Must-See Exhibition

If you happen to be in Wellington before October 21, 2012, this exhibition - Kahu-Ora/Living Cloaks - at the National Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa, is definitely worth seeing.

Conserving Taonga For the Future

Back in February, several Awarua runanga members gathered at Te Rau Aroha Marae at Bluff to attend a two-day workshop on taonga and korowai conservation, run by Wellington-based freelance conservator, Rangi Te Kanawa (Ngati Maniapoto), who is on leave from her role as Textile Conservator at the Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa

Stories of treasured taonga being stored in unlikely and often very damaging places are not new to Rangi Te Kanawa. She’s spent twelve years visiting iwi all around New Zealand in the hope of saving as many taonga as she can.
“Whanau usually keep their taonga close because they know they’re precious but I’ve heard of them being folded and tucked away in the back of cupboards or under beds. I remember one case of a Rarotongan cape – now in Te Papa’s Pacific Gallery under push button lighting – coming to me for restoration. It had been folded and folded and stored in a Griffin’s biscuit box but the rats had gotten into it.”

Gavin Reedy (Ngati Porou), is Te Papa’s National Services Te Paerangi Iwi Development Officer, who coordinates workshops like these all around New Zealand and often travels with Rangi. He too, has seen taonga emerge from unexpected places.

“This workshop is all about helping iwi take care of taonga that are held in homes, on marae, stuffed in boxes, or in attics. One lady up north brought in a beautiful kahu kiwi stuffed in a rubbish bag. Rangi has seen a 300 year-old cloak in the Far North but you only see those sorts of things if the iwi and whanau trust you. That’s why we see these workshops as a cornerstone, a beginning. It’s about building relationships with iwi, to see where they’re at in relationship to their heritage and culture and, depending on their needs, we then run workshops in either textile conservation, digital photography (so iwi can record and preserve their marae photos in case of fire), building a taonga database, or paper conservation to protect things like whakapapa papers, kaumatua diaries and Maori Battalion souvenirs,” he says.

“The important thing about all the workshops is that we teach our people to teach others. We can’t go to every marae, so we tell them how to get the funding, where to buy materials and then we visit them with the best tutors we can find to teach them the skills they need to pass on.”

Rangi Te Kanawa says iwi react to the workshops with intense interest. They share their experiences; they talk of taonga and whakapapa; and they leave with a renewed sense of pride.

“It’s lovely to go onto marae and have people bring in their taonga – which we often transform from stressed, tired or damaged treasures into a piece that looks like new. I’ve seen tears fall when cloaks have been cleaned and repaired, and put into their new boxes. Most whanau truly care about their taonga but they don’t always know how to physically care for them. My job is to get the word out there – roll, don’t fold and don’t use handles to hang garments; and store your cloaks, piupiu, kete and whāiki in acid-free boxes.

“There are those who want to have their treasures on display, not shut away in boxes; but the majority, once they see the cushioning, safe environment of the boxes, accept that this is the best way to give their treasures a much longer life – sometimes fifty to a hundred years longer life. People can always put photographs of the items on the outside of the box, or have a replica made that they can use and display, knowing the original will last for future generations to enjoy.”

Rangi comes from a long line of traditional Maori weavers. Her mother was Diggeress Rangituatahi Te Kanawa (1920-2009) and her grandmother was Dame Rangimārie Hetet (1892-1995) – both of whom dedicated their lives to the promotion and preservation of traditional Maori weaving arts. Diggeress Te Kanawa was also one of the co-founders of the Aotearoa Moananui-a-Kiwa Weavers Association in 1983, which was the driving force behind Rangi’s own conservator’s training.

“It all happened after the Te Maori exhibition in the early 1980s. There was a growing awareness then, of the need for Maori to be involved in the preservation and conservation of taonga, and Aotearoa Moananui-a-Kiwa were approached to find someone to train. They found me,” says Rangi.

“I was at home in Oparure, near Te Kuiti and in my early 30s at the time and when my mother got the call, she nominated me. I grew up surrounded by weavers and I also weave, so I took up the challenge.”

