Marti Friedlander’s compelling works

Vintage photographs of artists in their own environments, taken by celebrated artist Marti Friedlander, are now on show in a new exhibition at Waikato Museum.

The exhibition, which opens on Friday, is toured by New Zealand Portrait Gallery and has been curated by Friedlander’s friend and former lecturer, Dr Leonard Bell.

The prints chronicle New Zealand’s social and cultural life from the 1960s into the twenty-first century. Friedlander’s subjects are artists, writers, craftspeople and actors, including Ralph Hotere, Maurice Gee, Dame Robin White, Wilf Wright, Darien Takle, Michael King, Evelyn Page and Gaylene Preston.

Friedlander, who was born in London and raised with her sister in a Jewish orphanage, moved to New Zealand with her Kiwi husband Gerrard in 1958.

Already a photographer, she picked up her camera and began taking pictures of her new country – which she at first found distressingly conservative – with an outsider’s eye.

Friedlander’s camera recorded everyday New Zealand life, but she also documented the rapid social change of the 1960s and beyond, taking many iconic images of rallies and protests in support of women’s rights, Maori rights and peace campaigns.

She was especially drawn to the arts, befriending and photographing a wide range of New Zealand artists and writers, and her images of elderly mokoed Maori women, taken in the 1970s for a book by historian Michael King, were instantly recognised as classics.

In the 1999 New Year Honours, she was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to photography. She was also awarded an honorary Doctorate of Literature by the University of Auckland in 2016.

‘‘Marti Friedlander’s compelling photography is recognised here and around the world for its invaluable insights into our socio-cultural history’’

Waikato Museum director Cherie Meecham

Waikato Museum director Cherie Meecham said the exhibition was a unique opportunity for visitors to appreciate the stunning work of one of the country’s most prominent and highly regarded photographers.

‘‘Marti Friedlander’s compelling photography is recognised here and around the world for its invaluable insights into our socio-cultural history.

‘‘It’s a privilege to be hosting a showcase of her expressive works, which reveal her brilliance and range in terms of style, format and lighting.’’

Marti Friedlander: Portraits of the Artists runs until July 25, daily from 10am to 5pm. Entry is free.

GERRARD AND MARTI FRIEDLANDER CHARITABLE TRUST One of the works in the exhibition Portraits of the Artists, titled Don Driver in his studio, New Plymouth, 1978, which can be seen at Waikato Museum from Friday.

CHRIS SKELTON/STUFF Martha ‘‘Marti’’ Friedlander, pictured shortly before her death in 2016, is recognised here and around the world for her invaluable insights into New Zealand’s socio-cultural history.