[-empyre-] chipping in

[Helen Varley Jamieson <helen@creative-catalyst.com>]

i think there are definitely things going on that are to do with our 
location, culture etc. being one of the most isolated countries, and 
also one of the youngest in terms of western culture, gives us both 
freedom & limitations. lacking a long-standing established arts 
tradition means that the arts are not highly valued, but on the other 
hand, we can make up our own rules.

we have a history of artists who have had successful careers overseas 
while being more or less unknown at home, with the flipside of that 
being the idea that work/artists/anything from overseas are "better" 
than what we can do here. as a nation, we are starting to get over 
some of these insecurities & there is more flexibility. artists can 
be successful both at home & overseas, & there is growing 
recognition/valuing of maori & polynesian art.

alan asks about commonalities between nz & australia; certainly there 
are commonalities but there are also significant differences. the 
population sizes alone mean that australia has greater audiences, 
greater tax base & therefore greater financial resources & other 
opportunities for the arts. nz suffers from little sibling syndrome & 
strives to differentiate itself from australia ("they are sooo 
americanised!"). it's perhaps more useful to look at a wider south 
pacific sensibility, including the polynesian & asian cultures which 
have a strong influence here in nz.

h : )

> Maybe there are some things going on here that are specific to our 
> location: culturally, socially, politically and economically, but 
> maybe not. My guess is that .nz digital and new media practice is 
> more likely to be noisy than quiet, and up till very recently, more 
> likely to be seen at international forums than here in nz.
> .
> su
>
> Also, do you see NZ and OZ art in terms of neighboring - is there a 
> southern pacific or Tasman sea (whever) sensibility in general?
- Alan
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helen varley jamieson: creative catalyst
helen@creative-catalyst.com
http://www.creative-catalyst.com
http://www.avatarbodycollision.org
http://www.writerfind.com/hjamieson.htm
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