Profiles - Tony Fomison

New Zealand painter Tony Fomison is profiled in this 1981 episode of a series about notable artists. Interviewed by Hamish Keith, Fomison is an engaging but diffident subject — describing his often dark, brooding works as "illustrations of dreams", but also ascribing human emotions to them. His powerful attraction to Pacific cultures is explored; it culminated in this Pākehā son of a working class Christchurch family getting a pe’a (the traditional Samoan body tattoo). Other topics of discussion include his childhood, time overseas, and eventual journey to his own art style. Tony Fomison died on 7 February 1990, at age 50.

You’ve got to maintain your objective viewpoint in the midst of a mucky, emotional thing like painting. You can leave the mucky emotions to the people looking at it, once it’s finished.

– Tony Fomison

Key Cast & Crew

Keith Ballantyne

Composer

Russell Hay

Sound Mix

Barry Harbert

Cinematographer

Melanie Rodriga (née Read)

Editor

Hamish Keith

Interviewer, Reporter

Bruce Morrison

Director