Hone Papita Raukura "Ralph" Hotere (11 August 1931 – 24 February 2013)
was a
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
artist. He was born in
Mitimiti
Mitimiti is a small settlement in Northland, New Zealand. It lies close to the Warawara Forest, between the mouths of the Whangape Harbour and Hokianga Harbour on Northland's west coast, 44 km west of Kohukohu. Mitimiti is part of the Hok ...
,
Northland and is widely regarded as one of New Zealand's most important artists. In 1994 he was awarded an
honorary doctorate
An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...
from the
University of Otago
, image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg
, image_size =
, caption = University clock tower
, motto = la, Sapere aude
, mottoeng = Dare to be wise
, established = 1869; 152 years ago
, type = Public research collegiate u ...
and in 2003 received an Icon Award from the
Arts Foundation of New Zealand
'The Arts Foundation of New Zealand Te Tumu Toi is a New Zealand arts organisation that supports artistic excellence and facilitates private philanthropy through raising funds for the arts and allocating it to New Zealand artists.
The concept ...
.
In the
2012 New Year Honours, Hotere was appointed to the
Order of New Zealand for services to New Zealand.
Early history
Hotere was born in
Mitimiti
Mitimiti is a small settlement in Northland, New Zealand. It lies close to the Warawara Forest, between the mouths of the Whangape Harbour and Hokianga Harbour on Northland's west coast, 44 km west of Kohukohu. Mitimiti is part of the Hok ...
, close to the
Hokianga Harbour
The Hokianga is an area surrounding the Hokianga Harbour, also known as the Hokianga River, a long estuarine drowned valley on the west coast in the north of the North Island of New Zealand.
The original name, still used by local Māori, is ...
in the
Northland Region
The Northland Region ( mi, Te Tai Tokerau) is the northernmost of New Zealand's 16 local government regions. New Zealanders sometimes refer to it as the Winterless North because of its mild climate all throughout the year. The main population ...
, one of 15 children.
When Hotere was 9, his older brother Jack enlisted in the army. Jack was killed in action in Italy in 1943.
Hotere received his secondary education at
Hato Petera College
Hato Petera College (formerly called St Peter's Māori College) was an integrated, co-educational college in Northcote Central, Auckland, New Zealand for students from Year 9 to Year 13. It existed for 90 years, opening on 3 June 1928 and clo ...
, Auckland, where he studied from 1946 to 1949. After early art training at the
Auckland Teachers' Training College under the tutelage of
J. D. Charlton Edgar,
he moved to
Dunedin
Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...
in 1952, where he studied at Dunedin School of Art, part of
King Edward Technical College
King Edward Technical College is a former school and technical college in Dunedin, New Zealand. The college was established in 1889 as the Dunedin Technical School when the Caledonian Society instigated night education classes.
Through the 19 ...
. During the later 1950s, he worked as a schools art advisor for the Education Department in the
Bay of Islands
The Bay of Islands is an area on the east coast of the Far North District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is one of the most popular fishing, sailing and tourist destinations in the country, and has been renowned internationally for its ...
.
In 1961 Hotere gained a New Zealand Art Societies Fellowship and travelled to England where he studied at the
Central School of Art and Design
The Central School of Art and Design was a public school of fine and applied arts in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1896 by the London County Council as the Central School of Arts and Cr ...
in London. During 1962–1964 he studied in France and travelled around Europe, during which time he witnessed the development of the
Pop Art and
Op Art
Op art, short for optical art, is a style of visual art that uses optical illusions.
Op artworks are abstract, with many better-known pieces created in black and white. Typically, they give the viewer the impression of movement, hidden images ...
movements. His travels took him, among other places, to the war cemetery in Italy where his brother was buried. This event, and the politics of Europe during the 1960s, had a profound effect on Hotere’s work, notably in the ''Sangro'' and ''Polaris'' series of paintings.
Return to New Zealand
Hotere returned to New Zealand and exhibited in
Dunedin
Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...
in 1965, and returned to the city in 1969 when he became the University of Otago's
Frances Hodgkins Fellow. At about that time he began to introduce literary elements to his work. He worked with poets such as
Hone Tuwhare Honing is a kind of metalworking.
