Reflection On Visiting Maori Exhibition

The new exhibit at Te Papa Museum Tūrangawaewae: Te Toi o Aotearoa was the centre of our interest this week. This body of work consisted of both contemporary and historical New Zealand art work in the form of paintings, sculptures and photography. The purpose of this visit was to focus our attention on the portrait wall; an immense wall consisting of 34 historical paintings organised in hung salon fashion. These art works varied in size and painting techniques, with portraits of higher class European missionaries placed comparatively next to portraits of respected Maori elders. Notably, all of the artworks were missing the usual labels that are placed beneath pictures to inform the public on information regarding the work. Instead, interpretation was left to the viewers themselves, in the absence of such commonplace information.

The significance of there being no labels on the art-work helps the viewer to analyse the picture without the biased knowledge of who was being depicted, when, where, why and the artists of the work. This idea of interpretation based solely on the image itself draws parallels with the documentary Cave of Forgotten Dreams. Whilst this documentary was depicting the inside of caves thousands of years ago, compared to the more contemporary use by Te Papa today, similarities exist in the power of communication through art. For example, we are shown a portrait of a European missionary alongside two local Maoris in Te Papa, and drawings from inside the cave in the documentary. However, despite the lack of information that would normally inform us of who the Maori and the Europeans were giving some idea of their relationship and why the drawings in the cave were made, perhaps to warn of predators that may be present or near, the artwork is communicating a message to the viewer in the absence of the words. Words are not necessary to give an impression of what animals were present at the time nor to inform us of the relationship between the Maori and the Europeans, the subtle placement of Maori figures in the background, occluded by the European is sufficient. Words itself are not universal, however, paintings use a universal language to communicate from the past to the present. We ourselves use the metaphor in society today ‘a picture paints a thousand words’ to emphasise the power of pictures over words to portray an idea. Some things are best painted rather than spoken — art is a language that transcends words and even those of different cultures can understand it. This theme of the power of art as a language highlights that visual imagery is sometimes the most powerful form of expression cross-culturally.

I found this exhibit very interesting to view. Similarly, as someone who thoroughly enjoys going to art exhibitions, I failed to recognise how much of an influence levels and information beneath the picture had on interpretation. The lack of labels throughout this exhibit really challenged my interpretation and forced me to come to my own conclusion on the artwork. As a generation we are often lazy in our desire to obtain information, due to our constant connection to the World Wide Web and availability to access a vast amount of information at the touch of our fingers. However, as a result of this, we fail to engage in the pictures. I, for one, know how many times I have gone to an exhibit, read the label, looked at the picture and then moved on. However, this exhibit highlighted how it is important to come to our own conclusions about the artwork. If we are constantly told what we should interpret then there is no personal interpretation and everyone will end up with a homogenous, and boring conclusion. However, the world is full of different individuals with people experiencing things differently. This difference should be reflected through interpretations, as opposed to carved into what we are told to interpret. For example, as I moved to New Zealand when I was 5, I did not have such in-depth knowledge of New Zealand’s history as opposed to some others in my class. Therefore, my interpretation was, as it should be, completely different to ours. These different opinions are then helpful to compare how opinions and interpretations vary and the reasons for such.