REVIEW OF THE SAN FRANCISCO TRIBAL & TEXTILE ARTS SHOW

Over the weekend of February 10^th, 11^th, & 12th, the tribal art faithful assembled at the West Coast’s sacred hall: the Festival Pavilion, Fort Mason in the city of San Francisco.  The San Francisco Tribal & Textile Arts show, in its 26^th year, is without a doubt the best tribal art venue in America and arguably, the world. There are two other high-end shows in Europe, but the emphasis in on African art. The SF show has much more depth, with top sellers from the US, Europe, and Australia offering a much wider range of materials and cultures: wood and stone sculptures, ceramics, masks, textiles, beadwork, jewelry from Africa, Oceania, Asia, and the Americas.

After a few slow years, this time attendance was up, as well as enthusiasm.  Not once, for the first time since 2009, did I hear potential buyers complain about the economy or put off purchases based on money woes.  Serious sales were made and at least one well-known Indonesia tribal art dealer had the best show, sales wise, ever!  Most of the dealers I talked to reported better sales this year, although as usual some sellers left disappointed.

In my area, Tribal Asia and the Western Pacific, including Indonesia, there were many rare and important objects on display.  There were two archaic Tau-Tau figures, several ancient Kayanic Dayak (Kayan, Bahau, Modang) wood sculptures, a crowned Nias Island figure, ancestral figures (Aitos) from Timor Island, a pair of Batak Pagars, a beautiful Kenyah Dayak dance mask, an old human figure style Toraja shrine door, painted Dayak shields, lots of weapons, Javanese batiks, and Iban ritual textiles.  Known sales of Indonesia tribal art included a rare Dayak cave guardian (one of four of this quality, type and condition known on the market), an amazing Dayak chief’s stool in the form of a dragon (Aso) with a super patina, a ladle from Timor Island with early provenance, one of the Tau-Tau figures, and a beautiful and unusual beaded vest/skirt set from Borneo Island.

As an added bonus to the festivities, Bay Area legend Tom Murray celebrated his 60^th birthday party on Saturday evening at the Fort Mason Gate House.  Well over 300 of Tom’s closest friends joined him for food, drink, and live music.

As usual, the super team put together by show organizers Bill Caskey and Liz Lees created the perfect venue for viewing great works of art: a large historic hall overlooking the beautiful San Francisco Bay.  Besides the regular well-received opening night Gala, there was a colorful display of contemporary Moroccan rag rugs in the lobby.  

ARTICLE FROM LOS ANGELES TIMES

CODE BREAKER AT MUSEUM
A Scripps College exhibition's art-dealer partnership conflicts with ethics guidelines
By Mike Boehm.  Los Angeles Times: Saturday, January 14, 2012

For the direct link to the article on line, please go:
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-ceramics-show-dealer-20120114,0,2400795.story

After reading this article, please see the comments below:
I have been a dealer of Ethnographic Art from Asia for more than 35 years.  On numerous occasions, I have generously loaned objects, expertise, and precious time to museums without any compensation and often with little recognition.  It is not uncommon for museum staff to rely on art dealers for information and material for exhibitions.  Why shouldn't they?  Dealers often know more about the material than the curators and certainly have important additional contacts when it comes to acquiring objects.  It is a ridiculous and prejudicial argument that dealers are not qualified or ethical enough to server as curators for museum exhibitions.

I take offense when others regularly characterize dealers as motivated purely by profit.  In fact, virtually every art dealer I know has as much passion for the arts as any collector, curator, or critic.  When buying art, a professional dealer's primary concerns are the authenticity, aesthetics, quality, and condition of the piece, not the value.  

Of course, dealers have a financial stake in the art market and in the success of related exhibitions, but so does everyone else involved. Dealers make money when they sell a work of art.  Collectors make money with their art investments, either by reselling pieces or by taking a tax deduction when they donate pieces to museums.  Museums make money, in part, by charging to view their collections.  Curators and museum staff receive regular paychecks and perks, and unless Christopher Knight is writing for the LA Times out of the goodness of his heart, he has been paid (some would say overpaid) to critique the art world.  


Dealers have to play all roles: acting as critic when evaluating quality and aesthetics; academic when researching to properly identify and classify objects; and collector when making choices that fuel the passion.  You can add in conservator, photographer, display and lighting specialist, as well as packing, shipping, and storage agent.

It might come as a surprise that most dealers are not getting rich in this business.  It is possible to make a good living, like any other profession, but only after putting in years of hard work with the hope you gain enough experience, knowledge, and reliable contacts to find those few great pieces.  Dealers regularly have to sort through piles of lesser quality pieces, as well as fakes and reproductions, spending considerable amounts of time and money out of pocket, before ever seeing any profit. 

