Paintings and photos at C.S.A.

Press, 3 July 1985, Page 18

Paintings and photos at C.S.A.

Two painters and a photographer open exhibitions at i the C.S.A. Gallery today. They are Michael Ebel, I Mark Lander and Georg , Ludwig. Michael Ebel’s present ' exhibition was inspired by television, his new home at Kaituna, Lake Ellesmere, and the great escapist, Houdini. “I woke up on the first of the month and everything was clear,” says the artist. “Paul Young was on television the night before, singing Country and Western. He said his best music came from his heart and the worst from his head.” Michael Ebel realised then all his worries were in his head and the theme for his show was quite clear. Michael Ebel’s pleasure .with his new environment is reflected in his exhibition. He has changed from the Trompe I’oeil, made-up images of his Crumpled Paper and “Memory of the - Circus” series. These works are more understandable, he says. “I prefer that my next door neighbours enjoy them rather than an elite artistic circle.” The artist explains how Houdini spent all his life asking the question, “After you’ve finished your act does a true magic add itself to the end.” He is satisfied that in this show the magic is there. Christchurch artist, Mark Lander, has changed from using fluorescent paint spray bombs to an art form which is unusually primitive. Since completing Fine Arts School in 1977 he has experimented with many different ’ painting techniques. In one exhibition he hung huge loose canvases spray painted with fluorescent paints. Now he admits a horror of getting paint on his ’ hands. He changed to using earth paints because “They are non-toxic for a start.” He has now limited him- ' self completely to the use of indigenous materials from ; the Port Hills. His paint powders consist of red oxide from the Scari borough Cliffs, a purplish- ; brown from the Okains Bay summit, and a yellow ochre i from Wainui. The bluish i grey of burnt bones, blackish charcoal of burnt wili low, and the grey of wood

ash all combine and contrast in a natural colour range. The paint is applied to a surface of the painter’s own making. He gathers flax from the summit of Dyers Pass Road. After two weeks of drying, the woven flax bleaches and shrinks and forms a rectangular matlike surface. These are attached to large willow branch frames, by string made from plaited flax strips or twisted flax fibre. Except for bees wax and linseed oil which are used as binders, he has eliminated all bought materials from his work. In this series the stylised figures closely resemble those of Maori rock carvings. The figures on stretchers evoke many images for the viewer. The “Stretchers” series originated from a striking newspaper photograph of the bodies of Afghanistan peasants tied to stretchers.

Mark Lander used his converted Mangle printing press to print a series of posters for his exhibition. Printed on recycled paper, he is excited about the potential of making his own bark fibre paper next.

Georg Ludwig says of his work that “generative” photography is a favourite. By that he means any kind of art which is not a copy interpreting material reality but an abstract reality in itself. Art for him is the purest and most personal form of self expression. It has no further purpose. “Loving clearness, beauty, simplicity, and surrealism I regard myself as an optimist. I like to work spontaneously and with ease.” Georg Ludwig was born in Munich in 1954. His work has been previously shown in Christchurch at the Photographers Gallery. The exhibitions end on July 14.