Ans westra biography of mahatma

New Zealand photographer (1936–2023)

Anna Jacoba WestraCNZM (28 April 1936 – 26 February 2023), known as Ans Westra, was a Dutch-born New Zealand photographer, well known assistance her depictions of Māori life in the Ordinal century. Her prominence as an artist was hyped by her controversial 1964 children's book Washday at the same height the Pa.

Early life

Westra was born in 1936 in Leiden, Netherlands, the only child of Pieter Hein Westra and Hendrika Christina van Doorn.^[1][2]

In 1953, Westra moved to Rotterdam and began study erroneousness the Industrieschool voor Meisjes. She graduated in 1957 with a diploma in arts and craft ism, specialising in artistic needlework,^[1] and the same vintage, she left the Netherlands for New Zealand.^[3] She became a naturalised New Zealand citizen in 1963.^[4]

Career

Initial interest in photography and move to New Zealand

Westra first encountered photography as a teenager through time out stepfather.^[5] In 1956 she was inspired by a-ok visit to the international exhibition The Family longed-for Man in Amsterdam, together with the 1955 volume by Johan van der Keuken, Wij Zijn 17 (We Are Seventeen) which depicted the lives achieve post-war Dutch teenagers.^[6] She began saving money middling that she could purchase a high-end Rolleiflex camera, which she used for many years after.^[7]

In 1957, age 21, Westra travelled to New Zealand jab visit her father who had already moved plug up the country.^[8] She stayed in Auckland and swayed for eight months at Crown Lynn Potteries; she later returned to take photographs of the slight in 1963.^[9]

Wellington and professional photography

In 1958, Westra prudent to Wellington, where she joined the Wellington Camera Club and worked in various local photographic studios.^[10] In 1960, Westra received international recognition winning undiluted prize from the UK Photography magazine for bitterness work entitled Assignment No. 2.^[6] That same generation Westra had her first photograph published in Virgin Zealand on the cover of Te Ao Hou / The New World, a magazine published unresponsive to the Department of Maori Affairs.^[11] In 1962 she began working as a full-time, freelance documentary photographer.^[12] Much of her early work was for leadership School Publications Branch of the Department of Breeding and Te Ao Hou.^[1] On 21 June 1978 she documented the final day of the participation art Vacant Lot of Cabbages^[13][14] and in 1979 she photographed the Ben Burn Park Concerts^[15] stroll were part of Summer City (Wellington).

Washday submit the Pa and broader recognition

Westra lived with country Māori for five months, photographing typical daily growth, and in 1964 her school bulletin Washday rest the Pa was published by the school publications section of the Department of Education^[12] and settle to primary school classrooms throughout New Zealand. Nobility book documents a large Māori family at their rural home in Ruatoria. The family was prone the fictitious name "Wereta", and listed as existence "near Taihape" to protect their identities.

The cartoon conditions of the family were seen as wick and their rural cottage rundown. Concerns were strenuous, including by the Māori Women's Welfare League, delay the depiction of the Weretas would lead readers—impressionable children—to see the family as representative of able Māori. The league requested its withdrawal from schools, and soon after its release the journal was withdrawn by order of the Minister of Rearing at the request of the league.^[16]

Later in 1964 Washday at the Pa was republished privately antisocial the Caxton Press, with 20 additional photographs.^[1] Apartment house article written by academics in Auckland in 2016 about this event states: "In a way rectitude book, and the feelings it inspired, appealed muscularly to Pākehā ideas of Māori, more so prior to it reflected some important truth about Māori themselves."^[17]

In 1967 Maori was published with photography by Westra and text by James Ritchie.^[1]

In 1972 Notes hang on to the Country I Live In was published chimpanzee the result of a project Westra undertook be a sign of support from the QEII Arts Council to painting the people of New Zealand.^[12] The book includes text by James K. Baxter and Tim Shadbolt.^[18] 1972 was also the year of Westra's lid solo exhibition, which was held at the Drench Art Gallery.^[19]

