Tom Taylor (sculptor)

Thomas John Taylor (1925–1994), better known as Tom Taylor, was a New Zealand sculptor and educator. He spent his life in Christchurch, and his career as an influential lecturer at the University of Canterbury (UC; Māori: Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha).

Tom Taylor
Taylor in 1977
Born	(1925-05-07)7 May 1925[1] Christchurch
Died	1994 (aged 69)[2] Christchurch
Nationality	New Zealand
Alma mater	Canterbury University College School of Fine Arts[3]
Known for	Sculpture and teaching
Movement	Sculptural modernism

Taylor trained in architecture then sculpture at UC's predecessor. He was a lecturer at the UC School of Art who specialised in sculpture and later led that department. Taylor taught modernism but encouraged his students to explore other movements. A number of his students went on to become notable artists.

As a sculptor, his productive early and sparse late periods were figurative and modernist. For a decade in between, Taylor produced abstract fusions of sculpture and architecture. He also designed houses, theatre sets, and was an organiser in the Christchurch arts community.

Taylor's contribution to sculpture is generally regarded to be the artists he trained rather than the works he produced.

Early life and education

Taylor was born on 7 May 1925 in Christchurch.^[1][2] He completed his schooling at St Kevin's College, Oamaru, and passed the examination to enter university (or matriculated) at 14+1⁄2 years old. However, World War II interrupted his studies. He joined the Royal New Zealand Navy and served overseas for the last two years of the war.^[2]

On his return, Taylor studied architecture then sculpture at Canterbury University College (CUC).^[2] He completed a degree in architectural construction in 1947.^[4] Then in 1952, at the School of Fine Arts, Taylor completed a diploma in the fine arts.^[3][5] He trained in figurative sculpture under Eric Doudney.^[6][7][8]

Working life

Educator

Taylor was an educator in Christchurch throughout his working life. He started as the art master of St Andrew's College in the late 1950s.^[9] During that period, the CUC School of Fine Arts became the UC School of Art, and it moved from the city centre to the suburb of Ilam.^[10] Taylor returned to the school in 1960 as a lecturer specialising in sculpture.^[11] He led the sculpture department from 1969 until his retirement in 1991.^[12][2]

As late as the mid-1980s, Taylor taught and largely practiced modernism.^[13] But he encouraged his students to explore other movements and unconventional media.^[14] A number of Taylor's students became notable artists. They include Chris Booth, Rodney Broad,^[15] Stephen Clarke,^[16] Paul Cullen,^[17] Bing Dawe, Neil Dawson, Stephen Furlonger,^[18] Rosemary Johnson,^[19] John Panting, Matt Pine,^[20] Phil Price, Pauline Rhodes, Carl Sydow,^[21] Bronwyn Taylor,^[22] Merylyn Tweedie and Boyd Webb.^[23][24] Interviewed in Christchurch newspaper The Press, Dawson remembered Taylor as a highly intelligent but tough sculpture and art history lecturer. He continued "[Taylor] set challenges which would last for the rest of your life, and you can't ask for more than that from your teacher."^[25]

Taylor was an influential educator according to his obituary, a remembrance and later art history assessments.^{[2][24][7][11]}

Sculptor

Periods and associations

Taylor's early work was figurative and mainly in concrete (see Known works). By the mid-1960s, he had the idea of fusing sculpture with architecture. In 1966,^[26] Taylor received the first Canterbury Society of Arts (CSA) Guthry travel grant, and visited Australia.^[27] There, he saw the massive steel work of Clement Meadmore, and was inspired to produce work following his idea.^[26] For the next decade,^[28][29] Taylor produced mostly formal abstractions in steel.^[24] In 1969, he received a Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council travel grant. Taylor visited Europe to study sculpture in bronze with Quinto Ghermandi [it] and steel with Rudolf Hoflehner.^[30] From the 1980s, he returned to figurative work,^[7] and occasionally produced a bust in bronze.

Taylor was a member of The Group and 20/20 Vision in the 1960s, and was a co-founder of the Sculptors' Group in the early 1970s.^[31] He was also a member of the CSA from the mid-1960s,^[32] and a member of their council in the early 1970s.^[33] Taylor exhibited work with all four organisations.^{[34][35][36][37]}

Critical evaluation of work

Only a few reviews of Taylor's work have been found, but they are positive.

