Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Monday, March 12, 2012
my art school experience really started on orientation day. why not with the application process you ask? well that was stressful scary and hard and i secretly thought they would figure out i was no good at all and laugh at my attempt to attend their esteemed institution....this continued even after receiving my acceptance email,which i will admit I was disappointed in their descision to not send a paper copy, i mean im happy for the trees and all but really?? an acceptance email?? anyway i digress.
Orientation Day, i made my way downtown to the campus and listened to welcome after welcome, heard the excitement and expectations of us the "future" of Art and anxiously waited more ego stroking by the tutors that would be giving us our first experience of the school.
I was sent off to see the ground with Michael Parekowhai, arguably NZ's greatest sculptor i could bearly hold it together, a half hour and i am already in the presence of an artistic genius, this is amazing!! Michael was wearing his uniform of sunnies, a rolled over overalls and work boots, i didn't think my day could get any better, he led us down the first corridor to a back studio where he stopped and again welcomed and congratulated us for our achievement, i was pretty much floating by this point. i finally took a breath and looked around me and quickly realized that there were only 2 other people in this group of 25 students that had any idea who he was. i could tell easily as they looked as shocked as i did that we were the only ones foaming at the mouth and inching towards him. my horror continued when he asked if we had any questions, and the well dressed asian to my right asked were the sinks were located.....oaf i thought, then the next, where would the nearest photocopier be?...... we had Michael Parekowhai to ourselves and copiers and sinks were all they could muster? i was about to break my no participation in random group discussion rule when a lovely English girl asked, whether "Bull on a Piano" was a comment on the wall street crash, i waited for him to delve into the "real" reason he had dealt which such a monumental image when he laughed and said "because everything is covered in Bull" he then informed us he had no intention of giving us a tour and said the "sooner we realise that Art is all Bull and learn to enjoy the process" the more we would get out of Art School and of life. after a few more, where are the bathroom questions, he took his leave, saying that if we make it to 3rd year, he'll talk to us then, and finally a cheeky smile and a final, Good Luck, and i was officially welcomed to the Elam School of Fine Arts.
Michael Parekowhai and his Bull.
image taken from http://horiwood.com/category/david-henderson/
Orientation Day, i made my way downtown to the campus and listened to welcome after welcome, heard the excitement and expectations of us the "future" of Art and anxiously waited more ego stroking by the tutors that would be giving us our first experience of the school.
I was sent off to see the ground with Michael Parekowhai, arguably NZ's greatest sculptor i could bearly hold it together, a half hour and i am already in the presence of an artistic genius, this is amazing!! Michael was wearing his uniform of sunnies, a rolled over overalls and work boots, i didn't think my day could get any better, he led us down the first corridor to a back studio where he stopped and again welcomed and congratulated us for our achievement, i was pretty much floating by this point. i finally took a breath and looked around me and quickly realized that there were only 2 other people in this group of 25 students that had any idea who he was. i could tell easily as they looked as shocked as i did that we were the only ones foaming at the mouth and inching towards him. my horror continued when he asked if we had any questions, and the well dressed asian to my right asked were the sinks were located.....oaf i thought, then the next, where would the nearest photocopier be?...... we had Michael Parekowhai to ourselves and copiers and sinks were all they could muster? i was about to break my no participation in random group discussion rule when a lovely English girl asked, whether "Bull on a Piano" was a comment on the wall street crash, i waited for him to delve into the "real" reason he had dealt which such a monumental image when he laughed and said "because everything is covered in Bull" he then informed us he had no intention of giving us a tour and said the "sooner we realise that Art is all Bull and learn to enjoy the process" the more we would get out of Art School and of life. after a few more, where are the bathroom questions, he took his leave, saying that if we make it to 3rd year, he'll talk to us then, and finally a cheeky smile and a final, Good Luck, and i was officially welcomed to the Elam School of Fine Arts.
Michael Parekowhai and his Bull.
image taken from http://horiwood.com/category/david-henderson/
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