‘Signed, Theo Schoon’ film screening

Jan and Luit Bieringa documentary collection film screenings

In July and August, we are screening five films from the Jan and Luit Bieringa documentary collection. This is the fifth film screening in that series. These landmark documentaries expand our understanding and appreciation of important contributors to our culture and the ongoing discussions about them.

This screening will be introduced by Paul Diamond, Curator Māori at the Alexander Turnbull Library.

Watch a documentary about artist Theo Schoon

In the context of New Zealand culture in the second half of the 20th century, the Dutch émigré Theo Schoon (1915-1985) rocked our world. For all the ‘noise’ that has surrounded Schoon, the personality — as in mad, bad and dangerous to know — of the artist that emerges from this film is one who gave infinitely more than he took.

Signed, Theo Schoon (2021) grew from a popular biography of the artist Theo Schoon by Damian Skinner and a subsequent touring exhibition titled Split Level View Finder.

While the film draws from both the biography and the exhibition, it takes a significantly different path as it traverses the social and cultural landscapes from the late 1930s through to Schoon’s death in the mid-1980s. The film explores a gradual re-assessment of Theo's involvement in New Zealand art, his influence on some of the country’s major visual artists — both Pākehā and Māori — as well as on the crafts community, ensuring Schoon’s little-known but enduring legacy.

As the arc light of the debate has swung back onto Schoon, a young openly gay artist who came to New Zealand in the late 1930s, his journey and discoveries — contentious though they may be today — affected change for both individuals and the culture. Theo was the hinge around which others swung into a deeper appreciation of the New Zealand experience.

Whilst the central pivot for the documentary is Schoon, the film is a much broader story which illustrates our important cultural history and helps us to better know who we are, and where we have come from.

More screenings of films from the Jan and Luit Bieringa documentary collection

Save the dates in your diary for the five documentaries we are screening from the Luit and Jan Bieringa documentary collection.

Dates of Jan and Luit Bieringa documentary collection film screenings

Check before you come

Due to COVID-19 some of our events can be cancelled or postponed at very short notice. Please check the website for updated information about individual events before you come. For more general information about National Library services and exhibitions have look at our COVID-19 page.