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| image courtesy eventfinda |
The Maori words Toi
o Tāmaki are a literal translation of the
English: Auckland Art Gallery. In backlit steel they run together across the
polished stone exterior of the museum. I love that the two languages are given
equal footing. From the permanent signage affixed to the building, to museum
publications, website and even to the T-shirts worn by gallery staff, the
institution is consistently identified in both languages.
As striking as that is to someone like
me who is visiting New Zealand from the U.S. for the first time, it is hardly
the most distinctive thing about the museum. The main entrance is a soaring
atrium space with tall timber columns that flare outwards overhead like the
canopy of the forested park into which the building is nestled. I found it exceptionally
beautiful when I was there but I’ve since learned that it’s also
internationally renowned.
The World Architecture Festival (“the
world’s largest architectural event,” according to its website) named the
Auckland Art Gallery as the Building of the Year for 2013. If I hadn’t had the
good fortune to visit New Zealand I would never have known.
The collection was as interesting as
the architecture and includes what seemed to me a healthy mix of Maori and
European-oriented artists. I’ve always enjoyed visiting places like this where
you get to see outstanding work that falls outside the canons of Western art
historical convention. I didn’t take any photos inside the galleries but I
enjoyed seeing the site-specific work of New Zealand artist John Ward Knox that was installed
around the outside of the building.
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| Hardly Held Lightly, John Ward Knox |
Clearly referencing natural, delicate
and ephemeral spider webs, these not only are enormous and made of
industrial-strength steel chain link. They also, literally as well as
metaphorically, connect the architectural structure with the surrounding trees,
thus reinforcing the architect’s vision of the gallery as a haven within the
protective environment of the forest.
To see a slide show of the award-winning gallery, click here.
To see a slide show of the award-winning gallery, click here.
To see a series of photos from Australia and New Zealand, go to my flickr album.
