Revival of Tapa Painting in West Papua

A Tapa painting Humboldt Bay, West Papua, Collected at Nafri village Humboldt Bay 1986; the tapa cloths from lake Sentani and Humboldt Bay in N.W. Irian Jaya are locally known as Maro Smo. Early accounts of the local people making and wearing decorated tapa cloth are sketchy, but it seems that married women wore tapa skirts which were decorated with designs. An early photograph by the ethnographer Paul Wirtz in 1926 shows a large painted tapa cloth displayed next to the grave of a young woman. There is evidence to suggest that the manufacture of painted tapa cloths during this period, was stimulated by European interest in collecting them. In 1929 Jacques Viot, the French surrealist author and Art dealer made a trip to the area and collected a number of tapa cloths that were later exhibited in Paris. These works of Art had a great impact on the Paris Art scene at that time. Many early 20th century artists such as Picasso and Joan Miro were influenced by these tapa paintings. During the World War II and through the 1950s it seems that the practice of making decorated tapa cloth had largely died out. It was in again in the 1970's that European interest brought about a new revival of Tapa painting. This encouragement was essential to the continuity of the Art from and its progression as a unique contemporary Art style. Many of the design elements in these contemporary Tapa cloths are very old traditional designs, but these also have been changed and added by individual artistic creativity. One of the main lake Sentani motifs Fouw, a interlocking spiral design which is said to represent eternity and is associated with power of Chief's. The Fouw design is commonly used on many types of carved objects from the lake Sentani area, including canoes, paddles, bowls and other items. Other common motifs are animals, birds and fish that are plentiful in their natural environment. There is also depictions powerful mythological spirits that inhabit the bush and the ocean. The best tapa cloth painters of the 1970's and 1980's era are now deceased. 103 x 69 cm