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Details
- Date
- 1975
- Media category
- Painting
- Materials used
- acrylic on paper, 10 panels
- Dimensions
- 10 panels: each sheet 109.2 x 72.8 cm
- Signature & date
Signed and dated l.l. no.1, white paint "... C. McC JULY 75".
Signed and dated l.r. no.2, white paint "C. McC JULY 75".
Signed and dated l.r. no.3, white paint "C. McC July 75".
Signed and dated l.c. no.4, white paint "... C. McC July 75".
Signed and dated l.r. no.5, white paint "C. McC July 75".
Signed and dated l.c. no.6, white paint "... C. McC July 75".
Signed and dated l.c. no.7, white paint "C. McC July 75".
Signed and dated l.l. no.8, white paint "... C. McC July 75".
Signed and dated l.c. no.9, white paint "C. McC JULY 75".
Signed and dated l.r. no.10, white paint "C. McC July 75".- Credit
- Purchased with funds provided by the Art Gallery of New South Wales Foundation 2014
- Location
- Not on display
- Accession number
- 614.2014.a-j
- Copyright
- © Estate of Colin McCahon, Courtesy of the Colin McCahon Research and Publication Trust
- Artist information
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Colin McCahon
Works in the collection
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About
Colin McCahon was New Zealand’s greatest modern painter. He is also one of the most radical and challenging painters to emerge from Australasia in the 20th century.
Faith, doubt and the power of art were McCahon’s constant concerns. Beginning in the 1940s with religious scenes set in the New Zealand landscape, McCahon evolved an increasingly distinctive visual language for the life and trials of the spirit. In 'Teaching aids 2 (July)', this spiritual sign language is at its most stark and mysterious.
As the title suggests, this is a painting about art’s power as a guide – an aid to understanding matters of life and death. On a series of what look like humble school blackboards, a lesson plays out. Numbers accumulate up to 14, evoking the Christian stations of the cross, while the white lines, floating in the blackness, become luminous crucifixions.
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Exhibition history
Shown in 9 exhibitions
Colin McCahon - New Paintings 1975, Barry Lett Galleries, Auckland, 18 Aug 1975–29 Aug 1975
An Exhibition of Paintings by Colin McCahon, Ray Hughes Gallery, Brisbane, Brisbane, 29 Nov 1975–24 Dec 1975
McCahon's "necessary protection", Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Zealand, 01 Sep 1977–25 Sep 1977
McCahon's "necessary protection", National Art Gallery, Wellington, Wellington, 22 Feb 1978–19 Mar 1978
McCahon's "necessary protection", Auckland City Art Gallery, Auckland, 07 Jun 1978–02 Jul 1978
Teaching aids: Colin McCahon, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, Auckland, 01 Oct 1995–Jan 1996
Toi toi toi: drei kunstlergenerationen aus Neuseeland = three generations of artists from New Zealand, Fridericianum, Kassel, 23 Jan 1999–05 Apr 1999
Toi toi toi: drei kunstlergenerationen aus Neuseeland = three generations of artists from New Zealand, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, Auckland, 21 May 1999–08 Aug 1999
Colin McCahon: A Question of Faith, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 30 Aug 2002–10 Nov 2002
Colin McCahon: A Question of Faith, City Gallery Wellington, Wellington, 08 Dec 2002–09 Mar 2003
Colin McCahon: A Question of Faith, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, Auckland, 29 Mar 2003–15 Jun 2003
Colin McCahon: A Question of Faith, NGV: International, Melbourne, 04 Jul 2003–07 Sep 2003
Colin McCahon: A Question of Faith, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 15 Nov 2003–18 Jan 2004
Signs and symbols to live by, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 16 Jun 2016–19 Mar 2017
Some mysterious process, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 01 Jun 2020–13 Sep 2020
20th-Century galleries, lower level 1 (rehang), Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 20 Aug 2022–2023
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Bibliography
Referenced in 6 publications
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Mary Barr, Headlands: thinking through New Zealand art, Sydney, 1992, 55, 56. not illustrated
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Marja Bloem, Colin McCahon: a question of faith, Amsterdam, 2002, 239, 260. not illustrated
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Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, McCahon's "necessary protection": the catalogue of a travelling exhibition of paintings from Colin McCahon's various series from 1971 to 1976, New Plymouth, 1977, 8, 9, 10. fig 17
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Alexa Johnston (Curator), Teaching aids: the Colin McCahon Room, Auckland, 1995, (illus.).
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Justin Paton, Look, 'Kiwi Karma', pg.22-6, Sydney, Mar 2016, 22-3 (illus.), 24.
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The Colin McCahon Research and Publication Trust, The Colin McCahon online catalogue, Auckland, (colour illus.). cm001514
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