To celebrate the reopening of the newly expanded Auckland Art Gallery, it has published
Art Toi: New Zealand art at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, edited by Ron Brownson, and
I Spy NZ Art.
The latter is a little book intended to help children look more deeply into a work of art. One New Zealand work for each letter of the alphabet has been selected and the reader is asked to identify things within it that start with that letter.
Art Toi tells the story of New Zealand art from 1642 (Tasman's visit) to the present through works from the gallery's collections. Early works are solely by European artists but later, of course, Maori artists are included. The usual suspects are represented, William Hodges who accompanied Captain Cook, Chevalier, van der Velden, Nerli, Goldie, Hodgkins, Angus, Woollaston, Hotere, Smither, Apple, Cotton, Pardington, Kahukiwa along with numerous others, and essays such as Maori and photography, Art and feminism, and Contemporary indigeneity are interspersed.
It's All About the Image (Random) is a selection of Dick Frizzell's favourite images. Some date from his childhood, before he was told what he'd be better off looking at, others made him "sit up and take notice" during the course of his life. Many of the big names appear - Hotere, Woollaston, McCahon, Hodgkins - but also many lesser known artists, some of whom were his students, which makes browsing through and reading the personal reasons for his choices all the more interesting.