Hone may also refer to:
* Hone (name) (incl. Hōne), a list of people with the surname, given name or nickname
* Hõne language
Hõne is a Jukunoid language spoken in Gombe State and Taraba State, Nigeria
...
and
Bill Manhire
William Manhire (born 27 December 1946) is a New Zealand poet, short story writer, emeritus professor, and New Zealand's inaugural New Zealand Poet Laureate, Poet Laureate (1997–1998). He founded New Zealand's first creative writing course at ...
to produce several strong paintings, and produced other works specifically for the New Zealand literary journal ''
Landfall
Landfall is the event of a storm moving over land after being over water. More broadly, and in relation to human travel, it refers to 'the first land that is reached or seen at the end of a journey across the sea or through the air, or the fact ...
''. Hotere also worked in collaboration with other prominent artists, notably
Bill Culbert
William Franklin Culbert (23 January 1935 – 28 March 2019) was a New Zealand artist, notable for his use of light in painting, photography, sculpture and installation work, as well as his use of found and recycled materials.
He was born in ...
.
From the 1970s onward, Hotere was noted for his use of unusual tools and materials in creating his work, notably the use of power tools on corrugated iron and steel within the context of two-dimensional art.
Black paintings
From 1968,
Hotere began the series of works with which he is perhaps best known, the ''Black Paintings''. In these works, black is used almost exclusively. In some works, strips of colour are placed against stark black backgrounds in a style reminiscent of
Barnett Newman
Barnett Newman (January 29, 1905 – July 4, 1970) was an American artist. He has been critically regarded as one of the major figures of abstract expressionism, and one of the foremost color field painters. His paintings explore the sense o ...
. In other black paintings, stark simple crosses appear in the gloom, black on black. Though
minimalist
In visual arts, music and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in post–World War II in Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Don ...
, the works, as with those of most good abstractionists, have a redolent poetry of their own. The simple markings speak of transcendence, of religion, or peace.
''Black Phoenix''
The themes of the black paintings extended to later works, notably the colossal ''Black Phoenix'' (1984–88), constructed out of the burnt remains of a fishing boat. This major installation incorporates the prow of the boat flanked by burnt planks of wood. Other planks form a pathway leading the prow. Each plank has had a strip laid bare to reveal the natural wood underneath beneath. Several of the boards are inscribed with a traditional Maori proverb, ''Ka hinga atu he tete-kura haramai he tete-kura'' ("As one fern frond (person) dies - one is born to take its place"). A slight change has been made in the wording of the proverb, replacing ''haramai'' (transfer, pass over) to ''ara mai'' (the path forward), possibly indicating the cleared pathway of bare wood in front of the boat's burnt prow. The work measures 5m by 13m by 5.5m.
Political art
Politics were entwined in the subject matter of Hotere's art from an early stage. Alongside the Black Paintings series, which continued until not long before his death. Hotere's political works also continued. When
Aramoana
Aramoana is a small coastal settlement north of Dunedin on the South Island of New Zealand. The settlement's permanent population in the 2001 Census was 261. Supplementing this are seasonal visitors from the city who occupy cribs. The name '' ...
, a wetland near his Port Chalmers home, was
proposed as the site for an aluminium smelter, Hotere was vocal in his opposition, and produced the ''Aramoana'' series of paintings. Similarly, he produced series protesting against a controversial
rugby
Rugby may refer to:
Sport
* Rugby football in many forms:
** Rugby league: 13 players per side
*** Masters Rugby League
*** Mod league
*** Rugby league nines
*** Rugby league sevens
*** Touch (sport)
*** Wheelchair rugby league
** Rugby union: 1 ...
tour by New Zealand of
apartheid
Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
-era
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
(''Black Union Jack'') in 1981, and the
sinking of the Greenpeace
Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth t ...
flagship ''
Rainbow Warrior'' (''Black rainbow'') in 1985. Later, his reactions to Middle East politics resulted in works such as ''Jerusalem, Jerusalem'' and ''This might be a double cross jack''.
Hotere's work was slowed by a stroke in 2001, but he continued to create and exhibit regularly until his death in February 2013.
