The Response

I have just noticed that the wonderful Peter Ireland (google him and you come up with masses of hits (some of which are the other Peter Ireland) cos he's written a lot, but this links to some of his paintings) commented on one of my recent book reviews.

He said:
"Hey Andy, how come you never 'fessed up before that what I wrote was "incomprehensible" theory etc?! The phone's always switched on and I long for the dialogue/debate that never happens. Maybe it got squeezed out in that moment between colonialism & globalisation?"

It appears that "This item is closed, it's not possible to add new comments to it or to vote on it" so I am responding here.

It is because, Peter, your intellect scares me. A few years ago we bumped into each other outside Christopher Moore Gallery (from memory), and went to Krazy Lounge for a coffee. Quite obviously it was a few years ago. We had a wonderful discussion about photography and art and film and music (from memory). But I did spend a bit of time going "bloody hell, this guy is a thinker, an opinion maker, an intellect, and has the most amazing recall".

A number of people have said something similar about your writing, that it falls into one of two camps - heavy theory, or incredibly approachable. Of course the people who have said that to me share a similar background to myself.

There is part of me that feels, due to my lack of formal art school education, that I am missing out on a whole other world of art. While I am educating myself, it is a slow process, because it is self-educating. I am no longer active in a creative microcosm where people are constantly producing and discussing work/art/photography, and that just makes it all that much more difficult. (And that's a very good reason for doing an MFA, eh Jodi?)

Beyond offering opinion, I do sometimes feel I'm not qualified to participate in some conversations. I have been known to just sit there and say to myself "I know nothing, I'm not worthy to be in your presence". But those conversations can also be exhilarating, and can leave me feeling exhausted and overwhelmed from the amount of new information thrown at me and the intellectual stimulation involved.

This is what you do to me Peter, along with a number of other folk I know (both within and without the art world). As much as I enjoy your company, and we have over the years, you do sometimes make me feel inferior. And I am. I just don't like to feel it. I guess I need to get over myself.

Also, I've never been one for imposing on people. I like to know that my company is welcomed, and have never really been one for calling out of the blue. Now I know that I can, I shall. You may well hear from me next time I'm in Wanganui. Likewise, feel free to call me next time you're down here. I'm not sure if you're aware of this but we do good coffee in Wellington too.

Oh, and because this is supposed to be a photo blog, here are a couple of pictures with a Peter Ireland connection. Not that most of you will know what that connection is. They are from this show.

I met Peter a couple of years after he saw these works, and he remembered them. In detail. I was impressed.