WHIT&KER $TRGGt

Nr. I V

'The proof of the pudding'

i f e l t a nagging discomfort when, on the Education Fightback March, the procession was greeted with the c r i e s of 'get a J o b ' from the footpath. The fight-back campaigners answer to those j i b e s from the s e l f - s a t i s f i e d taxpayer i s that the campaign advocates the concept of open u n i v e r s i t y , and wishes to make i t possible f o r any income group to be able to s t u d y . Unfortunately, t h i s u n i v e r s i t y cannot boast that t h i s i s the r e a l i t y at the present time. I t i s widely known THAT in proportion to the number of Maoris i n New Zealand, there are very few at univ-e r s i t y . I believe i t l i k e l y there would be no s i g n i f i c a n t increase i n the r a t i o of Maoris a t university, even i f the bursary was doubled. This a r t i c l e o f f e r s an explanation f o r the tendency f o r only upper and middle class c h i l d r e n to come to u n i v e r s i t y .

The graph you see is taken from a b O O K By p s y c h o l o g i s t H.J.Eysenck. It's function is to i l l u s -t r a t e that the q u a l i t y i n t e l l e c t (the a b i l i t y to solve I.Q. tests) i s passed from parents to t h e i r o f f s p r i n g .

Whatever I.Q. t e s t s measure apart from the a b i l i t y to solve them, i t can be shown that r e s u l t s from them c o r r e l a t e very n i c e l y with academic perform-ance. Thus the graph bears out, i n d i r e c t l y , a tendency among c h i l d r e n that i s easily-recognisable,i..e. that c h i l d r e n from lower class o r i g i n s do not do as well as c h i l d r e n from higher class backgrounds. It ultimately implies that even i n a meritocracy there i s every reason f o r doctor's sons to become doctors while f r e e z i n g worker's sons become f r e e z -ing workers. Members of the lower c l a s s r e a l i s e that i t i s very u n l i k e l y that t h e i r c h i l d r e n w i l l go to u n i v e r s i t y . The s e l e c t i o n c r i t e r i o n f o r academics Is the a b i l i t y to compete i n a s p e c i a l i s e d f i e l d of problem s o l v i n g , a f i e l d i n which members of the lower classes do not e x c e l l . With t h i s knowledge, i t i s no wonder that workers have l i t t l e enthusiasm f o r the p l i g h t of the u n i v e r s i t y . To them i t i s an e l i t i s t i n s t i t u t i o n which apportions knowledge to a very small proportion of the population, who then, l i k e t h e i r f a t h e r s before them, become experts i n the manipulation of the- maases- (lawyers, doctors, parliamentarians, engineers, town-planners, s o c i a l s c i e n t i s t s ) all b e l i e v e that even more than accumul-

l a t e d wealth, ' i n t e l l i g e n c e ' as a concept maintains this e l i t i s t educational i n s t i t u t i o n , which i n turn maintains the s e l f - p e r p e t u a t i n g class system.

On a personal l e v e l , I would c a l l somebody i n t e l l -igent, who agreed with my reasoning, and stupid i f they d i d n ' t . It i s a way of showing approval f o r a type of mental a c t i v i t y . I n t e l l i g e n c e tests have f o r some become almost the d e f i n i t i o n of i n t e l l -i g e nce. S i m i l a r l y , they show s o c i e t y ' s approval f o r a type of t h i n k i n g , i n a standardized way. A short h i s t o r y of' them w i l l help o b j e c t i f y t h e i r r e a l purpose.

