ah 1850 polynesia

Aboriginal

It refers to the art created by the indigenous people of Australia, often characterized by deeply symbolic imagery, storytelling through motifs, and a strong connection to the land and ancestral Dreamtime beliefs, usually expressed through mediums like painting, rock art, and carving; essentially, it is the art produced by the original inhabitants of Australia.

Abstraction/Abstract Art

An art that does not attempt to represent an accurate depiction of a visual reality but instead uses shapes, colors, forms, and gestural marks to achieve its effect

Ahu

Stone platforms on Easter Island that were used to place the iconic moai statues. The moai were created by the Rapa Nui people to represent their ancestors and served social and religious purposes.

Asmat

Asemi-nomadic tribal group from the southwestern coastal regions of New Guinea who are known for their intricate and large-scale wood carvings. Their art is often designed to honor ancestors and is characterized by its stylized and expressive style.

Assimilation

It can hurt art by encouraging the appropriation of minority cultures' artistic practices by the dominant culture. This can lead to the loss of the original context and significance of the minority culture's patterns and the marginalization of traditional artistic practices

Australia

This art history is unique and includes a rich and diverse range of art forms, including Aboriginal, Colonial, Landscape, Atelier, and Contemporary art

Bai

A family or community house that holds a lot of mana. The four most important men sit at the four corners of the room.

Bast

Soft inner bark pulled away from stiff outer bark that's what they used to make mark cloth

Dreaming

It is a representation of Aboriginal concepts of "Everywhen," a time when ancestral figures inhabited the land. The paintings are often abstract symbols painted on fields of color and are part of the culture's mythic foundation.

Easter Island (Rapa Nui)

A remote Polynesian island that is famous for its monumental stone statues, or moai, which are a distinctive art form in Polynesian culture.

Ephemeral

A term that describes art that is short-lived, temporary, or destined to disappear. Ephemeral art can take many forms, including sculptures, performances, installations, and some paintings and drawings. The term became popular in the 1960s with the Fluxus group, whose artists wanted to create art that was not bound by the traditional gallery and museum structure.

Global South

A term now often used instead of "Third World" to designate the less developed countries located primarily in the Southern Hemisphere.

Installation

An artwork created by the assembling and arrangement of objects in a specific location.

korere

A feeding funnel used by the Maori people. There is a korere feeding funnel in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and a plaster cast replica in the collection of Te Papa.

machiy

A sacred burial shrouds woven by women in the Caroline Islands that are associated with chiefs, ancestors, and guardian spirits.

Maori

It is the art of the indigenous people of New Zealand, who are descended from Polynesian settlers who arrived between 1250 and 1300 CE. Māori art is known for its intricate linework, symbolic meaning, and spiritual inspiration.

Malu

A traditional tattoo for women that covers the legs from the upper thigh to just below the knee.

Mana

A supernatural, impersonal force that inhabits certain objects or people and is believed to confer success and/or strength.

Marae

A sacred meeting ground and focal point of Māori communities in New Zealand. Marae is typically made up of a fenced-in complex of carved buildings and grounds that belong to a particular tribe, sub-tribe, or family.

Melanesia

The most populous of the three groups of Pacific islands, includes Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and others.

Micronesia

Mostly made up of low islands.

Polynesia

One of three regions in Oceania, meaning "many islands"

Moko

Facial tattoos in Maori culture

• Men had full, symmetrical facial tattoos - Women tattooed around chin and mouth

Naturalistic/Naturalism

Art is a style that depicts the natural world and human beings realistically. It's often associated with plein-air painting, which is the practice of painting landscapes and other scenes outdoors.

New Zealand

A combination of indigenous Māori art and art influenced by European and other traditions. It includes a variety of visual and plastic arts, such as paintings, carvings, textiles, ceramics, and more.

Oceania

A large group of islands in the south Pacific including Melanesia and Micronesia and Polynesia (and sometimes Australasia and the Malay Archipelago)

Pe'a

A traditional Samoan male tattoo that has many meanings, including a sense of connection to Samoan ancestral islands for many people of Samoan ancestry living around the world.

Perspex

A substitue for glass, a transparent thermoplastic acrylic resin. It has a high-gloss finish that can reflect light and create a sense of depth.

Pukao

A small red scoria cylinder serving as a topknot or hat on Easter Island moai.

The Pacific

Concepts such as mana, tapu, community, and prestige govern the aesthetic structures and use of objects. The regions of the Pacific were greatly affected by Western influence and colonization.

The West

It refers to the visual, literary, and performing arts of Europe and cultures that share its European cultural heritage, such as the United States and Canada.

Tuhuka

Marquesa, Tatau(tattoo) was an art form highly revered by the people, and the Tatau artists, meaning master, were often held in high regard by other artists and priests.

