Archives for posts with tag: photos
« Older Entries

Driveby shooting

May 2, 2016 //
0

IMG_0929

I was lying in my last post! It wasn’t all hard work. Before we dived into the hot phase of the last preparations for the exhibition, L’Artiste wanted to have a little time out. To get away from the others he suggested a road trip up North. As he can’t drive, (he is too short to reach the pedals)  L’Artiste usually keeps himself busy with an ongoing project he calls “Driveby shooting.” It is pretty easy in New Zealand. You just have to hold the camera out the window, press the button and presto, you have an amazing photograph. No, honestly, there is a message in his project. :) This time he used the mobile phone for the first time to take the pictures and he found out it is much more diffcult than with his trusted SLR. Anyway, here are the images from from the last trip. They were taken around Broadwood in the Far North.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Tags , , , ,
Categories Art, Life, Photography

Who is an artist?

March 9, 2016 //
13

feather

I am still not sure what an artist actually is. I tell others that everyone is an artist, even though I have problems calling myself one. Do you need an audience who appreciates your work and puts a value on it? Is someone who produces stuff without selling or exhibiting merely a creative? I create to understand the world around me. That is it!

I took this photograph in 2010. I even had a large 10-colour print mounted on dibond, which I gave to a friend when our ways parted. The concept of the image is such a cheesy stereotype and I can see heaps of things I could have done better, but at the time it felt right.

 

Tags , , , ,
Categories Art, Life, Photography

Really… a winner

March 22, 2014 //
4

Today was the big day of the inaugural scarecrow competition at the Beach Haven Community Garden. All I can say: it was such a wonderful event. We had 15 scarecrows in the running, many of them created by groups, rather than individuals. And yes, I thought, judging scarecrows would be easy peasy… No it wasn’t. In the end I had a list of points they had to fulfill, such as being scary, withstanding weather, making noise… Looking great, wasn’t good enough, as they all did.

We were totally overwhelmed by the participation. We had 290 votes by the end of the day and I got a bit nervous, as the one I had selected for my Artist’s Choice Award, was also looking to be winning the People’s Choice Award. In the end a different one turned out to be the people’s darling. One I wouldn’t have chosen, even though it looked scary, it was made of cardboard and the first big deluge (not uncommon in Auckland) would see to it.

Here some impressions of the day.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Tags , , , , ,
Categories Absurd, Art, Comedy, Competition, Exhibition, Fun, Life, Social Network

Complaint

March 14, 2014 //
0

pita bread

Witch was cursing and swearing today. Not because her cooking didn’t work out, but because the sky was over cast. She made pita bread for lunch and usually, there is no problem to take the photo right there in the kitchen. The sun shines brightly on the kitchen bench an illuminates the product as in the images on the previous days. Not today… The sun has gone on holiday, and while the pita bread puffed up nicely, the photograph looks flat. Tomorrow we will have a storm and Witch already decided that on a cold windy day she has to make flakey pastry and a yummi pie. I wonder what she will do for a photograph…. Meanwhile all the dedes are happy that she will have to cook pita bread again to take new photos. :)

Tags , , ,
Categories Absurd, Art, Comedy, Fun, Hand Puppets, Life, Promotion, Social Network

Hurrah, it’s the New Year

January 1, 2014 //
2

ducks

I wish all my readers a very Happy New Year. Also, a warm and sincere THANK YOU to everyone who has contributed to the story in 2013. No doubt the Dedes will continue with their mischief in 2014. Although, they have been relatively quiet lately, I can hear them rustling in their cupboard.

Tags , , , , , , , ,
Categories Art, Comedy, Fun, Hand Puppets, Life, Photography, Social Network

A Trip to Waiheke

August 27, 2013 //
2

devil on ferry2

Yesterday my friend and I went to Waiheke Island to deliver the Lil’Dedes to their temporary accommodation at the Upcycle Gallery. Here you see Lil’Devtoo on the ferry when he first spotted the island. He was really excited and proudly wore his new dress my friend had made. Doesn’t it look better than the tiger print dress Lil’Devil bought at the two dollar shop?

As skeptical as they all were in the beginning, I think they are very happy now that they have made the trip across. Nora, the lady who organised it all, is absolutely wonderful and loves them to bits (I hope she doesn’t spoil them too much). I am confident they will thoroughly enjoy their stay. I will go and visit them on the 7th when I have a talk at the Gallery about my work and my book.

