Number 11, December 2001

THE PACIFIC ARTS ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER
Number 11 December 2001

6th International Symposium of the Pacific Arts Association held in Nouméa and Lifou, Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia
The 6th International Symposium of the Pacific Arts Association was held in Nouméa and Lifou, Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia. It was a great success. The symposium was organized by Emmanuel Kasarhérou, director Tjibaou Cultural Centre with the support of the Loyalty Islands Province and the District Council of Lifou. Funding was received from the Agence pour le Développement de la Culture Kanak (ADCK), the High Commission in New Caledonia, and the Pacific Arts Association. We are very grateful to these agencies, institutions, and individuals and extend our sincere thanks for their support.
On behalf of PAA and all the people who attended the conference, we would like to extend special thanks to Emmanuel Kasarhérou, director Tjibaou Cultural Centre, symposium organizer; Mrs. Marie-Claude Tjibaou and Mr. Octave Togna of the Agence pour le Développement de la Culture Kanak (ADCK); the staff of the Tjibaou Cultural Centre; Mr. Thierry Lataste the High Commissioner of New Caledonia; staff of the Musée Territorial de Nouvelle Calédonie, and Nyian Dance Company. We are very grateful to the people of Nouméa, New Caledonia who were our hosts and who welcomed us.
We also express our sincere thanks to all of the people of Lifou, Loyalty Islands, who welcomed us at a variety of locations. A special thanks to the Head Chief of Wetr (Nathalo), Officials of the Loyalty Islands Province, Mayor of Lifou, the Easo Museum, the Wetr Dance Company, the artists, performers and the many people who were our hosts on Lifou who worked so hard to make the symposium a great event.

Photographs of the Symposium Photos of the symposium can been seen on the PAA website These images are provided by Hilary Scothorn. For more photos by Hilary, and the option to purchase copies go to http://amazon.ofoto.com/I.jsp?m=50785719103&=1596403216. Photos by Rod Ewins can be seen on his website: http://www.justpacific.com/pacific/paa~6th~symposium. Thanks to Simeon Adelbai for sending a CD of photos from the symposium, which we hope, to post on the website in the future. Members who would like to share their photos with the organization should contact Carol Ivory.

Manu Daula Award Presented to Christian Kaufmann and Douglas Newton
PAA members voted to give the Manu Daula (Frigate Bird) award to Christian Kaufmann and Douglas Newton. The award is presented to individuals for outstanding achievements in promoting and studying the arts of Oceania.
The award is a bronze medallion that was designed by Paul and Nan Beadle. Paul was a professor at the Elam School of Fine Arts, Auckland University. Thanks to PAA member and Manu Daula award recipient Margaret Tuckson for award design information.

Announcing the 7th International Symposium of the Pacific Arts Association
Repositioning Pacific Art: Artists, Objects, Histories
Christchurch, New Zealand June 2003

Karen Stevenson, Vice President Pacific
Attitudes and ideas about the Arts of the Pacific and their makers have changed drastically over the past thirty years. Once part of the 'Primitive Art' and/or 'Tourist Art' categories, the art production of the Pacific has been collected or neglected, inspected or dissected by scholars, museum personnel, dealers and Pacific Islanders themselves. It is our intention to take this history in hand and to renegotiate a position for Pacific art in today's world.
Topics of discussion will surely include Contemporary Pacific Art, the Voice of the Artist, the links between the Customary and Contemporary, Collections and Collectors, and Objects and their Histories. This announcement acts not only as a call for papers, but also as an invitation to participate in these discussions as well as other events that will take place around our celebration of Maori and Pacific arts. Please send all enquires to paa@exti.canterbury.ac.nz . The symposium will be held during the last week of June 2003 at the Millennium Hotel. Information concerning accommodations and registration will be provided to members as soon as it becomes available.

PAA Publications
Pacific Arts
Jerome Feldman, Editor
The latest volume (2001) of Pacific Arts concentrates on the art of Australia. Approximately half of the articles and reviews are devoted to that topic. Of special interest are two remarkable reviews by the late Douglas Newton. These are among some of his last scholarly writings and they highlight his unique combination of wit and insight. The volume ends on a sad note with the obituaries of Douglas Newton and Terrence Barrow.

Pacific Islands Museum Association and Pacific Arts Association Executive Committees Meet in Nouméa
A joint meeting of the Executive Committees of the Pacific Islands Museum Association (PIMA) and PAA was held in Nouméa. The purpose of the meeting was for members to become better acquainted and to discuss collaborative projects between the two groups. Lawrence Foanoata, President of PIMA, explained that the primary mission is to provide opportunities for staff of museums in the Pacific Islands to obtain training in collection’s management, conservation and other skills. Lata Yaqona, Secretary explained that PIMA is based in Fiji and incorporated under Fijian law. The organization is physically housed in the Fiji Museum who provides administrative and technical support. PIMA publishes a quarterly Newsletter and has a website. http://www.finearts.mcc.edu/pima/opening.html Discussions were also held concerning possible financial support from PAA of the PIMA newsletter, English translations of PIMA publications and the publication of new titles.

