Déjà vu: ‘The Waterfall’ artist Nigel Brown paints the same scene in Dusky Sound’s Cascade Cove that William Hodges painted on Captain Cook’s expedition in 1773
In the words of Queenstown producer/director Peta Carey, many artists have attempted to capture the essence and the mood of the Fiordland landscape – very few have succeeded.
Thankfully, though, that hasn’t prevented Carey’s most recent foray onto the small screen in the shape of The Waterfall (TV1, Sunday, 11.10pm), an hour-long documentary that explores the relationship between four prominent New Zealand painters, and one of the most beautiful vistas on Earth.
The Waterfall essentially records the artistic response of Gerda Leenards, John Walsh, Nigel Brown and Melvin “Pat” Day after a five-day journey into Dusky Sound, where they also debate the legacy of William Hodges, ship’s artist with Captain Cook.
MY 3 SONS
Top TV this week
1. Christmas in the Park
TV3, Sunday, 7pm
New Zealand artists Drew Neemia, Frankie Stevens and Jackie Clarke, not to mention Australian X Factor champion Altiyan Childs feature in this year’s annual knees-up.
2. Warnie Prime, Thursday, 9.30pm
In a departure from his usual means of communication, former cricket star Shane Warne hosts Sting and Dannii Minogue on a chat show.
3. Shortland Street
TV2, Friday, 7pm
The year-ender is at hand and already we’ve been assured that as many as six lives will be placed in peril, including the nice young anaesthetist Luke Durville.
It was Hodges who in 1773 painted the celebrated Waterfall in Dusky Bay, a site the quartet and film crew eventually gather at following an arduous day-long trek over what Carey last week described as the most “extraordinary terrain”.
The story follows the artistic process of each of the artists, from sketches “en plein air” to their completed works some four months later, including a five-metre-wide initiative from Walsh that reportedly sold to an anonymous buyer for $125,000.
Carey picked her artists shrewdly. Brown had a good understanding of Hodges; Leenard was familiar with the landscape. But both Walsh and the 86-year-old Day were experiencing Fiordland for the first time.
“Somewhere such as Fiordland can be a bit overwhelming to portray, even on film,” says Carey. “But sometimes, if it’s distilled through the hand of an artist, you get not only the visual but a whole sense of place as well.
“I was doing a lot of reading about the history of the painters that went through the area and that’s when I thought of tying the two up. Then the story sort of morphed a bit to take in the legacy of William Hodges.
“You watch this film and yes, you see Fiordland, but you’ve also got four amazing characters and you see their sense of process – the way they come to the point where they know what they’re going to paint and how they’re going to do it.
“And you know what? For the lay-person who doesn’t have anything to do with the art world, it’s a fantastic film. I’m not an art buff, but there’s no navel gazing or pompous art-speak.”
Carey says one of her favourite sequences was when the quartet came into Dusky Sound (following “an interesting wee voyage” down the coast) and lined up the Hodges painting of the entrance as a comparison.
Far from gaining unanimous approval, Hodges’ romantic style divided the group, says Carey, with some happy to accept his interpretations, others wanting to have nothing to do with them.
Shot by the highly-regarded Renaud Maire and already lauded for the quality of cinematography, The Waterfall will be repeated on TVNZ 7 in March next year. But if you can manage it, far better to sit up on Sunday, or employ the My Sky.
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