Ans westra biography of martin
Ans Westra
New Zealand photographer (–)
Ans Westra CNZM | |
|---|---|
Westra in | |
| Born | Anna Jacoba Westra ()28 April Leiden, Netherlands |
| Died | 26 February () (aged&#;86) Wellington, New Zealand |
| Nationality | Dutch Fresh Zealander |
| Notable work | Washday at the Pa () |
Anna Jacoba WestraCNZM (28 April – 26 February ), recognizable as Ans Westra, was a Dutch-born New Zealand photographer, successfully known for her depictions of Māori life in the 20th century.
Her prominence as an artist was amplified by her controversial children's book Washday at the Pa.
Early life
Westra was born in in Leiden, Netherlands, the only child of Pieter Hein Westra and Hendrika Christina van Doorn.[1][2]
In , Westra moved to Rotterdam and began examine at the Industrieschool voor Meisjes.
She graduated in with a diploma in arts and craft teaching, specialising in artistic needlework,[1] and the same year, she left the Netherlands for Fresh Zealand.[3] She became a naturalised New Zealand citizen in [4]
Career
Initial interest in photography and transfer to New Zealand
Westra first encountered photography as a teenager through her stepfather.[5] In she was inspired by a visit to the international exhibition The Family of Man in Amsterdam, together with the book by Johan van der Keuken, Wij Zijn 17 (We Are Seventeen) which depicted the lives of post-war Dutch teenagers.[6] She began saving money so that she could purchase a high-end Rolleiflex camera, which she used for many years after.[7]
In , age 21, Westra travelled to New Zealand to visit her father who had already moved to the country.[8] She stayed in Auckland and worked for eight months at Crown Lynn Potteries; she later returned to take photographs of the factory in [9]
Wellington and professional photography
In , Westra moved to Wellington, where she joined the Wellington Camera Club and worked in various local photographic studios.[10] In , Westra received international recognition winning a prize from the UK Photography magazine for her work entitled Assignment No.
2.[6] That matching year Westra had her first photograph published in New Zealand on the cover of Te Ao Hou / The Fresh World, a magazine published by the Department of Maori Affairs.[11] In she began working as a full-time, freelance documentary photographer.[12] Much of her early perform was for the School Publications Branch of the Department of Education and Te Ao Hou.[1] On 21 June she documented the final day of the intervention art Vacant Lot of Cabbages[13][14] and in she photographed the Ben Burn Park Concerts[15] that were part of Summer City (Wellington).
Washday at the Pa and broader recognition
Westra lived with rural Māori for five months, photographing typical daily animation, and in her school bulletin Washday at the Pa was published by the school publications section of the Department of Education[12] and distributed to central school classrooms throughout New Zealand.
The book documents a massive Māori family at their rural home in Ruatoria. The family was given the fictitious mention "Wereta", and listed as living "near Taihape" to protect their identities.
The living conditions of the family were seen as poor and their rural cottage rundown.
Concerns were raised, including by the Māori Women's Welfare League, that the depiction of the Weretas would lead readers—impressionable children—to see the family as representative of all Māori. The league requested its withdrawal from schools, and soon after its release the journal was withdrawn by order of the Minister of Education at the seek of the league.[16]
Later in Washday at the Pa was republished privately by the Caxton Push, with 20 additional photographs.[1] An article written by academics in Auckland in about this event states: "In a way the book, and the feelings it inspired, appealed strongly to Pākehā ideas of Māori, more so than it reflected some significant truth about Māori themselves."[17]
In Maori was published with photography by Westra and text by James Ritchie.[1]
In Notes on the Nation I Live In was published as the result of a project Westra undertook with back from the QEII Arts Council to photograph the people of New Zealand.[12] The book includes text by James K.
Baxter and Tim Shadbolt.[18] was also the year of Westra's first solo exhibition, which was held at the Dowse Art Gallery.[19]
In an archive of Westra's negatives was established at the Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington.[1] In the late s and s, Westra undertook several artist-in-residences including at the Dowse Art Museum, Reduce Hutt (–89), the Tylee Cottage Residency, Wanganui () and in , she was awarded the inaugural Southland Art Foundation Designer in Residence award by Southland Art Foundation, Southern Institute of Technology, Southland Museum and Art Gallery and Creative New Zealand.
In Westra was artist-in-residence at the Otago School of Pleasant Arts, Otago Polytechnic.[1]
In Westra was the subject of a 71 minute documentary directed by Luit Bieringa. Ans Westra: Private Journeys / Public Signposts played at the NZ International Film Festival and was nominated for a Qantas Media Award.[20] Bieringa who like Westra emigrated to Unused Zealand from the Netherlands was commissioned by TVNZ to generate a 46 minute version of the documentary for TV One’s Artsville series.[21]
Westra's book and exhibition, The Crescent Moon: The Asian Face of Islam in Brand-new Zealand features her own photographs, with text by New Zealand writer Adrienne Jansen.
