Oceanic Arts
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Oceanic art or Oceanian art comprises the creative works made by the native people of the
Pacific Islands The Pacific islands are a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean. They are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of several ...
and
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, including areas as far apart as
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
and
Easter Island Easter Island (, ; , ) is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is renowned for its nearly 1,000 extant monumental statues, ...
. Specifically it comprises the works of the two groups of people who settled the area, though during two different periods. They would in time however, come to interact and together reach even more remote islands. The area is often broken down into four separate regions:
Micronesia Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of approximately 2,000 small islands in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: Maritime Southeast Asia to the west, Poly ...
,
Melanesia Melanesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends from New Guinea in the west to the Fiji Islands in the east, and includes the Arafura Sea. The region includes the four independent countries of Fiji, Vanu ...
,
Polynesia Polynesia ( , ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of more than 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are called Polynesians. They have many things in ...
and
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
. Australia, along with interior Melanesia (Papua), are populated by descendants of the first waves of human migrations into the region by Australo-Melanesians. Micronesia,
Island Melanesia Island Melanesia is a subregion of Melanesia in Oceania. It is located east of New Guinea island, from the Bismarck Archipelago to New Caledonia.Steadman, 2006. ''Extinction & biogeography of tropical Pacific birds'' See also Archaeology a ...
, and
Polynesia Polynesia ( , ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of more than 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are called Polynesians. They have many things in ...
, on the other hand, are descendants of later Austronesian voyagers who intermixed with native Australo-Melanesians; mostly via the
Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...
Lapita culture The Lapita culture is the name given to a Neolithic Austronesian peoples, Austronesian people and their distinct material culture, who settled Island Melanesia via a seaborne migration at around 1600 to 500 BCE. The Lapita people are believed t ...
. All of the regions in later times would be greatly affected by western influence and colonization. In more recent times, the people of
Oceania Oceania ( , ) is a region, geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Mainland Australia is regarded as its co ...
have found a greater appreciation of their region's artistic heritage. The artistic creations of these people varies greatly throughout the cultures and regions. The subject matter typically carries themes of fertility or the supernatural. Art such as masks were used in religious ceremonies or social rituals.
Petroglyphs A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...
,
Tattooing A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the Human skin, skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several Process of ...
, painting, wood carving, stone carving and textile work are other common art forms. Contemporary Pacific art is alive and well, encompassing traditional styles, symbols, and materials, but now imagined in a diversity of contemporary forms, revealing the complexity of geographic, cultural and individual interaction and history.


Overview

Art of Oceania properly encompasses the artistic traditions of the people indigenous to Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. The ancestors of the people of these islands came from Southeast Asia by two different groups at separate times. The first, an
Australo-Melanesian Australo-Melanesians (also known as Australasians or the Australomelanesoid, Australoid or Australioid race) is an outdated historical grouping of various people indigenous to Melanesia and Australia. Controversially, some groups found in parts ...
people and the ancestors of modern-day
Melanesians Melanesians are the predominant and Indigenous peoples of Oceania, indigenous inhabitants of Melanesia, in an area stretching from New Guinea to the Fiji Islands. Most speak one of the many languages of the Austronesian languages, Austronesian l ...
and Australian Aboriginals, came to
New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...
and Australia about 40,000 to 60,000 years ago. The Melanesians expanded as far as the northern
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...
by 38,000 BC. The second wave, the ocean-voyaging
Austronesian peoples The Austronesian people, sometimes referred to as Austronesian-speaking peoples, are a large group of peoples who have settled in Taiwan, maritime Southeast Asia, parts of mainland Southeast Asia, Micronesia, coastal New Guinea, Island Melan ...
from
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
, would not come for another 30,000 years. They would come to interact and together reach even the most remote Pacific islands. These early peoples lacked a writing system, and made works on perishable materials, so few records of them exist from this time. Oceanic peoples traditionally did not see their work in the western concept of "art", but rather created objects for the practical purpose of use in religious or social ceremonies, or for use in everyday life.
Hutchinson Encyclopedia The ''Hutchinson Encyclopedia'' is an English-language general encyclopedia. It is a single volume designed for use in the home, libraries and schools. It attempts to be readable by reducing the use of technical language. A small subset of the En ...

