Christchurch Exhibition of Maori Art

Te Ao Hou, March 1967, Page 38

Christchurch Exhibition of Maori Art by Cherry Andrew Photographs by William Gamble. Pauline Yearbury's painting of Hatu Patu and the Birdman An ambitious idea which began six months ago as a joke has now materialised into a great promotion scheme for New Zealand culture. ‘What about an exhibition of Maori art and sculpture,’ joked Baden Pere, a flying instructor at Wigram and former administrator of the East West Cultural Centre in Hawaii, to his friend, Buck Nin, a Christchurch artist. ‘Right, you're on,’ replied Buck Nin and the two Maoris laughed about it for three weeks. But suddenly it became a serious thought and with the help of Dr Roger Duff, director of the Canterbury Museum, Buck Nin presented an exhibition of contemporary Maori culture—fifty paintings and ten sculptures—in the Museum on 10 November, 1966. Contrasted with a collection of traditional Maori artefacts, the display included three of Buck Nin's own landscape paintings which combined the traditional figures of his race with modern colours and techniques. There were also contributions from such well known Maori artists as Selwyn Muru. Arnold Wilson, Fred Graham and Pauline Yearbury. All the works were by Maoris although Norman Lemon's wire presentation of “Christ in Agony” succeeded without any resort to traditional themes. In opening the exhibition Mr R. J. Waghorn, a former president of the Association of New Zealand Art Societies from Wellington, said that in the Maori's own special heritage a modern artist could find almost endless inspiration for themes that, while being conceived in a modern idiom, relate directly to his own cultural background. ‘Let the Maori borrow techniques and contemporary methods—invent some of his own if he can—but when he is looking for content and subject matter let him turn to familiar subjects; to those things that move him: those things that are essentially his own that no one else feels about quite as he does.’ He said that apart from his concern for the

development of a national character in New Zealand art it was obvious that there would be an increasing demand in the country for murals, sculptures and other works dealing with the significant features in history and development. The Maori must make, and had already made, a unique contribution to New Zealand art, he concluded. Buck Nin said that one of his aims had been to dispel the false conceptions of the Maori race gained by people overseas by pictures on travel posters and brochures. ‘For too long the Maori has been portrayed as a native of New Zealand who dances in a grass skirt and brandishes a greenstone mere,’ he said. ‘This display will help to eradicate the over-emphasis and misconceptions given by the posters. ‘We can make a valid contribution to the value of contemporary painting and sculpture in New Zealand. ‘Artists have been unfortunately apeing overseas trends and have not evolved a New Zealand flavour to their work.’ Other speakers were Mr G. C. C. Sandston, chairman of the Canterbury Museum Trust Board, Mr S. R. Dacre, president of the Association of Friends of the Canterbury Museum, and Dr Duff. This unique collection of contemporary Maori art which is flavoured so liberally with New Zealand expression and intent will be presented in other parts of the country before going on to Hawaii, South East Asia and Europe. The collection will be away for about two years and, it is hoped, will be augmented by paintings. Buck Nin will be able to present the exhibition to Hawaii in person as he will be living there when it arrives. Buck will be studying at the East West Centre. Lack of financial support prevents anyone accompanying the display any further but on its return to New Zealand, Baden Pere and an exhibiting artist will take charge. There is a tentative plan afoot to take the exhibition to Maori settlements throughout the country. This would show Maori youngsters the purpose in developing their school-day talents and it would prove to them that they can play an important part in their country's cultural development. ‘Muru’, a rimu figure by Norman Lemon