BOOKS
UNDERSTANDING NORTHWEST COAST ART: A GUIDE TO CRESTS, BEINGS, AND SYMBOLS
By Cheryl Shearer
Published in English by University of Washington Press, 2000.
FORMAT: 6 1/4 x 9",192 pp, 70 illus, maps.
Softcover: $19.95.THIS IS MORE LIKE A DICTIONARY OR A HANDBOOK than an interpretive study. It would be an excellent traveling companion for a trip through British Columbia or a visit to any museum collection of Northwest Coast art. It will be a boon to docents and museum educators. More than 100 pages are devoted to a Dictionary of Crests, Beings, and Symbols, with entries from Abalone shell and Anuwak'xnm to Yagem and Yagis (no Z-words). The black-and-white illustrations include historical photographs, many by Edward Curtis, as well as prints by contemporary artists that exemplify the underlying notions of formlines. A brief summary of "The Basics of Northwest Coast Art" follows the dictionary and is at least equally valuable.
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SPIRITS OF THE WATER: NATIVE ART COLLECTED ON EXPEDITIONS TO ALASKA AND BRITISH COLUMBIA, 1774-1910
English language edited by Steven C. Brown
Published in English by University of Washington Press, 2000.
FORMAT: 9 1/2 x 11 3/4", 224 illus, 180 in color, maps.
Softcover: $45.00.THIS FASCINATING BOOK ACCOMPANIED AN EXHIBITION organized by Fundacion "la Caixa" of Barcelona curated by Alberto Costa Romero de Tejada and Paz Cabello, and they have both contributed major essays to this volume. An unusual aspect of the show and the catalogue is the spotlight on strategies of collecting by European powers in North America. In most such publications the works are grouped according to the people who made them, but this overview is organized in terms of the countries that collected them. Illustrations include some in situ drawings by artists who accompanied the various expeditions.
Sections are devoted to Spanish Expeditions, 1774-1792; English Expedition, 1778; Russian Expeditions, 1778-1890; and North American Expeditions, 1867-1910. Objects have been borrowed from major museums and private collections in Europe and America, reuniting pieces that have not been seen together since they were dispersed by their initial collectors. Museums in New York, Madrid, Vienna, Paris, and St. Petersburg, among others, contributed to this rich concentration. This approach clusters works gathered in the same time and place, and the excellent photographs may lead one to form hypotheses about chronological developments in the art of the Northwest Coast.
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EDWARD SHERIFF CURTIS & L'INDIEN D'AMÉRIQUE DU NORD
By Christopher Cardozo, N. Scott Momaday, Joseph D. Horse Capture, and Anne Makepleace.
Published in French by Marval Editions, Paris, 2000 (in English, under the title Sacred Legacy: Edward S. Curtis and the North American Indian, by Verve Editions, Burlington, Vermont).
FORMAT: 26 x 33 cm, 191 pp, 190 six color illus.
Hardcover: 490 FF.PUBLISHED IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE TRAVELING EXHIBITION Edward S. Curtis and the North American Indian, this book presents Curtis' singular achievement. In 1900, in an attempt to overtake a quickly encroaching modernity and capture the essence of Native American culture, Curtis embarked on the gigantic task of cataloguing the rites, lifestyles, and traditions of these peoples. Thirty years of his life was devoted to taking over 50,000 photographs of eighty Indian tribes, among them the Cheyenne, Apache, Sioux, and Apsaroke, to name only a few. Previous publications on Curtis' work have primarily used the photo engravings created for the twenty volumes of The North American Indian (published from 1907 to 1930). This work, however, faithfully reproduces 190 of Curtis' original photos, often from the originals.
"I think that non-Indians can appreciate not only the technical care Curtis took in his photography, but also the feeling he put into in his work…For us, his work illustrates a period we would like to feel closer to. I recognize the Fort Belknap reservation in the background of some photos. In the foreground, I see my people on horseback…The families photographed by Curtis are still here today and keep up the traditions of their ancestors." This statement, by contributing writer Joseph D. Horse Capture, exemplifies the way in which the contributors to this volume share a deep understanding, not only of Curtis, who recorded an important period in American history for future generations, but also of the native peoples who are the essence of this photographer's work.[back]
CAPTAIN COOK'S WORLD: MAPS OF THE LIFE AND VOYAGES OF JAMES COOK R.N.
Maps and Text by John Robson
Published in English by University of Washington Press, Seattle, 2000.
FORMAT: 8 1/2 x 12 ", 212 pp, over 100 maps, 15-page gazetteer.
