Commentary

A few weeks ago a friend drew my attention to this post on David Cauchi's blog. On the upside, he pairs me with Jim Barr and Mary Barr's Overthenet (yay!) - on the downside we're paired as his 'most hated johnny-come-lately art blogs' (ouch).

David hates my blog partly because the comments are turned off. I'd actually forgotten that I'd done this way-back-when, and just assumed that I got most of my comments in person. So thanks David, I've turned them back on, although I am going to moderate them - apologies if that insults your sensibilities.

The other reason David hates my blog is because it's anonymous. To quote:

I really dislike anonymous bloggers.

Part of it is that, if you don't think enough of your opinion to put your name to it, why should I care?

Another part is that it's one-way communication. They set themselves up in an unassailable position of power, with no transparency or accountability.

It's simply not an intellectually or morally respectable position to take.

I must say I quite fancy the idea of being in an unassailable position of power. Makes me feel ... powerful . Unassailably so. In reality, I know most of my regular readers, and I appreciate that they keep in touch with me this way. Anonymity stays, David - I guess you're stuck with not caring about my opinions.

Of course, if I'm flooded with requests to come out via the comments I may have to rethink that ....

Blow up

In Christchurch at the end of last week for the opening of 'Reboot: the Jim Barr and Mary Barr Collection' at the Christchurch Art Gallery, I was lucky enough to wander in the Gallery's foyer on Friday afternoon when Michael Parekowhai's Jim McMurtry was being inflated.

It's always fun watching a work go up, and even better when it's as interactive as this. It went from being a limp beige plastic pile on the tiles to a buoyant, joyous rounded object amazingly fast. As the sculpture inflated Parekowhai walked around, tugging and kneading and fluffing the work like a baker making bread.

The next morning I watched as two small children lolled on the sculpture to have their photo taken by their dad, and then saw them skidding across 'Reboot' as they chased down Cosmo, the other Parekowhai bunny featured in the show.

You can read more about the work and its contentious Christchurchian history on Overthenet, where the above photo is from.

Bunny hop

At overthenet, Jim Barr and Mary Barr have posted one of Patrick Reynold's shots of Mike Parekowhai's Cosmo, taken to accompany William McAloon's article on the Barr's art collection for Art & Australia.

overthenet
William McAloon's article - Art & Australia website

Dunedin Public Art Gallery has recently closed Reboot, the second exhibition showcasing the Barr's loan collection at the DPAG, curated by Justin Paton. It's a real shame that the exhibition isn't touring. The first exhibition, Good Work, was one of the best survey exhibitions I've seen in New Zealand. And the catalogue - full colour, decent length texts and only ten or twelve dollars- was one of the best bang-for-bucks NZ art publications I've seen.

Image: Michael Parekowhai's Cosmo, at the Melbourne Art Fair, 2006.