BOOKS 166 Textiles from Borneo Edited by Heribert Amann Published in English by 5 Continents 24.5 x 32.7 cm, 224 pages, 181 color illustrations and 25 in black and white ISBN: 978-88-7439-651-1 Hardcover, 59 euros Borneo, the fourth-largest island in the world, has a body of art that is as varied as it is delicate. The textiles of the Iban, Katunga, and Mualang tribes of the northern part of the island are among its best-known and extraordinary artistic expressions. They are for ceremonial use, most notably for initiation and rites of passage such as birth, marriage, and death and are made using traditional ikat techniques, which involve dyeing individual weft threads prior to weaving. With its abundance of brightly colored designs, this refined work nowadays inspires decorators and creators the world over. Heribert Amann, retired professional violinist and an avid textile aficionado and collector, has produced a superb book on these precious textiles. More than 150 full-page photographs unveil rare and often hitherto unpublished works from one of the world’s most important private collections. Clothing items worn for traditional ceremonies are also well represented. Twenty-five blackand white photographs taken by Hedda Morrison in the 1940s serve as a documentary complement to this homage to the textile traditions of Borneo. Erotik Kanak By Roger Boulay Published in French by Les Editions de l'Etrave, September 2013 16 x 16 cm, 48 pages, 34 drawings of engraved bamboos ISBN: 978-2-35992-022-2 Softcover, 10 euros; hardcover, 59 euros The art of engraved bamboo, known to Western travelers since the nineteenth century, is a manifestation of the creativity of the peoples of New Caledonia. The best-known and most-often-reproduced examples in specialized books depict scenes of traditional communal life (navigation, fishing, harvest, battle, warriors’ processions, grieving ceremonies, and trade) and include evocations of European presence. Engraved bamboos were part of an ancestral method elders employed for the transmission of knowledge and historical events to the younger generations. Ethnologist Roger Boulay, a leading and recognized expert on New Caledonia, reveals a new side to this mode of expression in his new book. Rarely seen until now, the erotic scenes shown on these examples will undoubtedly surprise the reader with their audacity and freedom. Using drawings, Boulay has faithfully reproduced the engravings on thirty-four of these antique bamboo artworks, which are in the collections of numerous museums. The Centre Culturel Tjibaou in Noumea will devote an exhibition to these drawings, which will open in November 2013. Eyes of the Ancestors: The Arts of Island Southeast Asia at the Dallas Museum of Art Edited by Reimar Schefold and Steven G. Alpert, with contributions by Steven G. Alpert, George Ellis, Nico de Jonge, Vernon Kedit, Reimar Schefold, Achim Sibeth, and Roxana Waterson Published in English by the Dallas Museum of Art and distributed by Yale University Press, 2013 23 x 30.5 cm, 336 pages, over 300 photographs ISBN: 978-0-300-18495-2 Hardcover, 49 euros (65 dollars) This impressive book focuses on 105 artworks from the Dallas Museum of Art’s renowned collection of Southeast Asian art. Lavishly photographed by Brad Flowers, the DMA’s in-house photographer, it is further enhanced by numerous historical photographs that either have never been published or were published so long ago that they are now largely forgotten. Divided into nine chapters, the impressive roster of expert authors use masterpiece-quality examples to illustrate articles on the art of Mentawai, Nias, the Batak of Sumatra, Lampung ship cloths, the Dayak of Borneo, Sulawesi, Sumba, Flores, and Timor. Each chapter is authoritative, comprehensive, and rich in original information, which refreshingly includes discussion of the art in aesthetic terms as well as its historical context. Even the footnotes are a treasure trove of information and the bibliography is carefully selected and thorough. Eyes of the Ancestors is the most comprehensive and compelling book on the subject since J.-P. Barbier’s Art of the Archaic Indonesians (1981), but the present volume offers so much more information in an impeccable package that it is certainly an “instant classic” and a “must-have” for anyone interested in traditional arts. This title will be the subject of a more in-depth review in the winter issue of Tribal Art magazine.
XVII-4 Cover FR final_Cover
To see the actual publication please follow the link above