Newsletter

TribalArtery

VOL. TWO, NO. ONE, JANUARY 2002

Welcome to Tribal Artery, a periodic newsletter that will come out as often as we have something to say or some news to report. We expect that we will publish every month or so. Of course, we will rely on your comments as we go.

ISLANDS IN THE SUN

We must have a special affinity for islands. When we moved to Southwest Florida from Chicago 12 years ago, we moved the physical gallery to an island, Sanibel. When we travel to Australia (which is an island of sorts itself) we make stops at the Tiwi islands one of our first priorities.

These two islands, Bathurst and Melville, are about 50 miles north of Darwin in the Arafura Sea. Flying is the customary way to get there. Scheduled service is usually available in small prop planes. But on our last trip in September the scheduled carrier’s equipment was down for maintenance. So we chartered a private plane.

If you have been following our adventures in Australia, you know that we took our 14-year-old grandson along with us. Wills, his name, was not a flyer. Prior to flying to Australia, he had been on an airplane once – when he was much younger. Shortly before leaving, he had seen "Castaway," the movie. He was very uneasy about the flights. We knew he would be okay and we didn’t say much about how many flights we would be taking.

On the appointed day, we went to the airport and walked out on the ramp to get in the four-place plane that was to fly us to Melville Island. Wills was visibly shaken. But he toughed it out, especially when we said, "Wills, if you want to, you can ride in the co-pilot’s seat." That did the trick. There was no looking back.

So we flew to Garden Point on Melville Island where we greeted by the local art advisor, who had helped us get the permit to visit the aboriginal settlements on these islands. After customary amenities and a survey of the work being done, we selected the best pieces for shipping back to the gallery. From there, we continued by air to Snake Bay and another Tiwi community. Again, we looked at what was available. In this case, we were right behind another major buyer and there was not much of quality left to purchase. Finally, we flew to Nguiu on Bathurst Island. By quirk of timing, their selection was outstanding and we stocked up accordingly. One extraordinary piece caught our eye. It was a painting so special we didn’t think it was for sale. But we negotiated a purchase. The work, by Edward, is shown below.

Incidentally, Wills has had no trouble flying since. Not even when we flew into Lady Eliot Island in the Barrier Reef for some R&R. This 50-acre island literally is divided by its landing strip. You can’t cross the island if a plane is landing or leaving.

WALKABOUT WORLD

As you read this, the final days are upon us for our special show of Australian Aboriginal paintings, carvings and baskets. Walkabout World, featuring the best of what we brought back from this trip, ends on January 31. Most paintings and carvings are also on display on this Web site in the Australian Room. If you would like more information about any of the items, simply e-mail us.

MAKING A FETISH OF FETISHES

We have discovered a group on the Web where people who are mad about Zuni fetish carvings gather to discuss their most recent acquisitions. The dialogue is lively, friendly and informative. If you are a fan of ethnographic carvings, go to yahoogroups.com and sign up for Zuni fetishes You may also want to visit our new Fetish Gallery. We are frequently posting new Zuni, Navajo, Cochiti and Inuit/Eskimo carvings. Examples are shown below.

WHO"S LAUGHING AT WHO?

February 4 marks the opening of a new show featuring Navajo folk art, "Who’s Laughing at Who?" As the title suggests, the pieces in this show have a wonderful sense of humor. Delbert Buck has done Navajo cowboys and grandmas riding motorcycles, pigs and goats. Matthew Yellowman has done colorful quails in sneakers and moccasins. Les Herbert has created ravens, with and without chicks. One of our favorites is shown below. Others will be posted to the Web site before the show opens in the gallery.

AFRICAN PIECE OF THE MONTH

Since we have been so involved with Australia and Native America recently, it is fitting to feature an African piece again this month. This time it is an elegantly carved Baule maternity figure. It is a part of our personal collection. We have no idea how old it actually is or how ‘authentic.’ We acquired it in West Africa from the collection Dr. M. Diop a few years ago. He estimated its age as c.1950s. We fell in love with its delicacy and feeling, mother and son in a moment together. We’ve added it as an attachment to this newsletter. You also can see it and other African pieces in the African Gallery.

Look for us next month and let us know if you enjoyed this issue of our newsletter. Feel free to pass it along to anyone else you feel might enjoy reading it.

JANUARY IS WARM AND COMFORTABLE IN FLORIDA.
WE HOPE WARMTH AND COMFORT ALSO FILL YOUR HOME.

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Edward poses in front of his spectacular crocodile