Page 273 - Constructing Craft

‘Ahoaho’. Bone carving by Brian Flintoff. This is a later work by Flintoff
but demonstates his ability to incorporate traditional or contemporary
forms. Photo: Brian Flintoff.

A New Generation

Māori activism in the 1970s and early-1980s showed that the education process
could not be neutral – it either facilitated the integration of generations into

conformity or it helped individuals discover how to participate in the transformation

of their world. The Māori economic and cultural renaissance suggested that Māori
were actively changing their world and, through their actions, the wider New

Zealand society. A new group of Māori craftspeople who were aware of the
changes, emerged during this time and managed to incorporate two traditions – a

Pākehā craft medium and Māori-inspired decoration. Manos Nathan, Baye Riddell,
Paerau Corneal, Wi Taepa and Colleen Waata-Urlich, collectively known as Ngā

Kaihanga Uku (Māori Clay Artists) became a presence within the studio craft

movement that Pākehā could not ignore. The group was not conforming to
European ceramic conventions, but they were not limiting their craft to traditional

Māori materials either. Riddell, who often spoke for the group, wished to emphasise
that the group was not separatist but he did point out that their work would be

different to the European pottery that most people associated with the studio craft

Constructing Craft