Draft 2 PhD Introduction - ResearchSpace@Auckland

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invaded academic classicism”. 122 Peckham associates Romanticism with the revival of
Catholicism, a notion that has resonances with the influence of Catholicism (albeit in
unorthodox forms) in Ward’s films. 123
The Romantics’ emphasis on the importance of a complex dialogue between the artist’s
inner vision and the world of nature was voiced by Caspar David Friedrich: “The artist
should not only paint what he sees before him, but also what he sees within him. If,
however, he sees nothing within him, then he should also omit to paint that which he
sees before him”. 124 This emphasis on individual inspiration impacted on critical
judgment: “Friedrich declared the artist’s only law to be his feelings. The American
painter Washington Allston wrote ‘Trust your own genius. Listen to the voice within
you, and sooner or later she will make herself understood not only to you, but she will
enable you to translate her language to the world and this it is which forms the only real
merit of any work of art’”. 125 Above all, “a Romantic work of art expresses the unique
point of view of its creator”. 126
Such attitudes are common enough for a painter or poet but less common for a
filmmaker who works within a mass medium and is generally encouraged by the film
industry to think of himself more as a public entertainer than an artist. Ward describes
his inspiration in terms similar to those of Romantic poets and artists: “What you start
off with is a feeling in yourself. Then you try and find mirrors outside your world that
reflect and give you courage to do whatever you want. I have an idea in my mind, then
often I look for material to see if there is anything that will help me articulate it”. 127
This is reflected in the autobiographical nature of some of his films – Vigil, in particular
- but also to some extent, Map of the Human Heart, which is a retelling of his parents’
love story, transformed by the imagination, in poetic rather than naturalistic terms.
Graham Tetley who worked on the script of Vigil has acknowledged that Ward knows
he is the centre of his artistic production: “He must trust himself, he must trust his
experiences, whether they come from his religion, or his childhood, his consciousness,
his subconscious, his reading, the way that he sees the landscape. Most people would
122 Hauser, The Social History of Art 646.
123 Peckham, The Triumph of Romanticism 4-5.
124 Caspar David Friedrich quoted in Vaughan, Romantic Art 24-25.
125 Honour, Romanticism 16.
126 Honour, Romanticism 18.
127 Dennis and Bieringa, eds., Film in Aotearoa New Zealand 89-90.