After studying conservation at Canberra College of Advanced Education in Australia, Rangi’s passion for conservation was ignited. She speaks of “a tremendous feeling of accomplishment” that comes with every successful project or workshop.

“Conservation makes for fabulous before and after treatments but more than that, you know you have helped arrest the degradation of a treasure, that you’ve upheld the integrity of the taonga and its wairua, its history, its stories. There’s a very real sense of pleasure of giving and iwi receiving, of them grasping the idea that if they roll a garment, it won’t be damaged by fold lines.

“That’s like an awakening and when they rest their cloak into a box they’ve made themselves, there’s a feeling that the taonga has been given the special attention it commanded, that it’s become a part of them and an item of even greater value for that. It gives them peace of mind knowing that the archival box they’ve created has provided the best storage that can be had and that their taonga can now safely be handed down through the generations. The workshops also bring communities together and the kaupapa is great. I love it.”

A Place of Beauty

I've visited Te Rau Aroha Marae at Bluff in the deep south (near Invercargill) a number of times, yet I'm still amazed by the beauty of the carvings that decorate this place. The marae is set above the small, scruffy, portside town of Bluff, on the low rise of Bluff Hill and is home to Ngai Tahu's Awarua Runanga. It has commanding views and, within its own fenceline, a wealth of traditional and contemporary craftsmanship.

And the exterior carving is just a hint of the colourful contemporary interpretations that lie within. Much of the overall design and carving has been created by Maori carver and artist, Cliff Whiting (Te Whanau-a-Apanui), who was also responsible for the carvings at Te Marae Pounamu at The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa in Wellington.

[Unfortunately, I've been sidetracked by earthquake events in Christchurch these past few weeks, hence the lack of recent posts on this blog. But I hope this will change in the coming weeks and I'll be able to continue bringing you regular snippets about New Zealand's indigenous Maori life and culture].

Teremoe - A Waka Taua

This is one of those times when I opted for the close up detail of a thing, rather than the traditional overview. I often think the details of an object say more about it that a simple shot that shows it in totality.
So this is Teremoe - a waka taua
(A War Canoe)
Photographed at the Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa

According to the Te Papa information panels the waka is made of totara and was a bequest of the Hipango family in 1930. "When Teremoe came to the Dominion Museum (Te Papa's predecessor) in 1930, it was reconstructed as a waka taua by Thomas Heberley, the museum's resident carver. He added the tauiho (prow), which came from Matata in the Bay of Plenty and the taurapa (stern post), which came from Papaitonga Horowhenua. he also carved the rauawa (upperside planking) [below].

"Teremoe once belonged to upper river leaders, Te Reimana Te Kaporere and Matene Rangitauira, both of whom were involved in wars against the Pakeha government in the 1860s. Teremoe saw action in the hostilities that broke out on the river, including the battle between lower and upper river parts of the Whanganui iwi, fought at Moutoa Island, near Ranana. Teremoe was also involved in the pursuit of the guerrilla leader, Te Kooti Arikirangi in 1869, when both syupporters and opponents of the colonial givernment collaborated to drive him out of the region." [Quotes from Te Papa information plaques]. www.tepapa.govt.nz

A Museum Beauty

I don't know anything about this beautiful, carved figure - other than the fact that it is one of the many exquisite pieces in the collection of the National Museum Te Papa Tongarewa in Wellington. I did look for an explanatory plaque but couldn't find one. I do like to have the names of things but sometimes I guess it's just okay to admire the beauty. Let's make this one of those occasions. www.tepapa.govt.nz

The Back Cupboards

New Zealand photographer, filmmaker, artist and designer, Neil Pardington (Ngai Tahu, Ngati Mamoe, Ngati Waewae & Scottish descent), opens his amazing show The Vault at Christchurch Art Gallery tonight. I’ve been looking forward to this exhibition for months for it brings together all the things I love – museums and especially museum storerooms, photography, taxidermy, artefacts, collections, the notion of memory and stored histories – they’re all there in beautiful, brilliant images that resonate with a million of my own stored memories. I collected everything as a child and my father made me little glass-fronted cases for storing my birds’ egg collection, my butterflies, my pressed leaves and flowers, my seed and nut collection, my stone and gemstone collections. How I never ended up working in a museum I’ll never know – but it’s no surprise to me that one of my sons does. (He’s at Auckland Museum).

