helped him to explore his passion for art.

His mother says that “For Yaniv art is a lifeline to life – we did not know this when we started this adventure but now that we see what doors art has opened for Yaniv we know! Art has had a significant life changing impact both internally, such as his relating to others in such meaningful ways, and externally, such as getting recognition for his work.”

We asked Yaniv a few questions about his experience at The Learning Connexion, making art and what challenges lay ahead for someone already so accomplished:

How long have you been making art?

“I did art as a young child but then stopped for a long time. I started painting again in summer 2008.”

What drew you to enrol at TLC?

“The reason why I went to that school was because I thought that it would be a good school. We searched on the internet and got in contact with TLC. Then Jonathan came to Hamilton to speak about his book (GO! The Art of Change) and my parents went to see him and thought TLC would be great for me.”

What are some highlights (either artistic or personal) that you have achieved so far?

“I love entering art competitions and selling the paintings and becoming famous! Marcel (my mentor) is focused on helping me realize my dreams and this is great.”

What is your goal with your creativity?

“My short term goal is to learn and get better. Marcel helps me hugely with this. My long term goal would be to win art competitions and sell my art for so much money, like millions of dollars.”

What has been special about the TLC experience for you?

“I get on with Marcel really well. It is great that I can live far away and still improve my art through distance learning. In February I came to TLC and did a printmaking workshop with Marcel – this was AMAZING – I WILL NEVER FORGET THIS EXPERIENCE.”

What would you say to someone thinking about enrolling at TLC?

“I would say that it is good!”

You can see Yaniv’s work at his website – www.y-artist.blogspot.com and also check out his book on Amazon.com.

After this article was published we received further good news from Yaniv:

The interest generated by Yaniv’s passion – raising awareness about Climate Change and sustainability issues is growing. We just heard that Yaniv has been awarded a ‘Variety – The Children’s Charity’ scholarship (his name will appear shortly on their page: http://www.variety.org.nz/variety-gold-heart-scholarship-fund-xidc25879.html). The $5000 will go towards buying materials to make the murals, public art for a new energy centre in building now and publication of the accompanying book about climate change.

This Sept Yaniv has a solo exhibition in Waikato Museum ArtsPost on the topic of “Visualising Climate Change”. Short description: “Media campaigns based on science have failed to create the massive action needed to mitigate climate change – let’s actually come face to face with the future images of our cities and landscapes!”

45 pictures of the body: Paul Melser
21 May 2010

Artist Paul Melser, who is also well known for his decades of work as a potter, is presenting a shifting group of modular paintings based on “photos of bodies in conflict”, derived from news media.

“I’ve been collecting images over the past year that show people in situations of violence from all over the world – bodies in situations of extremity and distress,” says Paul. “We encounter these images on a daily basis in a very random way. Viewers will be able to identify some of the images, and they will be able to recognise some of them from their own recollection of the news.”

Paul, who works from his studio in rural Carterton, describes the 75cm square canvases that make up the artwork as ‘modules’. There will be 45 on the wall at any given time, with the configuration changing throughout the exhibition’s duration, to bring out different ‘conversations’ and relationships between the images in each.

As with his previous work, Paul is interested in how an image can be pared down to its elemental shape or form, yet still remain immediately recognisable and richly suggestive for the viewer: “I want to see how much detail you can withdraw but still retain the ability to reconstruct some narrative from the image.”

“I’ve been thinking about the way governments and institutional forces exact punishment on the body. Violence doesn’t persuade someone to change their ideas….but it’s always the body that takes the punishment!”

He sees painting in New Zealand as often concentrating solely on showing the virtuosity of the painter. “Instead, I wanted to explore ways in which painting can be a commentary on the wider world around us.” He has therefore deliberately used a simple, direct approach, very much like his approach to ceramics: “In my pots I try to avoid overstressing virtuosity and minimizing decoration to keep things simple. In these paintings I’ve tried to remove ‘showmanship’ from the work so that the subject matter is much more present.”

Based in rural Masterton, Paul Melser has worked as a full time potter, and graduated with a MFA Arts from Massey University in 2004. He is continuing his studies there and is currently working on a PhD. He has exhibited in group and solo shows at James Mack Gallery, Featherston and at Aratoi Wairarapa Museum of Art & History.

45 pictures of the body: Paul Melser
22 May – 18 July Page 1 of 2

Also on at Aratoi:

* Hard on the Heels, Capturing the All Blacks – Peter Bush
Proudly sponsored by Canon New Zealand.
15 May – 11 July.

* Public Talk with Peter Bush: Walk the exhibition with legendary photojournalist Peter Bush and hear the fascinating stories from 60 years of capturing the All Blacks. Book at Aratoi by 25 May, P: 06 370 0001. Friday 28 May, 1pm (School groups) & 5pm (Rugby & photography fans).
* Go the Bush! Rugby memorabilia from the collections of local luminaries in the rugby world. 15 May – 4 July.
* I Want It Now!: King Street Artworks groups show: The annual exhibition by artists from this community art studio in Masterton. 8 May – 13 June.

Aratoi Wairarapa Museum of Art & History T: 06 370 0001 www.aratoi.co.nz.
Media enquiries: Anne Taylor M: 027 489 0704.

