The earliest forms
of art found in New Zealand were most likely rock drawings found carved in the
mountains of the South Island. Like other culture’s rock art, the indigenous
rock art of New Zealand depicted everyday animals, including birds that are now
extinct, people, and even animals/beings they made up. Because what fun is it
if you can’t confuse people thousands of years into the future?
Maori art consists
of two main areas: carving and tattoos. (Thankfully, not at the same time,
although some of the tools are pretty damn similar.) The Maori typically carved
wood, stone, and bone. Many of the their stone carvings and bone carvings were
for figurines and jewelry. They
were particularly known for carving a form of jade known as pounamu, or
greenstone.
The art of Maori
tattooing is called Ta Moku. Both men and women are tattooed, but the areas on
their bodies and designs vary. In the past, facial tattoos have been a part of
this along with tattooing down the legs, arms, and back. Today, not quite as
many tattoo their face (maybe a few still do), and now generally stick to their
back, legs, and arms.
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| by Rita Angus |
As Europeans
arrived on the islands, they introduced their own art traditions. For the most
part the Europeans focused on painting, and they mainly painted the scenery,
and landscape art really became popular during the late 1800s. They also
painted the Maori themselves. It seems that the Europeans were a little
obsessed with their tattoos but too good to get one themselves.
During the 20th
century, many New Zealander artists, especially the Pakeha (the term used for
non-Maoris), started painting in the styles that were popular throughout Europe
and the Americas during that time. Cubism and expressionism surged while the
island’s landscape led itself as a permanent model. There was also a rise in
Maori art as well, and some artists took it upon themselves to merge European
styles with Maori styles to create something extraordinarily New Zealand.
The vast amount of
literature from New Zealand is written in English. There isn’t a significant
amount of literature written in Maori. This is primarily because the Maori
carried a strong oral tradition of storytelling and didn’t have a script for
their language. When James Cook arrived, they began transcribing their language
into Latin letters, which is what it’s written in today.
The Maori had their
own songs and poetry called waiata. Poetry by the British living there pretty
much stayed in the British style and dealt with British things. (Not much
assimilation there, was there?) In the 1950s, poetry took a different turn and
was brought to the forefront again, typically surrounding the theme of poor
people and people in unfortunate situations.
A couple New
Zealand writers have gone on to win Man Booker awards: Keri Hulme (1985) and
Eleanor Catton (2013). Several playwrights have also made their way to fame.
Roger Hall is probably one of the most well known playwrights in New Zealand.
One actor and playwright is Richard O’Brien. He wrote Rocky Horror Picture Show
(originally as a musical called Rocky Horror Show), not only writing the
musical but starring as Riff Raff in the 1975 movie version (which I love!).
Up next: music and
dance
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