With the help of Te Arawa iwi T\u016bhourangi, the identity of the subject was confirmed as Patara Te Ng\u016bng\u016bkai<\/a> \u2013 a renowned Te Arawa tohunga responsible for scraping down human bones following exhumation to prepare them for reburial.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were contacted a few years ago by someone from the Australian estate that owns the painting researching who the t\u016bpuna was. That was the last we heard of it until this week, when we learnt that it was going up for sale,\u201d Kirikowhai Mikaere, chair of T\u016bhourangi Tribal Authority, told the The Spinoff last week.<\/p>\n Since then, the work has been withdrawn from sale<\/a> after doubts were raised about its authenticity. Despite the \u201cextensive technical examination\u201d and research to confirm the origins of the work, some experts claim the painting is an imitation of a Goldie portrait and not an original work by one of the country\u2019s most famous artists.<\/p>\n But authenticity isn\u2019t the only murky aspect of the artwork. The question of what cultural rights descendants have relating to the sale of depictions of their t\u016bpuna has also been raised. As the law currently stands, people who appear in paintings, photographs taken in public places, or any other works of art generally have no rights relating to those images \u2013 those rights belong to the artist or photographer. However, these rights are extinguished 50 years after the death of the artist, at which point the work and its likeness become public domain. This means anyone can use the image for any legal purpose. Assuming the painting is an original work of Goldie, then no intellectual property rights would apply in this case, or to any of Goldie\u2019s works.<\/p>\n A prolific painter of M\u0101ori people, many of Goldie\u2019s works and images of his subjects have been reproduced, including two that used to hang in a Christchurch cafe<\/a>. Some versions have defaced or altered the subjects, while others can be purchased printed on an iPhone case<\/a> for under $30. With the images belonging to the public domain, it can be difficult to legally prevent people from using them however they wish.<\/p>\n For T\u016bhourangi, \u201cIt\u2019s a double-edged sword,\u201d said Mikaere. \u201cIt\u2019s a beautiful portrait and [there\u2019s] an appreciation for the artwork, the genius of the artist and the depiction of our koroua. But on the other hand, that image being taken and sold for other people\u2019s gain is always a challenging dilemma.\u201d<\/p>\n In the past, some M\u0101ori have protested the sale of images of their t\u016bpuna, while others have begun trying to purchase<\/a> as many of these images as possible. With its estimated price tag of $420,000, purchasing the painting was not a viable option for the iwi, said Mikaere.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe knew we wouldn\u2019t be able to participate in in the auction, given the price they were looking to get. The silver lining, though, is we can resurface the true narrative of who this koroua was and how special he was,\u201d Mikaere said.<\/p>\n Lynell Tuffery Huria, partner at K\u0101hui Legal and a leading expert on M\u0101ori intellectual property rights, said descendants don\u2019t have many options. \u201cI think we\u2019re getting better at addressing cultural concerns in this space, but we still lack the legislative frameworks.\u201d<\/p>\n Since it was introduced in 1994, no significant changes have been made to the Copyright Act. However, the government confirmed in May that amendments would be introduced due to obligations in free trade agreements signed with the United Kingdom and the European Union in 2023 and 2024. The most significant proposal is a 20-year extension to the term of copyright and related rights protection for most categories of work. However, no proposed changes would impact any of the rights relating to the painting of Patara Te Ng\u016bng\u016bkai.<\/p>\n \u201cHis [Patara Te Ng\u016bng\u016bkai\u2019s] iwi have no ability to control the narrative about him or how his painting might be used in the future. There\u2019s nothing that we can do about it within the current intellectual property frameworks, and that\u2019s why the Wai 262 claim was filed back in 1991.\u201d<\/p>\n Commonly referred to as the Flora and Fauna Claim, Wai 262 is a landmark Waitangi Tribunal inquiry addressing M\u0101ori intellectual property rights, traditional knowledge and control over indigenous flora and fauna. Alongside Taumata Whakap\u016bmau<\/a> \u2013 a group made up of descendants of original claimants to Wai 262 \u2013 Mikaere and Huria have been advocating for greater recognition of cultural rights in the intellectual property space. While the finer details are still being developed, the \u201cTaonga Works Framework\u201d and Tiaki Taonga movement<\/a> would establish a commission responsible for overseeing the development of frameworks in the space.<\/p>\n \u201cThey would decide what\u2019s a taonga work, who the relevant kaitiaki is, what their relationship is with that taonga and what level of protection should be given,\u201d Huria said.<\/p>\n At a practical level, Huria said the painting of Patara Te Ng\u016bng\u016bkai would be covered under the framework. Acknowledgement of the subject\u2019s iwi, hap\u016b and wh\u0101nau would be required and they would need to be consulted if there were any benefits from the use of the taonga.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Protected Objects Act 1975, meanwhile, regulates the sale, import, export and transfer of culturally significant objects. While taonga t\u016bturu \u2013 objects made, used or brought to Aotearoa by M\u0101ori and more than 50 years old \u2013 receive the strongest protections, including mandatory registration and restrictions on who can buy them, other historic objects are subject to different rules.<\/p>\n Historic portraits of tangata whenua do not qualify as taonga t\u016bturu as they were produced by P\u0101keh\u0101 photographers and artists rather than being made or used by M\u0101ori. As a result, despite their clear cultural significance, they do not receive the act\u2019s highest level of protection.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the end of the day, [the painting] ultimately still belongs to us,\u201d Mikaere said. \u201cAs much as we can, we will try to exercise governance or kaitiakitanga over it. If it was to be used for purposes that didn\u2019t align, then we would definitely try to step in.\u201d<\/p>\n While work is ongoing, Huria said she was doubtful any meaningful changes would be made in this space under the current government: \u201cIt\u2019s a long-term strategy, long-term intergenerational project.\u201d<\/p>\n In regards to the work being withdrawn from sale, Mikaere said: \u201cThe world works in mysterious ways, and I can\u2019t help but wonder if this is the koroua exercising governance over his own image.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A \u2018previously unrecognised\u2019 Goldie painting has raised eyebrows in the art world amid questions around its authenticity. What…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":813001,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[76,354,355,285191,49,48,356,75,14936,285189,285190],"class_list":["post-813000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-atea","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-intellectual-property","tag-nz-art","tag-taonga-maori"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/813000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=813000"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/813000\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/813001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=813000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=813000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=813000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Fancy an iPhone case featuring someone\u2019s t\u016bpuna on it? (Image: Screenshot of fineartamerica.com)<\/p>\n
The painting has been withdrawn from sale, for now. (Image: Supplied)<\/p>\n