Mike Tavioni
Mike Tavioni | |
---|---|
Born | 1947 (age 74–75) |
Alma mater | Tereora College Northland College Massey University Auckland University of Technology |
Occupation |
|
Mike Tavioni (born 1947) is a Cook Islands artist and writer. A master carver, he has been described as a taonga (treasure).[1] His role in the pacific art community is recognised from New Zealand to Hawaii.[2]
Tavioni was born on Rarotonga. He was educated at Tereora College, then at Northland College, Kaikohe and Massey University in New Zealand, graduating with a degree in Agriculture & Horticulture.[3] After working as a public servant in the Agriculture Department, he became a full-time artist.[3] In 2019 he graduated with a Master of Fine Arts from Auckland University of Technology.[4]
He has worked in a wide variety of mediums, including printing, painting, wood, stone, and bone, as well as traditional tattooing.[3] In 1975 he began printing t-shirts using wooden blocks.[5] He experimented with other mediums, but initially found it difficult to obtain tools and materials.[5] In 1996 he oversaw the creation of the market.[6] In 2002 he published a poetry collection, Speak Your Truth.[7] His work is displayed at the in Avarua and the University of the South Pacific campus.[8] In 2016 he was commissioned, alongside New Zealand-based artist Michel Tuffery, to create a carved wooden gateway for the RSA memorial cemetery to commemorate the centenary of Cook Islands participation in the First World War.[9]
Tavioni unsuccessfully stood as a candidate for the Unity party in the 1978 Cook Islands general election.[10] He later stood as a candidate for the Te Kura O Te ʻAu People's Movement in Avatiu–Ruatonga–Palmerston in the 2010 election.[11]
Tavioni now runs a gallery and art school in Rarotonga,[12] where he teaches traditional vaka-making.[13] In 2021 he was the subject of a short documentary film, Taonga: An Artists Activist.[14]
Images[]
Punanga Nui sculpture, 1998
Cook Islands RSA Memorial Gateway, 2017
Wood carving for NZ High Commission, 2019
References[]
- ^ Anne Gibson (10 February 2017). "Pacific artist Michael Tuffery creating a memorial to Rarotonga's 'Forgotten 43'". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
- ^ ""Native of 2020″ Art Show in Cook Islands". Island Time. 7 January 2019. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
- ^ a b c "Cultural Heritage: Mike Tavioni". Cook Islands Tourism Corporation. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
- ^ "Master artist carves letters after his name". Cook Islands News. 28 September 2019. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
- ^ a b Angela McCarthy (1 January 1991). "Carving a path for art". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. 61, no. 1. pp. 49–50. Retrieved 5 August 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Tavioni's Punanga Nui proposal rejected". Cook Islands News. 20 July 2012. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
- ^ "Eleven artists show work in themed event". Cook Islands News. 4 January 2019. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
- ^ "Two 'unveilings' make artist's day extra-special". Cook Islands News. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
- ^ "First step in creation of carved memorial". Cook Islands News. 14 September 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
- ^ Michael T. Tavoni (1979). "The Unity Movement". In Davis, Thomas R. A. H.; Crocombe, R. G. (eds.). Cook Islands Politics: The Inside Story. Auckland: Polynesian Press. p. 83. ISBN 0-908597-002.
- ^ "Mike Tavioni surprise candidate". Cook Islands News. 16 October 2010. Archived from the original on 26 October 2010. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
- ^ "Big plans for newly-opened gallery". Cook Islands News. 8 January 2019. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
- ^ "Vaka headed for California". Cook Islands News. 29 April 2019. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
- ^ "Taonga: An Artists Activist". Cook Islands News. 20 December 2021. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
- Massey University alumni
- Auckland University of Technology alumni
- Cook Island artists
- People from Rarotonga
- 1947 births
- Living people
- Woodcarvers