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With the arrival of the Pakeha settlers and traders in the nineteenth century, Māori culture and social life underwent profound changes, which in turn had an impact on way Māori expressed themselves through what in Western terms is 'the arts'.This was not just simply the fact of new technology, such as the metal tools which influenced the style of carving; the adoption of Christianity and the realisation that their culture was under threat created a climate in which the prophets - Te Kooti, Te Whiti, and Rua Kenana, among others, preaching a message of salvation -were able to inspire new forms of expression incorporating both Māori and Pakeha imagery. Notable among these are Rongopai, Te Kooti's famous painted meeting house; Rua Kenana's round house at Maungapohatu; and Te Wepu (the whip), Te Kooti's battle flag. This famous flag, originally made by sisters at the Meeanee Mission and taken by Te Kooti, was then captured by Gilbert Mair, who gave it to the Dominion Museum, where he later found it had been cut up for dusters!

SOURCES:-

Māori folk art / Alan Taylor.

Painted histories / Roger Neich.

In the early years of last century, the Young Māori Party, led by Western educated liberals such as Sir Apirana Ngata and Peter Buck, encouraged their people to return to traditional, conservative forms of carving and decoration, "turning their backs" on the prophets, whose ideas they believed were preventing Māori progress. For many years, these traditional forms WERE 'Maori Art'. In the 1950's, however, Gordon Tovey, national art supervisor for the Department of Education, gathered together a group of younger Māori artists to train as art specialists. Among these were Ralph Hotere, Fred Graham, Arnold Wilson, and Para Matchitt. Working together, these artists were inspired to work with new forms and motifs. In particular, Para Matchitt turned back to the motifs of Te Kooti and the Ringatu Church - star, crescent, cross, mountain, and bleeding heart - symbols of trial, hope, and suffering. In some sort of reparation, his powerful work in wood, 'Te Wepu', is now owned by the same institution that destroyed the original.

SOURCES:-

Paratene Matchitt : the principle of change in Māori art / Rangihiroa Panoho.
(ART NEW ZEALAND Summer 1987/88 p.63.)

A blaze of colour : Gordon Tovey, artist educator / Carol Henderson.

Many younger Māori artists, trained in European art institutions, are now successfully combining Māori and European methods and motifs to create their works, which are often political statements about the present position of Māori. The use of Ringatu motifs is continued by Shane Cotton, but the means of expression of the younger artists are many and varied. Some names to look for are: Robyn Kahukiwa, Emily Karaka, John Walsh, Peter Robinson, Lily Laita, Diane Prince, Maureen Lander, Kura te Waru Rewiri, Jacqueline Fraser, Brett Graham, and Michael Parekowhai; an excellent source for finding out about contemporary Māori art is Mataora : the living face / edited by Sandy Adsett, Cliff Whiting, and Witi Ihimaera - it gives large illustrations of many artist's works, plus biographies.

Articles of interest:

ART NEW ZEALAND 45 Summer 1987/88
An issue of this magazine devoted to Māori art today, in the wake of the Te Māori exhibition. Contains articles on Shona Rapira Davies, Paratene Matchitt, Robyn Kahukiwa, among others.

ART NEW ZEALAND 58 Autumn 1991
"Kohia Ko Taikaka Anake" at the National Art Gallery.
Contains two articles about this exhibition of developments in Māori art since the contemporary movement was pioneered by Arnold Wilson, Para Matchitt, Fred Graham, Selwyn Muru Sandy Adsett, and John Bevan Ford.

ART NEW ZEALAND 59 Winter 1991
Articles about Michael Parekowhai, Robyn Kahukiwa, and Diane Prince.

ART NEW ZEALAND 60 Spring 1991
Witi Ihimaera writes on Emare Karaka.

Books of interest:

Shane Cotton (1998)
Exhibition catalogue, with good essays explaining Cotton's work and his change to a 'determinedly Maori' vocabulary.
Shane Cotton (2004)
Published for the exhibition Shane Cotton: survey 1993-2003 at the City Gallery Wellington.

Māori folk art / Alan Taylor.
'Folk art' is no longer considered an acceptable term, but this small book provides an interesting and readable account of the alternative figurative art which flourished at the turn of the century. For a more scholarly account, see Painted histories / Roger Neich

Te Ata : Māori art from the East Coast, New Zealand / edited by Witi Ihimaera & Ngarino Ellis ; afterword by Katrina Te Hei Koko Mataira.
Discusses the work of Māori artists from the East Coast, including Sandy Adsett, Cliff Whiting, and John Walsh.
Islands in the sun : prints by indigenous artists of Australia and the Australasian region
Includes prints by Māori artists
He Kawenga : a collection of art works from Te Wananga-o-Raukawa
Catalogue of an exhibition held at Pataka Porirua Museum of Arts and Cultures from the Wananga at Otaki.
Korurangi : new Māori art.
Small catalogue of an exhibition held at Auckland City Art Gallery which included many important contemporary artists.
Kura Te Waru Rewiri : a Māori woman artist / Camilla Highfield.
Includes conversations with the artist about her attitude to her life and work, and many examples.
Mauri ora! / Robyn Kahukiwa
From the exhibition curated by Giles Peterson
Purangiaho : seeing clearly : casting light on the legacy of tradition in contemporary Māori art / edited by Ngahiraka Mason and Mary Kisler.
Catalogue of an exhibition which includes established and emerging artists including Michael Parekowhai, Robert Jahnke, Saffronn Te Ratana, and Gina Matchitt.
Taiawhio : conversations with Māori artists / editors Huhana Smith and Oriwa Solomon.
Published to coincide with the exhibition at Te Papa. Extensively illustrated, discusses the philosophies and work of a number of established and emerging artists.

CD-ROM
Techno Māori : Māori art in the digital age.
Examining the use of digital technology by Māori artists in New Zealand, this interactive CD Rom has examples of words, music, film and visual art. Brief biographical notes are included.

WEB SITES
Toi Māori Aotearoa : Māori arts New Zealand
Established in 1996, Toi Māori is a network of ten national art focus committees working under the auspices of a charitable trust, with the support of Creative New Zealand through Te Waka Toi. Provides news of various arts, artist profiles, and links to other Māori websites.
Toi Māori : Māori Arts
The site of Creative New Zealand, provides a background to Māori art, and information about funding, resources, and new happenings.