‘Young N.Z. Sculptors Among World’s Best’

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31121, 26 July 1966, Page 7

‘Young N.Z. Sculptors Among World’s Best’

New Zealand’s best young sculptors were as good as anywhere in the world, Mr T. J. Taylor, lecturer in sculpture at the School of Art at the University of Canterbury, said yesterday. Next Thursday Mr Taylor will leave on a fiveweek visit to Australia as the first holder of the Guthrey travel award of the Canterbury Society of Arts. Young New Zealand sculptors often did not show as much productive energy as they might, because they did not face the competitive pressure that existed overseas, Mr Taylor said. Modern sculpture portrayed ideas rather than subjects, and was definitely a form of communication, and the lack of an audience with which to communicate had been a major factor in New Zealand sculpture. However, this situation was improving, and public interest in sculpture was growing, and would continue to grow as the general level of education rose. The acceptance of modern sculpture in New Zealand was not great Sculpture was being used more in new buildings, but this was often not for the sake of the sculpture itself; he would prefer to see sculptures used as paintings were used: displayed for their own sake. The relationship between architecture and sculpture is one of the subjects Mr Taylor win sttfdy in Australia,

and he also hopes to meet many Australian sculptors and team more of their attitudes and methods. There was more sculpture and more variety in sculpture in Australia, and also in Australia a professional sculptor had a chance to make a living, which was not the case in New Zealand, he said.

During his visit Mr Taylor will spend time at three schools of sculpture in Melbourne, two in Sydney, and one in Adelaide. He will also visit the recently-opened Australian Sculpture Centre in Canberra. He was one of six applicants for the travel award, which is worth £ll5 and given jointly by Guthrey Travel, Ltd., and the Canterbury Society of Arts. It will provide the cost of air fare to Australia, and the cost of internal travel. Mr Taylor studied at the School of Art from 1950 to 1952 and taught at St Andrew’s College before joining the staff of the School of Art in 1959. He has been commissoned to do work for many clients, including the Hotel Russley, Qantas, the Brevet Club, and the Porirua Licensing Trust

Dysentery.—A man in his forties living in the city area had bacillary dysentery last week, and was the only case of notifiable disease reported in the Christchurch Health District ,♦