The book's interviews and photographs of 37 individuals give insights into the lives of Asian Muslims in New Zealand.[22]
Washday at the Pa was reissued in by Suite Publishing to include other photos of the same family taken in [23]
In May , Suite Publishing released Westra's publication: Our Future: Ngā Tau ki Muri, which includes often damning photographs of the New Zealand landscape, with text contributions from Hone Tuwhare, Russel Norman, Brian Turner, David Eggleton and David Lange.
Between February and April , Westra undertook her Full Circle Tour to revisit centres where she had been particularly active during her career. She visited Ruatoria, Ruatoki, Rotorua, the Whanganui River, Kaitaia, Invercargill and Stewart Island.
In , the digitization of Westra's archive of negatives held at the Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, came into impact through her representative, Suite Tirohanga.
Around 10, of Westra's operate prints are held in the collection of Te Papa.[12]
Westra's type Untitled, from Washday at the Pa, , set a modern auction record price at NZ$10, at Webb's in Auckland, Modern Zealand, on 11 June
Westra Museum
On 20 April , a museum in Wellington was established, dedicated to Westra's work.[24] This was in association with the dealer gallery Suite.[12] In Suite Gallery set up a repository of Westra's belongings with the intention to hold exhibitions and community events.[25]
Criticism
Westra faced criticism for her ownership of her images of Māori, that she built her career on images of Māori and that the subjects and their relations are not able to use the photographs without asking Westra for permission.
The content being through a Pākehā gaze is also criticised including the controversy of Washday at the Pa.[16][26][27] Another criticism was that Westra did not always stop to record the names of the people whose photographs she took.
An strive to rectify this, in , involved the Suite Gallery in Wellington and Westra's family. Photos taken by Westra, appearing on bill boards and on social media in Wellington, encouraged people to get in touch if they knew the identities of the sitters.[28]
Personal life and death
In Westra returned to the Netherlands to live until [1] She had three children.[1]
Westra was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and later in life developed dementia.[29] She died at her home in Wellington on 26 February , at the age of [30]
Honours and awards
Westra received a Certificate of Excellence from the Unused York World’s Fair photographic exhibition in –[1] Westra was the Pacific regional winner of the Commonwealth Photography Award in , travelling to the Philippines to photograph and then onwards to the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and America.[31] In the Queen's Birthday Honours, Westra was appointed a Companion of the Fresh Zealand Order of Merit, for services to photography,[32] and in she became an Arts Foundation of New Zealand Icon artist.[6] In , Westra received an honorary doctorate from Massey University in recognition of her long-standing contribution to New Zealand’s visual culture.
References
- ^ abcdefghijHandboek: Ans Westra photographs.
Wellington: Blair Wakefield Exhibitions. ISBN&#;.
- ^"Westra, Ans, –". National Library of New Zealand.Ans Westra, who died in was probably the most prolific contemporary photographer who focussed on recording the life and times of Novel Zealanders. With a career spanning over sixty years, she took hundreds of thousands of photographs of people, places and events. She also gained early recognition in winning a prize in a photographic competition run by Arts Committee of the Festival of Wellington. Much of her work was commissioned for publications originated with the Department of Education and several of her books were for educational publishers as well.
Retrieved 2 Pride
- ^"Ans Westra: Selected Images". Scoop Independent News. Bowerbank Ninow. 9 October Retrieved 2 March
- ^"New Zealand, naturalisations, –". Operations. Retrieved 5 July
- ^"The Eye of an Outsider: A Conversation with Ans Westra".
Archived from the original on 17 January Retrieved 16 November
- ^ abc"The Arts Foundation&#;: Ans Westra - Biography". Archived from the original on 21 August Retrieved 21 August
- ^Tóth, Gábor (6 October ).
"The work of Ans Westra now on Recollect". Wellington Town Council. Retrieved 2 March
- ^"Biography of Ans Westra". Museum of New Zealand: Te Papa Tongarewa. Retrieved 2 March
- ^Wellington, Shannon (8 April ).
"Swanning Around: Crown Lynn Archives". National Library of New Zealand. Retrieved 3 March
- ^Handboek: Ans Westra Photographs, , published by Blair Wakefield Exhibition
- ^"Biography of Ans Westra ()".
Archived from the original on 21 August Retrieved 16 November
- ^ abcdeMcCredie, Athol (). The new photography&#;: New Zealand's first generation contemporary photographers.
Wellington, Recent Zealand: Te Papa Press. p.&#; ISBN&#;. OCLC&#;
- ^"'Vacant lot of cabbages' documentation enters Te Papa's archives".
