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encompasses the 1970s, an interesting decade of experimentation for Curnow and also because the early 1980s signal a shift in Curnow's work. I argue that Curnow's encounter with post-object art and the immediate, phenomenological writing he produced in response to this work gives way in the early 1980s to a style of writing directly informed by post-structural and postmodern theory. Further, this study looks not only at Curnow's criticism but also his poetry to reveal how, in their form and content, these two strands of writing together construct one of the first arguments for an 'avant-garde' in New
Zealand art and literature. The thesis is divided into four chronological chapters. These follow the course of Curnow's life from his birth in 1939 up until the publication of his seminal essay on Colin McCahon 'I Will Need Words' in 1984. The first chapter begins with the biographical background of Curnow's youth and education and considers the significance of the eminence of Curnow's father, Allen Curnow, in the decisions that Wystan Curnow has made throughout his career. This chapter then goes on to look at Curnow's experience in the United States, studying for his PhD and engaging with contemporary American culture. Chapter two begins with Curnow's return to Auckland in 1970 and goes on to look at his important pieces of writing from the 1970s up until his return to New York on sabbatical in 1976. Chapter three focuses on this trip and the key texts which followed it. And finally, chapter four examines the early 1980s, the increasing influence of continental theory in New Zealand and the shift this precipitated in Curnow's writing.
35:
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During the 1980s in particular, Curnow was also closely involved in small print run, so-called ‘little magazines’ where he published both poetry and art criticism. These publications are characterised by an interest in the developing theory of postmodernism, gaining academic traction at this time and
235:
Curnow is active in both literature and the visual arts. His writing and interests have been significantly influenced by his time in the United States in the 1960s (and lengthy return trips in the late 1970s and early 1980s) and his exposure to
American modernist painting and conceptual art, and the
424:
Since the 1970s, Curnow has been consistently involved in the visual arts sector in New
Zealand and internationally as a curator and arts administrator. Curnow has worked to raise the profile of New Zealand artists overseas and also to provide infrastructure and critical consideration to expatriate
275:
at
Auckland University. Allen and Curnow worked together often, and Curnow became an informal critic for the burgeoning post-object art scene centred on Allen and Elam. Artists whose work Curnow wrote about during this time were Peter Roche, Linda Buis, Andrew Drummond, David Mealing, Roger Peters,
440:. After this time, Curnow kept in contact with Apple and has collaborated regularly with the artist ever since. Curnow acted as a self-described 'public relations officer', as well as curator, administrator and collaborator, for Apple on his 1979 exhibition tour of nine galleries in New Zealand.
620:
This thesis addresses the writing of Wystan Curnow from 1961 to 1984. Curnow has written a great deal throughout his life, and the challenge of this thesis has been to select an appropriate time frame and important texts to place within it. The period of 1961 to 1984 has been chosen because it
270:
Curnow is also closely associated with many of the post-object and conceptual artists who were active in New
Zealand from the 1970s onwards. Curnow had met artist Jim Allen in Auckland and when Curnow returned to Auckland in 1970, Allen was Head of the Sculpture Department at
447:, a major exhibition of Colin McCahon's word and number paintings for the Fifth Biennale of Sydney in 1984. During the 1980s, he curated a series of exhibitions that employed postmodern theory to deconstruct meaning, language, and national identity. These included
291:, which elucidates his position on art, literature, and cultural production more widely and its position within western society. This essay draws on the sociological writing of Curnow's PhD supervisor, Morse Peckham.
