Contents

The Aotearoa Digital Arts Reader 5 Foreword 76 Contemporary Ma ¯ or i Edited by Stella Brennan and Su Ballard Sally Jane Norman Women’s New Media Designed by Jonty Valentine Art Practice © 2008 the artists and authors. All rights reserved. Apart from fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism 11 Introduction Maree Mills or review as permitted under the New Zealand Copyright Act no part of this publication may be Stella Brennan and Su Ballard reproduced without permission. 86 Kawhia & Kete #1, 22, "Internet; Environment" copyright © Julian Priest 2007, GNU General Public License. 15 ADA: A Web of Sites 20 and 83

ISBN: 978-0-9582789-9-7 Caroline McCaw Lisa Reihana

A catalogue record for this book is available from The National Library of New Zealand 21 What is Digital? Concepts 90 Sampling Tradition: and a Chronology The Old in New Media Title: The Aotearoa Digital Arts Reader Douglas Bagnall Janine Randerson Author/Contributor: Brennan, Stella (ed); Ballard, Su (ed) Publisher: Aotearoa Digital Arts and Clouds 28 Cloud Shape Classifier 97 Solar Circuit Aotearoa Douglas Bagnall New Zealand Trudy Lane and Ian Clothier 30 Local Knowledge and Aotearoa Digital Arts Trust Clouds New Media Theory 104 Composition for farmer, www.aotearoadigitalarts.org.nz PO Box 68-187, Newton, Auckland 1145 Danny Butt three dogs and 120 sheep Aotearoa New Zealand www.clouds.co.nz for four-channel video 36 Mushroom installation Brit Buckley Alex Monteith Every effort has been made to trace the copyright holders of the illustrations reproduced in this book. Unfortunately, this has not been possible in all cases. The editors and publisher would be pleased to hear 38 Open Interactions 106 Why You Should Learn to from any copyright holders whom they have been unable to contact and to print due acknowledgement in Karl D.D. Willis Love Free Documentation subsequent editions. Adam Hyde Unless otherwise noted, all images are repoduced courtesy of the artists. 48 Real Time, Virtual Space,

Editing a book takes a long time, and many people have helped along the way. Stella and Su would like firstly Live Theatre 112 Corticosteroid to thank the authors and artists who have contributed to this book, and the institutions and individuals who Helen Varley Jameison Marcus Williams and shared their image archives with us. We would also like to acknowledge the work and support of the following: Susan Jowsey Nova Paul, Leoni Schmidt, Col Fay, Khyla Russell, Justine Camp, Letitia Lam, Pam McKinlay, Geoff Noller, Sarah McMillan, Robert Leonard, Melinda Rackham, Mercedes Vincente, and Gwynneth Porter, 57 Centres and Peripheries Deborah Orum and Warren Olds from Clouds. And of course, Jonty Valentine for the hours spent in Vicki Smith and Adam Hyde 114 Interdisciplinary Moments: design. Thanks also to the ADA community, and especially to the other ADA trustees, Janine Randerson, A History in Glimpses Douglas Bagnall and Zita Joyce. 62 New Data: Curating and Andrew Clifford Thanks most of all to our families: Nathan, Moss and David. Archiving Digital1 Art in 136 The Aotearoa Digital Arts Reader would not have been realised without the support of AUT University, New Zealand Little Boy and Fat Man Otago Polytechnic and Creative New Zealand. Lissa Mitchell Stella Brennan

69 The Digital Artist in 138 A Minor Cinema: Moving Residence Programme Images on the Internet Sean Cubitt and Bevin Yeatman Eu Jin Chua 115 fig. 4 fig. 3 fig. 1 fig. 2

1: Len Lye, Tusalava, 1929, 10 minutes, 35mm film, 16 frames a second, b&w, silent, courtesy the Len Lye Foundation, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth. 2: Len Lye, A Colour Box, 1935, 4 minutes, 35mm film, Dufaycolour, sound, courtesy the Len Lye Foundation, British Post Office, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery and the New Zealand Film Archive.

3: Len Lye, Trade Tattoo, 1937, 5 minutes, 35mm, Technicolour, sound, courtesy the Len Lye Foundation, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery. Len Lye: A 4: TV Dinner: Homage to EAT (Food for Thought), a performance at the New York 92nd Street YM-YWHA at the end of the 1967 Contemporary Voices in the Arts tour. At the table behind Lye are (left to right) David Vaughn, Robert Creeley and John Cage. On the far side of the table are (left to right) Stan VanDerBeek (standing), Jack Tworkov, Billy Kluver and Merce Cunningham and (Auckland: Auckland behind Lye with microphone is John B. Hightower, photo: Adelaide de Menil. ystan Curnow and Roger urnow and Horrocks, urnow and Horrocks, Horrocks, “Introduction,” University Press, 13. 2001), Biography Figures of Motion (Auckland W C C Roger Horrocks, Auckland University Press, 1984), xi.1984),

“Introduction,” xii. “Introduction,” xiii. . . . 1 3 2 4

.

