Tribal Art Preservation

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the complicated issue of the preservation of tribal artwork. It discusses whose responsibility it is to preserve the artwork. It then discusses how indigenous people can be compensated for preservation efforts, or if they should be compensated at all. Finally, the paper concludes that the preservation of tribal art may be misguided attempts to control and manipulate cultural productions by removing artistic productions out of their cultural context and turning them into products that can be consumed by Western audiences.

From the Paper:

"But let's imagine that there exists an institutional framework or bureaucratic organization with the resources to undertake such a monumental task of artistic identification. There would still be additional problems to consider. In Indonesia, for instance, there are numerous political and cultural obstacles facing the emerging push for preservation. Communication in the nation is lackluster. Identifying and controlling all potential tribal art among the indigenous people is a task best left to the imagination. The infrastructure simply does not yet exist to properly compensate indigenous artists and craftsmen, let alone stem the tide of black-market deals and random destruction. Yet this is exactly the circumstances in which we hope to be able to control and manage the preservation of indigenous artwork."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Barbier, Jean-Paul. "The Responsible and the Irresponsible: Observations on the Destruction and Preservation of Indonesian Art."
• Duffon, Denis. "Authenticity in Art." In The Oxford Handbook of Aesthetics. Ed. Jerrold Levinson. (NY: Oxford University Press, 2003). 18 Dec. 2006 <http://www.denisdutton.com/authenticity.htm>.
• Hamlin, Jesse. "How de Young Is Handling New Guinea Art Question." San Francisco Chronicle (4 May 2006): E1. 18 Dec. 2006 <http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/05/04/DDGJMIJFVO1.DTL>.
• Lehmann, Karl and Lehmann, Andrew. "Tribal Art of Papua New Guinea." Lost World Arts. (Maui, Hawaii: 2004). 18 Dec. 2006 <http://www.lostworldarts.com/new_page_2.htm>.

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