That aside, Neil Pardington’s ‘Vault is another matter entirely – a brilliant ‘expose’ of the behind-the-scenes artefacts and collections in storage. He got the idea for the photographic series while he was working behind the scenes at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and it has been a work in progress ever since, as he has explored the vaults, archives and basements of museums, art galleries, archives, banks, libraries and hospitals – “my focus is on places we store those things that are precious to us and conversely, those very similar spaces we store the obsolete and unwanted,” he has said of his work.
In the Christchurch exhibition, Pardington presents 40 photographs (taken on large-format camera) that ‘expose storehouses of memory and places filled with mystifying treasure.’ They include my favourites, the stuffed animals and birds…all with cute little cardboard labels attached to their legs; paintings attached to sliding storage walls; specimens in jars; rooms filled with mannequins; shelves filled with rolls of film in tins; Maori artefacts; buildings filled with army vehicles; textiles, card catalogues and much more. It’s a scrumptiously voyeuristic peek into the normally unseen, off-limits world of the nation’s treasures and it will be on show at Christchurch Art Gallery until March 14, 2010. www.christchurchartgallery.org.nz www.neilpardington.com
Images supplied by Christchurch Art Gallery are, from top to bottom:
Neil Pardington Taonga Maori Store #4, Nelson Regional Museum 2007. Lambda/C-print, dimensions variable. Reproduced courtesy of the artist.
Neil Pardington Taonga Maori #2, Whanganui Regional Museum 2006. LED/C-print. Reproduced courtesy of the artist.
Neil Pardington Land Vertebrates Store #1, Auckland Museum Tamaki Paenga Hira 2008. LED/C-print. Reproduced courtesy of the artist.

Pounamu: An Enduring Legacy

I wrote about the terrific new exhibition, Kura Pounamu: Treasured Stone of New Zealand at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa here last week (click on link below), but I thought I’d just add a word or three and bring you two more beautiful pieces from the display. At the risk of repeating myself – because I have written about pounamu several times before – I just wanted to add a note about the stone itself – rather than the 200-plus pounamu taonga (greenstone treasures) that make up Kura Pounamu. Greenstone occurs naturally only in the South Island of New Zealand, where it is found in seven main areas: Nelson, Westland, South Westland, Makarora (Wanaka district), Wakatipu, Milford Sound and the Livingstone Mountains. The two main types of pounamu are nephrite and bowenite – bowenite being the softer of the two and with a different mineral formation. It is also rarer than nephrite. The image above is a ‘Tuhiwai’ mere pounamu (nephrite weapon), Ngati Toa and Ngai Tahu iwi (tribes), Otago. Kahurangi variety,Westland. Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.

Maori classify pounamu according to its colours, markings and translucency and there are many local names for different pounamu. The four main varieties recognised by most iwi (tribes) are inanga, kahurangi, kawakawa and tangiwai. The range of appearance within each of these varieties is enormous and more than one variety can exist within one stone. Inanga – especially prized by Southern Maori - is a pearly-white or grey-green colour and varies from translucent to opaque. Kahurangi is the rarest variety of pounamu, is highly translucent and often comes in vivid shades of green. In the old days it was the preferred stone for the blades of toki poutangata (ceremonial adzes) owned by rangitira (chiefs). Kawakawa is the most common variety and it comes in many shades, often with small dark flecks. Tangiwai is clear, like glass, and ranges from olive green to bluish-green in colour. It is a bowenite rock and the most ancient form of pounamu found chiefly in two isolated areas at Piopiotahi (Milford Sound). (This, it should be noted is a brief summary of pounamu varieties only - just to give you an insight into the basics). The image above: Kaka poria (bird leg-ring) pounamu (bowenite), Tangiwai variety, Piopiotahi (Milford Sound). Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Kura Pounamu is showing at Te Papa until February 2011. www.tepapa.govt.nz

A Treasured Stone

A stunning new exhibition has opened at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa in Wellington. Entitled “Kura Pounamu: Treasured Stone of New Zealand”, the exhibition features over 200 pounamu taonga (greenstone treasures) from across New Zealand. In addition to works from Te Papa’s own collection, visitors will have a rare opportunity to see luminous pounamu treasures from special private collections including the New Zealand Olympic Team’s mauri stone that travels with them to competitions; and touchstones from the South Island iwi (tribe), Ngai Tahu.

