Alan Taylor 1933-2016, artist and writer. An obituary by Alister Taylor.

This post is by publisher and writer Alister Taylor (no relation to Alan). We were honoured to be sent this obituary by Alister for publication - Alister Taylor has always been one of our publishing heroes,  a pioneer in treading the entrepreneurial tightrope between art and commerce who created a body of work that's shaped NZ's cultural landscape of today.

Alan Taylor, one of New Zealand’s significant but virtually unknown artists and writers, has died. He was 83. He died in obscurity, destitute, ravaged by emphysema from a lifetime of heavy chain-smoking, still recovering from an earlier stroke. Even the art dealers and auctioneers who sold his work didn’t know of his death until I told them today. Nor did his friends. When I told Sophie Coupland, Director of Art at the resurgent Mossgreen-Webb’s in Auckland today, she said “Poor old soul.”

Born in the UK, Taylor served in the Korean War (1950-1953) as a young British soldier in the combined Commonwealth forces (British, Canadian, Indian, Australian and New Zealand), along with South Korean and American forces, against the North Korean and Chinese armies. He was taken prisoner and served several years in North Korean and Chinese POW camps, where he endured prolonged sessions of attempted brainwashing, a near starvation diet, disease and negligible medical assistance. More than 40% of Commonwealth and US POWs died in captivity. In 1953 the US Department of Defence claimed that more than 900 US prisoners remained in captivity after the North and the Chinese said all prisoners had been released. The South Koreans claimed there were 55,000 to 65,000 of their troops still being held by the North Koreans. Indeed in 1994, 41 years after the war ended, a South Korean soldier escaped from captivity in North Korea and over the next 20 years a further 78 former South Korean POWs escaped from North Korea. South Korea still claims the North has 565 prisoners from that long-ago war.

Scarred horribly from his POW experiences, Taylor was stunned by the negative reaction he and his fellow POWs were met with on their repatriation to Britain after their release. British army authorities suspected them of being converts to communism – the result of the “brainwashing” -- and they were shunned by the military and many of their former friends. Taylor took his first opportunity to escape and arrived at Auckland Airport at Mangere where he got as far as the local marae and fell in love with one of the Maori maidens there.

I first became familiar with Alan’s quirky naïve work when he began to send me cartoons for several magazines I had published: “Affairs” magazine for schools in 1969, the NZ edition of “Rolling Stone” in 1972, “The NZ Whole Earth Catalogue” in 1972, 1975 and 1977 and “The New Zealander” from 1981. Alan also sent his cartoons and drawings to others involved in the publishing process, including editors of student newspapers among whom was the barrister Hugh Rennie CBE, QC when he was editor of “Salient” and later at the “National Business Review”.

Alan lived on his minute army pension and became immersed in Maori art and travelled around New Zealand, visiting marae, meeting Maori informants who could teach him Maori history and art and photographing meeting houses. He was particularly interested in kowhaiwhai rafter patterns and many of the primitive colonial and post colonial period carvings. He was probably the first European to appreciate them and the first to describe them as “Maori folk art”.

Alan wrote frequently and was widely published, often in obscure publications but also by prestigious university presses in Hawaii and North America. His pioneering book “Maori Folk Art” is now a rarity and much sought after; it was first published in Hawaii and internationally and then in a much expanded edition in New Zealand by a long-gone English imprint Century Hutchinson in 1988. His 1966 book “The Maori Builds: Life, Art and Architecture from Moahunter Days” was published locally by Whitcombe and Tombs. His smaller publications, “The Maori Warrior”, “Maori Warfare”, “Maori Tattooing”, “Maori Clothing” and “Maori Weaving” were all published by Brigham Young University in USA but deserve a local collection of their own.

Alan was an avid protester and was always creating cartoons and images of protest: on the threat of nuclear war, against apartheid, against the Vietnam war, against All Black tours to South Africa and on the perils of allowing South African immigrants and the racial ideals they would bring with them to New Zealand. He gave me a set of unique water-colours – small works devoted to notable New Zealand artists, but they are so obscene I hesitate to hang any of them except in the lavatory; toilet humour.

He was always trading his current bits and pieces for survival and even when paid handsomely for his paintings or his acquisitions the money disappeared within a day or two. I remember him selling an ancient and beautiful ceremonial greenstone adze for several tens of thousands of dollars, but the next week he seemed as broke as ever.

