"Karangahape Rocks", by Greer Twiss (1968)

Although I have blipped this sculpture before, it was on a bright sunny Autumn day in 2011. Because of my tendency to run in the early morning, and on my runs is the most common way I pass this corner, I more frequently see the sculpture as I did this morning; a Spring morning before the sun had risen.

I looked for information about the sculpture, and found this:

“Karangahape Rocks” Symonds Street Park. Greer Twiss

“I made a rocky seaside of water and rocks, with people sitting beside them, for the people who use this park” - “Karangahape Rocks”.

In the park at the corner of K Road and Symonds Street is located a large bronze work by one of New Zealand’s most significant sculptors, Greer Twiss, b. 1937, ONZM. This work was commissioned by the Auckland City Council and installed, amid some controversy, in 1968. The Council had previously weathered controversy a few years earlier when the acquisition of a Barbara Hepworth sculpture for the Art Gallery had resulted in a private benefactor purchasing and donating the sculpture.
For the Council to have spent public money on such a large work for such a busy corner shows some amount of courage and conviction.

The Work itself shows the influence of both Hepworth and Henry Moore and is arguably one of Twiss’ greatest works. It is a fountain designed to avoid the usual problems of water spraying everywhere because of the wind. Unfortunately the clever containment of its water feature meant it worked very well as a static sculpture and when it ceased to work in the late 1980s very few people noticed. Many people were unaware it is a fountain until 2012 when it’s mechanism was fixed.

It has long needed some form of sympathetic lighting to illuminate it at night and appropriate planting around it. Hopefully the much vaunted and long-awaited upgrade of the park will eventually see this happen.

The sculpture itself is in very good condition, having weathered to a beautiful green verdigris colour. It is certainly one of the most important pieces of public sculpture in Auckland, if not the whole country.

The Blokes Book Club tonight. At mine. Should be interesting.