Traditional māori arts
Māori myths are the cornerstone of New Zealand culture. Whether they evoke the birth of the islands and the demigod Maui, mana or spiritual power, they permeate even the architecture of public places. The Waitangi Treaty Grounds site in Northland is a must-see if you want to learn more about the life of the first people of Aotearoa, and is home to a number of tribal sculptures.
Sculpture is probably the most central art form in Māori culture. Carved on wood, bone, pounamu (jade) and shell, it complements the oral transmission of legends.
Woodcarving is forbidden to women, as the forces of life are not mixed: women carry life, while the wood being carved is dead.
The art most practiced by women will be basketry: weaving baskets and traditional outfits from Harakeke (flax).
Tattooing also has a central place. The moko (traditional tattoo on the face) testifies to the social status and power of its bearer. Men are tattooed all over the face, women only on the chin and around the lips.
The same motifs are used in sculpture, tattoo art, basketry and painted panels. Among the most common are the tiki, in human form, represents the first man; the manaia, a creature with a bird's head, human body and sometimes a fish tail, is a messenger between the world of mortals and that of spirits; the koru, a spiral of a sprig of new fern about to unfurl, symbolizes rebirth, new beginnings, growth, peace and serenity; the hei-matau represents the magic hook of the demi-God Maui with which he hoisted the South Island out of the waters.
These symbols, worn as pendants, function as blessings; among other things, the tiki is a symbol of fertility, the manaia ward off bad luck, the koru brings serenity, and the hei-matau protects its wearer when traveling on water...
Carved from pounamu (jade), pendants are said to be imbued with the wearer's mana (aura, power, essence). As they are intended to be passed on, they are becoming increasingly important, hence their status as taonga (treasure).
Early painters
British artists traveling with Captain Cook were the first to bring images of New Zealand back to Europe. William Hodges (1744-1797), for example, painted the stormy skies off Cape Stephens in 1776(A view of Cape Stephens in Cook's Straits). A pupil of the academic painter Richard Wilson, he specialized in landscapes. But his travels enriched his inspiration. The luminosity and flora and fauna of faraway lands broadened his horizons.
Robert Nettelton Field (1899 -1987) emigrated from England in 1925 to take up a teaching post in Dunedin. He brought with him what was perceived as avant-garde in London. The greatest local artists passed through his studio, in particular the masters of modernism Mc Cahon and the potter Barry Brickell.
The birth of photography
The history of New Zealand photography is traced at the Museum of New Zealand - Te Papa Tongarewa. The first photographs were taken in the 19thcentury for scientific or ethnological purposes. The Burton brothers' studio, based in Dunedin, was the focal point of 19th-century photography. Their negatives, bought by the museum, cover all genres, from urban views to life in Māori villages.
We had to wait until 1920 to find the first aesthetic experiments, such as those of Harry Moult. In 1924, Moult formed the Wellington Camera Circle, the first group to take an interest in artistic photography in New Zealand. It was during a trip to the United Kingdom that he had his first negatives printed. These prints were exhibited on his return to Wellington in 1930. The technical and aesthetic quality of his landscapes was much appreciated.
Spencer Digby opens the first portrait studio. He apprenticed John Brian Brake (1927-1988), the future great international photographer. Among his famous photos are one of Picasso attending a bullfight, and a series taken in India during the monsoon season that was published by magazines such as Paris Match and Life.
Modernism
The three figures of modernism are Colin John McCahon (1919-1987), Toss Woollaston (1910-1998) and Rita Angus (1908-1970).
McCahon was introduced to art by his grandfather, the photographer and painter William Ferrier. His first exhibition took place in 1939 at the Otago Art Society. From the outset, he concentrated on religious painting. He developed an expressionist tendency in Robert Nettelton Field's studio.
After the war, he married the painter Ann Hamblett and settled in Christchurch. The artist perfected his technical mastery in the galleries of the National Gallery of Victoria, Australia's oldest museum in Melbourne. McCahon was able to copy works by Rembrandt, Rubens and Veronese. On a trip to the United States, he admired works by Pollock, Rothko and Mondrian, all of which influenced his development.
Success came in the 1960s, accompanied by high productivity. In 1972, theAuckland Art Gallery devoted a retrospective to his work.
McCahon made his mark with landscapes inspired by the writings of geologist Charles Cotton, and with religious texts traced on large paintings. Through these themes, he helped define a visual national identity. A museum and artists' residence have been set up in McCahon's home in Titirangi.
Painter Toss Woollaston, another pupil of Robert Nettelton Field, was inspired by the panoramas of the West Coast to experiment with modernism. He also practiced writing, particularly poetry.
