Painted Boxes: Abdul Jawad
March 10, 2010 | Filed Under Art, Painted Boxes, Te Atatu | 2 Comments
Painted Boxes: Abdul Jawad
This composite picture of a traffic control box is designed to confuse, but I am sure you will make sense of my composition quickly. The artist, Abdul Jawad, shows us youthful street scenes, with two girls patiently waiting at the pedestrian crossing just off the footpath. Nice touch that he has even included the button for them to push.
This box is at the intersection of Te Atatu Road and Edmonton Road in Te Atatu South (map). There used to be another box by Abdul Jawad next to Parr’s Park in Henderson, but whilst the transformer is still in its place, the decoration is no longer there (maybe due to tagging, or possibly a new transformer was needed – highlighing the transitory nature of this artform). I have only one side of this box, showing a game of kilikiti being played.
Abdul Jawad: Kilikiti
The Potter’s Hands: Kairava Gullatz
March 9, 2010 | Filed Under Art, Henderson, People | 4 Comments
The Potter's Hands: Kairava Gullatz
WestCity Shopping Mall in Henderson had a weekend of art last weekend. One of the participants was the potter Kairava Gullatz, demonstrating here how to finish off a vase she had thrown on the wheel. She also invited young spectators to get involved:
Getting involved
Kairava has a studio at the Corban Estate Arts Centre in Henderson, where she teaches pottery classes for adults and for children.
Jack Frost’s Wash (Cherrie James)
March 8, 2010 | Filed Under Art, Kaukapakapa, sculpture | 3 Comments
Jack Frost's Wash (Cherrie James)
Another sculpture from the Kaipara Coast Sculpture Gardens, Kaukapakapa.
From the exhibition notes:
“The clothesline is the most common kinetic sculpture in New Zealand, seen laden with clothes and spinning wildly in most backyards.
Frost’s Wash reveals only the shape, form and weave of the fabric and not the substance of our clothes as they hang hard stiff and cold after a heavy frost.”
At present, we would have to seriously exercise our imagination to think of frost, but this may be easier for people on the Northern hemisphere.
Jack Frost's Wash (Cherrie James)
Very Big Blue
March 7, 2010 | Filed Under Abstract | 2 Comments
Very Big Blue
More geometric fun at Auckland’s tank farm (Wynyard Point).
Check the area out by webcam.
Big Blue (Bruce Young)
March 6, 2010 | Filed Under Art, Kaukapakapa, sculpture | 1 Comment
Big Blue (Bruce Young)
This sculpture, along with over 60 others, can be seen at the Kaipara Coast Sculpture Gardens, just north of Kaukapakapa. At 1481 Kaipara Coast Highway, you find an excellent Garden Centre with a beautifully landscaped sculpture garden containing exquisite pieces. The 2010 exhibition runs until October. 1-2 hours of bliss for all senses.
Blue
March 5, 2010 | Filed Under Henderson, Patterns | Leave a Comment
Blue
A stack of pallets at the back of Henderson Pak’NSave.
Manet in Glen Eden
March 4, 2010 | Filed Under Art, Glen Eden, Walls | Leave a Comment
When I was a student, I used to decorate my digs with inexpensive art prints. One of my favorites was “Le Fifre” (The Fife Player) by Manet. It came as quite a surprise to find it at the Glendale Road entrance of Glenmall in Glen Eden, together with another Manet painting: “Emile Zola” – the reading man and the books being a reference to the Glen Eden Book Exchange which is behind the wall.
Hidden behind the vegetation is also a shelf filled with books, and a portrait of a young girl – the daughter of the owner of the Book Exchange. Unfortunately, taggers leave their marks from time to time, and when the anti-graffiti squad arrive, parts of the mural may change colour. The mural was painted quite some years ago by Louis Statham (who has painted about 50 murals throughout the Auckland region), with costs shared between the Book Exchange and the Waitakere City Council.
Glenmall mural (Louis Statham)
Information thanks to Bruce Sutherland of the Glen Eden Book Exchange, Craig Constable of Fleetwood Printing (Glen Eden), and the artist.