One last note:  I was the guest curator for the 1990 exhibition of Indonesian tribal art at the San Diego Museum of Man.  The museum staff was pleased with my involvement, the exhibition was well received by the viewing public, and the art world did not implode.  

ARTICLE FROM NEW YORK TIMES

ONCE HIDDEN BY FOREST, CARVINGS IN LAND ATTEST TO AMAZON'S LOST WORLD
A Scholarly and Environmental Reappraisal
By Simon Romero.  New York Times: Sunday, January 15, 2012

For direct link to article on line, please go to:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/15/world/americas/land-carvings-attest-to-amazons-lost-world.html?_r=1&ref=simonromero

PRESS RELEASE FROM LACMA

LACMA APPOINTS CURATOR FOR AFRICAN ART PROGRAM

(Los Angeles, December 1, 2011)—The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) has named Dr. Mary (Polly) Nooter Roberts Consulting Curator of African Art to help launch a program and establish a gallery dedicated to the arts of Africa. Dr. Roberts is Professor of World Arts and Cultures at UCLA, and will continue her full-time teaching position while consulting for LACMA. She was Senior Curator of the Museum for African Art in New York from 1984–1994 and Deputy Director and Chief Curator of the Fowler Museum at UCLA from 1999-2008. Additionally, she was a guest curator at LACMA for the 2008 exhibition Tradition as Innovation in African Art. The goal of Dr. Roberts’s appointment is to bring greater visibility to African arts in Southern California, while creating programmatic linkages between LACMA and UCLA. As LACMA CEO and Wallis Annenberg Director Michael Govan states, “We have looked forward to launching a program for African art for several years and the timing seems right. We are excited to work with Polly Nooter Roberts as we explore new ways of understanding and presenting the richness of African artistic expression.”

Dr. Roberts has conducted research in a number of African countries and many European and American museums and private collections. She has curated such major exhibitions as Secrecy: African Art that Conceals and Reveals (1993) and Memory: Luba Art and the Making of History (1996), both at the Museum for African Art, and A Saint in the City: Sufi Arts of Urban Senegal (2003) at the Fowler Museum. All three shows traveled to several museums, and the latter two received major book awards. Her more recent exhibitions include Inscribing Meaning: Writing and Graphic Systems in African Art (Fowler Museum, 2007); Tradition as Innovation in African Art (LACMA, 2008); and Continental Rifts: Contemporary Time-Based Works of Africa (Fowler Museum, 2009). In 2007, Dr. Roberts was decorated by the Republic of France as a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters for her promotion of francophone African artists. She holds a PhD in Art History from Columbia University.

African Art at LACMA

LACMA’s growing collection of African art is diverse in form, material, and purpose. Works include masks and figures of wood and ivory, textiles, metalwork, beaded crowns, stools, and body adornments. Notable in the collection are a bronze plaque depicting a seventeenth-century official of the Benin Kingdom; a boli figure from Mali; and a selection of works from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 

Explore the collection online at: www.lacma.org/art/collection/african-art

VARIOUS ON LINE ART ARTICLES OF INTEREST

The Dot.Com Art Boom.  It's Here.  It's Now.  Should You Pay Attention?
Forbes on line magazine.  August 8, 2011.  By Abigail R. Esman. 
http://www.forbes.com/sites/abigailesman/2011/08/08/the-dot-com-art-boom-its-here-its-now-should-you-pay-attention/

Sacred Carves.
Asian Art Newspaper.  By Lucien De Guise.
http://www.asianartnewspaper.com/article/sacred-carves


Mirror Images and Insight.
Pieces in "Ancient Chinese Bronze Mirrors from the Lloyd Cotsen Collection" reflect cultural mores.
Los Angeles Times.  November 25, 2011.  By Suzanne Muchnic.
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-chinese-mirrors-20111125,0,6360578.story


Guiding Getty.
Los Angeles Times.  December 3, 2011.  OP-ED, Patt Morrison asks James Cuno.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-morrison-james-cuno-20111203,0,6400722.column

ARTICLE FROM LOS ANGELES TIMES

Prehistoric Art Studio Found
Scientists unearth 100,000 year-old tools for making and using paints in a South African cave.
By Amina Khan.  8/14/11

For the direct link:
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-ancient-paint-20111014,0,553090.story

FORBES MAGAZINE ARTICLE: ON LINE ART SALES

The Dot Com Art Boom, Its Here, Its Now, Should You Pay Attention?
By Abigail R. Esman  8/8/11

Direct link: http://www.forbes.com/sites/abigailesman/2011/08/08/the-dot-com-art-boom-its-here-its-now-should-you-pay-attention/