Artwork Analysis

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    Sophie Prinselaar Smith

    25th April 2012

    Eric Lee Johnson, The Slain Tree, 19451

    Gordon Walters, Waikanae Landscape, 19442.

    1Michael Dunn, Frozen Flame & Slain Tree, The Dead Tree Theme in New Zealand Art of the Thirties and Forties. Art New Zealand,

    Issue 11 to 20, viewed 24th

    April 2012.http:/www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htm2

    Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland, Viewed 23rd

    April 2012http://www.aucklandartgallery.com/the-collection/browse-

    artwork/7495/waikanae-landscape

    http://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htmhttp://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htmhttp://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htmhttp://www.aucklandartgallery.com/the-collection/browse-artwork/7495/waikanae-landscapehttp://www.aucklandartgallery.com/the-collection/browse-artwork/7495/waikanae-landscapehttp://www.aucklandartgallery.com/the-collection/browse-artwork/7495/waikanae-landscapehttp://www.aucklandartgallery.com/the-collection/browse-artwork/7495/waikanae-landscapehttp://www.aucklandartgallery.com/the-collection/browse-artwork/7495/waikanae-landscapehttp://www.aucklandartgallery.com/the-collection/browse-artwork/7495/waikanae-landscapehttp://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htm
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    Sophie Prinselaar Smith

    25th April 2012

    Rita Angus, Scrub Burning, 19653

    .

    Charles Heaphy, Kauri Forest, 1839-18404.

    3National Art Gallery, Wellington, Rita Angus. (Wellington National Art Gallery, 1982), 60-62, cat. no. 117.

    4Iain Sharpe, Heaphy. (Auckland, Auckland University Press, 2008), 52.

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    Sophie Prinselaar Smith

    25th April 2012

    Christopher Perkins,Frozen Flames, c 19315.

    John Holmwood, Landscape With a Sawmill,

    19526.

    5Auckland City Art Gallery, Auckland, Viewed 24

    thApril 2012.http://www.aucklandartgallery.com/the-collection/browse-

    artwork/3103/frozen-flames6

    Auckland City Art Gallery Quarterly, Number 8, Spring 1959. Viewed 23rd

    April 2012.

    http://www.aucklandartgallery.com/the-collection/browse-artwork/7495/waikanae-landscapehttp://www.aucklandartgallery.com/the-collection/browse-artwork/7495/waikanae-landscapehttp://www.aucklandartgallery.com/the-collection/browse-artwork/7495/waikanae-landscapehttp://www.aucklandartgallery.com/the-collection/browse-artwork/7495/waikanae-landscapehttp://www.aucklandartgallery.com/the-collection/browse-artwork/7495/waikanae-landscapehttp://www.aucklandartgallery.com/the-collection/browse-artwork/7495/waikanae-landscapehttp://www.aucklandartgallery.com/the-collection/browse-artwork/7495/waikanae-landscapehttp://www.aucklandartgallery.com/the-collection/browse-artwork/7495/waikanae-landscapehttp://www.aucklandartgallery.com/the-collection/browse-artwork/7495/waikanae-landscapehttp://www.aucklandartgallery.com/the-collection/browse-artwork/7495/waikanae-landscapehttp://www.aucklandartgallery.com/the-collection/browse-artwork/7495/waikanae-landscapehttp://www.aucklandartgallery.com/the-collection/browse-artwork/7495/waikanae-landscapehttp://www.aucklandartgallery.com/the-collection/browse-artwork/7495/waikanae-landscapehttp://www.aucklandartgallery.com/the-collection/browse-artwork/7495/waikanae-landscapehttp://www.aucklandartgallery.com/the-collection/browse-artwork/7495/waikanae-landscapehttp://www.aucklandartgallery.com/the-collection/browse-artwork/7495/waikanae-landscapehttp://www.aucklandartgallery.com/the-collection/browse-artwork/7495/waikanae-landscapehttp://www.aucklandartgallery.com/the-collection/browse-artwork/7495/waikanae-landscapehttp://www.aucklandartgallery.com/the-collection/browse-artwork/7495/waikanae-landscapehttp://www.aucklandartgallery.com/the-collection/browse-artwork/7495/waikanae-landscapehttp://www.aucklandartgallery.com/the-collection/browse-artwork/7495/waikanae-landscapehttp://www.aucklandartgallery.com/the-collection/browse-artwork/7495/waikanae-landscapehttp://www.aucklandartgallery.com/the-collection/browse-artwork/3103/frozen-flameshttp://www.aucklandartgallery.com/the-collection/browse-artwork/3103/frozen-flameshttp://www.aucklandartgallery.com/the-collection/browse-artwork/3103/frozen-flameshttp://www.aucklandartgallery.com/the-collection/browse-artwork/3103/frozen-flameshttp://www.aucklandartgallery.com/the-collection/browse-artwork/3103/frozen-flameshttp://www.aucklandartgallery.com/the-collection/browse-artwork/3103/frozen-flames
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    Sophie Prinselaar Smith

