Conversations B2 – Week 11 Task

I feel that the best project I finished this year was my Lens project, at least in my eyes. The corresponding Powhiri concept was ‘Hakari’. Hakari is the final stage of the process, in which things are balanced, settled and resolved. It is the resolution and celebration of what has taken place.

My assignment was to take one of my previous studios and re-imagine it through the medium of photography. I eventually came to the conclusion that I was going to recreate my Turangawaewae project, taking various images of the city with a natural element within them, representing my transition from a rural background to the now man-made structural city. In my work, I worked with framing the images with a natural ‘halo’, attempting to capture a balanced relationship that really represents my experience in a natural environment and how that experience affects how I see the world I’m currently in. In light of this concept, I named my series “Vantage”.

When it comes to gender or indigeneity in my lens project, it is almost completely irrelevant, as my entire project is based around my own personal experiences of what I consider to be my home, and my view of the city as an environment. However, at a stretch, I could perhaps link the ideas of indigeneity from Linda Smith’s “Decolonising Methodologies” to how I see my home, and where I believe I feel that home is, however the main concept of indigenous in this reading is that “It is a term that internationalises the experiences, the issues and the struggles of some of the world’s colonised peoples.”, of which I am not. It is important to keep such ideas in mind, but it’s really only specific to work being created that affects, or is affected, by said ideas.

Tuhiwai Smith, Linda. Introduction. Decolonising methodologies – Research and indigenous peoples. London and New York – Zed Books, 2012, 1-18..pdf

Conversations B2 – Week 10 Task

I have never really given much thought to my cultural identity. When I was young, I was told I was a ‘kiwi kid’. My family supports the All Blacks (because rugby is important), we live on a farm in a rural area and our speech patterns could have been copy/pasted out of a Footrot Flats comic. I’ve always just assumed that I was your typical grassroots, small-town ‘Noo Zullander’, and never put any more effort into double checking that that’s exactly what I thought was. When the All Blacks lost to France in 2007 I was in equal uproar to my friends and family, and the horror I felt when I learned of the Christchurch earthquakes echoed along with the rest of the country. But did I ever stop to wonder why I felt such things? Did I ever look at myself and really feel like a New Zealander? My knowledge was limited to what I was told by my elders, and to what I experienced in my semi-sheltered life in a small rural town. It is only now that I have access to a whole country of stories, experiences and progressions, that I can really see myself in the context of Aotearoa, and understand my place in it. Now that I am aware of who I am, I can say that I still think of myself as a New Zealander, but my connections to my country have meaning now. Now when I watch the All Blacks destroy Aussie, I know and understand why I feel proud. I know why I love the country I live in. I know why I feel at home.

Scanned from: Panocha, Rangihiroa. Maori Art: History, Architecture, Landscape & Theory. New Zealand, David Bateman, 15 June 2015.

Conversations B2 – Week 9 Task

21st Century Powhiri

One of the themes/ideas that Dick Whyte talked about during the lecture was stereotypes in New Zealand. He explained that the majority of media in New Zealand, even after the 70s (a time completely dominated by Pakeha control), is still influenced by the ideas and stereotypes that Pakeha have constructed. One of the ‘new racism’ stereotypes is the “radical political activist” Maori; the idea that Maori people, especially young men, are unlawful and deviant, paying no heed to the ‘civilised laws’ that govern New Zealand. Wall explains in her article that “The stereotype of radical political activist has been generated through the resurrection and rehashing of a number o f racial narratives which have been in circulation in Aotearoa/New Zealand.” (43)

Wall, Melanie (1997). Stereotypical Constructions of the Maori ‘Race’ in the Media.

Higgins, Rawinia & John C. Moorfield (2004). Ngā tikanga o te marae.

Conversations B2 – Week 8 Task

This image is a comment on the problem of child poverty in New Zealand, using humor to make a stab at the idea that no one has anything when they are born, therefore they are completely reliant on the people around them to care for them, thus their financial situation is beyond their control for most of their life. There is “…evidence that childhood disadvantage increases the chances of poor outcomes later in life. One of the most common aspects of childhood disadvantage is low family income and there is good evidence of the negative impact on future outcomes…” (Perry, Bryan 19). As mentioned in the lecture, child poverty has become a much more relevant problem in New Zealand, becoming differentiated to ‘standard’ poverty.

