PHILIP DADSON
As artists settle into senior career, the oft-repeated stories of their formative experiences begin to gloss into a series of mythological moments. The career of New Zealand intermedia pioneer, Philip Dadson, is no exception, with a well-trodden narrative having been established that takes him from childhood and first jobs in earthquake-prone Napier, to art school in Auckland, and then a trip to London, France, Spain and New York, including encounters with Nam Jun Paik and Charlotte Moorman, Elvin Jones, and Gordon Mumma, but most significantly, with British composer Cornelius Cardew. Although there have been distinct evolutions in Dadson’s practice since his return to New Zealand in 1970, his personal interest in global rhythms and the methodologies developed with Cardew remain prominent in Dadson’s latest work.
It is less common that an artist’s later years are quite as closely observed, but the last decade has been particularly dynamic for Dadson. In 1999 his solo exhibition ‘Conundrum Quartet’, part of the SOUNDCULTURE’99 festival held at Auckland, demonstrated a growing confidence with moving beyond performance and video into a more installation-based practice. The following year his performance group From Scratch staged their last performance, and at the end of that year he retired from full-time teaching, allowing him to focus fully on his own work. Since then he has travelled extensively to perform at festivals, released his first solo CD, organised events, built his first outdoor sound-sculptures, ventured into the world of dealer galleries, and won awards.
The most notable of Dadson’s recent activies is ‘Polar Projects’, a body of work resulting from an Antarctic residency in January 2003. Equipped with cameras and recording equipment, he flew to Scott Base and, at the... The rest of this article is available to subscribers of Eyeline