The Gibbs Farm
February 23rd, 2013 at 9:00 am by David FarrarHad a stunning day on Friday at the Gibbs Farm by Kaipara Harbour.
It was organised by the Wellington Sculpture Trust, and around 120 – 150 people flew up from Wellington for it. I doubt anyone regretted it. The farm is outstanding in three ways.
- The views
- The animals
- The sculptures
Together they create an experience that people literally travel to New Zealand to see. The Farm has an open day once a month. I highly recommend you try and attend at some stage. Allow a good three hours to get around everything.
This stag had a cry like a foghorn. You could hear him on the other side of the farm.
There is a statue of a giraffe but also three actual giraffes on the farm. I prefers giraffes not to be in captivity but they have such a large space to roam around in they seemed pretty happy.
This is a close up of A Fold in the Field with a mower making its way up over one of the folds.
This is called 88.50 ARCx8. The yaks at the bottom give you an idea of how large it is.
The Green and White Fence runs for 3.2 kms.
This is me inside the iconic Dismemberment, Site 1.
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And Jordan W sliding out the far end.
The end is 25 metres tall.
Horizons
Red Cloud confrontation in Landscape
Another view of Dismemberment. The people by it give you some idea of its size. It is 85 metres long.
The central lake and fountain.
The Mermaid. Just next to it is a water polo lake
As we were driving out, we encountered this ostrich happily sitting down on the road blocking it. He wouldn’t move even with the bus in front of him. Someone had to get out and lead him away.
The animals are all very tame, and basically treat the farm as belonging to them, and are very nonplussed by the visitors.
Again a great day. Big thanks to Alan Gibbs for his generosity in making it available to the public, and for his talk to us. Also to the Wellington Sculpture Trust for organizing the day.
February 23rd, 2013 at 9:45 am
Heard him on radio nz. He flies his helicopter around the world…. and what does he see?: human impact is small. It’s the same meme used by Hugh Pavletich “NZ is only .07% urbanised” etc.
Vote:February 23rd, 2013 at 10:51 am
Can’t believe this is in NZ. There was a huge fight to keep a lion park open and this is going on.
So what did Paul Holmes do for the country?
Vote:February 23rd, 2013 at 11:51 am
Clearly the sculptures are a good use of money while 250,000 New Zealand children remain hungry.
Vote:February 23rd, 2013 at 12:28 pm
Great place for a funeral.
Vote:Who’s using it today?
February 23rd, 2013 at 12:44 pm
So 250,000 kids are hungry, perhaps you should tell their parents to stop buying dak, smokes, and piss with the money taxpayer gifts them, that is if you can find them, clue, try the local pub.
Vote:February 23rd, 2013 at 12:54 pm
“Clearly the sculptures are a good use of money while 250,000 New Zealand children remain hungry.”
Indeed they are, Hamnida.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU1301/S00343/explore-the-secrets-of-gibbs-farm-and-help-the-kids-of-nph.htm
Vote:February 23rd, 2013 at 2:33 pm
250,000 NZ children remain hungry – these must be the ones I see lining the streets with distended stomachs and their ribs showing!
Vote:Yeah, right!
February 23rd, 2013 at 2:55 pm
Hamnida have you been there? I’ve been past it on my way up north and interestingly it’s right next to a dirt poor Maori enclave.
Quite a contrast, I often wonder how they are as neighbours.
DPF how do you get to go and have a look around – is there an email or something? I’ve always wanted to have a perv, you don’t see that much from the road frontage
Vote:February 23rd, 2013 at 3:24 pm
duggledog –just so you don’t have to scroll to the top again ,here is what David wrote at the start
“It was organised by the Wellington Sculpture Trust, and around 120 – 150 people flew up from Wellington for it. I doubt anyone regretted it. The farm is outstanding in three ways.
» The views
Vote:» The animals
» The sculptures
Together they create an experience that people literally travel to New Zealand to see. The Farm has an open day once a month. I highly recommend you try and attend at some stage. Allow a good three hours to get around everything.”
February 23rd, 2013 at 3:30 pm
Hamnida: Are you suggesting that Alan Gibbs should not be allowed to spend any of his money on what he wants?
Maybe you could share with us what your income is, and how much money do you donate to charity?
Vote:February 23rd, 2013 at 3:32 pm
Duggledog – see http://www.gibbsfarm.org.nz/contact.php
The next day which is not booked up is 27 June.