    25th April 2012

    Artwork Analysis: A Canon

    Artwork of New Zealand that reflects an empty landscape, and that of pioneering man.

    The destruction of nature and the re birth into a hospitable land is a recurring theme between these images.

    Each one has been represented in very different ways; some are soft, warm and vibrant where others are a

    harsh, sharp and colorless. Each one represents a different reaction to what was then a common practice of

    burning native forest

    The idea of pioneering and land clearing for settlers would have been a predominant idea so for many of these

    artists and the sight of milled or burnt trees showed the possibilities for commercial use and the ability to

    colonize the land even further. Charles Heaphys Kauri Forest on the Wairoa Harbor, is a representation of this,

    Heaphy was intent on advertising a remarkable commercial opportunity"7, not so much to capture the

    destruction. Another spin on the scrub burning is Eric Lee Johnsons charred and destroyed remains of the

    trees as a sign of home, he recalls, When, on my return in 1938, I saw the familiar forest ghosts lining my routeup through the King Country, it seemed they had turned out to greet me 8, this recollection of Johnsons reflects

    The Slain Tree perfectly, with its human form crying out to whomever views it, but the use of white and light

    greys it gives the image sense of welcoming and the quality of home. This is very much similar to Gordon

    Walters Waikanae Landscape, and Rita Angus Scrub Burning. Walters image of black, white and greys lead to

    the harshness of the bare land and does hint to the removal of native forest, but also contains soft tones

    flowing through, the tree looks alive even in its bare state. A darkness surrounds the tree, but the light on the

    horizon shows renewal and growth. The same is present in Scrub Burning, forest being cleared on the horizon,

    grey smoke billowing into the distance, in the fore and background, lush rolling hills and a large area of dense

    bush, gives them impression that not all is to be destroyed.

    Christopher Perkins, Frozen Flame, andJohn Holmwoods, Landscape With a Sawmill,both contain references to

    once what was a thriving forest, the starkness of the dead trees, not only an emptiness left behind once the fire

    has been extinguished, but also the how the use of this land by its pioneers for farming and agriculture

    benefited the country, and so such a horrific approach seemed necessary. In Holmwoods painting, the

    machine that is the cause of such pioneering, the sawmill, is framed by destruction, trees in the foreground and

    dark hills covered in skeletal trees, give an emptiness that show the land is ready for use in an economic sense.

    The same is apparent with Perkins, Frozen Flames, the appearance of another burnt tree sitting in behind the

    central image shows a forest not just one tree has been destroyed, but the presence of green hills is the way in

    which the land is to be used. Perkins's dead tree stands between past and future. It is a reminder of the bush

    7Iain Sharpe, Heaphy. (Auckland, Auckland University Press, 2008), 52.

    8Michael Dunn, Frozen Flame & Slain Tree, The Dead Tree Theme in New Zealand Art of the Thirties and Forties. Art New Zealand,

    Issue 11 to 20, viewed 24th

    April 2012.http:/www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htm

    http://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htmhttp://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htmhttp://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htmhttp://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htm
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    Sophie Prinselaar Smith

    25th April 2012

    to which it once belonged. Its twisted frame, shorn of twigs and foliage, also implies the fire of bush burn-offs.

    Soon it will be displaced by the encroachment of pasture and sheep9.

    Each artist has taken on the role of conservationist, some unwittingly, showing the dangers and consequences

    of scrub clearing. Each image contains an element of vitality that is able to be seen in amongst the destruction.

    There is representation of how the land was used productively in all of the paintings, maintained with rolling

    hills, the appearance of remaining trees or bush, giving it some body in an otherwise desolate landscape. The

    relationship between these paintings is obvious, yet each one holds a different meaning of how the artist

    viewed the clearings in their respective times. It is difficult in modern day to interpret the images we see in

    these paintings as a commercial opportunity, as we now know how sacred our native bush is, how it was

    stripped of much natural beauty for its resources. The images offer a different perspective to the beautiful

    landscapes and images we see of New Zealand in many artworks, they convey the emptiness of a land that

    once was far from what we know today.

