Week 3, Task 2: Design examples

The idea of "human authority or upholding the wellbeing of a person or persons" defined by Huia Tomlins-Janke in the sense of Mana Tangata can be applied to modern art and design. A piece that I believe reflects this ides of 'A monument for the anxious and hopeful' (see Fig. 1.) by Candy Chung and James A Reeves, displayed in the Rubin Museum of Art in New York in 2018. This art piece is a collaborative work that allows viewers of the public to write down an anxiety or something they are hopeful for, and anonymously add it to a collection on the wall. It allows them to read others 'entries' and either have a laugh or possibly realise that their anxieties aren't as significant as they may seem in the big scheme of things. 


Fig. 1. Chung, Candy. Reeves, James A. A Moment for the Anxious and Hopeful. 2018. Rubin Museum of Art. New York City. http://candychang.com/work/a-monument-for-the-anxious-and-hopeful/



This represents this idea around Mana Tangata by transferring knowledge from person to person and also connecting each of the people involved in the art, by letting strangers see into their life. I think that by participating in the art piece and becoming vulnerable to the world, people are gaining mana. The mana Tangata of a person is improved by empathy, connection to others and allowing participants to vent their anxiety to an anonymous crowd while reading others, helps their wellbeing and self-esteem.