so... and then you say you're not a good artist and you are not contributing to a better level here at DA... ok... i disagree with you. this is a great piece congrats and once again, welcome to DA

word.

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please die
[link]

Hah, that's interesting, very political (although by your discription I couldn't tell if that was your intention). Unfortunately I'm not very farmiliar with New Zealand politics, so if it was politically motivated, you should try explaining it to us foreigners, I'm interested.

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Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt.

*puts on his smartie hat*
You're right, there's lots of meaning in this picture, and lots of it is kinda specific to me. You're right, it isn't fair at all putting it up here without any explanation, which it clearly demands.
It's gotta be viewed in context, i guess, of many things going on in New Zealand, and also several things that i've been personally looking at over the past few months.
Here goes:
The issue that i'd see as foremost that i'm addressing here is something that i've chosen as my topic of study for my contribution to a research paper that i'm doing here at the University of Canterbury with a team of other students. The group's study is collectively titled "New Zealand meets America - On Screen". Basically i'm personally focusing on the use of the newzealand landscape by the international film industry... I'm thinking, of course, of primarily the lord of the rings. Also, there's The Last Samurai (Mt. Taranaki as Mt. Fuji), and King Kong, also Vertical Limit (an earlier example)...

While there's many issues tied up in this,:
*how does the NZ film industry benefit from this (prices have definitely gone up for the hire of film equipment!)(but at the same time PJ has made a bundle for re-instertion into the community),
*NZ becomes known for it's picturesque scenery - new zealand already has huge political wars over immigration (i'm in favour of immigration personally - i like the idea of a-land-without-borders)
*there are others, but i'll cut to the chase
The chief thing i'm thinking about with relation to this submission, is one which relates to "Montage Theory" in film. Just in case you don't know, Montage Theory talks about how placing one shot next to another shot, and then maybe a few more shots for good measure, can create atmosphere and even make things seem other than what they truly are. Think about it: Shot of a man, Shot of an Axe, Shot of a Chicken - what's gonna happen here? the three shots may have been filmed in radically different locations, but you're still getting the impression of "off with his head!". From this point it's only a hop-skip-and-a-jump to thinking about the way the interpretation of New Zealand might change/be contested in new ways through being in films that are viewed internationally.
Now, i'm gonna take a guess and say that you probably havn't seen many Contemporary New Zealand Films. We make quite a few you know. And they're pretty good ^_^. (i LIKE the nz film industry). You might have seen the lord of the rings... and just maybe Whale Rider (which got a standing ovation in NY so i've heard) but i bet you havn't seen much apart from that. one of my major statements in this submission is a desire to be able to understand the ways in which New Zealand is percieved umong the montage of other films out there, and also the way the landscape itself is formed for people outside of newzealand, -and even re-formed for newzealanders themselves - by way of explanation - i don't think many people in NZ really understood/recognized the nz landscape in quite the way that it was presented to us and to the world in LOTR. We are actively constructing our landscape's identity with our interactions with these films, and i'd like to know - " how, and why?"
looking at the gun i think of NZ as the site of Explosive new action and "wow" flicks, but wonder at the violence this may be causing us. i do concede that that's a pessimistic thought, and that there's plenty of positive things coming out of nz's involvement on the world cinematic scene... but i was desiring to provoke reactions.
do you still wish you'd asked? because there's more:
my friend's comment "nz looks like a gun" was revealing to me. this is because my friend is 16 and a big fan of computer games (as am i, don't get me wrong) over here, we're still playing " Counterstrike" - maybe you've heard of it - it's a First Person Shooting Game where there are two teams - the counter -terrorists and the terrorists. the gun in my picture is a "Desert Eagle" an american made gun that features as a very popular weapon in this game. where the world receives our landscape and pops it into their montage of mouths like candy, we in turn recieve the world (and america's) images, culture and struggles. There's a fascinating film about 9/11 called "9/11" . It features 11 different directors from all over the world producing a film each that is 9 minutes and 11 seconds long (and 02 frames). Their works as a collective really speak to me in that they are similar to the newzealand experience. The filmmakers show that each individual - no matter how far removed their nation is - has their own way of responding and being involved in the sept 11 event. and to other events, and other things.
which leads into the third, and maybe the most obvious thing... Violence on television. America mostly meets NZ on TV. And doncha no our news, our films, our music, is filled with lovely examples of American Violence. Their giant golden arches proclaim the destruction of our nation's individuality (i don't eat mcdonalds since i saw "McLieble" in my first year of uni!). I know it's all been said before, and i've some time ago grown out of activism over this (sadly), but sometimes it's nice to have a little stab. There's this song that's quite popular on the radio in NZ at the moment -my girlfriend played it to me and as i was writing this i thought of it - so i dug up the pertinent lyrics: (it's a song by the Black Eyed Peas called "Where is the Love".)
"Most of us only care about money makin’
Selfishness got us followin’ our own direction
Wrong information always shown by the media
Negative images is the main criteria
Infecting the young minds faster than bacteria
Kids wanna act like what they see in the cinema"

So, what's happening to New Zealand?

*takes off smartie hat*

hope this has helped some.

[ by the way, i like your art - thought the colour and texture on "A Weave" was awesome. I also like Building in Ink. I know a place in auckland that looks just like that. exactly in my mind at least. maybe i'll photograph it next time i go up to the enourmous smoke.
oh and go your choices in things to like: Serial Experiments Lain, Amelie, and Neil Gaiman (i remember reading several battered public library copies in city cafes of the Death and Sandman series - i guess now i maybe understand why you seem to like the ankh! ] ^_^

Hah, that's interesting. It's kind of funny, Canada has a lot of the same issues, except maby the immegration one, we get lots and lots of immagrants, and it's not a problem, multiculturalism is part of our nationalism and national identity. Americans use Canada a lot for filming too, it's cheaper for them here. A hell of a lot of American cities you see in the movies are actually Toronto or Vancouver Being right beside the U.S. and overshadowed by it in a worldly perspective, we have a bit of a problem with soverignty trying to find independence from all their influences. It's funny, NZ is half a world away and having problems with American influences too, hehe. Thanks for the long and detailed description!

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Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt.

i think it has amazing imagery

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dreams... delights... & delusions...

nice work

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I Came, I Saw, I Took A Photo

i thought about that...like any one would listen to me..lol

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Oh, you see monsters?
[link]

holy shit....now that i think about it....nz does look like a gun!!!

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~Hiyaku-Studio

that is some wonderful overlaying... and i absolutely love the title. it's too true. a must excellent!

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Positive Affirmation: [link]
The Crown's Jewel