Vote:February 23rd, 2013 at 6:34 pm
Cheers. And I can highly recommend the Mount Auckland walk just north of there, about an hour to the top and you can see both coasts from the trig point.
Vote:February 23rd, 2013 at 6:58 pm
Christ those sculptures are ugly, if Gibbs had put wind turbines all over his property it would not be as ugly.
The animals are cool though.
Vote:February 23rd, 2013 at 7:00 pm
pretentious wealth , everything we don’t need in New Zealand
Vote:February 23rd, 2013 at 8:05 pm
Who the hell let that fool Hide speak? Abusing TV3 the way he did was the mark of an effing clown.
We can kiss goodbye to act in Parliament in 2014. Honestly, that party is run by rank amateurs. As if Banks wasn’t enough.
Vote:February 23rd, 2013 at 8:06 pm
scanner (337) Says:
February 23rd, 2013 at 12:44 pm So 250,000 kids are hungry, perhaps you should tell their parents to stop buying dak, smokes, and piss with the money taxpayer gifts them, that is if you can find them, clue, try the local pub
—
Can’t blame the kids for having fool parents mate.
Vote:February 23rd, 2013 at 8:27 pm
Gibbs once gave one million dollars to the Salvation Army. How much do you give, arsehole?
Vote:February 23rd, 2013 at 8:31 pm
DPF – the Dismemberment is a work of Art, that is worth millions. It isn’t to be treated like a playground implement. Jordan Williams is a dork for using it like a slide. Doesn’t he value other’s property?
[DPF: That's unfair. There are no signs indicating you can not go on the structure, and other structures have people on them such as the pyramid. It would be simple to put up a sign asking people not to go through it, if that is what they want. We actually looked for such a sign]
Vote:February 23rd, 2013 at 8:39 pm
“the Dismemberment is a work of Art, that is worth millions. It isn’t to be treated like a playground implement”
Oh come on Nick, it looks like a bloody big piece of playground equipment, a pig ugly piece of playground equipment at that.
While Gibbs is indeed a good and generous man it seems that he has become a bit of an “art wanker” as well.
Vote:February 23rd, 2013 at 8:51 pm
You don’t have to like it, BB.
But you should still respect the property rights of others. It seems this blog is full of those who don’t.
Vote:February 23rd, 2013 at 9:01 pm
Good luck to him for spending his money the way he wants and on things which he appreciates. F…ing great how others want to control or approve what he does. Despite what Farrar raises as a question, it’s nothing to do with what critics of Gibbs earn or how much they donate to charity. It’s entirely to do with Gibbs exercising his free will as is his right.
Vote:February 23rd, 2013 at 9:14 pm
“pretentious wealth , everything we don’t need in New Zealand”
You dont have to like it, but “everything we don’t need in New Zealand??” What is it to you how he spends his money? Arent crime, child abuse etc etc the things we really don’t need in NZ? And what is pretentious about building things on a farm that hardly anyone will see unless they specifically go to look at them?
Vote:February 23rd, 2013 at 9:27 pm
Alan Gibbs’ farm on the Kaipara Harbour is an amazing place to visit, his outdoor installations presented on a grand scale are truly unique and incomparable to anything anywhere else in the world, and yet it is here in New Zealand and until recently one of the best kept art secrets on the New Zealand art landscape.
Vote:The sculptures are engineering masterpieces juxtaposed against an archetypal kiwi landscape of farmland and challenge the observers imagination to comprehend the visual impact of these sculptures within an agricultural backdrop. And just when you think you have a handle on it a meandering and very friendly giraffe will come over for a nuzzle and as the photo shows a rather stroppy territorial ostrich will try and stare you down.
Alan Gibbs is to be congradulated and admired for having the vision and the wherewithal to mount such an extraordinary visual outdoor gallery. I would recommend a visit to this property when the next open day is held, it is truly a memorable inspiring experience.
February 23rd, 2013 at 10:36 pm
Good on you Alan Gibbs. I think it’s stunning.
Vote:Why are 250,000 starving kids his problem?
February 24th, 2013 at 7:01 pm
people say that we that we should respect the right of the wealthy to make idiot statues and junk,
Vote:what a watse of money Gibbs is, what pretentious crap, he could have helped people, but no