The Star: October 11, 2018

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26 Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi Thursday October 11 2018 Our People The Star Ross Gray Artist uses his work as a way of Former teacher, artist and heritage advocate Ross Gray is on a mission to protect the city’s historic buildings. He talks to Julia Evans before Heritage Week starts tomorrow about how he got behind the placard line and the importance of our history Tell me a little bit about yourself? So basically I grew up in the 1950s in Wanganui, which still has a wonderful collection of heritage buildings and also has a very strong visual arts culture. I came to art school in Christchurch in the mid-1960s and trained and worked as a secondary school art and art history teacher. Then I worked as a tertiary drawing tutor, all the time maintaining my practice as an exhibiting painter. It was quite hard work. Having retired, I’m still trying to be the full-time painter, which I could never been throughout all those years. Although heritage matters do take up a lot of my time, my painting is actually quite closely related to this. How did you get into heritage conservation? From teaching secondary school art history, I’ve long had an interest in periods and style in architecture. My introduction to heritage activism and advocacy was in the mid-1990s when suddenly eight Christchurch heritage buildings were threatened with demolition. I joined others in a group called SOB – Save Our Buildings – and we protested vigorously. One of them was the Papanui Railway Station, which has been turned into a cafe, another was a house just opposite the Christchurch Art Gallery, which survived. Some were saved but shamefully others like the beautiful Kaiapoi CAMPAIGNER: Ross Gray has been painting since he got his first set of oils in primary school. Woollen Mills building, at the bottom of lower Manchester St, were demolished. During this time, as a board member of the Christchurch Civic Trust, I was involved in the retention of several heritage buildings in the square. But this activism was dramatically reignited post the September 4, 2010, earthquake with the imminent demolition of the wonderful Manchester Courts building and has continued pretty much unabated since then. That was the beginning of the full-on activism and has involved writing quite a few letters to the editor, being deputy chair of two voluntary groups, Historic Places Canterbury and the Christchurch Civic Trust. Also being a committee member of Restore Christ Church Cathedral Group, along with things like organising campaign rallies, for example The Majestic Theatre and organising the running of the award-winning heritage display and info centre, Shop 7 in Cathedral Junction. That was hard work, organising rosters and things, but I quite enjoyed it. What is it about heritage that is so important to a city? The meaning of heritage is broadening, as your article last week showed with the city council’s heritage strategy policy. But in terms of built heritage, a city without its architectural heritage is perhaps like, sadly, a mind without its memory. When people talk about a listed building, they mean a heritage building which related to Heritage New Zealand’s list of buildings. The city council also has a list of heritage buildings called the schedule and there is confusion between the two. Listed and/or scheduled heritage buildings are the taonga (treasures) which we should pass on to our descendants having inherited them from our forebears whose ideas, aspirations and skills are embodied in the buildings – the past linking to the present and to the future. A so-called city without the layers of architectural time, styles and associated memories is no real city. Heritage buildings are the most significant part of the city’s collective memory in my view, everyone shares in them through the public memory rather than the private memory. What impact did the earthquakeS have on Christchurch’s heritage? Unfortunately far, far more than it should have. Many of the heritage buildings which gave Christchurch its rich identity would still be here (along with all the new ones needed), restored or awaiting restoration, if the Government at the time, National-led, had shown more awareness of and sensitivity to our city’s cultural values once the immediate emergency was over. We’re evolving... Our latest neighbourhood, ‘The Borough, Faringdon’ has just been released and it’s got the great bones you need to build the home of your dreams. Titles early 2019. It’s just a few giant strides from Rolleston town centre and new schools, and has quality environmental design features unlike anywhere else in Canterbury. With sections between 400 and 887m 2 , prices starting at $169,000. Your future starts here. THE BOROUGH Call Bruce Harvey 0800 667 849 or visit www.faringdon.co.nz Visit our info centre, corner Goulds and East Maddisons Rds. Wednesday to Sunday, 12pm - 4pm. You’re home.
