Archives: Art For Sale

Exhibition: The Monumental Sculpture of West Papua Sydney College of the Arts Sydney 2000: The Todd Barlin Collection of New Guinea Art 

This groundbreaking exhibition of  The Monumental Sculpture of West Papua was part of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games Arts Festival featuring Arts of the Pacific Islands & the Island of New Guinea

The Sydney College of the Arts part the University of Sydney welcomed me to do this superb exhibition as part of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games Arts Festival, they offered a large and unique space & technical support to display these monumental sculptures, and they also offered the chance for large coloured walls that made the artworks shine as seen in the photos below.  Todd gave several talks about the collection of artworks and his time spent living with the Asmat & Kamoro ( Mimika) people.  The photos explain the beauty of this exhibition.

The main Asmat creation myth is about the creator Fumeripitjs who was lonely so he carved figures from wood and then he made a drum, when he played the drum the carved wood figures came to life and that is how the first Asmat people were created.  For the Asmat the connection between trees and people and the forest is profound.

The exhibition had a large wall of Asmat Mbis Ancestor Poles & Komoro (Mimika) Mbitoro Ancestor Poles, a group of Ancestral House Posts from the inside of an Asmat Men’s Ceremonial House or Jeu, there was also a large group of Asmat & Mimika Dance Costumes that were used in funerary ceremonies. There were Todd’s field photos & information throughout the exhibition. The exhibition was possible through the assistance of Tom Arthur & Colin Winter & Chris Boylan.

At the close of the exhibition, I invited several Australian Museums & Art Galleries to choose the large-scale sculptures as gifts for their public collections some of which are now on display in The South Australian Museum & The Australian Museum in Sydney.

For this exhibition, there was an essay Asmat Art of Irian Jaya West New Guinea by Todd Barlin in Arts Asia Pacific Magazine Issue 28 October 2000

Asmat art of southern lrian Jaya has been widely exhibited around the world, including in the United States and Europe.

In Sydney in Sep­tember 2000, as part of the Olympic Arts Festival, many will have a chance to see the beauty and richness of Asmat art when ‘The Monumental Sculpture of the Asmat opens at the Sydney College of the Arts, University of Sydney.

Also, on view at the same venue are The Shields of Oceania’, an exhibition of shields from Melanesia; and ‘Hokianga’, an exhibition by New Zealand photographer Ross T Smith.

Monumental Sculpture of the Asmat, presented by Oceanic Arts Australia, will bring the foyer of the Sydney College of the Arts alive.  Todd Barlin owner of Oceanic Arts Australia, had had a long association with Asmat artists having spent extensive periods in the Asmat region collecting art and documenting ceremonial life, and has sponsored several international exhibitions of Asmat art, including a major exhibition at the National Museum of African & Oceanic Art in Paris in 1996 and another at the National Museum of New Caledonia in 1998.

The Shields of Oceania showcases excellent examples of my Asmat shield collection which are one of the most beautiful forms of Asmat art. Their shape and design motifs are widely varied and examples of the four Asmat regional styles will be exhibited.

The most exciting aspect of planning exhibitions is documenting, through field photographs, the artists and artworks in situ. This process creates a context for the works, illustrating how they have been made and are used. A lack of connection with acknowledgment of the artists in many exhibitions of Oceanic art sadly makes the artists seem anonymous.

Much has been written about the influence of ritual headhunting on Asmat art. It is true that many of the symbols used in Asmat art arc asso­ciated with headhunting, but it is perhaps the Western world’s fascination with ‘gruesome practices’ that has created a focus on this aspect of Asmat’s past ritual life. The complex spiritual beliefs of the Asmat are integral to their expression of art and ceremony. They believe that by honouring their ancestors through correct and continuing rituals, harmony and balance are maintained. Their religious practice includes ritual carving for ceremonies, dance, song, and storytelling. The myth of Asmat’s creation by the creator Fumeripitsj is integral to their ritual woodcarving:

“Fumeripitsj went into the jungle and built a feast house, but was lonely. He cut down trees and carved figures, each with a head and a body and with arms and legs. Some were male and some female. He placed them inside the feast house, but he was still lonely. So, he cut down a tree, hollowed out a section of log, and carved a drum. He covered one end with lizard skin, glu­ing it there with lime and some of his own blood and tied it with rattan. When Fumeripitsj beat on the drum, the figures began to move, awkwardly at first, but then their joints loosened, and they began to dance and sing in a normal way. Thus, the first Asmat came into being “

The Asmat have been quick to see similarities between Christian teachings and their own spiritual concepts, and Christian beliefs have been intertwined with their traditional beliefs to produce a new era of spiritual expression through their art.

