Art Practice Commons^™

Aha'aina, Tali Alisa Hafoka

Theses and Dissertations

In a Polynesian feast, food is a metaphor for the essence of Polynesian culture—giving without self regard. As Polynesian culture evolves, its aesthetic standard must necessarily change. Two seemingly conflicting essentials are necessary here for the survival of culture—the evolution of the cultural aesthetic, and the constancy of the culture's essence. One might consider as a metaphor the evolution of a tree through the seasons—though the foliage blooms, changes colors, dies and grows brittle, falls and regenerates, etc., the roots remain constant—ever nourishing the tree and ever supporting it and holding it up. As with the tree, the essence of …