4 Afterbrief a return New to Zealand,he spent two 3 , in 1929. Hand-painted, in 1929. frame frame, by Tusalava By the age twenty of was he deeply interested in tribal 1 On moving to Australia began he in experimenting 1922 with 2 Technological developments shifted have modes practice.of New media Lacking funding to pursue his projects, had realised Lye that scratching, by 114 kinetic sculptures and scratching directly film. onto Fascinated by Aboriginal and Polynesian objects, decided he to focus entirely “black on art” rather than style draftmanship.” “Western The HappinessAcid filmFrom to sculpture photograpyto and batik,multi-stranded Lye’s Len career looms large across any discussion interdisciplinary of art in New Zealand. as a child wasBorn Lye fascinated in 1901, the by mechanical motion the of lighthouse lived he in. can require the artist, if that is what they call themselves, to look beyond their own artform into other fields; to act more like a director, corralling content and collaborators—including writers, designers, musicians, scientists, programmers and photographers—towards the finalproduction. Theremoments are toowhere wouldit be tempting to generalise about the fabled of role kiwi ingenuity in projects requiring unconventional combinations expertise of and resulting in unusual collaborations. When support might been have not present within an artist’s chosen practice could but be found in surprising new locations, new resources and expertise developed, along with new frameworks from which to think about cultural production, collaboration and authorship. This shift has often alsomeant moving beyond the usualmodes venuespresentation and of to create new spaces new for kinds experiences. of Andrew Clifford Digital art has a legacy interweaving the histories visual of art, media and screen culture,music, dance, theatre andscience. Gathered here are a series frag- of ments that either recall an interdisciplinaryspirit, clearly have or glimpsed on it the horizon. Interdisciplinary Moments: A History Glimpses in painting and printing directly individual onto film frames,he couldaway do with the need a camera. for recognised He the potential a technique for that would seem too jittery and unpredictable traditional for animators could but produce colours intense more much than those realised through conventional processing. filmoutput during Lye’s of Much the thirties was in form the of advertising the for General Post Office, taggedwith exhortations to send letters use or 2pm by the right postcode. Although fitting the commercial imperatives shortof advertisements shown in cinemas, these snappy vignettes, cut to music, years in Western Samoa and Australia, arriving com- He in London in 1926. pleted his first film, Tusalava is a greyscale animation primordial, of cellular forms, the result both of Lye’s interest in tribal artforms and his incessant doodling, a habit saw he as being able to free the hand from conscious impulses and connect with the brain’— ‘old subconscious memories primal of instincts and images. art and already considering ways to compose motion in the way “musicians sound.” compose 117 fig. 5 fig. 6 , , , , , 5: Douglas Lilburn in the Electronic Music Studio at Victoria University, Wellington, 1969, Dominion Post Collection, Alexander Turnbull Library, ref. EP/1969/3689/18. 6: Detail. Electronic Music Studio at Victoria University. , 340. Douglas Lilburn: Len Lye: A Biography Len Lye: A Biography Len Lye: A Biography Len Lye: A Biography ne lecture delivered Lye was regory O’Brien, “High Country hris Bourke, “Douglas Lilburn: hilip Norman, C P G An Interview,” Music in New Zealand 31, (Summer 1995/1996): 35. Weather,” New Zealand Listener vol. 203, 3 June no. 3447, (2006): 35. His Life and Music (Christchurch: Canterbury University Press, 2006), 199. 321 – 323. O titled ‘The AbsoluteTruth of the Happiness Acid’, referring to nucleic acids see (DNA), Horrocks, Len Lye: A Biography Horrocks, 287. Horrocks, 236 – 237. Horrocks, 288 – 289. Horrocks,

. . . 7 0. 8. 9 5 6 2. 1 11. 1

.

6 -

11 His writ 7 In the late 8 5 . Lilburn was stranger no to working Led Brake, by with support from the National Film 12 9 Lilburn was already a nationally celebrated senior composer with two Gesang der Jünglinge to New Zealand’s pre-eminent Douglas composer, 10 Lye wasLye also experimenting with photograms, directly exposing objects onto 1961 was a pivotal year1961 Lilburn, for who only not completed his third It wasIt around this time that participated Lye in a lecture tour New of York 116 ing ranged from poetry, prose and word-games to auto-biographical anecdotes and sense-based reminisces; from manifestos and essays to theories art, of televi- sion, film,genetics, and anything else that sparked his activebrain. symphonies under his belt and a third nearly finished.He described new the elec- tronic medium as a “zombie the on horizon,” worrying would it condemn him to “musical inconsequence” if could he keep not with up new developments. These dancing machinesprovided more tangible waysof composingmotion, articulating energy through the steel’s ephemeral harmonic forms. also Lye theshowed at Howard Wise Gallery, which was presenting high-tech by work such artists as Nam June Paik, Zero, Group Bury Pol and Billy 1967 Apple, by but stoppedLye developing new pieces, preferring to focus theory on and plans for enormous works that exceeded the material technologies the of time. 1940s, having1940s, produced he moved from photogram London to New York, por- traits his of friends, including painters Joan Miró and Georgia O’Keeffe, architect Le Corbusier H. and Auden. had He his poet first W. exhibitionof kinetic sculptures the at Museum a one-night Modern of Art in 1961; in New York showcase featuring ten modelshis of motorised steel constructions that crashed, flipped wobbled and their way through choreographed sequences accompanied recordingsby including that music Pierre of by Boulez and African drumming. Lilburn. A New Vocabulary In Frederick the Page, late 1950s, then Professor Music Victoria at of University College in Wellington and a keen follower new of developments in Europe, played a recording Karlheinz of Stockhausen’s landmark electronic com- 1956 position gave himgave an opportunity to experiment with combinationsimage of and sound; likemuch later practitioners, who would cut their film-making teeth making promotional videos bands. for the light-sensitive surface photographic of paper without a camera. symphony also but produced his first tape composition: incidentalmusic to accompany Allen Curnow’s play The Axe collaboratively in order to step outside the boundaries conventional of musical presentation. New Zealand writers continued to play a key in role Lilburn’s electronic works. treatment His Alistair of 1965 Campbell’s poemReturn The was his first major electronic work featured and experiments such as wrapping cellophane around the tape drives. As early was he involved as in 1949 an expedition Aspiring to Mt with poet James K. Baxter, photographer Brian Brake and artist John Drawbridge. State campuses with an eclectic group six of others, including composer John Cage, poet Robert choreographer Creeley, Merce Cunningham and electronics engineer Billy who Kluver, was then the organiser (Experiments EAT of in Art These Inc.). and Technology, kindred spirits, who already knew eachother in day by lecturedNew York, in classrooms, night by combined to present chaotic, multi-sensory happenings. The Aotearoa Digital Arts Reader The Aotearoa Digital Arts Reader Interdisciplinary Moments: A History in Glimpses