A Frenchman, A l f r e d Binet, was the f i r s t to stumble on to the idea of a l i n e a r c a l i b r a t i o n o f the Intel-l e c t . His problem was to t r y and systematise weed-ing school c h i l d r e n i n the 1900s. His aim was

to try and f i n d a t e s t that would a s c e r t a i n

general academic c a p a c i t y . His death led to his work being continued at Stanford University where the idea of mental age was created,

This type of t e s t i n g was used on 1.7 m i l l i o n army r e c r u i t s at the time of WWI. The function was to i s o l a t e an o f f i c e r c l a s s . Such a c l a s s requ-i r e d to have an innate sense of s u p e r i o r i t y , and be used to g i v i n g orders. The constructor of the t e s t Terman, noted with l i t t l e s u r p r i s e that the i n t e l l -igent or high scorers with a few exceptions a l l came from the upper c l a s s . Were at l a s t was the perfect t o o l with which to

prove the innate s u p e r i o r i t y of the r u l i n g c l a s s e s . I t managed to d i f f e r e n t i a t e between the t h i n k i n g

- p o t e n t i a l of the d i f f e r e n t c l a s s , and even tabulate the f i n d i n g s neatly on a l i n e a r s c a l e . I t measured a type of i n t e l l i g e n c e . O y r i l Burt, the c h i e f i n s t i g -ator o f the 11-plus, an aptitude t e s t which r u l e d England's educational i n s t i t u t i o n s f o r years with an i r o n f i s t s i g n i f i c a n t l y c a l l e d i t the property of the mind.

S i x t y years a f t e r the i n t r o d u c t i o n of I.Q. tests arguments against t h e i r claimed o b j e c t i v i t y are

well documented: (a) An American social-scientist called Jensen had

his l a t e s t research o u t l i n e d i n a recent Time. His l a t e s t b r a i n c h i l d i s a t e s t which repeatedly shows American blacks s c o r i n g 15 points below the nation-a l average. Jensen, l i k e a l l mechanistic psychologists i s i n t e r e s t e d i n o b j e c t i v i t y ( l i k e Time). Jensen i s ensconced i n the power structure. Jensen i s white. f i l l s i l l u s t r a t e s t hat t e s t s tend to have a c u l t u r a l bias i n favour of those who designed them (thus designating t h e i r designers as b r i l l i a n t ) (b) There i s no d i r e c t c o r r e l a t i o n of I.Q. to

achievement i n l i f e . I t i s only c l o s e l y r e l a t e d to academic performance at the time the t e s t was taken, (c) I t has been shown that cramming f o r I.Q. t e s t s

i s p o s s i b l e , which d i s c r e d i t s the notion that I.Q. t e s t s o b j e c t i f y an immutable quantity of thought power. (d) Professor Rosenthal,of Harvard, found that r a t s

performed f a r b e t t e r when the experimenters were t o l d f a l s e l y , that the r a t s had been s p e c i a l l y bred f o r intelligence. The same kind of r a t s turned i n poor performance when the experimenters had been

t o l d t h e animals were d u l l . He d e c i d e d t o t r y similar: e x p e r i m e n t s with i n t e l l i g e n c e t e s t s and e d u c a t i o n a l i n s t i t u t i o n s . A f t e r t e s t i n g a g r o u p o f c h i l d r e n a standardized t e s t , he t o l d t h e t e a c h e r s o f those c h i l d r e n , t h a t t h e one who, on h i s I .Q. test had been average, was a top s c o r e r a g a i n and again. Three months l a t e r he re-tested t h e group, and f o u n d that t h e p r e v i o u s a v e r a g e scorers had become transform-ed i n t o high scorers. This example works t o i l l u s t r a t e how I t h i n k our culture's concept of i n t e l l e c t work

to e s t a b l i s h and maintain a c l a s s system. The c h i l d r e n who had p r e v i o u s l y performed only

averagely i n t e s t conditions had no reason to con-s i d e r themselves unusual i n the eyes of the learn-ing system. When t h e i r superiors discovered these

c h i l d r e n i n n a t e l y , superior to the r e s t , even though they didn't t e l l the c h i l d r e n d i r e c t l y , they must have communicated t h i s confidence and i n c r e a s e d respect to them. The c h i l d r e n sensed t h i s , and thus

1 took an increased i n t e r e s t i n the values of the \ system t h a t was r e i n f o r c i n g them

