CLIFF WHITING | "Duality is a way in which we structure our world. Whether it be tapu and noa, or kauae runga and kauae raro, te ira atua me te ira tangata, te wahine me te tÄne, te tangata whenua me te manuhiri, the important thing is the balance between these things." |
He tohunga a Cliff Whiting ki ngÄ toi MÄori, he ringa rehe, he kaitiaki i ngÄ taonga o nehe, e whakamihatia ana e te marea, he motuhake anÅ te Ähua o Äna mahi.
ArÄ kÄ“ te huhua o Äna mahi, ko te peita, ko te whakairo rÄkau, ko te whakairo kÅhatu, ko te raranga, ko te hopu whakaahua Äna momo. I tua atu i Äna mahi toi, he kaiÄrahi i te mÄtauranga toi, me ngÄ rÅpÅ« whakahaere toi i Aotearoa. He aho matua a Cliff i te ao MÄori, ina tÅna kaha ki te hÄpai i ngÄ mahi marae, te hanga wharenui hou me te whakarauora wharenui tawhito. NÄ te pÅ«kÄkÄ o te ahi i tana puku ki Ä“nei Ähuatanga, ka ohooho te ao PÄkehÄ ki te kaupapa MÄori, me te wÄhi nui o te marae e ora tonu ai ngÄ tikanga me ngÄ toi MÄori. Ko ia hoki te KaihautÅ« tuatahi o Te Papa Tongarewa.
I whÄnau mai a Cliff i Te Kaha, i te tau 1936, he uri nÅ roto i ngÄ kÄwai rangatira o tÅna iwi, o Te WhÄnau-a-Apanui. Haere ai ia ki Te Kura Whakangungu Kaiwhakaako i PÅneke i te ngahuru tau o te 1950. He tere kitea Åna pÅ«manawa, Ä, ka poipoia, ka whakatenatenahia. Mai anÅ, he kaha ia ki te whai i ngÄ aronga hou mÅ te toi MÄori, me te whakamahi i ngÄ rawa hou, pÄ“rÄ i te papamÄrÅ me te papa marariki, me ngÄ tae tini anÅ hoki.
He nui ngÄ mahi a Cliff i te wÄ i noho ai ia ki ManawatÅ«, mai i te 1972 ki te 1981, hei pÅ«kenga i Te Kura Whakangungu Kaiwhakaako. He waimarie ngÄ Äkonga ki te haere i tÅna taha ki ngÄ marae maha o te rohe me tua atu, hei ringa Äwhina i te iwi kÄinga. Ko ia hoki tÄ“tahi i whakapau kaha ki te whakatÅ« i te marae o Te Kura, arÄ, Te Kupenga o te MÄtauranga, koia te wharenui tuatahi o te motu ki tÄ“tahi whare wÄnanga PÄkehÄ. NÄna i Ärahi ngÄ Äkonga ki ngÄ mahi whakairo, kÅwhaiwhai, raranga kÄkaho hoki hei whakarÄkei i te whare i mua i tÅna whakatuwheratanga.
He mea whakamiha a Cliff me Ä“tahi atu o ngÄ ringatoi o tÅna reanga, nÄ rÄtou ngÄ toi MÄori o te ao tawhito i kawe mai ki roto i te ao hou. Kua whakamanawatia e ia te reanga hou o ngÄ ringatoi MÄori, ina tana aro ki ngÄ tikanga a ngÄ tÄ«puna me te kÅtuitui anÅ i ngÄ Ähuatanga o nÄianei.
Kua whakawhiwhia a Cliff ki Ä“tahi hÅnore hirahira, pÄ“rÄ i Te Tohu Kairangi WhakahÅnore a Te Whare WÄnanga o Massey (1996), Te Tohu Taiea Aporei o Aotearoa (ONZ, 1998) mÅ Äna mahi nui i te ao toi, Te Tohu Tiketike a Te Waka Toi (2003), me Te Tohu Whakamana Hiringa a Te TÅ«Äpapa Toi (2013).
E whakaaturia ana Ä“tahi o Äna mahi toi ki ngÄ wÄhi tÅ«matanui, pÄ“rÄ i Te Puna MÄtauranga o Aotearoa, Te KÅti Teitei o ÅŒtautahi, Te Whare PÄremata, Te Whare Pupuri Taonga o ÅŒtepoti, Te Rua Mahara o te KÄwanatanga, Te Reo TÄtaki, me te whare manaaki manuhiri o Aoraki. Kei te whare pupuri taonga o Musee de Dahlem i Tiamana hoki tÄ“tahi o Äna mahinga toi.
Kei KororÄreka a Cliff e noho ana, Ä, i te 2013 o ngÄ tau i whakaputaina he pukapuka mÅna, Cliff Whiting He Toi Nuku He Toi Rangi.
www.kupengahao.co.nz
Cliff Whiting is a hugely respected visual artist and heritage advocate with a unique visual style of contemporary MÄori art.
Cliff is prolific and works across the mediums of painting, sculpture, printmaking, stone and wood carving, weaving and photography. As well as his own arts practice, he is a key national figure in arts education and administration. He is an important figure in MÄori culture, especially in education and in the restoration, construction and preservation of meeting houses. His passion for marae has highlighted to the PÄkehÄ world the role marae play in maintaining and revitalising MÄori arts and culture. Cliff Whiting was the first KaihautÅ« of Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand.
Born in 1936 in Te Kaha, Cliff Whiting is part of the iwi Te WhÄnau-a-Apanui. He studied at the Wellington College of Education in the 1950s, where his talent was quickly recognised and encouraged. Throughout his career, he has been innovative in his use of modern materials like particle and hardboard, and also his use of bright colours.
Cliff Whiting made a big contribution to the ManawatÅ« during his time as a lecturer at the Palmerston North College of Education from 1972 to 1981. He introduced the practice of student marae visits and he was a central figure in the planning and building of the college marae, Te Kupenga o Te MÄtauranga, the first marae built for a tertiary institution. As well as helping co-ordinate the project, he led students in carving, kÅwhaiwhai and weaving of kÄkaho panels that were completed for the opening of the house.
He is celebrated for the innovative way he and others of his generation brought traditional MÄori arts into the late twentieth and twenty-first centuries. He has inspired many younger artists with how he honours and integrates the traditional, while making it vibrant and alive for the present.
He has received many prestigious awards including an Honorary Doctorate of Literature from Massey University (1996), the Order of New Zealand for services to the arts (1998), Te Tohu Tiketike a Te Waka Toi (2003), and Arts Foundation of New Zealand Icon Award (2013).
Public locations of his large scale works include the National Library, the Christchurch High Court, Parliament, Otago Museum, Archives New Zealand, Television New Zealand and the visitors centre of Aoraki Mt Cook. He also has work in the Musee de Dahlem, Berlin, Germany.
Cliff now resides in Russell, and in 2013 a book about him was published, Cliff Whiting He Toi Nuku He Toi Rangi by Ian Christensen.
www.kupengahao.co.nz
See a review of the book here:
www.swampthing.co.nz
"The whole kaupapa of Te Kupenga was quite a radical idea (the first tertiary institution to build its own marae). We knew we were taking a big risk....but there was an even bigger risk, and that was losing our kaupapa MÄori altogether."
