Iconography and identity – the appropriation of crab-claw sails in Oceania
(2000) Iconography and identity – the appropriation of crab-claw sails in Oceania. In Proceedings Pacific Arts Association Conference, Noumea 2000, Noumea, New Caledonia.
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Abstract
Art, photography and graphic images of Oceanic sails are scattered across the last four hundred years of visual history in Oceania. The crab-claw or inverted triangular shaped sail, initially depicted in ethnographic and technical drawings, historical tableaux, etchings, photographs, postcards and illustrated books and magazines, took on a new meaning in western imaging when stamps, letterheads, logo and advertisements displaced earlier methods of representing Oceania. The soaring sail, often shown detached from the double-hulled canoe or outrigger, lost its association with long-distance voyaging when stylized, graphic art and computer-generated sail images began to play a symbolic role and national entities, movements, organizations and institutions sought to assert Oceanic identities, cultural unity and political relationships. What began as a visual record of maritime achievement became an evolving iconography of appropriation and commodification serving a range of sovereignty, political and regional campaigns.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper |
|---|---|
| Status: | Unpublished |
| Refereed: | No |
| Keywords: | Iconography, photography, Oceania, History, Art, Commodification |
| Subjects: | 410000 The Arts > 410200 Visual Arts and Crafts > 410203 Photography 430000 History and Archaeology > 430100 Historical Studies > 430103 History - Pacific |
| ID Code: | 536 |
| Deposited By: | Quanchi, Max |
| Deposited On: | 09 November 2004 |
| Copyright Owner:: | Copyright 2000 (Please consult author) |