Page 274 - Constructing Craft

movement. His statement articulated the mantra of Modernism – the search for new

ideas and new forms of expression. He did not reject traditional Māori craft and, in
fact, his statements suggested an infusion of Māori values into the studio craft

movement – particularly in those crafts previously dominated by Pākehā materials
and ideas.

Baye Riddell with Kaumatua Waima. Photo: Jill
Carlyle.

The group had ambitions of becoming self-sufficient but struggled to reconcile the

spiritual dimension of their work with the need to be involved in a capitalist Western
economy. Riddell lamented the loss of the Māori system where the community

supported Māori craftspeople with the necessities of life as well as status and mana.

Riddell’s mentoring came from Māori artists and craftspeople such as Para Matchitt,
Cliff Whiting, Ralph Hotere and Pākehā craftspeople, including Harry Davis and

Helen Mason. Ngā Kaihanga Uku presented a challenge to the way the training of
future Māori craftspeople needed to be structured. Young Māori required a

specialised curriculum in craft but they also needed to be part of the wider studio

craft movement.

Constructing Craft