Joanna Margaret Paul in Dunedin
Over the last decade or so, a sense of momentum has gathered behind the position of Joanna Margaret Paul in New Zealand art history. Before, while there were certainly people who valued her work, Paul was a marginal figure, not least because she was herself drawn to marginal things, unrelated to the dominant narratives in New Zealand art. Also, she lived the latter part of her life in the somewhat out-of-the-way town of Whanganui. Now, her work looks prescient, in tune with the thinking of a younger generation of artists, curators, writers and dealers who find value in small things. Robert Heald, in Wellington, and Brett McDowell, in Dunedin, have consistently presented smart, elegant exhibitions of under-appreciated aspects of Paul’s oeuvre, including her photographs and films. CIRCUIT Artist Film and Video Aotearoa New Zealand have made available examples of Paul’s films and commissioned responses from contemporary artists.
Painter Saskia Leek, in the pages of this magazine, talked about Paul’s ‘light touch’ and her sense of ‘just being in the world’, which, Leek said, ‘feels important at this time’. The time is ripe, then, for a more all-encompassing account of Paul’s art and life. This has been accomplished in , an impeccably researched and presented exhibition and book by Lauren Gutsell
