Pacific Islands Art

PACIFIC ISLANDS ART,[object Object],BY JEANETTE ZHUKOV AND NICOLE HARRELL,[object Object],Period 1,[object Object]

Introduction,[object Object],[object Object]

The four distinct areas are: Australia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia.

The arts in these diverse regions show a link in the community’s ritual and religious life.

Not only did these cultures practice the visual arts but they expressed themselves in music, dance, and oral literature. ,[object Object]

They held a high belief of the concept of the Dreamtime. The Dreamtime consists of many parts. It is essentially the period before humans existed or the time of creation.

Once the world was created the spirits that had created it went back to sleep. Though their power can still be seen from time to time. (EX: Monsoons) The time that they awoke from their sleep before the world was created is known as Dreamtime.

Each human and animal was thought to have two souls: one mortal and the other immortal.

Aboriginal painting’s main goal is to restore contact with the Dreamtime. They displayed lots of mythology on their art.

To the North of Australia some of the earliest artworks were found in Arnhem Land.

A traditional characteristic seen in aboriginal art is the x-ray style.

X-ray style is when an artist would draw the bones and various organs over a silhouetted animal body form.

Example of x-ray style art in book on page 900,[object Object]

It’s body is outlined and has organs like the heart and spinal cord drawn in (x-ray style).

Skinny stick like human figures in background are called mimis.

Mimis –ancestral spirits,[object Object]

Mithinarri GurruwiwiGreat Snake Legend1962Natural Earth Pigments on Eucalyptus Bark,[object Object],Painting is of Garimala, a wide billabong (dead-end channel extending from the main stream of a river) in Galpu clan country, north of Blue Mud Bay. ,[object Object],Billabong was crossed by Wititj, the great Dhuwa moiety serpent. (the Yolungu people divided into two moieties/groups : Dhuwa and Yirritja),[object Object],Wititj (olive snake)swallowed the Wawilak Sisters (two powerful pregnant woman that were heroines in aborigine folklore.),[object Object],The background has the Galpu clan design which represents reflections of the water surface.,[object Object],Wititji is seen moving across the waterhole hiding underneath the lily flowers.,[object Object],Djaykung, a file snake, is at the top, swimming, it’s body full with eggs.,[object Object]

Melanesia,[object Object],The people of Melanesia lived in permanent settlements due to the reliance on agriculture.,[object Object],Like seen in Australia, Melanesian art displayed the beliefs of the people. ,[object Object],Women were not allowed to take part in rituals or ritual arts. Instead they spent their time making goods such as bark cloth(tapa).,[object Object],When making a tapa the inner bark of a mulberry tree was used in small strips that were made malleable through constant soakings. ,[object Object],The strips were then placed in a pattern and beaten in order so they would fuse them together.,[object Object],Designs were later added by paint and stenciling.,[object Object],The cloth then resulted in a geometric pattern.,[object Object]

Examples of various bark cloths and people making bark cloths.,[object Object]

Lapita People,[object Object],The Lapita people spread throughout Melanesia during around 1500 BCE.,[object Object],They were farmers and fishermen.,[object Object],The grew taro(tropical Asian plant) and yams. They brought with them dogs, pigs, and chickens.,[object Object],They created and carried with them ceramics.,[object Object],These ceramics helped today’s society trace where they traveled.,[object Object],Lapita potters made dishes, platters, bowls, and jars.,[object Object],They covered their wares with a red slip(liquid clay).,[object Object],They decorated with geometric designs such as dots, lines, and hatching. ,[object Object],Over time the Lapita culture has been lost. It evolved into other cultures. ,[object Object],Traces of its culture can be found in Melanesia and Polynesia.,[object Object],The Lapita Jar Fragments on the rightis on Page 898. ,[object Object],It displays a face.,[object Object],This is the earliest representation of a human face in Oceanic art.,[object Object]

New Guinea,[object Object],New Guinea is an island in Melanesia.,[object Object],It is the largest island on the pacific.,[object Object],Today it is divided between two countries. Eastern half is part of Papua New Guinea. Western half is Irian Jaya ( a province in Indonesia).,[object Object],The inhabitants lived in a variety of environments such as marshes, grasslands, rain forests, and swampy river valleys.,[object Object]

The Abelams,[object Object],The people who live on the foothills of the mountains on the North area on Papua New Guinea are called the Abelam.,[object Object],They raise pigs, grow yams, taro, bananas, and sago palms. ,[object Object],The Abelams live in clans or otherwise known as extended families.,[object Object],In these hamlets (small settlements) they have sleeping houses, cooking houses, storehouses, rituals spaces, and a tamberan house.,[object Object]

