KATIE THORNTON AUCKLAND ARTIST

THERE IS STILL A RAINBOW, BY KATIE THORNTON (2008) WATERCOLOUR AND GAUCHE ON PAPER 1400MM X 1400MM
"I THINK I ALWAYS WANTED TO BE AN ARTIST BUT IT TOOK AND TAKES COURAGE TO GIVE IT A GO."

KATIE THORNTON LIVES AND PAINTS IN AUCKLAND.SHE STUDIED HERE IN NZ AND DID A MASTERS DEGREE IN MELBOURNE. HER PAINTINGS ARE A COMBINATION OF BOLD COLOUR AND SENSITIVE HANDLING OF PAINT.

ME: DID YOU SPEND YOUR CHILDHOOD PAINTING AND DRAWING?
KATIE THORNTON:Yeah I did. I also have fond memories of doing other stuff too like making dough baskets, playing with Fimo, making felt objects and playing with Lego.
ME: DID YOU HAVE OTHER EARLIER AMBITIONS BESIDES BEING AN ARTIST?

KATIE THORNTON: I think I always wanted to be an artist but it took and takes courage to give it a go.

ME: WHEN DID YOU DECIDE TO BECOME AN ARTIST?
KATIE THORNTON:My first year of my art study I was like yep this is what I’m doing.
ME: WHO ARE THE ARTIST THAT YOU ADMIRE?

KATIE THORNTON: Mark Rothko, Wolfgang Laib, Cy Twombly, Agnes Martin, Donald Judd, Rosalie Gascoigne, van Gogh, Matisse, Anish Kapoor.
ME: HOW DO YOU WORK... DO YOU HAVE SEVERAL PAINTINGS ON THE GO OR DO YOU WORK ON A SINGLE PAINTING TILL COMPLETION?

KATIE THORNTON: I work on themes or series of works. I take a concept and stretch-develop it into different forms. I am very interested in process and excited about the learning that comes through making.
ME: IS PAINT, THE USE, COLOUR ETC. THE STARTING POINT FOR EACH PAINTING?

KATIE THORNTON: Yes, as in I LOVE paint. No, as in I can see ideas for a painting or colour combinations everywhere. I have recently done a pottery course which has stretched my thinking.
ME: YOUR BIO, ON YOUR WEB SITE, TALKS ABOUT A SENSE OF DISCOVERY, IN YOUR PAINTINGS. SENSE OF DISCOVERY WITH PAINT OR MORE INTROSPECTIVE. OR BOTH?

KATIE THORNTON: Both

ME:HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN A PAINTING IS COMPLETE?
KATIE THORNTON:The million $ question. You learn through doing. Sometimes you push a work too far and you know that you have lost something in the process. Other times you need to really push the work to get what you are looking for. I think intuition, respect of the process, and not being afraid to start and... stop is important.

ME: YOU ARE BASED IN KINGSLAND, CAN YOU EXPLAIN HOW YOU HOPE TO CREATE A KINGSLAND COLLECTIVE OF ARTIST?

KATIE THORNTON: We run a community art space called ‘The Space’ on 3c Kingsland Tce. We aim for this to be a blank shell in which people can imagine and bring to life different projects. There are a couple of arts collectives that already run out of there; we’ve had meals there and the odd poker night.
We also hold exhibitions. These are opportunities for artists to show interesting or exploratory work that wouldn’t necessarily fit in a commercial gallery context.
The next exhibition ‘JARS’ opens on the 13th of August from 6pm-8pm and is also open on the 14th-16th of August from 11am-3pm.
If anyone is interested in showing in ‘The Space’ they can contact me at email@katiethornton.co.nz

ME: ALSO FOR MORE INFORMATION ON KATIE VIEW www.katiethornton.co.nz

LARNIE NICOLSON, PHOTOGRAPHER

"I'M ATTRACHED TO GRITTY LANDSCAPES AND URBAN WASTELANDS. I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT SAYS ABOUT ME!"

