Overview

This book celebrates the long neglected art of the Kamoro, a people living along the south-west coast of Papua. Traditional Kamoro culture was characterised by an almost uninterrupted series of feasts and ceremonies. Some of these feasts are still celebrated today. Woodcarvings made in a distinct style play an essential part in the proceedings. For the first time, a selection of major pieces from the collection of the Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde, augmented by rare object from other museums in the Netherlands, has been brought together. Many of the objects, some collected as early as 1828, are unique. Recently collected woodcarvings show the versatility of the Kamoro in continuing the tradition while adding innovation changes to their repertoire. This book, edited by Dirk Smidt, includes a substantial essay by Jan Pouwer on major ceremonial feasts, and contributions by other experts in the field, including Todd Harple, Karen Jacobs, Methodius Mamapuku, and Hein A van der Schoot.

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9789068322682

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Kamoro Art is the catalog of a permanent exhibition of art, by the Kamoro people of southwest New Guinea, at the Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde in The Netherlands. The area of New Guinea in which the Kamoro live is now part of Indonesia, and the Kamoro live just to the west of the Asmat, to whom they are related culturally. The catalog is illustrated with 127 good color photographs of the objects. There are also about 74 excellent black-and-white and color field photographs of Kamoro people making and using art. Some of the objects in the exhibition were collected as early as 1828, and the most recent pieces are only a few years old, so the exhibitions spans a broad period of cultural creativity. Editor Smidt and principal author Jan Pouwer are both well-known and respected scholars of the Kamoro, and there are excellent essays by Todd Harple, Karen Jacobs, Methodius Mamapuku, and Hein A. van der Schoot. This first substantial study of Kamoro art is extremely useful for understanding the creative abilities of an interesting people of Melanesia. The book will be very helpful to any students or scholars of the art of the Pacific islands. Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers; lower-division undergraduates through faculty. --C. D. Roy. University of Iowa in CHOICE

Kamoro Art is the catalog of a permanent exhibition of art, by the Kamoro people of southwest New Guinea, at the Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde in The Netherlands. The area of New Guinea in which the Kamoro live is now part of Indonesia, and the Kamoro live just to the west of the Asmat, to whom they are related culturally. The catalog is illustrated with 127 good color photographs of the objects. There are also about 74 excellent black-and-white and color field photographs of Kamoro people making and using art. Some of the objects in the exhibition were collected as early as 1828, and the most recent pieces are only a few years old, so the exhibitions spans a broad period of cultural creativity. Editor Smidt and principal author Jan Pouwer are both well-known and respected scholars of the Kamoro, and there are excellent essays by Todd Harple, Karen Jacobs, Methodius Mamapuku, and Hein A. van der Schoot. This first substantial study of Kamoro art is extremely useful for understanding the creative abilities of an interesting people of Melanesia. The book will be very helpful to any students or scholars of the art of the Pacific islands. Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers; lower-division undergraduates through faculty. --C. D. Roy. University of Iowa in CHOICE The catalog is illustrated with 127 good color photographs of the objects. There are also about 74 excellent black-and-white and color field photographs of Kamoro people making and using art. Some of the objects in the exhibition were collected as early as 1828, and the most recent pieces are only a few years old, so the exhibitions spans a broad period of cultural creativity. Editor Smidt and principal author Jan Pouwer are both well-known and respected scholars of the Kamoro, and there are excellent essays by Todd Harple, Karen Jacobs, Methodius Mamapuku, and Hein A. van der Schoot. This first substantial study of Kamoro art is extremely useful for understanding the creative abilities of an interesting people of Melanesia. The book will be very helpful to any students or scholars of the art of the Pacific islands. Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers; lower-division undergraduates through faculty.

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