A documentary film of the artist's life and work, ''Hotere'', was released by Paradise Films in 2001, in association with
Creative New Zealand
The Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa (Creative New Zealand) is the national arts development agency of the New Zealand government, investing in artists and arts organisations, offering capability building programmes and developing markets ...
and the
New Zealand Film Commission
The New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC; mi, Te Tumu Whakaata Taonga) is a New Zealand government agency formed to assist with creating and promoting New Zealand films. It was established under the New Zealand Film Commission Act 1978 (as amende ...
. Written and directed by
Merata Mita
Merata Mita (19 June 1942 – 31 May 2010) was a New Zealand filmmaker, producer, and writer, and a key figure in the growth of the Māori screen industry.
Early life
Mita was born on 19 June 1942 in Maketu in New Zealand's Bay of Plenty. Sh ...
, the documentary made its overseas debut at the 2002
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...
.
Personal life
Hotere was of
Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
descent (
Te Aupōuri
Te Aupōuri is the second northernmost Māori iwi (tribal group), located north of Kaitaia, Northland, New Zealand, a region known as the Te Hiku o te Ika. The iwi is one of the six Muriwhenua iwi of the far north of the North Island.
Te Reo ...
and
Te Rarawa
Te Rarawa is a Māori iwi of Northland, New Zealand. The iwi is one of five Muriwhenua iwi of the far north of the North Island.
Rūnanga and marae
Te Rarawa has 23 foundation marae:
*Korou Kore Marae, '' Ahipara'', represents the hapū of Ng ...
).
He married three times, with two of his wives also being artists. His second wife was artist and poet
Cilla McQueen
Priscilla Muriel McQueen (born 22 January 1949 in Birmingham, England) is a poet and three-time winner of the ''New Zealand Book Award'' for Poetry.
Early years and education
McQueen's family moved to New Zealand when she was four.
She was educ ...
, whom he married in 1973, and with whom he moved to
Careys Bay near
Port Chalmers
Port Chalmers is a town serving as the main port of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. Port Chalmers lies ten kilometres inside Otago Harbour, some 15 kilometres northeast of Dunedin's city centre.
History
Early Māori settlement
The origi ...
in 1974. The two separated amicably during the 1990s.
Hotere later married
Mary McFarlane
Mary may refer to:
People
* Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name)
Religious contexts
* New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below
* Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...
, another notable artist, in February 2002.
Hotere died on 24 February 2013, aged 81 and was survived by his daughter Andrea, three mokopuna (grandchildren) and also his third wife Mary.
He was buried at
Mitimiti
Mitimiti is a small settlement in Northland, New Zealand. It lies close to the Warawara Forest, between the mouths of the Whangape Harbour and Hokianga Harbour on Northland's west coast, 44 km west of Kohukohu. Mitimiti is part of the Hok ...
.
Hotere Garden Oputae
Hotere's former studio was on land at the tip of
Observation Point, the large bluff overlooking the Port Chalmers container terminal. When the port's facilities were expanded, part of the bluff was removed, including the area of Hotere's studio (after strenuous objection from many of the town's residents). Part of the bluff close to the removed portion is now an award-winning sculpture garden, the ''Hotere Garden Oputae'', organised in 2005 by Hotere and featuring works by both him and by other noted New Zealand modern sculptors. Other sculptors with work in the garden include
Russell Moses,
Shona Rapira Davies
Shona Rapira Davies (born 1951) is a sculptor and painter of Ngātiwai ki Aotea tribal descent. Currently residing in Wellington New Zealand.
Education
Rapira Davies first studied at the Auckland College of Education, majoring in art, and lat ...
, and
Chris Booth.
[Jeffery, Joshua,]
Hotere Garden Oputae
" ''Insiders Dunedin'', 18 March 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
References
External links
Works at Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o WaiwhetūWorks at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa TongarewaAuckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki: Works by Ralph HotereBiography from John Leech GalleryReproduction print of Ralph Hotere paintingReview of 2004 exhibition from ''New Zealand Listener'' magazine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hotere, Ralph
1931 births
2013 deaths
People educated at Hato Petera College, Auckland
Members of the Order of New Zealand
Modern painters
New Zealand Māori artists
New Zealand painters
People from Port Chalmers
People from the Hokianga
Te Aupōuri people
Te Rarawa people
Alumni of the Central School of Art and Design
20th-century New Zealand artists
20th-century New Zealand male artists