more words on the norseweART award

These words were on Creative New Zealands website about the NorseweART award... very nice!

17 Apr 2007
Seraphine Pick wins 2007 Norsewear Art Award
Wellington artist Seraphine Pick has won the 2007 Norsewear Art Award, worth $20,000, for her oil on linen painting, Phantom Limb, which was chosen from 466 entries by a panel of expert judges.

The work sold at Saturday's opening for $30,000. Chair of the judging panel, Sydney art dealer Martin Browne, described Pick's painting as "a rich and accomplished work by an artist working at the peak of her profession today".

Winners of the $4000 merit awards are painters Peata Larkin of Auckland, John McLean of Taranaki, and Wellington artist and jeweller Emily Valentine Bullock.

Pick said her painting reflected her interest in concepts of memory and time - the "real" and "the unreal".

At Saturday's award opening at the Hawke's Bay Exhibition Centre, art critic Hamish Keith said he needed to correct Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule, who had described the Norsewear Art Award as "a leading contemporary art award".

"The Norsewear is the leading New Zealand contemporary art award," Hamish Keith said.

Martin Browne echoed Hamish Keith's comments at Sunday's gallery floor talk, saying that the Norsewear was "the pre-eminent national award". The quality of the Norsewear had increased so dramatically over the years that many past winners of the show would not even be selected for the exhibition if they were entered today, he said.

The artists in this year's show were "working at the top of their practices", he said.

Perhaps the six-week exhibition period could be extended or the exhibition taken on tour, he suggested.

Hawke's Bay Art Gallery and Museum manager Douglas Lloyd Jenkins, who was also on the judging panel, said he loved the Norsewear.

"I love it. It's erratic, it's kooky, it's eccentric. It's full of passion and strong ideas. It's the one art award in New Zealand that has never been patronising to crafts people or object makers."

The Norsewear Art Award is on at the Hawke's Bay Exhibition Centre in Hastings, daily from 10am to 4.30pm until 27 May.

NorseweART award details from website

Hawke's Bay Exhibition Centre
201 Eastbourne Street East, Hastings
(06) 876-2077 10am - 4.30pm daily

April 14th - May 27th 2007

Entry Fee $6
School Age children: Free



Selector's Statement

It is with a mixture of pleasure and sadness that I write on behalf of the Selection Committee of this year’s Norsewear Art Award. Pleasure reflecting the enjoyment Moyra, John, Douglas and I have had in choosing the 2007 exhibition – and the very deserving winners – from the exciting range of nearly 500 works in a variety of media that were submitted from throughout the country for consideration this year. Sadness because this, the 21st Norsewear Art Award, will be the last in its current format.

At such a defining moment in the history of the Norsewear, I would like to make a few observations about the way in which the Award has developed in recent times.

Well into its teenage years, the Norsewear Art Award retained its Central Hawke’s Bay/Hawke’s Bay focus – and with it a reputation as an interesting, often quirky but essentially regional competition. However in 2000 a decision was made by the organizing committee to accept the challenge of making the Norsewear an Award of truly national significance and importance. The last six years have seen the progressive refining of the processes and structure of the Award into what it has now become – a vehicle for exhibiting the best of creative arts practice in New Zealand. Singular in its inclusiveness and range, the Norsewear is unique in Australasia.

As a veteran of the past four years’ Selection Committees, it has been gratifying to see the improving standard of entries over this time. The message the 2004 Committee sought to send when it declined to award an overall winner in that year has been clearly heard amongst the arts community with the result that each subsequent year’s entries have reflected an ever higher level of creativity and professionalism.

It is a source of particular satisfaction to see the progress made by a number of artists whose work has demonstrated an increasing confidence over the period they have submitted entries to the Norsewear. Similarly pleasing is the subsequent success in the wider exhibiting sphere of several artists who first came to prominence in the Norsewear – Peata Larkin and Israel Birch to name but two.

Now, in 2007, we are delighted to have awarded the $20,000 first prize to a rich and accomplished painting by Seraphine Pick, an artist working at the peak of her profession today. Merit Award Winners Peata Larkin and John McLean are both regular Norsewear entrants whose paintings this year have succeeded in achieving the perfect balance in their respective fields of abstraction and figuration, while with her Mynah Collie, Merit Award Winner Emily Valentine Bullock has given us one of those wonderful quixotic creations which have become almost a defining feature of the Norsewear. As well as these four winners, the Committee is delighted to have been able to select an exhibition of artworks each of which demonstrate the enormously creative talents of New Zealanders from throughout the country.

