Items
Details
Title
Oceanic art / Nicholas Thomas.
Edition
Second edition.
ISBN
9780500204405 (paperback)
0500204403 (paperback)
0500204403 (paperback)
Published
London : Thames & Hudson, 2018.
Language
English
Description
224 pages : illustrations (some colour), colour map ; 21 cm.
Call Number
N7410 .T46 2018
Dewey Decimal Classification
709.95
Summary
The dazzling colours and patterns of the art of the Pacific Islands have long entranced Western audiences, not least artists such as Gauguin and Picasso. The tendency has been to regard Oceanic art as 'primitive', mysterious and shrouded in taboo, but Nicholas Thomas, in looking at and beyond the familiar, stunning surfaces of masks and shields, carved canoe prows and feathered gods, discovers the significance of such objects, past and present, for the peoples of the Pacific. He shows how each region is characterised by certain art forms and practices -- among them Maori ancestral carvings, rituals of exchange and warfare in the Solomon Islands, the production of barkcloth by women in Polynesia -- while also being shaped by influences from within the Pacific and beyond. The dynamism and diversity of this compelling art are highlighted by the works accompanying this revelatory text -- from those that evoke deep-rooted customs to ones that address contemporary political issues.
Note
"186 illustrations."
First edition published: 1995.
The dazzling colours and patterns of the art of the Pacific Islands have long entranced Western audiences, not least artists such as Gauguin and Picasso. The tendency has been to regard Oceanic art as 'primitive', mysterious and shrouded in taboo, but Nicholas Thomas, in looking at and beyond the familiar, stunning surfaces of masks and shields, carved canoe prows and feathered gods, discovers the significance of such objects, past and present, for the peoples of the Pacific. He shows how each region is characterised by certain art forms and practices -- among them Maori ancestral carvings, rituals of exchange and warfare in the Solomon Islands, the production of barkcloth by women in Polynesia -- while also being shaped by influences from within the Pacific and beyond. The dynamism and diversity of this compelling art are highlighted by the works accompanying this revelatory text -- from those that evoke deep-rooted customs to ones that address contemporary political issues.
First edition published: 1995.
The dazzling colours and patterns of the art of the Pacific Islands have long entranced Western audiences, not least artists such as Gauguin and Picasso. The tendency has been to regard Oceanic art as 'primitive', mysterious and shrouded in taboo, but Nicholas Thomas, in looking at and beyond the familiar, stunning surfaces of masks and shields, carved canoe prows and feathered gods, discovers the significance of such objects, past and present, for the peoples of the Pacific. He shows how each region is characterised by certain art forms and practices -- among them Maori ancestral carvings, rituals of exchange and warfare in the Solomon Islands, the production of barkcloth by women in Polynesia -- while also being shaped by influences from within the Pacific and beyond. The dynamism and diversity of this compelling art are highlighted by the works accompanying this revelatory text -- from those that evoke deep-rooted customs to ones that address contemporary political issues.
Bibliography, etc. Note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 211-213) and index.
Series
World of art.
Record Appears in
On-Campus Resources > Books
All Resources
All Resources
Table of Contents
Revelations
Ancestors and architecture
The art of war
The art of the body
Mothers and male cults
Barkcloth, exchange, sanctity
Feathers, divinity, power
Narrative art and tourism
Decolonization and diaspora
Globalization and contemporary art.
Ancestors and architecture
The art of war
The art of the body
Mothers and male cults
Barkcloth, exchange, sanctity
Feathers, divinity, power
Narrative art and tourism
Decolonization and diaspora
Globalization and contemporary art.