BOOKS 140 Un événement organisé par Tribal Art magazine en partenariat avec Sotheby’s leprix international du livre d’ART TRIBAL Bismarck Archipelago Art Edited by Kevin Conru. Essays by Ingrid Heermann, Klaus-Jochen Krüger, Bart van Bussel, and Kevin Conru. Photographs by Hugues Dubois Published in French and English editions by 5 Continents Editions, 2013 27.5 x 35.5 cm, 210 color illustrations ISBN: 978-88-7439-644-3 (French edition) ISBN: 978-88-7439-659-7 (English edition) Hardcover, 80 euros/110 US dollars While the art of New Ireland has been the subject of several fine works, including the 2007 publication Nouvelle- Irlande, Arts du Pacifique Sud, a quality monograph on the larger area to which this island belongs has long been needed. This exciting new book fills that void with an indepth examination of the artistic production—masks, figures, ornaments, etc., many of a very ephemeral nature—from the vast archipelago whose main components are New Ireland, New Britain, The Admiralty Islands, and the Western Islands. The work is remarkable both for the beauty of the objects themselves and for the excellent presentation they are given. It distinguishes itself further by the fact that it strikes a good balance between factual accuracy and a somewhat poetic approach, which the authors’ individual perspectives are very much a part of. There are four extensively documented chapters. The first, by Klaus-Jochen Krüger, gives an account of the collecting activities of early colonials, explorers, and researchers. The second tells the story of Bart van Bussel’s travels through Oceania in a journal style. In the third chapter, Kevin Conru gives an account of how a fascination with the art of the Bismarck Archipelago influenced the artists of the avant-garde. This is a fascinating study, which this magazine previewed with a synopsis in the autumn 2013 edition. Lastly, a comprehensive text by Ingrid Heermann, senior curator of the Oceanic art department at Stuttgart’s Linden Museum, provides a great deal of valuable information on the area’s artistic traditions. This beautiful book is a must for any tribal art library. Lower Congo Whistles By Alain Lecomte, Raoul Lehuard, and Bertil Söderberg. Published in French and English by SAS Galerie Alain Lecomte, 2013. 24.5 x 30.5 cm, 192 pages, 100 color photos and 22 black-and-white illustrations ISBN: 978-2-9544167-0-0 Limited edition of 500 copies, of which 100 will not be released commercially Hardcover, 100 euros Are musical instruments decorated with miniature figures or abstract designs utilitarian objects or are they sculptures that produce sound? This question is particularly relevant to the whistles of the Lower Congo because so much importance is attached to their form. They are composed of two elements: a small wooden sculpture and an antelope horn, nshia, the actual whistle that is either embedded into the sculpture by its tip or bound together with fiber cordage. These objects are testaments to the creative talents of the Bakongo artists who are dispersed across a vast area, which includes the enclave of Cabinda in the southwestern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and northern Angola. These interesting works, which were used in various contexts and have been long and avidly sought after by Western collectors, are now the subject of a monograph for the first time. The origins of the project lie in the aesthetic eye of art dealer Alain Lecomte, who, with the collaboration of Raoul Lehuard, is presenting a revised edition of the standard text on the subject by Swedish musicologist and former director of the Stockholm Museum of Ethnography, Bertil Söderberg. This originally appeared in 1975 in issue 9 of Arts d’Afrique Noire. Lecomte does not merely update the text. He also presents the results of his work to create an inventory of this type of whistle. Photographs of the objects, many of which have the advantage of being reproduced actual size, include examples from private collections as well as from museums such as the Musée du Quai Branly, the Musée d’Angoulême, and the Musée d’Art Moderne de Troyes in France, and the Musée Royal d’Afrique Centrale in Belgium. On December 6, 2013, the fifth annual Prix international du livre d’art tribal will be rewarded to one title published in French and one published in English released between October 2012 and September 2013. Visit our website, www.tribalartmagazine.com, the next day to learn who the winners are.
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