Tag: music

  • Textiles of the Mbuti

    Over in the northeastern rainforest, the Ituri, of the Democratic Republic of the Congo live the Mbuti people who make unique barkcloth. Pounded out by men and decoratively planted by women, these cloths are worn or used to hang inside huts. If they are worn for ceremonial purposes they are called Pongo. This example in…

  • The Rugby

    South Africa’s Cape Town Camerata perform a song for the Rugby World Cup and the All Blacks perform their haka before The Big Game kicked off today. Now, who to support…

  • Hine e hine

    This week I was singing in a concert in Greymouth. The event is an annual affair by Centrestage, a women’s performing group, and they always invite others to take part. One of the pieces I chose to sing was Hine E Hine, written by Princess Te Rangi Pai/ Fanny Rose Porter in 1905. You can…

  • This week’s Spotify playlist

    Each week a selection of music is compiled into a playlist on Spotify, the music streaming app. The mix is related to items on the blog and to current events, and you can listen to it by clicking the play button on the Spotify app below. This week the music selection is based on songs…

  • This week’s Spotify playlist

    Each week a new playlist will be available for readers to listen to on Spotify. The music is selected because of its relevance to the blog or to the news. If you have a paid membership to the service you will hear the full length tracks and no advertisements. An unpaid membership plays advertisements every…

  • Appropriation or appreciation – who makes the decisions?

    The artist, Yinka Shonibare, has long employed art to explore and expose colonial attitudes, using cloth that originated in the Dutch colonies and that are now associated with Africa, to highlight the role of the textile industry in world trading relationships. It is a clear example of cultural appropriation. But sometimes the lines are blurry.…

  • Fantastic cardigans, Oz style

    Just across the water something rather marvellous has been going on that those of us who like knitwear might just have fallen in love with. WAH-WAH Australia is a fabulous label that creates wearable art from music designs but that is not all. The designer, Kaylene Milner, works with bands to make outfits for stage…

  • Music to read a blog by

    This week sees the introduction of a new element for the blog: a Spotify playlist. To listen to the music that has been on the earphones this week, click on the play list link above. If you have a Spotify account or app you will be able to listen to the full tracks, otherwise you…

  • Appropriation or appreciation?

    Recently friends have been asking the current Big Question: what, in my opinion, is the difference between appropriation and appreciation? These days, appropriation is a Hot Topic and rightly so. For centuries people have been borrowing from others to create, and often the original creators have not benefitted. As an example, the song “The Lion…

  • Peter McIntyre’s Pacific

    Peter McIntyre’s Pacific

    The artist, Peter McIntyre, was born in Dunedin, Aotearoa New Zealand in 1910 and had a long, distinguished painting career. He is principally known as a landscape painter but his portraits reveal his early start as a fashion illustrator. The artist, Peter McIntyre, was born in Dunedin, Aotearoa New Zealand in 1910 and had a…