While I .Q, tests may have been largely discredit-ed, their effects on the way we think about intell-

igence (as a commodity which people e i t h e r have more o r l e s s , of f r o m b i r t h ) are ongoing. It is likely that the aspect of s o c i e t y which f o u n d i t necessary to design a model of i n t e l l i g e n c e as ' p r o p e r t y of the mind' may merely have become more s o p h i s t i c a t e d i n the way i t promulgates t h i s concept.

education which i s attainable for a l l , are egalitarian demands. But as I hope i have demonstrated i n t h i s a r t i c l e , money i s only one aspect of the s e l f - p e r p e t -uating c l a s s s t r u c t u r e . The education system i t s e l f i s l a r g e l y responsible f o r c r e a t i n g the classes of people that f i l l our community, and i t s n otion of i n t e l l e c t i s one of it's c h i e f weapons i n e r e c t i n g the b a r r i e r s between the c l a s s e s . As Rosenthal's tests show, society uses the notion of i n t e l l i g e n c e to persuade people of t h e i r i n n a t e l y d i f f e r e n t c a p a c i t i e s , and to d i v i d e them i n t o d i f f e r e n t groups of p r i v i l e g e . l t because of t h i s that the working cla s s accept t h e i r l o t and that the r u l i n g c l a s s do the same.

To be consistent w i t h the fight-back campaign's c a l l f o r an education f o r a l l , t h e student body must recognise the manipulative s i d e of the very i n s t i t u t i o n that i t i n h a b i t s .

As products of a competitive s o c i e t y , i t say be d i f f i c u l t f o r students to renounce the sense of s u p e r i o r i t y that i s the possession of one deemed i n t e l l i g e n t . But before we can t r u l y f i g h t f o r education f o r a l l i t must be r e a l i s e d that the s u p e r i o r i t y which i s assumed by one pronounced ' i n t e l l i g e n t ' is merely a p s y c h o l o g i c a l prepar-a t i o n f o r the assumption of a dominant r o l e within the f a b r i c o f our s o c i e t y .

Simon Emsley

On reading a book on Roualt r e c e n t l y , I was struck by how d i f f e r e n t his basic motivations f o r pa i n t i n g were compared with most contemporary a r t i s t s . I was e s p e c i a l l y i n t e r e s t e d i n and i d e n t i f i e d with h is view of man i n r e l a t i o n to s u f f e r i n g , beauty, uglin¬ess and hope. The u g l i n e s s and so r d i d existence revealed in h i s s e r i e s o f ' p r o s t i t u t e s ' i s not seen as an end i n l t s e l f . l t i s not v a l i d and worth­while as any other a s p e c of r e a l i t y just because of i t s mere existence. Neither i s h i s presentation one of cynicism or condemnation,but he recognises the exist­ence of e v i l f o r what i t is without l o s i n g compassion. The contrast between l i g h t and darkness p a r a l l e l e d by the contrast between the b e a u t i f u l and the ugly are not seen as p o l a r i t i e s of a greater unity but are expressive of the eter n a l a n t i t h e s i s between Christ and Satan, Truth and Falsehood, Good and E v i l , J u s t i c e and I n j u s t i c e .

It is i n t e r e s t i n g to compare a statement by Francis Bacon; 'Man now r e a l i s e s that he is an accident, that he i s a completely f u t i l e being, that he has to play out the game without reason. I think that even when Velasques was p a i n t i n g , even when Rembrandt was painting,they were s t i l l , whatever t h e i r a t t i t u d e to l i f e , s l i g h t l y conditioned by c e r t a i n types of r e l i g ­ious p o s s i b i l i t i e s which man has now cancelled out f o r himself. And you may say that i t has always been l i k e t h a t , b a t now i t i s e n t i r e l y a game.'

