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 Wichita State University now
lays claim to one of the largest and most important collections of
Asmat art in existence, the Downing Collection of Asmat Art. During
the summer of 2001, Jerry Martin, the Director of the L.D. Holmes
Museum of Anthropology and Patti Seery, an expert on the Asmat, led
an expedition into western New Guinea to collect the art of the
Asmat people. The Wichita State University team collected
nearly 950 Asmat objects during the expedition underwritten by Paula and Barry
Downing of Wichita. The objects include a full range of cultural items
from hunting and food gathering implements to ceremonial ancestor
poles. Many of the objects are quite large ranging from seven to
thirty-three feet in length.
The Asmat people live on the
southwestern coast of New Guinea; the region is an isolated, swampy
area, remote and underdeveloped. There are no roads and few
amenities to accommodate visitors. The Asmat people have a very
fierce reputation and in some areas practiced cannibalism and
headhunting well into the
1970’s. They still live a very complex ceremonial life controlled
by the need to maintain harmony between the world of the living and
the spirit world of the dead. During these ceremonies a large
variety of carvings and masks are used, each having their own
function and meaning. These ceremonial objects have long been famous
because of their beautiful intricate carving and often very large
size.
While this art is famous
throughout the world for its beauty and design, very few Asmat
objects are found in American museums. The most famous
collection in the United States is the Michael Rockefeller
Collection at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
Michael Rockefeller was killed by the Asmat while assembling this
collection in 1961.
Another
important collection is located at the
American Museum of Asmat Art,
affiliated with Crosier Brothers Headquarters in St. Paul,
Minnesota.
 The
Crosiers have had missionaries in Asmat since 1958. The church
and the Indonesian government have restricted access to the area for
nearly fifty years. This, plus the inhospitable environment,
has made Asmat art extremely rare and valuable. Wichita State had
the honor to be the first university in forty years allowed to enter
the area to assemble a collection
In
spring 2004, this rare collection will be on exhibit, both for
its artistic merit and its cultural aspects. A joint exhibit between
the Ulrich Museum of Art and
the Lowell D. Holmes Museum of Anthropology at Wichita State
University will open with a fund-raising gala April 23. During the
exhibit, which will be open through the summer, larger pieces of
art, such as ceremonial poles 18 to 24 feet long, called bis (beese)
poles, will be on display as objects of art at the Ulrich Museum.
Other carved, painted and woven pieces will be shown there, as well.
In
addition to displays of Asmat art, the Holmes Museum of Anthropology
will display reproductions of cultural aspects of Asmat life.
Various cultural vignettes will recreate scenes such as that of
activities surrounding a men’s ceremonial hut. “We were
fortunate to be allowed to photograph and participate in a mask
ceremony, and we’ll share those pictures during the exhibit,”
Martin said.
In addition
to the works collected during the 2001 expedition, the museum
exhibits will include pieces of Asmat art from a major collection
received by the Holmes Museum from Mr. Peter Bakwin of Chicago.
This
is an extremely important exhibition, as it will introduce this
major collection to the public. Along with its educational value,
this exhibition will have a great exotic and aesthetic appeal.
This collection will be the basis for research, comparative studies
and publications for many years.
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