Robert Goldwater Library blog

AAOA authors in recent publications

Prachtvolle Federarbeiten: eine wenig bekannte Kunstform aus Alt Peru
By Heidi King
A4 no. 7 (02/08): p. 52-55, p. V-VI (English)

Published in conjunction with the exhibition "Radiance from the Rain Forest: Featherwork in Ancient Peru", held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art through Sept. 1, 2008.

Magnificent Facades: Paintings & Architecture by Abelam Artists
By Virginia-Lee Webb
Tribal Art no. 52 (summer 2009): p. 30.

Published in conjunction with an exhibition of the same title held in the Mezzanine Gallery of the Michael C. Rockefeller Wing, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, through the end of 2009.

Painting of Faces Representing Butterflies on Facade of Ceremonial House, 1958-59, photographed by J. Anthony Forge (PSC 2007.28) The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Michael C.Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Purchase 1960-1961

This just in ...: Tribal

Tribal : the magazine of tribal art celebrates its 50th issue.

Contents of the Autumn/Winter 2008 (vol. 13, no. 1) issue (via Tribal Art):

ART on view :

• The Essential Art of African Textiles: Design Without End (LaGamma, Alisa)
  •     On view at the Met September 30, 2008–April 5, 2009

• Pacific Treasures: The Masco Collection Goes to Los Angeles (Harding, Julian)

• New Galleries for the Ancient Americas at LACMA (Fields, Virginia M. ; Lyall, Victoria)

• Art of the Arctic at the Musée du Quai Branly (Gramly, Richard Michael)

• Oceania: Ritual Signs, Authority Symbols (Herreman, Frank)

FEATURE :

• Fang Masks of Equatorial Africa (Perrois, Louis)

TRIBAL people :

• An Interview with Marc Franklin (Dimondstein, Joshua)

OBJECT History :

• The Easter Island Statue in Brussels (Cauwe, Nicolas)

SPOTLIGHT :

• Master Hands of the Lega (De Grunne, Bernard)

ART + Law :

• Binoche vs. Mexico (Hewitt, Simon)

PORTFOLIO :

• Images of Plains Indians by Karl Bodmer (Tom McLaughlin)

Click here to check in WATSONLINE on availability of the print version

Click here to access the online version through WATSONLINE (not yet available as of 12/19/08)

Kongo power figure to be featured in "The Philippe de Montebello Years"

The signature Mangaaka Power Figure will be among fourteen objects to represent the Department of the Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas in the forthcoming exhibition "The Philippe de Montebello Years: Curators Celebrate Three Decades of Acquisitions". The exhibition, which opens October 24, 2008, will showcase some three hundred objects from among the over forty-eight thousand pieces acquired during the tenure of the Director.

• Click here for the Mangaaka Power Figure (Nkisi N'Kondi) page from the virtual catalog of the exhibition.

• Click here for the Goldwater Library Wiki page to find more information about Kongo power figures.

African acquisitions will also be represented by an Ethiopian manuscript (1998.66), a Benin plaque (1990.332), an ivory saltcellar (1991.435a,b) and the Djenne figure (1981.218). An Olmec mask (1977.187.33), a gold standing figure (1995.427) and a gold bird pendant (1992.121) will represent objects from the Americas.

Pacific acquisitions will be recognized by an Easter Island figure (1984.526); and an Indonesian ceremonial hanging (1990.335.19), ancestral couple (2006.510), and ear ornament or pendant (1990.335.4). The department will also be represented by two photographs, taken by William Ellis (2000.608) and Seydou Keita (2002.217).

In a dramatic and forward-looking departure, the Museum is creating an online exhibition catalog for the show. This evolving web document will include features on the Director himself, a selection of objects from the show with curatorial comments, and a wide selection of audio and video features -- including podcasts and 'webisodes', behind-the-scenes looks at the planning and installation of the exhibition.

A full complement of events is planned in conjunction with the exhibition, including a series of three evenings with the Director, billed as Philippe de Montebello: A Triptych.

Metropolitan Museum launches YouTube initiative

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has embarked on a bold initiative to provide original video content of the Museum's events and programs,  including films, lectures, concerts, guided tours, talks, and family programs, over YouTube.

Of particular interest to blog readers are the playlists for the Department of the Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas (5 videos at this writing), and 6 videos prepared for the exhibition "Eternal Ancestors".

Here for example is a brief video about the installation of the Asmat bis poles in the new gallery of Oceanic art.

Heidi King: Peruvian featherwork show

Radiance from the Rainforest: Featherwork in Ancient Peru, By Heidi King. Tribal Art, no. 48 (spring 2008), p. 64-67.

Available in print in the Goldwater Library (A W97 No. 48 (Spring 2008)) or Online via WilsonWeb.

Crown
Chimú 14th–15th century
Fiber, hide, reeds, copper, feathers; H. 10 1/4 in. (26 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Bequest of Jane Costello Goldberg, from the Collection of Arnold I. Goldberg, 1986 (1987.394.655)