Oceania comprises three great cultural areas: Melanesia, Polynesia and Micronesia. The art of the island populations of the South Pacific takes such diverse forms as masks and jewelry, household utensils and weapons, canoe prows and overmodeled skulls, tapa and major representations of the deities. It is spawned from the religious beliefs of people attempting to answer the great questions of their very existence. Volume I opens with an introduction to the physical and historical situation of the South Pacific island cultures from the first known migrations to the period of European discovery…mehr
Produktbeschreibung
Oceania comprises three great cultural areas: Melanesia, Polynesia and Micronesia. The art of the island populations of the South Pacific takes such diverse forms as masks and jewelry, household utensils and weapons, canoe prows and overmodeled skulls, tapa and major representations of the deities. It is spawned from the religious beliefs of people attempting to answer the great questions of their very existence. Volume I opens with an introduction to the physical and historical situation of the South Pacific island cultures from the first known migrations to the period of European discovery and exploration on through to today. This is followed by the first of three sections devoted to each cultural area of Oceania, Melanesia, which begins by focusing on the extraordinary art forms of New Guinea. Volume II continues with the "expressionistic" art of the rest of Melanesia, the highly classical art forms of Polynesia and the power and pure form of Micronesian works of art.