Several churches in the Asmat area are adorned with beautiful ritual carvings that symbolize Asmat’s belief in Christianity. The Asmat have retained much of their traditional culture thanks to the encouragement of Bishop Alphonse Sowada (1933- 2014) and the Catholic Fathers of the Crosier Mission in Agats, the main administrative town.  This dedicated group of priests has encouraged the Asmat to retain pride in their traditional culture. In the 1970s the Crosier Mission set up a small museum that houses a fine collection of Asmat art, as well as records of the Asmat’s oral history and ceremonial life.

Monumental Sculpture of the Asmat will include numerous monumental sculptures by Asmat artists, including Mbis Ancestor Poles, architectural house posts from a jeu, or men’s house; wuramon, or Soul Canoes and Jipae Dance Costumes, all of these artworks are representations of deceased ancestors.

The Mbis feast is a ceremony associated with the ritual of headhunting and the initiation of young men. The feast is still performed today and, although headhunting has long ceased, it remains an important aspect of honoring ancestors and teaching the young their responsibilities to their ancestors. House Posts which are made for the men’s house are carvings of human figures representing each family’s ancestors.

Each family has its own place, with a fire pit and a House Post erected in the Men’s Ceremonial House.

Wuramon or Soul Canoes are part of an initiation ceremony for young men and are made in only a few villages in northwest Asmat. The soul canoe, which can be up to twelve meters in length, is carved in the shape of a canoe and is filled with Ancestor Figures & totemic animals, a special house with a central beam in the shape of a crocodile head is built for the initiates, who are secluded there for several weeks before the ceremony, which includes dancing and singing and culminates in the scarification of the young men.

Jipae Dance Costumes are made in both central and northwest Asmat, they are used to drive the spirits of the recently deceased from the village to Safan, the land of the dead. The costumes are made in secrecy and are worn by relatives of the deceased. During the Jipae ceremony, which continues for weeks, the costumed dancers appear outside the ceremonial house and dance to the beat of drums for short intervals. At the end of the ceremony, the dancers are chased out of the village at dusk, never to be seen again, as the spirits go to Safan.

Atsj village in central Asmat has a large population, by Asmat village standards, of around 2000 people, for this reason, Atsj has always had an impressive men’s house with an extensive row of house posts. When the men’s house fell into disrepair the community mobilized to erect another, in 1989 the men’s house was replaced.

Today, there are two markets for Asmat art: the Western art market which looks for older, used pieces and carvings that are made along traditional lines; and the domestic Indonesian market which seeks objects that are aesthetically very different from those originally produced by the Asmat. The Indonesian market requires a symmetrical and polished look, and the carvings are made from hardwood, tables, and chairs with traditional Asmat designs, ashtrays, and other decorative items are made in abundance.

The 1990s saw an explosion in the creation and exportation of Asmat an around the world. While much of this art was of a low standard, there were still good artists producing art of great skill and beauty. Ritual carvings are the responsibility of the wow ipitsj, or expert carvers, and because these sacred items hold the spirit of their ancestors, they are made with much more reverence and care than those that are made for sale.

The Asmat’s desire for financial independence is the main reason for their making artifacts for sale. Artists often face the dilemma of whether to make one quality piece or several lesser pieces in the same length of time, with many artifact traders paying for quantity rather than quality. However, the Asmat will continue to make ritual carvings for themselves; in a transformed way their art and ceremony will continue. How can they not carve when their ancestors have been fashioned from wood and sung to life?

The Asmat people have faced many changes over the past forty years. Timber cutting and more recently the gathering of Agarwood or Kayu Gharu used in incense have affected their way of life. Whole villages are empty while the community spends more and more time in the forest looking for Agarwood or Kayu Gharu

While these industries have provided economic success, with them have come many of the problems experienced by indigenous communities around the world: degradation of the environment, poor health from smoking and the introduction of packaged food, and the effects of western consumerism.

While the financial benefits of carving are small in comparison with those gained by collecting Agarwood or Kayu Gharu the supplies will not last forever. When these resources are depleted perhaps there will be a new generation of Asmat artists who will take up carving, amazing the world with their insight into form and beauty.

