It is some time since we had a passionate art controversy in Auckland. Past arguments were stimulated by overseas exhibitions or sculpture bought by the Auckland Art Gallery that upset conservative city councillors.
Now the controversy is closer to home, about photography shown by Jono Rotman at Gow Langsford in Lorne St. The dispute is not over the quality of the work but the subject matter, eight fierce, marginalised men from the Mongrel Mob. All but one have full-face tattoos. Zap Notorious proclaims his affiliation and notoriety in large lettering tattooed right across his forehead and nose. The one man without tattooing also has the cleanest jacket but his expression is as troubling as the rest.
The demeanour of these men is aggressive and arrogant. Their gaze is challenging even when a subject, Bung Notorious, has only one good eye. In their regalia of black, white and red the men go out of the way to be offensive by identification with the hideous energies of Hitler's Nazi party. Two wear German helmets. One, bright red, has the insignia of the SS on it. Swastikas are everywhere. The Nazis had a genius for military style in uniform and its malign attraction. Here the striking panoply of regalia suggests the feeling of being outside the law and acceptable social behaviour. The faces are superbly photographed in composition and in detail, over life-size and in colour. The poses are monumental and give more than a hint of the heroic, notably in Willy Clark. Does this make the work bad art?
It is relevant here to consider the paintings of Gottfried Lindauer, given to the city by public subscription, that are soon to be shown in Berlin and the artist's home city of Pilsen. Some of the images are tattooed warriors proudly carrying weapons. In their time these were honourable men. Art can record the heroic along with the brutal.
