Description: A landmark account in words and pictures of Māori art, by Māori art historians--from Polynesian voyaging waka to contemporary Māori artists.
He toi whakairo, he mana tangata.Through artistic excellence, there is human dignity. In six hundred pages and with over five hundred illustrations, this volume takes us on an extraordinary voyage through Māori art--from ancestral weavers to contemporary artists at the Venice Biennale, from whare whakairo to film, and from Te Puea Hērangi to Michael Parekōwhai. Deidre Brown, Ngarino Ellis, and Jonathan Mane-Wheoki explore a wide field of art practices, including raranga (plaiting), whatu (weaving), moko (tattooing), whakairo (carving), rākai (jewellery), kākahu (textiles), whare (architecture), toi whenua (rock art), painting, photography, sculpture, ceramics, installation art, digital media, and film. The works discussed span a period from the arrival of Pacific voyagers eight hundred years ago to the contemporary artists working around the world today. With expansive chapters and breakout texts focusing on individual artists, movements, and events, Toi Te Mana is an essential book for anyone interested in te ao Māori.
Brief description: Deidre Brown (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kahu) is a Māori art and architectural historian and professor of architecture at Waipapa Taumata Rau University of Auckland. Her books include Māori Architecture, Introducing Māori Art, and the multiauthored Art in Oceania. Brown is a fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi and Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects.
Review Quotes: "Here, the breadth of Māori artistic practices, from shipbuilding to urban graffiti, is placed within a continuum of Māori heritage. A traditional cloak can embody a tribe's whakapapa--its inheritances and genealogies--within the pattern of the weave and the materials used. Large, gorgeous images capture centuries-old objects, abstract modern installations, and everything in between, tying visual detail to cultural significance with textual analysis. This is a passionate work of scholarship that will capture the minds of students and practitioners of Indigenous art."-- "Foreword Reviews (starred review)"