The mediocrity and ugliness that i s evident i n so much of human existence i s not evidence f o r The lack of any coherant and e t e r n a l l y relevant hope, instead Roualt sees agony as a reminder of what heights man has f a l l e n from not the depths out of which he has grown. "Art f o r Rouait was l e s s a quest f o r a terrestrial

paradise than the c e l e b r a t i o n of the paradise l o s t , The profundity of Roualt's 'ugliness' can only be grasped against the background of the g l o r y that i s man's b i r t h r i g h t , a grandeur o f v i s i o n and a largeness of s p i r i t which have been lost through moral d e f a u l t . Roualt i s concerned with the u g l i n ­ess of a world f a l l e n from grace, of mediocrity of s p i r i t . ' Consider a l s o h i s use of clowns and circ u s l i f e ; the makeup and the mask beside the r e a l s e l f . Perhaps t h i s ,is one of the clearest traces o f o r i g i n a l s i n i n that the po t e n t i a l o f

what we a r e c r e a t e d f o r and can become t h r o u g h . r e c o n c i l i a t i o n and r e d e m p t i o n c o n t i n u a l l y e n t i c e s o r taunts us.

The C h r i s t i a n f a i t h o f Roualt t h a t p e r m e a t e s the whole of h i s work i s n o t some t h i n g vague and m y s t i c a l c o n c e r n e d m a i n l y with t r a n s c e n d e n t a l values which a r e l a r g e l y , unnconnected and i r r e l -avant to everyday l i f e . His work does n o t concen

-t r a t e on any d i v i n e r e a l m s e p a r a t e d f r o m the human ( c . f . E l Greco ) but the human r e a l m 'invad-

ed and permeated by the divine activity'. What is expressed is not the transcendence but the immanence

o f God. The ' u n i v e r s a l ' t h a t R o u a l t seeks i s no a b s t r a c t P l a t o n i c law b u t one t h a t confirms the worth of human v a l u e s and e m o t i o n a l r e a l i t y and f i n d s i t s meaning i n the c o n t e x t o f God's r e v e l -a t i o n to man i n t h e human-divine presence of Jesus C h r i s t i n h i s t o r y

Alan S m i t h

There has been much written as to the r o l e of in 20th century society. At i t s most i n e f f e c t -ual i t i s seen as having l i t t l e or no relevance the masses but forminh the basis of an esoteric club kept a l i v e by money and mutual congratulation.

Those belonging to the club would rather see a r t as outward l o o k i n g , the vanguard of the culture. This view is kept a l i v e by the development of s p e c i a l language and the p r a c t i c e of r i t u a l i s t i c self-praise.

Unfortunately many a r t i n t s and a r t lovers are deep down no as c e r t a i n that art i s all that im-portant. They i n moments of the most pri v a t e i n s e c ­u r i t y wonder' i f " a r t " i s a s e l f important sham. The thought that t h e i r v i s u a l Ideas are empty and i r r r l -evant i s t e r r i f y i n g at four o'clock, i n the morning. However i n the l i g h t of day things don't appear quite so bad. They have t h e i r mates who they hope are i n the same boat and they have a certain i n f l -uence.

But the most important thing i s to r e s e r v e notion of the a r t i s t as a s p e c i a l i n d i v i d u a l . The ea s i e s t way to do this i n to become completely i n a c c e s s i b l e , but i n the most d e l i b e r a t e c r a f t s -manlike way as p o s s i b l e .

So the promotion of the mechanical aspects like p a i n t e r l y technique, high f i n i s h e s and a general tone of meticulousness develops to subdue the para-n o i a of i r r e l e v a n t ideas. This idea is most, f u l l y r e a l i s e d i n photorealism.

Another mechanism to strengthen a r t i n s o c i e t y has been to i n s t i t u t i o n a l i s e i t leading to public and private a r t g a l l e r i e s and art schools, Now i f a r t was r e a l l y believed to have some v i s i o n ­

ary or c r i t i c a l f u n c t i o n i n s o c i e t y then art schools would be places where independent thought and o r i g i n a l i t y would be encouraged so that art W O U L D

go on e x h i b i t i n g i t s p o s i t i v e f u n c t i o n i n s o c i e t y .