 

 

Art Asmat: L’Esprit De L’ Arbre 1998 (Art Asmat: The Spirit of the Tree ) at The Musee Territorial De Nouvelle- Caledonie

Publication: L’Art Asmat a Musee Territorial De Nouvelle Caledonie

The Museums and Heritage Service presents an exhibition entitled “Art Asmat: The Spirit of the Tree” November 4, 1998 to February 2, 1999 in the temporary exhibition halls of the Territorial Museum of New Caledonia

The objective of this exhibition is to promote the art and culture of the Asmat of Irian Jaya in New Guinea, through the enhancement of the Asmat collections acquired from the Todd Barlin Collection by the Service Musee since 1990.

In 1985 -1986 Todd Barlin spent months living in Asmat Villages collecting & documenting Artworks that ended up in Museums & Art Galleries & Private Collections around the world including the National Museum in New Caledonia.

The main Asmat creation myth is about the creator Fumeripitjs who was lonely so he carved figures from wood and then he made a drum, when he played the drum the carved wood figures came to life and that is how the first Asmat people were created.  For the Asmat the connection between trees and people and the forest is profound.

Oceanic Art Society Todd Barlin Interview by Margaret Cassidy 2020

Down a quiet tree-lined street in inner-city Paddington sits the last remaining physical gallery in New South Wales devoted solely to the art of Australia’s Pacific Island neighbours. Long time resident and foundation member of the Oceanic Art Society Todd Barlin runs the Oceanic Arts Australia gallery with the help of his much loved life partner Vincent Ro.

As a serious collector of rocks, shells, stamps, insects, old glass bottles and later ceramics from Mexico and South America from an early age growing up on farms in California, Todd was fascinated by the imported Mexican pottery sold at the business where his mother worked and had an interest in indigenous people since he was a boy travelling with her to Mexico, watching the workers fire their wood kilns and then buying the pottery the following day, and seeing “how the people lived and were so happy though they had so little materially.”

In 1985 Todd travelled via New Zealand to Australia, first seeing Oceanic Art at the Auckland Museum where he was “overwhelmed by the beauty and magic of the artworks from the Pacific Islands”. After arriving in Australia, a friend suggested that he should see the people and artists in person; so within the calendar year Todd had travelled to New Guinea for two months and then in West Papua for two months. As Todd has said, “This was advice that changed my life forever. That two month trip to the New Guinea Highlands and the Sepik River was transformative. I was overwhelmed by the kindness and warmth of the people and how happy and confident they were in their day to day lives.”

Todd’s first trip to Papua New Guinea ignited his lifelong interest and interaction with Pacific People; their Art and their Culture, leading to him making over 40 trips over the next 25 years to Papua New Guinea, Indonesian West Papua, Vanuatu and The Solomon Islands. Todd has described these early experiences, “I would stay in remote villages for days, weeks and even months at a time. It was a chance to get to know people and let them get to know you. I lived as they did, ate what they had each day and also suffered problems such as malaria and dengue fever. Despite the fortuitous and unpredictable circumstances, this was a magical pre-digital era – before the internet, mobile phones or television exposed remote villages to the outside world. I often stayed for six to eight months a year travelling in remote areas and for that time it was as if the rest of the world did not exist.”

Inspired by his year in Oceania and his voluntary position at the Macleay Museum in 1986-87, Todd returned to the United States and started his art business. However, the magic of the people and their artworks of the South Pacific didn’t pall and in 1987 Todd applied to migrate to Australia. He returned, spending time as a volunteer at The Australia Museum, which gave him experience of museums but also the chance to see thousands of Oceanic artworks. From 1988 – 1994 he ran his first gallery from his suburban home in Sydney’s Inner West and a warehouse nearby. He was away most of the time in New Guinea and West Papua and in 1991 Robert Bleakley at Sotheby’s recognised the expertise and passion in Todd for oceanic art and culture and hired him as their Tribal Art Expert where he stayed for 5 years.

Talking to Todd about his career, it is clear that he has been a ‘giver’ all of his life, that the things he is most proud of are the artworks that he has been able to source for public museums and galleries and the money that he has been able to donate to support indigenous education in Australia through the Australian Indigenous Education Fund (AIEF) and other charities that have supported indigenous people in developing countries, these are two things I am very proud of.”

