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Community Corner

"Spirit and Identity: Melanesian Works from the Hofstra University Museum Collections" Exhibition

Curated by collections manager Kristy L. Caratzola of the
Hofstra University Museum, this exhibition showcases an extraordinary aspect of
the HUM collections for the first time. 
The original exhibit offers a range of ethnographic artworks and objects
created by members of the distinct regional communities of Irian Jaya, Papua
New Guinea, New Britain, Vanuatu, and the Kiriwina Islands located in the South
Pacific.  The selected works center upon
ancestral figures, ceremonial masks, warrior shields, and ritualized practical
objects crafted from natural materials sourced from sacred sites within the territory
of each individual culture.  The exhibit
also includes sophisticated wooden sculptures carved and painted by revered
artists, which serve to express complex ideological beliefs through stylized
human and animal forms complemented with colorful, abstracted geometric
designs.  The vital connection between
humans and ancestral spirits and their active role in providing guidance and
protection is an essential concept shared among many Oceanic cultures and is a
defining characteristic of Melanesian art.

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