Post-picturesque : from the sublime to land as collector : a exegesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand

Abstract

In Land as Collector, I examine the notions of the picturesque and the sublime and its origins in the Romantic era. I investigate how this concept has evolved and transformed over four centuries to the present day, and how ‘the view’ is now acknowledged in contemporary New Zealand. This exegesis, Post-picturesque: From the Sublime to Land as Collector, explores the idea that ‘landscape’, and ‘the view’ are a constructed concept. My thesis will follow the development of the idea of the view from the seventeenth century to the present day. Aspects examined include how changing ideas and focus on the land in society have been viewed and interpreted by artists. I will look at the work of artists from different areas of contemporary and historical practice in order to show my understanding of the varying notions of the concept of ‘landscape’. In my artistic practice I have used a specifi c landscape (site) to experiment with and show how a range of photographic processes can express my changing ideas around this ‘landscape’. The results will show my understanding of the concept of Post-picturesque: from the Sublime to Land as Collector. My journey led to a change in focus from looking at the Sublime landscape to Land as a Collector. This transformation of methodology followed the discovery of artefacts in the land I was studying and a comment about how they became critical.