    9Michael Dunn, Frozen Flame & Slain Tree, The Dead Tree Theme in New Zealand Art of the Thirties and Forties. Art New Zealand,

    Issue 11 to 20. Viewed 24th

    April 2012. http:/www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htm

    http://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htmhttp://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htmhttp://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htmhttp://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htmhttp://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htmhttp://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htmhttp://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htmhttp://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htmhttp://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htmhttp://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htmhttp://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htmhttp://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htmhttp://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htmhttp://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htmhttp://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htmhttp://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htmhttp://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htmhttp://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htmhttp://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htmhttp://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htmhttp://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htmhttp://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htmhttp://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htmhttp://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htmhttp://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htmhttp://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htmhttp://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htmhttp://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htmhttp://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htm
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    Sophie Prinselaar Smith

    25th April 2012

    Annotated Bibliography

    Michael Dunn, Frozen Flame & Slain Tree, The Dead Tree Theme in New Zealand Art of the Thirties andForties. Art New Zealand, Issues 11 to 20. Viewed 24 th April 2012.

    http:/www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htm

    This piece was very informative on Lee Johnsons The Slain Tree, Perkins Frozen Flame, Walters Waikanae

    Landscape, and the dead tree theme use by artists in the thirties and forties.

    Iain Sharpe, Heaphy. (Auckland, Auckland University Press, 2008), 52.Great exert on Kauri Forest and what was happening in New Zealand at the time this was painted, also

    interesting information on how Charles Heaphy viewed the milling on the kauri forests.

    Michael Dunn, New Zealand Painting, A Concise History. (Auckland, Auckland University Press, 2003),73, 94.

    Detailed information on Frozen Flames and other works of Christopher Perkins around this time.

    Gregory OBrien, Back and Beyond, New Zealand Painting for the Young and Curious, (Auckland, AucklandUniversity Press, 2008). 48.

    Great information on Charles Heaphys Kauri Forest, and also on the man himself.

    Laurence Simmons, The Image Always Has The Last Word, on contemporary New Zealand painting andphotography. (Palmeston North, Dunmore Press Ltd, 2002), 29, 95-108.

    Helpful for information on Rita Angus Burning Scrub, Gordon Walters works on the New Zealand Landscape.

    National Art Gallery, Wellington, Rita Angus. (Wellington National Art Gallery, 1982), 60-62, cat. no.117.

    More information regarding Angus life and inspiration towards her paintings, but also detail on her love for

    the Hawkes Bay where Burning Scrub is based.

    E.H. McCormick, Eric LeeJohnson. (London, Phoenix House, 1956), 5.Very informative on Lee Johnsons life and also his and feeling towards the burn offs and for painting The

    Slain Tree and other such images.

    http://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htmhttp://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htmhttp://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htmhttp://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htmhttp://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htmhttp://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htmhttp://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htmhttp://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htmhttp://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htmhttp://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htmhttp://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htmhttp://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htmhttp://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htmhttp://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htmhttp://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/deadtree.htm
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    Sophie Prinselaar Smith

    25th April 2012

    Leonard Bell, Putting the Record Straight, Gordon Walters, Art New Zealand, Issues 11 to 30, Viewed 25thApril 2012.

    http://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues21to30/walters.htm

    Details on Gordon Walters works and his life.

    Auckland City Art Gallery Quarterly, Number 8, Spring 1959. Viewed 23rd April 2012.http://www.aucklandartgallery.com/media/159461/q8.pdf

    Information on John Holmwoods Landscape With a Sawmill, and his other paintings.

    Alexa M. Johnstone, John Holmwood, Thirty Years of His Painting, Art New Zealand, Issues 31 to 40.Viewed 23rd April 2012.http://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues31to40/holmwood.htm

    Informative on many of John Holmwoods works and his life.

    http://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues21to30/walters.htmhttp://www.aucklandartgallery.com/media/159461/q8.pdfhttp://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues31to40/holmwood.htmhttp://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues31to40/holmwood.htmhttp://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues31to40/holmwood.htmhttp://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues31to40/holmwood.htmhttp://www.aucklandartgallery.com/media/159461/q8.pdfhttp://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues21to30/walters.htm