Larnie Nicholson is an Auckland commercial photographer who has degrees in both photography and graphic design. Her photographic work is an amalgamation of the two disciplines.The design element comes into play with the strong use of composition lines that recede, converge and form patterns within the photograph.The photographers eye is in the use of small symbolic details that tell the whole story. For example in a photo entitled "San Francisco". The image is of the shadows cast by the cables of the tourist attraction tram cars. To see Larnie's work view http://www.larnienicolson.com/

ME:TRAVELLING PROVIDED THE CATALYST TO GET YOU INTO PHOTOGRAPHY, HAVE YOU THOUGHT OF TRAVELLING AGAIN OR ARE YOU SETTLED IN NZ?

LARNIE NICOLSON:I don’t feel particularly settled in NZ actually. It’s in my nature to travel and want to see new places. This can be incredibly frustrating at times because it would probably be easier to want to settle down but I just don’t feel that at the moment. Travelling opens the mind and seeing new places for the first time is inspiring.

ME: HOW WAS IT WORKING AND LIVING IN NEW YORK?

LARNIE NICOLSON:I loved New York. I felt very fortunate to be able to live there especially as I lived in a great apartment in Soho. I worked in a busy photography agency while shooting nearly every day. I had an old Polish bike with a basket on the front so I’d pop my heavy Mamiya 645 camera in that and off I’d go exploring.

ME:WHAT ARE SOME OF THE PUBLICATIONS THAT YOUR WORK HAS APPEARED IN?

LARNIE NICOLSON:Urbis, Your Home and Garden, Black, Houses, Urbis Landscapes, Progressive Building, Mob Magazine (Telecom) and Buzz Magazine (Air NZ’s internal magazine)

ME:HAVE YOU EXHIBITED OR THOUGHT OF PRODUCING A BOOK OF YOUR WORK?

LARNIE NICOLSON:I was in the AIPA group exhibition in 2007 which was well received. I think I will probably exhibit again at some stage because I still shoot personal work but it’s not an immediate goal. I’m working on a book idea at the moment. It’s not a book about my work but I would be the photographer. It’s such a good idea but I can’t disclose just yet.

ME: THERE IS A STRONG LINEAR CONTENT IN YOUR WORK, WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR COMPOSITION-WISE WHEN YOU APPROACH A SUBJECT?

LARNIE NICOLSON:I studied Graphic Design before Photography and that influence comes through my work. I always look for strong lines when composing a shot. It’s a concept that is hard to explain as it just happens naturally.

ME:IN YOUR PORTRAIT WORK, THE PEOPLE LOOK POISED BUT RELAXED. HOW DO YOU BUILD A GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR SUBJECTS?

LARNIE NICOLSON:I get them drunk first. No - I know it can be intimidating having your photo taken so I’m friendly and really do try to make them feel as comfortable as possible. If I am photographing children I find it easy to get on to their level and have fun with them.

ME:WHAT'S THE TRICKIEST PHOTO YOU HAVE TAKEN?

LARNIE NICOLSON:All shoots have a tricky element to them whether it be technical or for some other reason (which is why you hire us!). Shooting Fashion Week is quite tricky because every show is lit so differently and it’s such long days. Architecture is quite technical and probably looks easier to photograph than it is.

ME:WHAT IS THE STRANGEST REQUEST YOU HAVE HAD, FOR A PHOTO?

LARNIE NICOLSON:A guy once called and asked me to take naked photos of him masturbating. Apparently there is an underground swingers club in Auckland and members need a ‘portfolio’. This was pre digital and besides the fact that I didn’t want to shoot him naked or masturbating, I suspected that he wouldn’t be able to get the film developed for legal reasons. I said No, but he really tried to talk me round. I still said No. And then he called me 4 months later to see if I had changed my mind and I said No again. He called me prudish but that’s OK.

ME:WHAT DO YOU LOVE MOST ABOUT YOUR JOB?

