130 natural affi nity for art and natural history, but I chose medicine as a career because it seemed to offer an enormous number of options. As a radiologist, I spend my time looking at images. I enjoy the challenge of interpretation, which involves analyzing what is important and then making decisions based on my own judgment. The same applies to collecting tribal art. I love the excitement of looking at art and trying to understand how good it is. Some pieces can have an initial impact that wanes the more one looks at them. Others have an inner power and strength that glows brighter the more one looks at them. That is great art! Also, learning to differentiate what is genuinely old and real from what is not is also part of the challenge and enjoyment. T. A. M.: You largely focus on New Guinea and Polynesian art. Why this as opposed to African art, for example? M. M.: I also love African art, but there are several reasons why I collect Oceanic art. The fi rst is because of my love for the wildlife of the region and my initial contact with the people of Papua New Guinea. I love the history of travel and exploration of the natural world, which is why I have been such a keen collector of early travel and natural history books. So much of the wildlife in this region is unique and there is enormous variety, which is why it’s so fascinating. A comparable observation can be made about the people of New Guinea. It has more languages per capita there than anywhere else on earth because the different cultural groups remained isolated from each other for so long. This amazing diversity is refl ected in their art. This kind of cultural and artistic diversity also can describe Oceania as a whole. As an Australian, I feel like I’m part of the region of Oceania, and I feel naturally attracted to wanting to know more about its peoples and cultures. Within this context of such enormous variety, the hard part is fi nding really great examples. In the past, Australia has been a good source for old Oceanic art. This has become less true in recent years, but things TRIBAL PEOPLE
T82E
To see the actual publication please follow the link above