Oceanic art
. Retrieved on June 23, 2006.
By 1500 BC the Austronesian
Lapita culture The Lapita culture is the name given to a Neolithic Austronesian peoples, Austronesian people and their distinct material culture, who settled Island Melanesia via a seaborne migration at around 1600 to 500 BCE. The Lapita people are believed t ...
, descendants of the second wave, would begin to expand and spread into the more remote islands. At around the same time, art began to appear in New Guinea, including the earliest examples of sculpture in Oceania. The period from 1000 BC on, the Lapita people would consolidate and begin to create the contemporary Polynesian cultures of
Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...
,
Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...
, and
Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...
. They would from there venture further out into the Pacific and settle the
Marquesas The Marquesas Islands ( ; or ' or ' ; Marquesan: ' ( North Marquesan) and ' ( South Marquesan), both meaning "the land of men") are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the southern Pacific ...
and Northern Cook Islands between 200 BC and 1 AD. Additionally from about 1000 BC, trade between the Pacific Islands and mainland Asia was growing, and starting 600 BC, works of the Dongson culture of
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
, known for their bronze working, can be found in Oceania, and their imagery has a strong influence on the indigenous artistic tradition. Records to 1000 AD continue to be few, however most artistic tradition are continued to this point, such as New Guinea sculpture and Australian rock art, although the period is characterized by increasing trade and interaction as well as new areas being settled, including Hawaii, Easter Island, Tahiti, and New Zealand. Starting around 1100 AD, the people of Easter Island would begin construction of nearly 900
moai Moai or moʻai ( ; ; ) are monolithic human figures carved by the Rapa Nui people on Easter Island, Rapa Nui (Easter Island) in eastern Polynesia between the years 1250 and 1500. Nearly half are still at Rano Raraku, the main moai quarry, but h ...
(large stone statues). At about 1200 AD, the people of Pohnpei, a Micronesian island, would embark on another megalithic construction, building
Nan Madol Nan Madol is an archaeological site adjacent to the eastern shore of the island of Pohnpei, now part of the Madolenihmw district of Pohnpei state in the Federated States of Micronesia in the western Pacific Ocean. Nan Madol was the capital o ...
, a city of artificial islands and a system of canals. By 1500, the first European explorers begin to reach Oceania. Although previous artistic and architectural traditions are continued, the various regions would begin to diverge and record more distinct cultures.


