Making Culture Attractive HOW TO IMPROVE THE CHRISTCHURCH SCENE

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29130, 16 February 1960, Page 14

Making Culture Attractive HOW TO IMPROVE THE CHRISTCHURCH SCENE

[Specially written for “The Press" by R.D.L.]

New Zealanders are good beer drinkers and keen racegoers. They enjoy football, cricket and a lot of other sports; but they are culturally so backward that it doesn’t matter. We have a civilisation in which too small a percentage takes a worth-while interest in art, museums, post-graduate university work, and what might generally j be called the higher intellectual spheres of life. Why is this? What can we do r to correct the situation? ti I believe that much of the j trouble may be traced to the j lack ot adequate public relations in these spheres. We have com- • petent men and women able to - lecture and guide those seeking this extra knowledge; but we have poor facilities to attract the pub- ? lie. We have, so to speak, good ’ performances inside, but nobody ’ outside to call the crowds in. 1 Let us look critically at the J epntemporary scene in Christ- ’ church. ? Not long ago, the Japanese Am--1 bassador arrived from Welling--8 ton to open what has been acM claimed as a very good exhibition - of Japanese paintings at the Mc- ■ Dougall Art Gallery. The mayoral ' car arrived at the gates and when J the occupants found the gate shut, • the Mayor—in what we would J call a democratic manner (though 1 I shudder to think what the Jap- > anese would call it) stepped out • to find the gates were locked! ' The official party then had to proceed on foot (the Ambassador’s ’ wife in traditional dress!) along J those ill-lit, dusty paths covered J in annoyingly small shingle that ! gets everywhere, to the gallery. ’ This sort of thing is bad. The 5 honour of Christchurch city was let down on an official occasion. First of all, the art gallery could well be open up to 10 p.m.; | second, common sense demands 1 sealing (or laying of concrete squares) on areas of high pedes- 1 trian use; third, the whole access i route could and should be ilium- I inated with pleasing seven-foot < boulevard lanterns of graceful, i functional, non-Victorian design, : atop slender supporting columns. 1 Support for Art Christchurch has a population approaching 250,000, and practic- ' ally speaking, if art circles were active, we should have at least j 5000 citizens belonging to some J sort of art society. In fact, of , course, we do not. Little or no • real encouragement is given. Oh yes! If you go along you can join, : but one is never approached t either in person, pamphlet, or dynamic newspaper advertisement or article. The gallery given to the city (the greatest gift the city has ever received from anyone) is open while people are at work and shut during the hours when people can most conveniently get along to it. Access to the questionably sited building is bad. Gates are locked, paths are poor, and lighting is bad. If the main entry pathway were shifted about 10 yards to the south, the entry to the gardens could be made in warmth and comfort, instead of cold and damp. Lawn could be laid over the existing path, and shrubs planted to conceal the huts at the rear of the main museum 1 block. i Advertising in the newspapers i is inadequate. I do not necessarily I refer to paid advertisements 1 either but reviews and lively c articles on art which might stir c up interest and which editors encourage. c There are few, if any, public lectures available on art at either ( gallery. Instruction on art is t severely limited. “Short courses,” t imaginatively handled, and which a might stimulate our citizens in this field are unknown—or ill- I advertised. In short, the persons | responsible for the teaching, de- I velopment, and perpetuation of art I in this city might start to take a I broad look at the scene, and do I something about it. I know the Canterbury Society I of Arts, nurtured by the efforts I of a few enthusiastic lovers of art, I aided and abetted by a few rivals I in painting, has its own gallery I in Durham street; but art cannot I be isolated into watertight com- I partments. Both the City Council I and the society have at least a I moral obligation to carry the ban- I net of artistic learning to the | citizenry as a whole. The City 1 Council could and should increase 1 the grant for the McDougall gal- I lery and should encourage the I formation of a really active group I of “friends of the gallery” to help I to staff it and to act as amateur I guides on conducted tours. ? Need for Initiative It needs more than the artistic to administer the institution. The , gospel of art must be spread; t and there is a need for one or j two bright young men and women c who can drum up ideas and cam- t paigns to lure in the crowds and make something approaching c proper use of this splendid gift, j which today lies in a backwater, « abused by neglect. It is not improper to suggest ° that the Department of Education ' might provide an annual grant for \ the development of art galleries ( and museums. We are crammed , with basic learning at school, but ■ a scholar is essentially a self- i educated product; and places of I learning such as the gallery and 1 museum contribute much to true < scholarship. Certain subjects are ‘ best appreciated after one leaves school. Art is one. School education is basic. Broader education commences on the day one walks 11 out of the school gates for the a last time. How delightful It would be to I be able to drift down to the ' gallery in the evening at, say, b 8.30, and either join a guided t tour of part of the building, or c just wander about alone in that pleasant place which thousands of e citizens have never even entered! t It is tragi-comedy to think that n the guiding services at Forest t Lawns Cemetery in California are V infinitely better than our own guidance facilities in New Zea- 1’ land galleries and museums. Now let us cast this critical eye at that other palace of learning, the Canterbury Museum. Every F Sunday afternoon, hundreds of 1 seekers after knowledge are ' herded out of the museum on the t stroke of closing hour by over- t zealous museum officials. They t are ejected at a time of peak s inspection convenience, and their a thirst for knowledge is un- 1 quenched. r Staff hours are a problem here, £ but cannot the Friends of the 1 Museum assist the regular staff; i or cannot staff hours be adjusted a to co-ordinate with peak visitor i hours? _ J

r Both the museum and the art r gallery would benefit by sharing t a clean, well-lit, air-conditioned . cafeteria where visitors could t withdraw for a cup of good coffee and freshly-made, interestingly, i filled sandwiches. ( Then, too, would the museum atmosphere be upset by softly, r played background music? The r echoing of voices is to me a dis. [ traction at the place, and gives a sepulchral air. Foam rubberi backed flooring might also help things along. Learning is not a . stark, frigid affair with what has . become a “churchy” atmosphere, j It is, like its counterpart religion, . a joyful thing. Let’s brighten it i up! Rolleston Avenue The area south of the statue of William Rolleston and east of the museum and garden gates is dreadful. The ground is uneven; the paths are dusty and dirty; there is no colour, but everywhere a dull drabness; there are inadequate bicycle parking facilities, third-rate lighting, and badly, lettered noticeboards ineffectively placed. This area is screaming for a complete overhaul. Here are a few ideas: (1) Levelling, followed by laying of concrete squares either naturally or variously coloured; (2) a census of bicycle occupancy for a week, followed by the installation of convenient stands; (3) gay. graceful lighting standards of the type seen overseas but seldom in New Zealand; (4) raised garden beds—walls rising say two feet above the surrounding concrete squares or concrete flower tubs —or both—filled with bright flowers as a welcome to the gardens, the gallery, and the museum. What should be more logical than a glorious entry to the Botanic Gardens of what we are pleased to call the “Garden City”? The public have never been attracted by drab, inactive boredom as manifested in grubby buildings, ill-kept walks, and so on. This is 1960—an age of colour, gaiety, brightness, and mental stimulus. It is time the city fathers gave a little more of their paternal attention to this neglected aspect of life in Christchurch. A single grant of a few thousand pounds would make these dreams a reality and draw thousands of our people within the portals of art and learning. Money spent on culture is money invested well. It if an investment that should be oversubscribed.