''Karangahape Rocks'', also known as the ''Karangahape Road Fountain'' is a

public sculpture Public art is art in any media whose form, function and meaning are created for the general public through a public process. It is a specific art genre with its own professional and critical discourse. Public art is visually and physically access ...

located in Pigeon Park on

Karangahape Road Karangahape Road (commonly known as K' Road) is one of the main streets in the Auckland CBD, central business district (CBD) of Auckland, New Zealand. The massive expansion of motorways through the nearby inner city area – and subsequent flig ...

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, New Zealand, created by New Zealand sculptor

Greer Twiss Greer Lascelles Twiss (born 23 June 1937) is a New Zealand sculptor, and in 2011 was the recipient of an Icon Award from the Arts Foundation of New Zealand, limited to 20 living art-makers. Career Twiss was born in Auckland on 23 June 1937, ...

as his first large-scale public commission. The sculpture, formerly a working fountain, depicts three bronze spherical shapes and two seated figures. Unveiled in 1969, the piece is one of the earliest contemporary public sculptures in Auckland.

Commission

After sculptor

returned from England to New Zealand in 1966, the

Auckland City Council Auckland City Council was the local government authority for Auckland City, New Zealand, from 1989 to 1 November 2010, when it and Auckland's six other city and district councils were amalgamated to form the Auckland Council. It was an elec ...

commissioned Twiss to create an artwork for Pigeon Park that incorporated water. The cost associated with the council commissioning the artwork drew controversy among Aucklanders at the time. The piece was Twiss' first large-scale public artwork.

Design and construction

The artwork features one large and two smaller bronze "rocks", or spherical discs. Two figures are seated on the larger disc, gazing out at their surrounding environment. The sculpture incorporates water elements; but compared to typical

fountains A fountain, from the Latin "fons" ( genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were o ...

, Twiss wanted to create a work where water was fully enclosed in the piece, that would not spray into the surrounding area on windy days. The sculpture incorporates small grooves, which are intended as a space where water flows. Twiss was inspired by the form of water-smoothed stones of a river or foreshore when creating the spherical shapes. Twiss described the construction process for the work as "traumatic". Creating the casts for the piece took Twiss from 1966 until the middle of 1967 to complete, made harder as there were no available bronze casting facilities available in New Zealand. Twiss injured himself twice during the construction process, first breaking ribs and later damaging his foot when a piece of the sculpture fell on him. Twiss felt unable to visit the sculpture due to the difficult creation process, first visiting the sculpture in 1970, a year after it was unveiled. When asked about the piece, Twiss described the work as "a rocky seaside of water and rocks, with people sitting beside them", and "a memory of sitting by a rocky bank, a soft gurgle of flowing water." For the sculpture's water element, Twiss wanted to "get away from the conventional idea of a fountain as a piece of sculpture set in a pool".

History

The sculpture was unveiled in Pigeon Park in April 1969, in a ceremony where mayor

Dove-Myer Robinson Sir Dove-Myer Robinson (15 June 1901 – 14 August 1989) was Mayor of Auckland City from 1959 to 1965 and from 1968 to 1980. Holding office for 6,543 days in total (17 years, 10 months, and 30 days), his was the longest tenure of any holder of ...

switched on the fountain. It was one of the first contemporary public sculptures unveiled in New Zealand, and was pivotal in establishing Twiss' career as a sculptor in New Zealand. ''Karangahape Rocks'' marked a turning point in Twiss' career, moving away from figurative works towards literal works. Over time, the bronze piece has weathered, creating a green

patina Patina ( or ) is a thin layer that variously forms on the surface of copper, brass, bronze, and similar metals and metal alloys ( tarnish produced by oxidation or other chemical processes), or certain stones and wooden furniture (sheen prod ...

on the surface of the sculpture. The piece's water feature broke in the late 1980s. Plans for the water elements of the piece to be restored began in 2005, and the sculpture was repaired in 2012. Local historian Edward Bennett notes that when the piece was broken, few people realised that ''Karangahape Rocks'' was a fountain, as its water elements were so hidden.

Reception

''Karangahape Rocks'' was described by art historian Robin Woodward as "one of the most successfully integrated sculptures in any urban environment in the country." Both art historian Michael Dunn and local historian Edward Bennett identified influences of English sculptors

Henry Moore Henry Spencer Moore (30 July 1898 – 31 August 1986) was an English artist. He is best known for his semi-abstract art, abstract monumental Bronze sculpture, bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art. Moore ...

and

Barbara Hepworth Dame Jocelyn Barbara Hepworth (10 January 1903 – 20 May 1975) was an English artist and sculptor. Her work exemplifies Modernism and in particular modern sculpture. Along with artists such as Ben Nicholson and Naum Gabo, Hepworth was a leadin ...

; Dunn likening the work to Moore's ''Seated Figure Against Curved Wall'' (1957). Dunn believed that by perforating the discs, Twiss was more able to integrate ''Karangahape Rocks'' with the surrounding environment. Art advocate Roy Dunningham and writer Andrew Paul Wood both interpret the figures as people waiting for a bus, with Wood likening the scene to the play ''

Waiting for Godot ''Waiting for Godot'' ( or ) is a 1953 play by Irish writer and playwright Samuel Beckett, in which the two main characters, Vladimir (Waiting for Godot), Vladimir (Didi) and Estragon (Gogo), engage in a variety of discussions and encounters w ...

''. Artist

Lisa Reihana Lisa Marie Reihana (born 1964) is a New Zealand artist. Her video work, ''In Pursuit of Venus nfected' (2015), which examines early encounters between Polynesians and European explorers, was featured at the 2017 Venice Biennale. Early life ...

cited ''Karangahape Rocks'' as one of her favourite Auckland sculptures.

References

{{Learning Quarter 1969 sculptures Bronze sculptures in New Zealand Fountains in New Zealand

Rocks In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks form the Earth's ...

Learning Quarter Outdoor sculptures in Auckland