His paintings were pointillist, primitive and powerful; they vibrated with colour. Many of them related to historic Maori incidents which he had researched intimately, others were of his favourite fish, the pukeko, hills, native bush, historic locations or legendary and Maori characters such as Captain Cook, Hongi Hika and Hone Heke. He gave my friend a beautiful painting of a teddy bear for his son Silas on his birth. Alan had a tender heart.

Alan was also a gentle character and a very generous man. Once I received a gift from him – a metal tin in the post in which lay a large greenstone tiki of the great Bay of Plenty chief Hori Pokai, who was painted by Goldie. Attached to it was Pokai’s gold watch-chain and a silver shield engraved with his name. Alan knew of my connection to Goldie and the books I’d written about him and thought I would appreciate the tiki.

For a time, almost every week, a cartoon or Alan Taylor drawing would flutter through the post. Whenever he knew I’d moved house or location he would send me a painting related to the new place I lived – Kororareka/Russell, the British destruction of Pomare’s pa opposite Opua while Pomare himself was a guest on board a British naval ship, Mount Hobson, Auckland -- all inscribed on the back with a suitable quotation and history of the place or of related identities such as Hongi Hika, Kawiti, Pomare I and Governor Hobson.

When Alan went to hospital in his final illness his son Fetulaki and his mates cleaned out Alan’s rooms up the stairs in Dominion Road in an area he had lived for decades. There is nothing left there to remember him.

For much of his life Alan’s paintings sold for less than a thousand dollars, rarely above $1500. Now that he’s gone, these exquisite and colourful records of our past will undoubtedly soar in value as the naïve gems left by colourful characters such as Alan Taylor so often do.

Alister Taylor

Two new limited edition prints from Shane Hansen

Artist Shane Hansen with
one of his sculptures

Pania & The Dragon
Edition of 50 prints

Hansen's two new limited edition prints make a compelling pair.  Both prints are semi-autobiographical, referencing the different strands of Hansen's genealogy, the Maori and the Chinese.  These artworks are about coming to terms with your cultural background, making sense of your ancestry.

Pania is a recurring character in Shane's work, in "Pania and the Dragon" she is depicted feeding a dragon from a bottle.  A poem accompanies the print

Oh bless the little girl who sits and feeds the little dragon
Does she not see the danger?
Look at his large toothy grin, his big greedy eyes
He will drink all her milk if she’s not careful
Why does she smile so?
What does she know that I don’t know?
Oh bless the little girl who sits and feeds the little dragon

Home Sweet Home is nostalgic but not sentimental, Shane says "No matter

Home Sweet Home
Edition of 50 prints

where we come from, what our heritage, we all have a place that is our ancestral home. Our distance, be it physical or emotional, holds no barriers, as all are welcome when the time comes to reconnect. This place, warmed by those who came before and those whom have kept the fires burning, waiting for our return. Home Sweet Home."

Both prints are in editions of fifty screenprints, individually lovely but we also think these look great as a pair of prints on the wall alongside each other.  Superb decoration for children's rooms that will become increasingly meaningful as they grow up alongside them.

Tiki: More than decor - a symbol

We believe there is now emerging a deeper meaning to New Zealanders buying prints of symbols like tiki and koru than just a superficial decor trend.   This article is a call to critically examine a casual dismissal of the extensive use of the tiki motif in particular as just another (temporary) phase of a wider kiwiana trend in NZ art prints that will pass.

More than just a decorative piece a tiki print first and foremost represents an ongoing connection to Aotearoa/New Zealand.  When a tiki is given as a present it's often a deeply meaningful gift that symbolises a connection with NZ and/or the person or people who gift the artwork, in essence a tiki has grown to mean friendship and connectedness with a uniquely NZ slant.

Picasso Tiki by Lester Hall

Tiki are now a symbol that is accessible to - and understood by - nearly all New Zealanders and this recognition extends to people who may have a passing acquaintance with NZ, may live in another country etc but to whom this idea of the tiki's meaning still makes sense.  It's becoming clear to us that for New Zealanders today tiki are not being purchased just to decorate in the supremely superficial manner like the kitch decor of an American tiki bar that is practically divorced from all meaningful connection with its Polynesian origins beyond the historic accident filtered through the decades.

