Nga taonga whakairo

~Carved treasures

In traditional Maori society, art was an essential part of life.

Today these taonga are markers of artistic history and inspiration for the present and the future.

Major group projects such as the building of a whare tupuna (ancestral meeting house) or a waka taua (canoe) were a form of artistic expression.

Do you think ART is an

essential part of our

CONTEMPORARY life?

Why/why not?Why?

It was built in 1878 by Ngati Awa carvers from Whakatane, as a wedding present when a woman of their tribe married a Ngati Maru leader.

Hotunui once stood at Pārāwai near Thames.

It is now held at the Auckland Museum.

Hotunui is the great meeting house of the Hauraki peoples.

YES! You w

ere here

!

The poupou (vertical panels) inside Hotunui represent ancestors of the Ngati Maru people.

This poupou is unusual in that it portrays Ureia, a marakihau (seamonster) who warned the Ngati

Maru of impendingstorms and the approach of

enemies.

Carved poupou decorate this pataka (raised storehouse) also held in the Auckland Museum.

What are poupou? Where are they found? What do they represent?

Carved ancestral figures illustrate the genealogy of the leading chief of the Ngati Pikiao of the Bay of Plenty.

Do you remember seeing this?

Look closely at the figures in these poupou.

What could the different figures represent?

Describe some features of these traditional poupou.

Materials used

Tools used

Composition

Forms

Colours

Poupou from Waitangi marae

The size of New Zealand and the independence of the tribes led to many different carving styles.

The style of carving is different in each tribal area.Why?

Some of the Tribal differences in carving styles

Sketch 2 different styles.Make a note of which region they come from.

Why do you think poupou are valued as taonga (treasures)?

Gary Wilson

These poupou are carved by a contemporary artist.

How are they different to traditional poupou?Write these in the contemporary features box.

What features of traditional

poupou can you recognise?

Write these in the Similarities box.

Contemporary poupou

Write down some more features of

contemporary poupou.

Which features are similar to traditional poupou?

Cliff Whiting

Lisa Reihana

We are going to create contemporary poupou in relief.

What does

“relief” mean?

Relief is the elevation of figures or shapes from a flat surface.

Neil DawsonCliff Whiting

We are going to use paper and card to construct our reliefs.

These reliefs are all made from paper

Look closely… what techniques could you use?

Layering, overlapping, folding, cutting, cutouts, curling, rolling…what else? Draw some, describe some…

Look closely at these paper reliefs – could you use this technique?

Draw or make notes of some of these ideas too.

Circle the features of Neil Dawson’s work that you could include in your ideas for a relief sculpture?

Ferns Chalice

Write some key words to describe features of these Neil Dawson sculptures.