Whiti o Rehua School of Art<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Massey\u2019s unique Toioho ki \u0100piti Bachelor of M\u0101ori Visual Arts programme not only teaches students how to be artists, but also covers M\u0101ori art history, language, culture and tikanga, with the aim of producing well- rounded, contemporary M\u0101ori art practitioners. \u2018This means that as well as their studio classes, students also study subjects such as te reo M\u0101ori, customary M\u0101ori art and the Treaty of Waitangi,\u2019 said Israel Birch from the School of Art. \u2018Some of the students may not have had access to their language before, so we try to build up their knowledge of te reo M\u0101ori, and with language comes tikanga, or M\u0101ori customs. The hope is to foster students\u2019 identity, which is tied to wellbeing.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The degree is made up of four parts. The first-year kaupapa is Mana Whakapapa, or genealogy. \u2018Mana is your worth, your prestige, so this means focusing on who you are, where you come from, and your connections to people and the environment, which immediately grounds your work in your identity,\u2019 said Birch. Next is Mana Tiriti, which aims to activate students\u2019 political selves and what this means in Aotearoa New Zealand, such as understanding Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the wider political world. The third part of the degree is Mana Whenua, or understanding students\u2019 relationship to the land and the environment. \u2018Our course is a kaupapa M\u0101ori conceptual art school. As an example, our students look at our relationship to land at a conceptual level, so we might challenge the students to research what type of land or whenua they eat, or what type of whenua they wear in terms of clothing, and to create works that respond to this research.\u2019 The final part of the degree is Mana Tangata, which is about utilising knowledge to uplift people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018The type of work that we\u2019re trying to create is conceptual. In a traditional art school, you might learn how to paint a mountain that looks like a mountain. But at our school, we ask the students to research their maunga [mountain] as a foundational element of their whakapapa and identity. This is one way of affirming themselves as tangata whenua [people of the land]. We\u2019re really privileged at Toioho ki \u0100piti, because we\u2019ve got quite a small school, so we can take students to meet different artists, to attend w\u0101nanga [discussions] and we can share our practice with them. This is the twenty-fifth year the course has been running, and some of the best M\u0101ori art practitioners have come out of our school.\u2019<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
Although Birch is a practising artist, he views his teaching as even more important, particularly the trust and freedom he has been given to be creative within the teaching practice. \u2018It\u2019s really open and quite diverse, and that\u2019s what keeps it exciting,\u2019 he said. \u2018However, I do a lot of other artwork. My father was a master carver. He carved houses, waka and many other customary M\u0101ori artworks. My work is also carving, but in a contemporary way with stainless steel. Light is the primary fascination in my practice, called painting with light. M\u0101ori believe that we\u2019re no different to plants \u2014 we need the earth to grow, and we need pure water, and we need light to exist. I\u2019m also interested in how religions use the symbolism of light and dark, and M\u0101ori ideas of light and dark within our culture and spiritualism.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Currently, Birch is involved in the design of the new marae at Massey\u2019s Wellington campus. \u2018The goal is to transfer my painting practice to architecture, and I\u2019m helping to lead the building of the wharekai, the dining hall. The theme is about Tangaroa and Hinemoana, who are the deities associated with the ocean, so I\u2019m wanting to build a house that moves like the ocean. To work on a marae project as a M\u0101ori art practitioner is culturally the pinnacle of my practice. I\u2019m very lucky to be participating in this project with some amazing artists.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Birch is also working on a sculpture commission for Te Rau Tauawhi: M\u0101ori Student Support in Palmerston North, and recently participated with his daughter Cyan in Street Prints International Arts Festival Te Papaioea, where 10 international artists and 40 Palmerston North youth painted 20 large-scale murals around the city. Birch\u2019s work can be seen on the side of the Oranga Tamariki building at 313 Church Street. He is also planning an exhibition this year at the Milford Gallery in Dunedin themed around ideas about rangim\u0101rie \u2014 peace. \u2018Peace is really important at the moment; there are a lot of challenges in the world. The world needs to slow down and reflect on peace and kindness, and to get back to our basic human needs and show manaakitanga \u2014 caring for each other.\u2019<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISRAEL BIRCH Ng\u0101puhi, Ng\u0101ti Kahungunu, Ng\u0101i Tawake, Ng\u0101ti Rakaipaaka Whiti o Rehua School of Art Massey\u2019s unique Toioho ki \u0100piti Bachelor of M\u0101ori Visual Arts programme not only teaches students how to be artists, but also covers M\u0101ori art history, language, culture and tikanga, with the aim of producing well- rounded, contemporary M\u0101ori art practitioners. … Continue reading Teaching and practising contemporary M\u0101ori art<\/span>