Todd played a pivotal role in bringing particularly New Guinean and West Papuan cultures to international audiences around the millennium. He provided the field documentation and artworks for several important exhibitions, The Asmat & Mimika in 1996 and The Marind Anim in 1999,  both at the Musée National des Arts d’Afrique et d’Océanie in Paris, now all moved to the new Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac. As Todd recounts, “now when you walk into the Oceanic Art Pavilion at the Quai Branly, the first things you see are the monumental ancestor poles from the Asmat and Mimika along with a four metre long Asmat soul canoe, dance costumes and shields all which I field collected in the 1980s”. Another highlight of Todd’s career was the support he provided to the Oceanic Art Society’s ambitious contribution to the Sydney Olympic Arts Festival in 2000 with the exhibition of the Monumental Sculptures of West Papua at the Sydney College of the Arts. More recently he worked closely with the Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre for four years from 2010 loaning many items from his collection to support the annual Pacific Collections and Community Engagement programs, complementing contemporary Pacific artists and reiterating an understanding of Pacific cultural heritage to local communities.

As Todd reminisces about his long time love affair with promoting Oceanic Art, “I have had the chance to work with many very dynamic people in the Pacific Arts and Culture Community. I was often lucky to be in the right place at the right time to witness and record preparation for ceremonies, making of artworks and other spiritual practices. I spent many months living with several cultural groups including: the Asmat, the Mimika, The Marind Anim on the South Coast of West Papua and around Lake Sentani, and Geelvink Bay along the North Coast of West Papua. I was also fortunate to spend time in the Sepik River, Southern Highlands and Enga Provinces of Papua New Guinea and also remote villages in Vanuatu and The Solomon Islands.

“Many of the elderly and senior men in the villages were particularly generous to include me in their thoughts about their ancient traditions that seemed to be on the cusp of being lost. They appreciate that I was interested in their culture. They encouraged me to photograph and film in order to help preserve their culture for future generations.” Todd has now donated his photographic archive of over 9000 field photos to The South Australian Museum where he hopes they will be accessed and used by the descendants of the people photographed for years to come.

Todd wasn’t trained in either art history or the practice of art but first came to love and understand Oceanic Art and culture through developing a close relationship with many people in the Pacific, as Todd puts it, “the people in New Guinea were my first love before really understanding the art. The people were so warm, kind, generous with their hospitality.”

He further explains, “our family was poor and the arts were not really available to me when I was growing up; I did get to see some museums on school field trips which were terribly exciting along with National Geographic Magazine which I have been reading for 50 years. However, I have been very fortunate to have had some great Oceanic Art teachers in Sydney including Chris Boylan, Helen Dennett, Geoff Carey & Leo Fleischmann, Harry Beran, Robert Bleakley, Gabriella Roy and others.”

Todd quickly developed a passion for the preservation of culture and history through collecting and documentation. He spent time with communities in the Pacific, collected many objects in the field and then sold some on each return to Australia in order to fund his next collecting trip back into the field, saying, “I became an art dealer so I could collect, travel and spend months staying in remote areas of West Papua and New Guinea.”

When Todd shows pieces in his collection, he is still looking for physical and visual connections between works. As he said, “I collected what I liked visually and what excited and expanded my imagination. I experience artworks in a physical way. The artworks that I like most are inspired by images often made of dreams and are highly abstracted. I also find these qualities in nature; natural formed wood and stone, shells and seed pods, and vines – these are recurring motifs often found in New Guinea Art.”

Having spent extensive time in Pacific communities, he also understands the true place of their creations, he reminds us that “for the people of the Pacific Islands, their artworks are not an ornament to hang on a wall, but are a visual reminder of important ancestors or powerful spirits that guide and protect the people. These ancestors and spirits are always present. They are found in specific locations in the forest or kept in specially made houses where men perform ceremonies to honour or appease them. An ancestor can be invited and embodied into a carved ritual figure, or even a war shield. These carvings would then include a personal name of an ancestor and would be highly respected. “

When pushed to identify his favourite Oceanic Art style or place of origin, Todd struggles to favour any particular artwork, saying “I can’t  say I have  favourite artworks; every artwork I ever bought was my favourite at the moment and many of the pieces I got in villages from old people who were friends, these have deep meaning because of the friendships. Every area of Oceanic Art has beautiful artworks but I guess my favourites are the abstracted styles of the Kwoma and Nukama People in the Waskuk area along with the Papuan Gulf and the Asmat, I lived with the Asmat for more than two years cumulatively, they are great abstract artists.”