I’m sure I speak for all those who have been involved in the Norsewear, whether as entrants, selectors or viewers, when I say that we will be keenly anticipating the direction the organizers will take this nationally important event in the future. In the meantime, we offer our sincere thanks and admiration to all those who have made this, the 21st Norsewear Art Award, the best yet.

Martin Browne (Chairman)
Moyra Elliott, Douglas Lloyd Jenkins, John Gow


Phone/Fax: (06) 870-6306
Email: norsewearart@xtra.co.nz
Help Desk: (027) 221-3761


2007 Award Winners

Winner
$20,000
Seraphine Pick, Wellington
Phantom Limb
oil on linen, 1500 x 1400mm

MERIT AWARD 2D $4000
John McLean, Taranaki
Farmers Wife Departs with Traveller
oil on canvas, 605 x 700mm

MERIT AWARD 2D
$4000
Peata Larkin, Auckland
I am Tuhourangi (The Pink & White Terraces)
mixed media, 1300 x 1800mm

MERIT AWARD 3D
$4000
Emily Valentine Bullock, Wellington
Myna Collie
mixed media with mynabird feathers
170 x 100 x 120mm

Floor Talks

As from Wednesday 18th April, Floor Talks will be held each Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 11am during the Exhibition.
This is included in the $6 Entry fee.

This was my image selected for the awards exhibition

'uncertain journey'
every path that
you may choose
has its uncertainties
but here
lies
the beauty

NorseweART award

Tonight is the opening of the NorseweART award exhibition. One of my peices has made it into the award exhibition which is fantastic.

So, if you find yourself in Hawkesbay in between the 15th of April and the 27th of May pop into the Hawkesbay Exhibition Centre. It should be a great show, as it consists of both 2D and 3D artforms and had a comprehensive selection panel selection the finalists work for the show.

There were 466 entries into the award of which 69 were selected, and the award is aiming itself as being New Zealands' contemporary art award.

I've tucked myself inside infront of the fire place in this cold wintery blast that has hit us over the last two days... hope you all have a great weekend.

Elva

This is Elva, she is my Grandmother. She died before I was born.

This is a photo taken of her by a Hamilton photographer, date and name are unknowen to me. She is lying beside the Waikato River, the photo was apparently called river nymph.

This is a photo that would have been quite controversial at the time.

I think she looks very beautiful.

phew

'dog and boy' from Whaingaroa

Today I took down the last show out of the touring work Whaingaroa.

I first thought of the project Jan 2005 and have been working on it since then. It's been a long process with lots of ups and downs and I have learnt a lot from both of these.

Bit of an emotional thing taking down the work... no I didn't break down and cry or anything. It's just a big thing and it's the end of a big project. One that has been very succesful, not forgetting that success comes in many forms.

And in lines with these thoughts, here is a quote out of the current book I am reading - 'the satanic verses' by Salman Rushdie
"..., Any new idea, Mahound, is asked two questions. The first is asked when it's weak: WHAT KIND OF AN IDEA ARE YOU? Are you the kind that compromises, does deals, accommodates itself to society, aims to find a niche, to survive; or are you the cussed, bloody-minded, ramrod-backed type of damnfool notion that would rather break than sway with the breeze? - The kind that will almost certainly, ninety-nine times out of a hundred, be smashed to bits; but, the hundredth time, will change the world.
' Whats the second question?' "

night

Recently I have been venturing out in the evenings looking for some slightly abstract icons of New Zealand culture in the landscape, here is one that caught my eye.

central reservation

I have to admit the complete and utter lack of photos to post you at the moment. I've been busy working on some new work, and also the last of my Whaingaroa shows is on in Raglan at the moment until this coming Friday (30th March). So I'll leave you with some more lyrics for now again from Beth Orton


Central reservation

Running down to a central reservation
In last night's red dress
And I can still smell you on my fingers
And taste you on my breath
Stepping through brilliant shades
Of the color you bring
But this time, this time, this time
Is whatever I want it to mean

If this is where memories are made
I'm gonna like what I see
And everything I ever took for granted
I'm gonna let it be
I step through every shade
Of the color you bring
But this time, this time, this time
Is whatever I want it to mean

And everything and nothing is
As sacred as we want it to be
When it's real
Make it real
Compared to what?
Oh, yeah
Oh, yeah

It's like living in the middle of the ocean
With no future, no past
And everything that's good about now
Might just glide right past
I'm stepping through brilliant shades
Of the color you bring
But this time, this time, this time
Is fine just as it is

And everything is sacred here,
And nothing is as sacred as I want it to be
When it's real
Compared to what?
Oh, yeah
Oh, yeah
Ba da ba
Ba da ba
Yeah yeah