Reference Books for Oceanic Carving Inspiration.

Here are mine, I thought I'd start this after seeing Tikimecula's reply in another thread. After he showed his bookshelf I bought a few of the ones he had. I spend way too much on books. Please add to this with your own collections so I can spend some more.

Hope this helps somebody.

Wow Johnny, Nice Library you have there. Here are mine, I have actually added a few since this pic was taken. I get a pic up of the others also.

Holy cats...what a great collection of reference material....and I thought I was getting into
the over-kill category. My stuff doesn't evens scratch the surface of what you are showing.
I did just purchase two reference books on Northwest Pacific totem carvings, so you can
expect more of that stuff to creep into my "tikis."
Great li-bary you have going there.

This is a great idea for a thread. You can always find something interesting to look up.
I´ll update with my books this week.

[ Edited by: tikidreams 2007-10-23 06:01 ]

It was tikimecula's photo posting in the first thread that got me started. Since that posting I've acquired 40+ books. But I find several aren't worth the trouble. I started a thread for source material book reviews, but there was no interest.

griffithpark, you probably would have got a better response here than in "General Tiki", as I doubt very many non-carvers/artists collect books on Oceanic art with the same passion we do. Books to me are the fuel for my creative engine. More recently I have been building a digital library from scans, ebay listings, museums and tribal arts sites - almost 4,500 images now. It's a great way to get source pics of pieces you may otherwise never see, but nothing beats having a full page plate in a book with the accompanying text - except viewing the real thing in a museum or collection.
I try and be very selective with my purchases now - you find after a while that a lot of the same pieces appear in different books. I'll post some pics of my collection later too. There are definitely a few "standards" I think should be in every carver's library.
JP, you have quite a few books on my wishlist there - looks like you keep a keen eye on the local libraries "cancelled" tables?

Like you, I find the material very inspirational. This weeekend I'm starting on my first Oceanic fishing lures. If I hadn't seen it in a book...

Anyone have a recommendation for a book on canoe-building?

I can see 3 on the left of JP's 2nd pic that may help you...which reminds me, if you're reading this Johnny - what's the Vaka Moana book like? I really wish I could've got up to Auckland to see the exhibition. From a carver's viewpoint, what's it like as a resource book?
The Polynesian Voyaging Society site has some really good info on canoes.

Not a lot but kind of very hard to find in France :)

Mahalo,

Ben.

psst.. ben, amazon.com.. :wink:

On 2007-10-26 04:16, benella wrote:
Not a lot but kind of very hard to find in France :)

I thought books on Oceanic art would be common there? Paris has always been one of the great collecting centres of the world, and was a birthplace of the appreciation of the primitive (as art) in modern art. Sotheby's and Christie's hold their major Oceanic and African sales in Paris and most of the world record prices have been set there. There must be some great finds lurking in some of the bookshops (like auction catalogues!), especially considering France's long involvement in the Pacific.

I finally got some legible pics of my books. The next shelf up has more books on art, crafts, carving, jade and NZ/Pacific history, but this is the most "tiki" shelf.
On the right, general books on Oceanic art and some on specific cultures:

In the middle - Heyerdahl, Pacific travel books, more Rapa Nui and all the little books of various categories (many of which unfortunately don't have spines to read):

On the left - Maori and Polynesian Pop:

There are still a lot of gaps to fill - Tiki Modern is next up on "the list"!

Here is the start of my collection.

Thought i would Bump this up, and update.

Here is an updated pic of my bookshelf.

Also I got a GREAT new book the other day and thought i would share.

Oceanic Art, By Kaeppler, Kaufmann & Newton

Heres some of the 900+ images

It's a bit on the high side $ wise, but worth it for a great Oceanic Art resource book.

[ Edited by: Tikimecula 2008-05-19 19:13 ]

wow, i need to start shopping more. i only have about 4 or 5 right now. my BOT was stolen. i still get a lot of great stuff from the web, too. thanks you guys.

Awesome thread! I'm just beginning to add to my library and would very much appreciate hearing what TCers/carvers ideas are on which books are must haves.

Mahalo
Brian

On a bookshelf somewhere in the South Pacific:

A simple 'rotate anti-clockwise' might help our viewers folks.. :lol:

*Pdrake: note the little red book in first pic. The TePapa-press one you have coming in the post?

