| As the unknown world was being "discovered" and claimed by European powers for political and economic reason, interest in all things classified as exotic came into fashion. World powers such as England and France had large holdings in both Africa and Asia as part of their respective empires. Acquisition of territories goes hand in hand with the fascination of what was acquired, therefore it is not unreasonable for conquering countries to have an allure for the foreign and, as a means of articulating a new national identity, ownership of it. Paul Gauguin's adventure in Tahiti and the South Pacific was to find paradise- a paradise of his own making. I will be exploring Paul Gauguin and his Tahitian fantasy of the "other" as a component of Western formation of the "Noble Savage." Gauguin participated in creating and fostering the notion and the fantasy of the "Noble Savage." This thesis will examine his contribution to the manufacture of an ethnic identity imposed on the people of Tahiti the French. Gauguin shared colonial notions concerning the Tahitians' character as uncomplicated, child-like, lazy, unproductive, closer to nature, and unsophisticated in terms of social structure, art, politics, religion, and sensibility. Gauguin's perception of Tahitian people was a misrepresentation of reality and an example of what was occurring to colonized peoples all around the globe. In the creation of his art pieces, Gauguin was visually elucidating his love affair with "his" Tahiti, which was inscribed on the bodies of its populace. |