Tiki in pre-colonial Maori culture

Whether as a memorial to the ancestors or associated with fertility and childbirth tiki were undoubted connected with the sacred, the spiritual and a sense of connection to place or people by Maori. Unlike other Polynesian cultures where tiki were predominantly carved wooden objects in Aoteaora the pendant known as the Hei-Tiki is the most well-known expression of the tiki form.

Tiki in NZ Art

Tikis were first re-worked in a fine art context by Dick Frizzell in his response to the debate around cultural appropriation in the 1990s and are now part of our collective cultural identity. The evidence that a tiki is now more than just a decorative motif is also that despite the ongoing popularity of Tiki prints as a genre they simply not becoming stale or boring because the idea of the tiki continues to evolve and deepen as successive artists re-mix, re-invent an re-interpret the tiki shape and form. Whether referencing pop art, Aboriginal art, Picasso (see Lester Hall's latest print above left) and even Dick Frizzell himself in wonderfully circular fashion in "Tiki to Diki" - or used as an anthropomorphic symbol of Maori ancestry in the prints of Shane Hansen such as this one below.

Shane Hansen Print "Boy and Friendy"

As non-Maori New Zealander's are now becoming a distinct culture,  often referred to as Pakeha or even as "white Polynesian" this also means we are becoming more likely to unselfconsciously give the gift of a tiki or a koru (a symbol of renewal or new life) than, for instance, to reach for a religious artwork such as Durer's Praying Hands which would have held a similar sense of shared meaning in an earlier more religious time.

When a friend or work colleague returns to their home country after time spent in New Zealand colleagues and friends send them home with a picture of a tiki,  not just to remind them about their time here, or to celebrate our unique Maori culture - but most importantly as a symbol of the recipient's special connection that they will always have with New Zealand.  We also send tikis to New Zealanders overseas to remind them of their connection to home instead of the more obvious picturesque views of their favourite landmarks.  Mickey to Tiki may be easily the most well-known tiki print, regularly delivered by us as a gift for weddings, birthdays and Christmas for a decade now - but we believe there has been more to its popularity as a gift than it just being chosen because it was a safe choice as NZ's most popular print over this time.   Given the messages included with the print we know there is usually this kind of underlying heartfelt and sincere meaning behind the gift of this most famous of all artworks featuring a tiki.

There is now an ongoing place for tiki as "more than just decoration", it is not just a decor trend because this greater idea of the tiki is now part of the NZ identity.  This deeper wellspring of meaning means artists will continue to find ways to drive the idea of the tiki into new and unexpected directions (so much so we have now even created a permanent tiki prints collection). But just as there is a difference between a plastic tiki and a hand carved tiki we think there is a distinction between a watered down version that verges on cultural appropriation to a sincere reworking of what has become a cultural icon for both Maori and non-Maori New Zealanders.

New Zealand artists & the future of the Tiki

And considering tiki are a Pacific wide icon it is exciting to see that tiki art from NZ are clearly now

Drippy Tiki by Greg Straight

the best tiki artwork available because thanks to artists like Dick Frizzell we have taken an indigenous motif and taken it further to imbue it with even more meaning and resonance when you see it on the wall!  Not taken an indigenous icon out of context (as a decoration for a tiki themed bar for instance) but to be an emblem of our NZness with deeper meanings beyond the visual representation on the wall.

Mickey to Tiki is accessible to non New Zealanders not just because Mickey is so recognisable but also because the tiki is increasingly well known outside of the Pacific.  And New Zealand artists are leading this growth in popular consciousness because they are evolving the tiki from an emblem of an historical culture - without sacrificing its meaning - into a fresh and contemporary form that incorporates and includes while (with a few grating exceptions) still respecting and paying homage to the underlying symbolism of the hei-tiki in Maori culture.

McRangi - is "Maori Art" selling out or promoting Maori culture?

McRangi by Shane Hansen - Edition of 40 prints

Shane Hansen is one of NZ's most widely known contemporary Maori artists. He has accepted commissions from high profile clients such as Maori Television, Air New Zealand and his artwork adorns the New Zealand Tourism head office in Auckland.  He has even followed in the footsteps of Andy Warhol with an art car project for BMW!

But he is uneasy about the popularity of a genre known as "Maori Art" in a way that is in some ways similar to our misgivings about the re-branding of non-Maori New Zealand art as "kiwiana".

Hansen's new print of a Maori Ronald McDonald figure is his expression of this questioning of the balance between commercialisation and celebration of Maori art by artists like himself.

