Most days I walk through the doorway to 147 Cuba Street. This is hard to avoid as it's the only (safe) way to access Enjoy Gallery. I am, like countless other others I imagine, quite attached to 147's eclectic and resonant doorway - an icon that has become synonymous with Cuba Street, and with Peter
McLeavey's gallery. One day I remember
Arlo Edwards doing Peter a favour and stripping back a few dozen of the countless layers of posters, drawings, and all else
plasterable that seems to gravitate and find its way there. After a while he pointed out an old Misery sketch his efforts had uncovered. A testament to the layering of history
imbued within this small exterior space. I would argue that without this doorway, Cuba Street just wouldn't be Cuba Street...and where would that leave us?
Anyway, on my way past this morning I noticed this print: a print of a painting of 147's doorway, plastered in 147's doorway (No doubt the humour and/or irony of this action was not lost on the person accountable). The print is of a painting by one Jo Hardy - apparently being shown at the Yvonne Rust gallery in
Whangarei - titled
Art History 101 (NZ): darkening Peter McLeavey's doorway.Aside from liking the painting myself, the title raises a couple of interesting questions for me. Like can art
history (for that matter New
Zealand's art history) be recalled through the history of dealer galleries with equal effect as it can be through those of public art spaces, and forums for art criticism? And to that effect, what does the
comparative absence of 'the general public' and its criticism mean for the evolution of these dealer galleries, and furthermore for this hypothetical record of art history? Since Dealers
are motivated by the market, and not the public at large, might they be giving the art public what they
truly want - what's in demand -without it being packaged and easy to
swallow: therefore being more
critical and less subjective than our
institutions?
Nice painting though Jo.
post and image by jeremy
Gabrielle Amodeo's show is worth treking from far and wide to see. Pictured is our guerilla marketing tactics for the show in 147's doorway. Gabrielle will be speaking with Mark Amery about her work on RadioActive89FM's Caffeine & Aspirin show this Saturday, 11.45am. 
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