Tag: art
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Appropriation or appreciation – who makes the decisions?
The artist, Yinka Shonibare, has long employed art to explore and expose colonial attitudes, using cloth that originated in the Dutch colonies and that are now associated with Africa, to highlight the role of the textile industry in world trading relationships. It is a clear example of cultural appropriation. But sometimes the lines are blurry.…
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The amazing coelacanth
This week, the Royal Society of South Africa (RSSAf) held an online talk about coelacanths, the ancient fish that still live in the ocean. This fascinating creature has been the subject of myth ever since it came to the science world’s attention in 1939. Named after the finder of this first animal, and the river…
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Fantastic cardigans, Oz style
Just across the water something rather marvellous has been going on that those of us who like knitwear might just have fallen in love with. WAH-WAH Australia is a fabulous label that creates wearable art from music designs but that is not all. The designer, Kaylene Milner, works with bands to make outfits for stage…
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Appropriation or appreciation – introduction
When does appreciation turn into some else? What makes using something “appropriation” and what doesn’t? What is “appropriation” anyway? This week sees the first entry in a series of articles in which I will be looking at the topic and opening up a discussion. Readers are welcome to join in the debate by commenting on…
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June Black
A new painting has entered the collection. Its creator was a fascinating and eccentric artist with a refined taste for fine fabrics and costume. June Black loved clothes and fashion, wrote about them and created new ways to think about them. In her journal writings the artist entered thoughts about materials and clothing, and, having…
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Appropriation or appreciation?
Recently friends have been asking the current Big Question: what, in my opinion, is the difference between appropriation and appreciation? These days, appropriation is a Hot Topic and rightly so. For centuries people have been borrowing from others to create, and often the original creators have not benefitted. As an example, the song “The Lion…
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Peter McIntyre’s Pacific
The artist, Peter McIntyre, was born in Dunedin, Aotearoa New Zealand in 1910 and had a long, distinguished painting career. He is principally known as a landscape painter but his portraits reveal his early start as a fashion illustrator. The artist, Peter McIntyre, was born in Dunedin, Aotearoa New Zealand in 1910 and had a…
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The Shetland Victory
You may be familiar with the song “Run Rabbit Run” but you might not be aware of the Shetland connection. This story on the BBC news site tells of how the song was popularised by a rabbit in Shetland after a German bombing raid on Sullom Voe. A few years ago a small cartoon entered…
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The Nature of Textiles – exhibition opening
(This article was originally published on the 25th September) This Friday saw the opening of The Nature of Textiles exhibition at the Left Bank Gallery in Greymouth Mawhera. The show is a celebration of materials and design that comes from the natural world and there are pieces from around the world on display for a…
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Dame Ngaio Marsh’s house
A few months back we visited Dame Ngaio Marsh’s recently restored house in Christchurch Otautahi. Each time the mystery writer, theatre director and artist travelled to the UK, she brought back something for the family house, that once was outside of town and surrounded by open land and hills, and so it is filled with…