Art: A minimalism which squeezes out all signs of life

By T.J. McNamara

The often advocated ``constructive criticism'' is baloney. It is not the art critic's business to tell artists what they should do, but to respond to what they have done.

Yet the temptation remains to say what might have been, especially when there is a perceptible need. There are two exhibitions this week that cannot be ignored because the artists have outstanding reputations, yet contemplation of the work is sad because they might have filled a need.

New Zealand needs an artist/philosopher, whose work helps to define our art in relation to the rest of the world and what sort of visual discourse we might have with our social and natural environment.

The work of Julian Dashper at the Sue Crockford Gallery is consistent with what he has done before. It is a series of demonstrations; small, smart demonstrations where they might have been important.

The artist has an enormous reputation. He is praised by professors of art history. Adverse criticism brings letters to the paper. He has just returned from exhibitions in London and Amsterdam. Survey exhibitions of his work have been organised by public galleries and have toured the country. He will soon return to America as a Fulbright Fellow where he will, ``research developments in Neo-Minimalism.''

The research subject is appropriate since the work at the Crockford Gallery is minimalist, a logical, total, irreducible, black and white, dull minimum.

Yet the issue is not with minimalist art but with this minimalist art. The exhibition consists of a photograph of a black square with rounded edges on a white background.

This is used as the basis for three variants, the black square on a flat panel, the black square on a stretched canvas like a tablet and the shape of the square in white on a white border with a thin black frame.

The issues dealt with are the construction of this rounded square. There is an underlying geometry. The rounded corners are formed by circles whose centres are on the corners of a square within the square. Circles and squares are the basis of the construction for many renaissance paintings such as the famous Baptism by Piero della Francesca now in the National Gallery in London. But the geometry was at the service of an interesting image or type-face.

There is a link with type-faces here because this shape which preoccupies Dashper is partly derived from the letter O of a modern type. What it does is take the reference and kill it dead, dead white, dead black, dead with borders or without.

One of the variants is about the importance of the frame. It does this by being the frame without the image. The image is so dead it has been taken away and only the frame remains. This work is called European Painting so some sort of point is being made vis-a-vis the state of art in Europe. It is a demonstration but is so uninteresting in itself that the viewer can be justifiably dismissive. Boredom about boredom.

It is very sad. Dashper is an obviously dedicated artist. He thinks a lot. Can he not inject more relevance in his work?

Another need that is often felt in the New Zealand art world is for an outstanding sculptor in stone. Some artists work in the area but only intermittently. Many would say we already have it in Denis O'Conner who has an exhibition at the Gow Langsford Gallery and who worked mainly in stone. He thinks a lot too.

The exhibition is the culmination of three years' work and uses a variety of stone - granite, agate, marble and slate - and combines them with beads, nail files, bone dominoes, a bird cage, needles and a piece of plastic marking.

Some of the work has great weight and presence such as Big Aitche, Little Aitche which gives its name to the show.

Two figures are carved into oiled slate and make a gigantic H. To fully understand the work it is necessary to read a book that accompanies the show which explains how it links to O'Connor's Irish origins and the ability or not to pronounce the sound represented by H. It links with the artist's well-
worked themes of identity and journeying.

Yet the big themes are dissolved in consideration of revealing the tones of cut and polished rock and contrasting them with machine-made glass, literally in the form of glasses. The addition of text cut into the polished faces does not do much to lift the work.

Contrasts in colour and texture are the material of the big work called Eavesdropper which features a banister rail covered in flock.

Everywhere sensibility and thought are demonstrated but the overall feel of the show is of grand opportunities lost in a struggle for literary meaning.