Te Papa's Art Blog

The shaman

When I first saw Gavin Hipkin’s The shaman (blue), currently on display in Collecting Contemporary on Level 5, it was as a digital image emailed by his dealer. I was struck by the ambiguity of the photograph. The stunning, pale blue background is almost featureless, and like the blue or green-screen used to create special [...]

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Arnold Wilson in his studio. Photo: Norman Heke, Te Papa

Arnold Manaaki Wilson 1928–2012 Ngāi Tūhoe and Te Arawa iwi (tribes) Artist Ahakoa ruarua noa o kupu i takoto Anō te rite he whakatauākī te reka I puta ai āu mahi tohungatanga I runga i te tatangi o te kī. Tirohia mai rā aku pewa I taurite tēnei ka tītoko Kei te ngaru whakateo E [...]

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Some of our visitors 'sticking it to the man' (aka Te Papa's boss Mike Houlihan). Photo: Te Papa

Here at Te Papa we passionately believe in the power of art to enrich, empower and challenge our lives and we are committed to bringing art to the widest possible audience. Recently, a small group of us have teamed up to develop and trial a new project called Stick it to the man in conjunction with one [...]

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'Gingerbronze. From Gesamtkunsthandwerk'. 2011, New Zealand. Gamper, Martino, Upritchard, Francis, Fritsch, Karl. Purchased 2011, Te Papa.

German jeweller Karl Fritsch, whose jewellery and objects are on display in Collecting Contemporary now lives in Wellington.  The building of this workshop has been a key ingredient in the development of some of his work in the show. Ring, below, was made in 2010 soon after settling into Wellington and about the time that [...]

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William_06

It is with great sadness that we share the news that our respected colleague and dear friend William McAloon passed away on Sunday 8 April. William has been Curator Historical New Zealand Art at Te Papa since 2005. A key member of the art team, William was a superb curator, with a fine eye and [...]

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Warwick Freeman in his studio. Photo by Michael Hall copyright Te Papa

How does jewellery addess issues of identity? What’s the connection between a cruise ship and an ice skating rink? How does photography expose events from the past?  You can find the answers to these and other questions  in the video interviews with artists whose work features in  Collecting Contemporary .  Here’s a glimpse of the artists we’ve filmed: Over the past year, Collecting Contemporary [...]

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20120403-174218.jpg

When I started writing this, it was midnight in Paris but back in NZ it was a bright cheerful 11 o’clock in the morning. I had spent 24 hours crossing from one hemisphere to the other, and was left struggling with a conflicting body clock, unfair currency conversions and a general feeling of bewilderment that [...]

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Jason Greig, 'Gideon', 2010, Te Papa.

When we were developing the Collecting Contemporary exhibition, I unconsciously developed a secret soundtrack – a mix-tape, if you like – of music that came to mind as I thought about the various works in the show. It was Jason Greig who, quite unknowingly, got me started on this track. In addition to being a [...]

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After treatment

One of the most rewarding stages of the treatment is the varnishing of the painting.  The new varnish layer returns the colours of the painting to the saturation and depth which were intended by the artist and it is when we feel like we are on the home stretch of the treatment! We use a [...]

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collecting contempory opening

For the opening reception of the refreshed Te Papa art exhibition Collecting Contemporary held on February 22 2012, Taualuga: The Last Dance, 2006, a performance work by Samoan/Japanese artist Shigeyuki Kihara was presented. Staged in the gallery where the Collecting Contemporary exhibition is displayed, the performance was realised alongside the video of the performance work [...]

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