Valued for its beauty, strength and durability, pounamu is found only in the South Island and it has traditionally been used for centuries as a peace-maker, weapon, adornment, tool and treasure. Kura Pounamu showcases traditional and contemporary pieces, including a breathtaking mass display of hei tiki (pendants in human form, as shown above), ear pendants, necklaces, tools for carving (adzes and chisels) and a wall dedicated to a display of mere pounamu (nephrite weapons). Many of these objects have a whakapapa (geneology) and fascinating histories, many of them linked to famous New Zealand historical events and people.
Visitors will also be able to enter an immersion room, where they can touch pounamu boulders on loan to Te Papa by the kaitiaki (guardians) of pounamu, the South Island’s Ngai Tahu iwi. Acclaimed musician Richard Nunns and Dteve Garden has also composed pieces especially for the show, which will be played on pounamu taonga puoro (traditional Maori musical instruments made of pounamu). It’s an interactive area where visitors can hear the stories associated with pounamu; and where they can also record and share their own stories.
Pounamu has always played a powerful role in affirming and building a variety of relationships for Maori. In the past, families exchanged pounamu treasures when people married to symbolise their new connection; and former enemies presented each other with gifts (pounamu mere perhaps) to establish links and lasting peace. In some districts, this peace-making tradition was called te tatau pounamu – a ‘greenstone door.’ This extensive exhibition, which occupies Te Papa’s Level 4, also tells the stories of important events – the story of the ceremonial pounamu used at the signing of the Ngai Tahu (Pounamu) Vesting Act 1997, when the new Labour Government formally handed ownership of pounamu to Ngai Tahu. If you’d like to know more about this exciting exhibition, Te Papa have developed a mini-site – www.tepapa.govt.nz/pounamu, which provides further information about the exhibition and the taonga in it. All images shown here are the property of and are used courtesy of The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa; and should not be downloaded. They are as follows: Top: Hei tiki (pendant in human form), 2008, by Lewis Tamihana Gardiner (b.1972), Te Arawa, Ngati Awa, Whanau-a-Apanui, Ngai Tahu iwi (tribes), pounamu (nephrite), synthetic fibre. Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.
Second from Top: Hei tiki, pounamu, inanga variety, Arahura River, Westland. Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.
Centre: Hei Tiki, pounamu, inanga variety, Arahura River, Westland. Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.
Bottom pair – top image: ‘Tuhiwai’ mere pounamu (nephrite weapon), Ngati Toa and Ngai Tahu (tribes), Otago, pounamu (nephrite) kahurangi variety, Westland. Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.
Bottom image of pair: Hei matau (hook-shaped pendant) pounamu kawakawa variety, Westland. Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. The exhibition runs untils February 2011.

Coming Soon ........

The posters are up around town - I photographed these in Christchurch this morning - and I'll be bringing more news about this terrific new exhibition at Wellington's Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa in the coming days. www.tepapa.govt.nz

Te Papa - The Galleries

The Maori Gallery

The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Wellington.

Image supplied by Te Papa.

www.tepapa.govt.nz

Museum Glass

Wellington April 2009 Ajr

Another section of glass etched with traditional Maori designs

at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington
www.tepapa.govt.nz

If you click on Museum of New Zealand in the label line below this post, you'll be able to see other examples of this beautiful etched glass that marries so perfectly with the architecture.

Kapa Haka Live Worldwide

Image courtesy Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Don't forget!
Today - Live
300 Senior Maori Kapa Haka Performers put on a great show for the whole world via the Te Papa website - www.tepapa.govt.nz/kapahaka From 10:30am to 3:30pm today, Saturday, New Zealand time; and again on Sunday from 10am senior Maori (kaumatua) perform for the closing of Te Papa's Matariki Festival. Tune in for a great show. Read more about it in my posting below and on Te Papa's website.

