Article

Once again it is time for the end of year rounds of the graduate exhibitions. As readers may have remembered from last year's report, I had a few inexcusable faults when viewing the shows. Unfortunately I have not managed to correct any of them, much to the dismay of various friends and colleagues. The most notable of these misdemeanors is my inability to recall names or to be organised enough to bring something to write on. In the name of authenticity I have decided that as a true art flaneur and a member of the public I have embraced the random disorganised spirit of these occasions, (I think I'm almost starting to believe my own rhetoric?!).

The first stop in the tour was the Elam graduate show. Last year I was impressed by the sheer number of works that caught my interest and made me stop and investigate further, this year however was not to be a repeat of that experience. Choosing a lazy Sunday may not have helped the situation as the Elam campus seemed particularly desolate without the hustle and bustle of the student body, (and there was the very apparent absence of whole installations in a few rooms), but in retrospect I think it was more the lackluster nature of much of the work and the half-hearted approach to display and installation. Gone are the heady days of whole sensory environments in which you felt that regardless of whether or not you liked the work, you could appreciate that the artist had engaged to some degree with the space they were showing in. I managed in my usual unprepared way to completely miss the Masters' submissions at Mount Street, which I heard later did respond to some degree with these ideas. While walking the hallowed halls of what is still considered the premier art institution in Aotearoa, and which sadly no longer includes the infamous mansions, I was also struck by the increased number of works that were direct derivative interpretations of other artists. I did for a moment wonder if my reaction was a little too cynical as we all know there is very little originality to be had these days, but my observations were whole-heartedly affirmed by others in the days that followed. There were however a few twinkling lights at the end of the tunnel peeking out from behind the morass of, (hopefully unintentional), reproductions. It is these small wonders that keep me coming back to Elam every year.

My next visit was to the Visual Arts graduate show at AUT. There was considerably more space for each installation this year, (having found it a tightly packed experience previously), which allowed for a more relaxed viewing of many of the works and made a number of submissions stand out in the otherwise relatively homogenous architectural environment. My first impression was that there seemed so much more vibrancy and innovation about these works that was not apparent across the road at Elam. I put this down to the fact that AUT was not weighed down by the burden of reputation and tradition that has become somewhat of an unintentional yoke for the Auckland University, School of Fine Art. However there was an air of desperate need to be noticed at AUT which for some inexplicable reason manifested in the work appearing bigger, brighter and most definitely louder, (as the opening night extravaganza attested). However, with the exception of one or two works making themselves known, everything else seemed to fade very quickly from memory and made me think that after all the initial flash and flair there seemed to be very little separating this year's contents of these rival institutions.

Last on the list (there were still a number of graduate shows to come at the time of printing) was MSVA. I have always felt that Manukau School of Visual Arts needed to step up their game a bit when it came to the end of year graduate shows.. Not only because they are competing for attendance with many of the central Auckland based courses but also because they have to work that little bit harder to be taken seriously as a rigorous art institution, apparently for no other reason then their physical location. So it was with a measure of hope that I made my way to the heart of south Auckland for a careful consideration of this year's graduates. Unfortunately this year I was not to be convinced. The works were the usual mixture, to be expected from any institution. Given the comments above I thought at least some of the students would work that little bit harder to provide an experience. This, however, was not the case. As with the other institutions there was the odd work that was memorable, but there seemed to be even less consideration of the space and the viewer. I felt as though little time had been invested in the presentation of many of these submissions. In this world of unrestrained competition there seemed an apparent lack of awareness when it comes to putting your best foot forward.

I recently saw a very vague discussion on some lifestyle programme about the difference, (or should that be indifference), of the current youth generation. According to this extremely unscientific but reasonably accurate report this cohort are demanding yet highly unmotivated, savvy yet apathetic and unapologetically egocentric. It got me wondering if this was the reason I was so dissatisfied with this years graduate offerings. Coming away from these shows I was left with the impression that the viewing experience that many of us expect is no longer a priority for this new generation. It is no longer a requirement of the art making process to pander to those wanting to interact with your work. We could also be forgiven for thinking that art education has become an insular, self-referential exercise. Regardless of this and many other highly pertinent points, the thing that keeps me coming back year after year to the ever changing quagmire of tertiary art showcases are those few rare works that are delightful, intriguing or challenge me to move outside my comfort zone. It is these works that I will remember long after the graduate shows come down and the institution gears up for its next intake of strangely affected graduates and I go through this whole process again.