Downtown Wellington

Sculpture abounds in Wellington

 The past couple of weeks I have been in Wellington a lot. Mostly for shows put on by The New Zealand International Arts Festival. It made for many long days, not getting home until midnight or later, starting with my 55th birthday on the 5th. This festival wraps up this weekend, after three weeks of great shows that have come from all over, and some local artists as well. A couple of nights ago I was fortunate to see "Raoul", performed by one of Charlie Chaplin's grandsons, James Thierree, he is French, and the most skilled performer I have ever seen on stage. He opens with a stage set that appears to be a shipwreck scene, and in the course of the next 105 minutes he slowly dismantles the entire set as it is transformed into the stage of his dream state in subconscious struggle, where he enacts the dual worlds of his psyche, between his secure outer persona, disgusted with his inner inertia, and his insecure and troubled inner being, very much threatened by his machismo persona. His dance is astoundingly verbal, that is he gives his movement a vibrant voice, that even when whispering reverberates with universally tragic truths, and potent humor. He uses pantomime, with superb grace, and other worldly extensions of dilemmas manifested in physical tension and soliloquy; he uses modern moves to echo the challenges of leaving his familiar territory behind; he uses moonwalks and slapstick to demonstrate being torn in motivation to change from his habitual connection to what is familiar and safe. He plays the violin with superb classical skills while still humoring the muses of his trudging departure from the staid and known. He dreams of sea creatures that come to life on stage with eerie reality:  they are his psychic motivations to escape who he has been and discover who he needs to be. James Thierree is brilliant and incredibly inspired, his is by far the best performer, coupled to an amazing set and theatrical supports. Bravo! (over and over again). I felt really good to be able to share this experience not only with Gregg and Carla, but also with another New Zealander who works within the mental health services here. This was on the same evening after attending the Writer's and Readers last presentation with Thomas Friedman, NY Times Editor in Chief, and three time Pulitzer Prize recipient, who spoke for an hour on the issues covered in his new book: "That Used To Be U.S." , exploring the challenges facing Americans in this very new hyper-connected global economy, exposing how it is that the USA has fallen behind in many areas it used to dominate and what it will take to regain that once prominent and inspired position in the world. He is equally well spoken as he is an accomplished writer. Just before coming to New Zealand I had finished reading his book "Hot, Flat, and Crowded". The nearly 2000 people who came (sold out) to hear him were greatly appreciative of his talk, and I was very lucky once again to enjoy Carla's very generous gift of her ticket that put me in the fourth row from the front, feeling like I was very much a part of a conversation with this incredibly knowledgeable and insightful man.
That was a day that started at 4:30 am for me so I could catch the 7:15 am train into Wellington and then the connector train into Lower Hutt City so I could visit a mental health program called Take 5. It is one of the oldest art/ creative spaces in the mental health services here in the Wellington area. They were putting up art created by their staff and clients for their annual show that day, so I got to tour their studio space and the art gallery show. They have one client's work that shows in NY City regularly and his pieces are typically sold before  the show opens to the public. I was impressed all the way around. My tour of Take 5 left me just enough time to also see an outdoor sculpture show nearby called Shapeshifters sponsored by the New Zealand International Arts Festival. This is a show with over a hundred large sculptures placed in the park. This was a very long day that left me feeling saturated with a vibrancy for colorful and creative expression.
 

Some sculpture is iconic and structural

Lots of old and new architecture

Civic Center innovation and imagination

Student teamwork on the water

flowers overflowing city walls

native color and contrast

Oriental Bay just south of Wellington center

Country rail station

City rail station, with Ghandi statue for poise

Shapeshifter

Shapeshifter

Shapeshifter

Shapeshifters

Wellington reflections

Sails as sculpture

patterns in dynamic tension

patterns in natural contrast

nautical themes abound aground

Yes, that's $2.16/ litre for regular gas!

The price of gas here works out to an approximate equivalent in US dollars to $ 7.10 per US gallon!, with current exchange rate accounted for. So it's no wonder that they have a good train and bus system along the nearby cities and coastal region.

Historic Maori landmarks at harbors edge