Monday 24 May
2pm – 3.00 pm,
Te Marae, Level 4
Free entry
Professor Zhao Shutong, one of China’s most eminent sculptors, will give a presentation about his career, and his love of Chinese art.

Professor Zhao was a member of the Rent Collection Courtyard collective, a group of 18 artists (teachers and students) from the Sichuan Art Academy. Their Rent Collection Courtyard project was created in 1965 and comprised 114 life-sized ceramic sculptures arranged in narrative fashion, depicting the peasant farmers of Sichuan in servitude to the real-life landlord, Liu Wen-tsai. Initially displayed in the actual rent collection courtyard of Liu’s vast Manor-House, the multiple sculptures depicted the brutal poverty and merciless hardships suffered by peasants at the hands of Liu – and how they ultimately rose up against him. During the Cultural Revolution the sculptures toured China, and it is estimated that they were seen by over two million people.

A 1999 reproduction of the work coordinated by Cai Guo Qiang earned the International Prize at the Venice Biennale.
More recently, Professor Zhao has been active promoting the art of shadow plays as an alternative to mass-market animation. He is also an eminent collector of classical Chinese art and shadow puppets..

This presentation will be open to the public, and there will be time for questions.

This year’s New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week was bigger and better than ever! Events in NZSL were run nationwide between May 2nd–8th in an effort to encourage the use of NZSL in New Zealand. NZSL is this country’s 3rd official language and Deaf and Hearing people alike banded together to promote it.

The Learning Connexion (TLC) got involved by holding a Sample Class for students and we hosted a creative space during NZSL Week’s Fun Day. The Fun Day was held at Newlands Community Centre on Saturday 8th May. It was a family oriented event with face painting, games, a bouncy castle and a visiting fire engine. There was also the opportunity to learn some NZSL and buy artwork created by local deaf artists. TLC co-ordinated two collaborative artworks based around this year’s theme ‘Think Sign’ while deaf student, Rosie Solouota, gave a painting demonstration.

Fun Day kicked off with the presentation of this year’s NZSL ‘In Action’ Awards. These awards celebrate the efforts and successes in the Deaf community and formally recognise the contribution that many businesses, organisations and individuals have made towards the progress of New Zealand Sign Language in New Zealand.

This year six awards were presented to individuals and schools around the country and TLC was honoured to receive this year’s NZSL Accessibility Award! TLC was recognised for employing a full-time NZSL communicator, hosting free NZSL classes for students, organising TLC exhibition tours for the Deaf community, posting You Tube clips in NZSL and captioning all their videos that aren’t in NZSL.

The other award winners were:
• Alan Wendt – Interpreter of the year (Wellington)
• Bridget Fergusson – NZSL Champion of the year (Wellington)
• Lisa Shand – NZSL in Teaching Award (New Plymouth)
• Constable Deborah Leahy (NZ Police) Public Service Award (Auckland)
• Paparoa Ranges School -- NZSL in Schools Award (Greymouth)

Congratulations to the award winners and thank you to Deaf Aotearoa for organising another exciting and successful NZSL Week. See you next year!

We would like to share this ‘My Deaf Family’ pilot we found all in sign language:

MY DEAF FAMILY is the story of Jared, 15 and his family, The Firls, who live and love like any family except that Jared is hearing and communicates using sign language with his deaf family. Enjoy!

By Susan Knaap

In 2008 a remarkable book about art and creativity, written by The Learning Connexion’s Founder and Director Jonathan Milne, was published. Entitled ‘Go! The Art of Change’, it is a comprehensive, practical guide to the process of creativity itself, combining philosophy and technique to inspire all those with a yearning to express their inner artist. This stunning book is given to each and every student who enrols with The Learning Connexion – it is the proverbial ‘icing on the cake’ – the surprise that awaits each student who commits to the Diploma of Art and Creativity. At least that’s the usual scenario.

For Sane-Mari Botha, it was the other way around. In 2009 Sane-Mari, an Accountant who dabbled in art, had just participated in a group exhibition that resulted in sales success for everyone but herself. Despondent and wondering whether her work was just “too different” from the norm, she ventured to the local library for inspiration and came across ‘GO! The Art of Change’. She started reading and the more she read the more excited she got. “This was exactly what I was looking for,” she says. “It was inspiring and confirmed that I have to be creative. I knew that the more I practised, the better it would work!”

Sane-Mari borrowed the book so many times that it became a permanent fixture in her home and it wasn’t long before her family got bitten by the creative bug. “My husband (Andre), son (Alexander, 7) and I are very close, probably because the rest of our family lives overseas. We tend to do a lot together,” she says. “So, it was natural that when reading ‘GO!’ I would tell my husband about it. He became so interested in the content that we decided that we would do some of the exercises together,” she adds.

Part-way into the book and inspired by the results she was achieving, Sane-Mari decided to enrol with The Learning Connexion. “I have always dreamed of doing art, but I was not fortunate enough to pursue it because of limited choices I had as a child leaving school”, she says. Half a year on, it is clear her decision was the right one. “I really like doing this programme. It gives me freedom to explore what I find interesting, but also gives me an opportunity to set tough goals through the briefs that I write. Having a tutor available to ask questions, as well as getting feedback on your work is great. It is a privilege to have such knowledgeable people on hand!”

