Shooting season opens at Gallery - NZ abstracts caught in cross fire!
Michael Hirschfeld Gallery, 19 May – 18 June 2000
The Michael Hirschfeld Gallery will echo with the sound of gunfire when a new exhibition opens on Friday 19 May:
abstractor by Sean Kerr.
Visitors literally play a part in “shooting up” some of the icons of New Zealand abstract art. Each time they enter the
Gallery, the sound of machine gun fire is triggered and a random ‘bullet hole’ is projected onto a monitor at the end of
the space. The monitor shows a series of New Zealand abstract paintings.
Kerr says he has drawn on his knowledge of electronics, gained while working in a video arcade, for the installation,
which also includes 1970s-style string ‘paintings’ and “bad copies” of New Zealand abstract art.
“This is another way of engaging with New Zealand minimalist abstraction, which flourished in the 1970s,” says Kerr.
“When people see the work being ‘shot up’, they might start to wonder whether they are creating new work or destroying
it. It may be termed vandalism.”
Involving the viewer like this is in clear contrast to the remoteness of much minimalist abstract work, he says. Kerr is
lecturer in Interactive Media at the College of Design, Fine Arts and Music, Massey University Wellington. Recent shows
have included minimalist massacre part 4 (Manawatu Art Gallery, Feb-Apr 2000), and ghost-LIGHT in Reworked (Film Centre,
Wellington, 1999)
abstractor is supported by Creative New Zealand and Massey University. Admission free.