By now many of you may have noticed the beautiful new sculpture hanging from the ceiling of Level 2/3 Puaka – James Hight. If not – look up!
‘Energy Device’ (1995) is a large sculpture, its main components are two branches of European beech joined in a twisted copper cone filled with wax. Artist Andrew Drummond is one of New Zealand’s most important senior artists and was Senior Lecturer in sculpture at the Ilam School of Fine Arts from 1992 – 2003.
The sculpture was donated by ANZ bank and has made an interesting challenge for Jamie, our Art Curator, to transport from its former home in Blenheim and reassemble here at UC.
We hope you enjoy this latest addition to UC’s wonderful art collection.
Jo Condon
Looks superb – great for the Central Library to have something new and eye-catching installed. Great work Jamie!
A colleague I spoke to today asks: what does it actually "mean"? Apart from describing what it’s made of, and stating how important Andrew Drummond is, that is…
Does anyone have any thoughts about this new addition to the Central Library, positive or negative or whatever? If so, it would be very interesting to get your feedback here.
Double headed witches broom?
At least that what I first thought of (anyone remember HR Puff n Stuff(?) on TV some years ago?
Dave
I agree Dave, there is something witchy or bewitching (and perhaps ‘twitchy’ or ‘highly-strung’?) about it.
The work’s suspension keeps us ‘in suspense’ too as to what it might mean – there is no quick and easy factoid answer to look up on Google. Organic elements (beech) and mechanical (copper) are conjoined to generate a kind of alchemical energy reaction, discharging via the branches at either end. The use of wax recalls a famous German artistic influence on Drummond, Josef Beuys (and somewhere in there is another illustrious European antecedent, Marcel Duchamp, who painted a moustache on the Mona Lisa, or at least on a reproduction). The suspended sculpture is a machine that doesn’t actually work, which may be a metaphor for a human body that’s dysfunctional. Drummond became notorious in his early career for performance art which looked masochistic, in which he suspended his own naked body with cables attached by hooks, for long periods at a time.