Oceania

The islands of the South Pacific are divided into three cultural areas: Melanesia ("black islands"), Polynesia ("many islands") and Micronesia ("small islands"). Parts of Indonesia and Australia are also sometimes included in the Oceanic region. Early peoples arrived in this region over a long period of time. Although Southeast Asians settled in New Guinea and Australia about 30,000 years ago, some of Oceania's most isolated islands were populated only 2,000 years ago.

Oceania was one of the last areas to be explored by Europeans, who first encountered the islands in the sixteenth century. The importation of metal and other European materials, as well as the introduction of Western cultural traditions, have greatly influenced South Pacific art over the past two centuries.

Oceanic art honors regional deities, nature spirits and ancestors. It also sometimes functions as an indicator of social status. In the highly stratified societies of Polynesia, the ruling class uses art to venerate the deities from which they are descended, thus legitimizing their positions of power. However, in Melanesia, status is gained primarily through individual achievement, and art is used as a vehicle for displaying personal wealth. Art in much of Melanesia tends towards expressionistic, brightly colored forms. In contrast, the art of Polynesia and Micronesia is more often defined by sparse use of pigment and simple form, sometimes decorated with tightly controlled geometric surface carving.

Pacific Arts Online
Traditional “Arts” in Vanuatu
http://www.abc.net.au/arts/artok/issues/s200543.htm

Hutchinson Encyclopedia
Oceanic Art
http://www.tiscali.co.uk/reference/encyclopaedia/hutchinson/m0039821.html

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