It becomes an i n t e r e s t i n g s i t u a t i o n then when members of a cultural group, whose own values are almost a n t i t h e t i c a l to those running the a r t school, become int e r e s t e d i n t h e i r own notion of a r t ,

Although many people consider punk rock culture

a mere fashion borrowed from overseas, t h o s e not on t h e s i d e l i n e s know i t to be s o m e t h i n g f a r deep­e r t h a n fashion. It i s a movement that has i t s own music, dance, r o l e s , behaviour and imagery. To f u l l y embrace punk r o c k i s to t o t a l l y change a l i f e s t y l e . As everyone knows punk rock was a r e v o l t a g a i n s t s o c i a l climbing and an acceptance o f t h e lack of chances t h a t t h e w o r k i n g c l a s s y o u n g have today. I t i s more t h a n an acceptance, i t was an- e m b r a c i n g o f t h i s depressed, s t a t e . C o n s e q u e n t l y punk values a r e n i h i l i s t i c and t h e r e f o r e very a n t a g o n i s t i c to middle c l a s s standards. And middle c l a s s i s what a r t is a l l a b o u t . I n 1979 a t Elam a small number o f punks were e n r o l -l e d and almost immediately began p r o d u c i n g s t r o n g and p e r s o n a l l y consistent work. Almost a l l t h e way t h r o u g h t h e images were d i f f e r e n t from the o t h e r s t u d e n t s , u r b a n i s e d , a r t i f i c i a l and immoderate. But

l u c k i l y f o r the a u t h o r i t i e s t h e r e was an e s c a p e c l a u s e t h e work was messy and c a r e l e s s : o r i g i n a l and dynamic but a l s o messy and c a r e l e s s

Their own I n s e c u r i t y had provided t h e n with a means o f r i d d i n g t h e m s e l v e s o f t h i s menace t h a t s n e e r e d a t t h e i r v a l u e s . I t wasn't d i f f i c u l t t o i g n o r e the t a l e n t w h i l e f r a n t i c a l l y p o i n t i n g to t h e smudges and f i n g e r p r i n t s . So i n s t e a d o f encour-agement and h e l p f u l advice t h e y sneered, t r i v i a l i s e d and f a i l e d . So u n l e s s you l i k e modern N.Z. a r t and s u p p o r t t h e r o l e o f a r t i n N.Z. today g i v e Elam

a miss.

Jeremy Treadwell

NEW TRICKS

Pigeons, rats art students or indeed any mechanism that c a n use f e e d b a c k t o a l t e r It's behaviour , can, given c e r t a i n

conditions, acquire new or a l t e r e d b e h a v i o u r a l r e p e r t o i r e s .

Behavioural s c i e n t i s t s have in v e s t i g a t e d the v a r i o u s conditions

of learning discovering and cataloguing the environmental

f a c t o r s that enhance t h e process.

B a s i c a l l y one of t h e most powerful f a c t o r s i s t h a t well-

quoted around e d u c a t i o n c i r c l e s c o n c e p t of p o s i t i v e

reinforcement. A v e r y s i m p l e concept t h i s : no p r e r e q u i s i t e

i n M a r x i s t d i a l e c t i c s i s needed - i t i s s i m p l y t h i s - give

a dog bone and h e ' l l wag h i s t a i l . Now i f you l i k e dog's

wagging t h e i r t a i l s a t you, a l l you have to do i s , f o r the

f i r s t few t i m e s g i v e him a bone when he wags h i s t a i l -

a f t e r that he'll p r o b a b l y do i t many times for f r e e b e f o r e

you have t o g i v e him another bone,

A n o t h e r example of t h i s p r o c e s s o f p o s i t i v e r e i n f o r c e m e n t

a t work i s the t y p i c a l a r c student. He/She i s rewarded by a c c e p t a n c e into t h e S c h o o l o f F i n e A r t s on the basis of

a more complex b e h a v i o u r a l response of tail wagging. Once a c c e p t e d i n t o t h i s l e a r n i n g environment t h e student must

once a g a i n e x h i b i t c e r t a i n form and standards o f behaviour

in order t o o b t a i n f u r t h e r p o s i t i v e reinforcement, i.e. pass.

