In 1962 Barry Bates changed his name to Billy Apple. In that defining moment, Barrie Bates made the decision to turn himself into an artwork, creating rich territory for his artistic practice as Billy Apple. Forty-five years later in 2007, Billy Apple became a licensed trademark and registered brand, reinforcing his commitment to the idea of the artist as an artwork.
Since then Billy has exhibited at the Guggenheim in New York, Philadelphia Art Museum and the Serpentine Gallery in London. He has been acknowledged by renowned critics and art writers such as Lucy Lippard and Hans Ulrich Obrist. He was an Arts Foundation Icon and is the subject of an expansive biography by Christina Barton published this year.
Why then you might ask, is Billy Apple's exhibition showing at MTG Hawke's Bay Tai Ahuriri?
The answer is simple – apples. Billy recognised Hawke's Bay as the premier apple-growing region in the country and, seeking to buy the international marketing rights to an apple variety, came here to work with apple scientist and breeder Allan White. This story, among others, is the subject of the exhibition and the reason Billy wanted the show to happen here.
Although "Billy Apple" did not eventuate as the name of an apple variety, in highlighting the possibility Billy expanded art-making into yet another realm. Over his career he has collaborated with designers, advertising creatives, art collectors, scientists, mathematicians and more, in what was a lifelong commitment to breaking down the boundaries between art and life.
Apple is a heavy hitter in the art world, but on encountering him for the first time it can be easy to brush off his work as obscure or oblique.
The irony of this is that Billy Apple "challenged the idea that art was some sort of highfalutin thing that only some people had access to" said Christina Barton on Radio New Zealand this week. It's a notion that might explain Billy's attempt to break down boundaries between art and life. Billy was a believer in the place of art in life.
You didn't need to know Billy very well to know that every minute of his waking life was dedicated to art - not just the making, but the whole ecology of it.
"Billy knew that to be an artist you couldn't just stay home and make art – you have to engage with every aspect of the art world," Mary said.
She was chuffed by the number of younger artists who had been in touch since Billy's death, she said.
"He was a supporter, always at the exhibition openings of younger artists and keen to share his knowledge with them. That is his legacy that means the most to me," Mary said.
The timing of Billy Apple's death, while Auckland sits at level 4, means that Billy will not have the large funeral that he would have had in normal circumstances. It will be a private affair, with friends, family and the art world left to acknowledge Billy's passing online. Strange times.
However, those of us in Hawke's Bay are fortunate that we can spend some time at MTG in his exhibition Billy Apple® A Brand Looking For a Product. There, in this wonderful collaboration between Billy and Christina Barton, you'll get a sense of who Billy Apple was, why he has been given so much recognition and, if you give it some time, what he has to say about the times we live in.
So to Billy, Tēnā koe e tē Rangatira. Haere koe Billy Apple ki ō tīpuna. Kō koe he tohunga, kō koe he kuru pounamu. He mihi tangi, he mihi aroha kia koe. Kō koe kua whetūrangitia mō āke, ake, ake.
And to all who knew Billy, in particular Mary Morrison, MTG sends aroha and condolences - our hearts go out to you.
• Toni MacKinnon is art curator at MTG.
