Standing in front of an artwork in real life has power.
It is not just the scale that changes our perspective, but the interaction with it in a specific location adds to historic connections and the artist’s intentions become clearer and more relatable.
On Friday August the 7th, Art History students visited Bastion Point Reserve, the traditional site of two Ngāti Whātua Pā systems. After discussing the importance of the land and position on the Waitematā Harbour, the stages of colonial effects on Māori culture in the Ōrākei area of Auckland as well as the famous 506 day land occupation protest, we moved on to view The Lighthouse, an artwork by Michal Parekowhai on Queens Wharf. Understanding the historic context of a contemporary artwork unlocked new perspectives and enjoyment in viewing the work.
Location number three was a new digital video installation by Lisa Reihana at the University of Auckland titled Māramatanga, which embodies ideas of enlightenment and growth for students and leaders, embedding the value of sustainable practice ideas for the future while being inspired by our multicultural present and past.
A beautiful walk in the sunshine across Albert Park brought us to the Auckland Art Gallery where we viewed the Forever Tomorrow exhibition including Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn by Ai Wei Wei, a work that demonstrates the strong connection between contemporary artmaking ideas and historical, cultural and social traditions. The curriculum based classroom learning allowed students to decode and understand what they were seeing and to interpret other global perspectives.
