Up-and-Coming Art Publications
ROSEMARY HEMMINGS
In this issue I have concentrated on helping the discerning reader to do the Christmas shopping while comfortably ensconsed in an armchair.
Top of the list, of course, should be a subscription for all those friends and relatives who persist in spiriting away one's own half-read copy of Art New Zealand! We offer a special Christmas rate and will send a card announcing your generosity and good taste. When all your acquaintances and friends have Art New Zealand by their bedsides, you can send them something else from this list of new books and wall-hanging things.
Talking of bedsides, The Summer Book 2 is nothing if not leisurely holiday reading; with just the right combination of the literary and the illustrated to make one believe that one is reading a book of meaty content between naps in the sun. Vincent O'Sullivan's short story ‘The Last of Freddie’ is a slightly naughty little tale about the funeral of an artist who has died in the full-bloom of middle age, leaving a train of lady lovers. Marilynn Webb's Recipe prints fit easily beside the real thing from Sharon Crosbie; and Gail Lambert's carefully-researched article on Luke Adams' pottery complements the wonderful, though anonymous, photographic essay on Dendromorph Fences of Palmerston North.
poster by Jill Carter-Hansen
At this time of the year many of us, either directly or indirectly, have just been through the pangs of exams, and Art History students are no exception. One of the problems in pursuing this subject area in New Zealand is the difficulty of seeing works 'in the flesh' as it were. Good quality reproductions of the originals are essential and Abrams have just released a series of large-format books which are excellent in this respect.
New titles in the series include Twenty-five Impressionist Masterpieces, M.C. Escher, Toulouse-Lautrec and Monet; the last offering a range of key paintings from each of Monet's important series, with the introductory text by William C. Seitz and accompanying photo-graphic material.
Sara Cornell's Art: A History of Changing Style is another American publication which aims to locate Western art in an historical perspective. Its generous number of colour illustrations and Cornell's lucid writing style make it particularly valuable for one who has just started to investigate Art History.
For those with Angophiles amongst their relatives and friends, Piper's Places would make an excellent gift. Topographical drawings and watercolours, with accompanying text and photographs by John Piper enable one to observe afresh the British landscape—from mountains and castles in Wales to supermarkets in Wiltshire and cows in Pembroke.
The 1984 New Zealand Artist's Calendar offers a wide range of works by contemporary artists. This time around there is some sculpture—a portrait of Katherine Mansfield by Terry Stringer and a Robert Jesson work, magnificently photographed by Phil Peacocke, a selection of old favourites—Binney, Woollaston, Peter Siddell, and a Gavin Chilcott construction to broaden some of our conceptions about what constitutes contemporary art.
Another calendar, from the Government Printer, offers a selection of paintings by Frances Hodgkins. Crisply printed, with interesting biographical details by Anne Kirker, this calendar comes with its own cardboard container for posting.
Posters advertising worthy causes make excellent wall decoration, especially if they are designed by local artists. The Auckland Regional Orchestra commissioned six local artists to produce posters as a fund-raising endeavour. Although all the images are individual and unique, Pat Hanly, Gretchen Albrecht, Philippa Blair, Gavin Chilcott, Dick Frizzell and Rick Killeen have responded to the commission with especial immediacy and spontaneity. These would be a colourful addition to any school corridor!
Phil Clairmont and Jill Carter-Hansen have both produced posters for the Nuclear Disarmament Cause. Jill's is a photograph of a dove flying from outstretched hands and Phil's is a black-and-white woodcut.