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Art of Oceania
Course: Art of Oceania > Unit 1
Lesson 4: Polynesia- Polynesia, an introduction
- Paikea at the American Museum of Natural History
- Moai, sacred ancestor figures of Rapa Nui
- Rapa Nui (Easter Island) Moai
- Voyage to the moai of Rapa Nui (Easter Island)
- Presentation of Fijian mats and tapa cloths to Queen Elizabeth II
- Rurutu figure known as A’a
- A welcome to a Maori meeting house
- Maori meeting house
- Hawaiian featherworks
- Feather cape
- Queen Liliʻuokalani’s accession photograph
- Necklace (Lei Niho Palaoa), Hawai'i
- Temple figure of war god Kūkaʻilimoku
- Fly Whisk (Tahiri), Austral Islands
- Michel Tuffery, Pisupo Lua Afe
- Gottfried Lindauer, Tamati Waka Nene
- Hiapo (tapa)
- Bark cloth from Wallis and Futuna
- Staff-god
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A welcome to a Maori meeting house
Ceremony of blessing for a display of a Maori meeting house in Living and Dying, the Wellcome Trust Gallery, at the British Museum.
Video features Natasha McKinney, curator, George Nuku, artist, and Kateia Burrows, Ngati Porou, Aitutaki.
Speakers in the ceremony: Karl Burrows, Ngati Maru, Te Ati Awa, Whanganui.
©Trustees of the British Museum
. Created by British Museum.Want to join the conversation?
what was he carving in1:41was it glass?(5 votes)
i don't think it is glass i think it was something like wax or hard wax(1 vote)
why is the museum called living and the dying(3 votes)
"The displays consider different approaches to averting illness, danger and trouble, and investigate people's reliance on relationships - with each other, the animal kingdom, spiritual powers spirits and the world around us."
http://www.britishmuseum.org/visiting/galleries/themes/room_24_living_and_dying.aspx(3 votes)
Did George nuku know the language of Polynesia?(3 votes)
Nuku was born in Hastings, New Zealand, and grew up in Omahu, a small village on the east coast, and later moved with his family to Napier. German and Scottish on his father's side, he comes by his Ngati Kahungunu and Ngati Tuwharetoa tribal affiliation through his mother.
Nuku attended a school with a shared Maori and English program, and took to drawing at an early age. He had his first art show at fifteen. He attended Massey University, where he studied art, sociology, geography, and Maori studies—and decided his main interest was art, particularly sculpture.
Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/08/11/george-nuku-maori-sculptor-paris-127960(3 votes)
- is maori from australia?(0 votes)
- The Maori are a group of people, indigenous to (from) New Zealand. They originally came from the Polynesian Islands.(3 votes)
Was he making the statue out of ice? Didn't hear.(1 vote)- They didn't say, but looks like glass. Not a traditional medium for Māori carvings.(3 votes)
What song is the person singing and what god or goddess is he worshiping?(1 vote)- Not a specific song as such, it is a 'waiata' Māori song, but it is more about the context.
They had a welcoming waiata to lead the the people to the exhibition, then speeches, and more waiata as well as a haka (Māori war/cultural dance).
Although many waiata and haka do mention a deity, it isn't religios worship, more cultural practices.(3 votes)
what do the statues repecent(2 votes)
What does the Treaty of Waitangi mean?(1 vote)
New Zealand history web site (http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/politics/treaty/the-treaty-in-brief) citing the treaty as the foundation document for the country of New Zealand, though there remains controversy between Maori and non-Maori New Zealanders regarding the legitimacy of the treaty.(2 votes)
As ancient cultures adopt some 'modern' conveniences (like the power drill), how do cultural leaders decide where to draw the line between modernizing/revering the past?(1 vote)- In Māori culture there isn't an over arching cultural leader, a lot of George Nuku's work doesn't conform to traditional styles. i.e. glass as a medium, carvings having dangling earrings, the little paintings on the rafters.
Source: I live in New Zealand(1 vote)
What material is George Nuku using for his carvings(1 vote)- According to information on the web, Nuku works in jade, pearl, stone, shells, wood, and even polystyrene.(1 vote)
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