403:
In many of his writings, Curnow has sought to collapse the distinction between his art criticism and poetry, and sometimes these forms are indistinguishable from each other. An example of this is his essay in
243:
Curnow has written consistently on New
Zealand post-object art and abstract painting from the 1970s onwards. Throughout his career, he has written most regularly on the work of artists
214:
Curnow has been based in
Auckland since 1970, though has spent significant periods overseas, particularly in the United States and, most recently in 2010 undertook the Seresin
458:
In 1998, he worked with
Christina Barton, Robert Leonard, and John Hurrell to curate the critical overview and retrospective exhibition of post-objects art in New Zealand,
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Throughout the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, Curnow contributed writing and criticism to a wide range of visual arts publications including international imprints
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Through his life, Curnow has also written poetry and published this in various publications. His poetry is most significantly influenced by the
American
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under the supervision of Morse
Peckham. Curnow studied 19th-century American literature and literary theory. His PhD thesis was entitled
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In 1976, Curnow wrote an extended piece on Billy Apple's 1975 exhibition tour of New Zealand, 'Billy Apple in New Zealand' for
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Curnow has curated a number of exhibitions. He was the New Zealand Commissioner to Fourth Biennale of Sydney and curated
400:, a loosely defined movement of avant-garde poetry that emerged in the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
86:(born 1939) is a New Zealand art critic, poet, academic, arts administrator, and independent curator. He is the son of
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In 2005, Curnow set up the art project space JAR, with Susan Davis, which has exhibited the work of artists
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was a hub for writers, artists, actors, and composers. Allen Curnow was closely associated with
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Jim Allen and Curnow also edited the most significant record of post-object art in the 1970s,
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709:, Christina Barton & Robert Leonard (eds), Wellington: Victoria University Press, p.5.
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in English with first-class honours at Auckland University College, graduating in 1961.
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in 1951, after Allen Curnow was offered a job lecturing in the English Department at
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2018 Non-fiction Award: New Zealand Prime Minister's Awards for Literary Achievement
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in 1939 to Elizabeth and Allen Curnow. He was named after the modernist poet
582:, unpublished Masters thesis, Victoria University of Wellington, 2010, p.7.
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In 1961, Curnow married Susan Matthews, and they have four sons together.
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The antagonistic city: a design for urban imagery in seven American poets
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in 1970 to take up a lecturing position in the English Department at the
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Published in 2014 was a significant anthology of Curnow's art writing,
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664:(Doctoral thesis). ResearchSpace@Auckland, University of Auckland.
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Wallace Chapman interview with Wystan Curnow on Radio New Zealand
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Wystan Curnow's entry in the New Zealand Literature File Archive
763:. Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 31 December 2004
594:"Neither Here nor There: The Writing of Wystan Curnow 1961–1984"
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The World Over/Under Capricorn: Art in the Age of Globalisation
110:(Wystan Hugh). His parents' home in the Christchurch suburb of
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New Art: Some Recent New Zealand Sculpture and Post-object Art
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New Art: Some Recent New Zealand Sculpture and Post-object Art
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719:"'The Critic's Part' on Victoria University Press's website"
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New Zealand Prime Minister's Awards for Literary Achievement
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Wystan Curnow on the New Zealand Electronic Text Collection
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Putting the Land on the Map: Art and Cartography since 1840
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Contemporary New Zealand art, Billy Apple and Colin McCahon
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The Critic's Part: Wystan Curnow Art Writings 1971–2012
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The Critic's Part: Wystan Curnow Art Writings 1971–2012
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The Critic's Part: Wystan Curnow Art Writings 1971–2012
408:‘Mt Eden Crater Performance’ (1976) which describes in
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The Critic's Part: Wystan Curnow Art Writings 1971–2013
569:, New Zealand Book Council, retrieved September 2014.
343:, and New Zealand magazines and journals, including
142:. Elizabeth Curnow was friends with artists such as
56:Art critic, poet, academic and independent curator
730:"Report: The Given as an Art Political Statement"
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287:(Auckland: Heinemann). This included his essay
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864:Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit
486:Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit
199:between 1967 and 1969, before returning to
879:People educated at Takapuna Grammar School
634:"NZ university graduates 1870–1961: Co–Cu"
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782:Ardern, Rt Hon Jacinda (8 October 2018).
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183:In 1963, Curnow and his family moved to
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161:The Curnow family moved to Auckland's
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592:Thomasin, Sleigh (12 December 1993).
514:(Wellington: Black Light Press, 1989)
283:In 1973, Curnow edited the anthology
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784:"Awards recognise literary legends"
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508:(Auckland: Van Guard Xpress, 1989)
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602:Victoria University of Wellington
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298:(Auckland: Heinemann, 1976).
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761:"New Year honours list 2005"
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658:Locke, Terry (1976).
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869:New Zealand curators
546:(with Dorine Mignot)
425:New Zealand artists
359:Art News New Zealand
354:New Zealand Listener
326:Studio International
314:(he was co-editor).
102:Curnow was born in
604:restricted archive
152:Douglas MacDiarmid
39:Wystan Curnow 2013
849:New Zealand poets
597:(Masters; Thesis)
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