A Reminder - Maori Performance Live Online

Image courtesy Museum of New Zealand - Te Papa Tongarewa

Following my earlier posts about Te Marae at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa in Wellington, here’s a reminder about the live online Maori cultural performance this weekend - you’ll be able to see part of the museum’s Matariki Festival closing online, whether you’re in Wanganui, Warsaw or Washington. Using the power of TelstraClear’s Next IP Network, around 300 senior Maori performing artists will get to perform in front of a worldwide audience on the weekend of July 11 and 12. Kaumatua Kapa Haka is one of the highlights of Te Papa’s Matariki festival and for the first time, it will be webcast live online at www.tepapa.govt.nz/kapahaka.
Ngati Porou performers
Many of the performers gathering at Te Papa for Kaumatua Kapa Haka have been learning Maori performing arts since they were young children and the oldest member amongst the groups is 93 years old. They’ll be performing some classic wiata (songs) by 20th century composers like Tuini Ngawai, Sir Apirana Ngata and Kohine Ponika
Both images courtesy Museum of New Zealand - Te Papa Tongarewa
The eight groups performing are the Auckland Anglican Maori Club (Auckland); Te Whanau a Kohine Ponika (Auckland/Bay of Plenty); He Kura ki Waikato (Waikato); Te Hokowhitua Tu (Gisborne); Taranaki ki te Tonga (South Taranaki); Ngati Kahungunu (Hawke’s Bay/Wairarapa), Te Ropu Tahiwi a Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington); and Te Wiwi Nati (Wellington). The performances will be held on Saturday July 11, from 10:30am to 3.30pm NZ time and from 10am on Sunday July 12. You can find updates about the event on Te Papa’s Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/; and you can learn more about senior Maori performing arts at www.kaumatuakapahaka.com www.tepapa.govt.nz Don't forget to tune in!

The Beauties of Rongomaraeroa

Two top images courtesy of Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

The first time I saw Te Marae at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, I was gobsmacked by the rainbow of coloured light that was seeping across the forecourt – reflections from the beautiful stained glass windows behind me (which I’ll show you another time). It took me some time to re-focus on the stunning carvings that decorate the wharenui (Te Hono Ki Hawaiki) and in the many times I’ve seen them since, I’ve been no less impressed.

Wellington April 2009. Ajr
Rongomaraeroa is the name given to the marae, which was created by master carver, Cliff Whiting and the Maori advisory group to Te Papa, Nga Kaiwawao, who aimed to create a fully functional contemporary marae within the museum – “one that would embrace the concept of mana taonga and the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi.” It was opened in 1997 and is “the museum’s response to the challenge of creating an authentic yet inclusive marae (communal meeting place) for the 21st century.” In addition to serving as ‘a living marae’ it is also an exhibition in its own right, designed to give visitors an insight into the meaning of the marae experience. It is also – obviously – a beautiful showcase of contemporary Maori arts and crafts; and a reflection of both the nation’s and Te Papa’s bicultural identity. “All people have the right to stand on this marae through a shared whakapapa (genealogy) and the mana (power) of the taonga (treasures) held in Te Papa collections.” It is a place for all cultures and all iwi (tribes). www.tepapa.govt.nz

Traditional Designs - 8

Etched Glass Graphics

At

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Wellington. April 2009. Ajr

www.tepapa.govt.nz

Museum Graphics

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington. April 2009. Ajr

I spent almost a full day in the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa in Wellington and I came away with fabulous books, photographs I loved and a head buzzing with visual and verbal stimulation. I love that the musem has such a strong visual focus, that it does everything possible to captivate its audience with colour, pattern and texture. I photographed these cool Maori graphics in the corridor that leads the way to the museum's contemporary Te Marae, a unique 21st century carved meetinghouse. www.tepapa.govt.nz.

Wall Designs

National Museum Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington. April 2009. Ajr

I loved this wall finish in the cafe at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. I suspect the design is derived from, or inspired by traditional Maori tukutuku panelling. www.tepapa.govt.nz