Prehistoric

The rock art of First Australians is the longest continuously practiced artistic tradition in the world. These sites, found in
Arnhem Land Arnhem Land is a historical region of the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around from the territorial capital, Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin. In 1623, Dutch East India Compa ...
, Australia, are divided into three periods: Pre-Estuarine (c. 40,000?–6000 BC), Estuarine (c. 6000 BC–500 AD), and Fresh Water (c. 500 AD–present). They are dated based on the styles and content of the art. Pre-Estuarine, the oldest, is characterized by imagery in a red ocher pigment. However, by about 6000 BC, increasingly elaborate images begin to appear, marking the beginning of the Estuarine period. These rock paintings served several functions. Some were used in magic, others to increase animal populations for hunting, while some were simply for amusement. One of the more elaborate collections of rock art in this area is the site of Ubirr, a favored camping ground during wet seasons which has had its rock faces painted many times over thousands of years. Sculpture in Oceania first appears on New Guinea as a series of stone figures found throughout the island, but mostly in mountainous highlands. Establishing a chronological timeframe for these pieces in most cases is difficult, but one has been dated to 1500 BC. The content of the sculptures fit into three categories: mortars, pestles, and freestanding figures. The tops of many pestles contain images, often of birds or human heads. Mortars show similar imagery, or sometimes geometric patterns. Freestanding figures again portray similar themes: humans, animals, and phalluses. The original significance of these pieces however, are unknown, but were perhaps used in the context of rituals. Another early culture with an artistic tradition are the Lapita, dating from about 1500 BC to 500 BC, who are thought to be the ancestors of the modern day cultures of
Polynesia Polynesia ( , ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of more than 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are called Polynesians. They have many things in ...
and
Island Melanesia Island Melanesia is a subregion of Melanesia in Oceania. It is located east of New Guinea island, from the Bismarck Archipelago to New Caledonia.Steadman, 2006. ''Extinction & biogeography of tropical Pacific birds'' See also Archaeology a ...
. The culture was formed by the second wave of Oceanic settlers. The name comes from the site of Lapita in
New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...
, which was among the first places its distinctive sculpture would be found. It is debated exactly where the culture developed, but the people themselves originally came from Southeast Asia. Their art is best known by its ceramics, which include elaborate geometric motifs and sometimes anthropomorphic imagery. It is thought some of the designs may be related to modern Polynesian tattoos and barkcloths. They were created by firing a comblike tool that stamped the designs on to wet clay. Each stamp would have one design and would be layered until an elaborate pattern was created. Their usage was primarily, in cooking, serving, and storing food.


Regional


Micronesia

Micronesia comprises second-wave settlers of Oceania, encompassing the people of the islands north of Melanesia, and has an artistic tradition attested to early Austronesian waves from the Philippines and the Lapita culture. Among the most prominent works of the region is the megalithic floating city of Nan Madol. The city began in 1200 AD, and is still being built when European explorers begin to arrive around 1600. The city however, undergoes a decline by around 1800 along with the Saudeleur dynasty, and is abandoned altogether by the 1820s. The 19th century would see the region divided up amongst the colonial powers, however art continued to thrive. Wood carving by men in particular flourishes in the region, creating richly decorated ceremonial houses in
Belau Palau, officially the Republic of Palau, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific Ocean. The Republic of Palau consists of approximately 340 islands and is the western part of the Caroline Islands, w ...
, stylized bowls, canoe ornaments, ceremonial vessels, and sometimes sculptured figures. Women on the other hand created textiles and ornaments like bracelets and headbands. Stylistically, Micronesian art is streamlined and of a practical simplicity to its function, but is typically finished to a high standard of quality. This was mostly to make the best possible use of what few natural materials they had available to them. The first half of the 20th century saw a downturn in Micronesia's cultural integrity and a strong foreign influence from both western and Japanese Imperialist powers. A number of historical artistic traditions, especially sculptural, simply ceased to be practiced. However other art forms continued, including traditional architecture and weaving. But by the second half of the century, independence from colonial powers allows their traditional arts to find a renewed interest and respect from within the region, and a new generation are taught these art forms. There is also a notable movement of contemporary art within Micronesia toward the end of the 20th century. Figure of a god-71.1933.2.1-DSC00192-black.jpg, ''Dinonga eidu'' (idol); circa 1800; wood; height: 35 cm (13 in.); from the
Caroline islands The Caroline Islands (or the Carolines) are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically, they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) in the cen ...
; Musée du quai Branly (
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
) Dilukai from the Caroline Islands, Belau (Palau), 19th-early 20th century, Metropolitan Museum of Art.jpg, Gable figure ('' dilukái''); late 19th century-early 20th century; painted wood; height: 65.2 cm (25 in.); from
Palau Palau, officially the Republic of Palau, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific Ocean. The Republic of Palau consists of approximately 340 islands and is the western part of the Caroline Islands ...
, by Belauan people;
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...
(New York City)


