I’m constantly in awe of people who can just sit down with a piece of wood and pick up a knife or a pick and just whittle away until they have something to show for it at the end. I think it’s a mad wicked skill and they should be applauded and lauded for it.
Tag: South Pacific art
Saturday
This particular piece of wood sculpture has been one of my favorites in the SLAM collection for a very long time. It has a particular feeling to it that you can’t appreciate until you’re standing in front of it, taking in all of the mana and life essence of the piece. Until then, it’s just a pretty piece of wood.
Sunday
When they decided to start reintroducing the Oceanic art (finally) after a long absence, this was one of the new pieces to go up. I squeed loudly and promptly took like a million pictures and still didn’t capture the essence of the piece. Until you’re standing face to face with Mataora with Hei Tiki, you don’t appreciate the power flowing through the piece. It is art that is suffused with ancestral power; it comes off of it in waves. Each line is like a verse of Shakespeare, weaving an intricate poetic spell in a story that we don’t quite understand. This is one of the most important contemporary pieces in the SLAM collection, and if you don’t believe it, there’s something wrong with you.