Moraine (1967) was a freestanding sculpture. It was Taylor's first formal abstraction,^[26] and was composed of forms made from welded sheet steel. It is in the collection of Christchurch Art Gallery (CAG; Māori: Te Puna o Waiwhetū). They note how the smooth finish hid the technique used to make the work.^[28]

IBM Centre external to internal (1971) was an architectural sculpture, again composed of steel forms. At over 4 metres high by 5 meters long,^[38] it was Taylor's largest known work. It was mounted in the portico at the front of the office block. Vertical forms on the floor and ceiling curved to horizontal and merged. The work continued through a gap in the glass curtain wall to its end in the lobby. Architect Martin Hill sketched and reviewed the work for his Wellington Townscape column in The Dominion newspaper. He wrote it was "... a sensitively shaped vigorous form." that rewarded repeat viewing.^[39]

Transit (1976) was another architectural sculpture and Taylor's last known formal abstraction. It was in the University of Auckland Medical School,^[40] and was mounted in a stairwell landing which had a window.^[29] The work was made from steel sheets on beams running between the walls and ceiling. In his book New Zealand Sculpture: A History, art historian Michael Dunn wrote it was highly abstract and industrial looking. He noted how "... the beams appear to move in space, creating a contrast with the architecture and a frame for the view through the window ..."^[7]

W. A. Sutton C.B.E. (1991–92) was a bust of painter Bill Sutton, which was cast in bronze and was Taylor's last known work. Art critic John Coley wrote it was a fine head.^[24] Also in the CAG collection, they describe it as "... modelled in a loose, spontaneous style that gives the work a sense of liveliness and immediacy."^[41]

However, both Coley and Dunn wrote that Taylor's lasting contribution to sculpture was as an educator rather than a practitioner.^[24][42]

Designer

Although Taylor only had initial training in architecture, he still designed houses for acquaintances in Christchurch. The first was for his School of Art colleague and close friend Bill Sutton.^[41][24] Taylor designed the house, including a studio, in a local modernist style. Built in 1963, Sutton lived there until his death in 2000. The house on Templar Street, Richmond was one of the few in that area to survive the 2010 Canterbury and 2011 Christchurch earthquakes. Owned by Christchurch City Council since 2019,^[43] it is used as an artist's residence.^[44] In 2022, Heritage New Zealand (Māori: Pouhere Taonga) listed Sutton House and Garden as a category one historic place of special or outstanding significance.^[43]

In the mid-1960s, Taylor lived in Governors Bay.^[45] He designed a house in the town for author Margaret Mahy,^[44] who lived there from 1968 until her death in 2012.^[46] Sources differ on whether Taylor designed a third house in the early 1970s for another School of Art colleague, the painter and potter Doris Lusk.^[a]

Between the mid-1950s and mid-1970s, Taylor occasionally designed theatre sets.^[49][50] Most were for Shakespeare plays performed by the UC drama society,^[51][52] which were produced by Taylor's friend, the author Ngaio Marsh.^[2]

Organiser

Taylor helped to found a number of art ventures, all based in Christchurch.

In 1964, John Coley and Taylor inspired other artists to form 20/20 Vision,^[24] an informal group influenced by international contemporary art.^[27] The group held annual exhibitions of its members' work 1965–68.^[53][54]

The Sculptors' Group, founded by Taylor and his student Carl Sydow in 1970, organised lectures and held three exhibitions. It disbanded in 1972 when members moved from South to North Island or overseas for training or work opportunities.^[14]

In 1980, printmaker Jule Einhorn set up the Gingko Print Workshop and Gallery for Works on Paper with the help of printmaker Barry Cleavin and Taylor.^[55][56] Gingko was located in the Arts Centre, of which Taylor was a board member, and its buildings used to be the CUC School of Fine Arts, where he had trained.^[24] The print workshop closed in 1992.^[57]

Personal life

Taylor and his former wife Paddy had three children.^[2] His later partners were Joan Livingstone then, by the time of his death, Jule Einhorn.^[24] Taylor died in 1994 aged 69.^[2]

