Wanganui's future looks bright by Sandra Benson.
Members of the public were impressed by a stunning exhibition by the Whanganui Camera Club at the Whanganui Community Arts Centre on October 6 - 14.
Member Heather MacKenzie introduced guest speaker Andrew Clifford, director of the Sarjeant Gallery in Whanganui since the end of March this year.
“Andrew is also a writer and curator,” she said. “He has worked on photography exhibitions by artists including Anne Noble, who hails from Whanganui, Ann Shelton, Peter Peryer, Gordon Brown, Joyce Campbell, Gavin Hipkins, Bruce Connew and Yuki Kihara, and was a recent contributor to Auckland Museum’s recent book on Olaf Petersen,” she said.
Andrew said it was fitting that one of the sections in this year’s exhibition was titled “Whanganui is people - he tangata, he tangata, he tangata.”
“And what better medium with which to celebrate people than photography? Especially given the democratic and diverse nature of photography. Even in photography’s early years, when cumbersome and specialist equipment was required, it was a popular art form that anyone could identify with and photographic businesses sprung up rapidly, especially here.
“By the time I became a child enthusiast when I was given my first camera in the 1970s, shutterbugs were everywhere. Now, photography is an inextricable part of daily life and most of us carry a phone in our pocket.
“That could be seen as both a blessing and a curse, but it certainly makes things interesting, and ensures that photography isn’t going anywhere any time soon.
“And if my high school age nephew is anything to go by, and he’s been using fancy lenses for a number of years now to take remarkable wildlife photographs, specialisation and specialist gear is still a path for future generations - it’s not just for Tik Tok!
“Photography has played an important role in the Sarjeant story. Many of Whanganui and New Zealand’s early photographers, some of whom were members of the Whanganui Camera Club, are represented in the Sarjeant collection, including Frank Denton, the Burton brothers, George Chance and William Harding.
“Denton had a lot to do with the early interest in photography at the Sarjeant, having been commissioned around the time the gallery opened to gather an international collection of photographs, making an important early contribution to what is now one of the most important collections of photography anywhere.
“Believe it or not, many art galleries didn’t take a serious interest in collecting photography until the latter half of the 20th century.
“Photography is many things to many people, whether it’s a tool for advertising and design, the sciences, news reporting or just collecting holiday snaps as souvenirs. And that’s a key reason photography is such a fascinating discipline.
“The Sarjeant has continued to grow its photography collection over the years and has worked with many of New Zealand’s leading photographers, including Ans Westra, Peter Peryer, Anne Noble, Ann Shelton, Robin Morrison, Marie Shannon, Fiona Clark, Richard Wootton and Tia Ranginui, many of whom have local connections or have participated in the Sarjeant’s Tylee Cottage residency programme.
“The Tylee residency, which began in 1986 with photographer Laurance Aberhart, still continues, while the gallery is closed and remains an important source of works for our collection including, most recently, a large body of photographic work by recent artists in residence: photographer Solomon Mortimer and performer-choreographer Zahra Killeen Chance.
“Whanganui has become an important influence for artists who come here to stay at Tylee, and a surprising number of them choose to move here permanently.
“And these artists have also had a big impact on the Sarjeant programme. You can be sure that Tylee and photography will play a big part in our reopening,” Clifford said.