The Picturesque

The Picturesque

Leaving certain earthquake-damaged buildings as picturesque ruins has been the subject of debate in Christchurch recently.

Infinite Gesture

Infinite Gesture

"Tradition is not reproduced. It is thrown and caught. It lives a long time in the air."

What I'd like to steal from the AAG

What I'd like to steal from the AAG

There's a whole lot of new exhibition space in the just reopened Auckland Art Gallery, and a whole lot of art hung (and sometimes shoehorned) inside it. But if the two small rooms containing the promised gift of Julian and Josie Robertson were the only spaces to see, a trip to Auckland in the near future would still be compulsory.

The Pruitt-Igoe Myth

The Pruitt-Igoe Myth

The Pruitt-Igoe social housing development in St Louis, Missouri is often held up – or beaten down – as the case of modernist social housing gone bad.

Ode to Shag Rock / Rapanui

Ode to Shag Rock / Rapanui

We had followed its progress. Reduced to easily half its size after February 22, Shag Rock was made Shagpile as well as something ruder.

Gallery Guides leading Brian Brake tours

Gallery Guides leading Brian Brake tours

A short walk along the boulevard from the Gallery, Canterbury Museum has reopened its doors to the public. One of the opening exhibitions is Brian Brake: Lens on the world developed and toured by the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and presented in partnership with Christchurch Art Gallery.

Care Package (Part 3)

Care Package (Part 3)

And so now that you've heard the story of the mystery black box that turned up on our doorstep, and the big blow-up bunny inside it, and the fact Jim Barr and Mary Barr have given it to the Gallery to put some bounce in our eventual re-opening celebrations, it's time something else got mentioned.

Death of a library

Death of a library

The fate of our sister organization, the Central Library, is still far from clear. It sits just within the dreaded cordon, whereas we are lucky enough to be just outside it.

Renaissance Town

Renaissance Town

Christchurch seems abuzz with demolition and construction crews working throughout the city at the moment. Over 2000 tons of demolition material is removed from the CBD daily. Just as post-quake Napier is depicted in Roland Hipkins' excellent painting of Napier, Renaissance, Christchurch has become New Zealand's renaissance town.

Post-traumatic sustenance

Post-traumatic sustenance

'I think that art can add to the healing of a city in a post-catastrophe environment...'

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