Jann Pilka in his studio c.1985
silver halide photograph
Private collection, Wellington

Betty German was contracted by corporate sponsors as official photojournalist for Pilka's stay in New Zealand. An exhibiting photographer represented in local and international collections, Betty also authored several images in her own style, two of which are presented here. At this time she was experimenting with a new technique involving slow, fine-grain film stock and a small lens aperture. The quality of the finished image was ideal for recording Pilka's "neutral landscape" works but did not accomodate portraits as Jann Pilka in his studio demonstrates. The artist was originally posed in the left foreground of the frame but lost patience during the many minutes it took to make the exposure and stormed out.

The photograph was taken in Pilka's Coromandel studio and shows a work in progress which scholars have since identified as Untitled (1985).