Shane Hansen at work in his Auckland studio

McRangi (pictured above) is a much looser artwork than his usual crisp style based on what Hansen describes as an "old school image of Ronald waving that had a creepy nostalgic feeling about it". In this print McRangi asks in Te Reo "Ko tenei taku titiro kite ao whanui? - "is this how I see the world?".  Hansen is wondering if his artworks are cheapening Maori culture or exposing it and communicating it to others in a good way.

We don't think that Hansen has anything to worry about as his thoughtful and original series of prints push the boundaries of New Zealand art forward, refreshing and re-interpreting as well as adding a completely new style that is completely his own.  But even if there is a less vivid expression of "Maori art" being produced in the gift/souvenir market to meet the current demand that could be seen, as Hansen puts it, to be "cheapening" Maori culture is this anything new?

Maori Art Design Prints from Menzies "Maori Patterns" released

This afternoon NZ Prints have released the first of a series of prints of traditional Maori art designs first collected by JH Menzies at the end of the 19th Century.  Initially published in the NZ design classic "Maori Patterns: Painted & Carved" in 1904 what JH Menzies called "Maori patterns" make wonderful wall art today.  With plates from the original folio extremely rare and expensive NZ Fine Prints has reproduced a selection of designs from "Maori Patterns" in the original size on a superb watercolour paper.  The only difference from the original book plates is our series of prints of the designs from "Maori Patterns" are printed using the giclee process using extremely lightfast inks that will last for decades.  Below is Menzies original introduction to his book which offers a fascinating insight into both his motivations for collecting traditional Maori designs from meeting houses and also the mindset of a well-meaning but culturally insensitive Pakeha of the Victorian era. Although Menzies obviously admired the art of Maori  artists his assumptions about the past and future of art practice by Maori now seem extremely dated.

Introduction to Menzies' NZ Design classic "Maori Patterns: Painted & Carved"

Art Print of Design #7 from "Maori Patterns"

"Maori carving, as practised among the Maoris long ago, was a sacred work, as well as the beautifully painted patterns. Every design had  a name, and also a Karakia [ritual incantation] belonging to it, which had to be said while it was being carved or painted. No person was taught these Karakia necessary to the work, except a Rangatira [highly respected person]. Therefore no carving could be done amongst the Maoris except by a man of good birth. If any mistake - gross wilful mistake - in the pattern was made, then the work became very unlucky, both to the carver and also to the person who at any time owned the work done. In fact, a Hara [transgression] had been committed, and ill-luck would follow. It may be that the various patterns once had a meaning; I myself think that they had, but that the meaning was lost long ago, just as the meaning of most of the Karakias was probably lost long ago, too. [Menzies was quite incorrect here, his blithe assumption that the meaning of the designs was lost was symptomatic of his divorcing of the designs he collected from their origins, a separation that makes it difficult to trace where each design is from and its meaning. Menzies lumped all Maori art design together failing to distinguish that kowhaiwhai were specific to each iwi, not to Maori in general.].

I believe that the art has steadily advanced; for instance, it was at one time very shallow, and was composed of small triangular notches with lines drawn between them as seen in some of the oldest carving. Then the same patterns were produced more deeply, with straight lines as a ground pattern, instead of pricking, as done on other carving. Then the beautiful curved ground was introduced, turning itself round and round, the ends of the commas, if I may so call them [the design Menzies is referring to is, of course, the "koru"], which compose nearly all the patterns. Then this was improved upon by making these circular ground patterns with three lines and beads between the three lines; and then deep cutting was introduced to show up the pattern in places.

I wish, also, to point out that there is no trace of nature in Maori carving, it is entirely decorative - like Arab patterns. Then, as to the painted work, especially the many rafter patterns [kowhaiwhai], for nearly all the painted work was done in the roof, inside the Maori houses. In the arrangement of the two colours used, viz.: red and black - the red being a very carefully prepared hematite sifted through leaves, and finely powdered charcoal - both were mixed with fish oil. The pattern in the first and earliest work was shown by a light-colored wood, sometimes with a ground of red and black, so showing the pattern. Then as to the arrangement of these two colours, red and black. They, I think it is evident, were generally arranged so as to break the monotony of the design and a change was often introduced in each panel, or where the pattern repeated itself.