Perry, Bryan. “Working for Families: The impact on child poverty.” Social Policy Journal of New Zealand (2004): 19-54.

Conversations B2 – Week 7 Task

A key point from the week 7 lecture was about the increase in European trade power throughout the Pacific during the 1800s. “As far back as 1860, Samoa was a centre for trade and tourism, situated on a major shipping route between San Francisco and Australia, and en route for steam ships passing through the Panama Canal.” (Vercoe, 36). This certainly impacted much of the Pacific cultures, what with distribution of western food items affecting the physical health of the people who called these islands home.

An example of art used as a response to a socio-political situation confronting Pacific Islanders is Brett Graham’s sculpture installations, Bravo Bikini and Kainga Tahi Kainga Rua (2003). They represent the 50 year anniversary of the nuclear testing carried out by USA on the Bikini Atoll, and act as a “lament and reminder” of the effects of the nuclear testing in that area (Vercoe, 39). It’s stark white wood and walls are a reference to a “ground zero whiteout” (Vercoe, 39) of a devastating nuclear detonation.

The “Dawn Raids’ documentary is about the controversial raids on homes and workplaces of Pacific Islanders in the 70s, whom the government had ‘decided’ were overstayers here in New Zealand. Due to full time employment in the 60s, immigration services turned a blind eye to things such as visa restrictions for Pacific Island immigrants, but eventually the rate of immigrants arriving outgrew the need to employ them and the country faced an economic downturn. This lead to the need to blame someone for the troubles, and so politicians used Pacific immigrants as a scapegoat for overloading the workforce. This was quite aggressively resisted by many people, but Police were given authority to do random street checks despite being officially disclaimed. However, media coverage and activist resistance lead to the end of these raids, and all policies related to said incidents.

 

Vercoe, C.,(2004), The Many Faces of Paradise. In Paradise now? : contemporary art from the Pacific. (pp. 35-47). Auckland, N. Z. : David Bateman in association with Asia Society, 2004.

Conversations – Task 5

“Roger Neich has observed that – ‘Māori self-consciousness was one of the first effects of European contact. Māori became aware of themselves as Māori. Eventually Māori artists became aware of their art as ‚Māori art,‛ different from European art. They were made aware of their own aesthetic concepts, and of the conventions governing them” (Wheoki, J.M, 7). The arrival of Europeans began the process of making the art of Aotearoa become ‘Maori Art’, in which it became apparent that there were aesthetic differences between the art the Europeans used, and the art Maori people used. Another example of this is in the description that “…the common things of humanity prevailed over the particular things of human culture.” (Anderson et al., 135), in which the European idea of ‘humanity’ was appropriated to describe the Maori people and their way of life.

City to Sea Bridge, Wellington, 1993, by Paratene Matchitt (Ngati Porou, Te Whanau-a-Apanui, Te Whakatohea)

This work was created with multiple symbols, the key representations are the links to the celestial navigation used by early Polynesian ancestors, as well as being a reference to the multiple different cultures that have traveled to New Zealand. Second to that, it is a direct reference to Te Wepu, the battle flag of Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Turuki, flown during his campaigns of resistance in the 1860s. All of these are a part of matauranga Maori, the underlying body of knowledge brought to New Zealand by the Polynesian ancestors of Maori people, thus are important in maintaining the set of values and ideals still upheld by Maori culture today.

Anderson, Atholl, Binney, Judith and Harris, Aroha. “Chapter 9: Wars and survival”. Tangata whenua: An illustrated history. Bridget Williams Books, 2014. Print.

Wheoki, J.M. (2011). Arts Histories in Aotearoa New Zealand

Conversations – Task 4

“Chapter 9: Wars and surivival” is a chapter focused on the years between 1860-1872, in which Anderson goes into the various conflicts over and around the pursuit of establishing British sovereignty, explaining how “The wars touched almost all the tribes in New Zealand to a greater or lesser extent.”(Anderson et al., 282). The wars kicked off in Taranaki, where there was a forced survey of the Pekapeka block in March of 1860. This was the beginning of a nationwide series of conflicts, spreading from Taranaki through to Waikato, where aggression and mistrust simply fed the flames of war. The Tauranga area soon became involved, along with Whanganui and many other neighboring areas. The effects of the war were disastrous for some, with land and resources being confiscated from multiple tribes, leading to repercussions echoing over many generations.

