Oceanic Art: Art Over the Greatest Expanse
Female Diety
FORM: FUNCTION: CONTENT: CONTEXT:
Nan Madol
FORM: FUNCTION: CONTENT: CONTEXT:
Processional welcoming Queen Elizabeth II to Tonga with Taga cloth
FORM: Multimedia performance (costume; cosmetics, including scent; chant; movement; and pandanus fiber/ hibiscus fiber mats), photographic documentation; Photography, documentation. Elaborate, native, unique, representative, grand-scale, natural FUNCTION: To show respect and gratitude towards Queen Elizabeth II for visiting Tonga and for commemorating the war memorial. Also I believe this served as a way of the two countries signaling their alliance and partnership. CONTENT: The meaning behind the display involves along lasting peace agreement between both queens and Queen Elizabeth's desire to thank those who served, fought, and died in World War II, is what inspirers her arrival. Because it was the first time any English Queen had stepped foot onto the island so it is a celebration of many years of peace and common cause in the war efforts. CONTEXT: During both world wars the people of Tonga and England have fought for same cause and have even assisted each other at times so in order to so union between two countries English royal family visits Tonga for the first time and honors those who died in the line of duty.
Tamati Waka Nene
FORM: Oil on Canvas FUNCTION: To commemorate the Maorian chief on being the first of the Pacific islands to join the International trade with England; to show the Westerners appreciation for the Pacific islanders and their contribution to trading CONTENT: smooth brushstrokes, painted to show kind nature of the chief, compassionate, similar portrait style to the Mona Lisa, painted with tribal face paint to reinforce culture CONTEXT: Tamati Waka Nene lived in the Hokianga when it was a thriving and prosperous trading society and was said to have been an astute businessman and kindly by nature. Nene saw the advantages of having Pākehā shipping traders in the area, and helped settlers as well as Wesleyan missionaries establish themselves there in 1827 Lindauer based this portrait on a photograph by John Crombie who was commissioned to produce 12 photographic portraits of Māori chiefs for the London Illustrated News
Hiapo
FORM: Tapa or bark cloth; Freehand painting on the cloth FUNCTION: The most important traditional uses for tapa were for clothing, bedding and wall hangings. Textiles were often specially prepared and decorated for people of rank. Tapa was ceremonially displayed on special occasions, such as birthdays and weddings. In sacred contexts, tapa was used to wrap images of deities. Even today, at times of death, bark cloth may be integral part of funeral and burial rites. CONTENT: geometric organization, intricate patterning; tribe's people would beat the cloth after weaving to strengthen bonds. In the Islander culture the women's jobs were to weave and beat the Tapa clothes for use. CONTEXT: Niue c. 1850-1900 CE; In the 1880s, a distinctive style of hiapo decorations emerged that incorporated fine lines and new motifs. Hiapo from this period are illustrated with complicated and detailed geometric designs. The patterns were composed of spirals, concentric circles, squares, triangles, and diminishing motifs (the design motifs decrease in size from the border to the center of the textile). Niueans created naturalistic motifs and were the first Polynesians to introduce depictions of human figures into their bark cloth. Some hiapo examples include writing, usually names, along the edges of the overall design.
Ahu 'ula
FORM: They consisted of olona fibre netting made in straight rows, with pieces joined and cut to form the desired shape. Tiny bundles of feathers were attached to the netting in overlapping rows starting at the lower edge. The exterior of this example is covered with red feathers from the 'i'iwi bird (Vestiaria cocchinea), yellow feathers from the 'o'o (Moho nobilis), and black feathers also from the 'o'o. FUNCTION: male nobility wore feather cloaks and capes for ceremonies and battle. CONTENT: Across Polynesia the color red was associated with both gods and chiefs. In the Hawaiian Islands, however, yellow feathers became equally valuable, due to their scarcity. CONTEXT: Hawaiian late 18th century; Large numbers of feathered cloaks and capes were given as gifts to the sea captains and their crews who were the earliest European visitors to Hawaii. Some of these attractive items would then have passed into the hands of the wealthy patrons who financed their voyages. It is not known who brought this particular cape to England.
Buk (mask).