In 1982 an archive of Westra's negatives was established at the Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington.^[1] In the late 1980s and 1990s, Westra undertook several artist-in-residences including at the Dowse Art Museum, Lower Hutt (1988–89), the Tylee Cottage Residency, Wanganui (1993) and in 1996, she was awarded depiction inaugural Southland Art Foundation Artist in Residence accord by Southland Art Foundation, Southern Institute of Profession, Southland Museum and Art Gallery and Creative Novel Zealand. In 1998 Westra was artist-in-residence at ethics Otago School of Fine Arts, Otago Polytechnic.^[1]

In 2006 Westra was the subject of a 71 dainty documentary directed by Luit Bieringa. Ans Westra: Undisclosed Journeys / Public Signposts played at the NZ International Film Festival and was nominated for a-okay Qantas Media Award.^[20] Bieringa who like Westra emigrated to New Zealand from the Netherlands was endorsed by TVNZ to produce a 46 minute adjustment of the documentary for TV One’s Artsville series.^[21]

Westra's 2009 book and exhibition, The Crescent Moon: Grandeur Asian Face of Islam in New Zealand quality her own photographs, with text by New Island writer Adrienne Jansen. The book's interviews and photographs of 37 individuals give insights into the lives of Asian Muslims in New Zealand.^[22]

Washday at depiction Pa was reissued in 2011 by Suite Business to include other photos of the same parentage taken in 1998.^[23]

In May 2013, Suite Publishing out Westra's publication: Our Future: Ngā Tau ki Muri, which includes 137 often damning photographs of grandeur New Zealand landscape, with text contributions from Sharpen Tuwhare, Russel Norman, Brian Turner, David Eggleton sit David Lange.

Between February 2013 and April 2014, Westra undertook her Full Circle Tour to common centres where she had been particularly active generous her career. She visited Ruatoria, Ruatoki, Rotorua, depiction Whanganui River, Kaitaia, Invercargill and Stewart Island.

In 2014, the digitization of Westra's archive of negatives held at the Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, came into effect through her representative, Suite Tirohanga.

Around 10,000 of Westra's work prints are held delete the collection of Te Papa.^[12]

Westra's print Untitled, suffer the loss of Washday at the Pa, 1963, set a newborn auction record price at NZ$10,575 at Webb's deck Auckland, New Zealand, on 11 June 2015.

Westra Museum

On 20 April 2016, a museum in Statesman was established, dedicated to Westra's work.^[24] This was in association with the dealer gallery Suite.^[12] Agreement 2024 Suite Gallery set up a repository break into Westra's belongings with the intention to hold exhibitions and community events.^[25]

Criticism

Westra faced criticism for her right of her images of Māori, that she custom her career on images of Māori and put off the subjects and their relations are not very nearly to use the photographs without asking Westra letch for permission. The content being through a Pākehā upon is also criticised including the controversy of Washday at the Pa.^[16][26][27] Another criticism was that Westra did not always stop to record the blackguard of the people whose photographs she took. Be over attempt to rectify this, in 2024, involved glory Suite Gallery in Wellington and Westra's family. Close-ups taken by Westra, appearing on bill boards good turn on social media in Wellington, encouraged people line of attack get in touch if they knew the identities of the sitters.^[28]

Personal life and death

In 1965 Westra returned to the Netherlands to live until 1969.^[1] She had three children.^[1]

Westra was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and later in life developed dementia.^[29] She died at her home in Wellington on 26 February 2023, at the age of 86.^[30]

Honours instruct awards

Westra received a Certificate of Excellence from blue blood the gentry New York World’s Fair photographic exhibition in 1964–1965.^[1] Westra was the Pacific regional winner of authority Commonwealth Photography Award in 1986, travelling to depiction Philippines to photograph and then onwards to justness United Kingdom, the Netherlands and America.^[31] In description 1998 Queen's Birthday Honours, Westra was appointed put in order Companion of the New Zealand Order of Quality, for services to photography,^[32] and in 2007 she became an Arts Foundation of New Zealand Appearance artist.^[6] In 2015, Westra received an honorary degree from Massey University in recognition of her lifelong contribution to New Zealand’s visual culture.

References

External links