At the basic l e v e l e d u c a t i o n a l i n s t i t u t i i o n s , if not a l l

i n s t i t u t i o n s f u n c t i o n mere or less i n this manner, and any

person e n t e r i n g such an institution tacitly accepts t h o s e

c o n i t i o n s .

However u n i v e r s i t i e s have traditionally supported such concepts as the freedom of thought a p a r t of course from

a few h i s t o r i c a l discontinuities s u c h as Nazi Germany, Stalinist

R u s s i a , McCarthyist America et al.

Consequently such hallowed institutions geneorally l i k e to

believe at l e a s t that t h e y foster t h i s freedom of thought,

which w i l l i n e v i t a b l y l e a d i n some cases t o changes i n

i n d i v i d u a l consciousness - and u s i n g t h e o f t q u o t e d Domino

theory - t h i s leads to a questioning of the value s y s t e m s that operate i n a collective S E N S E - i n d e e d the v a l u e s upon

which work and its institutions a r e based are ultimately scrutinised

Thr c o l l e c t i v e questioning of students therefore o f the

i n s t i t u t i o n i n which t h e y f i n d themselves and the values

upon which I t I s b u i l t is a byproduct of t h i s freedom of

thought.

If such behaviour i s discriminated against by the i n s t i t u t i o n

t h e n i t f a i l s on a p o i n t o f c o n s i s t e n c y with i t s aims, since

to discriminate against certain behaviours that may seem to

t h r e a t e n t h e i n s t i t u t i o n i s a n a l o g o u s t o a person s u f f e r i n g

some minor ailment and r e f u s i n g to consult a d o c t o r for fear

t h a t i t is c a n c e r .

The Individual however who i s g u i l t y of "heresy" will react

t o non-reinforcement by the institution i n a number of ways.

At one p o l e we have t h e i n s e c u r e n e u r o t i c p e r s o n a l i t y who i s

a "reinforcement junkie" , an addict from the great post

War Two Overreinforcement Era. He w i l l s t r i v e , if e v e r he/she

does f l i r t with "heresy" to t h e r e a f t e r repent and foILOW the

true p a t h which is going to be a "hit" or a 'bone' each time

from the institution, and will also, as a byproducct of this, be

an outspoken opponent of change, s i n c e he/she wants the system

they know, t h e i r suppIy, perpetuated .

At the opposite pole we have the secure even perhaps arrogant

p e r s o n a l i t y t h a t finds t h e b a s i c inconsistency o f non-reinforce-

ment Ind i c a t i v e of hypocrisy and will con tinue to probe and

a 'dropout' they tend to value such hypotheitical virtues as

t r u t h and honesty t o o h i g h l y . B o t h poles are equally repugnant.

to the pragmatist situation the i n s t i t u t i o n must take i t , i n the final analysis, must be held responsbile for those roles and t h e multiple variations between, which i t has

' t a u g h t ' the student .

B. F. Marx

STUDY BY THE STARS

ARIES: Mar 21 to A p r 20 A n x i e t y leaves y o u i n t h e f i f t h week

o f t e r m . You a r e a p p r o a c h e d by a s e n i o r l e c t u r e r with an amorous p r o p o s i t i o n t h a t you cannot r e f u s e . Money p r o b l e m s could be a nuisance again,

TAURUS: Apr 21 t o May 21

D e p r e s s i o n i s l i k e l y t o be o f f s e t by news o f a friend-nervous breakdown i n t h e d e s i g n d e p a r t m e n t . With renew ed f a i t h i n y o u r own a b i l i t y , spraying c o r r o s i v e s on the back o f y o u r studio mates m a j o r work w i l l seem as easy as w e e d i n g the g a r d e n . And a welcome cheque from Gram. w i l l h e l p w i t h t h e s h o u t . GEMINI: May 22 t o Jun 21

A f t e r n u r s i n g i n j u r i e s a c q u i r e d f r o m group c r i t s , Jup-t e r p a s s e s t h e f o u r t h m e r i d i a n . P h o t o r e a l i s m c o u l d saw you b u t s t o p w e a r i n g t h o s e p i n k s h i r t s , F i n a n c e s a r e t h i n , keep an eye open tor the f a s t buck. CANCER: Jun 22 to J u l 23

You f o r m a close bond w i t h a l e c t u r e r on t h e rasberry: jam d r i p . A v o i d l e t t i n g i t g e t p h y s i c a l , i t maybe good ; an MFA as wel l . Express y o u r s e l f C a n c e r and y o u may get a shock.

