WOOD SCULPTURED BY SOUTH SEAS

Description

“Carved wood of the South Seas.” Ethnography Museum of Geneva. Superb book illustrated with numerous color photographs inset in full page (72) and black and white in the text (71). Photographs of Attilio Boccazzi-Varotto. The author describes each of the replicated objects based on their source Melanesian, Polynesian and Micronesian stressing that if none of the items in this book have been carved from a strictly speaking artistic purpose, it is because we do not know the reality Pacific which does not consider art as a goal in itself, but as a pleasure of life, be it material or spiritual, daily or festive. On a more ethnological and artistic, the author is interested only wooden objects more or less carved and makes no claim as to honor the talent of both creator and director of the artists life that are the sculptors of the South Seas. In its choice, the author has retained objects based especially carved decoration and the role they play in the usual or ritual life of the islanders and for photographic reasons René Fuerst selected medium-sized objects to retain some a portion or a carved particularly interesting detail of the object. The book does not include musical instruments and on the order of chapters and planks, the author obeys graphic character reasons, logical or simply convenient, but can not be associated with any belief.