There were terminal patterns at the end of each rafter, at the bow of canoes, and in other places. The design was not, as a rule, made to fit into the space or rafter, but was cut anywhere, and a terminal pattern introduced to end the work. I think that the carving of even small boxes and weapons was painted always, in the old days, and were not finished till so painted. The very old boxes in the British Museum are so painted, as well as carved.

Design #12 from "Maori Patterns" - New Art Print

Maori carving was done in the old days, especially the beautifully and finely carved weapons and boxes, by old men. They sat on a sand-hill, or in some sheltered place, with a small boy to watch for enemies, and carved; they carried the work with them on a journey as well. Also there were guilds of carvers, who went from place to place, and charged a high price for their work, and when the work was finished, each man put his especial mark in one place in the house carved by them, with all the others so employed, in fact, their signatures.

Maori carving long ago was an exceedingly slow and carefully executed work, done without the aid of iron or steel tools; it was done with shells and greenstone, and sometimes burned out, I think, as well. Maori carving was very much admired by the Maoris themselves, and is still; it was of considerable value, as well, amongst them. I think that at the present day many of the young Maoris dread doing Maori carving, not knowing the Karakias; they considered it rather a doubtful art, surrounded by a risk of possible ill-luck [Menzies did not get this prediction right thank goodness!].

I have attempted to collect and perpetuate these beautiful designs, painted and carved, though many of the patterns could be both painted and carved amongst the Maoris. In fact, I think originally the painting was not blocked in, but painted in red and black lines, like the ground pattern in the carving. I have tried my best to very carefully reproduce these beautiful designs. I have carved most of them in wood and stone myself, and have been more and more struck by the good taste and art shown in them. They belong only to New Zealand, and are not found in the other islands inhabited by a people calling themselves Maoris in the Pacific.

I do not pretend that this is a complete collection. There are probably many more patterns, and it now remains for some Maori of good birth to improve upon what I have done; also I do not think that Maori art is composed only of carving and painting. Most beautiful work was done by the Rangatira women, and such work often took years to finish, and was of even greater value than the carving done by the men, and I do hope that some Maori woman of good birth and wealth will publish a book of Maori mat patterns (there are Maori women of means and good birth who could do so) before these beautiful designs are lost."

J. H. Menzies

All of this brand new series of art prints from "Maori Patterns: Painted and Carved" including the designs pictured in this article are listed for sale in the Maori art collection at New Zealand Fine Prints.  

Lester Hall prints now in stock

Lester Hall is one of NZ's most politically aware artists. Hall first systematically investigated the themes of Maori/Pakeha relations and history in his early 2000s "Hoaries and Whities" series but it is his development of these ideas into his "Aoteroaland" series that has seen him become one of the highest profile contemporary printmakers in NZ.

In Aotearoaland, Lester says, "a "third space" is created, outside the dogmatic stupidity and hypocrisy of exclusively Maori or Euro frameworks and a blended outcome is searched for. Not sameness but unity and identity. I believe the idea of separate development is outrageous controlling of outcome for individuals who otherwise would make fine lives for themselves in a culturally hybrid frame of reference." Hall thinks that we have been slack in mining our own countries rich historical past for heros and and legends, chiefs such as Hongi Hika who was a "master strategist, a highly intelligent man, a brilliant commander, a desperado…it's exciting real Boys Own adventure stuff. But were we told stories about him? No, we were told stories about Geronimo and General Custer" (interview with the Northern Advocate Feb 2010).

He has been accurately described by Northland's Stingray magazine as an "artist provocateur", they quoted Hall saying "The old myths of popular New Zealand history need to be aired and flung out as silly and not realistic". He says "The artworks are my map into my subconscious and back out through the historical narrative that lies just beneath the veneer of our daily life."

Lester Hall's prints have caused controversy over the use of Maori images (similar to the debate about Goldie paintings being reproduced as prints - see our previous article on the ongoing Goldie prints controversy) and exhibitions have attracted letters of complaint and accusations of being offensive. However Hall's art is not always shocking or provocative, as he says he "sometimes paints tough ideas in pretty colours in an attempt to bring more and more Pakeha Kiwis especially, to the scary conversation of who we all are." Hall's kiwiana prints like the popular "Miss Kiwiana" are much lighter in tone than some of his more radical artworks.

Hall paints and makes prints from his house/studio in the Far North, a large corrugated iron shed with an apartment like interior that has featured in interior design magazines.

Robyn Kahukiwa receives Maori Arts Board award

Robyn Kahukiwa

The Māori Arts Board of Creative New Zealand holds the eponymous Te Waka Toi awards ceremony at Wellington Town Hall each year.

