When art historians in the United States speak of Oceanic Art, the ocean they are referring to is the Pacific. Even narrowing the subject down to one ocean still leaves vast diversity among the thousands of islands found there. Because the average reader has little knowledge of the various cultures of the three main Pacific regions?Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia?the authors spend much of the book attempting to produce a context for the 955 illustrations (260 in color). Although the discussion is clear and free of foggy art jargon, it is aimed at an educated audience acquainted with anthropology. After 403 pages of art criticism and anthropological theory interspersed with magnificent full-page color photos of sculpture and costume, there are 108 pages of small black-and-white photos and then a totally inadequate map, naming only 30 individual islands and skipping many named in the text. The map is particularly unhelpful in the following 100-page section, which gives a capsule history and anthropological overview of each island group in the Pacific with fascinating engravings and early photos dating to the first European contact. Despite the map, this monumental volume will reward researchers looking for specific cultural insights while inspiring more casual readers interested in high-quality images of Pacific art.
David McClelland, Philadelphia
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