Tags , , , , , , , , ,
Categories Absurd, Art, Competition, Exhibition, Fun, Hand Puppets, Life

Outing in Berlin

August 21, 2013 //
6

lil devil in Berlin

I’ve got an email from Theresa with a brief report how Lil’Devil is doing. He is a bit shy and mainly sitting on her bookshelf reading books in English. Theresa says that with the speed he is churning through the books he will have to learn German soon so he can start on the German books. Learning German wouldn’t go amiss anyway. Otherwise he will have a hard time making friends. But then, most Germans speak pretty good English and are always happy to practise their language skills with a native speaker.

Last weekend they went to Gorinsee in the north-east of Berlin and I’ve been told he made quite an impression with his tiger-print dress.

Tags , , , , , ,
Categories Absurd, Art, Exhibition, Fun, Hand Puppets, Relationships, Social Network

Meanwhile, back at the ranch

July 3, 2013 //
6

treehouse

Tomorrow we will take down the exhibition. I had hoped our treehouse would be finished by then so the puppets could move into their new studio space. But no, we are still not there… Today the plasterers sanded down the walls and hopefully the floor will be sanded in the next couple of days as well. The picture above shows the view from our first floor addition. Unfortunately a balustrade, that is still to come, will block much of the view of the beautiful trees. I absolutely love the treehouse and I think living for 5 months on a building site will be worth it in the end. Never mind that we won’t be able to go on holiday for a long time to come.

The trees in front of the house are full of native birds and I captured one of our feathered neighbours yesterday. It is a Tui. These birds have the most beautiful song to wake up to.

tui bird close up

Tags , , , ,
Categories Art, Exhibition, Photography

Exhibition draws closer

May 4, 2013 //
9

This week I’ve seen the first promotion for the Dede puppet exhibition, which will be at the end of June in the Depot at Devonport (Auckland, New Zealand). It was printed in the Gallery’s quarterly magazine. The blurb reads as follows:

Dietlind Wagner, Dede puppets 22 June to 4th July. Opening Saturday 22 June 3pm to 4:30pm

In a hyper-communicative world Dietlind Wagner slowly transforms old news into her vibrant colourful character heads,  Dede puppets.

For Wagner, these sculptures are a vehicle to express introspective views on interpersonal communication. Her puppets are designed to charm, bewilder and even repulse thus inspiring reflection within the viewer. The puppets uniquely sculptured and collaged faces allude to the fractured personalities in the fast paced world of modern-day communication. The stories they tell are homage to real friends and real people with all their flaws and idiosyncrasies. Being a very private person Wagner has not exhibited extensively but her puppets have managed to tease her out into the public. An installation of five puppets was selected into the finals of the 2012 Wallace Art Awards.

I’d better get back on track…I am meandering a bit at the moment!

When I arranged the exhibition, I knew I was cutting it a tad fine with the renovations that are going on in my house. The Dedes didn’t even exist, when we started planning the extension two and a half years ago, but the physical build started in February this year.  Silly me, I didn’t expect the actual build to impact on my psyche. The whole thing is supposed to be finished at the beginning of June. Has anybody ever finished in time?

house2 house

The pictures here are two weeks old and the build has progressed since. In the meantime everything is wrapped in building paper and the cladding is nearly completed. Soon we will have a staircase going up to the first floor. The floor boards are still missing though. And yes, we are really living on the site. Under the remaining black tiled roof.

Tags , , , , , ,
Categories Art, Life, Relationships

Old fashioned

April 17, 2013 //
0

tap

I am really missing my easel at the moment. All my paints are stored away while we are renovating. In the meantime I try to capture painterly moments with my camera.

This here is an extreme close-up of an old-fashioned tap I have in the laundry. It goes with a  concrete basin and I call it my ‘cow trough.’  Two cows could easily drink from it side by side. I guess it has been in the house since it was build in the mid-sixties of the last century and it is so easy to imagine, how the previous owner  (who built the place) was sweating over the trough on wash-day. I am very hesitant to replace it, even though it is very clunky and has a lot of dings and dents. It is just perfect for cleaning brushes!

Tags , , , , , ,
Categories Art, Life, Photography
« Older Entries