What is the meaning of Oceanic art?

Oceanic art or Oceanian art comprises the creative works made by the native people of the Pacific Islands and Australia, including areas as far apart as Hawaii and Easter Island. Specifically it comprises the works of the two groups of people who settled the area, though during two different periods.

What are the characteristics of Oceanic art?

The overarching themes, however, include a bent toward the supernatural, fertility, ritual, and religion. Oceanic mediums were myriad as well and included carving in stone and wood, painted and carved petroglyphs, tattooing, and textiles.

What was Oceanic art made from?

Crafted for ritual purposes, a large proportion of Oceanic art is associated with spiritual properties and made from both hard and soft wood, depending on its geographic origin. It can also be ornately embellished with detailed carving, feathers, beads, or shells.

What are some of the influences of Oceania in Western art and design?

Oceanic art has had a major influence on the development of modern Western art. It strongly influenced the styles of Picasso Matisse and Vlaminck. It influenced many avant-garde painters and sculptors. Many of these artists were keen collectors of Oceanic art others frequented ethnographic museums.

What influenced Oceanic art?

Religion and ritual strongly influence every aspect of Oceanic life, and their association with the arts is especially close. Religious symbolism infuses not only the objects, dances, and speeches used in ritual but also the materials and tools used to create them.

When did Oceanic art take place?

While the earliest examples of Oceanic art—the richly hued rock paintings of Aboriginal Australians—are believed to be more than forty thousand years old, the vast majority of extant material culture dates from the eighteenth century to the present day.

Why is Oceania important to the world?

Due to colonial neglect and historical isolation, the Pacific Islands, home to the world’s most diverse range of indigenous cultures, continue to sustain many ancestral life-ways. Fewer than 6.5 million in all, the peoples of Oceania possess a vast repository of cultural traditions and ecological adaptations.

What factors influenced Oceanic art?

What is African and Oceanic art?

Lempertz has a long tradition of selling art and artefacts from Africa, the Pacific, and North America since its first dedicated sale almost thirty years ago. From ritual masks and ceremonial figures to weapons, costume, body ornaments and everyday objects such as bowls and spoons.

What race is Oceania?

There are basically two Oceanian American groups, that well represent the racial and cultural population of Oceania: Euro-Oceanian Americans (Australian Americans and New Zealand Americans) and the indigenous peoples of Oceania in the United States or Pacific Islander Americans (Chamorro Americans, Samoan Americans.

What is the culture like in Oceania?

Australia and New Zealand (Australasia) which is the bulk of Oceania has a predominate western culture. This gives Oceania a unique blend of smaller and older cultures existing alongside a modern western culture similar to that of North America and Western Europe.

What is the role of ancestor spirits and ancestor worship in Oceanic art?

Ancestor worship is based on the belief that the deceased continue to have an active interest in the daily affairs of the living and that they may be able to influence what happens to the living. On a regular basis, deceased ancestors are honored with ceremonies so that they will continue to help the living.