Toi Te Mana

A landmark account in words and pictures of Māori art, by Māori art historians—from Polynesian voyaging waka to contemporary Māori artists.

He toi whakairo, he mana tangata.

Through artistic excellence, there is human dignity.

In six hundred pages and with over five hundred illustrations, this volume takes us on an extraordinary voyage through Māori art—from ancestral weavers to contemporary artists at the Venice Biennale, from whare whakairo to film, and from Te Puea Hērangi to Michael Parekōwhai.

Deidre Brown, Ngarino Ellis, and Jonathan Mane-Wheoki explore a wide field of art practices, including raranga (plaiting), whatu (weaving), moko (tattooing), whakairo (carving), rākai (jewellery), kākahu (textiles), whare (architecture), toi whenua (rock art), painting, photography, sculpture, ceramics, installation art, digital media, and film. The works discussed span a period from the arrival of Pacific voyagers eight hundred years ago to the contemporary artists working around the world today. With expansive chapters and breakout texts focusing on individual artists, movements, and events, Toi Te Mana is an essential book for anyone interested in te ao Māori.

"Here, the breadth of Māori artistic practices, from shipbuilding to urban graffiti, is placed within a continuum of Māori heritage. A traditional cloak can embody a tribe’s whakapapa—its inheritances and genealogies—within the pattern of the weave and the materials used. Large, gorgeous images capture centuries-old objects, abstract modern installations, and everything in between, tying visual detail to cultural significance with textual analysis. This is a passionate work of scholarship that will capture the minds of students and practitioners of Indigenous art." Foreword Reviews (starred review)
"A new landmark book celebrating Māori art has clocked up a couple of impressive firsts: not only is it the most comprehensive account of creative work by Indigenous New Zealanders ever published, it is also the first wide-ranging art history written entirely by Māori scholars. . . . The book traverses Māori creativity across time and locations – from ancient ocean-voyaging waka (canoe) to intricately carved treasure boxes held in international museums, painting and street art, digital film, protest flags and a Venice Biennale award-winning installation. The book also highlights forgotten artists and overlooked mediums such as Māori architecture." The Guardian
"This groundbreaking survey has been a decade in the making and is informed by the belief of the authors that 'a greater understanding of Māori art—by Māori and non-Māori—is essential for the survival of Māori culture.'" Apollo "Off the Shelf" column
"This volume covers 800 years of Māori art, exploring a range of art practices including raranga (plaiting), whatu (weaving), moko (tattooing), and whakairo (carving). The volume, written by a trio of Māori art historians, took 12 years to complete and focuses on 'exploring the idea of Indigenous art histories that value Indigenous voices, perspective and objectives, making art history more relevant and less Eurocentric,' the authors say." The Art Newspaper "Book Bag" column
"Extremely beautiful . . . A benchmark book that documents stories of resilience and endurance. . . . This book demonstrates that Māori art is about excellence." Radio New Zealand, on three of the best books of 2024
"Groundbreaking, monumental in scale, this is the most comprehensive survey of mahi toi ever created, from carving to textiles and digital art, written by experts in the field." The Listener (New Zealand), on the 100 best books of 2024
"Very soon this book will become a taonga in its own right." -- Hamish Coney Newsroom
"Toi Te Mana is a massive tome and an even greater achievement." -- Don Abbott Art New Zealand
"What a beautiful monster of a book. Not solely through its massive weight and plenitude of pages, but more significantly—indeed far more significantly—because of its inherent kaupapa." -- Vaughan Rapatahana Flaxroots
"A 600-page new book that took 12 years to create is set to reframe the history of Māori art. . . . Toi Te Mana is a whopper of a book, but it’s also beautiful and very readable. . . . In many cases the research is only just starting, with Toi Te Mana representing an important beginning to a new Aotearoa art history." Radio New Zealand Culture 101
"The recently published history of Māori art Toi Te Mana by Deidre Brown and Ngarino Ellis with Jonathon Mane-Wheoki, is a magnificent volume with intense scholarship and beautiful presentation 'written by, for, and about Māori'." New Zealand Herald