Unit, they attempted to create a collaborative multi-media documentary, but political addresses and ‘educational’ material from oil companies and airlines.17 bad weather postponed filming after only a few days and the project was later Television promised to distribute and democratise culture, bringing images, abandoned after the death of one of the actors. entertainment and information from around the world into the homes of anyone Electronic music held several advantages for Lilburn: it made him less who could afford a set. Although television came to be uniformly installed eliant on performers, allowing him a freedom from unsympathetic musicians in living rooms, isolating the passive viewers arranged around this oracular who might not appreciate a work’s more challenging aspects, and it expanded the presence,18 these early A&P Show demonstrations seem to anticipate a more palette he was able to call upon, introducing new aural textures and environ- interactive future for the medium, conflating community events into a strange mental sounds, which he considered far more appropriate for evoking the local mix of live, pre-recorded and simulcast components. landscape and indigenous themes than classical instruments with their The NZBC previewed its permanent colour television service at the 1973 13 European associations. Show. As well as setting up a 200-seater theatrette for viewers, colour moni- In 1963, Lilburn, by then Associate Professor of Music at Victoria, took tors were placed at strategic points around the expo pavilion. The 1973 guide a short sabbatical. The trip mostly focussed on visiting electronic studios: also carried a full-page ad for a “Colour Television Exhibition and Electronic in Toronto he met Boyd Neel and Myron Schaeffer, in New York he visited Sound Display” to be held at the Mandalay in Newmarket, sponsored by The the Columbia-Princeton studios, in London he visited the BBC Radiophonic Television Electronic Service Association (TESA) and involving a roll-call of Workshop as well as Workshop founder Daphne Oram’s own studio, and he early consumer electronics companies (Philips, Murphy Colour Television experienced Stockhausen’s teaching in Darmstadt. After spending an additional (Fisher & Paykel), Majestic, AWA, Shaft, Pye, Sanyo, Bell Radio—TV, Orion and three months at the University of Toronto, where he studied with Schaeffer and Sonophone), all eager to sell the virtues of television to the public and open visual produced a number of studio sketches, he returned home. He then quickly set portals to the nation’s living rooms. Although A&P Shows were considered a to work securing surplus and abandoned equipment from the New Zealand means for townies to keep in touch with their rural heritage, there is little doubt 17. Robert Boyd-Bell, New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation (NZBC) and the Victoria University Physics that, for a period, they became a commercial forum for parading the biggest Television: The First 25 Years Department. With the help of enthusiastic NZBC Technical Officer Wallace (Auckland: Reed Methuen, 1985), brands with the flashest, newest technologies. 61 – 71. Ryrie, he set himself up in a vacant basement at Victoria with borrowed gear and 18. Laurence Simmons, “Television a can-do attitude to establish what has been described as “the most advanced Then,” in Television in New Building the Brand Zealand: Programming the electronic music studio in the southern hemisphere, outclassing anything in both Another seemingly incongruous feature of the A&P shows was the art competi- Nation, ed. Roger Horrocks Australia and Britain.”14 A later upgrade was overseen by staff of the Department (Melbourne: Oxford University tions. Better known for such handicrafts as wood-carving and lace-making, Press, 2004), 44 – 73. of Scientific and Industrial Research, with added know-how provided by the participants were also able to demonstrate draughtsmanship in pencil, watercol- 19. Agricultural, Pastoral & Victoria Computer Centre.15 This facility became a site of pilgrimage for a new Industrial Shows Board, Winter our, and oils, and at least as early as 1910 the Auckland Winter Show was staging Exhibition Show Guide 19 generation of composers, including Jack Body, John Cousins, John Rimmer and a photography exhibition. A young Barrie Bates took a number of prizes in (Auckland: The Auckland A&P Phil Dadson, many of whom then went overseas to learn more, returning to set Association, 1910), 93. the 1958 Easter show, including first prize for poster and catalogue design, book 20. Agricultural, Pastoral & 16 20 up their own studios in other parts of the country. jacket design, pencil still-life, pen or wash study and dinner plate design. Industrial Shows Board, NZ 1958 Easter Show Catalogue and Bates left New Zealand for London in 1959, eventually changing his name Programme (Auckland: The Television goes live at agricultural showcase to Billy Apple. Studying design at the Royal College of Art, Bates challenged the Auckland A&P Association, The Auckland Agricultural & Pastoral Association’s shows, held since 1843, 1958), 101 – 105. institution by working more like an art director than an artist, sub-contracting 21. Billy Apple, interview with the have predominantly been known as a display of agrarian prowess, featuring his production to staff in the sculpture foundry, ceramics school, fashion school, author, 9 October 2005. wood-chopping competitions and livestock exhibits, but they have also been an 22. Billy Apple, conversation with typography and photography departments; a “hands off and head on” approach the author, 7 September 2007. 21 important showcase for New Zealand industry. still integral to his practice. Billy Apple recalls the RCA also had a film school 23. Douglas Maxwell ed., From Although New Zealand television broadcasting officially began in black Barrie Bates to Billy Apple but that they didn’t actually have any movie cameras yet. Nevertheless, Bates’ (London: Serpentine Gallery, and white in June 1960, there had been experimental broadcasts throughout the early works photographically documenting performers shaving, bathing, sham- 1974), 54 – 55. 1950s. The New Zealand Broadcasting Service ran closed-circuit demonstra- 22 24. Paul Stitelman, “From Barrie 13. Bourke, “Douglas Lilburn: An pooing, and drinking were envisaged as storyboards for potential film pieces. Bates to Billy Apple: An tions in 1951 and Canterbury University College licensed their own self-built Interview,” 35. His final student work was also his last as Barrie Bates: a re-branding exercise Overview,” in From Barrie Bates transmitter in 1952, but without many receivers in homes, audience was limited. 14. Tom Rodwell, “Space Waltz,” to Billy Apple, ed. Douglas New Zealand Listener, vol. 196, with the artist bleaching his hair, eyebrows and eyelashes blonde, titled Billy Maxwell (London: Serpentine Some of the first moving image transmissions to reach a substantial audience no. 3368, 27 November (2004): Apple Bleaching with Lady Clairol Instant Cream Whip, November 1962. In Gallery, 1974), 1 – 3. took place at the Royal Wellington Show and the Auckland A&P Easter Show 44 – 45. 25. The Poster for this event stated 15. Douglas Lilburn, “EMS/VUW: A addition to photographic documentation, later pieces were recorded on film, that “Billy Apple presents” ‘A’ in 1954, seen by an estimated 275,000 people. In the absence of a government Personal Note,” in Douglas including the 1970 Manhattan Street Glass Accumulation, broadcast on the (for Apple), a film produced by commitment to the new medium, demonstrations and experimental broadcasts Lilburn Complete Electro- Cammell [sic] Hudson Acoustic Works, ed. Wayne Laird American Broadcasting Corporation’s 6pm TV news. Other glass pieces were Associates Limited, ‘The Apple’, were also undertaken by private individuals and companies, including Pye and and Jack Body (Auckland: Atoll, recorded on audio tape in collaboration with New Zealand-born composer produced by TV Cartoons the Bell Radio-Television Corporation, both motivated by the desire to sell TV 2004). 23 Limited, and ‘Billy’s Apple and 16. Jack Body, interview with the Annea Lockwood. Works recording everyday activities such as window clean- Friends’, produced by Appthorp/ sets. Programming included quiz shows, sports simulcasts, medical operations, author, 5 October 2001. ing, floor washing, nose blowing and bowel movements challenged the division Craddock.

