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A 1974 documentary exploring the work of Ralph Hotere, now arguably New Zealand's greatest living artist. Directed by Sam Pillsbury, the film is framed around the execution of a large mural Hotere was commissioned to paint for the Founders Theatre in Hamilton. Interviews with friends and associates: poets Hone Tuwhare and Bill Manhire, art critics, officials and dealers (Gordon Brown, Barry Lett, Rodney Kirk Smith, John Scott) are intercut with fascinating shots of Hotere working, including making art by photocopying (then called 'xerography').
When I made the doco I was trying to dramatise Ralph's slyness, and his integrity, as well as his core sensuality ... [it's captured in] the whole mussels thing Hone [Tuwhare] talks about. And ...
Sam Pillsbury's 1974 documentary about Ralph Hotere's Hamilton Founders Theatre mural opens with a shot of the artist intently surveying the foyer and then sauntering towards an apprehensive group of men, one of ...
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Gee Ann...that's a 40 year old doco. Ralph deserves the huge love and respect he gets from me and everyone who knows and loves NZ art.
And, I only just read all this, including Ian Wedde's commentary (Ian and I did English together in the '60s at Auckland University). Weirdly, Ralph didn't keep us on our toes per se, other than that being granted the honor of access to this remarkable person in itself kept us on our toes. Ralph was warm, gentle, considerate and kindly. I have rarely felt such love for a human being, and in addition to being welcomed into his home and private life, he taught me by example that generosity about one's fellow artists is possible and rewarding. This is something I could never have learned from my colleagues in the film business!
Go Ralph! This is quite a eye-opener. No wonder I left the Waikato! The official opening crowd looks mean (in an Alabama kind of way!) Ralph certainly deserves the recognition inherent in the Order of New Zealand. Our finest artist.
Ralph deserves more than this
Very cool
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Television, 1987 (Full Length)
Hotere is featured in this series looking at landscape art in New Zealand
Film, 1974 (Full Length)
Sam Pillsbury was one of the directors for the 1974 NFU Commonwealth Games doco
Television, 1982 (Full Length)
A 1982 Howard Morrison performance at Founders Theatre
Television, 2007 (Excerpts)
Another portrait of a Māori artist
Television, 1993 (Excerpts)
Ralph Hotere features in this Heartland programme
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The ONYAs 2010 & 2011
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Qantas Media Awards 2009
NZ ON SCREEN 2012
This website has been made with funding from NZ ON AIR ›
Paul Ward | website
Posted at 10.23PM - 18.04.2012
@Sam: thanks for your further notes on your experience filming Hotere. Critic Mark Amery calls your film "“arguably the finest documentary of an artist I’ve seen” in choosing it amongst the Artists on Screen Collection (http://www.nzonscreen.com/collection/artists-on-screen/background) he selected for us. Personally I found it a revelation: a spry, patient and sensitive look at Hotere and his process, and as Ian says in his piece, it captures the bristling excitement around the work. It humbly stands the test of 40 years and is a fine testament to an artist in the zone.