LEO: Jul 24 to Aug 23 A period of negativity ends and you join the young ru Keep a l o o f f r o m y o u r l e c t u r e r s though, as i t sustains a v e r y c o n v i n c i n g a r t i s t i c mystique. Come i n l a t e r and br o o d i n y o u r s t u d i o t i l l 6 o r 7pm. VIRGO 24 t o Sep 23

You nay be advised to j o i n t h e Society of A r t s . As you are over 40, you make the s t a f f f e e l o l d . Jazz up y o u r image and they say w e a t h e r you the whole four years s e l l a l i t t l e coke and maybe s l a s h y o u r w r i s t s .

O c t 24 t o Nov 22 U n f a v o u r a b l e mid-term t u t o r feed-back may mean a r a p i d

switch t o t h e non-communicative r o m a n t i c s t a n c e . But rem ember t h a t t h i s c o u l d mean a b i g a l c o h o l b i l l , n o t t o men-t i o n r u i n i n g a l l your- b e s t c l o t h e s w i t h p a i n t . SAGITTARIUS: Nov 23 t o Dec 21

S a t u r n e c l i p s e s Uranus and y o u may f e e l t h e c o m p u l s i o n t o t r y a m y s t i c a l a p p r o a c h . To Bahai o r n o t to Bahai. Remember use more rose madder & laugh l e s s at your own m i s f o r t u n e s . CAPRICORN: Dec 22 to Jan 20

Fight any compulsion to switch from jewellery. Its t o o l a t e to avoid being typecast as an i n t r o s p e c t i v e upper class k i d . You'll have to s t i c k with i t u n t i l year 3, and don't forget to remind Dad about that TEP holiday job designing a set f o r the Pakuranga Arts F e s t i v a l .

AQUARIUS; Jan 21 to Feb 19 Your sculpture i s causing r i p p l e s . A t r i p over­

seas could be i n store f o r you. But don't take the book on I t a l i a n minisculism back,or the game i s up. PISCES; Feb 20 to Mar 20

Give y o u r s e l f Space P i s c e s , and remember what your mind can't a r t i c u l a t e , your body can. Relax and enjoy, the 'Xmas Rush'

LIBRA: Sep 24 to Oct 23 A one-man show c o u l d be i n the o f f i n g t h i s term. But

are you ready emotionally, f o r the outside world? Get the framing done p r o f e s s i o n a l l y . And s t i c k to a b s t r a c t nouns

"ITS NOT A PICNIC" Recently Elam s t u d e n t s w i t n e s s e d the p r e m i e r e of

a celluloid m a s t e r p i e c e t h e work o f obviously i n s p ­i r e d m i n d s . I n terms o f the emergent N.Z. f i l m indus-t r y this f i l m broke a l l box o f f i c e records i n that a f t e r o n l y one showing i t had recouped h a l f its production costs.

I n a l l f a i r n e s s though i t must be p o i n t e d out such o f t h e p r o m o t i o n was done by enthusiastic amateur who recieved no m o n e t a r y reward for his work.

The film I t s e l f , however, as I hope t o point o u t , was no s i m p l e s a t i r e on various a s p e c t s of Elam i t was much more u n i v e r s a l i n i t s message and s t y l e . W h i l e borrowing certain aspects from not only Russian f o r m a l i s t s and German Expressionism i n i t s e d i t i n g and i t s photograhy, i t a l s o showed the American cinema's concern f o r s t o r y t e l l i n g .Such a unique s y m b i o s i s o f d i s p a r a t e s t y l e s i p a r a ­l l e l e d ' by t h e f i l m ' s extensive modulation of o f themes

T h e - s t o r y o f p a i n t e r l y a s p i r a t i o n and he d i f f i ­c u l t , a s c e n t to the h e i g h t s of success, coupled to the descent to neo-Roachlan pseudo-messianic depths is as archetypal as Dante's Inferno. But where this f i l m r e a l l y speaks i s i n the area of myth and the de m y s t i f i c a t i o n p a r t i c u l a r l y of 'cultural myth.

