New book captures the drama and humour of Greer Twiss' sculpture

Greet Twiss, Sculptor
Ron Sang Publications RRP $140

One of Auckland most admired public sculptures is Greer Twiss’ fountain at the corner of Karangahape Rd and Symonds St.

For more than 40 years it has it has been seen as part of the Auckland visual landscape, a piece of public art which does what few public art works manage to achieve – engage with the public, enhancing the space it occupies and providing whimsy and drama. These are also the characteristics of Twiss’ work generally which is evident in the new book on his work published by Ron Sang Publications.

As Robin Woodward notes, “Twiss’ art reflects his personality – it is lively and intellectual, invented and informed, always creative and never predictable.”

The book traces his career from his early experimental works at Elam in the late 1950s through his various series such as The Athletes, his major commissions such as the K Rd fountain and his more recent Albatross series.

The Ron Sang publications have all been notable for their beautifully produced images of paintings but photographing sculpture is a much more difficult undertaking.

Photographer Haruhiko Sameshima has captured the shapes and forms, the colour and the play of light, giving a real sense of the tactile quality of the artist’s works.

The one problem with the photographs is that because they have largely not been photographed in situ, it is often difficult to get a sense of their scale, so that works a few centimetres high look the same as works a couple of meters high.

In addition to essays by Robin Woodward and Rodney Wilson, the book has an extensive series of notes by the artist which are engaging and informative. He writes about his life and his work providing insights into the development of his work such as The Athletes. These came about in a serendipitous manner; a combination of his interest in the athletes of the time – Halberg and Snell, the experiments of another artist – Graham Percy  – and his own quirky interest.

He describes the physical, intellectual and emotional demands of creating his sculptures, making the processes and the thinking behind his work come alive.

Leafing through the book one can see the development of his work and be conscious of the way in which the artist invents and then recycles key elements such as the grids and supports he often uses.

These were initially used as a means of making the small figures he made look larger and they also referred to some of the activities of the figures – people in a bus holding on to rails, a miner in a cage.

These defining structures continue throughout his career and in works such as the large Flight Trainer for Albatross on Auckland’s waterfront they become a major part of the sculpture. While most of his sculptures have realist elements to them, many also have an enigmatic quality to them hinting at surrealist and absurdist roots.

Works such as War Bowler, which is on the cover of the book seems to be out of a Magritte painting while the figures who sit around his K rd fountain could well be waiting for Godot.

One is also conscious of the influences on his work, either direct or indirect as well. There are probably vestiges of the classical influence of his teacher John Kavanagh as well as Moore, and Giacometti.

One can also see some parallel influences or developments as in his Frozen Flame figures which explore the same ideas as Pat Hanly's Figures in Light.

With all his works, underlying his keen observation there is a wry sense of humour which can be seen in the ideas behind the work, the look of them as well as the methods of construction.

The book has over 250 images of the artist’s sculptures along with 20 drawings as well as many photographs of the artist in his studio and his collection of objects.

The book is not just a record of the artist's work but also an insight into the way in which the creative mind works.