Stuff We Like
Stuff We Like
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From Primitive to World Class Pacific Art: Persistence, Change and Meaning is a valuable contribution to the literature on the arts in our region from UH Press. Resulting from the a special meeting of the Pacific Arts Association at the Field Museum in Chicago, the proceedings have been gathered into a festschrift, a tribute, to Dr. Philip J.C. Dark, a member of the founding generation of the association—and one of the pioneers in what might be called the anthropology of objects. The essays here—all well-illustrated with photos and renderings—take the reader from an era when Pacific arts were looked upon as what early anthropologists called “primitive art,” to where we are today, when we see Pacific arts as just one equal part of the world’s artistic heritage. Check it out. UH Press, www.uhpress.hawaii.edu. Cloth, $48.00.
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Vous est artisanant?
Our favorite Web site this month was actually recommended in the Pacific Arts book shown above. Get our your Larousse and click on www.marquises.pf. They don’t have an English language version, but if you can figure out words like tatouage, sculpture and tapa, you’ll do just fine. Developed as a way for artists and craftspeople from the Marquesas to get their works known to a broader world, this site samples the works available and gives contact information for the Marquesan artists. Click it out! www.marquises.pf.
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Pohnpei Time
So much “Island music” these days draws its inspiration from other sources—sometimes reggae, sometimes hiphop or Brazilian. So we applaud the work of Dano Benian, a Chuukese who records on Pohnpei. Much of his music draws its inspiration from Island themes and life, and most of it is penned by Benian. He also does traditional tunes, giving them a new lease on life. His CD, Pohnpei Time, has a bit of everything, including an unusual take on an English language tune that one finds across Micronesia, “Going To Pohnpei.” Benian records at Unisound Studios, which should be recognized for developing a distinct contemporary sound in multi-lingual, multi-cultural Micronesia. Pohnpei Time, Unisound Studios, www.unisound.fm.
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Fear and Loathing in Papeete
Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Tony Horwitz decided to take on the legacy of Captain James Cook, who changed Pacific history for good with his three exploratory voyages. Horwitz retraces Cook’s landings in Alaska, Niue, New Zealand, Tonga, Tahiti and, finally, Hawaii—searching in each location for what’s left of the navigator’s embattled legacy. Accompanied by a Gonzo-like Aussie traveling companion, Horwitz finds Cook’s reputation around the region is enigmatic at best, tarnished in some locations, where he is vilified as the bringer of all things palagi/pakea/haole—the first in a long, dismal line of scoundrels and profiteers. But there is a more balanced and human story that comes through all Horwitz’s rambling field work and clever prose. The author’s exploits are often hysterically funny yet, all in all, this is also a thought-provoking treatment of the Great Navigator’s memory. Blue Latitudes: Boldly Going Where Captain Cook Has Gone Before. Henry Holt & Co. www.henryholt.com. $25.00 hardback.
