Few art forms come close to ‘primitive’ art in sheer expressiveness. This isn’t too surprising. In every tribal society, be it African, Eskimo, Oceanic or Indonesian, art is never simply for art’s sake, but is a direct and uncensored dialogue with the spirit world in which tribal peoples move and have their being. This spiritual “dialogue” shows up most powerfully in the faces of ancestors and spirits carved in wood and stone or appear in textiles, weaponry and ornaments. Because these beings are depended upon to frighten enemies, subdue maleficent spirits and bring fecundity and prosperity to the community, they have to be expressively potent. Their potency wasn’t lost on modern Western artists. In the early 20th century, Picasso, Braque, Giacometti among others were so moved by the presence of the ‘tribal face’ that they incorporated elements of tribal expression into their own works, to transcend surface appearance and to enter the realm of the soul. By so doing, they changed the course of art history.
This post – the first of three instalments – feature the expressive art works of the islands that comprise Oceania, an area spanning an incredible 8.5 square kilometres and which includes Australasia, New Guinea and eastwards to the remote islands of Fiji, Tonga, the Caroline and Marquesas islands, Easter Island and Hawaii. The art works featured showcase the genius of peoples who have been dismissed for too long as being artistically naïve and unsophisticated.
OCEANIA
Canoes in the western Solomon Islands were formerly lavishly adorned. The centrepiece of the prow was a distinctive figurehead. Attached at the waterline so that it dipped in the sea as the canoe rode the waves, the figurehead served as a supernatural protector ensuring safe passage and a successful expedition.
If looks could kill, this sacred flute would certainly fit the bill. This fearsome figure sits at the top of a sacred bamboo flute made by the Biwat people who live along the Yuat River, a tributary of the lower Sepik River. Like others residing in the vicinity of the Sepik, such flutes are used during ceremonial occasions and pig feasts. The figural finials represent ancestors.
New Britain is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago, east of Papua New Guinea, and also close to New Ireland. It is the place of the dramatic bark cloth kavat masks. These masks are used exclusively in a nocturnal dance performance lit by firelight. The dance accompanied by a male orchestra and dedicated to spirits, animals, and commodities associated with the surrounding forest, all of which indwelt in the kavat masks. Several dozen forms of kavat masks exist, each of which depicts a spirit linked with a specific animal, plant, product, or activity associated with the forest. The split top of this mask represents a humanoid spirit associated with the forks of trees.
Korwars are figural statutes carved to provide a residence for the souls of recently deceased persons. Unique to the Cenderawasih Bay region of Irian Jaya, korwars are generally carved in a squatting or standing position with disproportionately large heads and arms resting on the knees. The eyes of korwars are typically embedded with colored beads, sometimes to charming effects as in this example.
The Milne area lies in the southern region of Papua New Guinea and consists of 600 islands, of which about 160 are inhabited. Culturally, this area is known as “Massim”. Massim art, exemplified by lime spatulas have a distinctively “happier” look than those carved in mainland New Guinea.
The Asmat inhabit the region bordering the southwestern coast of Irian Jaya, west Papua New Guinea, with land totalling 18,000 km² (7,336 mi²), mainly consisting of mangrove and tidal swamp and lowland rainforest. Asmat art, particularly, sculptures and shields carved from the wood of the sago palm are renowned to tribal art collectors worldwide. The menacing face of this ancestor figure, carved from sago wood, is designed to ward of bad spirits.
Austere figures known as uli were displayed during the long cycles of ceremonies that accompanied the exhumation and subsequent reburial of the skulls of prominent men. Feasting, including the consumption of dozens of pigs, was an important activity in these occasions.
Most of us have seen images of the awesome giant stone effigies on Easter Island known as Moa Aringa Ora (literally figures with living eyes). In times past, hamlets were built under the gaze of these stone giants, within which spiritual ceremonies were held. Here, the priests of the ceremonies would hold clusters of wooden statuettes like the one shown, representing their protectors. When not in public ceremonial use, these wooden figures would reside in the family home; in this intimate setting, they participated in family rituals.
This pair of ceremonial paddle is a masterpiece of Polynesian art, a prime example of the sublime abstraction of the human form. Each paddle is devoid of any decoration save the stylized face which is an elegant statement itself, each face being a simple construction consisting of curved eyebrows extending into the nose ridge with a sparse representation of the ear ornaments. The lower body ends in a phallic appendage.
. Warfare was an integral part of Marquesas society up to the 19th century. The two faces of this war club is carved in the form of a stylized human face. Projecting knobs carved as small heads suggest eyes and nose. The ridgeline between the eyes curve into arching brows.
Such pendants are considered symbols of power, reserved for high ranking men and women. The proximity of a tiki to the wearer’s head is believed to endow him orher with a “tapu” (sacred) character). This tiki is a masterpiece in jade quality, proportions and color aesthetics.
Ancestral figures and flying foxes descend sequentially down the central arm of this carved ritual staff god, symbolizing the close genealogical relationship between humans, their gods, and the natural world. Tightly bound with huge bolts of barkcloth when not in use, these staff gods were ritually activated when unwrapped by chiefs and priests during ceremonial rites.
Expertly carved from a single block of sacred vesi wood, this shallow anthropomorphic vessel was used to serve yaqona, a mild narcotic prepared from the ground root of the pepper plant. Imbibing this narcotic is thought to encourage the powerful ancestor spirit, in the looming form of the vessel to enter into the body of the priest.
This figure belongs to a small group of thirty-seven sculptures from Nukuoro, in the remote Caroline Islands in Micronesia. They arrived in Western museum collections from the 1870s onwards and the purity of the human form embodied by these figures greatly inspired the development of modern abstract sculptures
Little is known about the function of these minimalist figures which are generally attributed to the remote Tuvalu islands situated north of Fiji, on the border of Micronesia and Polynesia. The simplicity of the form connects this figure to the equally rare free-standing figures of the Caroline islands in Micronesia
This wood figure may have been a vehicle through which the female deity Hikule’o manifested in the physical realm. The figure is notable for its compact and restrained posture which nevertheless expresses a strong sense of vigour through the geometry of her breasts, buttocks and limbs. The angular features of her body are balanced by the serene, mask-like face.
Executed in a highly expressionistic style called Kona, both the facial and bodily features of this figure of the god of war, made during the reign of King Kamehameha I, combine into a single fearsome and extremely powerful image. It was a turbulent time, and ‘Ku became the king’s effigy, and symbol of his authority.
Executed in a highly expressionistic style called Kona, both the facial and bodily features of this figure of the god of war, made during the reign of King Kamehameha I, combine into a single fearsome and extremely powerful image. It was a turbulent time, and ‘Ku became the king’s effigy, and symbol of his authority.
This bowl made from kou wood, pearl shell and cut sections of boar’s tusks, feature two anthropomorphic figures. It was probably made and used for drinking kava, a bitter beverage made from the root of the kava plant which is believed by the Polynesians to have medicinal qualities.