Top Wanganui Art Student Awarded Scholarship
One of the country’s richest art scholarships for
students has been awarded to Maria Martin-Smith from
Whanganui UCOL’s Quay School of the Arts.
The winner
of the pattillo (note lower case) scholarship was named at a
function at the Sarjeant Gallery, Wanganui today (Thursday,
15 October). The judges were internationally known Louis Le
Vaillant, Director of the Johnson Collection in Melbourne;
Greg Anderson, Senior Curator at the Sarjeant and Paula
Newton, from the Mary Newton Gallery in Wellington.
The winner Maria Martin-Smith is in her final year of
a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, majoring in
printmaking.
Her entry was ‘Songs from the Hell
Box’. The term ‘Hell Box’, used by letterpress
printers, is the name for the container or bucket where lost
or imperfect lead type is thrown – to be later melted down
and recast.
She says the idea of being able to pull a
poetic voice from this mass of weighty black chaos was
exciting.
“I enjoy combining the traditional
printmaking practices with sculptural elements, such as
installation. I am interested in New Zealand historic places
and often use them as a point of departure for my
work.”
Once she graduates she plans to set up a
studio in Hokitika and share her love of printmaking with
the community.
The pattillo scholarship was
established by the Wellington-based consultancy pattillo in
2007 for students of the Quay School for the Arts and will
continue for ten years. The winning student receives $7,500
and a commemoratory medal sculpted by nationally recognised
jewellery artist Frances Stachl.
Pattillo director,
Anne Pattillo, says the record turn out this year of 54
works was wonderful and the standard of entries was a credit
to the school.
She says the idea of the scholarship
grew out of the way her company works.
“We
specialise in working with clients to solve difficult
problems – transforming organisations and ideas to
powerful reality. Our work mining the rich source of
creativity and possibility that lies in chaos of real life,
led to the brief for the students and they have performed
wonderfully.”
“Celebrating the transformation of
ideas is a big part of who we are, and we are really excited
to be able to support that potential in
others.”
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