(please forgive the odd random non-tiki publication)

T :)

The "Phallic Worship" one looks like an interesting read. :o

On 2008-05-20 00:04, Lake Surfer wrote:
The "Phallic Worship" one looks like an interesting read. :o

oops, how did that get in there..? must be one of MrsTamas.. :lol:

Oh gee, amazing libraries you own... I was stupid enough to think that there wouldn't be so much books on that topic.

This book cant be seen very well above and really deserves a mention of its own.

Im sure Ive told a few of you Chizzlers about it before but here it is again - with a few piccies to back up my claims. Its highly contemporary work, so I hope no-one minds me adding to the Oceanic Art bookshelf? But this is what todays Tohunga-whakairo/'Master' carvers are doing with inspiration drawn from the old works. A must-have in my opinion if simply to see examples of what heights can and are being attained.

WARNING: a strong sense of self-belief/confidence in ones OWN carving work is important before viewing these taonga: I wonder how many aspiring carvers have taken one look and thrown down their own chisels as a lost cause..?

[edit]: Reed Publishing(NZ). 2006

And on it goes.. weapons, masks, figures, bailers, lintels. Head-reeling stuff, some of the figures 6-7'+. This book never fails to blow my poor wee mind.

Only featuring the work of these two guys. 188pages, Awesome photography throughout. Buy it, support them, and do yourself a favour while you're at it! (printed in China, terrific..)

T :)

[ Edited by: Tamapoutini 2008-05-20 01:50 ]

HELP!! I just recieved an ex-library copy of 'Hawaiian Sculpture' by J Halley Cox:

..but some buggers' gone and torn out page75/6! Argh, hate that!

Im assuming there was something very groovy on one side and I want to know what!!?? - if anyone has a copy could you please post a pic here so I can see what Im missing..? Cheers

Here you go Tama!!!

Page 75

Page 76

Thank TFreak, much appreciated! :)

(goddam no-good, awesome double-pic, page-tearin' thief #@%*!..) :x

Tama, that contemporary Maori art book would be Soaked in Drool by the first day, Awesome stuff. I've seen some of that work from those 2 masters and it is truly Bind boggling how they "Stretch" the wood they use.

WOW Tama ! God bless you ! I was searching for several weeks some pix of maori carvings like the first pix that is very contemporary ! Yipee ! I saw one like this in trader vics London but didn't take enough pix. I am going to buy this book with no delay :wink: Happy happy happy.

Benjamin.

Nice one Benjamin! The hands on that figure youre standing with sure look like the work of Roi & Todd - perhaps one of their earlier works or maybe by someone they studied with/under? I know theyve sold at an amazing gallery in Canada so I guess getting them around the globe is no obstacle.

Maybe you could post your impressions/review of the book here if you buy it. Im sure you wont be disappointed.

Tama, tikifreak1,

the "hawaiian sculpture" book looks interesting. Does it have many pics of traditional hawaiian tikis like the ku above ?

For the Germans/Euros here:
I've been looking for the "oceanic arts" book mentioned a couple of times here and only found expensive used versions on US websites. Then I came across a book which looks like a german reissue of it called "Ozeanien" by the same authors for less than 60 Euros. It's still not really cheap, but better than dealing with customs and a used book in unknown condition.
600+ pages, the photos match the ones posted here. ISBN is 3-451-22974-9

Traderbob, here is a link I found so you can preview the book before to make sure you like it. The book Tama has I believe is the original and I have the revised (but both the same). I think the book you mentioned is a mix of oceanic art (not just Hawaiian) but not sure??? Hope this helps. Somebody else might be able to give you more info.

http://books.google.com/books?id=NeCyfTKm50gC&pg=PA169&lpg=PA169&dq=halley+cox&source=web&ots=IAmouflEla&sig=AGRJ4Xr3rsyNZeExX7-FK9PcvnY&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result#PPP1,M1

I just noticed it is not the whole book, but it does have more of the carvings you are looking for!!!!

Craig

[ Edited by: tikifreak1 2008-06-19 13:10 ]

Thanks for the link tikifreak, I didn't know they had these kinds of books on display there. Very cool, the last time I had a look there I found old nautical/navigation stuff...

I think that's what I'm looking for.

Cheers,

Bobo

Wow, this must be "Rip off a kiwi carver" week on TC....


Sven has stated in another thread that this particular Trader Vic's tiki is "Poly-Asian" in origin - I'm pretty sure they were selling em at the big warehouse sale a while back. Obviously the Indonesian carvers who supply Trader Vic's have their own copy of the book or found this piece online somewhere.

i doubt it was the carvers themselves. more than likely it was the importer.

sheesh, there's more than enough traditional pieces to copy from. why on earth would someone copy a modern piece with a current carver?

leroy and bob did it right.

