Thursday, December 11, 2008

Still no idea


In the late 1970s and 1980s no visit to the Govett-Brewster was complete without a session in the White Hart. The art people crammed themselves into the public bar with the locals without any bother. We once went up for a show and one of our mothers insisted on staying at the White Hart rather than at our regular the Flamingo. Big mistake. The beds were way past their use-by date and the band didn’t stop until three in the morning. Now the White Hart only operates as a public bar, but the stag on the roof has just had a makeover. After all, it’s one of New Plymouth’s most famous sculptures (sorry Len). Its ear has been replaced, a new leg carved, and the lichen removed from the set of genuine antlers that spring from its solid mahogany head. From memory the stag has already been selected for one Govett-Brewster exhibition and can now look forward to another. During the restoration process a couple of moulds were taken so the stag can participate in Terry Urban’s upcoming The Sacred Heart. From memory again, Terry has already featured the bar of the White Hart in a video.

Images: Left, Before and right, after. The old joke in the title is available here.