Polynesia

Polynesia, like Micronesia, stretched back to Lapita cultural traditions. Lapita Culture included parts of the western Pacific and reached as far east as Tonga and Samoa. However much of Polynesia, like the islands of Hawaii, New Zealand,
Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian language, Tahitian , ; ) is the largest island of the Windward Islands (Society Islands), Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France. It is located in the central part of t ...
, and Easter Island, had only relatively recently been settled by indigenous peoples. The most famous Polynesian art forms are the
Moai Moai or moʻai ( ; ; ) are monolithic human figures carved by the Rapa Nui people on Easter Island, Rapa Nui (Easter Island) in eastern Polynesia between the years 1250 and 1500. Nearly half are still at Rano Raraku, the main moai quarry, but h ...
(statues) of Rapa Nui/Easter Island. Polynesian art is characteristically ornate, and often meant to contain supernatural power or mana. Polynesian works of art were thought to contain spiritual power and could effect change in the world. However the period beyond 1600 AD had seen intense interaction with European explorers, in addition to continuing earlier cultural traditions. The collections of European explorers during the period show that classical Polynesian art was indeed flourishing. In the 19th century, depopulation of areas due to slave raiding and Western diseases disrupted many societies and cultures. Missionary work in the region caused the conversion to Christianity, and in some cases the destruction of traditional cultural and artistic heritage of the region, specifically sculpture. However more secular art forms continue, such as carving non-religious objects like kava bowls and textile work such as
tapa Tapa, TAPA, Tapas or Tapasya may refer to: Media *Tapas (website), a webtoon site, formerly known as Tapastic * ''Tapas'' (film), a 2005 Spanish film * ''Tapasya'' (1976 film), an Indian Hindi-language film * ''Tapasya'' (1992 film), a Nepalese f ...
making. With the end of colonialism however, Polynesians increasingly attempted to assert their cultural identity.


Australia

Australian First Nations people are most known for their rock art, which they continue to practice after their contact with Western explorers. Other forms of art however, reflect their lifestyle of often moving from one camp to another and is utilitarian and portable, albeit still highly decorated. They used rocks and other natural sources mixed with water to make their paint. Often using sticks to make their famous but recent (from 1971) dot paintings. Even today we still see First Nations people making these. When dancing, they paint their bodies with white "paint" and apply it to their body in patterns and meaningful shapes and lines. Their dancing uses native Australian animals as inspiration.


Melanesia

Melanesia, comprising New Guinea and the surrounding islands and people of first wave settlers, has perhaps the most striking art of all Oceania. Stylistically art is typically highly decorative and portrays exaggerated forms, often of sexual themes. It is mostly made in connection with ancestors, hunting, and cannibalism. Commonly they would be used in the context of spiritual rituals, such as the creation of elaborate masks. However, few examples of Melanesian art exist on the islands today. After 1600, like the other regions of Oceania, Melanesia saw increasing encounters with European explorers. What they witnessed was a flourishing tradition of art and culture, such as the first record of the region's elaborate wood carving. It isn't until the latter half of the 19th century, however, that westernization begins to takes its toll. Some traditional forms of art go into decline, but others like sculpture survive and even thrive in the region. Not until more of the islands were explored by the western powers that the sheer diversity of Melanesian art begins to be seen. By the 20th century, Melanesian art begins to find its way to the West and has a profound impact on contemporary artists. However a great cultural disruption would follow the second World War, and much traditional art would begin to decline or be destroyed. This would be followed decades later by a newfound appreciation for their native art forms.Met Timeline of Art History
Melanesia, 1900 A.D.-present
Retrieved on June 22, 2006.


See also

* Oceanian culture * Austronesian culture *
Tribal art Tribal art is the visual arts and material culture of indigenous peoples. Also known as non-Western art or ethnographic art, or, controversially, primitive art, Dutton, Denis, Tribal Art'. In Michael Kelly (editor), '' Encyclopedia of Aesthetics' ...
* Overmodelled skull


Notes


Further reading

* *


External links


Grafico Topico's articles on art from the Pacific regionOceanic Art SocietyTribal Art MagazineRayond and Laura Wielgus Collection, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University
{{Authority control Visual arts by region