Tapa

A term used to describe bark cloth that originated in the Pacific Islands. It is made from the inner bark of trees and shrubs, such as mulberry and fig, that has been softened and beaten.

Tukutuku

Tukutuku panels are a traditional Māori art form. They are decorative wall panels that were once part of the traditional wall construction used inside meeting houses. (nonrepresentational art from New Zealand)

uhi

Urban heat island.

Wo-Haw, Wo Haw between Two Worlds, 1875-77

Both animals are breathing visions into Wo Haw's face, suggesting that dream imagery may come from the more-than-human environment, from places beyond the dreamer's control.

It is a ledger drawing that depicts the Kiowa artist's struggle to balance his Native and Western worlds.

David Malangi, Sacred Places at Milmindjarr, 1982

Contemporary Australian Aboriginal Art. Trying to recreate the art of his ancestor's religious interpretation of landscape. Focuses more on the conceptual idea

Asmat, Ancestral poles, 1960, wood, various dimensions.

The Asmat people created bis poles, or ancestor poles, to honor the dead and to remind the living to avenge their deaths. The poles were made for funeral feasts and were often displayed in front of the men's houses. The poles were kept until the balance in society was restored by a successful headhunt. After the final feast, the poles were abandoned in the sago palm groves, where their supernatural power would fertilize the trees.

Bai-ra-Irrai, Belau, Caroline Islands, First built c. 1700

Tge name of a Far Eastern curlew and the Palauan word for the "Paluan money bird." The bird is featured on the flag of Palau, holding Palauan money called chelbucheb. Demonstrates power, wealth, and status. Ritual dances, council meetings, and feasts were held here. The Chief is chosen by the women of the clan and sits next to the main pillar to demonstrate his importance.

Marae of Temarre, Tahiti, 1796-8, steel engraving, 1799

A place for meetings, intronizations of leaders, marriages, and other ceremonies. A symbol of the bond between an individual and their land, people, clan, or family

Bark cloth, Tonga, collected 1927-1932. 14' x 4' 4".

Made by taking a part of the bark of a mulberry tree and beating it. When it's flat, the designs are rubbed and then painted on. Bark cloth, or ngatu in Tonga, is a sacred gift and central to Tongan culture, society, and spirituality:

Paul Gauguin, Te Aa No Areois (The Seed of Areoi), 1892, oil on burlap, 36 x 28

It is a painting depicting a young Tahitian woman, often identified as his lover Tehura, seated in a pose reminiscent of ancient Egyptian art, symbolizing the mythical origins of the Areoi, a Polynesian society known for its ritualistic practices and sexual freedom; the painting is considered a prime example of Gauguin's fascination with Polynesian culture and his use of bold colors and flattened forms to convey a sense of exoticism and spirituality.

Feather cloak, known as "Kearny Cloak," Hawaii, c.1843, height 5'9".

The Hawaiian feather cloak, known as the arugula, was a symbol of rank and status in Hawaiian society. The cloak was worn by chiefs and their relations, the ali'i (nobility), and was especially important during ceremonial occasions and battles.

Moai, Easter Island, Pre-15th c CE.

The moai statues of Easter Island, or Rapa Nui, have many meanings and are a symbol of the island's culture.

Maori, Interior of Te Hau-ki-Turanga Meeting House, Poverty Bay, 1842-5, restored 1935.

The meeting house is often described as an ancestor, with different parts of the house corresponding to different parts of the body. For example, the ridge pole is the backbone, the kuru is the head, and the interior space is the belly.

George Nuku, Outer Space Marae, 2006, perspex

The artist describes the marae as "a carved wharenui from clear perspex, engaging in a conversation with the light and allowing light to reach all corners of the house; to suggest that perspex is as real as anything else, i.e., totara, and to exercise this whakaaro as freely and naturally as breathing.

Paddy Dhatangu, David Malangi, George Milpurruru, Jimmy Wululu, and other Ramingining artists, The Aboriginal Memorial, 1988.

It is a work of art that honors the lives of First Nations people who have died defending their land since 1788. The memorial is a significant piece of Australian art and a defining exhibition in Australian visual culture.

Lin Onus, John Bulun Bulun, 1989, synthetic polymer paint on canvas, 71 ½ x 71 ½".

This portrait especially stands out as being one of his best - perhaps this is because it echoes the connectedness between artist and sitter. But the painting also has a serious message. The splintered background features a story/image that Bulun Bulun is the custodian of. Regrettably, works of art like the background painting have been copied several times without legal or cultural permission.

Julie Dowling, Is It Okay To Be Two Things at Once, 1996, synthetic polymer paint, red ochre and blood on canvas, 40 x 25 ½".

I painted this because I sometimes get asked why I identify as Badimaya First Nation when I look "so white." Within white society, I get asked many personal questions about my identity as if it is their right.