MARIND ANIM DEMA SPIRIT COSTUMES: Coiffures / Sculpture d’ Oceanie 1999 Nouvelle Bretagne et Irian Jaya

At THE MUSEE NATIONAL des ARTS D’AFRIQUE et d’ OCEANIE Paris

This superb exhibition was held in the grand spaces of  The Musée National des Arts d’Afrique et d’Océanie (National Museum of Arts of Africa and Oceania) a museum formerly located in the Palais de la Porte Dorée on the edge of the Bois de Vincennes at 293, avenue Daumesnil in the 12th arrondissement of Paris, France and is now part of  The Musee du Quai Branly in Paris

Todd Barlin had spent several years working with the elders in The Marind Anima Area to be able to watch & photograph the making of the important Dema Spirits Costumes & the actual Dema Ceremonies from start to finish, this had not been seen since the very early 20^th Century.  This collection of the Dema Costumes is now in the permanent collection of The Musee du Quai Branly in Paris

The headdresses of the Marind Anim People, one of the best-known groups of Irian Jaya (a region south of western New Guinea), are arrangements of wooden figures, cut-out elements covered with red seeds and large feather headdresses that top costumes featuring the attributes of “Dema” spirits.

The exhibition presents two series of spectacular Masks & Sculptures from Irian Jaya (Western New Guinea-Indonesia) & New Britain Island Papua New Guinea

Marind Anim at Musee National Des Arts Paris 1999. pdf

 

 

 

The History of The Musée national des Arts d’Afrique et d’Océanie

The Musée national des Arts d’Afrique et d’Océanie (National Museum of Arts of Africa and Oceania) was a museum formerly located in the Palais de la Porte Dorée on the edge of the Bois de Vincennes at 293, avenue Daumesnil in the 12th arrondissement of Paris, France.

The museum began as the colonial exhibition of 1931, was renamed in 1935 the Musée de la France d’Outre-mer, then in 1960 the Musée des Arts africains et océaniens, and finally in 1990 the Musée national des Arts d’Afrique et d’Océanie.

In 2003 the museum’s collection was merged into the Musée du Quai Branly, and in its place the Palais de la Porte Dorée now houses the Cité nationale de l’histoire de l’immigration. Its tropical aquarium remains in the cellar of the Palais de la Porte Dorée and is open to the public.

The Asmat et Mimika d’ Irian Jaya April 1996

At THE MUSEE NATIONAL des ARTS D’AFRIQUE et d’ OCEANIE, Paris (Now part of  Musée du quai Branly)

This superb exhibition of the traditional Arts of The Asmat & Mimika (Kormoro) people of West Papua, held in the grand buildings of the Musée National des Arts d’Afrique et d’Océanie (National Museum of Arts of Africa and Oceania) was a museum formerly located in the Palais de la Porte Dorée on the edge of the Bois de Vincennes at 293, avenue Daumesnil in the 12th arrondissement of Paris, France.

In 1985-86 Todd Barlin spent six months living with the Asmat & Kamoro (Mimika) people which culminated in a collection of artworks & field photos from both of these amazing cultures. During this time I stayed in remote villages for weeks at a time and it was a chance to get to know people and let them get to know you. I lived as they did, ate what they had each day, and also suffered problems such as malaria and dengue fever. Despite the fortuitous and unpredictable circumstances, this was a magical pre-digital era – before the internet, mobile phones, or television exposed remote villages to the outside world. I often stayed for six to eight months a year traveling in remote areas and for that time it was as if the rest of the world did not exist.”

The Artworks are now in the permanent collection of the Musée du quai Branly & are some of the first artworks you see when walking into the Oceanic Art Pavilion at The Musée du quai Branly

Published in the prestigious Louvre Magazine 1996.  PDF in English & French

 

 

The History of The Musée national des Arts d’Afrique et d’Océanie

The Musée national des Arts d’Afrique et d’Océanie (National Museum of Arts of Africa and Oceania) was a museum formerly located in the Palais de la Porte Dorée on the edge of the Bois de Vincennes at 293, avenue Daumesnil in the 12th arrondissement of Paris, France.

The museum began as the colonial exhibition of 1931, was renamed in 1935 the Musée de la France d’Outre-mer, then in 1960 the Musée des Arts africains et océaniens, and finally in 1990 the Musée national des Arts d’Afrique et d’Océanie.

In 2003 the museum’s collection was merged into the Musée du Quai Branly, and in its place the Palais de la Porte Dorée now houses the Cité nationale de l’histoire de l’immigration. Its tropical aquarium remains in the cellar of the Palais de la Porte Dorée and is open to the public.