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Pounamu - Pounamu is a celebration of jade in its many forms. It is a magnificent tribute to this New Zealand icon, the finest book on the subject ever published. Through the eyes of pounamu specialists Russell Beck and Maika Mason, we explore jade's powerful connection with the natural environment, its Maori myths and history, jewellery and taonga, geology and technical characteristics, places where pounamu is found, methods of working, cultural issues regarding the ownership and management of jade as a resource, contemporary carving, and its significance in the international arena. The text is enhanced by the exquisite, timeless landscape photography of Andris Apse, which sets pounamu firmly in the South Island mountain environment from which it emerges in its natural state. Through these unforgettable photographs we see pounamu in a new and fascinating way. Pounamu is a treasure in its own right, a sumptuous book to be adored for years to come. - Wheelers Books. |
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The Dress Circle - Contrary to popular opinion, New Zealand Fashion didn't begin in the late 1990s when four designers were sent to the London catwalks and created a stir with their stylish dark garments. Its history is in fact a long and rich one, and no one tells it better than the team of Douglas Lloyd Jenkins, Claire Regnault and Lucy Hammonds, all three of whom are experts in the field, and who spent over three years tracking down our overlooked and in some cases entirely forgotten fashion pioneers and heroes. The treasure-trove of fabulous frocks, coats, ballgowns and bijou pieces they bring back into the light are stunning in their creativity, giving the lie to the notion that we've always been a nation of bad dressers. The stories they tell of dedication, passion, of triumph and of disaster are part of our rich history. It's a marvellous read and a magnificent resource, long overdue. - Wheelers Books.
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Brian Brake Lens on the World - Brian Brake (1927-1988) was New Zealand's most well-known and internationally successful photographer, known worldwide for photo essays like Monsoon (1961) and locally for the book New Zealand, gift of the sea (1963). Twenty years after his death, however, Brake's vast body of work remains unseen - or critically considered - in its entirety. What was Brake's background and what were his influences? What sort of photographer was he? What was his popular reputation based on? How has he been he perceived by the generations of contemporary photographers who have followed him? What was his significance at the time, and what is it in a lasting sense? The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa holds the Brian Brake collection, comprising 110,000 images, and in 2010 will mount a major retrospective exhibition which, together with this publication, provides a unique opportunity to ask these questions - and examine Brake's legacy - alongside his life and work and the context within which he operated. - Wheelers Books. |
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The Passing World the Passage of Life - Kowhaiwhai, according to John Hovell, is about process, a shorthand summary of the passage of life, and a space within the whare whakairo (decorated meeting house) for the Maori artist to express his wry and droll view of human nature. This book looks at John Hovell's life and work, his ongoing interest in kowhaiwhai, and locates him within a larger story of Maori art. From the mid-1960s, Hovell was part of the contemporary Maori art movement, exhibiting his paintings alongside artists such as Paratene Matchitt and Sandy Adsett, and taking part in the activities of organisations such as the Maori Artists and Writers Society. Since the mid-1980s Hovell has been designing and producing kowhaiwhai and murals for marae projects in Auckland, the Coromandel peninsula and the East Coast. He has established a reputation as a kowhaiwhai artist of note, working alongside tohunga whakairo (carving experts) such as Pakiriki Harrison. Richly illustrated with over 100 colour images of Hovell's painting and kowhaiwhai projects, this book demonstrates that Hovell is an important artist who has made a substantial contribution to contemporary Maori visual culture. - Wheelers Books. |
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Still Life Inside the Antarctic Huts of Scott and Shackleton - Still Life is a unique and hauntingly beautiful photographic study of the Antarctic huts that served as expedition bases for explorations led by Captain Robert Falcon Scott and Sir Ernest Shackleton. At the turn of the twentieth century Antarctica was the focus of one of the last great races of exploration and discovery. Known as the 'heroic age', from 1895 to 1917 Antarctic explorers set off from their huts in search of adventure, science and glory but some, such as Scott, were never to return. The World Wars intervened and the huts were left as time capsules of Edwardian life; a portrait of King Edward VII hangs amid seal blubber, sides of mutton, a jar of gherkins, penguin eggs, cufflinks and darned trousers. One of New Zealand's best known photographers, Jane Ussher, was invited by the Antarctic Heritage Trust to record 'the unusual, the hidden and minutiae of these sites'. The Executive Director of the Trust, Nigel Watson, provides a fascinating introduction to the history and atmosphere of each hut and detailed photographic captions. Key points: features Discovery Hut (used by both Scott and Shackleton), Shackleton's Hut and Scott's Hut on Ross Island in McMurdo Sound; unique and intimate glimpse into the lives of Antarctic explorers, a subject that holds great fascination for readers worldwide; large format and seven gatefolds display Jane Ussher's intriguing and evocative photography with stunning impact. - Wheelers Books. |