Asmat Wood Cravings

University of St. Thomas has the American Museum of Asmat Art, home of a collection of Asmat wood cravings, shields, and other forms of art. The museum aims to celebrate and educate about the works of the Asmat people, the people of southwest area on the island of New Guinea in the Pacific Ocean. Their art is highly influenced by their surrounds of mostly water ways and their beginnings in craving canoes for transport as well as their belief in the spiritual world that surrounds them. There is an emphasis in their practices revolves around the spirits of the recently deceased and honoring them through wood cravings, singing, and dancing. A piece that is currently on display in the AMAA is Figure Carving (before 2000) by Primus Oambi, accession
Instead, the natural wood and feel of nature is present which adds to the representation of the banyan tree root system that is present in the piece. The roots are also formed by the intertwining and movement of the hardwood. The artist captures slithering side-to-side movement due to the finish and smoothness of the wood. It is carved in such a way that it looks like the wood was naturally bending that way into a loose “S” shape. The curves of the wood are further extenuated by the height of the piece. There is a lateral movement brought on by pure height and the way the roots work together to lift into the air and create a cylindrical shape. The cylindrical shape mimics that of a small tree, continuing the nature imagery and symbolic root system. However, the roots are better represented by the lack of material and gaps in the intertwining root system. It is not a solid tree that is formed, but rather the natural gaps created in the cylinder give the view a very loose and airy feeling. The curving of the wood makes “windows” that allow for air movement to flow through the piece, more like a spacious root system than
There are three main places along the cylinder that the roots come together before curving in opposite directions. These three areas are balanced with mirrored connections on either side of the cylinder. This joining creates a natural flow in the piece and it would be hard for the viewer to tell if it was two single roots weaving or a larger collection. The joining has a seamless look about it. Balance in the piece also comes from the tips. The cylinder comes together at the bottom in two points so the whole sculpture is perfectly balanced on two “feet”. The “feet” are then mirrored at the top in two joining, one of which goes into a neck and carved head. The other “foot” looks like it could be the hands of the figure whose head is at the top of the root system. These features are what connect the piece to the spirit world and the ancestors of the Asmat