Art Work of Michael Hamson Thesis

The left side (from the viewer's perspective) has a trimming in the shape of a series diamonds, while the right side is trimmed in a series of squares. Instead of running directly under the lip of the bowl, both series of images wander and wobbles. The central image on the bowl, interconnected crisscross carvings in the middle of an egg-shaped focal point is similarly irregular.

It is unclear if these pigment in-fillings are purely decorative, or if they have a specific significance. The culture that produced the work does not seem to value harmony and balance of design as out culture does, but no historical or cultural context is given to the bowl beyond its coloring in Hamson's description. Hamson classifies the bowl as utilitarian, along with all other bowls in the collection, but whether the bowl was used for eating, for holding objects, for decorative, or ritual purposes is not specified and not immediately obvious to someone from outside the culture.

Hamson's collection illustrates the problem of viewing works of art as an outsider.One invariably imposes one's own standards of beauty upon the art. Even a sincere appreciator of the beauty of the bowl is not viewing the bowl in its original context, with knowledge of the artist's intention or the bowl's use. Unlike an anthropologist or a curator at a museum who can provide some history so that a viewer can understand as well as gaze upon the work, this type of buying and selling of so-called primitive art seems somewhat objectifying in character, at least in the manner displayed upon the Hamson website. The images and descriptions are well-suited to someone buying the bowl to match his or her living room decor, rather than someone wishing to learn about the culture of New Guinea.

Works Cited

"Mandang Province wood bowl." Michael Hamson. September 2009. October 21, 2009.

http://www.michaelhamson.com/new_items_sep09/Sept_09_429.htm

"Mission." Michael Hamson. 2009. October 21, 2009.

http://www.michaelhamson.com/mission.htm.....