LARNIE NICOLSON:It sounds clichéd, but it’s meeting people. Architecture and Interiors always interest me. I like to see how people arrange their furniture.

ME:YOU ALSO PAINT. DOES YOUR PAINTING FOLLOW THROUGH WITH THE IDEAS THAT YOU EXPLORE IN YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY. OR DO YOU TREAT PAINTING IN AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT MANNER

LARNIE NICOLSON:I think they are quite different. My painting style is bright and quirky. In saying that, there is a dark element to my paintings and that also runs through my photography. I’m attracted to gritty landscapes and urban wastelands. I don’t know what that says about me!

JIMMY D DESIGNER JAMES DOBSON

"I HAVE A WEIRD OBSESSION WITH COOKING PROGRAMS"
IF YOU WANT TO KNOW ANYTHING REMOTELY SERIOUS ABOUT FASHION DESIGNER AND CO-OWNER OF CLOTHING STORE "CHILDREN OF VISION" JAMES "JIMMY D" DOBSON, YOU WON'T FIND IT HERE. THIS IS THE TRIVIAL STUFF!

ME: WHAT WAS THE FIRST THOUGHT THAT ENTERED YOUR HEAD THIS MORNING?

JAMES DOBSON: It was a close match between “I don’t want to get up” and “what should I have for breakfast?”.... Deep stuff!

ME: WHEN ARE YOU THE MOST HAPPIEST?

JAMES DOBSON? After I’ve finished a collection, when I’m travelling, when I’ve been working on a garment for ages and you finally get a sample back that’s ‘perfect’, after a long sleep in and half way through the perfect breakfast accompanied by the perfect coffee, seeing someone wearing my clothes and having a good time in them, being with family, good friends, and my boyf...

ME:WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU WERE REALLY ANNOYED AND WHY?

JAMES DOBSON: I was pretty annoyed that Gordon Ramsey’s ‘The F Word’ wasn’t on TV last night... I have a weird obsession with cooking programs.

ME: COMPLETE THIS SENTENCE: "MY FRIENDS THINK I AM..."

JAMES DOBSON: a good dancer when I’m wasted.

ME:...AND THIS SENTENCE: "PEOPLE WILL BE SHOCKED TO KNOW..."

JAMES DOBSON: I used to put a cushion up my jumper and mime to Pavarotti for my parents when I was little.

ME: WHAT WAS THE FIRST ITEM OF CLOTHING THAT YOU BROUGHT FOR YOURSELF?

JAMES DOBSON: Probably something generic from Hallensteins or Warnocks, but the first piece I REMEMBER was a 60’s pale yellow shirt with native flora and fauna printed on it – I had a brief but intense op shopping phase...

ME: DO YOUR SOCKS ALWAYS MATCH?

JAMES DOBSON:They are pretty much always black, but I can confirm that they are not always from the same pair.

ME: WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE POSSESSION?

JAMES DOBSON: My photos, I spent four years doing a degree in photography, so I have boxes of Polaroids of friends and my time living in London, big fibre based portraits, cyanotypes and books I made that are pretty good ‘visual diaries’ of that time.

ME: IF I CAME TO YOUR HOUSE FOR DINNER, WHAT WOULD YOU COOK?

JAMES DOBSON: I always have grand intentions of cooking elaborate multi course meals, ending with a dessert with a high degree of difficulty (maybe a souffle??), but I’m woefully disorganised, and have a pitifully empty pantry so it would probably be some kind of fresh pasta dish, a nice bottle of wine and maybe an affogato for dessert. But it would be all about the company.

ME: WHAT WAS THE LAST THING THAT YOU THOUGHT ABOUT BEFORE YOU WENT TO SLEEP LAST NIGHT?

JAMES DOBSON:Jesus it’s cold.

ME: KNOW ANY GOOD JOKES?

JAMES DOBSON: Nope, although someone tried to sell me homemade fudge a while ago by saying I looked like a ‘fudge boy’. That made me laugh.