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In this course, art histories in Aotearoa New Zealand are explored through looking at a range of works deriving from Maori, Paheka, and Pacific traditions. These paintings, sculptures, and buildings have been selected for their rich entanglements with debates around art, culture, and society, and the course links these works and their creators with broader contexts, both in Aotearoa New Zealand and overseas.
As the name Kiwi Icons suggests, the course will focus on a series of significant works of art and architecture from the history of New Zealand art, beginning with Māori art of the pre-contact period and advancing to the work of contemporary Māori, Pakeha and Pacific artists across a range of media. The course will, however, mainly focus on the ways in which Māori culture and art have intersected with European art traditions developed and adapted in Aotearoa. Subjects to be discussed will include works such as Te Hau ki Turanga, the Waitangi Treaty House, Charles Heaphy’s Mount Egmont, Rita Angus’s Cass and Michael Tuffery’s Canned beef. While many of the works examined will be familiar to many students, others are chosen to challenge students’ ideas of the bi-cultural character of art in Aotearoa and what constitutes an iconic work of art. Each work will be examined within the framework of the artistic production of its time as well as within its social, political and wider cultural context. Many of the works selected will be available for students to see at first hand, either in the Christchurch Art Gallery or in the streets of the city. Others will be well-known works in major national institutions such as Te Papa, or works that every New Zealander will know, such as the Waitangi Treaty House. One of the key aims of the course will be to give students an understanding of the complex interaction of materials, forms, symbols and ideas that go into the making of works of art and give them an appreciation of the ways in which art conveys meaning and also how meanings can change over time. The course is equally well-suited to students who have no prior knowledge of Art History as it is to those who have studied the discipline before. As well as looking at art historical subject matter, the course draws on a range of different art historical methodologies, in order to consider each ‘icon’ in various ways.
This course is designed to help participants develop:an understanding of the constructed and culturally-specific nature of knowledge about art and artistic appreciation, in particular notions such as ‘toi’, ‘art’, ‘icon’, etcan understanding of the role of institutions in constructing art histories in Aotearoa, and what this has meant for conceptualisations of Māori and Pakeha art understanding of the relationships and tensions between meanings in New Zealand artworks, and institutional frameworksunderstanding and appreciation of biculturalism in Aotearoa as expressed in and shaped by the history of the visual artsunderstanding the art traditions of Māori and Pakeha and their relations in the art of Aotearoa understanding of how colonialism affected the art of Aotearoaunderstanding of the key methodological and theoretical debates that have shaped the study of art history in AotearoaThe ability to critically evaluate evidence and present well-reasoned argumentsDevelop strong communication, research and visual/object analysis skills.
This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attributes specified below:
Critically competent in a core academic discipline of their award
Students know and can critically evaluate and, where applicable, apply this knowledge to topics/issues within their majoring subject.
Biculturally competent and confident
Students will be aware of and understand the nature of biculturalism in Aotearoa New Zealand, and its relevance to their area of study and/or their degree.
15 points at 100-level Art History and Theory and any 15 points from the BA schedule; or 45 points from the Arts schedule; or by approval of the Head of Department
ARTH110
Barbara Garrie
Richard Bullen and Rosie Ibbotson
There is no set text for this course. A reading list will be provided.(Image: Rita Angus, "Untitled - Mountain Biological Station, Cass". University of Canterbury Art Collection.)
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Domestic fee $746.00
International fee $3,038.00
* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.
For further information see Humanities .