Hardcover.IF YOU'VE EVER WANTED TO KNOW precisely where did he go and when, you will find meticulously detailed answers in this absorbing study. It is organized by voyages, with about 30 to 40 maps for each voyage, and each spot is annotated with notations of various occurrences. This is a marvel of scholarship almost as impressive as the achievements of its subject.
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NATIVE AMERICAN ART: THE COLLECTIONS OF THE ETHNOLOGICAL MUSEUM BERLIN
by Peter Bolz and Hans-Ulrich Sanner
Published in English by the University of Washington Press for the Staatliche Musee zu Berlin-Preussischer Kulturbesitz
FORMAT: 9 1/2 x 12 ", 240 pp, 227 illus, 162 in color.
Softcover, $40.00.THIS BOOK CELEBRATES THE RETURN OF 45,000 OBJECTS taken to the Soviet Union during World War II, which were then transferred to Leipzig, and are now back in the Ethnological Museum in Dahlem, in Berlin. It also accompanies an excellent exhibition that opens with an analysis of the long-standing fascination of the German people with the Indians of North America. The objects included represent several centuries of serious scholarly collecting, and it would be impossible to list the highlights in terms of artistic excellence and early collection dates. Most noteworthy, perhaps, is the diversity of masks from the Northwest Coast. The breadth of the collection for that area is astounding. The photographs are excellent, and include remarkable nineteenth-century field photographs. The text ranges from descriptions of several centuries of field collecting to a vivid account of the visit of a group of Yup'ik elders in 1997. Both in breadth and depth these collections go beyond what is seen in most North American museums, and this highly readable book, organized by region and by chronology, can serve as an excellent reference document.
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AINU: SPIRIT OF A NORTHERN PEOPLE
Edited by William W. Fitzhugh and Chisato O. Dubreuil
Published in English by Arctic Studies Center, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, in association with the University of Washington Press, 1999.
FORMAT: 8 1/2 x 11", 410 pp., numerous illustrations in color and B&W, maps.
Hardcover: $75; Also available in softcover.AINU ART, CULTURE, AND LANGUAGE are unlike those of the Japanese whom they now live among, mainly on the northern part of the Japanese island of Hokkaido. In recent years the Ainu have participated in a new look at their very ancient culture, and have developed a new sense of pride and self-awareness. Partly this has been the result of efforts by the Smithsonian Institution to inventory collections of Ainu material in the U.S., which led to the exhibition recorded in this catalogue.
But in light of its number of pages (over 400), number of essays (55), and number of artifacts illustrated (270, from 27 lenders, public and private), this is more of a compendium than a catalogue. It is a well-organized summary of knowledge to date from many disciplines about the Ainu people and their material culture. Readers of this magazine may find especially intriguing an essay by Motomichi Kono and William W. Fitzhugh on "Ainu and Northwest Coast Peoples: A Comparison."
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THIRTY YEARS IN THE SOUTH SEAS
Translated by K. John Dennison, Edited by J. Peter White,
Published by Crawford House Publishing, Bathurst, in association with Oceania Publications, University of Sydney, Australia, 1999 (in England by C. Hurst & Co. Ltd, London).
FORMAT: 22.5 x 29.5 cm, 378 pp, 56 pl, 4 maps and 141 B&W illus. Hardcover.THOSE INTERESTED IN OCEANIC ART, especially that from Melanesia, are probably familiar with Parkinson's now very rare book Dreissig Jahre in der Südsee, an in-depth exploration of the ethnography of the Bismarck Archipelago. First published in Stuttgart in 1907, then later and slightly abridged in 1926, it was difficult to read, even for German speakers, as it was printed in Gothic script. This new English translation of the 1907 version, with all the illustrations, maps and figures from the original edition, finally makes the work widely accessible.
Parkinson, generally regarded as German, was actually born in Denmark in 1844. He went to Samoa in 1876 and to New Britain in 1879. Until his death in 1909, he remained fascinated by the culture and traditions of the Oceanic peoples, and took over two hundred photographs. This work sums up his research, giving an incomparable reflection of a period in a place which was soon to lose its cultural vitality. The present translation by John Dennison of Otago University in Dunedin, New Zealand, is the result of five years' work. The preface, which contains a full biography of the author, introduces the book's historical and ethnographic context.
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By Dick Beaulieux.
Trilingual edition French-English-Flemish, by Arts & Applications Editions, Brussels, 2000.
FORMAT: 26 x 32 cm, 352 pp, 360 color illus.