Known works

Year	Title, subject or description	Type	Medium	Dimensions	Notes
c. 1960	WWII airman in flying kit	Memorial model	Clay for concrete	10 ft 10 in (330 cm) tall	Commissioned for the Brevet Club, Christchurch. The model was completed.[58] However, the sculpture was not cast as the mould was damaged, and the club were concerned that the memorial would become dated.[59] See also Icarus falling (c. 1964).
c. 1962	John Baskcomb	Bust model	Plaster for bronze		Shown at The Group exhibition,[60] and likely English character actor John Baskcomb.
c. 1963	Head of H. Winston Rhodes	Bust	Concrete		Shown at The Group exhibition.[61] Harold Winston Rhodes was a UC lecturer in English. See also Professor Winston Rhodes (c. 1989).
c. 1964	Icarus falling	Bas-relief	Concrete		Commissioned for the Brevet Club,[59][62] and still accessible at Spitfire Square, Christchurch.[63]
c. 1964	Shakespeare	Sketch model			Shown at The Group exhibition.[64] Commissioned for the original Ngaio Marsh Theatre at UC. Proposed in concrete,[65] but produced in steel as Shakespeare (c. 1967).
c. 1965	Echoing figure	Statue	Plaster	Life-size	Moulded from life.[45] Shown at the first 20/20 Vision exhibition.[35]
c. 1966	Professor J.G.A. Pocock				Shown at the CSA exhibition.[37] J. G. A. Pocock was a political historian who had periods lecturing and earlier studying at UC and its predecessors.
c. 1967	Shakespeare	Memorial	Steel	13 ft × 3 ft (396 cm × 91 cm)	Commissioned for the original Ngaio Marsh Theatre at UC. Etched with Shakespeare's portrait.[51] The theatre was damaged beyond repair by the 2011 Christchurch earthquake then demolished.
1967	Moraine	Freestanding	Steel	130 cm × 100 cm × 147 cm (51 in × 39 in × 58 in)	First formal abstraction.[26] In the CAG collection.[28]
1967–68	Tuarau	Freestanding	Steel	18 in × 15 in × 15 in (46 cm × 38 cm × 38 cm)	Second formal abstraction.[26]
1968	The Sum of the Squares	Freestanding	Steel	67.7 cm × 148.6 cm × 75 cm (26.7 in × 58.5 in × 29.5 in)	Third formal abstraction.[26] In the CAG collection.[66]
c. 1968	Climactic	Freestanding	Metal		Shown and for sale at The Group exhibition.[67][68]
c. 1968	St Ivo	Freestanding	Metal		Shown and for sale at The Group exhibition.[69][68]
1970	IBM Centre external to internal	Architectural	Steel	14.5 ft × 17 ft (440 cm × 520 cm)	Commissioned for 155–161 The Terrace, Wellington by owners A.M.P. Society,[38] following an international competition.[36] Reviewed.[39]
1973	Palladian Subdivision	Installation	Multi-media		At the CSA gallery, a Palladian floor plan with piles of building materials later for sale in a mock auction.[70] Conceptual and performance art.
1973	Queen Elizabeth II Park fountain	Fountain	Fountain		Commissioned for the 1974 British Commonwealth Games.[71][72] The park was damaged beyond repair by the 2011 Christchurch earthquake then demolished.
1976	Transit	Architectural	Steel	270 cm × 420 cm × 330 cm (110 in × 170 in × 130 in)	Commissioned for the University of Auckland Medical School.[29][40] Last known formal abstraction. Reviewed.[7]
c. 1989	Professor Winston Rhodes	Bust	Bronze		Commissioned as a memorial for the UC professor of English.[73][74]
1991–92	W. A. Sutton C.B.E.	Bust	Bronze	34 cm × 21 cm × 20 cm (13.4 in × 8.3 in × 7.9 in)	Better known as Bill Sutton. In the CAG collection.[41]

Taylor also produced at least one portrait of Ngaio Marsh, but little else is known. He mentioned a plaster or concrete bust of Marsh in an anecdote about a fire at the UC School of Art in 1975,^[74] which destroyed his office.^[75] Coley also commented on a "... fine head ..." of Marsh by Taylor without giving further details.^[24]

Notes

1. According to Architecture Now, the Lusk house and studio on Gloucester Street, Linwood, Christchurch were designed by Taylor.^[44] However, Grant Banbury, who attended life drawing sessions at the house, wrote that it was designed by architect John Trengrove in 1972 as an addition to an existing studio.^[47] In 1972, Lusk (as Mrs Doris Holland), Taylor and Trengrove all had leadership positions in the CSA,^[48] whose gallery was also on Gloucester Street.