Roland B a r t h e s i n 'Image, Music, Text' defines myth as what Durkheimian sociology c a l l s c o l l e c t i v e representation as can be seen i n the press, advert­i s i n g , mass consumer goods; i t i s something s o c i a l l y determined,a reflection. He goes on to s a y that contemporary myth i s discontinuous, i t is no longer expressed i n long f i x e d n a r r a t i v e s , but corpus o f phrases (of stereotypes) .

This f i l m i s no long f i x e d n a r r a t i v e and i t uses time and again recognisable stereotypes but these myths do not follow t h e i r normal course Time and time a g a i n , they are the subject of sometimes s u b t l e and sometimes b r u t a l i r o n y ,

f o r instance i f we take the character of the Mark­er i n the f i l m we may see i n the microcosm the e s s e n t i a l - , premise of t h i s masterpiece.

The Marker as seen by h i s mien and h i s a c t i o n s

very c o n s c i o u s l y evokes the image of Groucho Marx. , The Groucho o f o l d , the a n a r c h i s t i c p h i l i s t i n e , t h e archetypal t r a n s g r e s s o r o f s o c i a l t a b o o s , r e v e l l i n g i n h i s iconoclasm w h i c h made the dadaists and s u r r e a l i s t s look l i k e a bunch of choirboys,has now been transformed in t o h i s p o l a r opposite; the a n a r c h i s t i c black coat has now been transmuted i n t o the white coat, with a l l i t s hybrid connotations i n our s o c i e t y .

The new a b s o l u t i s t order, which e s p o u s e s l e t t e r grades f o r a r t i s t i c expression, shock treatment f o r depression,is evoked here. Except that along with t h i s i t i s suggested also that t h i s new Groucho i s s i m i l a r i n other aspects to the o l d Groucho -the staccato movements suggest an i n s t a b i l i t y which i s no longer turned to comedy; i t i s no longer Chaplin, in 'The Great D i c t a t o r ' as H i t l e r but ' H i t i e r ' as H i t l e r .

This f i l m i s extremely r i c h i n v i s u a l r e f e r ­ences a l s o . The o r g i a s t i c d i s p l a y of destruction by the a r t i s t a f t e r r e a c h i n g the heights of a r t -achievement contrasted with the cut to the bored bourgeois, w h i l s t on one hand reminding US o f

:

B u n e l ' s 'Discreet Charm o f t h e Bourgeoisie' a l s o p e r h a p s s u g g e s t s t h e r e a l r e a c t i o n of t h a t c i a s a to t e r r o r i s t t h r e a t s on P i c a s s o ' s work f o r instance.

At the f i n a l e of the. f i l m we see the Painter's f a c e , white, s p l a t t e r e d with blood, evoking one of the oldest images of German E x p r e s s i o n i s t Cinema, that of the somnarnbulant Caesar f r o m 'The Cabinet of D o c t o r C a l i g a r y ' - the expressionist metaphor i s no l o n g e r p a r t o f the a r c h i t e c t u r a l h e r e i t i s part of the landscape i n the form of a sculpture on the sea w a l l of sea-snakes - t h i s i s indeed Dante's 'Inferno.'

In the f i n a l shot of the f i l m we are once again confronted by the audience o f three t h i s mythical audience d r a p e d i n f u r s and cliche,and once again they . r e a c t p r e d i c t a b l y and according t o myth: but in t h e simple a c t i o n of the madam in f u r s , s t r a i g h t e n i n g h e r s t o l e and then h e r h a i r , we r e a d the i r o n y o f images and image-making