118 119 121 fig. 10 fig. 9 fig. 7 fig. 8

7: Billy Apple with Neon Floor #1, Apple, 161 West 23rd Street, New York, November 20 – December 7, 1969. Argon, neon and mercury gas discharge tubes. , 18 8: Billy Apple, Ozone #2: Low Room Temperature, Apple, February 21 – 22, 1970. Three ozone generators with slide projection of previous installation Ozone #1: High Room Temperature, October 25 – 26, 1969. The ozone produced in the closed, heated or chilled space made objects appear blurred, an effect combined with a distinctive air quality described by Apple as being like the

aftermath of an electric storm. , ed. Brian Butler , 46. 9: Billy Apple, U.F.O.s (Unidentified Fluorescent Objects), Howard Wise Gallery, New York, November 11 – December 2, 1967. From Barrie Bates Argon, neon and mercury gas discharge tubes. 10: Billy Apple, Laser Beam Wall, Apple, February 7 – 8, 1970. Helium-neon laser and front surface projection mirrors. Produced in association with Dr Stanley Shapiro, physicist at General Telephone and Electronics and, in 1969, axwell ed., lthough originally named for hristina Barton, “Billy Apple,” obert Pincus-Witten, Times “A illy Apple, conversation with known as Apple in order to listings. Billy Apple, September, 2007. September, Square of the Mind,” Time in Speculation its address, the gallery became publications’ free exhibition the author, September 25 2007. the author, 3 December 2007. March http://www.time. (1966). appease the protocols of some article/0,9171,941980-2,00.html (Auckland: Venice Project, to Billy Apple conversation with the author, 7 com/time/magazine/ 2007), 196. C M A co-inventor of the supercontinuum generated broadband white light laser. B R B

7. 1. 0. 8. 9. 2 3 3 2 2 2

6. illy Apple, conversation with

show. 31 24 28 in a continuous 25 , at the, at Institute of From here was he From able to at the at Hospital Montefiore 29 His York solo wasshow first New 27 (Unidentified Fluorescent Objects) Fluorescent . (Unidentified . The New. The ZealandPear & Apple board 30 26 , which used the toning capabilities this of new process to cre- In what could be considered a return to those early A&P beginnings, show In 1969, Apple established Apple In 1969, Street, his 23rd New of own one West gallery, 161 In New York, BillyIn New made York, Apple headlines with his pioneering use new of On 29 October 1963, just prior OctoberOn to leaving 29 Billy 1963, London New York, for Apple 120 experiment freely, bringing more an increasingly conceptual approach to his use exhibition space.of In 1970 a bounced he a laser light between pillars and walls to delineate new surfaces while later shows involved quotidian more carpet removal, vacuuming and window cleaning. In February staged he what describes he 1972 as a ‘mental retrospective’, counting, cataloguing and often destroying works the hadhe accumulated his at gallery, displaying not but A few months any. later he created the video and audio tape Alpha work State and Medical Centre, where recorded he himself transmitting from Alpha Waves electrodes attached to his head. television-style programme screenings, of interspersed with found apple-related footage including television commercials, horticultural documentaries and dentists endorsing apples. Theresulting was show-reel a kindof typological, keyword-driven zeitgeist-montage easily now recreated with the results screen of an Internet image search. between art and life, artist and audience—the distinctionbeing the artist (the brand) who transforms these activities into something else. Apples to Xerox Nertney later contributed theto the foreword catalogue a Billy of neon Apple exhibition the at Pepsi Cola Gallery, which a show Billy put New York, on Apple the Times. front page the of Many New York other artists also were in New York working with emerging technologies this at time, including Nam June Paik and Robert Rauschenberg who was collaborating with Labs. Bell OverTelephone the next few years there was string a group of shows across the and USA Europe focussing electric on art and including Billy neons. Apple’s ate a silkscreen-like result fabric on that was then stretched like a painting. A Foundationyear a Ford in later, 1966, Fellowship took him to Idaho, where he was hosted scientist by Robert Nertney,second-in-charge the at nearby Atomic Energy Commission research facility. Nertney produced works Billy for on Apple the facility’s photocopier and related his experience attending of a UFO crash site, thus inspiring U.F.O Billy 1967 Apple’s Billy is working Apple now with horticultural researchers, growers apple and Saatchi & Saatchi to produce and market his own distinct breed apple. of York’s firstnon-commercial, York’s artist-run galleries. technologies, a preoccupation perhaps attributable to his early ambition to be an engineer and an aversion to turpentine. staged a one-night event, Motion PictureMeets the Apple Contemporary Arts.focus The was the screeningof his firstcompletemoving- image work, Apple Billy’s and Friends provided boxes apples, of Bulmers provided two types and cider, of the 16mm film Apple Billy’s and Friends was shown with two others Throughout his careerhe has been quick to experiment withnew technologies, onlybut as a means to an end. like Much in the advertising of world where he once worked, has it always been a case finding of most the effective tool—be it drawing, laser photography, ozone or generator—to convey an idea. The Aotearoa Digital Arts Reader 11: Billy Apple, Alpha State: A Video and Audio Tape Work, Montefiore Hospital and Medical Centre, Bronx, New York,

May 18, 1972. “Session began at 4.16pm and ended at 5.01pm. It was conducted by psychologist Dr Gene Smith. 123 I lay motionless on a bed. Electrodes attached to my head transmitted Alpha Waves. The Alpha State is between beta (consciousness) and theta (light sleep). It is a condition of receptivity and acceptance without conscious effort.

To achieve it and stay in it one must not seek it. Production of Alpha waves was signified by a buzzer sounding.” , ed. (Billy Apple, 1972) McDougall Art Gallery , ed. Robert McDougall

ystan Curnow and Jim Allen, hristina Barton, “Framing the ruce Barber, “The Gift in Littoral Art Practice,” in Robert McDougall Art Gallery Robert Real: Postmodern Discourses in Recent New Zealand Art,” in Heinemann Educational Books, Robert McDougall Art Gallery New Zealand ‘New Art’,” 59. Contemporary Art, 1992), in 1970 andin Beyond 1970 and Annex, 2000), 51. and Annex, 2000), – 63. 61 Object and Performance Art in New Art: Some Recent New Zealand Sculpture and New Zealand and in 1970 New Zealand Art, ed Mary Barr (Christchurch: (Christchurch: (Sydney: Museum of Intervention: Post Object and Performance Art in New Zealand Post-Object Art (Auckland: Beyond Headlands: Through Thinking B W T C Art Gallery (Christchurch: 1976); see also1976); Green, “New 173 – 175. 173 –

