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THE PACIFIC

(700 - 1980 C.E.)

Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia, and Hawaii

CONTENT: What do you see?

FORM: The details (what you see more exactly). How the artist delivers the content.

CONTEXT: Everything NOT observable.

FUNCTION: The intended purpose of the work.

Assignments:

READINGS: 

UNIT Sheet: below

 

SNAPSHOT SHEET: 

 

SmartHistory's  - Art of Oceania including Polynesia, Melanesia, and Mircronesia.

 

 

 

 

The Pacific Unit Sheet:

The Pacific Unit Sheet:

APAH 250 Images:

(From earlier Prehistoric Unit):

9.  The Ambum Stone

11. Terra cotta fragment

Applied Art:

221. Navigation chart

219. Hiapo (tapa)

220. Tamati Waka Nene Gottfried Lindauer

 

Objects of Power and Authority:

215. 'Ahu 'ula (feather cape)

223. Presentation of Fijian mats and

        tapa cloth to Queen Elizabeth II

Sacred Objects of Ritual and Performance:
216. Staff god

         - staff god (contextual image)

217. Female deity

218. Buk (mask)

222. Malagan mask

         - Malagan display 

Structures of Power and Authority:

213. Nan Madol

214. Moai on platform (ahu)

•deity: a god

•tapu: objects that project status

•tatu / tatau: tattoo (the first to wear those famous designs were likely the Lapita)

•mana: a person’s vital force

•malangan: refers to both the memorial ceremonies carried out after burial and mourning and the masks, figures, and posts made for use in these ceremonies

•tatanua masks: masks symbolic of important subjects including identity, kinship, gender, death, and the spirit world

•moai: monolithic statues

•pukao: the top knots placed on some moai statues on Easter Island

•monolith: a large, single upright block of stone often shaped into a pillar or monument

•‘ahu ’ula: “red cloak” refers to the red color associated with royalty in Hawaii

•Lapita: an ancient Pacific culture believed to be the common ancestor of the contemporary cultures of Polynesia, Micronesia, and some areas of Melanesia.

Vocabulary:

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

A very special thank you to Dr. Robert Coad for his infinite wisdom, amazing workshops, gift of materials and time, and years of support.

Another special thank you to Ms. Marsha Russell for her devotion to teaching and generosity in sharing her materials and knowledge with all of us.

Thank you to Valerie Park for her inspirational AP Art History web site that guided the creation of this site.

And finally, if you choose to use any of the images or information from this site, I ask that you kindly give me credit.  Thank you for visiting!

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