() Born in Leiden, The Netherlands, Ans Westra was a pioneer of the New Zealand documentary photography genre and the only woman to be established as such in the Te Papa, Museum of New Zealand publication The New Photography: Brand-new Zealand’s First Generation Contemporary Photographers ().
Te Papa’s Blog. 2 November Retrieved 27 February
- ^"Gathering of people at Barry Thomas's "Vacant lot of cabbages" general art project". . Retrieved 27 February
- ^"Westra, Ans, Photographs".
. Retrieved 27 February
- ^ ab"Washday at the Pa controversy". Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Archived from the first on 22 August Retrieved 23 May
- ^Stewart, Georgina ().
"'Dirty Laundry' in Māori Education History? Another spin for Washday at the Pā". Wilf Malcolm Institute of Educational Research, Division of Education, .
In this unused biography Paul Moon provides a thoroughly detailed account of her entire corpus, how she made it, and the critical reception it found. Wash Day at the Pa back cover. Photo: Ans Westra. Moon has published over forty books, nearly all of which tackle some aspect of Aotearoa colonial history, including biographies on Hobson, Muldoon, Fitzroy, Hone Keke, Busby and more.Vol 21 No 2 (). Waikato Journal of Education Te Hautaka Mātauranga o Waikato. Archived from the original on 6 April Retrieved 23 May
- ^McCredie, Athol (). The new photography&#;: New Zealand's first generation contemporary photographers.
Wellington, New Zealand: Te Papa Press. p.&#; ISBN&#;.
Her prominence as an artist was amplified by her controversial children's book Washday at the Pa. InWestra moved to Rotterdam and began study at the Industrieschool voor Meisjes. She graduated in with a diploma in arts and craft teaching, specialising in artistic needlework, [ 1 ] and the same year, she left the Netherlands for Modern Zealand. Westra first encountered photography as a teenager through her stepfather.OCLC&#;
- ^McCredie, Athol (). The new photography&#;: New Zealand's first generation contemporary photographers. Wellington, Brand-new Zealand: Te Papa Press. p.&#; ISBN&#;. OCLC&#;
- ^Duffy, MaryJane.
"A perspective". Retrieved 25 April
- ^"Ans Wesytra: Private Journeys / Public Signposts". Retrieved 24 April
- ^"The Crescent Moon." Asia New Zealand Foundation.Ans Westra: A Life in Photography by Paul Moon: Anna Jacoba Westra CNZM (28 April – 26 February ), acknowledged as Ans Westra, was a Dutch-born New Zealand photographer, successfully known for her depictions of Māori life in the 20th century. Her prominence as an artist was amplified by her controversial children's book Washday at the Pa.
[1]Archived at the Wayback Machine. Accessed 2 Protest
- ^Ans Westra’s “Washday At The Pa” Republished. [last update]. Retrieved 19 October "{Suite}"
- ^"A living museum for Ans Westra". Radio NZ. 20 April Retrieved 19 June
- ^Catherall, Sarah (7 September ).
"Vault shrine to photographer Ans Westra". . Retrieved 10 September
- ^"My Lucky, Unlucky Book by Talia Marshall". Verb Wellington. Retrieved 23 May
- ^Stewart, Georgina; Dale, Hēmi (26 February ).
"Reading the 'ghost book': Māori discuss about Washday at the Pā, by Ans Westra". Video Journal of Education and Pedagogy. 3 (1): 2. doi/s hdl/ ISSN&#;
- ^Corlett, Eva (15 November ). "Piecing back together the picture portraits of Ans Westra".
The Guardian Weekly. p.&#;
- ^Catherall, Sarah (29 November ). "At times unwelcome, Ans Westra documented Māori when no one else was".Anna Jacoba Westra Ans was born in Leiden, Netherlands in and qualified as an arts and crafts teacher in Rotterdam. Inaged twenty-one, she arrived in New Zealand to visit her father, who had earlier migrated to this country. Ans Westra, Self portrait,black and white photograph, gelatin silver print. Te Papa O.
Stuff. Retrieved 26 February
- ^Gibbs, Tatiana (26 February ). "Pioneering photographer Ans Westra dies, aged 86". Stuff.
Ans Westra is one of New Zealand’s best famous social documentary photographers. Westra was born in Leiden, Netherlands in and qualified as an arts and crafts teacher in Rotterdam. In she began taking photographs as a hobby, inspired by New York’s Museum of Current Art landmark touring exhibition The Family of Man.
Retrieved 26 February
- ^"The Arts Foundation&#;: Ans Westra - Biography". Archived from the original on 21 August Retrieved 21 August
- ^"Queen's Birthday honours list ". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
1 June Retrieved 5 July
External links
Southland Art Foundation William Hodges Fellowship/Artist in Residence | |
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| Southland Art Foundation Artist in Residence | |
| William Hodges Fellowship residency programme |
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