‘New Art’,” in Intervention: Post 5. 3. 4. 3 3 3 3

2. ony Green, “New New Zealand 34 , and took , which required eight , theartist opened Parangole Capes , Parangole begins with a dedica- It 35 which electrified an armchair include Andrew Drummond, who conducted solitary rituals Duration also became a significant factor, evidencedby artists is a good start considering for this period—in large part because 32 Underlying the this of work era isa sense democratisation, of opening 33 . Contact comprised three parts: Computer Dance Allen’s ownAllen’s contribution to New Artwas his group performance Contact Co-edited critic by Wystan Curnow and teacher-artist Jim Allen, the 1976 Concerned with processes rather than products, and situations rather than staged the at Auckland City Art Gallery exhibition as part Four Men the of 1974 in a Boat Articulation/ImprintBody . Set in an intentionally disorientating environment of flashing lights and cobweb-like hanging strings, Computer Dance tion to Len Projects Lye. featured include Kieran Superimpression Lyons’ wired participants sensory for up tests using tape loops and closed-circuit televi- broadcastssion behalf on the of anonymous corporate entity E-Z-GRO; Leon Narbey’s neon light environments; Bruce Barber’s Whatipu Beach and Eden Mt Crater group performances using walkie-talkies, megaphones, portapack video and audio recorders and Maree Chair Horner’s using a battery and electric fence unit. Many works documented in New Art place as performances the at Auckland City Art Gallery, part a programme of of contemporary artists’ projects. This wasfostered by galleryally, Allen’s exhibi- tions officer JohnMaynard, giving radical byart emerging artists(mostly Allen’s students) major institutional endorsement. Other key artists the of time not featured in New Art in remote sites, Pauline Rhodes, who would make fleeting interventions in the landscape, and Di Ffrench, who would freely shift between performance, sculp- ture and photography. up theup potential everyday of objects to replace precious art materials, closing the gap between the artist creator the of (as and work) the audience. Post-object art extended the range production of and presentation, rupturing the division between what happened in the everyday and what occurred within the gallery. In the case Jumble David of Sale: Mealing’s A Market 1975 Place the ground floorof Auckland the Art Gallery to stallholders,repurposing the open spaces the of gallery informal a more for and unsublimated exchange of value. Significantly, work’s the success as a social sculpturerelied upon the sincerepublic’s support and engagement with the project as than more viewers. Rewiring the gallery As art from moved away self-contained, singular movement pieces (a in the 1970s known inNew Zealand as post-objectart) technology helped reconstruct it its inrole the gallery—or escape the gallery altogether. Rather than presenting static works, artists would set interactive up environments, stage performances, or present recordings events of that took place elsewhere. As well as providing documentation, these devices allowed artists participants or to experiences have detached from the physical performance, such as the disembodiedvoice a of walkie talkie. book New Art capturesit and fixes practices the of artists whose work otherwiseis difficult to access, mostly to its due contingent, ephemeral nature. staging dawn-to-dusk endurance events fleeting or activities that couldonly be seen after the fact through documentation. aesthetics, artists sought to engage with lived experience where anything could be the raw material art, of and viewers actively participated in the creation of meaning. Interdisciplinary Moments: History A in Glimpses fig. 11 fig. (left) 12: Jim Allen, Computer Dance, part of Contact, Auckland City Art Gallery, 1974, , photos: Bryony Dalefield. 125

ystan Curnow and Robert reen, “New New Zealand ‘New hristina Barton, “In and Out of urnow and Leonard, “Contact: urnow and Leonard, “Contact: arton,“In and Out of Sight/Site: Sight/Site: Jim Allen and the South Project conference, Santiago gathering, 3 October Educational Books, 1976), Barton_paper.htm Leonard, “Contact: Jim Allen Robert Leonard,” Art New Institute of Contemporary Art, Robert Leonard,” – 51. 50 Sculpture and Post-Object Art Picture.” Picture.” Curnow and Robert Leonard,” Jim Allen Talks to Wystan Jim Allen and the World Jim Allen talks to unpaginated. www.medienkunstnetz.de/ [exhibition statement] (London: at Crossing Horizons: Context Zealand (Winter 95 2000): 49. Talks to Wystan Curnow and org/Santiago/Biographies/ exhibitions/serendipity/ World Picture,”World paperpresented ed. Wystan Curnow and Jim Wystan Curnow and 2006. http://www.southproject. G W C C B C J 51. and Community in the South, the Art’,” See – 63. 61 Jasia Reichardt, Allen (Auckland: Heinemann 1968), reproduced1968), at: http:// Art: Some Recent New Zealand

“Cybernetic Serendipity” 7. 1. 8. 9. 0. 2. 3 3 3 3 4 4 4

6. im Allen, “Contact,” in New 38 36 This influence can 40 Allen encountered this show During this formative trip 39 42 , Dadson did know not if anyone was performance, echoing Oiticica’s expansion of The establishmentof a serious libraryat Elam, withfocus a on 37 composition. The performers,mostly unknown to Dadsonor each While in the States, Allen met Len and Billy Lye Apple, who had both 41 Unlike contemporary equivalents, such as global internet chat webcam or For thoseFor in the North Island, Jim sculpture Allen’s department the at Elam Of particular interest to Allen was the fieldof cybernetics, defined in had little contact with New Zealand that at time. Allen also had first-hand encoutersof riots and studentprotests France,in England and the USA. In retrospect, seems it clear that experience Allen’s this of turbulent political milieu connected with the radical new art found. he Allen, For as well as making connections between science and art, Cybernetic Serendipity sparked an interest in psychological and social processes that would a lasting have effecton hiswork. NetworksWorld-wide people Greenwich 6pm At in fifteen Mean September Time 23 on 1971, different locations around the simultaneously world participated in Phil Dadson’s Earthworks mailed were other, audio tape, film and instructions to document weather, the the conditions the of immediate earth and air, sounds the of environment, information about the tidal, solar and lunar cycle, the local time and a description theof location. This international, ten minute performance wasplanned to coincide with the equinox—spring in the southern and autumn in the northern hemisphere, a time when the sun is directly above the Earth’s equator and day and night are equal of length in most places. the at hook-ups, time Earthworks of participating beyond the group had he assembled in New Zealand. local Dadson’s team used the central North Island’s volcanic plateau as a site to observe and periodicals, also helped students keep up-to-date with overseas developments. in London during a sabbatical that took him to Europe, Mexico, and the United States. In London also he experienced the kinetic of work and conceptual artists, especially South Americans Lygia Clark and Hélio Oiticica. (four male,(four four scantily-clad, female) blindfolded participants to connect their respective infra-red emitter and receiver units painstakingly by lining the up beams. Contact was confirmedby a shrill tone a from chest-mounted speaker. be seen Capes in Parangole Allen’s pictorial space enveloping by the viewer within the work, its title borrowed from Oiticica. School Fine of Arts was the locus this of much of activity. Allen—who helped establish an international context the for school, bringing visiting artists in to teach—himself began gathering international experience and contacts while studying On returning, the at Royal worked he – 1952). for College Art of (1949 the Education Department before becominghead sculpture of Elam. at This experience, especially working with children in provincial communities, led to a distinct approach to both his teaching style and his art-making—establishing open, socialsituations interactive for and critical dialogue, rather than asserting skills. specific Jasia Reichardt’s seminal exhibition Cybernetic as London) ICA Serendipity (1968, “systems communication of and control in complex electronic devices like computers, which very have definite similarities with processes the of communi- cation and control in the human nervous system.” Interdisciplinary Moments: History A in Glimpses fig. 12 124 Interdisciplinary Moments: A History in Glimpses

