Epeli Hau’ofa – “Our Sea of Islands”

Hau’ofa, Epeli “Our Sea of Islands”, A New Oceania: Rediscovering Our Sea Of Islands, Suva, Fiji: The University of the South Pacific, 1993, pp.2-16. Print.

The text by Hau’ofa flesh’s out an argument against what used to be (and still remains somewhat) a common presumption that the Pacific nations are small and isolated. Hau’ofa explains how this way of seeing the Pacific is a relatively recent perspective formed through the boundaries imposed by imperialism. These limitations have no historical grounding, as prior to this they saw ‘Their world was anything but tiny’ (Hau’ofa 7). They believed they were connected and part of a larger sphere which included the ocean and heavens (Hau’ofa). This demonstrates the difference between identifying the pacific as ‘islands in a far sea’ compared to a ‘sea of islands’ – ‘Smallness is a state of mind’ (Hau’ofa 7). This important distinction serves a reminder that knowledge is often only a matter of perception.

History is determined by its successors. Knowledge is not absolute, rather, it sits within a particular context and often has self-involved motivation. As time goes on, the hierarchical relationships that produced certain conceptualisations become blurred. It becomes harder to trace back and identify the beginnings of suppression once it has been deeply ingrained as the dominant view.

However, the situation is not hopeless; those such as Hau’ofa have played a critical role examining the epistemological roots of these ideas. It is within these kinds of contexts that art has the ability to play a valuable role by being able to critique, challenge or simply acknowledge certain relationships. Artists such as Patricia Piccinini and Taryn Simon have produced work which challenges presumptions and seeks to uncover certain truths. In Simon’s series ‘An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar’ she ‘attempts to gain access to the guarded domains of culture and knowledge, made abstract and inaccessible to the masses by the anonymous powers that be’ (James 1). It is this kind of questioning that encourages more open minded approaches to knowledge. It allows for suppressive perspectives to be challenged and productive conceptualizations to be formed.

Hau’ofa, Epeli “Our Sea of Islands”, A New Oceania: Rediscovering Our Sea Of Islands, Suva, Fiji: The University of the South Pacific, 1993, pp. 2-16. Print.

James, Sarah Edith “Photography Between the Image & the Word: An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar” The Deutsche Börse Photography Prize 2009, London, England: The Photographers’ Gallery, 2009, pp. 1-3. Print.

Glenn Adamson – “Thinking Through Craft”

Adamson, Glenn Thinking Through Craft, Oxford: Berg, 2007, pp.69-101. Print.

In the excerpt from Adamson’s book ‘Thinking through craft’, the relationship between skill and craft is investigated. Adamson discusses the implementation of ‘trade schools as alternatives to high schools’ that occurred in 1918 (Adamson 79). In this system, working class children were encouraged to attend the trade schools whilst children from wealthier families engaged in ‘intellectual pursuits’ (Adamson 79). This ‘inevitably raised questions of class prejudice’ and begins to ask how education should operate ethically and equally in society.

Education seemed to offer the possibility of ‘simultaneously improving economic development, social efficiency and social justice through social mobility’ and was one of the major features of modernity (Dale 295). It was introduced as a system where the individual’s status could be based on achievement rather than determined at birth (Dale 296). The boast of democracy and the ability to eliminate class prejudice was far from the reality. This education system became a new form of discrimination based on one’s perceived abilities and served to separate out individuals to maximise ‘economic efficiency’ (Adamson 79). The educational input and judgements of intelligence continued to be based on previous ideologies which effectively served to perpetuate ‘existing social relationships’ – which as sociologists emphasised - benefited only a minority. (Dale 295).

The end of last century did see a shift in the consideration of education. The key changes included; the separation of the state and the economy (which eroded the economic foundation upon which education was based), individualisation (resulting in increased personal responsibility), and dispersion of national power (Dale 306). Although these milestones were significant, much is still left un-answered. Education continues to have a prominent role in society and people are increasingly seeking higher education at a tertiary or post-graduate level. It is our generation’s responsibility to be critical of the objectives, outcome and implications that education can have, does have and will have on society.

Adamson, Glenn Thinking Through Craft, Oxford: Berg, 2007, pp. 69-101. Print.

Dale, Roger. “Education” Being Sociological. Ed. Steve Matthewman, Catherine L. West Newman & Bruce Curtis. New York: Palgrave McMillian, 2007. pp. 295-317. Print.

Chris Kraus - "Cast Away"

Kraus, Chris “Cast Away.”  Video Green: Los Angeles Art and The Triumph of Nothingness,  New York: Semiotext(e), 2004, pp.145-150. Print.

Kraus’s anecdote ‘Cast Away’ reflects on a collection of photographs displayed in a shop window.  In the piece, Kruss begins to investigate what constitutes art and states that ‘anything is permissible in the contemporary art world so long as it is pedigreed, substantiated, referentialized’ (Kraus 147). An illustration that springs to mind was the group show ‘Frieze’ held at Gow Langsford gallery in late 2010 where - in substitute of Billy Apple’s work - the text ‘to be commissioned’ was displayed (Apple 1). The work was quite literally nothing; however, it is certainly permissible and arguably successful.

Its significance isn’t inherent in the physicality, as the work certainly ‘requires negotiation and conversation’ (Hurrell 4). Instead, it holds its value because of the context in which it is displayed (an art gallery) as well as the ideas it is in conversation with, such as a questioning of capitalism (Byrt 2). There has been much that has come before this work and much it can be referred to (Byrt 2).  I would argue that nothing - in and of itself - remains as nothing. However, nothing, situated within the said climate and stamped with Apple’s name gives it not only relevance but importance.

This is so, in part, because the art institution breeds a specific kind of response to artwork. This certain attitude - or as Duve would call it, a mandatory “critical attitude”- is the analysis of art on the basis of its relationship to the social and political Status quo (Duve 27). Therefore anything – no matter how banal – has the potential to be a reflection of a “critical attitude” by being situating and contextualised (Duve 27). This may be demonstrated in Apple’s (non)work through questioning the expectations of what art should be and showing the power of branding (as apparently several of these ‘works’ sold).

Broadening the horizons of what can be considered art up opens up a flood gate of possibility. It surges forward with the promise of originality. It means niches can be to found between traditional medium bound practises as well as beginning to close the gap between art and life. Allowing for boundaries to be shaken and the unusual to be considered brings freshness without rejecting the context and history art is situated within. This shift pushes art beyond the simple focus of what is in front of us. It gives contemporary art the freedom to ask more questions than it answers, provoke more – it is given the ability to shift our perceptions.

References:

Apple, Billy “To Be Commissioned”, 2010. Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland (http://www.gowlangsfordgallery.co.nz/exhibitions/pastexhibitions/2010/frieze.asp)

Byrt, Anthony “And the brand played on”,  Listener (Wellington, N.Z.) 220.3616 (August 2009) pp.36- . Print.

Duve, Tierry de “When Form Has Become Attitude – And Beyond” (1994), Theory in contemporary art since 1945, Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2005, pp.19-31. Print.

Kraus, Chris “Cast Away.”  Video Green: Los Angeles Art and The Triumph of Nothingness,  New York: Semiotext(e), 2004, pp.145-150. Print.

Hurrell, John “Group Show in Tightly Linear Fromat”, Eye Contact 2011. Web. 1 April. 2011.
(http://eyecontactsite.com/2011/01/group-show-in-a-linear-format)