Edge Message #54 from Brian Sweeney, producer NZEDGE.COM
TO NEW ZEALAND EDGE GLOBAL COMMUNITY:
Content download from the edge of the planet:
Middle earth, moulding faces and modern art. Today nzedge.com brings you the fascinating stories of three artists in wildly diverse fields whose tools (camera, scalpel, white cube) create works that indisputably sound the depth of the edge metaphor. Three people with the New Zealand Edge. One who has steadfastly stayed on-island, one who went to the Western Front, and one who has gone Oriental – all might be described (as Sir Harold Gillies described his work) as being in the business of “aesthetic reconstruction”:
1. Peter Jackson: Lord of the Rings-leader
2. Sir Harold Gillies: father of modern plastic surgery
/harold-gillies/
3. Giovanni Intra: a gallery impressiano and curator dealing with moguls and mahjongg in LA’s Chinatown
MADE IN NEW ZEALAND: PETER JACKSON
NZEDGE is proud to present a personal and fascinating account of the Peter Jackson story (thus far) by filmmaker Costa Botes. Costa’s account of Jackson’s journey is a steadfastly idiosyncratic case study of innovation, focus and energy from the edge.
“In giving himself something to watch, Peter Jackson has given the rest of us good cause to shake off complacency and start thinking about how to realise a few other ‘impossible’ goals.” Costa is a friend and collaborator of Peter’s, with whom he made the classic Kiwi mock-umentary Forgotten Silver. This story is an essential addition to the New Zealand Edge narrative and a must-read for anyone curious about how one of the most ambitious and successful film projects ever completed came to be made in NZ.
AESTHETIC RECONSTRUCTOR: HAROLD GILLIES
The introduction of more ferocious weapons and trench warfare in the First World War resulted in devastating injuries. A new type of surgery was needed. Rhinoplasty, skin grafts and facial reconstructions had been practised for centuries. However, it was New Zealander Sir Harold Gillies who standardised these techniques and established the discipline of ‘plastic surgery’. Gillies is acclaimed as the father of modern plastic surgery. Craig Williams presents the extraordinary story of surgeon Gillies. Craig has recently completed a Master of Science in Psychology. Warning: like an early PJ film, some ofthe pictures are not for the squeamish!
/harold-gillies/
CHINATOWN DEALER: GIOVANNI INTRA
Giovanni Intra is an artist, critic and gallerist who has gone east to stir up the LA art world. In the tough international art game, impresario Intra has established himself and his gallery, China Art Objects, as an indication of what is new, exciting and challenging in contemporary art. The Chinatown space was recently selected by iD magazine as one of international art’s “outstanding galleries”. Author Kelly Carmichael, former curatorial assistant at Artspace, Auckland, has recently completed an internship at LA’s Museum of Contemporary Art, and is now living in Paris.
The heroes and hot lists are an evolving project and the people who are there already are by no means the definitive pantheon – look on it as a trial match/hui. We’re thinking about ways to get breadth in response to the countless “why isn’t X,Y, or Z on the list?” – so keep the suggestions, substitutes and feedback rolling in.
L&P (leaflets and promos):
The spirit of adventure:
Auckland production company CreamTV is looking for stories for a TV series on backyard heroes, those who turned the shed or kitchen into the lab. Focusing on, “the small, probably relatively unknown ‘backyard heroes’, perhaps people labeled eccentrics
who went against the norm or against the odds. We want to use the word ‘adventurer’ in a broad context – we’re looking at any 20th century story (to present), so some tales may be posthumous. It may be an immigrant or pioneer tale; a kiwi adventuring at home or in the wilds of a far off land; a remarkable unsung war story; or a battle with oceans.”
E-mail: odile@creamtv.co.nz
Raglan Rescue
Surf Aid International is a dynamic, young medical charity attracting a lot of attention among world charity organisations due to its no-nonsense, no-frills approach to saving lives in the Mentawai Islands, (where 50% of all children die). Their charter is to encourage and coordinate the support of the global surfing community to provide medical aid to the indigenous people of remote surfing locations. They enjoy close relationships with many of the world’s top surfers including Aotearoa’s own Maz & Jay Quinn. Founded by Kiwi Dr Dave Jenkins.
For info e-mail: info@surfaidinternational.org
or visit: http://www.surfaidinternational.org.
Keep on it.
From the Edge,
Brian Sweeney
Publisher, Producer
THE NEW ZEALAND EDGE
http://www.nzedge.com
brian@nzedge.com
