[Editor’s Note: This article was written by the CTL’s Laurie Hansen.]
A recent New Zealand media release boasts that “anyone with a laptop or PC will be able to watch Auckland artist, Peter Roche, at work in his Point Chevalier studio [via the LIVEART site].” It’s certainly a sign of the times: Watching art being created in a faraway place, in real time, via webcam. Wow!
If you do visit the site and there is no activity on Peter’s live webcams, you may view archived recordings or click on virtual to see computer generated renditions of his luminous work.
Currently, Peter works with larger than life sculptures that often involve, as you may have noticed, light. A video at Alistair Keddie showcases more of Peter’s work which is often found in public places. One of his works, Circuit, was created to celebrate “the achievements of Ernest, Lord Rutherford, who was “one of the most illustrious scientists of all time.” Another work, Twister, is currently under construction. Auckland Mayor Dick Hubbard says that “Twister’s unprecedented design and engineering has the power to inspire, create a culture of innovation and imbue success.”
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Unfortunately the Twister project has suffered a monumental setback in the form of an extremely annoying petty bureaucrat who has singlehandedly persuaded our city council that they no longer want to be gifted this sculpture !! So, although all the engineering analysis has been completed and the sculpture is ready to be built, Twister no longer has a home to go to. In other words, if there is anyone out there who wants a 20 meter high Twister…….
I hope this helps get the word out for you, Peter! Perhaps one of our readers can pass on the word. Fingers crossed!
Please keep us posted.
Best to you!
Laurie
Dear All,
Interesting article! I do find it surprising that an artist or anyone else would set up a webcam to allow others to watch them at work. I know I wouldn’t feel comfortable doing that—and not to mention that few people would be interested in watching a math professor and mathematician at work anyway.
I did visit the website a moment ago, but there is no activity. There are four camera views set up, and I did check all four.
The archived recordings link on there does not appear to work since I keep getting an error message that says that Internet Explorer cannot view this page. There does appear to be a second link to the archives, but clicking on it does nothing–just as if we were trying to click on ordinary text.
By the way, from what I have seen of art, art definitely does have the power to inspire people! For instance, not long ago, I had read about how much the contour Coke bottle has inspired many people over the years, especially artists who have included the contour bottle in their own works of art. Whether one wants to consider the contour bottle genuine art is debatable, but there is no doubt that it has brought inspiration to many people. There definitely is no bottle like it!
Jonathan Groves
Thanks, Jonathan, for your comments! Sorry you had trouble opening the links. I don’t have any trouble on my end so I am not certain what it could be. Perhaps a different browser would work?
I recently saw Peter in the studio via webcam but there were times where I checked and did not see him working. I suppose we should consider the time difference.
As far as being watched while working, Peter not only creates sculptures but he is also a performance artist, so that is where the webcam piece comes in. I hope you are able to view information at the links in the article so you may read more information about Peter and his work. By the way, there is quite a lot of math and engineering involved in creating his artwork. Inspiring, indeed!
Enjoy!
Laurie
Thanks for the mention Laurie, just realised my profile came up as some daft number
Thank YOU for sharing your work!
~Laurie
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