Tamberan House,[object Object],Tamberan house- a meeting place where the men of the village go to discuss community business.,[object Object],The workmanship of the tamberan house, condition of yams, and the number of pigs determines the wealth of a village.,[object Object],Tamberan houses were built with a triangular floor plan. ,[object Object],They are constructed on a frame of poles and rafters.,[object Object],The side walls meet at the back of the building.,[object Object],The façade is painted and carved with elaborate designs.,[object Object],Abelams believed that paint had magical qualities. They would ritually repaint the images for good luck.,[object Object],During the construction of the tamberan house every step contains a ceremony. These ceremonies take place at night while the women and boys are still asleep. ,[object Object],Once the house is completed women are allowed to enter the house and the clan celebrates with a fertility ritual.,[object Object]

Exterior of Tamberan HouseKinbangwa village, Sepik River, Papua New Guinea, New Guinea, Belam, 20th century, Carved and Painted wood, with ocher pigments on clay ground. Page 903,[object Object],Built in 1961.,[object Object],Has red, ocher, white, and black faces of male spirits which make up the bottom and middle rows of the façade. ,[object Object],The figure at the top is supposed to represent a flying female witch. It is associated with the feminine power of the house.,[object Object],At the top of the house a pole is projecting. It is the only male element of the house and is said to be the penis of the house.,[object Object],On the right is a door which is a symbolic female element. It is the womb and the entering and exiting of the house represent death and rebirth.,[object Object]

The Asmats,[object Object],The Asmats live on the grasslands on the Southwest coast.,[object Object],They were known as warriors and headhunters(practice of taking someone's head after killing them).,[object Object],They believed that their were powerful forces in the universe and that these forces should be honored and celebrated.,[object Object],They referred to trees as human beings and that the fruit were the human heads.,[object Object],Birds that eat fruits were thus referred to as headhunters and were represented in war and mortuary arts.,[object Object],They also represented the praying mantis because the female would bite the head off of the male while mating.,[object Object]

Ancestral Spirit Poles,[object Object],Asmats created memorial poles to honor the dead.,[object Object],They called mbis.,[object Object],They believed that the mbis(sprit poles) housed the souls of the dead. So they placed them in front of the men’s house so the souls can see the rituals taking place there.,[object Object],After mbis ceremonies the poles are left alone to deteriorate.,[object Object],A long time ago, once the poles were carved, the villagers would go headhunting and get an enemy’s head and place it at the base of the pole.,[object Object],The base of the poles represents the twisting roots of the banyan tree.,[object Object],Above the base there are figures that represent tribal ancestors that are supporting the figure of the recent dead.,[object Object],The bent pose of the figures represents the praying mantis. There are also birds shown breaking nuts. ,[object Object],At the top coming out of the figures are large and lace like phalluses (penises) that represent male fertility.,[object Object],The intricate designs in the surface represents tattoos and scarification(patterned scars) which was a common body decoration in Melanesia.,[object Object],Example of Spirit Pole in book on page 903.,[object Object]

Asmat People, Bisj Poles, early 20th century, wood, New Guinea,[object Object],Poles are tall and slender. They are cut from mangrove trees.,[object Object], Figures are layered one atop of another. They all represent the dead.,[object Object],They believed that death was not natural and was cause by an enemy through evil spells.,[object Object]

Left: Asmat Bisj Poles, Buepis village, Fajit River,Casuarina Coast, Irian Jaya, Melanesia, early to mid-20th century,[object Object],Below: Ancestor Poles(Bis) Asmat people, Omadesep village, Faretsj River, southwest New Guinea, Papua(Irian Jaya) province, Indonesia, mid- 20th century,[object Object],More Examples of Spirit Poles,[object Object]

New Ireland,[object Object],New Ireland is an island in Melanesia and apart of the nation of Papua New Guinea.,[object Object],The Northerners practiced complex cultural traditional ceremonies known as malanggan. They would have these ceremonies for funerals in order to honor the dead.,[object Object],Malanggan ceremonies involve the whole community.,[object Object],Preparations are hidden from women and children but they are allowed to participate.,[object Object],They would make malanggan carvings for these events which would later be displayed.,[object Object],These carvings include freestanding sculpture, figures on poles, masks for dancing, and other ritual dance equipment.,[object Object]

Tatanua Dance Masks,[object Object],An important aspect of the malanggan is the dance called the tatanua and it commemorates the dead.,[object Object],The term tatanua is used to refer to the dance as well as the masks worn by the dancers.,[object Object],The Tatanua dance masks represent one of the three souls of the dead. ,[object Object],These masks are carved and painted with designs.,[object Object],The colors used in painting all have meanings and a specific order. First lime white for magic, then red ocher to recall the spirits of those who died violently, then black from charcoal or burned nuts which represents warfare, and then yellow and blue extracted from vegetables.,[object Object],The masks sides are different colors which let the dancers to change their appearance when they turn side to side. ,[object Object],A good performance equals strength. If it’s a bad performance or someone makes a mistake that causes laughter then that equals humility.,[object Object]

Left: Tatanua Mask, New Ireland wood, shells, vegetable fiber, and limeRight: Tatanua Mask, Malanggan culture, New Ireland, Melanesia, 20th century. Carved and painted wood, dyed fiber, yarn, tin disks, and glass.,[object Object]

