Aug 15, 2015James Morrison’s ‘Account of the Island of Tahiti & the Customs of the Island’James Morrison’s ‘Account of the Island of Tahiti & the Customs of the Island’ Boatswain’s mate on the Bounty, James Morrrison (1760–1807) lived on Tahiti for two years from 1789 to 1771, quickly learning the language and gaining an insightful understanding of Tahitian life and culture before the arrival of Protestant missionaries. His ethnography of funeral ritual and mourning ceremonies shows both keen observation…Death6 min readDeath6 min read
Aug 4, 2015An account of the voyages undertaken by the order of His present Majesty: for making discoveries in…An account of the voyages undertaken by the order of His present Majesty: for making discoveries in the Southern Hemisphere, ... By John Hawkesworth, LL.D. In three volumes. ... [pt.2] London: printed for W. Strahan; and T. Cadell, 1773. …7 min read7 min read
Aug 3, 2015The Art of the PacificGeorge Dawson Introductory essay by George Dawson, published in 1978 in the catalogue accompanying The Art of the Pacific exhibition held in the Douglas Hyde Gallery in Trinity College, Dublin. In the 20th century, for almost the first time, it is hardly possible to understand much of the development of…6 min read6 min read
Aug 3, 2015The National Museum’s collection of 19th century Pacific artThe National Museum’s collection of 19th century Pacific art Apart from the ‘Cook Collection’, the National Museum’s collection of Pacific art is especially rich in works from New Guinea, including Papua, New Zealand, the Solomon Islands, Easter Island and the Maori culture of New Zealand. These exhibits reflect well some…3 min read3 min read
Jun 10, 2015Georg Forster’s contemporary description of a Tahetian Chief mourner’s dress.The German-born author (and, later, revolutionary) Georg Forster (1754-1794) accompanied his father, the naturalist, Johann Reinhold Forster, on Cook’s second voyage to the South Seas (1772–5). His account, A Voyage Round the World, 2 Vols., …8 min read8 min read
Jun 10, 2015THE POLYNESIAN COLLECTION OF TRINITY COLLEGE, DUBLIN; AND THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF IRELANDTHE POLYNESIAN COLLECTION OF TRINITY COLLEGE, DUBLIN; AND THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF IRELAND The Journal of the Polynesian Society Volume 58, No. 1, 1949 The Polynesian Collection of Trinity College, Dublin; and the National Museum of Ireland, by J. D. Freeman, p 1–18 IN the study of Polynesian ethnology artifacts…17 min read17 min read
May 2, 2015Intermisunderstanding mindsRichard Kearney, “Interview with James Coleman,” The Crane Bag 6, no.2 (1982), pp.126–132. Kearney: Is it your intention to ‘free’ the spectator from traditional and stereotyped ways of looking and listening? If so, how do you understand such ‘freedom’? …Mulla Nasrudin2 min readMulla Nasrudin2 min read
Apr 14, 2015‘The Question of Medium: William Kentridge, James Coleman and Contemporary Formalism’‘The Question of Medium: William Kentridge, James Coleman and Contemporary Formalism’ In her book-length essay, A Voyage on the North Sea, reflecting on the question of medium in discourses of contemporary art, the art historian and critic Rosalind Krauss hypothesises or, to be more accurate to her tone of dismay, makes the dark prognosis that since the 1960s art has entered…Rosalind Krauss16 min readRosalind Krauss16 min read