In ‘GO! The Art of Change’ Jonathan Milne suggests that our “task is to get work that fits our passion”. Sane-Mari is taking his advice. “I want to be an art teacher,” she says. “I have always had this notion that art is not just about being able to paint, draw or reproduce. Art must mean something and therefore it has to be a creative process. We were all once children who enjoyed being creative, but the process of growing up took that uninhibited freedom of expression away from us. I want to help people (particularly those who say they are not artistic) to unlock their creativity. I want to show them the joy in being creative and to prove that you don’t need to be an ‘artist’ per se to experience this feeling,” she adds.

It’s a fair certainty that Sane-Mari will achieve her dream. She has identified her goal, researched her options and outlined a time-plan. She has even set a date to bid farewell, once and for all, to her accounting job so that she can focus on her art and teaching career full-time. But most importantly, she is driven by an inner desire to share her joy and there can be no greater motivator than that.

* If you would like to purchase a copy of Jonathan Milne’s book ‘GO! The Art of Change’, click here.

In January and February of 2010, I had the fortunate opportunity to receive an artist residency at the El Hayelo centre in Villa de Leyva, Boyaca, Colombia. How can I put into words the impression this beautiful and majestic place made upon me, both as an artist and person?

Colombia speaks to me of colour and life; alive with natural pigments and materials, deep with roots of myth and history. Some time ago, in a dream, I saw aqua blue waters set next to ochre desert sands. For months, I have been searching for that place. I found it in Villa de Leyva.

Here, time stands still. The town was founded in 1572 and looks now very much as it did then. It is preserved in its entirety and virtually no modern architecture exists. The streets, in Spanish style, are still cobble stoned and the walls whitewashed. It is located in a high altitude valley, where fossils from the ancient ocean floor have been preserved in the desert landscape. The village is framed by a branch of the Andes. Santuario De Iguaque can be reached within a day’s walk. Santuario is the creation lake of the indigenous, Muisca.

The focus of my residency was to produce a series of multi-media works and to research the group process through site-specific installation work, (a concept I began to develop in my final year at TLC). The work seeks to bridge a connection between people and the environment, the development of environmental compassion through direct experience, and the facilitation of the group process in artistic acts offering gratitude to the land.

In the production of the installation work, I had the fortunate opportunity to work with Colombian artist, Catalina Garcina, who brought a new fluidity and expressionistic quality to the work. We scouted a site for the installation and found Villa de Leyva to be the perfect setting to shift the work from the previous gallery-based spaces, to the site-specific outdoor environment. I was mystified to realise the exact setting of a dream I had experienced some 12 months earlier. A desert scape surrounding the aqua-blue lakes of the natural phenomena ‘Agua Azul’. Several days were spent gathering materials around the local area. It was hard to move our noses off the ground, the land was so vibrant with pigment. The area is a geological paradise.

At sunrise, on the day of the installation, Catalina and I began our artistic expression of gratitude to the land. We worked with the desert purples, pinks and fire ochres. We discovered the remnants of a fire by the lake. We gathered the charcoal, whose blackness articulated the depth of the universe. Maize represented the culture of the Andes. Wheat flour was utilized for the white pigment. Later we discovered its true significance. The land had once been used to grow wheat, but could no longer sustain it. So that memory was upheld for the land.

As the work and day drew to a close, toward that special hour of light, a group of local artists and writers came to participate in the completion of the work. The group response was powerful. Songs were sung, words of prayers spoken for the land and people of Colombia. The work was validated and integrated into the land.

After spending the prior 6 months in Mexico, visiting ancient Maya sites, partaking in indigenous ceremonies and traveling by horse back across the state of Oaxaca on an environmental project (see www.nomadsunited.com) and with a wealth of experience to draw upon, I was itching to get into the studio.

During the residency I produced a series of multi-media sketches, weaving themes of horses and Danza de la Luna (ceremonial dance of the moon) into landscapes of the Colombian Andes.

My experience at the El Hayelo residency was extremely positive. The residency’s support enabled me to organise a successful project in a country with many social and cultural differences. My heart was truly warmed by the reception I received. I feel compelled to mention that putting on an exhibition can be challenging enough at the best of times, try organising a show in a foreign language; it’s hilarious!

An exhibition of my work was hosted by the historic Casa Museo Antonia Narino Museum. It was titled, ’Intenciones llenas de gracia, desde la fe hacia el siguiente paso’, (Intensions of grace, from one leap of faith to the next.). The show featured the multi-media sketches, photo documentation of the desert installation and an on-site installation. The response to the work was from the heart. Being featured in the museum gave the work great accessibility to the community. It was a deeply fulfilling experience and an amazing opportunity to develop my work.

I now have a new project underway, entitled Sacra Tierra Project. The objective is to continue the development of land-based installation art and facilitate the collective responsibility and awareness of caring for the land we walk upon.

www.karmabarnes.com
http://www.residenciasartisticas.com