Speech
New Zealand Portrait Gallery reception
E kui mā, e koro mā, e huihui nei, tēnei aku mihi māhana ki a koutou. Nau mai, haere mai rā ki Te Whare Kawana o Te Whanganui-a-Tara. Ladies and gentlemen, warm greetings to you all, and welcome to Government House Wellington.
I specifically acknowledge: Dr Keith Ovenden, Chair of the New Zealand Portrait Gallery and your trustees; Avenal McKinnon, Director of the New Zealand Portrait Gallery; and artist Piera McArthur - tēnā koutou katoa.
It is a great pleasure for Janine and me to welcome you all to Government House today. Like my predecessors, I have been delighted to take on the role of patron of the Portrait Gallery. There is something special about viewing ourselves through someone else’s eyes, which is inherent in portraitures. Faces give us insights into people and their societies.
Some of you may recall the reception Sir Anand Satyanand held here in 2011, when the Norrie Collection returned to Government House. The Portrait Gallery had helped look after the paintings while the House underwent restoration.
The Collection, bar one painting, hangs in the Norrie State Dining Room. Those of you who were at that reception or who have seen the Collection will know that among the portraits there is one that doesn’t quite fit the overarching theme. The parliamentary and republican leader, and Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell, looks across to the Stuarts from amongst the Tudors. I’m not entirely sure why Norrie included Cromwell’s portrait; and so I like to think it demonstrates that everyone gets a warm welcome at Government House!
Seriously, the collection does highlight the important role art has played in documenting history, both personal and public. Portraits like those in the Norrie Collection reveal a lot about their subjects and also about the world they lived in. As well as showing us the subject’s physical form and characteristics, the artist also give insight into their power and status, sending powerful messages about position, prestige and birth right. The aim perhaps to glorify the subject and make sure his or her legacy is remembered.
Norrie’s gift to the House was also a legacy. Prior to his endowment, while there had been some notable individual gifts, art for the House had been bought in a piecemeal way. The Norrie Collection, and the other portraits as well, tell of the evolution of our constitutional monarchy; connections to our Head of State, Queen Elizabeth II, the Queen of New Zealand; and some of the rich heritage of Aotearoa-New Zealand.
That legacy has continued to be built on, reflecting how, we as a nation, have changed. The Taupaepae or Entrance Hall; where the Governors-General’s coats of arms are displayed alongside two magnificently carved Totara pou; shows us the similarities and the differences between two artistic traditions while simultaneously blending them into something even more splendid. These pieces relate more closely to our story of us as a nation.
It is a story the New Zealand Portrait Gallery also sets out to tell, in a far more ambitious way. As Dr Ovenden has said, the Gallery sees itself as a museum of national biography that begins with the touchstone of portraiture . A portrait may be just one moment in time, but many portraits are a history and as such a valuable resource.
The Gallery’s commitment to expanding the range of portrait art is also commendable. Culture, technology and rules have changed and some of the works held by the Gallery would be unrecognisable as portraiture to the artists whose work is featured in the Norrie collection.
Piera McArthur’s retrospective exhibition is a case in point. The tools and the techniques she uses would be familiar to our Norrie artists, however, the approach to the subjects is completely different. Piera’s cast of musicians and monks; painters and performers; bishops and ballerinas “the whole magnificent parade of humanity, ” as she calls it, inhabit their canvases in a completely different way from the portraits of old. It’s almost as though these exuberant paintings invite you in rather than commanding you to stand and stare. The title of the exhibition, ‘The Endless Possibilities of Portraiture’ underlines that while the intention is still to convey a story, the telling can be done in new and exciting ways.
I congratulate you Piera on a lifetime of exceptional creativity. I thank you for sharing your art and also your notes and drawings that reveal so much about your creative process.
I also thank Dr Ovenden, the Board and Avenal McKinnon and the staff for having such a clear vision of the role of the New Zealand Portrait Gallery, and for their commitment to ensuring it happens. I understand the strengthening and refurbishment of the building has paid dividends and 2013 has seen you reaping the rewards in terms of patronage.
Finally, I thank you all for your continued support of the New Zealand Portrait Gallery. The time and resources you donate are vital for ensuring the continued vitality of one of this country’s foremost cultural institutions.
Please enjoy the rest of your evening.
Kia ora huihui tātou katoa