FORM: Turtle shell, wood, fiber, feathers, shell; hand-crafted and unique to ceremony FUNCTION: Turtle-shell masks in the western Torres Strait reportedly were used during funerary ceremonies and increase rites (rituals designed to ensure bountiful harvests and an abundance of fish and game). CONTENT: This work displays the composite human and animal imagery typical of western Torres Strait masks, and provides insight on the beliefs/religion of the islanders at the time. CONTEXT: Torres Strait. Mid- to late 19th century C.E. Turtle shell, wood, fiber, feathers, and shell; The ceremonies often involved performances in which senior men, wearing the masks together with rustling costumes of grass, reenacted events from the lives of culture-heroes, drawn from local oral tradition.
Malagan
FORM: Wood, Pigment, Fiber, and Shell T: Weaving, Figure-making, free-hand painting; Natural, mystical, elaborate, large, complex, interwoven, cohesive. FUNCTION: To serve as visual part of ceremony in which the dead are celebrated and assisted in their transition to the spiritual realm, the ceremonies length can be from months to years so sturdy materials for elaborate structures can withstand long time frame. CONTENT: These pieces serve to represent the deceased's souls in our world and the ceremonies help to push them on to the spirit world. Also because of the cultures sense of community and familial values we also see it as a way for the entire village to mourn and to publically display the death of a family member. The Malagan, lastly, are very substantial in displaying class because more powerful people were made grander structures and masks. CONTEXT: New Ireland Province, Papua New Guinea. c. 20th century C.E. Wood, pigment, fiber, and shell.; The culture behind the Malagan display and mask greatly treasure ancestry and the soul/life force of an individual which is what is often portrayed in these displays. They also believe that their loved ones spirits enter into the Malagan so these pieces are treated with the upmost care until they are no longer needed. Once they are no longer needed they are often burned in fear of confusing other spirits trying to find their way.
Staff God
FORM: Wood, Tapa, Fiber, and feathers; The carver may have depicted smaller people below the deities to make it seem that they are coming out of him or that he is creating them. This particular staff did not include feathers however, others were believed to have them on the back staff areas. FUNCTION: Religious ceremonies (possibly a fisherman's God). It was small in size for the ability to travel with the owner. CONTENT: They were used in worship to their deities, at the beginning of the 19th century Polynesians converted to Christianity suddenly and they were forced to destroy similar wood carvings, very few survived. CONTEXT: Rarotonga, Cook Islands, central Polynesia. Late 18th to early 19th century C.E.
Moai on platform (ahu). Rapa Nui (Easter Island). c. 1100-1600 C.E. Volcanic tuff figures on basalt base.
FORM: basalt; Its eyes sockets were originally inlaid with red stone and coral and the sculpture was painted with red and white designs, FUNCTION: Carved to commemorate important ancestors and were made from around 1000 C.E. until the second half of the seventeenth century; displayed outside on a stone platform (ahu) on the sacred site of Orongo, before being moved into a stone house at the ritual center of Orongo. It would have stood with giant stone companions, their backs to the sea, keeping watch over the island. This sculpture bears witness to the loss of confidence in the efficacy of the ancestors after the deforestation and ecological collapse, and most recently a theory concerning the introduction of rats, which may have ultimately led to famine and conflict. After 1838 at a time of social collapse following European intervention, the remaining standing moai were toppled. CONTENT: It has a heavy eyebrow ridge, elongated ears and oval nostrils. The clavicle is emphasized, and the nipples protrude. The arms are thin and lie tightly against the body; the hands are hardly indicated. CONTEXT: added at a later date, some carved in low relief, others incised. These show images relating to the island's birdman cult, which developed after about 1400 C.E. The key birdman cult ritual was an annual trial of strength and endurance, in which the chiefs and their followers competed. The victorious chief then represented the creator god, Makemake, for the following year.
Navigation Chart
FORM: wooden sticks, cowrie and small shells FUNCTION: It shows the main pathway between the two main islands, the intersecting lines or areas marked by shells indicate locations of islands while the slopped lines indicate wave swells; to direct the natives to islands nearby safely and quickly for trade, by predicting wave swells and the exact locations of islands. CONTENT: slopped lines that indicate wave swell show technological advancement in society, intricate weaving CONTEXT: Marshall Islands, Micronesia. 19th to early 20th century C.E. Wood and fiber; The Marshall Islands in eastern Micronesia consist of thirty-four coral atolls spread out across an area of several hundred miles. In order to maintain links between the islands, the Marshall Islanders built seafaring canoes. These vessels were both quick and manoeuvrable. The islanders developed a reputation for navigation between the islands - not a simple matter, since they are all so low that none can be seen from more than a few miles away.