The Star Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi Thursday October 11 2018 27 •To see the full list of heritage buildings demolished, go to www.canterburyearthquakedemolist.weebly.com and for more information about the McLeans Mansion rebuild go to www.mcleansmansion.nz preserving heritage buildings Amongst other things it took far too long (nearly four years) to develop a heritage recovery programme and from mid-2011 until its demise, CERA enabled reluctant owners to demolish their listed heritage buildings with no opportunity for the public to object to this, with no democratic voice . The website developed by one of my heritage colleagues, Lynne Lochhead, shows 250 demolished listed and or scheduled heritage buildings. This kind of heritage destruction following a natural disaster is unprecedented in the world and the historic heritage loss and environmental impact of embodied energy loss, greenhouse gas emissions and so on has itself been disastrous. What are some of your favourite examples of heritage buildings around the city? Had it not been for the quake, I would be saying the former Christchurch Railway station and CPIT War Memorial Hall, the Regent Theatre and the former Millers building, Cranmer Courts,which we mounted a month-long protest outside during its demolition in 2012, and many others. But amongst those still here, the Old Government Building and the former Chief Post Office, Christ Church Cathedral and the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, the newly restored Midland and nearly restored Public Trust building, the Isaac Theatre Royal, the Duncan building on lower High St. I’m thrilled that McLean’s Mansion, which has a special part in the history and hearts of Christchurch is being restored by the McLean’s Mansion Charitable Trust. Three of the four board members are Christchurch Civic Trust Board members as well, and I hope the city will fully support the restoration of this amazing building which has such a vivid past. Have you travelled to heritage sites around the world that have CAMPAIGN: Ross Gray is currently involved in the restoration of the McLean’s Mansion on Manchester St. inspired you? A recent brief stay in Victoria in British Colombia, Canada, where my brother lives, showed similar heritage buildings to what we had and which we could still have many, including lots of beautiful late 19th-century brick buildings. Madrid also has wonderful 19th and early 20th-century buildings, and its many city squares are an inspiration when considering the redevelopment of our Cathedral Square. We spent six weeks in Germany and a visit to Dresden showed what can be done when heritage is valued and there’s a will to restore. The Frauenkirche, much, much more severely damaged by Allied bombing in 1945, a few weeks before then end of the war, than either of our cathedrals were by the earthquakes, was finally fully rebuilt a decade or so ago. It was a huge job and they basically had to start from scratch. How did you get into teaching? Really by default. I had absolutely no wish to be a teacher, but looking back am very glad I became one. At the time, late 1960s, I needed some income to keep on being a painter so I INSPIRED: Most of Ross Gray’s artwork like Toast (left), incorporates heritage buildings from around the city. went to teachers’ college where I met my wife, Lorraine, who was training to be a language teacher. We started off our long teaching careers at Southland Boys’ High School and worked our way via Timaru Boy’s High School back to Christchurch. With lots of support from Lorraine I maintained a combined teaching and painting career for 40 or so years. I was head of department for art at Cashmere High School in the 80s and 90s before I went to CPIT to teach drawing in the degree courses, including to architectural studies students, which I enjoyed very much. Apart from institutional teaching I ran my own art course called Artmakers at Bishopdale for some years and then was leader of the Centre of Contemporary Art Critique Group for three years before the quakes. With CoCA closed it became the Critique Group Christchurch which met at my studio and has continued under its own steam in the last two years. And I taught an italics course at the Canterbury Workers Education Association in 2016, trying to save the dying heritage of good handwriting. It’s opposite CoCA and has very good courses. Tell me about your art career? Well, in a sense it started in late primary school when I got my first set of oils, carrying on through secondary school and then at university. I’m what you’d call a contemporary semi-abstract painter. Since the mid 90s I’ve had a general theme of the built environment and the importance of heritage buildings in the city, ideas about which I explore in acrylics with line, form, colour, space and composition in layers to try to relate to the “layers” of time, history and memory in the world of the city. And since the quakes, to express my sense of anger and frustration at so much loss of heritage buildings through unnecessary demolition. I’ve exhibited widely in New Zealand, including many times in Christchurch at the CoCA – which had been the Canterbury Society of Arts until 1996. My first Christchurch show was exactly 50 years ago with others in the old CSA Gallery in Durham St, shamefully demolished after the earthquakes. My last one to date at CoCA, was a large survey exhibition which had only just opened when the February 22, 2011, earthquake struck. It was open for five days before the quake and a lot of my work we couldn’t get out for a long time afterwards. I’m now working towards a solo exhibition booked for next October at Chambers Art Gallery, behind which is my studio on Moorhouse Ave. What do you do on a day off from art and heritage? I’m involved in politics, which more or less comes into everything really, including heritage and into my painting ideas. To be honest, I don’t really have many days off. My main relaxation is actually swimming, hard work but very enjoyable. I’ve competed a few times in swim events at Masters Games. Almost every day I do 1km or 2km and building up at Jellie Park, which is a great way to start the day. SUMMER SALE fabric vision ‘The Fabric Specialists’ 25 % OFF • ALL Fabrics •ALL Haberdashery •ALL Patterns SALE FINISHES 14 th OCTOBER 39 Main North Rd, Papanui, Christchurch P 03 354 8361 E admin@fabricvision.co.nz www.fabricvision.co.nz Like us on www.facebook.com/fabricvision
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The Star: October 11, 2018

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