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The Paintings of Philip Trusttum

DEREK SCHULZ

At the same time as Philip Trusttum Selected Works 1962-1979, a major touring exhibition arranged by the Sarjeant Gallery, Wanganui, strengthens Trusttum's position among that group of artists who rose to prominence during the 'sixties, it gives a clear indication of the role that expressionism has played in the development of his work. The influence of expressionism has been of central importance in Trusttum's development: but far from being content to work within an established expressionist style, he has, through a long series of innovations and experiments, adapted its ideas and modes to suit his own artistic temperament.

PHILIP TRUSTTUM Sou'wester 1974 oil on hardboard, 1206 mm x 2425 mm (Collection of Mr J. L. and Mrs G. M. Thornley)

Expressionism is a word much abused and it is often difficult to decide what commentators mean when they refer to it. There have been, however, two main twentieth century expressionist movements and Trusttum has taken inspiration from both of them. The German Expressionists were a loose grouping of artists which included, among others, Jawlensky, Klee, Marc, the Russian Kandinsky, and later Beckmann, and they took as their inspiration such painters as Munch. Van Gogh and Gauguin. Working in reaction to the Impressionists they consciously introduced the subjective into their art. The hallmark of the movement, identified by Rudi Gopas as its 'expressive human content' was a pervasive emotionalism, often characterized by distortion, despair and anxiety, elements which infiltrated a wide range of artistic activity from painting to literature to theatre.

The movement, inaugurated in 1910, began, with the rise of Dada in 1918, to lose its force, and by 1925 it had dispersed. The word however, continued in vogue, with its meaning extended to the more general sense of describing freely subjective self expression. It was in this sense that it was readily adapted to describe the work of Gorky, Pollock, de Kooning and others in the late 1940s. Abstract Expressionism discarded the philosophical and political base of the German movement and took the freely expressive style to its logical conclusion.

PHILIP TRUSTTUM Rockhorse 1974 oil on hardboard, 1200 mm x 1360 mm (New Vision Gallery)

Trusttum's early work drew heavily on the American movement. And yet, although a work like Woman 1964 contains strong echoes of de Kooning, the brashness of the colour and the strong abstract lines are certainly not the result of aesthetic desperation. Their source is Trusttum's own prolific energy and confidence. His primary concern in adopting the style of action painting was to contain and channel this vitality without dissipating its strength. This association of expressionism with his own 'creative optimism' may well be Trusttum's major achievement as an artist: but it was fifteen years before he was able to convincingly realize his artistic vision, and to do so had to establish some sort of realism at the base of his work.

Clues to this realism began to appear as early as 1965 in The White Dress, and in 1966 in Martin's Playtime, for these works penetrate to the heart of Trusttum's optimism and strength: his love of a settled family existence.

Consistent with this theme, the paraphernalia of ordinary life begin to assume central importance in his work after 1974; and it is ironic that he turned to Van Gogh and then the German movement to consolidate this interest, for their intensity appears to be at odds with his celebratory concerns. Yet this influence helped him in two ways. It strengthened the subjective nature of his work and at the same time assisted him to strike a balance between the realistic symbols that he drew from ordinary life and abstract interpretation of these symbols.

Despite what might be seen as the failure of the 1974-75 Garden Series to realize the artist's true identity, this was Trusttum's first sustained attempt to outline his subjective world and to channel his energy in the task of illumination. The subject is Trusttum's garden, viewed from both inside and outside the house; and, all doubts aside, the series remains a brilliant interpretation of Van Gogh's Post-impressionist style adapted through expressionism. Sou'wester 1974 in particular, illustrates the strides that have been taken by New Zealand painting since W. A. Sutton's Nor'wester in the Cemetery 1950, a painting comparable in theme and scale.

PHILIP TRUSTTUM Big Head 1979 acrylic on canvas, 2662 mm x 1900 mm (Collection of the artist)

Sou'wester is a freely-coloured, fiercely dramatic work: yet it represents the last surfacing of Trusttum's youthful exuberance. From 1974 onward, as the straight line began to appear in his work, he brought his art under a firm and mature control. Rockhorse 1974, another dramatic work that depicts the motion of a rocking child, shows the very strong influence of German Expressionism, with its distorted lines and tense, contained energy. This work however, is the origin of the fruitful line of descent that was to lead through Hannah's Swing and Front Wheel of 1976 to the Banner Series of 1978-79.

The Banners are uncompromisingly large, unstretched canvases that mark the end of the beginning of Trusttum's art. They also have considerable implication for the development of painting in New Zealand, in that they represent a contribution comparable to McCahon's Northland Panels of 1959.

The control that Trusttum had been working towards since 1974 has at last appeared in a wholly original form. It is not a limiting control however, for, while he has packaged his energy, he has also by expanding the scale of his work and presenting the viewer with the illusion of informality achieved a satisfying aesthetic unity based on a genuine development of expressionism.

Trusttum's experimentation continues: but it consists of variation within his evolved style. Three works bring this out. Dark Entrance, a work based on the front entrance of Trusttum's house, is almost classical in form. It is suffused with a rare tranquility, broken only by the unexpected scrawl of calligraphy.

PHILIP TRUSTTUM Woman 1964 oil on hardboard, 2425 mm x 1206 mm (National Art Gallery, Wellington)

This habit of overturning expectation comes out strongly in Homage to Avis 1976-77, an interpretation of a rental car document. The work slides disarmingly towards the left, while the frenetic writing leaves the viewer, drawn to decipher the scrawl, unenlightened. Big Head, which echoes a portrait of the current Prime Minister, is as political as Trusttum gets: but it is above all a charmingly successful rendition of the Humpty Dumpty myth, interpreted through a child's ill-controlled hand.

These paintings of Trusttum are epic works that celebrate the reality of ordinary life. They also constitute a rare event in New Zealand painting, for they are the most considerable attempt so far to interpret international developments in painting: not in terms of a New Zealand tradition or consciousness, but in those of the artist's own personal identity. As such they demand to be judged in international terms.