record New Zealand’s place in the “universal ebb and flow.”43 Of the fifteen countries invited, completed documentation later arrived from Australia, Sweden, England, San Diego, Rarotonga and Antarctica (Canada was left out because their instructions arrived two days too late). As well as being an observation of planetary rhythms, Earthworks is intended as an exploration of media, designed to capture results characteristic of the different tools and materials available.44 Earthworks adopts the performative and postal strategies typical of Fluxus activities, whilst also evoking Nam June Paik’s exploration of broadcast media.45 Dadson was familiar with Paik, having seen him perform in London in the late 1960s. While in London, Dadson had established an association with composer Cornelius Cardew through an experimental music course Cardew was teaching at Morley College, which attracted not only musicians but also visual artists and theatre people. This brought a conceptual edge to the course, further influenced

by Cardew’s Fluxus colleagues who would often participate, favouring a playful, 43. Dadson, “Earthworks,” in New task-based approach to performing that didn’t emphasise instruments or ability. Art: Some Recent New Zealand Sculpture and Post-Object Art, The Morley cohort became the foundation for Cardew’s Scratch Orchestra, ed. Wystan Curnow and Jim which, on his return, led to Dadson establishing a New Zealand Scratch Allen (Auckland: Heinemann 46 Educational Books, 1976), Orchestra back in Auckland. unpaginated. Performance only became a major strand in contemporary art last century 44. Phil Dadson, conversation with the author, 31 July 2007. but, conversely, it is only in the last century—since the invention of recordable 45. This furthers Paik’s vision, media and programmable instruments—that performance has ceased to be an stated in his 1973 Global Groove video, of a future global society intrinsic part of music. Bearing in mind these trajectories, it is probably no where any TV station on earth is coincidence that artists such as Phil Dadson and John Cousins established accessible and where there is no division between art, life and careers with equal footprints in the worlds of music and art at a time when those technology. Anne Kirker, paths crossed. Both took encouragement from Lilburn’s electronic work and “Nam June Paik—Whimsical both executed performance works in outdoor environments, but Cousins’ Encounters Without End,” in APT 2002: Asia-Pacific Triennial practice has become increasingly studio-based whereas Dadson continues to of Contemporary Art, ed. explore environments through improvisation. Lynne Seear (Brisbane: Queensland Art Gallery, 2002), Although primarily known and trained as a composer, Cousins’ work has 78 – 81. been as much about actions, ideas and images as it is sound. Like Dadson, time 46. At Elam, Dadson worked with Jim Allen in the sculpture plays a key role in Cousins’ pieces, particularly in regard to bodily endurance. department to create an Installation works like the Sunwalk series (1989) and Reciprocal Transverses Intermedia option at the school, a time-based discipline (1988) document his experience of the turning of the earth through shadow, exploring the connection stride and breath, using slides, video and recorded sound.47 between image, sound and performance, which eventually Cousins is interested in the sound of things, of humans and their experience became a subject in its own right of and relationship with the natural world. Recording technology has allowed and the source of many media events. Phil Dadson, interview access to a range of sounds previously inaccessible to composers and perform- with the author, 19 October ers of traditionally notated music. In works like Harps at Arthurs Pass (1991) he 2003, originally recorded for Radio New Zealand. sets up devices (in this case tripod-suspended bowls of water that visually and 47. Pat Unger, “Christchurch,” Art sonically amplify the passing of the sun and air-currents) to evoke and extend New Zealand 51 (Winter 1989), 47. 48 our perception. In works like Membrane (1984) and Bowed Peace (1986), this 48. Jonathan Bywater, “Natural extension is more literal, extrapolating and supplementing the functions of the Choices: The Art of John Cousins,” Music in New body through apparatus that could be considered a cyborg hybrid of human and Zealand 29 (Winter 1995), machine.49 For Bowed Peace, Cousins is stretched over a sling, with the sound 14 – 19. 13: Phil Dadson, Earthworks: A simultaneous global linkup in real time, 23/24th September 1971. 49. Donna Haraway, “A Cyborg Time zone chart indicating location of the participants instructed to make synchronised ten- of his heart amplified. Raising his body through a system of pulleys, he can Manifesto,” in Simians, Cyborgs, minute audio tape recordings and a series of photographs. bring himself to a position where he can read from a text, although the exer- Women: The Reinvention of Photos: Brian Porter, Antarctica, 6am, 23 September; Jim Baltaxe, Rarotonga, 7.30am 23 Nature (New York: Routledge, September; Ken Friedman, San Diego, USA; 10am, 23 September. tion of doing this makes the reading difficult for more than just short extracts. 1991), 149 – 181. . 126 127 14: John Cousins, Bowed Peace, 1986, video stills from performance at Studio 174, Christchurch. 129 lastair Riddell, interview with the author, 9 May 2002, the author, 9 May 2002, New Zealand. New Zealand. originally recorded for Radio originally recorded for Radio A A

1. 5 5 0. lastair Riddell, interview with 51 , was New Zealand’s In contrast to the ubiquitous denim blue of 50 uses the urinary cycle to create chiming, aleatoric percussion music, As the exploratory musical tendencies psychedelia of evolved into more Although their single first Outrelease, on the1974 Street Membrane again using an organic,hydraulic machine that is he harnessed to as thecentral processing unit, consuming, processing and outputting biological data. Good Vibrations / Tellurian Love Whether psychedelia is invoked to describe a musical genre, trippy light shows theor fashions the of andlate 1960s early 70s, a druggy, non-conformist counter- culture,combined with growing political unrest permeated the arts. This was a period expanded of possibilities and cross-pollination where rock bands were taking inspiration from the structures jazz of and classical vice-versa), music (and happenings involved poetry, theatre and performance art, and artists produced experimental light shows and stage sets. In Europe environmental in the 1970s, and expanded cinemaartist Jeffrey worked Shaw on rock for shows Pink Floyd and Genesis, while in New ZealandRaewyn was Turner doing lightingdesign Splitfor Enz. Electric instrumentation was evolving, providing new sound palettes mind-expanding for music, and cybernetic, kinetic and electric-art survey shows proliferated. technically-focussed progressive rock in the northern hemisphere, most New Zealand took ‘prog’ the form extended of Hendrix-influencedheavy blues jams, rather than the complex, extended structures typifiedby the Yes,likesFrank of Zappa King or Crimson. One notable exception is Alastair Riddell’s Space Waltz, a group melding the progressive tendencies the glam Yes, of rock Roxy of Music and the effeminate stage theatreof David Bowie. Riddell, who was studying art history the at University Auckland of and was closely associated with the scene Elam,at shocked conservative critics with his glittering, long-haired androgyny. In the had he been 1960s observing developments from the likes Stockhausen of and experimenting with tape loops,and sound textures, experiments which never saw public performance release or brought but an edge to his later work. His group Orb,early with 1970s drummer Paul Crowther and keyboard player Eddie Rayner used country’s (who of one first synthesisers, hand-madeby Crowther) evolved into the band Space Waltz. the day, on stage on the day, Space Waltz custom wore suits made Riddell by from curtains, anticipating the now-famous look Split of Enz eventually (who poached Rayner theirfor own group, along withMike and Geoff WallyChunn, Wilkinson and Crowther, who had all previously played with Riddell). Space Waltz songs featured lyrics based science on fiction storiesby Riddell about an imaginaryplanet named Telluria, populated by droids and genetically engineered, androgynous clones. first indigenousnumber one in manyyears, the band barelyoutlasted release the self-titled theirof album, 1975 which remains New of Zealand’s one only seri- ous concept albums the of era. Whereas albums once were collections songs of recorded in a day two, or they became a platform elaborate for compositions reliant a studio-based on layering sounds of that could take weeks months or and had a distinct existence, separate live from routine.a group’s Supporting this development was the evolution recording of technology and an increasing use the of studio to shape production, rather than as a simple tool to capture the sound a live of band. In recording the Space Waltz album, Riddell wrestled with Interdisciplinary Moments: History A in Glimpses 128 fig. 14 : 15 Cover of first Space Waltz album, 1974. :