PAA Europe Announces New Executive Committee
At the annual meeting held in June 2001 at the Linden-Museum, Stuttgart, the new Executive Committee members were announced: Christian Kaufmann, President; Philippe Peltier, Vice President; Ingrid Heermann, Secretary; Roberta Colombo Dougoud, Treasurer.

PAA Europe Annual Meeting
Christian Kaufmann, President PAA Europe
The annual meeting of PAA Europe will be held on Friday and Saturday, November 1-2, 2002. Due to problems with funding at the Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde / National Museum of Ethnology in Leiden, the exhibition on Mimika art had to be postponed until fall 2003. The Administrative Council of PAA-Europe is currently discussing the idea to shift the meeting to Dresden, Germany. The exhibitions "Die Kunst Neuguineas"(Art of New Guinea); "Lebendige Traditionen in Neuguinea-Neuererwebungen 2000: Wantoat Zentrales Hochland,Südwest Neuguinea" (Living Art Traditions in New Guinea: Recent Acquisitions from the Wantoat, from the Central Highlands, Southwest New Guinea) and "Inslen der Sehnsucht: Palau, Die Sammlung Karl Gottfried Semper von 1862" (Islands of Nostalgia: Palau, The Collection of Karl Gottfried Semper, 1862) – are extended until the beginning of 2003. This would offer us the chance to see the collection before major construction work starts on the museum building and the Oceania collections go back to the storerooms. The Administrative Council (Executive Committee) will make a final decision in Paris at their meeting on March 2, 2002, about the location of the annual meeting.

PAA Europe Membership Information
The official address of PAA-Europe remains at the Musée national des arts d’Afrique et d’Océanie in Paris as is; however the new treasurer of PAA-Europe works at the Musée d’ethnographie de Genève, Case postale 191, 1211 Genève 8, roberta.colombo@ville-ge.ch

North America
Carol Ivory, Vice President, North America
Several PAA members will be attending the College Art Association (CAA) meetings in Philadelphia, February 20-23, 2002. Executive Committee members Karen Stevenson and Hilary Scothorn will chair the session "Biography, the Written Word, and Pacific Artists: Multivalent Views of History and the Individual" scheduled for Friday evening, Feb. 22nd. PAA members attending the conference are planning to meet for dinner prior to the session. For more information, contact me at ivorycs@wsu.edu or check the web site as the conference draws closer.

PAA’s application to become an affiliated society of CAA was submitted in October by Virginia-Lee Webb. The CAA Executive Board will review the application in December, hold a preliminary vote that will be ratified at the February 2002 meeting at the conference in Philadelphia. CAA will contact Virginia with the results of the vote and let us know if our application was accepted. We will post the results on the PAA website. I am in the process of updating and expanding the web site www.pacificarts.org, including a new page on members' activities and achievements. All members are encouraged to send news items, museum web site links, or any other information that will help to enrich the site. Send information to me at ivorycs@wsu.edu


Robert Welsch, Special Publications Editor
Persistence, Change and Meaning in Pacific Art
The editors have received the proofs of the forthcoming volume from Crawford House Publishing. The corrections will be returned to the publisher in December, and the book is scheduled to go to press shortly thereafter. The book will be available in early 2002.

6th International Symposium Volume
The selection of editors has started for the soon to be titled volume containing the papers presented in Nouméa and Lifou. All authors will be contacted in early 2002, as soon as the editors have the opportunity to discuss the details and schedule of the project.

Obituaries
It is with sadness that we note the deaths of Terrence Barrow (1923-2001) and Douglas Newton (1920-2001). Obituaries will appear in the forthcoming issue of Pacific Arts, volume 23, 2001. The Executive Committee and members of Pacific Arts Association extend their sincere sympathy to the families of these members.

PAA Membership Information
New Address and Contacts
All payment of dues, membership questions, changes of address, etc. should be directed to Hilary Scothorn, Treasurer, PO Box 6061-120, Sherman Oaks, CA 91413 USA. Please use this email address to contact Hilary: HilaryLS@aol.com

Member’s Publications & Exhibitions of Oceanic Art
Titles of publications and exhibitions of Oceanic Art will be listed in the electronic version of the Newsletter. Please visit our web page PAA NEWS


PAA would like to thank the department of Office Services at The Metropolitan Museum of Art for their assistance with the production and mailing of the Newsletter

Newsletter Editor:
Virginia-Lee Webb, Dept. AAOA
C/o The Metropolitan Museum of Art
1000 Fifth Avenue
New York, New York USA 10028
virginia-lee.webb@metmuseum.org