Rita Angus: Life & Vision Symposium
Professor Wystan Curnow
Angus and modernism
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Summary
Angus and modernism.
In the 1960s, the destiny of modern art in New Zealand art appeared to rest with McCahon, Woollaston and Angus. This paper re-examines that view from the perspective of the present. Today Angus is valued for the content of her work and her dedication to her vocation as a (New Zealand artist), while the formal qualities of her work have been steadfastly ignored as the source of meaning in her work. It seems timely (given the occasion of the Te Papa exhibition) to return to the question of her modernism, and her contribution to New Zealand art history. Must it be linked to those of McCahon and Woollaston? Do we have a different view of modernism now and hence a different sense of Angus’ place in New Zealand art?
Professor Wystan Curnow
Professor Wystan Curnow has forged a distinguished career as a teacher and scholar in the Department of English, University of Auckland, where he specialises in American poetry and poetics; modern and postmodern art; New Zealand literature and art; image-text relations; popular culture; and literary theory. He has curated numerous art exhibitions, has published widely on New Zealand art, and is a particular champion of McCahon and expatriates Len Lye, Max Gimblett and Billy Apple.
This presentation was recorded on 13 September 2008, during the Rita Angus: Life & Vision Symposium.
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