Hardcover: 600 FF.DICK BEAULIEUX, A WELL-KNOWN BRUSSELS PHOTOGRAPHER, has taken pictures of countless sculptures, masks, and other items in private and public collections. Here he shares his vision and understanding of tribal art. This book brings together forty-nine collectors and art dealers and nearly four hundred sculptures, masks, weapons, and everyday objects. Although nine of the forty-nine collections appear only under the heading "private collection," the majority of featured collectors generously share their reasons for accumulating tribal art.
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HAIR IN AFRICAN ART AND CULTURE
Various authors under the direction of Roy Sieber and Frank Herreman.
Published in English by The Museum for African Art, New York, and Prestel, Munich, 2000.
FORMAT: 30.5 x 24 cm, 192 pp, 164 color illus, 112 B&W.
Hardcover: 398 FF.PUBLISHED FOR AN EXHIBITION HELD IN NEW YORK last spring and now traveling in the United States, this book introduces the history, variety and meaning behind African coiffure. Numerous field photographs, as well as sculptures and masks, illustrate the innovative and varied ways in which these cultures involve hair in adornment. In so doing, it provides existential evidence for elaborate coifs that have sometimes been interpreted as sculptural invention. This book's large number of fascinating essays offer a new perspective on a little-known and previously neglected aspect of African art. Adept historical documentation and observation of contemporary life reveal that hair arrangement not only reflects matters of fashion and beauty, but also of personal identity.
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TRIBAL ART TRAFFIC
By Raymond Corbey.
Published in English by The Royal Tropical Institute, Amsterdam, 2000.
FORMAT: 15 x 22 cm, 255 pp, 48 B&W illus.
Softcover: 165 FF, 54.50 Fl.Tribal Art Traffic: A Chronicle of Taste, Trade, and Desire in Colonial and Post-Colonial Times traces the movements of hundreds of thousands of masks, statues, and weapons from overseas tribal culture to and within North Atlantic societies. The author-affiliated with the Department of Philosophy of Tilburg University and the Department of Archaeology of Leiden University in the Netherlands-charts the some of the territory through which tribal objects have circulated and continue to circulate, both in colonial and post-colonial times. Colonial trading posts, missionary posts, attics and cellars, living rooms, museums, flea markets, and auction houses comprise points on this fascinating map. In the second part of the book, dealers, collectors, and curators relate recent experiences with objects-in-motion. This chronicle of European taste, trade, and desire sketches the emergence of a Western market for tribal art in the course of the twentieth century.
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MEIN AFRIKA, DIE SAMMLUNG FRITZ KOENIG
Collective work.
Published in German by Prestel, Munich, 2000.
FORMAT: 24.5 x 31.5 cm, 183 pp, 160 color illus, 17 B&W.
Hardcover: 440 FF.A PORTRAIT OF A COLLECTOR AND HIS COLLECTION, this book balances the categorization of objects with an exploration of the passion behind their accumulation. In the first of two short introductory texts, the collector sheds light on the history of his own collection. In the second, Peter Stepan looks at it with an emphasis on form. With apt illustrations, the book then proceeds to classify the items by material, and concludes with a catalogue containing Iris Hahner-Herzog and Christine Stelzig's full descriptions of each object.
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ALEXANDRE IACOVLEFF: L'ARTISTE, VOYAGEUR
By Caroline Haardt de la Baume.
Published in French by Flammarion Editions, Paris, 2000.
FORMAT: 25 x 31 cm, 159 pp, 116 color illus, 46 B&W.
Hardcover: 320 FF.BORN IN SAINT PETERSBURG, Alexandre Iacovleff was in China when the Russian Revolution broke out in October, 1917. He never returned to his native land. In 1920s Paris he became famous for his drawings and paintings of the Far East, and in 1924 André Citroën chose him as the official artist for the "Croisière noire." This post made him responsible for "capturing with pencil and brush" the manners and customs of the natives encountered during this notable African expedition. When he returned to France, the public was amazed to discover the African continent both through his portraits of Nigerian sultans and Mangbetu women, and through his landscapes. Iacovleff's career as a travelling artist had begun. In 1931, Iacovleff was once more appointed official artist, but this time for the "Croisière jaune," through Asia along the old Silk Road. Through Iacovleff's paintings, notes, and photographs, Caroline Haardt de la Baume-granddaughter of Georges Marie Haardt, the leader of both the African and the Asian expeditions-tells the story of these two extraordinary journeys. Not only a feast for the eyes, this is also a valuable reference book on an outstanding artist and two exciting adventures.
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