Books
Up-&-Coming Art Publications
ROSEMARY HEMMINGS
Late Summer Madness!
The Summer Book; A New Zealand Miscellany by Briget Williams and Roy
Parsons, published by Port Nicholson Press ($19.95) is a reminder that summer
has finally arrived. This is the perfect book to take to the beach to dip into
between snoozes. The small size format means that the wind does not ruffle the
pages, and allows one to balance the edition in exactly the right spot between
the navel and the head for maximum eye contact. The articles are varied, short,
and slightly stimulating. The Katherine Mansfield play sets the scene: from
thereon in we are regaled by a variety of nostalgia of varying quality and
length. W. H. Oliver's collection of colonial lyrics twang uneasily on our Utu-ridden
ears ('Thus can glowing hist'ry tell/ ' How those wild Waikatos fell'). Brian
Brake's Calcutta images sidle uneasily beside the Portrait of My
Husband John Danford Greenwood by his adoring colonial wife Sarah, whose
passion for babies produced twelve new citizens for the Colony. The contrast
between her existence and that of Matarena Reneti is one of the jolts we have to
put up with in our summer-time somnolence. Matarena is the last child of
twenty-six living in rural Bay of Plenty: soon she becomes almost the last
living child as the scourge of tuberculosis encroaches. Tony Simpson's Six
Ways to Cook A Rabbit gives us insight into the delectable nature of the
beast, and conveys hints on preparing it for the table. Food for thought - just
the right depth of thought for the beach browser.
 |
| SARAH GREENWOOD Portrait
of John Danforth Greenwood 1852 (watercolour illustrated in The Summer Book from the collection of The Alexander Turnbull Library) |
A Potter & His Work
Shiga the Potter, by photographer Jutta Malnic and Bob Thompson
documents a Japanese potter who lived on the outskirts of Sydney until recently.
His imminent departure prompted his friend the photographer to record his work.
This is no mere depiction of pots however. The photographer is obviously very
familiar with the philosophy of the potter 'The aim is not to learn technique,
but to transcend technique, the effort is not to improve one's work, but to
improve one's total self'. This book carries page-size illustrations and a small
amount of pertinent text ' The photographs allow the viewer to gain considerable
understanding of the works themselves, and this makes the book of particular
interest to those who are working with clay. (Published by Collins in
association with the Australian Crafts Council at $25.95)
New Releases from Phaidon
Phaidon's new releases include two how-to-do-it books. Drawing and
Painting the Landscape sets out what the author considers are the basic
principles representing the landscape. Painting books obviously have their
place: but the central idea seems to be missing here - the total involvement of
the artist in experiencing, and experimenting with the materials and the subject
without the direction of a text. Given that I hold such a view this particular
book seems to me to detail carefully the techniques involved with the various
mediums ranging from drawing to print-making - and all in a very accessible way.
The Complete Guide to Needlework is a different matter. I have no
preconceptions in this area, and search desperately for clues about how to
achieve certain effects with certain stitches. The book is not for beginners
like me. The stimulating and beautiful illustrations do not exactly parallel the
accompanying text. I am left with the desire and not the means! This is
doubtless an interesting book for those women who have some skill - especially
those who may be involved in the Full Circle project at the present
moment.
Art Books from the Pacific
The Polynesian Bookshop in Ponsonby Road, Auckland, distributes the
following titles - published by the University of the South Pacific.
Art in the Pacific is a paperback by Vilsoni Tausie. It classifies the art into two areas, functional objects and ceremonial objects, and shows how the homogeniety of design principles behind these two groupings derive from the function and form of the human body. The second part of the book looks at new directions in art, particularly at tourist and commercial influences.
Aloi Pitioka Artist of the Pacific is a simply constructed paperback filled with drawings, sayings and photographs of this Wallis Island artist. I prefer to identify with bird, especially cocks', he says when describing himself. This book is subtitled in French. It would make an interesting addition to the French school-text-book resources. Students would certainly be exposed to another cultural viewpoint!