Tribal art of P.N.G.

Press, 21 June 1984, Page 22

Tribal art of P.N.G.

“Tribal Art of Papua New Guinea” at the Robert McDougall Art Gallery until July 25. Reviewed by John Hurrell. It is a rare event indeed for the Robert McDougall Art Gallery to organise a touring show such as this exhibition from Papua New Guinea. Almost never have touring retrospectives been initiated for works of living local artists and only occasionally have travelling historical survey exhibitions been organised.

Thus it is of considerable interest to see this present exhibition of works from the Sepik and Gulf provinces of Papua New Guinea, when touring curated shows of contemporary New Zealand works have never ever been initiated by this gallery, nor have touring exhibitions of Maori artefacts by any gallery.

However, it is to the McDougall’s credit that this exhibition has been superbly presented. The 50 objects, almost all of which are carved from wood, are visual treats and a delight for Western eyes. Their in-

ventiveness of design, and use of various pigments, woods, shells, and fibrous materials, which are so unusual for us, may enlarge our notion of what makes an object beautiful, but they also suffer from our inability to vividly understand the particular context from which they came. This is partly remedied by the excellent article in the catalogue by Mr Soroi Marepo Eoe, Curator of Anthropology at Papua New Guinea’s National Museum and Art Gallery. He explains the specific cultural meanings of these masks and figures, and the flat shield-like “gope-boards,” which bear images of tribal ancestors as spiritual beings. In spite of this, we can really only experience these works in a superficial way, according to qualities commonly discussed in our culture but which are quite alien to the people who made these objects. The carvers making the artefacts are likely to have had quite different criteria in assessing their inherent

worth, as to what we in New Zealand would attribute to them. The influence of the tourist industry on the traditional tribal values also needs to be considered. How some of the objects work or function physically is occasionally not made clear, as the catalogue admits in reference to the flute-stoppers. Perhaps photographs could have been used here to show how the traditional artefact evolved, if at all, to a more marketable commodity, and how its function altered. As a collection of intriguing objects, rich in decorative qualities, this is a well curated exhibition, but it is not clear that it can offer much to Western society, other than the enjoyment of its formal visual qualities. Its relevance is questionable, as is the presentation of these artefacts in an art gallery, and not in the museum next door, and as “art,” not as “craft.” A lot of pleasure can be gained from visiting this exhibition, but the indications are that it really should not be at the gallery.