Tāme

Written By: - Date published: 10:29 am, September 22nd, 2022 - 18 comments
Categories: activism, Te Reo Māori - Tags: ,

https://twitter.com/aoinifh/status/1572527395802083329

There are so many ways in which this is awesome, a superb piece of activist and art. The soundtrack (Moana Maniapoto’s classic song Akona/A.E.I.O.U. teaching te reo pronunciation), the pacing in the video, cup of tea, the simple teaching of the word Tāme, the way Iti crosses out the letters, and says thank-you on his way out the door.

I will speak Māori

I will speak Māori

I will speak Māori

I will speak Māori

I will speak Māori

I will speak Māori

I will speak Māori

I will speak Māori

Pitch perfect and utterly delightful. Iti’s mana, that upholds his ability to do this in this way, is beautiful to behold and is both an inspiration for activists and something to reflect on.

The painter, Dean Proudfoot, has apologised for the mispelling, and said on 1News,

“There was no offence intended – it was a clear lack of research on my behalf. This series of works has always been about celebrating Aotearoa New Zealand’s unique characters.

“Tāme is the epitome of what makes our country special.

“What Tāme has done in ‘correcting’ it, has given the work a new life with a far more powerful meaning. It has been elevated. I thank him for that and from what I’ve learnt as well.”

The owner of the painting is less impressed. Cue national debate about art, vandalism, activism, racism, Te Reo Māori.

We’ve just come out of Te Wiki o te Reo Māori (Māori language week). Give it a whirl.

18 comments on “Tāme ”

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  1. Tony Parker 1
    22 September 2022 at 10:40 am

    I would have thought the value of the painting just increased. Don't know what he has to complain about.

    • Finn McCool 1.1
      22 September 2022 at 2:55 pm

      It's called, um, vandalism; maybe graffiti? Tame need have no fear of prosecution. Justice doesn't work that way in NZ. The only good news for the paintings owner is his painting is now worth more. Maybe much more. And he can one day tell the grandkids he was once an unwitting party to a beautiful piece of activism from a much loved activist. Dean Proudfoot should apologise to the paintings owner as well.

      • Simbit 1.1.1
        23 September 2022 at 7:35 pm

        The list of colonial vandalism up my way (Waikaremoana, a bit south of Mr. Iti) is not endless but it is rather long and of a much more serious nature than a daub of paint.

  2. Tiger Mountain 2
    22 September 2022 at 10:42 am

    Classic art activism. The price of the work will likely go up in some quarters too.

    Cultural arrogance and inattention to get people’s names wrong. So many still say “honny” rather than Ho-ne Harawira re another Māori activist.

    Have a nice day!

  3. solkta 3
    22 September 2022 at 10:57 am

    Great video. I can't understand how the artist could put so much time into creating that piece but couldn't find 30 seconds to google the guys name.

  4. Descendant Of Smith 4
    22 September 2022 at 11:33 am

    Is one of the highlights of my day/week/month/year/lifetime.

    Thought it was so well done when I first heard about it. The video just adds/enhances the nuances…

    Some things are just delightful. This is one of those.

  5. Ad 5
    22 September 2022 at 11:58 am

    The closest precedent would be Pat Hanly doing a painted graffiti over a Billy Apple exhibition in 1982. It was a pretty big gathering of the arty great at the home of Dr Francis Pound and dealer Sue Crockford.

    "Taking umbrage at Apple’s brainy, tidy work, Hanly decided to protest on behalf of the heart. Part way through the soirée, Hanly went outside and found some paving paint and a brush. He returned and painted, freehand, two huge eye-in-heart tags—a signature motif, a personal expressionist manifesto—on two facing walls in the ‘gallery’, wrecking Apple’s show.

    A bit of necessary correction, Hanly’s own ‘critique of the given’, the return of Apple’s repressed, it caused a kerfuffle, and was too much intimacy for Apple, who left the building, preferring not to deal with Hanly, even as RKS Art’s Joan Livingstone entreated Apple to return and enter into a dialogue with him.

    Nowadays, it is hard to imagine a time when Billy Apple was considered such a threat to the future of art that a fellow artist would go to such lengths to attack his work in a private home; it is hard to imagine anyone caring that much."

    Nostalgia for Intimacy (robertleonard.org)

    • Tiger Mountain 5.1
      22 September 2022 at 12:35 pm

      And while we are talking about activist art, or at least I am, who could forget the king of bite back…Mr Banksy and the shredder…

  6. Mac1 6
    22 September 2022 at 12:31 pm

    Over in Golden Bay are some beautiful fresh water springs of enormous clarity, Te Waikoropupu. On the way there, I passed a sign saying Tame eels. A long time later I realised that Tame was not a Māori name but referred to the domesticity of the eels…….

    • weka 6.1
      22 September 2022 at 12:34 pm

      heh.

      Tame eels… not sure I believe them. Still not going to put my hand in the water.

      • Stuart Munro 6.1.1
        22 September 2022 at 9:37 pm

        Oddly, you can trust them – they are careful not to hurt people. Very intelligent, and having electrical senses we're still finding out about, they are pretty good at sensing hostility – and not at all aggressive.

  7. bwaghorn 7
    22 September 2022 at 12:50 pm

    Guess he could have asked first you know ,just incase it was a genuine mistake ,but property rights isn't really atari strength I've noticed from experience

  8. Chris 8
    22 September 2022 at 3:29 pm

    Once the owner realises the painting's value has increased he'll change his mind. That's how people like him think. First it's 'lock that criminal up', then it'll be 'ooh, I'm going to be able to hock this later for much more than I thought'. Probably not unlike his property deals over the years, I'd say.

  9. Robert Guyton 9
    22 September 2022 at 6:36 pm

    Nicely writ!

  10. Robert Guyton 10
    22 September 2022 at 6:46 pm

    Ahakoa he iti he pounamu

  11. Sanctuary 11
    23 September 2022 at 8:39 am

    "…The owner of the painting is less impressed. Cue national debate about art, vandalism, activism, racism, Te Reo Māori…"

    Seems straightforward to me. Nothing to do with art and all to do with displaying civility and good manners in life’s little journey.

    The only thing ruder than spelling someone's name wrong on a piece of art is vandalising the artwork without even attempting to ask the creator and owner first for permission for it to be corrected.

    Basically a failure of good manners all round really.

    I blame the education system.

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