Ohhhh yeah, Traderbob. Yes the Oceanic Art book I think you are talking about is great. It has a lot of PNG stuff in it, but is does have smaller sections from different places. A bunch of people have it in there shelves on the first page (mine is on the table (top left corner).

Craig

Here is a book on scrimshaw and how to do it. The book was written in era before preserving our natural resources became a world priority. Though the book disturbingly uses ivory for the examples and demonstrating carving work it plainly states the techniques can be used on other materials like beef bones and even plexiglass.

On 2008-06-18 14:51, Tamapoutini wrote:
HELP!! I just recieved an ex-library copy of 'Hawaiian Sculpture' by J Halley Cox:

..but some buggers' gone and torn out page75/6! Argh, hate that!

Im assuming there was something very groovy on one side and I want to know what!!?? - if anyone has a copy could you please post a pic here so I can see what Im missing..? Cheers

There is another example of Hawaiian sculpture that was omitted from that book. But not torn out just not included in even the revised edition.

This little guy didn't make the book. I have another picture somewhere I'll try and post it here when I find it.

Nice book collection JohnnyP, My collection seems so sad now.

There's a whole page on that little fella - had it bookmarked for a while:
A rare Hawaiian ivory pendant in the collection of the Peabody Essex Museum

Here's another book to put on your list. Good stuff! Some items i had not seen before in my other books. Full page color pics also. Book measures 9"x12"

Here is a book I bought at the swap meet a while back for $1.00.

On 2008-05-20 01:46, Tamapoutini wrote:

[edit]: Reed Publishing(NZ). 2006

I've waited so long for that book and it arrived yesterday with some bills ! This book is a "must have".

Benjamin.

Similar to W. Ben Hunt's "Lets whittle" in the Book of Tiki, this is a carving book that has some reference to tikis. Not much of a help to learn to carve, more on the theory of carving, but interesting for the tiki connection.

bumpity bump

Mahalo,
Highly informative tread, since the only book i have on this subject was "the book of tiki", by Taschen
Every 1st Sunday of the month the shops are open and being a shop owner myself i thought i'd go book hunting
as i never work on Sunday. I wore my first pendant for some extra mana and i think i will never take it of again. At the first bookstore i attended, right as i was about to leave the store i spotted "Oceanic Art", by Anthony JP Meyer at the bottom of a stack of books about 4ft high. When i asked about the price, the store owner told me he had another one in the back still in plastic priced €29,90 (thats about $40,-). So here i am right back at home. Coffee is brewing and i thought i'd bumb this tread with this "i'm so happy i found this story", before i spent the rest of my Sunday reading.

Well here are books so far...

Not that many I know but Tiki stuff is quite hard to come by over this way...

i have been collecting for a few months and have found these books helpful in art styles by island groups as well as general history of the migration of people through the islands. the one i like a lot is "island ancestors". hope this helps anybody out there in tiki land. also found that buying used books on amazon in most cases was cheaper than buying on ebay. It goes without saying to all out in tiki land new in their quest for knowledge....buy "the book of Tiki" FIRST!!

[ Edited by: Creative Chimp 2009-04-15 08:22 ]

1998 Art of the Pacific by Anne D'Alleva

Muy bueno!

Is this the definitive Oceanic art book thread? I don't like the title of it because I am not a carver and it's not old enough. I know Buzzy likes to promote it...

I bought this one yesterday for 3 dollah (Boston accent)

Art of the South Pacific Islands
Paul S. Wingert

[ Edited by: Zeta 2010-03-18 12:27 ]

I am soooo jealous!

Some nice online source photos: Spencer collection of slides of Papua New Guinea, 1953-1978

http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Search/Home?lookfor=papua+new+guinea&type=all&limit[]=&submit=Find&filter[]=series-cluster:%22Spencer%20collection%20of%20slides%20of%20Papua%20New%20Guinea%2C%201953-1978%22

[ Edited by: Sabu The Coconut Boy 2011-12-09 00:28 ]

There's also a rather good collection that I have yet to see referenced here on Tiki Central, so this seemed like a good thread in which to share it:

The Helen S. Slosberg Collection of Oceanic Art Catalog (1977)

Available for viewing/downloading in its entirety via archive.org: http://www.archive.org/details/helensslosbergco00saul