| CONTENT | This exhibition includes thirty-six photographs taken by Museum ornithologist E. Thomas Gilliard during his 1953-54 expedition to the middle Sepik River, in Papua New Guinea. While primarily photographing indigenous species of birds (and some mammals and reptiles), Gilliard also took 1,500 photographs, in both color and black-and-white, depicting the art, architecture, and people of the region at a time when traditional art forms and ceremonial practices were still in evidence.
Gilliard extensively documented the peoples and cultures of the Iatmul and Sawos language groups. He captured numerous examples of the body decorations and ornamentation that proclaim clan affiliations, and photographed the elaborately decorated Kanganaman men's ceremonial house (Wolimbit), with its massive carved posts, gable figures, roof-spire carvings, and paintings.
The photographs are complemented by a selection of Margaret Gilliard's pen-and-ink and watercolor-and-ink sketches of artifacts and buildings. The works in this exhibition are valuable historical documents that illustrate the powerful artistic heritage of the cultures of the middle Sepik River. |
