Artwork Analysis Link
Artwork Analysis
In modern times only a minority of New Zealanders can be described as people of the land, but in the early 20th century the idea of empty landscape and the notion of pioneering were together a canon for many New Zealand artists. A lot of this empty landscape and ideas of pioneering refer back to the ‘man alone’ notion and the dead tree phenomenon.
The Man Alone theory sprouts from variations of the idea of man conquering the country that is the backbone of New Zealand.[1] In recent times ‘Man Alone’ has been described as a foundational metaphor for living in New Zealand, that may or may not relate to John Mulgan’s novel titled ‘Man Alone’, published in 1939 that looks at settler nationalism and culture.[2] The dead tree phenomenon relates more to pioneering and back to the destruction of whole forests by both axe and fire, to clear land for agriculture or sheep farming. A number of artists at the time took this for subject matter.[3]
Rita Angus, Cass (1936) [4]
This painting, Cass, by Rita Angus shows a few buildings at a railway station with a singular man, but is obviously made predominantly of landscape. It portrays the Southern Alps in the distance with also foothills, trees and foreground tussocks. The colour pallet is made up of mainly browns with blues greens and reds, giving the painting an overly earthy feel. This is definitely a ‘Man Alone’ themed work, and clearly tries to show that New Zealanders are a people of the land which is essentially want this canon is about.[5]
Duncan Darroch, Mt Cook, Oil [6]
Duncan Darroch Lived at Mt Cook from 1926 until his death in 1967, years in which he produced a large collection of paintings featuring the mountain and its surroundings. New Zealand Mountains were, and still are, great subject matter for New Zealand artists, providing them with a near untouched landscape, a landscape and nothing but, no buildings, no man, nothing but nature. This canon of ‘Man Alone’ and untouched landscape is capturing the countries beauty and once again portraying New Zealanders as people of the land.[7]
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Rita Angus, Central Otago Landscape (1940) [8]
Another of Rita Angus’s works depicting a Central Otago farming scene of 1940. A lone man and his dog looking out over miles of foothills and mountains, painted in earthy reds and browns, the ‘Man Alone’ ‘empty landscape’ canon is clearly showing through.
Christopher Perkins, Frozen Flame (1931), Oil on Canvas, 678 x 586mm, Auckland Art Gallery.[9]
In Christopher Perkins’ Frozen Flame we still are seeing the empty landscape but we are moving into the ‘dead tree phenomenon’ territory. It is said in an article ‘Frozen Flame & The Slain Tree’[10] that Perkins means to show past, present and future of NZ landscape, the transformation from wilderness to cultivated country, looking more of a pioneering aspect rather than ‘man alone’. To me this is adding layers to the already laid out Canon to show progress of landscape not just landscape itself.
Eric Lee-Johnson, the Slain Tree (1945), Oil, 505x381mm Collection of T.T. Bond, Auckland. [11]
The Slain Tree, also discussed in the article ‘Frozen Flame & the Slain Tree’ in relation to the ‘dead tree phenomenon’ describes Lee-Johnson as having an awakening of a conservationist aspect in terms of his paintings.[12] With the burning and demolition of trees in the 1930’s-40’s, Artist such as Lee-Johnson start looking at the change in landscape to be damaging while still respecting it as a way of pioneering and moving forward.
Gordon Walters, Composition Waikanae (1943), Conte’ Drawing[13]
Another work of the ‘dead tree phenomenon’, Walters’ works show a lone, bare, dead tree. This dead tree theme was common among landscape artists at the time, Walters being one of many. The work looks at pioneering and its cost to nature, but with all the works above the lone trees can be seen as a lone figure in a ‘Man Alone’ type context, subjecting itself to the Canon in entirety.
Both “Man Alone’ and ‘Dead Tree’ aspire to the idea of man conquering the wilderness and nature, with either the lone man, or the symbolic lone tree. Both relate to the settlers and pioneering, and man moving forward, yet still try maintain the idea that New Zealanders are a people of the Land, and it is this , I believe that sums up the Canon I am looking at, and is seen throughout the works.
[1] Listener Article Rita Angus http://www.listener.co.nz/commentary/new-zealand-settlers-people-of-the-land/
[2] NZ Historical Association http://www.nzha.org.nz/conferences.html
[3] Frozen Tree & Slain Tree http://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htm
[4] Image Sourced at http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/media/photo/cass-rita-angus
[5] Listener Article Rita Angus http://www.listener.co.nz/commentary/new-zealand-settlers-people-of-the-land/
[6] Image Sourced at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nzlscant/Darroch.htm
[7] Duncan Darroch http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nzlscant/Darroch.htm
[8] Image Sourced at http://transpressnz.blogspot.co.nz/2010/05/central-otago-is-nice-this-time-of-year.html
[9] Image Sourced at http://www.aucklandartgallery.com/the-collection/browse-artists/1775/christopher-perkins
[10] Frozen Flame & Slain Tree, Art New Zealand, Issue 134 http://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htm
[11] Image Sourced at http://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htm
[12] Frozen Flame & Slain Tree, Art New Zealand, Issue 134 http://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htm
[13] Image Sourced at http://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htm
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