16: Dick Frizzell, Dragon and Space Waltz concert poster, 1975. 131

17: Nambassa main stage 1979, image correction: Peter Terry. , 253. 18: The Plague performing main stage, Nambassa, 1979, photo: Gerard Couper. Victoria Victoria The Nambassa Ready to Fly: , 54. Stranded in Paradise Stranded in Paradise 1, no.6 (1979), 11 – 15. 11 no.6 (1979), 1, ystan Curnow, “Writing and ix, ambassa Trust, olin Broadley and Judith Jones, achel Barrowman, roadley and Jones, Nambassa: ohn Dix, Stella Brennan, Robert Leonard Replay: Post-script, edited by Sun Publishing, 53. 2003), the Post Object,” in Action Press, 308. 1999), Productions, 253. 1988), Govett-Brewster Gallery, c2002), and Wellington: Paradise and Hanna Scott (Auckland: New Zealand Rock’n Roll Nambassa: A New Direction (Wellington: Reed, A.H. & A.W. (Wellington: Victoria University Music (Nelson: Craig Potton University of Wellington The Story of New Zealand Rock D J C N B D R W Artspace; New Plymouth: 1979), 120. 1979), (Palmerston 1988 1955 – North 1899 – 1999: A History 1999: 1899 – A New Direction 42.

9. 6. 4. 57. 55. 53. 5 58. 5 52. 5 avid Eggleton,

- Phil 58 52 Main-stage entertainment the for second 57 53 Nambassa even had its own ‘cosmic architect’, Rob Meurant, Nambassa was so successful ’79 that attracted it competition of 55 56 A workshop programme offered sessionson topics from solarheating The secondadded Circus 1975 theatre in groups, including RedMole. 54 59 , a total art. of work Although a little late, with punk nihilism having already superseded Despite conventional more performance contexts, arts festivals are long- to the I Ching. who erected wide, a 70-foot 12-sided rainbow mandala, ‘Nambala’, to unify the area. spiritual Dadson’s performanceDadson’s group Scratch From also made their firstpublic appear- ance. an system old that saw the record company appoint a producerto deliverthe product they wanted. Whereastraditionally musicians essentially were treated as contractors with theirinput expected to end with the performing their of songs, Riddell was from new a generation artists of with his own vision what of wantedhe to achieve in production and presentation.Waltz The Space album is than more a collection songs, of is it concept, image and theatre; operatic in its delivery. After barely ten days, record the companybrought project the to anearly conclusion, which seemed generous New by Zealand standards, paltry but compared to what was taking place overseas is or commonplace Nevertheless,now. Riddell managed to release the of one smartest albums New Zealand had yet seen. Made from than more just sound; is it a gesamtkunst werk Entertainment go to beyondIn the the pub-based 1970s, entertainment circuit and dealer galleries, festivals promised to become a new context the for gathering the of free-think- ing, alternative-lifestyle set. In the popular this music world would usually mean de-camping to the country, where a temporary city would be built, accommodat- ing the transient community the for duration the of entertainment long-form event. One the of first Newwhichin presented Zealand (1970), was Redwood both the Bee Gees and a string quartet. very quickly However, beer culture became the main feature and hard rock was all that could satisfy the rioting, liquor-soaked audience. Thenext significant effort was TheGreat Ngaruawahia Music Festival which similarly in 1973, fell short utopian of ideals and was a disillusioning experience the for likes Blerta of who, as a combined theatre- dance-film-music shouldgroup, have beenfor such a fit an idyllic, rural venture. Commercial demands and mentality crowd took charge, prompting Blerta to pack their own travelling festival into a bus and hit the road. flower power, Nambassa the flower power, Music, Craftsand Alternative Festival1978 was of organised “by hippies hippies.” for form events creating communities interest. of Most arts festivals then, and today, multiplehave simultaneous stages venues or that splinter the gaze. example, For Wellington’s Sonic Circus organised began composer by in 1974, The Jack Body. first Circus tookplace simultaneously in eightvenues over six hours, featuring works the by likes John of Cousins, Jenny McLeod and Douglas Lilburn. Nambassa festival ranged from in local 1979 country singer John to Split Hore Enz via the Little River Band andPlague, The including SarahFort (laterFetusof Productions) and Richard Sturmer von parodying hippy nudity in full body paint. a much more commercial more a much nature in the form the of Sweetwaters festival, which quickly made Nambassa redundant. Interdisciplinary Moments: History A in Glimpses fig. 17 fig. 18 130 fig. 16 fig. 15 133 fig. 20 fig. 21 fig. 19

19: John Lyall, Requiem for Electronic Moa, opera, Soundculture 99, photo: Laura Sunderland. 20: Soliton99 curated and produced by Michael Hodgson and Lara Bowen; images clockwise from top left: On Growth and Form,

by Lattice (Chris Chetland, Bruce Ferguson, Andrew Manning/ Kog Transmissions); Goblin; Behind Me is Black, Lovely 32, June Midget and Seductor Productions, Lovely Midget perfoming live film soundtrack on lathe-cut records; Strips, performance by Becca Wood, Kelly Moynihan, Ben Harris, Anja Packham and Tasha Alpe; Machine Code, live cinema performance by Unit 23; Mood Unit (Angus McNaughton). Stamp 21: Sean Kerr and James McCarthy, Turning Blue, 1995, 36-monitor video work and performance at Interdigitate. hird and final Sound/Watch ike Hodgson, conversation ark Amery, “Art in your Ear,” dvertisement, o Schmidt, View from “A a Symphony Orchestra, in twelve festival took place in 1994. from the New Zealand Different Perspective,” 32, Stamp Different 33 (July 14 33 – 15. Stamp 1992): June (1992): 40. June (1992): marathon of events. with the author, September 27, venues providing a ten-hour (1992): 2. (1992): continuous and simultaneous 60 performances, including 2007. M A t M J A

