Not many of us like reading about Art History and when it comes to children it becomes all the more difficult. A tour to an art gallery can end up as being termed 'boring' by our kids today. So how do we make them learn about Art History? In the last couple of classes I wanted our Art Hours students to learn about some Art History... so how could I make it interesting for them? I thought let me pick up something interesting from the Polynesian art...and as I went through various websites and art blogs, I mostly came across Polynesian tattoos, which are popular worldwide. Digging into the internet further, I came across the words like Maori, Moana, and Maui... this is probably how much people on this side of the world including me know about Polynesia. But these words gave me the clue on planning my lessons for the Art Hours class on Polynesian Art.
If you search on the internet for Polynesia, it will show you this map with a group of scattered islands. When I questioned my students, none of them had heard about Polynesia. Then I reminded them of the cartoon character Moana and we had answers close to Hawaii, Samoa and bingo...those are the places we are talking about. Polynesia is a group of about 1000 scattered islands in the Pacific Ocean, located on the eastern side of Australia. They were also known as the South Sea Islands in the past.
Geographically, the group of islands forms a triangular shape if you connect the points of New Zealand, Hawaii and Easter Island. Polynesians include Marquesans, Samoans, Tongans, Cook Islanders, Hawaiians. Tahitians, Maori and are linked to the indigenous people of parts of South East Asia.
For us people staying in the Middle East, we would have hardly heard about that part of the world. The Polynesian islands have a long history of Colonization by European countries yet it has a rich cultural and historical heritage that covers both its own traditions and those of its colonial past.
The most famous Polynesian art forms are the Maoi or statues of Rapa Nui/Easter Island. Polynesian art is characterized by ornate work. A search for Polynesian art on the internet will yield various results that depict the colorful and beautiful Tiki masks. These masks are a depiction of ancient Polynesian culture and pay homage to an ancient Polynesian god, Tiki, who was considered by them as the first man. Tiki masks were designed to capture the power of ancient God. Art Hours students sketched out some beautiful tiki masks as a part of the exercise in understanding Polynesian art.
Another popular form of Polynesian art is tattoos. The tattoo designs vary from island to island but most are simple geometric patterns. In fact, tattooing is a sacred ceremony in the Polynesian culture. The tattoos and their location on the body were determined by one’s genealogy, position within the society and personal achievements. A quick search over the internet gave us an overall insight into the modern tattoo designs. The modern tattoo designs are really beautiful and intricate and each one of them actually symbolizes something.
If you watch the Disney animated movie Moana, you would have noticed the character of Maui, the Polynesian demigod who accompanies Moana in her journey. If you already have watched the movie, then please do so again…and this time make a note of the character played by Dwayne Johnson - Maui whose torso and arms are covered with intricate tattoos. These images are like a scrapbook of his accomplishments. The animated movie will definitely give you a small glimpse and insight into the Polynesian culture and art.
We had a great time at Art Hours discussing the Polynesian Art and culture, understanding the tattoo designs and talking about Moana and Maui. The students had a great time making sketches of the Tiki masks, sketches of Moana and Maui, and also made some origami masks decorated with Polynesian tattoo designs.
Hope, you readers too enjoyed learning something about Polynesian art and culture with us. Thank you for reading this post and being a part of our journey in the exploration of art.
Have a good day!
Sources referred:
http://www.apolynesiantattoo.com/polynesian-tattoo-history
www.wikipedia
http://www.articlez.com/
http://www.zealandtattoo.co.nz/tattoo-styles/polynesian-tattoo-history-meanings-traditional-designs/
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| Maori, Moana, and Maui |
If you search on the internet for Polynesia, it will show you this map with a group of scattered islands. When I questioned my students, none of them had heard about Polynesia. Then I reminded them of the cartoon character Moana and we had answers close to Hawaii, Samoa and bingo...those are the places we are talking about. Polynesia is a group of about 1000 scattered islands in the Pacific Ocean, located on the eastern side of Australia. They were also known as the South Sea Islands in the past.
 |
| Polynesia Map, source: wikipedia |
Geographically, the group of islands forms a triangular shape if you connect the points of New Zealand, Hawaii and Easter Island. Polynesians include Marquesans, Samoans, Tongans, Cook Islanders, Hawaiians. Tahitians, Maori and are linked to the indigenous people of parts of South East Asia.
For us people staying in the Middle East, we would have hardly heard about that part of the world. The Polynesian islands have a long history of Colonization by European countries yet it has a rich cultural and historical heritage that covers both its own traditions and those of its colonial past.
The most famous Polynesian art forms are the Maoi or statues of Rapa Nui/Easter Island. Polynesian art is characterized by ornate work. A search for Polynesian art on the internet will yield various results that depict the colorful and beautiful Tiki masks. These masks are a depiction of ancient Polynesian culture and pay homage to an ancient Polynesian god, Tiki, who was considered by them as the first man. Tiki masks were designed to capture the power of ancient God. Art Hours students sketched out some beautiful tiki masks as a part of the exercise in understanding Polynesian art.
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| Pencil sketches of Polynesian Tiki Masks |
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| From our Art Hours Students' portfolio: Sketches of Tiki Masks and Origami Masks |
Another popular form of Polynesian art is tattoos. The tattoo designs vary from island to island but most are simple geometric patterns. In fact, tattooing is a sacred ceremony in the Polynesian culture. The tattoos and their location on the body were determined by one’s genealogy, position within the society and personal achievements. A quick search over the internet gave us an overall insight into the modern tattoo designs. The modern tattoo designs are really beautiful and intricate and each one of them actually symbolizes something.
 |
| Polynesian Tattoo Designs & their Meaning: Interpretation by Art Hours |
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| Paintings inspired by Polynesian tattoo designs |
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| 'Feathers'-Painting inspired by Polynesian tattoo designs |
If you watch the Disney animated movie Moana, you would have noticed the character of Maui, the Polynesian demigod who accompanies Moana in her journey. If you already have watched the movie, then please do so again…and this time make a note of the character played by Dwayne Johnson - Maui whose torso and arms are covered with intricate tattoos. These images are like a scrapbook of his accomplishments. The animated movie will definitely give you a small glimpse and insight into the Polynesian culture and art.
We had a great time at Art Hours discussing the Polynesian Art and culture, understanding the tattoo designs and talking about Moana and Maui. The students had a great time making sketches of the Tiki masks, sketches of Moana and Maui, and also made some origami masks decorated with Polynesian tattoo designs.
Hope, you readers too enjoyed learning something about Polynesian art and culture with us. Thank you for reading this post and being a part of our journey in the exploration of art.
Have a good day!
----
Sources referred:
http://www.apolynesiantattoo.com/polynesian-tattoo-history
www.wikipedia
http://www.articlez.com/
http://www.zealandtattoo.co.nz/tattoo-styles/polynesian-tattoo-history-meanings-traditional-designs/
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