Micronesia,[object Object],Micronesia’s islands are small and have low lying coral atolls(below normal altitude and surrounded by reefs).,[object Object],Some of the islands are created by volcanoes.,[object Object],The island of Pohnpei has one of the largest stone architectural structure in the Oceanic area.,[object Object],Its is called Nan Madol and it is on the Southeast coast and has 92 artificial stone islands created within a network of canals covering 170 acres.,[object Object],There are seawalls and breakwaters 15 feet high and 35 feet thick and they protect the complex from the ocean.,[object Object], This impressive site as built between 13th and 17th centuries. ,[object Object],The king of the region at the time ruled in the complex.,[object Object],Once the dynasty declined the site had been abandoned then rediscovered by Europeans in the 19th century.,[object Object],Another map on page 905,[object Object],The Complex of Nan Madol,[object Object],Phonpei, Federated States of Micronesia. C.1200/1300-c.1500-1600,[object Object]

Nan Madol,[object Object],Nan Madol was an administrative and ceremonial center.,[object Object],Up to 1,000 people lived there at one time.,[object Object],The kings at the time had it created.,[object Object],The buildings and islands were built with pieces of stone and alternating layers of prismatic basalt(type of volcanic rock).,[object Object],The royal mortuary compound is on the Southeast side of Nan Madol.,[object Object],It has walls up to 25 feet.,[object Object],The structure’s plan was to create progressively higher rectangles within rectangles that would lead to a central courtyard with a small cubical tomb.,[object Object],Royal Mortuary Compound, Nan Madol,[object Object],Phonpei, Federated States of Micronesia, Basalt blocks, wall height up to 25’ Page 905,[object Object]

More Pictures of Nan Madol,[object Object]

Wapepe Navigational ChartMarshall, Micronesia. 19th century. Sticks, coconut fiber, shells. Page 896,[object Object],The Marshallese sailors of the Marshall Islands of Micronesia were great at navigation.,[object Object],They would travel by canoe, for the islands were no more then 75 miles apart. ,[object Object],They understood the ocean currents and winds that helped them travel.,[object Object],But for teaching younger generations navigating they created “stick charts”.,[object Object],They were maps that included land, the path from one island to the next, and the water a sailor would cross during his voyage.,[object Object],The currents were represented by the sticks held together by coconut fibers.,[object Object],Shells would mark islands on the route.,[object Object],The stick chart would be called a mattang or wapepe.,[object Object],Page 896,[object Object]

Polynesia,[object Object],Polynesia was the last area in the Pacific have been settled by humans and the last place to be colonized by Europeans.,[object Object],Polynesia had distinct and complex cultural traditions.,[object Object],Polynesian art was an indicator on one’s rank and status.,[object Object],Because of its value Polynesian art was handed down as heirlooms throughout the different generations.,[object Object],English captain, James Cook, made three voyages to the pacific in the 1760s and 1770s. His expeditions mapped the Great Barrier Reef of Australia, both islands of New Zealand, and founded the Islands of Hawaii.,[object Object],European contact obstructed Polynesian art and culture. ,[object Object],They took objects of cultural significance while misunderstanding them they took them back to Europe and North America.,[object Object],They made their artwork into commercial trinkets for tourists taking them out of their original context.,[object Object]

Easter Island,[object Object],Easter Island is the most isolated island in Oceania.,[object Object],It is 2,300 miles west of South America and 1,200 miles from Pitcairn Island.,[object Object],There are three volcanoes at each corner of the triangle shape island.,[object Object],The islands original name was Te Pito o te Henua (Navel of the World) but it was later known as Rapanui because of its resemblance to the island of Rapa. Today it is called Easter Island because it was found by Dutch explorer, Jacob Roggeveen on Easter Sunday 1722.,[object Object],Easter Island is famous for its marae(stone temples) with ahu (stone alter platforms.,[object Object]

Moai Ancestor FiguresAhu Nau Nau, Easter Island, Polynesiac. 1000-1500, restored 1978. Volcanic stone (tufa) average height approx. 36’ Page 907,[object Object],Around 900 CE the inhabitants of the island erected huge stone figures on ahus .,[object Object],It is believed that they are memorials to dead chiefs but this is speculation.,[object Object],Around 1,000 figures have been found.,[object Object],They are carved from tufa (a yellowish brown volcanic stone).,[object Object],They are mostly 36 feet tall but on unfinished figure that was found measured up to 70 feet.,[object Object],They have red tufa topknots and white coral eyes with stone as pupils. ,[object Object],Their features also consist of big eyes, pointed nose, pointed chin, and small mouth with pursed lips.,[object Object],Their elongated earlobes suggest ear ornaments. ,[object Object],They have breastbones and small arms with hands but no feet.,[object Object],The islanders stopped erected moai around 1500. They entered a period of warfare among themselves because of overpopulation and lack of resources. ,[object Object],The population at one point reached 10,000 but disease brought by Peruvian slave traders left about 600.,[object Object]

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