Th 1. 3. 2. 4. 6 6 65. 6 6 60. e finale included more than

65 Performers 64 , in 1990 Dadson’s Dadson’s , in 1990 , a series events of with a Video projections were 63 . The first public Rotate Your Interdigitate’s main attraction. Interdigitate’s and Soliton , featuring tent-pitching, bacon frying, Instigated with guitarist Ivan Zagni, 61 Thesewerenew spaces for art new and 60 Sound/Watch morphed into SoundCulture, touring the Pacific Rim, 62 took the at place Gluepot in in 1992 where, Ponsonby as Hodgson recalls, As an evolution the of light-shows essential to dance culture, from the mirror At theAt same time, the popular music scene was becoming electronic more Running in parallel State Your to Rotate Afterplaying SoundwatchingTokyo within From Scratch, Dadson was 132 Cultural Industrialisation Fetus Productions offer us a final glimpse of an approach thatencompasses Intermedia department established Interdigitate was 36-screen a video wall, which could be triggered in conjunction with live performances. interdigitateTo means to interweave, and is it this performative interlocking media of that was the focus, like much the live video performances Hodgson was organising. balls the of ball room, to psychedelia and later disco, multi-media would play a major in role visual and content atmospherics the of emerging rave scene and, eventually, to outdoor festivals entirely focussed electronic on music such as The Gathering and Splore. Technology generators (from and electric guitars to video synthesisers and data has projectors) been a key part creating of these total envi- ronments, new social spaces and new modes presentation of and reception. included Compulsory Godstar Joy, and Tinnitus; video interludes provided were artistsby including Lisa Reihana, Stuart Page, Kirsty Cameron and Hodgson. from Sydney (1991), to Tokyo (1993), San Francisco (1996) and Auckland (1999). San and Auckland Francisco (1999). (1996) (1993), to Tokyo from Sydney (1991), Events and exhibitions spread throughout the city and included John Lyall’s cyber-opera, Electronic Moa Requiem for the live construction a waterfall, of and generative music from computersand kinetic sculptures. and experimental. Ofparticular industrial note were group Fetus Productions and Tinnitus, later, centred Michael on Hodgson and Angus McNaughton. Pioneers in what became known as VJ culture, from early Tinnitus on incorpo- rated video as a key part their of performances, often staged as elaborate party nights that came to be known State as Your Rotate State they would re-configure venue, the creating an environment with a café, a bar with artists’ works sale for and a performance area. At theAt the end of nineties Hodgson established Soliton similar structure, working but within the then-ascendant nightclub culture. used as backdrops integrated or intoperformances; liberally were TVs spread around and also built into a large video wall near the entrance. Sonic Circus continued until 1987. and intially held largely Artspace, at Auckland’s Sound/Watch festival began in Performers included1989. John Cousins, Drone, and John Lyall’s Who People Hit Things, and the show included an exhibition documentationphoto of of the annual Solar Plexus events held winter at Solstice in Maungawhau crater. The festival1992 was larger, international more and interdisciplinary, more including video, lectures, installation anddance, with participants including Jim Allen, JohnJack Body, Daly-Peoples, Adrian Hall, Sean Chris Kerr, Knox and Julainne Sumich. experiences audiences. for inspired to start a festival his of own. The Aotearoa Digital Arts Reader 135 fig. 22

22: Fetus Productions, posters 1981-89, various artists including Jed Town, Sarah Fort, Mike Brookfield, , Tone Cornaga and David Mitchell. oger Horrocks, “Fetus: Moving Images,” in Fetus Reproductions: Hanna Scott (Auckland: Fetus Productions – 2002 1981 ed. Stella Brennan and R Artspace, 2002), 10.

6. 6

Although later in their career 66 Fetus acted like magpies, hijacking medical footage and photos. They The arrivalWalkmanof the Sony allowed them to point a at microphone the a period,For electronic musicexisted live as a group presentation drum of Lilburn’sFrom with work poets and playwrights global to Dadson’s link- 134 media including sound andexperimental film. Fetus Productions was primarily driven to start Jed by Town, with there was inputfrom Sarah Fort, Mike Brookfied James and Pinker. a For period,Fetus operatedas a dispersed entity with members in different partsof world the still using their brand producing remotely, to work events, manifestos and albums. They created videos, screenprints merchandise, and and staged exhibitions and multi-media concerts. Evolving post-punk of out groupFeatures, The the first official Fetus event1980: took place an in exhibitionfeaturing fluorescent screenprints medical of deformities Brookfield by (who was studyingat Elam), accompanied the by sounds waterfalls, of crying babies and scraping metal. This collage was designed to produce sensory shock, intended as a slap across the face a sleepyof nation living under the illusion tranquillity. of processed these along with found sounds, superimposing and shifting content from tape to samplers and between and 16mm Super-8, VHS. Their grittyrealism borrowed equally from futurist noise manifestos and William S. Burroughs’ dissection language of and media. Rather than the illusion perfection of offered TVby stars and soft-focus magazine spreads,Fetus wantedhumanity to show for what was—fleshy it machines made brightly-coloured from internalorgans. aroundworld them, gathering sounds in the same way they collected images, processing them like a sonic screenprint to emphasise grain and hiss. Pioneers of electronic music in the local rock scene, they quick were to start using samplers, sequencers and synthesisers. Concerts integrating music with moving images was also key and Fetus found like minds in the fledgling industrialmusic scene characterised Sydney, of bleak by mechanical rhythms and a dystopian futurist aesthetic, with bands such as and SPK Severed Heads all using filmprojec- tion as part their of hi-tech man-machine performances. Thesemethodologies would later be adopted in New Zealand the by likes the of Skeptics, Tinnitus and Headless Chickens, who saw the relentless electro-mechanical rhythms the of industrial music scene plant the seeds local much of contemporary dance culture. machines, samplers, sequencers and synthesisers, as well as conventional more instruments, all being triggered human by performers. In light the of increas- ing pervasiveness laptops of and turntables as the dominant culture electronic of music, is it tempting to see this moment, including events like Interdigitate and State,Rotate as Your a resistance to musical performance disappearing entirely into the black new box of technology. ups to Fetus Productions’ collisions image, of sound and design, what becomes apparent in this pre-history digital of art is the impossibility separating of media, unpickingof sound from image from performance. Anticipating art’s shift into the new spaces created technology, by these episodes demonstrate new expres- sions new for contexts, from the possibilities film of and electronicmusic, to the increased scope offeredlong-playingby records and portablerecording devices. Intertwining aural and visual, the of much practice detailed through these frag- ments is collective. Theseworks recall an interdisciplinary and collaborative spirit that is than more the sum its of parts. The Aotearoa Digital Arts Reader