Cultural Pluralism
It's a sociological term describing a condition where minority groups are fully integrated into the dominant society, while maintaining their cultural individuality.
Retrieved on 01 September 2011 from
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cultural+pluralism
2. How would you describe New Zealand's current dominant culture?
I would describe it as western. And although largely multi cultural, it is definetly a predominantly western culture, swayed a little more towards caucasians, which is perhaps due to New Zealands background as a British colony.
3. Before 1840, what was New Zealand's dominant culture?
I suppose it was Maori. Even though there were by that time, quite a few well established European settlements around the country, the dominant culture was Maori. That is however, probably based more on numbers that actual cultural influence, because one could argue that even back then, european culture had a bigger impact on maori culture than vice versa, in which case the european culture would have to have been the dominant culture. Or at the very least, the more influential of the two cultures.
4. How does the Treaty of Waitangi relate to us all as artists and designers working
in New Zealand?
I think that depends on the context. In a historical context, I guess it relates to all artists in the sense that the treaty of waitangi made it possible for europeans and maoris to co exist side by side and make artwork together, and influence one another mutually, because without the treaty, who knows what kind of country this would be right now; maybe europeans would have simply conquered the whole country and squashed maori culture, in which case there wouldn't be any maori influence in our aesthetic sensibilities, or maybe the british would have decided to simply leave this little island alone, in which case none of us would be here making art in the first place.
And in the context of artistic sensibilities, I think it affects some artists more than others. Sure, the treaty of waitangi played a huge part in enabling maori and european culture to intertwine, and thus create a national aesthetic which is strongly influenced by the visual style of maori patterns and designs. But times have moved on, and these days most of our art is influenced by american movies, music, and video games, so I think a lot of artists are not directly influenced by maori culture anyways. Tese days, the treary's influence on artistic sensibilities is probably only relevant for artists who have a direct interest in making art which deals with the subject matter of our cultural heritage and so forth.
Overall though, the Treaty of waitangi certainly does provide a cultural context to which all art made in this country can be sociologically back tracked to.
5. How can globalization be seen as having a negative effect on regional diversity in New Zealand in particular?
I think it is not just globalization itself, but also the technological advancements that come with it, which are threatening to subdue regional cultural diversity. The problem is that these days, with the internet, and facebook and youtube, everyone around the world seems to be connected to a universal stream of media, where everything blends into a sort of instant global culture for everyone. That is to say, because every culture and its manifestations is now instantly accessible from anywhere around the world, it loses some of its mystique. And instead of existing as an individual diverse regional culture, it gets swallowed up and becomes a minor part of today's online global culture, where every aspect of humanity is a constantly accessible stream of youtube videos.
6. Shane Cotton's paintings are said to examine the cultural landscape. Research Cotton's work 'Welcome'(2004) and 'Forked Tongue' (2011) to analyze what he is saying about colonialization and the Treaty of Waitangi.
Shane cotton began researching his Ngapuhi background in the late nineties, and since then he's had keen interest in the subject matter of colonization , maori cultural heritage, etc. 'Welcome' is a clear reflection of this. Shane otton is obviously making some kind of deep statement about the influence of western culture or religion coming in and influencing maori traditions. I just don't know what the statement is exactly. It has been said that Shane Cotton likes to keep his works deliberately vague, and open for interpretation.
But wait a minute, I just noticed that the four symbols actualy form a cross, with the head of Jesus Christ at the top. And I also noticed that the maori head looks like a shrunken head, or perhaps a dead maori warrior who looks like he's been embalmed. So perhaps there's some kind of message going on here that western religion/culture came into this land, and has put the maori warrior to rest, so to speak. In other words, the maori warrior of tradition is now resting peacefully beneath the influence of western culture, or jesus, who is looking over the entire land which is represented by the fantails. There is in fact, an almost sinister undertone to the whole piece, one of victory and defeat between one tradition and another. Maybe. that's as far as I'm willing to specultate. I'm sure Shane Cotton left it vague for a reason after all.
'Forked Tongue'
'Forked Tongue' is a perfect example of Cotton's taste for ambiguity. There are clear connotations of cultural subjects and themes being evoked here, but one is not quite sure what is being said exactly. Cotton's favourite subject matter has always been New Zealand's cultural landscape, and his place in it. But in his earlier paintings, pre 1990 specifically', he would often make the meanings of his paintings more clear, through the liberal use of symbols and sometimes even text. These days however, he seems to prefer more subtlety and ambiguity, as this painting shows. And looking at 'Forked Tongue', I have to admit that I have no idea what he is saying. I could make something up, but it would be rampant speculation at best.
"In his more recent work he has developed a more refined symbolism which operates at a subtle and less direct level." John Daly Peoples
7. Tony Albert's installation 'Sorry' (2008) reflect the effects of colonization on the aboriginal people of Australia. Research the work and comment on what Albert is communicating through his work, and what he is referring to. Describe the materials that Albert uses on this installation and say what he hopes his work can achieve. Define the term 'kitsch'.
'SORRY' was made by gluing 'kitsch' objects depicting
aboriginal faces, such as trinketts, ashtrays, souvenirs, etc
onto large black acrylic letters.
["My work is always about appropriation, that's why it exists," Albert says. "The Sorry work is about my personal collection which, in a way, was always a comfort to me. There were images of Aboriginal people around me and my collecting these objects was my way of marking my respect."]
taken from 'The Australian' march 2009
This work actually represents a step backwards for Tony Albert because at the time he was commisioned for this project, he was planning to move on and explore new mediums. But by that time he had also famously collected a million items of aboriginal paraphernalia and so he made this work as a way of paying tribute, not only to aboriginal culture in general, but also to a time in his life where he had comfort and success, because by then he had found some recognition for making works in the same vein as 'Sorry'.
The work is itself is kind of an ironic statement on prime minister Kevin Rudd's 2008 apology to the australian indeginous people. It's ironic in the sense that he uses 'kitsch' representations of aboriginal faces to form the word 'sorry'. 'Kitsch' in this case referring to the somewhat stereotypical, and slightly derogatory way in which aboriginal characters had been portrayed in australian culture, particularly on the sort of trinketts sold to tourists which Albert utilized a lot of for this piece.
"Each (face) represents a false identity, manufactured black faces made to fit white society." taken from Queensland art gallery. com
It's also ironic in the sense that the aboriginal people are still waiting for real changes in australian society before being able to accept the prime minister's 'sorry' as just words.
8. Explain how the work of both artists relates to pluralism.
The works of both Tony Albert and Shane Cotton are good examples of pluralism at work. Both artists are fully integrated into the the dominant society of their culture because both of them are thriving and finding recognition within the infrastructure of western society; western art gallerys, financial infrastructure, media exposure and so forth. But at the same time both artists are being able to remain true to their individual cultural backgrounds, and are expressing the heritage of their respective minorities.
REFERENCES:
http://qag.qld.gov.au/collection/indigenous_australian_art/tony_albert
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/arts/curios-of-the-contemporary/story-e6frg8n6-111111915152
http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/shane-cotton-paintings-examine-cultural-landscape-126412
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Drb9RbW3Tw
http://www.flickr.com/photos/artimageslibrary/5456472216/
http://thearts.co.nz/artist_page.php&aid=24
http://www.gowlangsfordgallery.co.nz/editions/shanecotton.asp
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