Einstein's Pylons Revisited (detail) by Stuart Griffiths.
James Dignan reviews Dunedin's latest art exhibitions.
"Faces of Authorship" (De Beer Gallery, University Central
Library)
In recent years, the question of intellectual property has
been a hot topic, especially in regard to the ease of
transferring information via the internet.
It is not a new area of debate, however; researchers,
librarians, and philologists have been wrestling for many
years with similar topics of originality.
The nature and mutability of authorship is the subject of a
display at the University of Otago Central Library's De Beer
Gallery.
The exhibition consists of numerous impressive religious,
political, and secular texts and manuscripts, several of them
dating from as early as the 15th century.
Through a series of themed cabinets, questions are posed on
the role of the translator and the illustrator, the problems
of - and occasional need for - anonymity, and the accrual and
evolution of folklore.
Many of the works are art in themselves, the calligraphy and
engraving qualifying these texts for that title irrespective
of their relative worth as literature.
In many cases, of course, the literary and (often more
importantly) historical merit of the works is also without
question.
The exhibition allows us a chance to see these rare texts and
also gives us the opportunity to assess the role of the
author in a new light.
"Ush", John Ward Knox (Dunedin Public Art
Gallery)
Ush, by John Ward Knox at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery, is
a white-on-white trompe l'oeil work.
It uses the wall of the gallery, moulding and sculpting it
into the form of a hanging shroud.
The form appears to change as the light surrounding it
changes, its subtle folds shifting with the natural light
from the nearby window.
It is a calm, contemplative work with a gentle grandeur.
Ush takes its cue from an ancient Greek tale concerning the
lifelike nature of art.
Like the questions of authorship raised at the De Beer
exhibition, it raises questions about the nature of art and
of the way in which we perceive it.
The work's shape is reminiscent of the sheets which hang
across paintings and plaques due to be unveiled by invited
dignitaries, yet it is only in our imaginations that this
sheet, formed from the gallery's wall, can be removed to
reveal what lies beneath.
The work's title, Ush, remains an enigma - though there is
the possibility that it is a presumed non-existent verb form
of the word usher, concatenated with the term hush, given
that the work leads us into its own silent imaginary space.
"Einstein's Pylons Revisited", Stuart Griffiths
(Monumental Gallery) Ush by John Ward Knox.
Monumental Gallery is currently dominated by a single large
sculpture, Einstein's Pylons Revisited.
The work, by Stuart Griffiths, is a reworking of a 2006 piece
by the same artist which was displayed in Christchurch.
It is formed from four columnar metallic constructs
demarcating the corners of a square space.
These columns touch via thin loops of metal, creating an
empty central arena.
The title is a reference to Einstein's famous equating of
mass with energy.
In metaphorical terms, this equation has relevance to
sculpture, as masses, in the form of stone, metal, wood, or
other material are transformed by the artist into dynamic
forms which become imbued with some perceived energy.
As such, the sculptor's art and skill is employed to bridge
the halves of the equation.
The sculpture expresses this metaphor via its form.
Four solid architectural columns give vent to loops of
shining metal, arcing into the void like solar flares.
Between these and within them lies the empty square arena.
Literally within the art, it shows the underpinnings and
process of the work and transformation.
Just as the mass of the sun becomes energy arcing into the
void, so too does this sculpture move from material to art.
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