AMNH Paper

Oceanic art usually makes reference to the creative work made by the native people of the Pacific Islands and Australia, involving areas as far apart as Hawaii and Easter Island. The Easter Island makes part of Polynesia, which is one of the four separate regions of Oceania. Many artworks from Polynesia usually meant to contain supernatural power and the Moai is one of those, which is one of the most famous art forms of Rapa Nui/Easter Island. My research is focused on the non-writing oceanic culture and especially on the Moai statues.

The Moia are statues of Easter Island from Oceania made by volcanic rocks. They are abstract statues of torso and head, were the head is three fifth (3/5) of the statue. Normally they have a truncated neck connecting the torso and the head but its not the case of this replica. By making the head three fifth of the statue, the craftsman makes us emphasized on the big head with the elongated nose subordinating the body; the ears and the arms are elongated too. The Moia is an abstract 12 feet freestanding carved sculpture made of rock from the native area. The variety of the geometric shapes, the head proportion, and the natural hue of the rock gives the artwork unity. The ears and the hands are attached to the sculpture in bas relief. 

This sculpture makes me feel small and skinny by its huge size and voluminous mass; and it also makes me feel strong by the medium the craftsmen used. The artwork evokes a feeling of respect from its serious face made by the deep socket eyes and his mouth closed. As I look to the sculpture from the bottom to the top I also evoke the leader feeling, it look like a superior counselor.

Trough the belief that the world was created by the union of Earth Mother and Sky Father, oceanic cultures view ancestors as the emissary between people and the gods; so, they created many objects to honor or pacify them because they thought ancestors could intercede and influence future events. The Moai are huge human carved statues from volcanic rocks on the Polynesia Island of Easter Island between the years 1250 1500. The Moai were representation of the living faces of the deified ancestors known as the Easter Island Heads. Also, they were placed on raised platforms overlooking small settlements along the cost line, as of protecting and overseeing the activities below. These statues were carved either by a separated class of professional carvers, or by member of each clan.

Many Polynesian cultures accorded similar homage to ancestors, but none on these statues scales. Like in Melanesian cultures, birds appear with human figures to act as the emissary between the physical world of the living and the spiritual world of deceased ancestors. And a broadly shared concept of oceanic art is mana. Many art forms of Oceania were intended to posses the mana power, which can keep adversity at bay, promote community well-being, and amplify personal power and wisdom. In other words, each oceanic cultures had different artworks but all with the same purpose.

The artist was trying to establish a connection between the gods and the native people by worship statues which represent the deceased ancestors. I could not decipher the artist message before I investigate about the artwork and it culture. The name of the artwork and the artwork by it self give you insufficient information to decipher the artist message. But when I read information about the artwork on the internet and the background of the culture, I could understand clearly what the artist wanted to express. It was an interesting art form to represent as homage for the ancestors and a protection for the island.

In conclusion, the Moai were made for worship, to establish a connection between the gods, the deceased ancestors, and the native people, and also as guardians of the island at the bay. Though these statues are commonly referred to as Easter Islands Heads, the Moai are whole-body statues. Oceanic people did not see their work in the concept of art; on the contrary, they created objects for the practical purpose of use in religious or social ceremonies, or for use in every day life.

Moai at the bay

For a better knowledge about the culture and the artwork, you can use this links (resources):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moai 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oceanic_art
or look at "Prebles' Artforms" (10th Edition) by Patrick Frank on chapter 19