Rita Angus
Artist Rita Angus excels in the genres of portraiture and landscape. She is classically trained, focusing on medieval and Renaissance art. She signed her work either Rita Cook or R. McKenzie. Her influences include cubism and Byzantine style. She lived for a time in Christchurch, next door to painter Leo Vernon Bensemann. Their address soon became the beating heart of her creative work. The mountains inspired her best-known paintings, such as Cass, painted in 1936 and voted New Zealand's favorite in 2006! Numerous portraits imbued with psychology, including some 60 self-portraits, contributed to her reputation. She also created public works, such as the Napier Girls' High School fresco in tribute to the victims of the 1931 earthquake.
After moving to Wellington, she took the region as her model. Mental illness struck her in the late 1940s. In 2008, Te Papa Tongarewa organized a retrospective of Rita Angus: Life and Vision, to mark the centenary of the country's beloved artist.
Figures in contemporary art
Ralph Hotere, whose real name was Hone Papita Raukura Hotere ONZ, was born in Mitimiti in 1931 and died in Dunedin in 2013. A provocative painter and sculptor, he played a major role on the contemporary scene. After studying in the UK, he moved to France where, in 1960, he showed his minimalist paintings for the first time. He traveled throughout Europe at a time when Pop and Op Art were developing, returning to New Zealand in 1965. From then on, references to poetry appeared in his paintings.
Throughout his career, Hotere's dark canvases express his views on political and social life. His most famous series, Black Paintings, dates from 1968. In another aspect of his creativity, he visually translates poems into images to pay homage to the authors who touch him. His studio, located at the tip of Observation Point, has given way to a sculpture garden, The Hotere Garden Oputae. The garden brings together other modern sculptors around his creations, including Russell Moses, with whom he shared the studio. Born in 1948 in Palmerston North, Moses combines painting, printmaking, ceramics and sculpture. When the studio was demolished, Moses salvaged materials to use in new creations.
Chris Booth creates astonishing forms from pebbles and polished stones selected at each exhibition venue. Through the choice of material, his open-air creations pay homage to the māori people. His sculptures take the form of giant tunnels, immense rosettes and gigantic tubes. A powerful experience!
Female māories
The Hotere garden is also home to works by Shona Rapira Davies, born in 1951. Trained at the Dunedin School of Art, Rapira Davies places the emancipation of Maori women at the heart of her work. Her most famous work, Nga Morehu (1988, "The Survivors") can be seen at the Museum of New Zealand - Te Papa Tongarewa. A recent solo exhibition of her work was held at The Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, a leading institution for contemporary art.
His contemporary Emily Karaka, born in Auckland in 1952, tackles political subjects in her work, which has been hailed for its expressiveness. Self-taught, she belongs with Rapira Davies to what is known as the first generation of contemporary Maori artists. She claims to be influenced by the work of Kura Te Waru Rewiri, born in 1950 in Kaeo. She took an early interest in woodcarving, a practice then reserved for Maori men. Te Waru Rewiri has been exhibiting since 1985, and her work is included in New Zealand's major private and public collections. She draws on traditional motifs such as the koru and the cross to offer a contemporary vision.
Encounters with contemporary art
Vicky Thomas, born in Auckland in 1964, reinterprets māory tribal traditions. Born to an Irish mother and a Ngati Kahu father, she draws on this dual perspective. Her sober portraits, close-ups on neutral backgrounds, are willingly retouched. She also runs the Kura Gallery in Auckland, which mainly exhibits māori artists.
Outdoors this time, Gibbs Farm hosts the world's largest outdoor contemporary art gallery in Kaipara Harbour. Covering an area of 4 km², the wealthy Alan Gibbs exhibits a high-quality collection in a sublime setting. Gibbs' approach is exceptional in more ways than one, bringing together only commissioned works designed to fit the immensity of the landscape. Among the twenty or so artists represented, Anish Kapoor has created a giant trunk; Daniel Burren, a green and white barrier. Neil Dawson has designed the delicate Horizons; Andy Goldsworthy's Arches punctuate the bay like ancestral portals.
The fourth floor of theAuckland Art Gallery is reserved for contemporary art. This superb building, designed in reference to the Māorie legend of Genesis, dedicates its first floor to New Zealand art.
Street-art
Urban art isn't always welcomed with open arms in New Zealand. The Bradley Lane Project is a good example. The initiative originated with a group of graffiti artists who were tired of battling with the city's cleaning service. Their interventions now take the form of collaborative projects with the community.
The Oi You! association has broadened its scope to include graffiti festivals, exhibitions and installations. It lends its collection, which includes no fewer than 21 Banksy works, to exhibitions around the world.
There are plenty of great frescoes to mark out your excursions. Our selection? In Wellington, on the North Island: Maui Dolphin - Save Our Seas by Kelly Spencer/Kell Sunshine pays tribute to the maui, the world's smallest dolphin, which lives only in New Zealand. Near the Te Papa Museum, a mural by the BMD duo reminds us of the need to protect sharks. The year after it was painted, a law was passed to this effect.
On the South Island, Phlegm's Giant moa pays tribute to a species of endemic bird that lived when the Māoris were the only inhabitants of the islands.
