Art for the people
Artist Joe McMenamin talks about leaving teaching for a full-time art practice, his Wellington murals, and his collaboration with H&M.
JEREMY HANSEN: How did you start in art?
JOE MCMENAMIN: I got the art gene in my family. I was quite good at art at school and that encouraged me to pursue it a bit more. I went on from there to study Fine Arts in Hamilton at Wintec. I studied painting and sculpture there, and after a few years of trying to find work I went to teachers’ college to become an art teacher. I’ve spent 14 years as an art teacher in Wellington, and two years ago started selling more of my work. This year I’m a full-time artist. I do quite a lot of murals around Wellington and Lower Hutt and I sell a range of prints as well. It’s going really well.
Which artists influenced you as you developed your own approach?
I was really influenced by Banksy and Shepard Fairey. Closer to home, I’ve been a big fan of Flox [Hayley King] – I really like the vibrancy of her work. When I was younger, it was about rebelling against the art establishment. I saw art in galleries and thought it was really expensive and not accessible to the general public. I like the idea of taking art to the street, of making it accessible to everyone. So I did have a street art influence when I was younger; I’ve sort of refined that as I’ve painted and got more skilled at doing stuff. My first proper mural commission was for Hutt City Council last year, in Naenae. I’ve done about 10 murals in that suburb now. The wall we painted the first mural on used to be tagged every day, and there’s been no tagging since we put the mural up. I worked with some students to create that mural – as a teacher, I really enjoyed working with a crew of students and mentoring some of those young people, and hopefully giving them an avenue of legitimate art rather than graffiti.
How do you describe your style?
How do you describe your style? I have two styles. I’m most known for my organic doodle pattern that I draw into a lot of my work. I do a lot of New Zealand native birds, and the doodle pattern represents birdsong. I paint realistic native birds on woodgrain. I’m fascinated by New Zealand birds – we have such an amazing environment here. I’ve got a new series that I’m working on at the moment about endangered birds, or extinct birds like the huia, and taking more of a conservation look at the birds. And I also do nautical-style things with ships and old-fashioned divers.
Do you do everything by hand, or do you work digitally sometimes?
My original paintings are painted by hand with acrylic on woodgrain – I make these wooden plywood frames and paint directly onto them. I leave the background as the woodgrain, and when I oil it the natural grain interacts really well with the painting. I do a whole bunch of prints, as well, which are more my drawing style. I sell these on my website, which is good for people who want to own a piece of art but don’t want to spend money on originals. And I do murals with Resene house paint directly onto the walls of the site.
You’ve created the cover of our Wellington issue in collaboration with our friends at H&M. How did that come about?
I’m mates with Joel Hart, a Christchurch artist who they worked with for the launch of their Christchurch store. I think they asked him if he knew any Wellington artists. They wanted a design that encompassed the landmarks around Wellington, and the culture, and the bright vibrant style of the city. And I adapted this design for a live painting of a mural at Odlins Plaza.
How do you keep your practice developing and not repeat the same things?
I’ve never been happy to do the same thing over and over. I have so many ideas – I’m never short of the next thing to try. It’s a balancing act about trying to push new ideas but keeping them consistent with my style so people can recognise it. It comes back to being an art teacher and trying to encourage my students to develop their ideas. And doing murals is great, because it naturally makes you change what you’re doing because it’s such a big scale. They’re a good catalyst for pushing ideas further.
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