Last Saturday 3 September 2011 painter and printmaker Robyn Kahukiwa was awarded the prestigious Te Tohu Toi Ke award (the award for making a difference) for "challenging and broadening perceptions of Maori art". Her official citation lauded her 30 year career "challenging and broadening perceptions of Maori art" through the "creative innovation and international profiling of contemporary Maori art and issues ".  It's a recognition of Robyn's contribution to Maori art and New Zealand art generally and all of us here at New Zealand Fine Prints would like to congratulate her on this honour.

According to maorinews.com the annual Creative New Zealand Te Waka Toi Awards are the only national Maori arts awards to celebrate all art forms. Established in 1986, they recognise achievement in areas including writing, composition, oratory, performing, object and visual arts. Two scholarships are also awarded to emerging artists.

Te Waka Toi is the Māori Arts Board of Creative New Zealand. We read with some amusement on the Creative NZ website that the Maori Arts Board claim to be responsible for the "development of Māori art and artists in New Zealand" - apparently through its role in "investing in contestable funding" developing "initiatives" and the delivery of "tailored programmes".  We thought that the people responsible for the ongoing development of Maori art and artists in New Zealand were the collectors who purchased their artworks enabling them to keep being creative...

Auckland Printmaker Brad Novak Edition Sellout

Brad Novak with his print Tiki with Danaus Plexippus Wings 1.1

Auckland printmaker Brad Novak's print Tiki with Danaus Plexippus Wings 1.1 was the first edition by this talented NZ printmaker - and now it is the first print edition by Novak to sell out. Just two prints from the edition are available nationwide this morning, one of which is in stock at New Zealand Fine Prints. 

Brad's first art print, this image of a Tiki with Monarch Butterfly wings was completed at Artrite Studios in 2008 (see picture of Brad celebrating the completion of the print at right). The artist says "screenprinting is a great process - took me a while to get my head around it but Tony Ogle and Michael Smither were kind enough to have me learn from them for a few days and that helped a lot!" At the time of the prints release Brad told us that "This image [Tiki with Danaus Plexippus Wings 1.1] has been one I have envisioned in my mind’s eye for a while and I am very pleased with the final results. Inspiration came from my own education as an adult about the history of Aotearoa/New Zealand before and after European settlement. I chose to name the Monarch Butterfly, introduced to NZ in the late 19th century, by its scientific name (Danaus Plexippus). This is a nod to my own background (and ongoing work in medicine/science) and a tribute to the often overlooked or misrepresented facts regarding Maori history (and indeed the history of all NZ). This butterfly and Tiki motif represents the growth in my own personal knowledge about Maori culture (and the opening of my own eyes to the many truths that history portrays) and the determination of Maori to continue sustaining and cultivating their culture and language in Aotearoa/NZ in the face of colonisation. And finally – I really thought it would make a cool image!”

In May Novak completed his latest print "Reservoir Dogs of NZ" - an idea that came to him while on holiday in the UK. Brad says he is really happy with the final artwork for Reservoir Dogs of NZ - he "tried lots of different birds before settling on the combination I did" - deciding on the Tui, Kiwi, Whio, Huia, Shag and Albatross in a print that also references the Waiting for Buller series of paintings by Christchurch painter Bill Hammond.

Robyn Kahukiwa - print by NZ's leading Maori artist released today

Today Robyn Kahukiwa is continuing her sought after series of large scale prints in small editions with the latest release, Kahukura.   Robyn says about this new print (shown here below, right) that "this 10 colour screenprint printed on Fabriano Artistico [watercolour paper that is double-sized 100% cotton and acid-free ] is part of a Native NZ series I have been painting for the last few years. Kahukura is the Maori name of the red admiral butterfly, and the Maori woman is shown with a kauwae or facial tattoo". There are only 30 prints in this edition which is being released today.

