B.
Hopping up North
Behind the scenes
Malt is the soul of beer and yeast gives it life but the kiss of the hop is the vitality of that life. Tom Inglis
On a recent trip to Takaka I spotted this magnificent old hop kiln near the Riwaka Hotel, just up the road from Motueka.
Hop Kiln, Riwaka
It immediately reminded me of Rita Angus's watercolour Hop Kilns, Motueka. Angus seemingly imbues the hop kiln in her work with church like qualities; the distinctive pointed vent on the roof takes on similar proportions to a small bell tower while the cross of the window under the central gable provides further religious connotations. The hop plant is a rampant beast that grows up and along the supporting wires seen in this photo and also in Angus's watercolour. Not the most prettiest of plants but it produces some of the most sweet smelling flowers that can make all the difference to a pint of beer.
There is an article about this work, originally from The Press
Rita Angus Hop Kiln, Motueka 1941. watercolour. Collection of Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, Harry Courtney Archer estate, 2002
Related
Collection
Rita Angus Untitled (Hop Kilns, Motueka)
At the start of 1941, Rita Angus, then a leading figure in Christchurch art circles, left the city for good. It was wartime. With many being directed into prescribed war effort work, she chose to take up employment for several months on a tobacco farm at Pangatotara, near Motueka in the Nelson district. There she worked alongside fellow pacifists, including artist Chrystabel Aitken and Courtney Archer, who owned this painting. Long days filled with demanding physical labour saw Angus harvesting and grading tobacco leaves and sometimes tending the drying kilns on the night shift. Travelling into Nelson on occasional weekends meant walking more than twelve kilometres to the nearest bus stop. Despite the demands of such a life, and shortages of art materials, Angus managed to find time to paint the local landscape, including this view of a hop kiln near Motueka. By April, she was able to report: “The harvest is over, and I am glad, as I am very, very weary of physical labour.”
(Beneath the ranges, 18 February – 23 October 2017)