Draft 2 PhD Introduction - ResearchSpace@Auckland

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I was interested in investigating the ways in which, and the reasons why, Ward’s
aesthetic was so different from that of other New Zealand filmmakers in the 1970s and
80s. What were the origins of this aesthetic? One method of examining Ward’s
aesthetic would have been to examine the completed filmic texts in order to derive or
deduce this aesthetic, but this seemed to me a partial approach since it did not allow one
to investigate sources. It also overlooked the fact that film is a complex, expensive,
highly technical medium in which no artist can hope to realise his or her vision with the
freedom of a poet or painter. The definition of “aesthetic” I have utilised in this thesis
therefore, includes not only theory but also practice, since theory is implied in every
approach to practice and the filmmaking process consists of a dialogue between practice
and theory. As Ward’s career vividly demonstrates, the director is engaged in a
constant negotiation with investors, collaborators and practical contingencies. To
understand aims and intentions as well as physical results, I decided that I needed to
look at the process as well as the product, at contexts as well as texts. I have indeed
made close textual studies of Ward’s films, but I have also examined his biography and
career. It was possible to do this in detail because this artist is still alive, as are his
collaborators. Such a methodology has its dangers, such as the “intentional fallacy”, but
this can be guarded against by triangulation or the comparison of different perspectives.
I have cross-referenced textual study against interviews and against other evidence
drawn from secondary sources such as journal articles and reviews. An additional
reason for collecting as many kinds of material as possible was the realisation that it
will be difficult or impossible to collect such information in the future; and I believe
that Ward is an important enough film-maker to treat the matter of posterity very
seriously.
Ward himself is extremely reluctant for his approach to be labelled or pigeonholed by
any aesthetic category. Nevertheless, one must begin somewhere, and one of the most
useful starting points seems to me to be Expressionism. Indeed, this term has already
been suggested by several critics. New Zealand critic Brian McDonnell, for example,
described Ward as “an expressionistic film director, seeking to make visible in his
movies interior states of mind”. 2 European, particularly German critical response to
Ward’s work, has often linked it with the Expressionist tradition. According to Stan
Jones: “[German] critics note Ward’s own acknowledgement of the great German
2 Brian McDonnell, "Map of the Human Heart," North and South May 1993: 128.