Carving exhibition at the Building Centre

Press, 20 August 1979, Page 23

Carving exhibition at the Building Centre

The Marlborough Tourist Promotion Week in the Christchurch Building Centre will feature demonstrations of Maori carving by Norman Clark, of Blenheim, and a name-the-photograph competition with prizes of free holiday accommodation, scenic flights and cruises and restaurant meals. Prizes in the competition will be provided by the Autolodge Motor Inn, Blenheim; Marlin Motels, Picton; Angle Motels, Picton; Koromiko Park Motels, Koromiko; and Bings Motels, Blenheim. Scenic flights will be gien by Float-Air, Picton, Ltd, and scenic cruises by Friendship Cruises, Ltd. Norman Clark is one of New Zealand's leading carvers and is widely recognised as a craftsman in wood, greenstone, whalebone, ivory and silver. His assistant will be Mr John Wikiriphi, a talented young carver of Blenheim who specialises in fine work. Mr Clark has chosen a wide variety of subjects for his carving demonstrations. They will include the traditional wood carving of a pou pou panel, several Maori weapons including a patu (club), musical instruments and carving in whalebone from the old Tory Channel whaling station. The week at the Building Centre will be followed by a week’s demonstration of carving at the Maori Mission Hall in Phillips Street, Christchurch, during which five carvers will display their skill to students of the University of Canterbury, and Christchurch Technical Institute, and other persons, Maori and pakeha, who are interested in the craft. Mr Clark’s studio in Blenheim has become a favourite stopping place for tour buses, and a centre of interest for local and visiting groups. He has demonstrated his craft in New Zealand and overseas exhibitions, and before cruise ship passengers and television audiences. Export orders for Mr Clark’s work have increased as his reputation overseas, particularly in Australia and the United States, has grown. He hopes to be able to develop this potential for export sales by promoting Maori carving as a “product of the South Pacific,” a necessary identification tag for the benefit of that part of the American market which has not heard of New Zealand. Many of Mr Clark’s smaller pieces are now being cast in his studio in sterling silver — a precious metal but more readily obtainable at times than whalebone. His original supply of whalebone came from the Tory Channel whaling sta-

tion, which closed in 1964. For the last six years he has relied mostly on bone from the jaws of sperm whales washed up on New Zealand’s coastline. About 30 per cent of this bone can be used for carving. The woods he uses are beech, totara, matai (for difficult and detailed work), rata (for clubs and weapons), and hinau for adzes. Jade and whale-tooth ivory are also used by carvers in his studio to execute his ethnic design concepts. About 95 per cent of the pieces have a Polynesian design theme. In his first few years as a professional carver, Mr Clark worked from his home in Blenheim. He held exhibitions in the South Island and sold his work to shops and museums. He opened his present studio and retail centre in Hutcheson Street in partnership with Mr Tom Bird, a former Blenheim hotel licensee, last November.