"'One has to look back to look forward,' expert weaver Diggeress Te Kanawa once remarked. The massive new book Toi Te Mana does exactly this, exploring the deep history of Māori art, from its ancestral origins through to its contemporary expression, to provide context and inspiration for today’s Indigenous artists. . . . This book is by no means small, but it is certainly significant. A joy to read, and a valuable resource" E-Tangata (New Zealand)
“Toi te Mana is a bold and ambitious endeavour by our most experienced Māori art historians responding to a desperate need in New Zealand art education. A historical atlas encompassing the spectrum of Māori creativity, this work will certainly become a standard text of Māori art history and contribute to the global discourse on indigenous art histories in which Māori already hold a strong and distinctive position.” -- Anna-Marie White (Te Atiawa), Toi Maori Aotearoa: Maori Arts New Zealand
“This book is a comprehensive analysis that sets out to recalibrate the history of Māori art by rebalancing the gaps and Eurocentric focus of earlier writing. The format, with key chapters (kete) interspersed with breakout boxes focusing on specific artists and events, drives the kaupapa of the book forward, reinforcing a broadly chronological framework that nevertheless emphasises non-linearity, dynamism and change. The deployment of ancestral stories, chants and whakataukī to introduce chapters and sections draws together multiple strands to create a richly layered and relational landscape (whakapapa) for Māori arts. Ka mau te wehi! An outstanding contribution to Māori culture, arts and creativity – it is a great read.” -- Maia Nuku (Ngai Tai), curator of Oceanic art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
“Toi Te Mana is a historic and groundbreaking text. It is an invaluable tool for Indigenous arts globally and represents ‘best practice’ in the field. The research and findings will be central to those of my generation and our students as we craft an Indigenous art history.” -- Nancy Mithlo, University of California, Los Angeles
“This book provides an Indigenous account of Māori art, authored by Māori art historians, employing art historical methods, while highlighting its status as one of the foremost global art traditions. The authors hold considerable esteem in our field, which is reflected in the originality and irrefutable high level of scholarship of their work. They have integrated ancestral history and worldwide collections into a unified and meticulously researched and referenced book. The work is admirable in every respect.” -- Jennifer J. Wagelie, director of cultural development and equity initiatives, California State University, Sacramento
"Toi Te Mana is a cultural feat ruminating on the luxurious depth and breadth of Māori art. From waka to painting to bodies, Brown, Ellis and Mane-Wheoki expertly fill each kete with insights, histories and analysis. This is a one-in-a-generation book." -- Lana Lopesi, University of Oregon
"Toi Te Mana is an outstanding publication that brings to fruition the work of two exceptional Māori scholars and their visionary collaborator, the late Māori art historian Jonathan Mane-Wheoki. The book is not only a landmark in Māori art history, it challenges us to reconceive the entire narrative of art and modernity from the perspective of Indigenous cultures worldwide." -- Peter Brunt, Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington
"A big, beautiful book full of fresh ideas. Reading the text is like hearing the taonga speak." The Post (New Zealand)

Deidre Brown (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kahu) is a Māori art and architectural historian and professor of architecture at Waipapa Taumata Rau University of Auckland. Her books include Māori Architecture, Introducing Māori Art, and the multiauthored Art in Oceania. Brown is a fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi and Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects. Ngarino Ellis (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Porou) is associate professor of art history at Waipapa Taumata Rau University of Auckland. She is the author of A Whakapapa of Tradition and coeditor of Te Puna (with Deidre Brown) and Te Ata (with Witi Ihimaera). Ellis’s curatorial projects include exhibitions at the Linden Museum and Auckland Art Gallery. Jonathan Mane-Wheoki CNZM (1943–2014; Ngāpuhi, Te Aupōuri, Ngāti Kurī) was an art historian specializing in Māori, New Zealand, and European art. He was the director of art and collection services at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and head of the Elam School of Fine Arts at the University of Auckland.
 

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