Kevin Milne recently made an investment into a local art piece – a work called ‘Black Beard’ by Simon Kerr.
The former leader of the notorious Hole in the Wall Gang, Kerr has shifted focus from crime to painting.
He also recently saw the huge Banksy exhibition at Wellington’s Tākina exhibition centre, and it got him thinking about the contrast in his and Kerr’s circumstances.
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You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack Team podcast from News.
Talks Be and as always here on Saturday mornings, we'd like to kick off the little dose of Kevin Melaney joined us now.
Good morning, Good morning, Francesca. Yes, I have run out of patience. I have run out of patience. I ran out of patience years ago when Naturally in New Zealand held an open day at the Carpety Airport PA and then the following week pulled out of so it was, yeah, weird behavior.
Really, I'm a bit of a slow adapter, and I am ridiculously loyal. I've been saying I'm going to leave my bank as well for thirty five years. Kevin.
Yeah, I'm ridiculously loyal with the New Zealand. I thought in the good old days, when they're putting out those wonderful lads, I thought they were really my favorite New Zealand firm. And things have just gone rapidly downhill, as you pointed out. And at the same time, I think jets that have lifted their acts so much, as you say, they're so much cheaper on some clients. Definitely worth shopping around now and.
Look, and I feel for anything on, because it does look like a whole lot of completely unrelated issues have all kind of come at them all at once. I mean, it's just been a very unfortunate sort of collision of a whole lot of issues, and then you throw COVID on top of it, so it is really difficult. I just don't think they're going to get out of it in a hurry unfortunately. Anyway, let's talk about some edgy art that you recently gave.
On the Higher Matters No Pleasure on the Saturday, because I wanted to talk about art, which I suspect also an interest of yours. I may be wrong, it is no.
It is. I do have a degree in art, has and a few other things I've never got round to using.
This week I saw the huge and impressive Banksy exhibition at the New Wellington Convention Center. Banks He's done some sort of bad stuff that most people wouldn't approve of, like one exhibition painting live animals, at another releasing two hundred rats onto the floor just before the doors opened. You could take your choice, go in or go home. I'd have gone. I'd have gone home. Yet I discovered at the art of Banksy the guy is so wonderfully talented, almost has got a writer and ideas man as a street artist. Funny enough, the week before I'd bought an oil painting by a former New Zealand Krim Simon Kerr. Simon was the leader of the Hole on the Wall gang that broke into banks and rated atm Machines. He also became famous for leading prisoner riots on the roof of Mount Eden Jail. Simon did a long stretch in prison where he discovered he had a talent for painting. I think it works fabulous, and I couldn't resist buying his portrait of himself as the pirate Blackbeard. Now this large or painting in our hangs in our lounge, inviting guests to put aside decorum and let fly with why the hell have you got that painting of black Beard in here? And why do you support ex bank robbers? And so you've seen my link between him and Banksy in a way. I don't know how you answer a question like that. It's a question intended as a statement, isn't it.
I was going to ask what the answer was.
Yeah, well I had the answer here at the Banksy exhibition. Banksy himself of quote no less than eleanor Roosevelt quote the role of art is the comfort the disturbed and disturbed the comfortable. Perfect. I reckon. If anyone comes to our place and once to complain about the art, they will hear the role of art is the comfort that disturbed and disturbed the comfortable. Do you like that quote? I do?
Which one is it doing more for you?
I'm actually, in a way, I'm slightly pleasantly surprised at people's open attitude to that picture of Simon k It's really a picture of black Beard. Have you seen that bony chance? No?
I haven't. But I think the thing to remember is that Simon's you know, his history, his story is really interesting. But the art has to sort of speak for itself, doesn't it. It has to be of you know, it has to be. It's the work that matters. I suppose is what I'm trying to say, is the backstory. And his work is really stunning. I mean, I can't imagine what it would be like the big scale, aren't they?
It was a hell of a harder I actually put it on the I did a real man thing, you sol. I was on my own and I just had it framed with a large heavy frame, and I tried to put it on the wall on the bums up and managed to do it, but my back's now and it could easily have ended in the most appalling disaster you just need, which would have taken out the painting, quite a lot of my wife's favorite crockery. Why do men do these sorts of things? I found the something I knew all the time. Wait for somebody to come home, but are they well?
Now you can just sit and enjoy your you know, extraorin new piece of art. Hey, if you do love Banksy and if anyone else has been to that exhibition and really enjoyed it. He released a film that was called Exit through the Gift Shop and it was released in twenty ten. It's a British documentary and film by artist Banksy, and it's a really great doco that's while worth catching, I think you're probably going to have to pay for it to watch it on a streaming service.
But he.
Tells a story of a French immigrant actually who was in Los Angeles who filmed a whole lot of street artists, so it sort of follows along that path anyway, it's really, really well done. If anyone's looking for a film recommendation, that's a movie that Banks he made. Yeah.
I saw some reference to that in the show, actually, and I love to see the whole thing. It's He's such a highly intelligent dude, isn't he really?
Yeah, very much so. It is going to be wonderful one day, Kevin to work out who he actually is. Thank you so much, nice to talk to you.
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