New Zealand Image

New Zealand Listener, Volume 37, Issue 935, 12 July 1957, Page 12

New Zealand Image

| ENGRAVINGS ON WOOD, by

E. Mervyn

Taylor;

the Mermaid Press, 42/-.

(Reviewed by

Margaret M.

Dunningham

‘NGRAVING on wood is an exacting art. It is also a difficult craft. The artist-en-graver --’ Thomas Bewick was an early example-with the aid of his engraving tools, must extract from the end-grain of his’ block of wood a satisfactory design for printing. The 20th century artist-engraver, in contrast to 19th century practice, prints from his blocks himself, These are skilled crafts. But the artist-engraver must also have creative ability transcending mere technical competence. He must be able to create images which satisfy our visual imagination. To the 20th century renaissance of wood-engraving New Zealand contributes Mervyn. Taylor. Here is. an artist-engraver whois living in this country and earning his living by his art. Looking through the pages of. this book-Engravings on Wood--we see that Mervyn Taylor has conjured out of his blocks of imported boxwood or native Southland beech images which are part of our New Zealand consciousness. As the conquerors of a bush-covered country we both love and hate the forest we have conquered. The images of rata and kowhai, bell-bird and tui, huia and kiwi became the clichés of our early verse and prose. Our serious authors felt they must sternly eliminate these images from their writing. In the meticulous but. sensitive designs of Mervyn Taylor’s wood engravings, such images live again and have found their true expression. : You will not find the kowhai and the rata in this book, but instead the bush orchid, the wogd pigeon, the tuatara and the kauri snail. There are other images-the waterfall, the sluggish river’ winding through the forest, the glacier, and the white. wood church. Maori images, too, and from the shores of our "encircling seas,’ the patterns of shells and wind-bent toi-toi. Here are

New Zealand images by a New Zealander who is an artist-wood engraver. The typography of this book is by Denis Glover and Mervyn Taylor, who also contributes a preface which is an admirable survey of the art of wood engraving. He also states his own position. Wood engraving "can be a very satisfying and complete means of expression and size does not count. A small block may often be more important in aesthetic significance and power than yards of canvas loaded with paint." Excellent typography, fine quality matt paper, attractive binding, wrapper and scarlet end-papers combine to make this the finest art book yet produced in New Zealand.