Noa Noa 1926

Curator: Paul Gauguin’s mixed-media print, "Noa Noa," created around 1926, offers us a window into his engagement with Polynesian culture. You can currently find it here at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Editor: It feels instantly dreamlike. The colors are muted, almost faded, and the figures seem to exist in a space between reality and myth. Curator: Gauguin, of course, spent considerable time in Tahiti. The print stems from that period, and the title itself, "Noa Noa," translates roughly to "fragrant" or "pleasant earth." It was meant to accompany his written account of his experiences there. What he termed "authenticity" became central to this art’s reception. Editor: The Tahitian woman holding the fish has such stillness, almost a meditative quality. Fish, trees, the shapes of animals, simplified down. The image is pregnant with symbols, even primal associations between people and nature. Curator: Indeed. The primitivism Gauguin embraced was, inevitably, a constructed one, filtered through the lens of a European artist seeking an alternative to Western modernity. One of the biggest critiques centered around colonial interpretations. Editor: Even with those concerns in mind, I think the enduring power of the piece lies in its visual language. Look at the dogs—one a solid silhouette, the other built up from layered marks. Curator: Gauguin was interested in layering meaning onto what some considered "primitive" art. A central trope being escape. However, he was a product of the time; such visions do little to help social inequalities. Editor: A powerful and disquieting reminder of how cultural appropriation can complicate our engagement with even the most seemingly beautiful images. It asks us to look critically at whose stories are being told, and how. Curator: Precisely. Thank you for guiding me to better understanding as well.