Kahukiwa is a contemporary Maori artist of Ngati Porou, Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti, Ngati Hau, Ngati Konohi and Whanau-a-Ruataupare descent. The background notes for a recent exhibtion at Dunedin's Hocken Library describe her beginning painting in 1967 as a young housebound mother in Greymouth. Kahukiwa's early influences included Paul Gauguin, Colin McCahon, and later, Frida Kahlo, but her individual style developed entirely without formal training.  Much of her artwork is familiar to most New Zealanders from posters and books as well as her paintings in major art gallery collections throughout NZ. Kahukiwa wrote and illustrated children's books such as Taniwha (1986), Paikea (1993), The Koroua and the Mauri Stone (1994) and Kehua (1996). In collaboration with writer Patricia Grace, she produced The Kuia and the Spider (1981) Watercress Tuna and the Children of Champion Street (1981), and Wahine Toa: Women in Maori Myth (1984). The curator of the Hocken exhibition wrote that "The importance of Maori knowing their whakapapa (ancestral lineage) is a dominant thread in Kahukiwa's work. She seeks to overlay the sense of disenfranchisement and flagging self-esteem felt by many Maori, with messages and symbols of hope, strength, and celebration." Her publisher, Reed Books, says that Robyn Kahukiwa has been painting and exhibiting art that celebrates contemporary socio-cultural issues that are "central to the Maori experience in Aotearoa New Zealand today but equally relevant to all indigenous peoples of the world; ranging over issues such as colonialism and the dispossession of indigenous people, motherhood and bloodties, social custom, mythology and political activism. "

Current head of Elam School of Fine Arts at the University of Auckland, past Museum of New Zealand's Director of Art and Visual Culture and honoury Kaitiaki Maori (Curator of Maori Art at the Christchurch Art Gallery) Jonathan Mane-Wheoki has written of Robyn Kahukiwa that "No contemporary Maori woman artist is better known than Robyn Kahukiwa. Her images fit simultaneously into four different cultural contexts, those of Maori women's art, contemporary Maori art, contemporary New Zealand art and international indigenous art."

It's not just New Zealand art critics who laud the work of Robyn Kahukiwa. Leading British art critic and prolific writer Edward Lucie-Smith has published more than a hundred books in all, including more than sixty books about art, chiefly but not exclusively about contemporary work. He is generally regarded as the most prolific and the most widely published writer on art with sales for some titles totaling over 250,000 copies. A number of his art books, among them Movements in Art since 1945 , Visual Arts of the 20th Century, A Dictionary of Art Terms and Art Today are used as standard texts throughout the world. He has written extensively about Kahukiwa's work and sees both Gauguin and Deigo Rivera as key figures in the context of Robyn Kahukiwa's work.  Like Rivera he sees Kahukiwa walking a tightrope stretched "between the desire to produce something that not only seemed indigenous but actually was so – in other words something true to a fundamental notion of [Maori-ness] – but also something comprehensible within the conventions of post-Renaissance European art." Lucie-Smith writes "when one looks at the evolution of her work one sees not only a restless exploration of new media and new ways of making art, but a determination both to make emphatically public works, which speak not only for herself but for the whole Maori community, as well as others designed primarily for private contemplation, Kahukiwa is one of a small but highly original and influential group of women painters of Maori descent who have greatly extended the range of recent New Zealand art, they have been able to speak to both communities – Maori and Pakeha."

Robyn has already had the honour of two nationwide touring solo exhibitions of her work, Wahine Toa (1983) and Mauri Ora (2002).

We are delighted to stock both Robyn's smaller, more affordable, series of limited edition screenprints on handmade paper and all three of her larger scale prints that are currently available in the Robyn Kahukiwa collection and all of Kahukiwa's prints are featured in our Maori art gallery.  Please note however that there is only one print of Tino Rangatiratanga Tiki left in the edition - please order promptly to avoid disappointment.

Queen with Moko Print

One of our prints - Queen with Moko by Barry Ross Smith has hit the national news via the Manawatu Standard's article that has been picked up Stuff.co.nz - the main news website for Fairfax media. Over 60 comments on the article already - mostly positive so far.  We'll see where this goes...

Whanau - a new print from artist Robyn Kahukiwa

Robyn Kahukiwa is arguably Aotearoa-New Zealand's leading contemporary female maori artist.

Her tribal affiliations include Ngati Porou, Te Aitanga a Hauiti, Ngati Konohi and Te Whanau a Ruataupare. Kahukiwa has an extensive record of sell-out exhibitions over her long career. She has been active in celebrating the strength and vitality of Maori ancestry and ideas and her art has always involved reflections on maori women and of motherhood.

Robyn Kahukiwa's new June 2009 print Whanau is a bold celebration of family identity screenprinted onto beautiful handmade paper. We have many low numbered prints from this new edition from one of our most popular artists in stock this morning.