Shyness and sculpture

Shyness and sculpture

Reporters like to begin their stories about Ron Mueck by noting that he is famously media-shy. Since television and newspapers thrive on personality, celebrity and ‘direct access' to the stars, journalists clearly feel it necessary to explain to their audiences that they won't be hearing from the artist himself. Beyond this, however, not much more gets said about Mueck's reluctance to talk. It's treated as a minor difficulty, something to be mentioned in passing before moving on to the artworks. And for that reason, surely it's not the kind of thing I should be bringing up in an official essay...

But I have a suspicion there's more to it.

A Girl, In Transit

A Girl, In Transit

If you have ever travelled with a baby you will know that, in order to ensure a safe and pleasant trip, it's essential to plan and prepare in advance. But even then there are often hiccups to contend with on the way. It's really no different when travelling with the National Galleries of Scotland's baby, Ron Mueck's A girl – she just happens to be a little bigger...

Some notes on movement in art

Some notes on movement in art

Hanging from the ceiling in my infant son's room is a mobile. At rest, he seems to scarcely notice its suspended figures, but a quick breath brings them to life and, drawn to their gentle twirling, his face brightens and body tenses with a laugh.

New Zealand in the Biennale of Sydney and the Biennale of Sydney in New Zealand

New Zealand in the Biennale of Sydney and the Biennale of Sydney in New Zealand

and the Biennale of Sydney in New Zealand

Taryn Simon's known unknowns

Taryn Simon's known unknowns

In 2003, the American photographer Taryn Simon embarked upon a four-year heart-of-darkness journey. In response to paranoid rumours of WMDs and secret sites in Iraq, she turned her gaze to places and things hidden within her own country.

Trouble ahead: Roger Boyce and The Illustrated History of Painting

Trouble ahead: Roger Boyce and The Illustrated History of Painting

If you want to get some perspective on the art of today, a good but grim way of doing so is to imagine it from the future's point of view. When the archaeologists of the year 2195 pick their way across the ruins of the city of Christchurch, what traces of art and culture will they find amongst the rubble? And more to the point, what fragments would we want them to find-if we had the choice?

An Italian sojourn

An Italian sojourn

Pat Unger on William Sutton's 1973 Italian sabbatical.

Painting, frame, architrave, ceiling, dome

Painting, frame, architrave, ceiling, dome

Douglas Lloyd Jenkins on gallery architecture

Wunderbox

Wunderbox

A collection of collections from the collection.

Being an exhibition of bell jars, boxes, cabinets, dolls, display cases, tabletop universes, several bees, two monkeys, hundreds of hooks and one miniature coffin.

Miles: A life in architecture

Miles: A life in architecture

Best known for the Christchurch Town Hall and Wellington's Michael Fowler Centre, Sir Miles Warren is the doyen of post-war New Zealand architecture, the first New Zealander to be knighted for services to architecture, an Icon of the Arts Foundation of New Zealand, and a leading figure in the arts in Christchurch. The garden at his Governors Bay home, Ohinetahi, beautifully crafted by Miles with his sister Pauline Trengrove and her husband John, has also secured for him a reputation as one of our most remarkable garden designers.

Load more