Abstract:

The art of painting on bark was once widely found in many parts of the Pacific, including the Sepik River region of Papua New Guinea, the home of the Kwoma people who are the subject of this study. The styles of the paintings and the subjects of designs were as varied as the hundreds of languages spoken in this region.

Following European contact at the end of the nineteenth century, and the social change this brought, many New Guinea peoples discontinued producing their vibrant designs on bark. But in some areas the art form still flourishes. This book gives a detailed account of the art of painting on bark among the Kwoma, a people speaking a distinct language who display their barks on the ceilings of their ceremonial men’s houses. The book includes accounts of the work of a number of individual artists all of whom are represented by paintings in one or more major art museums internationally.

This second edition has a new chapter illustrating thirty-three large-format Kwoma paintings on paper commissioned by the author in the course of his fieldwork in the Sepik. All thirty-three works on paper, along with forty-two of the barks illustrated, now form part of the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne (Australia). The book is a unique study of bark painting in a Papua New Guinea society and will have wide appeal to those interested in the art and ethnography of this region.

“This book is the product of an enviable depth of field research and scholarship and is a model for what others might do with their field observations of the material culture and art of New Guinea societies.” Dr. Barry Craig, Oceania 2007, vol. 77.

“…Bowden’s book is richly illustrated and provides a valuable resource on bark paintings. This strong focus on the object has resulted in a readable, well-photographed and approachable volume, which nevertheless is formidably focused on technical aspects of bark painting and the society in which it is made.” Dr. Alex Golub, Museum Anthropology 2010, vol. 33.

“…this book constitutes an admirable and even comprehensive introduction to an Upper Sepik ritual bark painting tradition… It provides the reader with a remarkable experience of a rich and beautiful artistic tradition…” Dr. Phillip Guddemi, Pacific Arts 2011, vol. 11.

Contents

Acknowledgements
Dedication
Note on the Text
Note on the Second Edition
Photographs
List of Figures
List of Tables
Map

1 Sepik painting
2 Images of identity
3 The technology of painting
4 The elements of design
5 The Kwoma style
6 Shared images. Shared meanings?
7 Aesthetic values and artistic creativity
8 Learning to paint
9 Recent developments
10 Six painters and their paintings on bark
11 Works on paper

Notes
References
Index