How does the environment shape the culture of new zealand?

Answer 1

NZ art reflects the things going on in New Zealands culture at that time..

Before the arrival of the Europeans (about 1870 in any numbers) the Maori had a highly developed culture in music, oral literature, painting and in particular, sculpture and carving in wood and natural stone. Their art was highly symbolic and meaningful. They did not merely represent an image, but also told a story. They have a deep empathy with the land and the sea, and their art is strongly based on natural imagery. Geneology is important.

Early Pakeha (New Zealand European) artists painted in a predominantly European style. The only difference between Pakeha art of the late 1800s and English art of the late 1800s is the setting and content; style is the same. This reflects how many New Zealanders at the time either were British, or viewed themselves as British citizens in another part of the world. Much of early Pakeha art was done in water colours by amateur artists as the civilization wasn't built up enough for professional artists to be able to make a living yet. At this time there were no art galleries. Water colours were more popular than oil paints due to the fact they could be taken into the bush/on a farm/up a mountain easily, and at this time most Pakeha lived in rustic rural settings.

One famous artist of the late nineteenth to early twentieth centuries was C.F. Goldie, born in Auckland in 1870. Goldie is famous for his paintings of high status, normally elderly Maori, which were undertaken in part because of a belief that Maori were "dying out", and their traditions and culture should be recorded. His paintings are somewhat controversial, but continue to be popular, and show something of the effect that interactions between European and Maori cultures had on New Zealand art.

During the 1930s Pakeha culture went through a dramatic change that was reflected in art and literature. Pakeha began to identify as a unique culture; no longer simply as British people in a foreign land. They began to look at the land and view it in another way, seeing a freshness in New Zealand that was absent from industrialised Europe. This movement in art was called 'Regional Realism'. Artists tried to capture the 'fresh, crisp' light that they believed was unique to NZ. This resulted in artworks that had blocky colour and little tonal gradation. Rita Angus's 'Cass' is a good example of this cartoonesque style. Another common feature of this art movement was themes of isolation and loneliness that many rural Pakeha felt at this time. In William Sutton's 'Nor' Wester in the Cemetary' there are no people present, showing a feeling of rural isolation. The graves allude to the generations of previous settlers who lived on the land. In 'Cass' there is one solitary figure dwarfed by the vast landscape he is surrounded by. The incomplete traintracks nearby show that civilization hasn't reached out that far yet. Regional Realist artworks tend to completely ignore any sign of Maori inhabitation of NZ, focusing on the developing Pakeha culture and the relationship between the rural Pakeha community and the land. Toss Woolaston, Rita Angus and William Sutton are all famous Regionalists. The Regionalist movement centered around Canterbury (though Woolaston was from Wellington) which was fitting as it was a predominantly Pakeha region.

Also recently, Pacific culture, particularly Samoan. has become more prominent in the arts in New Zealand, reflecting the growing influence of Polynesian culture in NZ. Artists such as Loni Hutchinson make artworks that reflect the struggles and challenges of Pacific Islanders in NZ, and their growing sense of separate identity. This is similar to the changes undergone by Pakeha NZ in the Regional Realist phase. John Pule is another famous Pasifika artists who works with traditionally Polynesian style (ink on tapa cloth) to tell stories of Immigration and religion. Micheal Tuffery created a cow made of corn beef cans (it's currently at Te Papa) that reflected the influence of foreign goods (corn beef) on Pacific Islands culture, and how many Polynesians now rely heavily on imported foreign goods.

The art of NZ is therefore a reflection of the changes that the culture of New Zealand; Maori, Pakeha and Pacific Islander, have gone through. It is entirely unique to New Zealand.

Answer 2

New Zealand is a bicultural country consisting of two cultures, Maori and Pakeha (non-Maori). Maori is the unique culture of New Zealand.

Answer 3

Maori are the indigenous people of New Zealand.

Answer 4

The environment shapes New Zealand in a few ways. The shape from New Zealand is from keeping it clean and green.