Oceana comprises three great cultural areas: Melanesia, Polynesia and Micronesia. The art of the island populations of the South Pacific takes such diverse forms as masks and jewelry, household utensils and weapons, canoe prows and overmodeled skulls, tapa and major representations of the deities. It is spawned from the religious beliefs of people attempting to answer the great questions of their very existence.
Oceanic Art has long been hidden away in museums devoted to scientific study of man. "Rediscovered" in the early years of this century, is now finally being regarded as a major component of the world's artistic heritage. Most of the works of art illustrated in these two volumes are store deep in the reserves of museums or held in private collections not accessible to the public. The majority are shown here for the first time and were photographed specifically for this book.
An astonishing wealth of little-known art of Melanesia, Polynesia and Micronesia is showcased in this revelatory survey, stunningly illustrated with some 800 lavish color plates. Meyer, an American-born art dealer and Paris-based gallery owner, has unearthed South Pacific island treasures including a monumental wood sculpture representing the primordial couple, canoe-prow figureheads, decorative combs oddly reminiscent of Alexander Calder mobiles, sophisticated jewelry and textiles, potent painted masks with echoes of Klee and Picasso. The text, printed in parallel columns in English, German and French, proceeds geographically from New Guinea to Vanuatu, Fiji, Samoa, the Cook Islands, New Zealand, Hawaii and Easter Island, with many stops in between. Brimming with vitality and originality, these complex artworks explode conventional stereotypes of "primitive" art and embody cosmologies in which every plant, animal, person and object has a soul.
Copyright 1996 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
These two slipcased volumes, written by an art dealer whose specialty is Oceanic art, document the ethnic arts of Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia, New Zealand, and New Guinea. Each island group is treated as a separate chapter. The scholarly but readable text is trilingual (English, French, and German) and is lavishly illustrated with maps, vintage tribal photographs, and hundreds of Wipperfurth's stunning photos. Many of the pieces shown are in private collections and therefore not readily available for public viewing. Despite the books' visual appeal and informative text, the absence of an index and the limited glossary presend problems (though sidebars explain some technical terms). Although the books are massive?and a bargain considering their size?most libraries would probably do better with Nicholas Thomas's recently published paperback Oceanic Art (Thames & Hudson, 1995). Recommended only for collections specializing in art or anthropology.?Margarete Gross, Chicago P.L.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