These actions, because they still affect people today, influence the visual and material culture in New Zealand today. There are still disputes over land and ownership of areas that were wrongfully confiscated or colonised, and this influences people to reflect these grievances in their art work and design, as a way of communicating the issues they face.

Anderson, Atholl, Binney, Judith and Harris, Aroha. “Chapter 9: Wars and survival”. Tangata whenua: An illustrated history. Bridget Williams Books, 2014. Print.

Conversations – Task 3

Take-utu-ea

Take-utu-ea is the process of resolving a breach of tikanga. First, it must be decided what the breach is, and upon being decided that action becomes the take. Following this, there is an appropriate utu, or recompense/gesture to be made towards the people(s) who were wronged. If this action reaches a satisfying resolution in which all ‘wrongdoings’ are forgiven, ea has been reached, which is a state of ease and resolution.

The concept of take-utu-ea can be applied to art and design practices almost literally if it concerns art/design that takes direct inspiration from Maori tradition or art. For example, an artwork heavily referencing traditional Maori art might not ring true with what that specific artform should be used for, and thus doesn’t represent that specific ideal in the way that it needs to be. The artist must then understand how they have breached tikanga, take action to right their wrong and finally reach a resolution in which all parties are happy.

Taonga Works

Intellectual property and copyright laws work reasonably well in westernised society, but when it comes to Taonga and traditional Maori ideals, knowledge and insights, perhaps it does not cater so well. For example, oral traditions in Maori culture such as whakapapa, traditional korero or moteatea, are not fixed in material form, and thus will fail the requirement for copyright that it must be in material form (39, Taonga Works and Intellectual Property). Along with this, the Trade Marks Act does not address kaitiaki realtionship to taonga works, and nor do intellectual property rights provide kaitiaki with the means to prevent said works from being inappropriately used in ways that are culturally offensive. Because the understandings of intellectual property and copyright are slightly different from the understandings of taonga works thier relationship with kaitiaki, it is very difficult to make standard laws suit the needs of kaitiaki. Modern laws require modern evidence, most often material, to allow protection of ideas or creations, whereas kaitiaki exists to rely on the people concerned to uphold the ideals and traditions, with no need to supply official evidence, because it is down to the people to respect the values. It is because of these two similar yet all too different ideals that means modern copyright laws cannot fully suit the needs of taonga works and intellectual property.

Glossary – Conversations

Take-utu-ea
Take-utu-ea is the process of resolving a breach of tikanga. First, it must be decided what the breach is, and upon being decided that action becomes the take. Following this, there is an appropriate utu, or recompense/gesture to be made towards the people(s) who were wronged. If this action reaches a satisfying resolution in which all ‘wrongdoings’ are forgiven, ea has been reached, which is a state of ease and resolution.

Kaitiaki
Those who are, by lineage or calling are obliged to guard over and keep watch over taonga works.

Matauranga Maori
The body of knowledge, values and ideals upheld by the first Polynesian Ancestors who arrived in New Zealand.

Taonga
A creative or industrial work that is comprised of or inspired by any part of matauranga Maori. It always has a direct relationship to kaitiaki, as there is always a person or persons who are obliged to watch over it.

Tikanga
The process or custom of doing things the ‘right’ or ‘proper’ way. The generally accepted way of doing something.

 

Conversations – Task 2

Rei Niho Paraoa (chevron type sperm whale tooth pendant)

This pendant was found in Marlborough, is of an unknown maker, and is dated between 1300-1500. In traditional Maori culture the bone of the sperm whale is both rare and incredibly precious, but the significance of these pendants have been shrouded by history. They may have transferred the mana of the whale on the wearer, or indicated some spiritual connection. There has always been a significant relationship between Pacific cultures and whales, Maori cosmology specifically stating that whales are descendants of Tangaroa, god of the oceans. “It is a rare example of an early, intricately fashioned, traditional Māori pendant – only about 20 pieces have ever been found…” (Rita Angus). It is decorated with unique details that have been compared with the designs of belongings and ornaments in the Marquesas. Because of this they reinforce the link between the cultural background of Maori culture and other cultures of the Pacific.

“Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand.” 8. – Māori Clothing and Adornment – Kākahu Māori –. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Aug. 2016.

“Rei Niho (chevroned Pendants).” – Rita Angus: Life and Vision. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Aug. 2016.