Edited by Ngahiraka Mason and Zara Stanhope. Auckland University Press in association with Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, 20l6. Reviewed by Marina Garlick This splendid tome complements a fascinating exhibition of mainly Maori portraits by Gottfried Lindauer held at the Auckland Art Gallery, Toi … [Read more...]
OAC Journal Book Reviews
Illustrated Catalogue of Ethnographical Specimens Photographic Reference
By W. D. Webster. Review by Crispin Howarth William Downing Webster (1868 – 1913) began collecting and dealing in arms, armour and ethnographic material from the 1890s until his death. In this period of some twenty years he dealt in the flotsam and jetsam of the vast colonial trading networks … [Read more...]
War trophies or curios?
By Barry Craig, Ron Vanderwal and Christine Winter, Museum Victoria, Melbourne, 281 pp. Review by Peter McCabe “Me been talk with you now, now you give three good feller cheers belongina new feller master. NO MORE ‘UM KAISER – GOD SAVE ‘UM KING”. And with that the locals of Rabaul found out they … [Read more...]
La-Sisi – Malangan Canoe
By Harold Gallasch and Neil McLeod. Melbourne Publishing Group, 2012. 60 pages with colour illustrations. Review by Jim Elmslie This lavishly illustrated book by OAS members, Harold Gallasch and Neil McLeod tells the story of one exceptional work of Oceanic art – the spectacular La-Sisi canoe. This … [Read more...]
Myth & Magic: Art of the Sepik River, Papua New Guinea
Myth & Magic: Art of the Sepik River, Papua New Guinea, by Crispin Howarth Reviewed by Peter McCabe The National Gallery of Australia published this book in association with its Sepik exhibit held from August to November 2015. The book is largely written and edited by the Curator of the exhibit, … [Read more...]
Bismarck Archipelago Art
Kevin Conru (editor) with photography by Hughes Dubois. Published by 5 Continents, Milan, Italy, 2014. 327 pages. Reviewed by Jim Elmslie. This vast and gorgeous book is a work of art in itself. It is a thrilling pictorial survey of the material culture of the Bismarck region with each exquisite … [Read more...]
