Michael Parekowhai (Artist research)
Artist research:
Name: Michael Te Rakato Parekowhai
Where are they from and where are they now:
(born 1968) is a New Zealand sculptor and a professor at University of Auckland's Elam School of Fine Arts
He is of Ngā Ariki Kaiputahi, Ngāti Whakarongo and Pākehā descent.
Parekowhai makes a broad range of work, across a range of media that intersects sculpture and photography.
one of this country’s most significant contemporary artists
Artwork (for each relevant piece):
Name of work: Cosmo McMurty and Jim McMurty (2006)
What is it, and what is it made of:
the rabbit, 8m high
The giant inflatable rabbit
Jim McMurtry is an enormous cartoon rabbit, 12 metres long and 4.5 metres wide, lying flat on his back with one eye closed and his tongue hanging out. Audiences are made to question whether he is dead or simply taking a nap?
Cosmo McMurtry who stands upright
Image:
Jim McMurtry, 2004 woven nylon substrate pigment 450 × 450 × 1200cm (Installation)
What does it mean/represent:
Parekowhai has returned to the rabbit theme often in recent years. Like most of his work, it is an artful riddle to be interpreted for meaning. As an introduced species which had a major impact on New Zealand's environment, the rabbit becomes a commentary on colonialism and its impacts on Maori.
"Kids will appreciate it and have an immediate relationship, so it is not just for the informed art audience but something for the younger viewers as well," Parekowhai says
Here, Parekowhai reminds us of the rabbit’s considerable and destructive impact on New Zealand when it was introduced in the nineteenth century. It may have similarities to a cute Walt Disney or Beatrix Potter creation but Jim McMurtry raises questions about a particular point in New Zealand's past and more specifically about Colonialism.
Connection to culture:
Although key themes of his practice could be described as deliberate takes on notions of introduced species and culture, any potentially overt political dimensions are downplayed
Connection to collonialism:
Rabbits, however, are famously hard to keep down. In the past three years, Cosmo and Jim have multiplied and travelled as far afield as Korea and Lithuania. In 2004, a large inflatable version of ‘Jim McMurtry’ met visitors to the Gwangju Biennale in Korea, sprawled across a plaza with lolling tongue and limp whiskers. In 2006 Jim travelled to Vilnius in Europe, where he was the centrepiece of ‘High Tide: New Currents in Art from Australia and New Zealand’.
“Maori artist ’s giant inflatable rabbits Cosmo McMurty and Jim McMurty (2006) are used as evidence of this unease. His ‘disturbingly Disney-like’ inflatables provide a rich metaphor for a settler colonial context where introduced species tend to multiply with devastating effects.” (Smith, 115)
Critique/response to artwork:
...interweaves the canon of “high art” with cultural tradition, the handmade object with mass-produced tourist tat, the imported with the proudly colloquial. With the diligence of a cultural props person, he appropriates the already appropriated in a manner that is often humorous, at times uncomfortable...
Questioned about whether The Lighthouse offers any sort of commentary about Auckland's housing crisis or housing in general, he simply replied it was an art work and up to those who view and experience it to interpret.
He said dealing with negative coverage and commentary about the sculpture was difficult and, as an artist, all he could do was to keep working and let the art do the talking.
From Brer Rabbit of the American South through to Warner Bros’ Bugs Bunny, rabbits often appear in folklore and popular culture as ‘trickster’ figures – characters that dodge trouble, lie artfully, mock authority, and generally refuse to stay put within fixed categories. The significance of rabbits was hotly discussed during the Christchurch debates in 2002: Were they friendly, feel-good presences? Or symbols of an invasive settler culture gone feral? Whatever the answer, it’s not hard to see their appeal to Parekowhai, an artist known for addressing matters of race and colonisation while moving nimbly between sculptural registers. ‘Cosmo McMurtry’ is an apt mascot for a body of work characterised by quick wit and a strong sense of mischief.
Parekowhai’s work is celebrated for its meticulous finish, use of distinctive proportions, colloquial charm and a quirky, but often subtle, sense of humour. His works may appear simple, both aesthetically and in execution, but this is deceptive; Parekowhai plays with perception the same way that he tests expectations of everyday items, scale, and the comfort zone of his audiences. His works are layered with meaning and test many boundaries by simultaneously highlighting the ordinary, questioning historical and cultural traditions and experimenting with the boundaries of industrial fabrication.
Artist further/other work/development:
Koru appropriation of Gordon Walters:
I AM HE - The Indefinite Article was made in 1990. It is simply constructed from angled and joined pieces of plywood to spell the letters I, A, M, H, E. The letters are painted with white acrylic paint. The five parts to the work are each variable in dimension and the components spell the phrase I AM HE. Michael Parekowhai created this work while he was a student at Elam School of Fine Arts.
Lighthouse - "Our place, our history and our culture always play an important role in developing my work. For The Lighthouse, we did research on southern hemisphere star constellations by reading books, looking at star maps, visiting the Auckland Stardome and Planetarium, utilising websites and apps, and looking at our night skies.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Parekowhai
https://www.aucklandartgallery.com/explore-art-and-ideas/artist/563/michael-parekowhai
https://www.aucklandartgallery.com/explore-art-and-ideas/artwork/16389/the-indefinite-article
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=11797673
http://www.thearts.co.nz/artists/michael-parekowhai
https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/collection/works/333.2015/
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=10395256
http://www.roslynoxley9.com.au/artists/70/Michael_Parekowhai/429/38125/
http://dunedin.art.museum/exhibitions/now/jim_mcmurtry
What I have learnt:
Language differences can lead to misinterpretations but that is quite beautiful in itself so I could use that as a form of incorporating language (an essence of culture)
Can use a symbol – like the rabbits are a symbol for the destruction caused by colonisation (what would I be?) a Bird? Flying south for winter? Kiwi? Huia? SA bird? Not a motif but an animal. (DON’T USE HUIA)
